Suffering With Joy

Sunday Snippets – A Catholic Carnival

May 19, 2013

Welcome to RAnn’s Sunday meme. Head on over there for more inspiring and useful posts by Catholic bloggers.

This week I was busy copy editing and proofing a book so my backlog of topics to write about got quite a bit longer while my number of meaty posts for the week got shorter. Nonetheless, I took the time to write a few things. You’ll want to know about A New Catholic Blog Network which deals with Catholic spirituality. I owe Mary at The Beautiful Gate for the tip.

Homecoming of the King is the title of Abbot Philip Anderson’s sermon for the Ascension. Benedictine spirituality is full of the Fathers of the Church and while Abbot Anderson doesn’t quote directly from the Fathers in this particular sermon, it is full of their spirituality.  I couldn’t put my finger on why I’ve found his homilies so powerful until somebody in a Yahoo group I participate in mentioned it. Then everything fell into place.

I spoke with the Abbot this week and he said that he plans to start posting his sermons at the monastery web site since now one of their monks at Clear Creek is web site savvy.  How soon “soon” is remains to be seen. Still, with his permission, I shall publish them at my blog to share their spiritual depth with readers. His over 30 years of contemplation is a boon to those of us in the wilderness.  What a blessing!

At Sabbath Moments I published a photo of the most spectacular iris in our bed. Also, if you love Gregorian chant, I put up a video of today’s sequence, Veni Sancte Spiritus, along with a beautifully rendered English translation. If you’re needing meditation material for the Pentecost season, this will make your heart sing.

Want to subscribe to posts by email? Visit the third box in the sidebar.

V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

Sabbath Moments

May 18, 2013

Welcome to Colleen’s meme, Sabbath Moments. Visit her at Thoughts on Grace for more.

Iris

It’s been awhile since I played around with digital art. This week my husband kindly went out and took photos of our iris. I discarded all but this one which I enhanced. The iris is one of the ones I planted a year and a half ago and this is its first bloom.

We have to be so patient when we’re working with nature, just as God is patient with us.

Pentecost – Veni Sancte Spiritus

Tomorrow’s Mass has the very beautiful sequence, Veni Sancte Spiritus. Except for the Dies Irae in the Requiem Mass, this is my favorite. Being a member of the grade school choir, I had plenty of opportunity to sing them both. Gregorian chant transports the soul when we hear it and even more so when we are able to sing it. I am jealous of the Benedictine monks and all religious who get to sing it throughout the octave of Pentecost in the Extraordinary Form.

This video really makes me want to run off to the monastery for a good long while.

A bit about the hymn

Veni Sancte Spiritus dates from the 13th century and is a good example of what we mean when we say Tradition is living.  The Church always has room in its sacred liturgy to add something that is holy and fitting, particularly as She deepens her understanding of doctrine, but it is never done arbitrarily by locals. It must have the approval of the Pope to become a part of the official prayer of the Church.

Translation by John Mason Neale (1818-1866).

Come, Thou holy Paraclete,
and from thy celestial seat
send thy light and brilliancy:
Father of the poor, draw near;
giver of all gifts, be here;
come, the soul’s true radiancy.

Come, of comforters the best,
of the soul the sweetest guest,
come in toil refreshingly.
Thou in labor rest most sweet,
thou art shadow from the heat,
comfort in adversity.

O thou Light, most pure and blest,
shine within the inmost breast
of thy faithful company.
Where thou art not, man hath nought;
every holy deed and thought
comes from thy Divinity.

What is soilèd, make thou pure;
what is wounded, work its cure;
what is parcèd [parched], fructify.
What is rigid, gently bend;
what is frozen, warmly tend;
strengthen what goes erringly.

Fill thy faithful who confide
in thy power to guard and guide,
with thy sevenfold mystery.
Here thy grace and virtue send;
grant salvation in the end,
and in heaven felicity.
Amen. Alleluia.

The beauty of the English language shines in this translation. In these words of the Church we can see the antidote to our stubbornness. Meditation #188 from Divine Intimacy points this out:

If we do not become saints, it is not because the Holy Spirit does not will it – He was sent to us and comes to us for this very purpose – but it is because we do not give full liberty to His action… If our will would open the doors wide, the Holy Spirit would take us under His direction, and, with His help, we would become saints.

Holy Mother Church knows Who and what to ask for to make us saints. Are we not the most blessed of people? Shall we not pray tomorrow for all those who lack this blessing that they may enter into full communion with us?  We must not keep our treasures for ourselves.

