In my personal choices, how do I know what is right or wrong? Chapter 2.

 

In my personal choices, how do I know what is right or wrong? Chapter 2.

The drama of our human existence encompasses interlocking spheres of belief and behavior: the religious sphere, the moral sphere, and the prudential (political) sphere. Today, after seeing the Religious sphere, we will see the different set-ups regarding the Moral sphere.

The Moral Sphere: Identify the source and specific principles that direct and determine your sense of right and wrong. It is the answer to the question, Are there evil acts, not atoned for or repented, that would threaten the possession and enjoyment of eternal life for me?

The CATHOLIC MORAL SPHERE derives from Jesus and His Church. The Church invokes the Scriptures and the words of Jesus to formulate the precepts of natural law, clustered around the Ten Commandments, and applies them to specific situations. The moral principles help us understand and define what acts are intrinsically good and what actions are evil. A person facing eternity with a single mortal sin not atoned for or repented, could end in condemnation at death. The moral law (except for Catholic merely disciplinary laws such as fasting) applies to everyone, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. For instance, Catholics believe that adultery is wrong for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

The fact of the Incarnation—God became Man and, thus, He reconciled man with Himself—is essential to our understanding of Catholic morality. The articles of Faith and morals are reasonable, not merely unpredictably determined. 

The Catholic religion and authentic science are perfectly compatible. God commands us through the Church to do good and avoid evil, love God and neighbor. God is infinitely good and cannot desire evil.

Freedom makes man a moral subject. To accomplish a good act, man makes use of his freedom to pursue an authentic good. A good moral option must not be measured only by the good intentions of the subject.

We are free to choose what we are to do, but we are not free to make what we have chosen good or evil, right or wrong. Our choices are good or bad insofar as they conform to God’s divine and eternal law and its “imperatives,” which are made known to us through the mediation of the conscience. Conscience is the judgment of the intellect on the goodness or evil of an act performed or about to be performed.

The TRADITIONAL PROTESTANT MORAL SPHERE refers solely to the Bible to distinguish right from wrong. We are saved by faith, not works (understood as moral behavior). Protestant theologians reject so-called man-made doctrines (even as they move forward with non-Scriptural doctrines such as salvation by faith alone). Talk of “intrinsically evil acts” is rare to non-existent. Hence, traditional Protestants cannot point to specific intrinsically evil acts, not atoned for or forgiven, that would lead to condemnation. For them, Faith and reason, or religion and science, need not always agree. God, in His infinite majesty, can even command evil as such.

In the ATHEIST MORAL SPHERE, the first principle is: We live, we seek happiness in whatever form we please, then we die. That’s it.
Oct 28 Tue

How do I know what is right or wrong? Chapter 1.

 

How do I know what is right or wrong? Chapter 1.
The drama of our human existence encompasses interlocking spheres of belief and behavior: the religious sphere, the moral sphere, and the prudential (political) sphere. Today, we will see the different set-ups regarding the Religious sphere.

The Catholic system, proclaimed by Jesus Christ, God and Man, is highly developed and explicit. Within it, there are several systems and spiritualities, that emphasize different details, keeping the same interdependent template. But all have eternal consequences.

The rich man who neglected Lazarus recognized no religious authority (cf. Lk. 16:19-31). Thus, he lived. Thus, he died. Thus, he was judged. The inescapable interlocking combination of the religious, moral, and political spheres determines our eternal destiny.

The Religious Sphere: Identify your beliefs, traditions, and doctrines. It declares who our spiritual authorities. It answers, Is there life after death?

The CATHOLIC RELIGIOUS SPHERE encompasses the entire Deposit of Faith. In it, the Evangelists recorded the testimony of the eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ. The Church hands down the testimony from every generation. The essentials of the faith are presented to us by the teaching authority of the Church. Tradition, Scriptures, and Magisterium are guardians of the faith.

The Apostles’ Creed sums up the faith. God creates us in His image. Original sin wounded human nature. Jesus saves us from our sins. His Cross and Resurrection redeem us, and our encounter with Him, in the Church and the Sacraments, heal our wounded nature and prepare us for heaven.

The Traditional PROTESTANT RELIGIOUS SPHERE is founded on the “Scriptures alone” belief but includes other implicit traditions and doctrines. Original Sin demolishes (not merely “wounds”) human nature. The Cross and Resurrection save us when we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. We encounter Jesus in faith alone. They invoke literal interpretations of the Scriptures and trust pastors, often with their conflicting interpretations.

