Apr 10 Thu - All Salvation is Local.

 

Apr 10 Thu
All Salvation is Local.
The Speaker of the U.S. House, Tip O'Neill, is often credited with the saying, "All politics is local." While I may not be particularly interested in the political aspect of that statement, I find it relevant to my line of work. You could say that our struggle for holiness must be local, focused on the ordinary events of each day. All salvation is local; it takes place within individual souls. And you can't get any more local than that.

Our struggle for salvation—yours and mine—does not take place out there, in some distant location, or in someone else’s life. It isn’t found in the media or the latest gossip, whether online or otherwise. It doesn’t depend on our knowing the latest political intrigue or celebrity news. It depends on our personal and interior adherence to the Lord now, and external fight to remain so.

Sometimes we are afraid of this. We fear that God is too close, too personal. Too demanding. Too local. So, we distract ourselves by looking elsewhere, to other people, places, and things. But salvation doesn’t happen somewhere else. It happens locally, where we are, in the simple duties of our life. And we shouldn’t choose to fight it elsewhere.

In the Gospel (Luke 13:1-9), the crowd shared a recent news story with Jesus about Galileans whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices. The account included elements of politics, religion, violence, and death.

The people wrongly believed that bad things only happen to evildoers, giving them a false sense of moral superiority. They thought, "We're not as bad as the Galileans," but the real issue was their misplaced focus.

Yes, there’s an ugliness to the gossip. But what is worse, by paying attention elsewhere, they created an obstacle to the Gospel. They lacked the necessary attention, and reflection to hear our Lord.

So, He corrects them. ‘I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!’ ‘Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them – do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!’

While we may not agree with the belief that disasters only happen to the wicked, we share a fascination with events unrelated to us. Our media thrives on our desire for distraction and the intimate details of celebrities, and we eagerly participate in it.

Our technology gives us the constant ability to flee reality. We can always be somewhere else, distracted from the here and now, not present to ourselves or Him.

And much of this distraction is picking through the lives of strangers. Because it’s much easier to pore over the sins of others than to repent of our own. Plus, we can enjoy a little moral outrage and superiority. We omit any reflection on our faults because those people over there have done worse.

All salvation is local. To us, as to people of his day, our Lord says, ‘If you do not repent, you will all perish!’ It’s no excuse to say that I am better than many others, or I’m basically a good person. The call to repentance is local and personal. I must fight!
Illustration The Tower of Siloam by Tissot. Some excerpts from Fr. Paul D. Scalia.

Apr 9 Wed - Why do we genuflect in church?

 

Apr 9 Wed
Why do we genuflect in church?

Catholics genuflect as a gesture of reverence, humility, and worship, particularly in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. By bending one knee to the ground, we acknowledge God's divine majesty and our faith in His presence.

It's a physical act that reflects an inner attitude of devotion and respect, performed when passing in front of the tabernacle where the Eucharist is kept.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, explained this expression of reverence we make in church — genuflection — and why we make this sign in the liturgy.

“When we come into a church, we look for the tabernacle, where the real presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is reposed, and we genuflect!” the archbishop of New York explained.

“We go down on one knee. We genuflect. Why? That’s the ancient sign of adoration, the ancient sign of esteem, the ancient sign of worship,” he continued.

The cardinal pointed out that “when you hear the name of Jesus, every knee on earth and in heaven should bend, as St. Paul taught. That’s genuflection — we do it to Jesus, really and truly present in the most Blessed Sacrament.”

Dolan recalled that “St. Thomas Aquinas said: ‘You know what? Satan doesn’t have knees because he genuflects to no one.’ Well, we do. We genuflect to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal specifies “a genuflection, made by bending the right knee to the ground, signifies adoration, and therefore it is reserved for the most Blessed Sacrament, as well as for the holy cross” on Good Friday.

During the Mass, we genuflect at certain moments. The liturgy gives us a foretaste of and a share in the song which the Angels and Saints sing in the glory of heaven, and which we are called to sing one day. Praise the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord, or show forth all his praise?

We must have a great love for the liturgy, because our whole life is centered on the Holy Mass, the summit of all the Church's liturgical actions. And it is in the Mass that we can establish a living relationship with the Blessed Trinity, with our Mother the Blessed Virgin, and with the Angels and Saints.

St. Josemaría taught us the value of piety in the Holy Liturgy! “I was not at all surprised when someone told me a few days ago, talking about a model priest who died recently: ‘What a saint he was!’ ‘Did you know him very well?’ I asked. ‘No,’ he said, ‘but I once saw him saying the Mass’.”