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V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

Homecoming of the King

May 15, 2013

The Ascension, 1304-06, Giotto di Bodone (b. 1267, Vespignano, d. 1337, Firenze), Fresco, Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

Abbot Philip Anderson, O.S.B. of Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek near Hulbert, Oklahoma, preached this sermon on the Ascension. I am attached to this abbey as a Benedictine Oblate.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
My very dear Sons,

With the entire holy Catholic Church, Christ’s Mystical Body, we celebrate today the Lord’s Ascension into Heaven. Echoing the praises of the angels and archangels, of the seraphim and cherubim, of thrones and dominations, principalities, powers, virtues, and of the Queen who rules them all, we add the glow of our own gladness to the spiritual brightness of those blessed beings, who feast their eyes on the very vision of God, while the Son of God, in His sacred and resurrected humanity climbs to the height of His glory.

It was just forty days ago that Christ broke through the bonds of death to rise to a life that will know no decline, but already the time for this departure is upon us. Although there is a sadness in this separation from the Lord, Who must leave us here on the earth of our exile, nevertheless Christ’s Ascension is part of a chain of mysteries that leads to the final fulfillment of our personal destinies as well to the consummation of the life of the Church. Each phase of the life of Christ, as reflected in the liturgical year, leads to the next step toward the final realization of the plan of God’s infinite and divine Providence. This is the mystery of time, the “little by little” of creation.

But do we human beings really want to go to Heaven and move beyond the horizons of our familiar places? Do we truly want to vanish through the vanishing point of time and space in order to enter an unknown dimension, where God is said to dwell? There is a strong tendency in the men and women of our age to keep everything here below, to want to find Heaven on earth in the present moment, rather than longing for a distant world “over the rainbow”. In his analysis of the errors of Modernism, Saint Pius X referred to this tendency as “immanentism”, from the Latin meaning to “remain in”.

The fact is that our earth is both, on the one hand, a garden of wonders, a delightful and beautiful reflection of God’s Wisdom and Goodness, and, on the other hand – especially since the Fall of Adam and Eve – a place of imperfection, a kind of “rough draft” of human happiness, where much evil and misery lurk in the corners. There are simply too many dangers and sad things afoot for us to be able to sit back and enjoy an abiding peace. We can be happy only in the way a pilgrim is happy, knowing that he is on the way to his destination and making progress. To seek transcendence, that is to say tending toward a different, higher world, is a duty and a deliverance. We must raise our eyes above the mediocrity and evil of what too often surrounds us. How terrible a thing it would be if we had nothing other to hope for than what we find in this world!

So let us follow the Lord. Let us sprout wings of prayer. Let us be mystics and spiritual beings, acknowledging what is most pure and noble in our nature. Never should we despise the flesh, as if it were intrinsically evil. Never should we follow the error of heretics who condemn marriage. Nevertheless, we were made for greater things than the material necessities of life. True, there is danger in pursuing the more spiritual way. Legion are the false mystics who have led men away from the truth under the guise of hidden, secret mysteries. But the splendid success of the best-known Catholic mystics, few as they are, largely compensates for the damage done by false ones.

In a Saint Teresa of Avila or a Saint John of the Cross – not to mention our blessed father Saint Benedict – the Church finds the most beautiful realization – success – of what we call the spiritual life, where the transcendent element bears its finest fruit. What begins in us in Holy Baptism is nurtured throughout our lives by God’s grace, especially through the infused virtues and the gifts of the Holy Ghost. The saint is the person in whom these gifts have reached their greatest development, whose spiritual life on earth blossoms so well as to border on the very life of eternity. The Church in the twenty-first century teaches this same doctrine. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 2558) quotes Saint Therese of Lisieux: “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward Heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”

There is a small problem, however. How are we to reconcile these two ideas: that of an exaltation of human life and that of Christian humility? How do we follow Our Lord above the clouds and yet keep our feet on the ground – especially the moral ground of the poor in spirit? It is Satan who, in his pride, declares, “I will ascend into Heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God . . . I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.” (Isaias 14:13-14). Well, one of the liturgical texts for Masses of the Blessed Virgin during Eastertide gives us a clue:

Alleluia, The rod of Jesse hath blossomed; a virgin hath brought forth God and Man; God hath restored peace, reconciling in himself the lowest and the highest.

In fact, it is the Incarnation itself that assures us that our exaltation in Christ will not contradict humility: in the Word Incarnate, heaven and earth are brought together. In leaning upon the Son of God and His mystery, we will not be challenging God, but allowing Him to raise us up in a way that will achieve our supernatural destiny, rather than causing us to teeter on heights that are not for us.

It is clear that our contemporary society as a whole will have nothing of this heavenward gaze. But the world – the worldly world of today as of yesterday – is not a sure reference for our human existence. So much of it is simply make-believe and vanity. Souls pretend to be “in the know,” but are really looking – often desperately – for the truth that will save them. Everyone is looking for happiness, and no one finds it in mere worldliness. But new avenues of evangelization need to be explored. The text of the Gospel is there for anyone to see, but it takes more than a text.

One way to bear witness to the Gospel, one way to make transcendence real for the men and women of our day, is simply to live as if heaven mattered. One need not even say very much. To spend hours at liturgical offices, whether as a monk, a nun or a member of the laity, is to say to the world: “There is more here than meets the eye.” While others consume precious time in pleasures that are frequently harmful or spend their lives in amassing money, we live in the presence of the holy Angels, participating in the same liturgy that goes on in Heaven. It is so simple, but so profound! It may be that we never do so much for the salvation of the world as when we kneel before the Blessed Sacrament, apparently wasting time, but actually transcending time.

May God, Who ascends today amid shouts of triumph, may the Lord, Who climbs to heaven with the sound of trumpets, deign to look upon our weak but fervent desire to follow Him. May the Queen of Heaven smile upon us, as she delights in the homecoming of her King.

Amen. Alleluia.

I especially appreciated his reference to Mary, who is always beside Jesus in our celebration of the sacred liturgy.  And Abbot Anderson always shines a bright light on what our priorities should be.

A New Catholic Blog Network

May 14, 2013

Connie Rossini who writes the blog, Contemplative Homeschool, has started Catholic Spirituality Blogs Network, launching with Find your spiritual idiolect at Catholic Spirituality Blogs Network.  I learned a new word, idiolect, from the title post.

Everyone has an idiolect–a collection of personal speech habits that is different from anyone else’s. Have you ever thought about your spiritual idiolect? Since your soul is unique, you have a personal way of speaking to God that no one else completely shares. Today I am announcing the creation of a new blog that will help you find and fine-tune your spiritual idiolect.

Every serious Catholic wants to grow closer to God, but there isn’t any magic formula that works for everyone. That’s because God has His creative intentions for polishing us up for heaven that are custom designed to fit His overall plan for us and the communion of saints.

Through reading the posts you’ll find at CSBN, you’ll discover writers whose lives may mirror your own and inspire you to greater heights of charity. You might also be a contributor to all of us on the journey to eternal life. Take a peek and think about whether it has something to offer you on the path through the narrow gate.

Want to subscribe to posts by email? Visit the third box in the sidebar.

V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

Sunday Snippets – A Catholic Carnival

May 12, 2013

Happy Mother’s Day to all those great Moms out there. How about joining us Catholic bloggers at This That and the Other Thing for a fun round-up of excellent posts?

My posts for the week are Catholic Bloggers and the “Like” Button, When Sacred Scripture Becomes a Dead Letter, Spring 2013 in Our Front Yard (some pictures you might like), and Sabbath Moments in which I talk a bit about imitating the Blessed Mother in charity.

Want to subscribe to posts by email? Visit the third box in the sidebar.

V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

Sabbath Moments

May 11, 2013

Awareness of God

Welcome to Colleen’s Saturday meme. How about joining us at Thoughts on Grace?

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day, and although my Mom has passed away, I  remember her at Mass and arrange for her name to be included at the altar of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter’s seminary in Denton, Nebraska every year on this day.  We can never pray enough for the faithful departed, and if they have been completely purified and are now in heaven, our intention will be applied by God to another soul. This is one of the beauties of belonging to the communion of saints. Everybody remembers everyone else until we are all gathered at the throne of God on the last day. Sabbath Moments, all.  Meanwhile…

More planting and weeding

Here on earth I’ve been working with my homeschooling students getting more planting completed and weeding the beds. It’s a great trade – teaching for yard help – and my strength is slowly returning. 

Roger and I planted two wiegela bushes with variegated leaves and beautiful pink flowers. They will be low maintenance, will attract hummingbirds, and stand up well to hot sun. These bushes bloom profusely in spring, intermittently in summer, and, if the weather conditions are right, they bloom again in the fall. Fortunately, they also won’t get bigger than about 3′x3′ so no trimming will be necessary. Just perfect for a couple of old folk who like seeing a lovely garden but can’t do as much work as we’d like.