“Don't forget that the liturgical life is a life of love - love for God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit; together with the whole Church, which you are part of."

Our life must be influenced by the liturgy, and filled with liturgical spirit. The prayers and petitions of the liturgical acts can become a theme for our aspirations throughout the day. And our contact with God in the Mass must be prolonged in visits to the Blessed Sacrament and other acts of piety.

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Apr 8 Tue - What is the main task of the Church?

 

Apr 8 Tue
What is the main task of the Church?

The main mission of the Church, as articulated in various Church teachings, is fundamentally centered on evangelization and the proclamation of the Gospel. This mission is rooted in the command of Jesus Christ and is essential to the Church's identity and purpose in the world.

The Church's mission is not only about spiritual salvation but also encompasses the integral well-being of individuals and communities. It aims to free people from sin and the influence of evil, leading them into a loving relationship with God. This involves teaching moral principles and promoting justice, which are integral to the Gospel message.

What topic, then, should the world’s Church leaders be discussing?
How about this: How to confront the reality that a steadily growing number of Catholics—and especially young Catholics—aren’t much interested in anything the Church says. For a truly missionary Church, this is the crucial challenge of our time.

Rather than spending years discussing how the Church should change (a perfect example of “self-referential” Church) why not concentrate on how the Church might change the world?

And thus, we come, on March 17, to a timely look at St. Patrick, and what he did—and didn’t—do in Ireland.

St. Patrick’s is not all about leprechauns, shamrocks, and green beer. He was an influential saint who, 1,500 years ago, brought Christianity to the little country of Ireland. He was born about 385 in Great Britain; he was carried off, while still very young, and sold as a slave during a raid on Roman Britain by the Irish.

Six years later, he managed to escape to Europe, became a monk, and was ordained a priest. He then returned to Ireland to preach the Gospel. During his thirty years of missionary work, he covered Ireland with churches and monasteries. In 444 he founded the metropolitan see of Armagh. St. Patrick died in 461. After fifteen centuries, he remains the great bishop whom all Irishmen venerate as their father in the Faith.

He could have given up his missionary ambitions, figuring that the pagan culture was not ready for the Gospel. He might have compromised with that culture, finding ways to make common cause with the pagan Druids. He might have called together the few Druids, too, to discuss how the Gospel message could be tailored to the day's tastes.

Instead, St. Patrick jumped into that pagan culture and society, and preached the Gospel without apology, consecrating over 300 other bishops, and converting an entire nation. The story of St. Patrick gave proof—not for the first time—that the Gospel message sells. People crave the Good News: the item itself, not the talk about how it is packaged and delivered. Christ never sent His disciples out to host meetings to make others feel included; He sent His disciples out to preach the Gospel so fully and effectively as to prompt repentance—to change hearts.

I do not imagine St. Patrick closing a parish church in Ireland; he was far too busy opening new ones. Nor can I imagine that St. Patrick would have had the patience to endure years of talk about “preparatory workshops and assemblies for discussion,” when there is so much work to be done to bring the world to a knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Some excerpts from Phil Lawler.

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Apr 7 Mon - Can I change the World with pure (not impure) thoughts?

 

Apr 7 Mon
Can I change the World with pure (not impure) thoughts?

Sometimes our thoughts are holy and fruitful. Other times they are shameful and destructive. We can change the world by accomplishing our good thoughts: one thought, word, and deed at a time.

St. Francis of Assisi threw himself into a thorn bush to resist the temptation of impure thoughts.

Today a massive Internet pornography industry thrives. Acts of violence in movies often immediately follow impure scenes. Social scientists observe that impure imagery prepares some viewers to fulfill impure thoughts with acts of violence.

More than one modern ideological agenda is rooted in impure thoughts. An impure thought is not a harmless “victimless” sin. Impure thoughts disfigure human relationships and entire societies, just as Jesus said: “Everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Jesus uses the dismemberment metaphor to stress an impure thought's gravity. “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell...” (Mt. 5:28-30)

St. Paul reinforces the teachings of Jesus (cf. Phil. 3:17-21). The enemies of the Cross are devoid of self-control: “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame.” He quickly promises our transfiguration in Jesus: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body.”