Having a beautiful garden reminds us continually of God. We may be living in an evil world, but beauty, including the beauty of nature, is a window on the divine. It takes much effort to make something beautiful out of the ordinary, but in a way that is what God does with each of us when we cooperate with His grace. The transformation from a weedy, bland hillside as we have done, into a spot of color, shape, and texture, is analogous to God’s work in our souls. It takes time, but it is worth it to see the result. Every year the beauty increases as the plants mature and every year, our inner beauty should increase as well.

The growth of charity in Mary

We can’t let May pass by without a few reflections on the Blessed Mother. In meditation #180 of Divine Intimacy Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene says:

Theology teaches that the increase of grace and charity in us is the result of meritorious works, that is, good works performed under the influence of charity. When one does good works “with his whole heart,” the merit acquired – always an increase of grace and of charity – is immediately given to him, and as a result, his spiritual life immediately grows in intensity.

With this doctrine in mind, we can readily see at that rate the capital of charity and grace which God had placed in Mary’s soul at the very first moment of her existence must have developed. When we think, as St. John of the Cross points out, that Mary’s soul was never moved, and therefore never retarded, by any attachment to creatures, and that consequently, she never had any secondary motives, or any pettiness caused by selfishness, but always acted under the impulse of the Holy Spirit, we must conclude that she was ever growing in grace, and that charity in her became a veritable abyss.…

May Mary’s shining example encourage us to apply ourselves with all our heart to God’s service, so that we, too, may grow rapidly in charity.

One of the great benefits of self-discipline and reaching out to others in charity as Mary did is not only that our egos seem to matter so much less to us, but that we are more and more able to see others as God sees them. When we see others as God sees them, we must then love them as He loves them. Thus charity begets more charity.

We can apply that to events as well. Our ability to challenge evil and discern right from wrong becomes sharper, as does our patience in suffering when we see with God’s eyes. We develop the blessed habit of walking in the footsteps of Jesus with Mary on one side and St. Joseph on the other, our guardian angel close by ready to prompt us toward more and more good.  It makes life in this vale of tears more bearable and the moments of joy all that much sweeter.

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V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

Spring 2013 In Our Front Yard

May 8, 2013

Just for fun yesterday, after planting a few more flowers I took a few pictures of plants blooming in our front yard. This beauty is a viburnum I got from Wayside Gardens over ten years ago. It is a shrub that is supposed to grow 8′ tall and about 6′-8′ wide. However, I determined when I planted it that I would train it into a tree shape. For six years it never bloomed and then, in 2008, it finally did. I have to keep thinning and shaping so it will keep it’s vase shape. It is well over 8′ tall and so far, shows no sight of stopping.

These are the phlox, tulips, and helebores planted in the front porch bed. This is the first year the phlox have been this big.  One thing about gardening – you need a lot of patience!

Want to subscribe to posts by email? Visit the third box in the sidebar.

V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

Tags: gardening

When Sacred Scripture Becomes a Dead Letter

May 7, 2013

As usual, the meditations from Divine Intimacy really pack a punch. If not one day, surely the next.

With all the turmoil in the Church concerning erroneous interpretation of Sacred Scripture by certain theologians and Scripture scholars especially over the past sixty years, a burning question has seared my heart. “How can they do this? These are supposedly intelligent people.”

At times like these I think of the painting of St. Thomas Aquinas on his knees praying. One of the most brilliant theologians in the entire 2000 year history of the Church never picked up his quill without first praying on his knees to our Lord.  You can’t write about a Who without knowing the Who intimately or you will just be wasting trees and filling pages with pure fantasy, giving readers lies at worst and dubious facts at best.

Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene wrote in meditation #175,

All that we can study and learn about the things of God is a dead letter if the Holy Spirit does not enlighten us concerning them. Our need for Him is absolute; our desire for His coming should be unbounded.

That’s the answer to the question. Don’t pray with an open and sincere heart when you pick up the Bible. Read it with your own agenda. Never humble yourself by getting on your knees in front of Christ crucified and begging the Holy Spirit to fill your soul. Just be out to make a name for yourself and join the “in” crowd. Be recognized as an “authoritative scholar” by today’s standards, full of knowledge but signifying nothing because your truth is all that counts. Study, study, study and debate, debate, debate without praying. That’s how they did it – made Sacred Scripture a dead letter. You can’t attack and destroy Magisterial teaching without first having lost focus on the Who of God, the Blessed Trinity, with which you must have a personal, intimate relationship.

St. Thomas shows us the right way. Ironically it was these same theologians and Scripture scholars who suppressed the study of St. Thomas in the seminaries post Vatican II, and it was Pope John Paul II who said that St. Thomas’ writings should be the basis for theological and scripture study, reviving his work for a new generation of seminarians and ordinary Catholics like me.

One of my favorite theologian/Scripture scholars is Father William Most (RIP). Among his other titles at Amazon, you might particularly enjoy Free from All Error : Authorship, Inerrancy, Historicity of Scripture, Church Teaching, and Modern Scripture Scholars. You can absolutely rely on his orthodoxy.

As Pentecost approaches, I pray that all my readers as well as I will experience a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit so that the things of God will never be a dead letter to us.

Want to subscribe to posts by email? Visit the third box in the sidebar.

V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

Tags: Bible, Scripture study, St. Thomas Aquinas, theology

Catholic Bloggers and the “Like” Button

May 6, 2013

Ever since a friend sent me a note a couple of weeks ago that prompted me to consider putting a “Like” button at the end of my blog posts, I’ve been mulling it over.

As Catholics, we have an obligation to be faithful to the Magisterium, Tradition, and be unified under the Pope. It really doesn’t matter if we blog about race cars, Sacred Scripture, gardening, family life, spirituality, television, art film, the liturgy, crafts, beer, or whatever, Jesus has to be the center of our lives. We blog in the service of truth and Truth whether we mention the name of Jesus or not in our writing.

For sure, though, whatever we blog about, when we show our authentic Catholic culture permeating our writing, the demons of hell let loose in the form of trolls, spammers, and promoters of pornographic or illicit sex or anti-Catholic propaganda. And this is where that “Like” button comes in.

Thanks to author Ellen Gable Hrkach at Plot Line and Sinker for alerting me to what can happen. Although many of us would like to make it easy for those who don’t want to comment on a post to still participate at our blogs, in the process we can unwittingly become party to some evil stuff. Ellen told me,

… there have been times when other bloggers have “liked” my posts, then I go and see their blog and it’s perverse stuff.  Once the button’s there, you can’t stop people from liking your posts.  It bothers me that their blogs are directly connected to my faithful Catholic blog and there’s nothing I can do.

This is something I never considered and I am deeply grateful to Ellen for pointing this out. Short of removing the “Like” button altogether, you can’t block anybody from using your blog to promote sin. You also can’t prevent a visitor from clicking on the links after the “Like” button and accessing the anti-God’s-teaching sites.

What does somebody get out of “liking” a post? The answer lies in the Google Search Engine Optimization function among other things. The more links you get to your blog, the higher ranking you get in searches. The more hits you get at your site, the more likely you are to attract advertisers, which means income for you. Link building is a big deal for people wanting to make money off their blogs. What better, easier way to do this than to visit a gazillion blogs every day and click on a “Like” button that links to your site or will pull people to your site? We have also the downright perverse enjoyment some people take in seizing an endeavor that contributes to the salvation of souls and redirecting it to the eternal destruction of them.

My impressionist digital painting of the mimosa in our yard. © 2008

I view my blog as a virtual pergola in a lovely garden alongside a busy, tree-lined street with sidewalk access. Passersby are welcome to notice and wander in. They are welcome to come taste the refreshments, have a sip of tea, coffee, or lemonade, luxuriate in a fine glass of wine and relax among the flowers.  It’s my job to keep it clean, attractive, and well maintained. That means I won’t make it possible for visitors to stink up the place, harass other visitors, or peddle their nasty wares on my property. This is why I require registration to comment, and if I don’t know the registrant, I send an email asking the person to tell me a little about himself. So far I’ve had only one person respond. All the rest, and they are legion, with letter salad for names and very weird email addresses are automatically denied and deleted. This is also why I’ve decided not to put a “Like” button on my blog. No perversion or anti-Catholic links will be served along with the regular fare.

It’s a shame we have to be so cautious these days, but evil seems to have completely overtaken the world. As Catholic bloggers, we must protect ourselves and our readers from exposure to the wily agents of Satan. It’s a nuisance to contend with, but it’s also one more aggravation we can offer up for the salvation of souls.

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V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

Sabbath Moments

May 4, 2013

Awareness of God

Welcome to the meme of encountering God and resting in Him hosted by Colleen at Thoughts on Grace.