The account of the Transfiguration gives Peter, James, and John a foretaste of heavenly glory and strengthens them for the turmoil of the Passion. But the Transfiguration isn’t only for them. The three Apostles accompanying Jesus represent the Church. Moses and Elijah—representing the Law and the Prophets—are in communion with Jesus. The entire history of Israel, and the world, is transfigured in Jesus.

The Mass re-presents the Transfiguration. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass fulfills, elevates, and transfigures the worship of the synagogue and the sacrifice of the Temple. The New and Everlasting Covenant fulfills and replaces the Old Covenant. Every imperfection is purified. All that is worldly and disfigured is transfigured in Jesus.

The thoughts and words of the Mass will help us to reject impure thoughts, as these gradually become our thoughts and words. Jesus teaches us His way during the Liturgy of the Word. We are at the foot of the Cross with Jesus during the Consecration. Through Holy Communion, Jesus transfigures us with His resurrected glorified body. Our encounter is individual and communal. The Mass unites us with the history of mankind transfigured in His love.

Our transfiguration begins with our thoughts and continues with our words and deeds. Prayerful thoughts of our transfiguration in Jesus—with words and deeds rooted in our worship—take flesh within our hearts, families, communities, and nations.

Our thoughts—transfigured by the grace of Jesus at Mass and the Sacraments—will change the world. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Mt 5:16)
Excerpts from Fr. Jerry Pokorsky

Apr 6 Sun - Is there a remedy for my interior disgrace?

 

Apr 6 Sun
Is there a remedy for my interior disgrace?
When our Lord received the news of Lazarus' illness, He stayed two days longer in the place where He was. Was He ignoring Lazarus?

“This could sometimes happen to us. Lord, see, I am sick. Lord, you died on the Cross out of love for me: come and heal me. And it seems as though Jesus does not hear our prayer. Trust, my child, and persevere in calling upon that loving Heart. See what He tells his disciples: ‘Lazarus sleeps, our friend is sleeping.’ Our Lord understands that we can fall asleep. He wants us to trust in him. No matter what happens, he can bring us back to life." St. Josemaría

At other times, Jesus does not wait for us to tell him anything. It is enough for us to be humble, and weep over our wretchedness and the fact that we are made of clay. “Our Lord's mercy is infinite and his immense Wisdom knows all our good desires, all our love for him.

“He also knows that everything, all those divine things, are carried in a clay vessel that can easily break. What happens then? We do what is usually done to a broken clay vessel: the pieces are put back together, and once the staples that hold the pieces together are in place, it takes on a special charm. The clay vessel continues to be useful."

“Do not let your past falls, nor the possibility of future mistakes, worry you. Let us entrust ourselves to God's loving hands. Let's present him with those desires of holiness and apostolate that are the common aim of us all, and which have made us members of this supernatural family. And then the vase will not break; and even if it does, it will be mended; and it will acquire a new charm and will continue being useful in a marvelous way, both for our holiness and for the apostolate too."

The resurrection of Lazarus shows us that everything has a remedy.
A large stone covered the entrance to the tomb. Lazarus was dead and decaying. The air was foul. “Don't you see? Apparently, there was no more that could be done. How often have I told you that our faithfulness is forged out of the struggle of every moment, with all our wretchedness and errors! Woe, pity those who do not fight! They lose their interior life, and it's very difficult to raise a dead person to life. Nevertheless, you have seen how the dead do come back to life when they hear the voice of God: Lazarus, come out."

“If earthly things don't move you, at least let Christ's voice move you. Lazarus came back to life because he heard God's voice and he wanted to get out of that state. If he had not wanted to move, he would not have come back to life. And what about you? Do you want to?"

As the eternal God raised Lazarus from the dead. In His love for us, He will lift us to everlasting life.

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Apr 5 Sat - Does my mortification facilitate my prayer?

 

Apr 5 Sat
Does my mortification facilitate my prayer?
One especially appropriate time for true penance is Lent, with its urgent call for purification, atonement, and reparation.

We need to be purified from the remains of past and present faults, and this we do by penance and mortification. These make us freer from attachment to sin, cleaner in God's eyes, and less burdened for our journey along the road to holiness.

Jesus frees us from the yoke of sin, making us capable of sharing in the divine intimacy of the Trinity, and becoming children of God.

“Lent is, then, a time of penance; this is not something negative. Lent should be lived in the spirit of filiation, which Christ has communicated to us and is alive in our souls. Our Lord calls us to come nearer to him, to be like him: ‘Be imitators of God as his dearly beloved children’, cooperating humbly but fervently in the divine purpose of mending what is broken, of saving what is lost, of bringing back order to what sinful man has put out of order, of leading to its goal what has gone astray, of re-establishing the divine balance of all creation."