Spring planting

We had such beautiful weather for several days this week that I was able to get all the veggies planted in the Earthboxes® and the ground. One of my homeschooling students helped me because I am so much weaker this year and the pain levels rise quicker. We enjoyed the sunshine, fresh air, and getting our hands dirty. My little helper is quite competent and cheerful. We are trading my working with her on writing skills for yard assistance and it’s a great swap.

When I return to water exercise I hope to improve my stamina, but for now, if I can get 8 seedlings in the ground at a time before crashing that’s great.

Thursday night and Friday the snow and rain came, but the temperature didn’t go to freezing so all the plants survived and seem quite happy with the generous moisture. Iris and clematis buds are forming, and tulips with various shades of pink are in full bloom. The dwarf blueberry bushes are blooming and will soon form berries which I will have to protect from the birds.

Gardening is always a reminder that God is near and He is generous.

Pope Pictures

Robert Moynihan, publisher of Inside the Vatican, sends out free e-letters reporting on various events at the Vatican.  This week we had the unprecedented event of Pope Emeritus Benedict arriving at the Monastery on Vatican grounds and being greeted by Pope Francis. However many years we will be blessed with these two great Popes living on earth nobody knows, but whenever I see photos of them together I think immediately of fraternal charity. If our eyes could see the love radiating from both of these men I believe we would be blinded.  Here are some pictures from Moynihan’s letters:

I’m sure, even if we don’t see it, the two will pray together often in this chapel.  Don’t you think it would be great if our world political leaders would spend time on their knees often like these two popes? Imagine if photos of them doing this were released.  What a stir that would make!

St. Monica

Today is the feast of the mother of St. Augustine. She prayed for many, many years for his conversion. Shortly after Augustine got straight with the Church through the help of St. Ambrose, St. Monica died at Ostia on the way back to Africa.  If you have family and friends who have fallen away from the Church, ask St. Monica for help and never give up praying.  You could be the cause behind a great saint of the future.

This post is linked to Sunday Snippets.

Want to subscribe to posts by email? Visit the third box in the sidebar.

V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

Sunday Snippets – A Catholic Carnival

April 28, 2013

This week I wrote about finding God in everything in The Spirit of Faith. Seems like a good topic for the Year of Faith, no?

Pope Francis had a few things to say about the mission of the Church that I commented on in To the End of the World.

At Sabbath Moments I wrote a bit about the Roman Martyrology.

How about joining all of us at This That and the Other Thing to share your posts for the week or to join in the conversation?

Want to subscribe to posts by email? Visit the third box in the sidebar.

V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

Sabbath Moments

April 27, 2013

Awareness of God

Welcome to the Saturday meme hosted by Colleen at Thoughts on Grace. How about joining us to share a few of those times when you “rested in the Lord?”

Spring blessings

This week we got a couple of inches ahead on rain after several years of drought. Thanks be to God. I always enjoy spring rain – it foretells the harvest to come.

Speaking of harvests, Thursday I bought most of my seedlings for our veggie garden. Since I didn’t have the oomph to get them planted, I just placed them in a spot where they got rained on well yesterday and last night. Getting older is making it harder to do everything all at once like I used to, and the fibro inflammation is a high price to pay for overdoing it. Fortunately, we’ll have some help from my homeschooling students when things dry out a bit. The good Lord is always telling us He’s taking care of our needs, and recognizing that care is always a Sabbath Moment.

Divine Office – Roman martyrology

Lately I’m appreciating the Hour of Prime more and more. If a person could only offer one of the hours, this is the one I’d recommend. It has some beautiful prayers and Scripture readings in it, is fairly short, but what I especially like about it is the reading from the Roman martyrology.

We are one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church and nothing says it better than the martyrology, which contains updated listings for martyrs of recent centuries as well as many early martyrs. We have great saints and martyrs out of every land and nation from the beginning of the Church. Some have names that strike us as odd today, and some are familiar. All are heroes in Christ.

When I read the martyrology every day I get an overwhelming feeling of family. These people are my brothers and sisters in Christ. The same faith they professed in the early Church is the faith we profess today. Nothing has changed. We have a couple thousand years of continuity. Just awesome. Truth was, is, and ever shall be.

Everyone died confessing Christ. For me, it is like having an army of victorious soldiers behind, before, and all around me who beat the devil all to hell, and I know through Christ that I can do it too. They root for me and you in voices a lot louder than Satan’s useful idiots. We just have to open our ears to hear them.