Through penance, we atone to the Lord for our guilt, and through mortification, we remove the obstacles to our inner growth.
 
The more we purify ourselves, the more our interior life will progress, because mortification makes it easier for us to be friends with God. If we wish our prayers to penetrate the heavens, let us take care to purify our minds of all vices or over-human thoughts. Mortification purifies the eyes and ears of the soul. As a result, we can see the Lord more easily and be attentive to his words, in an ongoing conversation that characterizes our lives as contemplative souls.

“Just think about the wonder of God's love. Our Lord comes out to meet us, he waits for us, He is by the roadside, we cannot fail to see him. He calls each of us personally, speaking to us about our own things - which are also his. He stirs us to sorrow, and opens our conscience to be generous. He encourages us to want to be faithful, so that we can be called his disciples... Our Lord has not forgotten us during all the time in which, through our fault, we did not see him. Christ loves us with all the inexhaustible charity of God's own heart."

If we did not practice mortification, which is the prayer of the senses, and if we failed to subject our body and its inclinations to voluntary servitude, how difficult it would be for us to hear God speaking to us!

We must fight against our wretchedness to rise up to God and to hear and understand his words. Generous small mortifications help our inner recollection, enabling us to pray at all times. To attain the inner silence we need, we have to mortify our external senses, and also our imagination and memory.

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Apr 4 Fri - Charity without truth?

 

Apr 4 Fri
Charity without truth?
Pointers from the Encyclical ‘Caritas in Veritate’ of Benedict XVI.

Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled arbitrarily. In a culture without truth, this is the fatal risk facing love. (no. 3).

Fideism: thinking that faith is independent of reason.
Truth frees charity from the slavery of emotionalism; Fideism deprives Truth of human and universal breathing space. (no. 3).

Charity without God.
A Christianity of ‘charity without truth’ would be more or less a pool of good sentiments, helpful for social cohesion, but of little relevance. Thus, there would no longer be any real place for God in the world. (no. 4).

The Church does not go into politics.
The Church does not have technical solutions to offer, and does not claim “to interfere in any way in the politics of States.” She does, however, have a mission of truth to accomplish, in every time and circumstance, for a society that is attuned to man, to his dignity, to his vocation…. This mission of truth is something that the Church can never renounce. (no. 9).

The Church is for man’s true progress.
Progress, in its origin and essence, is first and foremost a vocation: “In the plan of God, every man is called upon to develop and fulfill himself, for every life is a vocation.” This is what gives legitimacy to the Church's involvement in the whole question of development.” (no. 16).

Intellectual property.
On the part of rich countries, there is excessive zeal for protecting knowledge through an unduly rigid assertion of the right to intellectual property, especially in the field of health care. (no. 22)

Integral progress.
Progress of a merely economic and technological kind is insufficient. Development needs, above all, to be true and integral. The mere fact of emerging from economic backwardness, though positive in itself, does not resolve the complex issues of human advancement. (no. 23).

Job insecurity.
When the uncertainty over working conditions, caused by mobility and deregulation, becomes endemic, tends to create new forms of psychological instability, giving rise to difficulty in forging coherent plans for one’s life, including marriage. This leads to situations of human decline, to say nothing of the waste of social resources. (no. 25).

Man, the first asset.
I would like to remind everyone, especially governments engaged in boosting the world's economic and social assets, that the primary capital to be safeguarded and valued is man, the human person in his or her integrity: “Man is the source, the focus and the aim of all economic and social life” (no. 25).

Fight against hunger.
In the global era, the elimination of world hunger has also become a requirement for safeguarding the peace and stability of the planet. Hunger is not so much dependent on lack of material things as on shortage of social resources, the most important of which are institutional. (no. 27).

Life and development.
Openness to life is at the center of true development. When a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for man's true good. (no. 28).

New forms of slavery.
When man is far from God, he is unsettled and ill at ease. The new forms of slavery like drugs and the lack of hope into which so many people fall, can be explained not only in sociological and psychological terms but also in essentially spiritual terms. The emptiness of a soul that feels abandoned, despite the availability of many therapies for body and mind, leads to suffering.
There cannot be holistic development and universal common good unless people's spiritual and moral welfare is taken into account, considered in their totality as body and soul. (n. 76).

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Apr 3 Thu - Can I have a conversation with God?