The martyrology isn’t simply a list of names. It mentions the awful ways these soldiers of Christ were killed. It mentions other interesting things where details are known. Some of these stories would make great drama plots such as the virgin Theodora who was sentenced to a brothel for refusing to sacrifice to Roman gods. Didymus switched clothes with her and she escaped temporarily. They both were martyred during the persecution of Diocletian. A person devoutly reading stories like this every day can’t help but receive the grace of a strengthened faith and fortitude to preach the Gospel.

The world would have us believe that we are a small minority with stupid, outdated ideas and beliefs. It would have us believe that we are nothing without money, power, and belonging to the “in” group. How shortsighted and foolish of them. The martyrology is a testament that there are a whole lot more of us professing truth than there are of them professing lies. Our family lives and reigns forever, right now with Christ, while their power dies when they die and they suffer alone and tormented forever.

As the Church emphasizes the new evangelization, the martyrology inspires us to get out there and save souls. Some, of course, won’t ever listen, which is why Jesus told His disciples to “shake the dust off your feet” and leave (Matt. 10:14, Lk. 9:5). Don’t waste time. Move on to those who choose to hear. We have a lot of work to do. And if an earthly power smacks us into the next world, rejoice that we walked in the footsteps of the Master and we’re going home to family.

Here’s an image Father Z took on his recent trip to Boston. St. Marina of Antioch, known as St. Margaret in the west, hammers the devil. The second image is an icon of her.

St. Marina of Antioch

St. Marina Humiliating the Devil

She’s my kind of woman, and as one of Father Z’s commenters said, “Just another day in the Church Militant.”

Read the Roman martyrology and see what it can do for you in this Year of Faith.

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V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

Tags: prayer, Saints

To the End of the World

April 26, 2013

Pope Francis, good old-fashioned Jesuit evangelizer that he is, has been speaking lately about spreading the Gospel. This week when we celebrated the feast of St. Mark, the Holy Father noted that shortly before ascending into heaven Jesus instructed His disciples to “Go into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mk. 16:15). After His ascension St. Mark tells us that “…they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them…”.

The good news was not to be restricted to the Jews, but the disciples were to carry it to the end of the world. The Holy Father said:

Go all over the world. The horizon … great horizon… And as you can see, this is the mission of the Church. The Church continues to preach this to everyone, all over the world. But she does not go forth alone: she goes forth with Jesus. So they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord acted with them.

The Lord works with all those who preach the Gospel. This is the magnanimity that Christians should have. A pusillanimous Christian is incomprehensible: this magnanimity is part of the Christian vocation: always more and more, more and more, more and more, always onwards!

The politically correct Christians who have compromised with the world must squirm in their seats at being called “pusillanimous.” We can’t hide behind false “prudence” or fake “obedience” when leaders, political or ecclesiastical, who should be setting a good example and speaking the truth, are undermining  the Gospel every day. In our own small ways, we must be the counterpoint to their deceit, and where we are able, call them to account.

Catholics are especially fortunate to have both Sacred Scripture and Tradition along with the Magisterium, to guide us in our witness. However, the manner of our witness has to be according to the criteria set forth by St. Peter in his first letter as Pope Francis said in his sermon.

The style of evangelical preaching should have this attitude: humility, service, charity, brotherly love. “But … Lord, we must conquer the world!” That word, conquer, doesn’t work. We must preach in the world. The Christian must not be like soldiers who when they win the battle make a clean sweep of everything.

The Christian proclaims the Gospel with his witness, rather than with words. This is divine – it is like a tension between the great and the small…

When we go forth with this magnanimity and humility, when we are not scared by the great things, by the horizon, but also take on board the little things – humility, daily charity – the Lord confirms the Word. And we move forward. The triumph of the Church is the Resurrection of Jesus. But there is first the Cross. Today we ask the Lord to become missionaries in the Church, apostles in the Church but in this spirit: a great magnanimity and also a great humility. So be it.

I can’t help but think of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She founded her religious community not to evangelize, but to serve the poor and dying. Yet her conduct was one of the loudest proclamations of the Gospel in the latter twentieth century and she preached it to the end of the world. What she accomplished was done with Jesus and by no other means than through His power and mercy.

Many towns and neighborhoods have their own little Mother Teresas. They have their own little Francis of Assisis, their own Don Boscos, their own Gianna Mollas, all doing their work with and for the Lord. All being His strong back, His arms, legs, and feet. All sustained by Him.