 

Apr 3 Thu
Can I have a conversation with God?

Among the highest gifts we may receive from God is being able to pray and have a conversation with Him, because it means that we are in His company and in union with Him.

When light enters our eyes, our eyesight is activated and sharpened; when a person is listening to God, God’s inextinguishable light shines into him and his soul becomes bright and clear. I am talking, of course, of prayer that comes from the heart and not from routine. We may pray regularly every day, but prayer may be had continuously by day and by night.

Indeed, the soul should not only turn to God at times of scheduled prayer. Whatever we are engaged in, whether it is care for others, regular professional work, or some act of generosity, we should also remember God and say something to Him, internally.

Thus, the love of God becomes as salt is to food, turning anything we do into a perfect dish offered to the Lord of all things. Then it is right that we should receive the reward for our actions, to be enjoyed through all eternity, if we offer everything to Him every day of our lives.

Prayer is the light of the soul, true knowledge of God, and a link between God and men. Prayer lifts the soul into the heavens hugging God in an embrace beyond description. The soul seeks food from God like a starving person on the hunt for a meal. It fulfills its commitments and receives in exchange gifts better than anything that can be seen or imagined.

Prayer is a go-between linking us to God. It gives joy to the soul and calms its emotions. I warn you, though: do not imagine that prayer is simply words. Prayer is the desire for God, leading to commitment, not given by man but brought about by God’s grace. As St Paul says: For when we cannot choose words to pray properly, the Spirit intercedes on our behalf in a way that could never be put into words.

If God gives you the gift of such prayer, it is a gift of permanent riches, a heavenly food that satisfies the spirit. Whoever tastes that food catches fire and his soul glows forever with desire for the Lord.

To begin on this path, start by adorning your house –your soul– with purity and humility. Make it shine brightly with the light of justice. Decorate the walls with the gold leaf of good works, with the crystal chandeliers of faithfulness and greatness of heart. Finally, to make the house perfect, place a solid roof above it all, with the satellite dish of prayer.

Thus, you will have prepared a clean and sparkling house for the Lord. Receive the Lord into this royal and splendid mansion — in other words: receive –by his grace– His image into the temple of your soul, become another Christ.

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Apr 2 Wed - For what reason should I be happy?

 

Apr 2 Wed
For what reason should I be happy?
“What a strange capacity man has to forget even the most wonderful things, to become used to mystery! Let's remind ourselves, this Lent, that the Christian cannot be superficial. While being fully involved in his everyday work, among other men, his equals; busy, under stress, the Christian has to be at the same time totally involved with God, for he is a child of God.”

Christ taught us to act as children do before their Father.
At the most important times of his life on earth, Christ wished to show us his attitude of prayer to his Father: such as when he raised Lazarus to life, when he multiplied the loaves and fishes, or when he instituted the Eucharist, or in the loneliness of Gethsemane, or on Calvary when he prayed: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit!

Our presence of God, and our conversation with God our Lord, should not be based on feelings or imagination; they should be deep-rooted habits that lead us to please God and seek to fulfill his will in everything.

“A man of God is never alone. He has no reason for boredom, since he is always in the presence of his Beloved. The Lord is waiting for us at every moment. He takes an interest in everything that happens to us. God is beside us, full of loving care, like a mother and a father, always ready to listen to our words, always responding to our love. He watches over us and wants us to turn to him, confidently, asking for help, knowing that He will never fail to hear us.”

This is presence of God: we should never lose it. Filiation is union: and sanctity consists in union.

The fruit of presence of God is cheerfulness, which makes the path of sanctity pleasant.
“Let us be happy. I am happy. I shouldn't be, looking at my life, making that personal examination of conscience that Lent requires. But I do feel happy, for I see that the Lord is seeking me again, that the Lord is still my Father. I know that you and I will surely see, with the light and help of grace, what things must be burned and we will burn them; what things must be uprooted, and we will uproot them; what things have to be given up, and we will give them up.”

“Without joy, we cannot serve. Can you imagine someone serving you with weeping and wailing?”

Therefore, if we ever feel sad, we must see if we are struggling hard to live in God's presence. “Are you unhappy? Think: there must be an obstacle between God and me. You will seldom be wrong.” God our Father wants us to be happy; thus, He wants us to be in his presence, always trying to fulfill his will. St. Josemaría tells us: “Use the same method as I do. I forget that I exist. I can’t have any personal problems because I can’t think about my affairs - I don’t have time to.”

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