Jesus’ command is for all of us. He is an equal opportunity employer who discriminates against no one. He gives all of us the opportunity and grace necessary to follow Him and spread His word. As Christians, we have no greater adventure in our lives than to bring the Gospel to the end of the world.

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V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

Tags: evangelizing, Pope Francis

The Spirit of Faith

April 24, 2013

The Repentant Peter – El Greco, 1600

Discovering God in everything – what a daunting task! Most of us consider it impossible, which says a lot more about where we are on the path to sainthood than about God’s accessibility to His creatures.

In meditation #163 of Divine Mercy, Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, O.C.D. teaches us about faith:

Faith is not limited to knowing God in Himself as the Trinity; it makes us see Him also in all creatures, in all circumstances of our life, since He is always present everywhere by His providential action.  [He is revealing Himself through the supremely difficult people in our lives, on those days when multiple things go wrong and it seems as if a dark cloud is over our heads, in the chronic illnesses, pain, and psychological disturbances most people eventually suffer if they live long enough. He is present when we suffer injustice and persecution from our governments and are victims of corporate and individual sins.]

God knows creatures as they exist in relation to Himself; and faith, showing creatures to us as dependent upon God, makes us, in this way, see and judge them somewhat as God Himself sees and judges them.

Faith teaches us that nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in the world which is not subject to divine control. It is true that God cannot will evil; and therefore He does not will sin or its consequences, such as injustice, litigation, war; but He does  permit them, simply to safeguard the liberty of His creatures. [God cannot will evil because, being all-perfect, He cannot go against His nature. His perfect love accepts only love freely given to Him and so, if someone chooses not to love Him, He will not stand in the way of that person's unloving heart.]

However, He sometimes intervenes in situations, even in those caused by sin, so as to make everything enter into His divine plan, which is ordained for His own glory and the salvation and sanctification of souls. My spirit of faith must be so real that it will convince me that no circumstance, either in my private life or in my relations with others, escapes God’s jurisdiction, which is so wise that it can draw good even out of evil. Consequently, I can see nothing apart from God; I can find Him in any person, in any situation.

Our questions in the middle of misery might be: Where is God in all this? What does He want from me now? What is He trying to teach me? If we don’t understand immediately what His plan is, if we ask Him for the faith to comprehend, eventually, when we are ready, He will give us the grace to see.

To be able to recognize and meet God in every creature, even in the ones that hurt us, offend us, or make us suffer, and in every happening, even the most disagreeable, painful, and disturbing ones – this is a great secret of the interior life. Then the world becomes an open book, on every page of which is written in large letters the one word: God. Before God, His will, His permission, His plans, everything else becomes secondary; we see how stupid it is to fix our gaze on creatures, which are, as it were, only a veil which hides the Creator. We need, however, assiduous practice before we can reach such deep faith.

As humans, we are gifted with an intellect above all creatures except the angels. That doesn’t mean we aren’t slow learners. This is why we often get stuck in sinful repetitive behavior patterns that cause us pain. We have the power to choose to let God enlighten us in the negative or evil circumstances of our lives or to hang on to our darkness. We can choose to see God or to let our obsessions with controlling our situations plunge us deeper into misery. Alcoholics Anonymous has their famous Twelve Step Program. One of those steps is “Let go and let God.” Whenever we are tempted to pride, impatience, grumpiness, etc., maybe it’s because our focus is in the wrong place. Maybe we aren’t surrendering to God.

As we examine our conscience each day, perhaps in reflecting on where we collected a bunch of bad feelings, gave into depression and frustration, and stored up anger, we might pray:

Lord, teach me what You want me to know. Let me see all the circumstances of my life through Your eyes. Help me to let go of anything that takes my focus away from You. Help me to practice letting You be in charge. Help me fulfill my daily responsibilities out of love for You and not out of self-love. Let me see You in everything. Make me a woman (man) of true faith.

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V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)

Tags: Faith, prayer

Sunday Snippets – A Catholic Carnival

April 21, 2013

Welcome to Sunday Snippets, hosted by RAnn at This That and the Other Thing. How about joining us?

This week at Signs of Spring I posted some pictures my husband took of the weeping cherry at the corner of our house.

At Pope Francis and Our Lady of Fatima I commented on the significance of the Pope’s dedication of his pontificate to Our Lady.

At Sabbath Moments I wrote about the Boston bombings, my daily Francis fix, and the worst of sinners.

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V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever!

(Click on the link above to read why I end my posts this way.)