In the ATHEIST (ANTI-) RELIGIOUS SPHERE, God doesn’t exist. Faith is unreasonable, just myths and superstitions. The atheist believes (without evidence) that all existence comes to an end at death.
Oct 27 Mon

Until when should I love my neighbor?

 

Until when should I love my neighbor?
Our love for God is expressed in the way we practice charity.
We have to love all mankind. If we really want to love and serve God, then we must serve every human being. It can happen to us at times, Saint Josemaría wrote, that “it seems as if I hear someone saying to me: loving God above all things is easy, but to love one's neighbor, friends and enemies, now that's really difficult! However, if you really love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, then that love for your neighbor which you find so difficult will be a consequence of the Great Love; and you won't feel at odds with anybody.”

We ought to examine whether our love for God is shown in specific acts of love for neighbor. That is essential if we are to be disciples of Jesus. He loved us so much that he gave his life for each of us. “Because of Christ's love for all mankind, both for those who wish to serve him faithfully despite their shortcomings, and for those who don't wish to be his friends at all, he allows himself to be mistreated, insulted, and crucified.”

When someone possesses Christ, he doesn't worry whether he has already served others enough; he doesn't think about his own rights, tastes, or preferences. “This self-giving, this understanding, this charity, this forgetting about one's own rights, causes us to yield in everything that is ours, just as Christ Jesus did. Our Lord has told us to learn from him: ‘learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart.’ To acquire this meekness, this humility, this holy readiness to yield in everything personal, it is enough for us to contemplate Jesus, who emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

“You talk to me about the ‘happy medium.’ Be careful! For a person who wants to live a life of Love with a capital L, half-measures are weak, they are miserly, they are mean and calculating. I will give you some advice. When Love knocks at your door, don't throw up barriers or hold back your heart. Never be afraid of going too far. 

If we are generous to God, it will lead us to be generous to those around us, putting our heart into all that we do. The virtue of justice demands it of us: other people have the right to our understanding and our charity.”
People are unrealistic, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

We need to give Christ a chance to make use of us, to be His word and His work, to share His food and His clothing in the world today. If we do not radiate the light of Christ around us, the sense of the darkness that prevails in the world will increase.
Oct 25 Sat

Should I be mortified?

 

Should I be mortified?
All who desire to live for God must practice mortification.
To illustrate this concept, St. Josemaría used the story of a writer who wrote about a dream. In it, he was faced with two paths. The first path was wide and smooth, filled with comfortable inns, taverns, and beautiful distractions. Crowds of people traveled this road, indulging in ephemeral and superficial joys. However, this path ultimately led to a bottomless precipice. It is the path chosen by those who seek material pleasure, falsely boasting a happiness they do not possess, and relentlessly pursuing comfort and pleasure.

These individuals are terrified of suffering, self-denial, and sacrifice. They want nothing to do with the Cross of Christ, thinking it to be madness. But it is they who are truly insane, enslaved by envy, gluttony, and sensuality. In the end, they suffer even more, only realizing too late that they had exchanged their earthly and eternal happiness for meaningless trifles.

In this dream, another path emerges, heading in a completely different direction. This path is steep and narrow, requiring travelers to abandon horses and proceed on foot. They have to navigate through thorns, briars, rocks, and boulders. Their clothing is torn, and their flesh is even wounded. However, at the end of this arduous journey awaited a paradise garden - eternal happiness and heaven. This is the path chosen by those who humble themselves and willingly sacrifice themselves for others out of love for Jesus. It is the path of those unafraid of uphill climbs, faithfully shouldering the cross, no matter its weight, knowing that if they fell, they can rise again and continue their ascent. Christ provides strength to these travelers.

To live with Christ, we must die with him, carrying the Cross in our own bodies. By contemplating the suffering Jesus endured during his Passion and Death, we can overcome our resistance and rekindle our determination to follow the Lord closely. “I love Christ on the Cross so deeply that every crucifix serves as a loving reproach from my God, saying: I, suffering, and you... a coward. I, loving you, and you… forgetting me. I, begging you, and you... denying me. I, here, with arms wide open as an Eternal Priest, suffering all that can be suffered for love of you... and you complaining at the slightest misunderstanding, over the tiniest humiliation..."

We must practice specific corporal mortifications in a spirit of atonement and zeal to co-redeem. Let us ask ourselves now, in God's presence, whether we take advantage of the grace He sends us to practice those corporal mortifications in a cheerful, sporting spirit.
Oct 24 Fri

Why does the Creed follow the homily?

 

Why does the Creed follow the homily?
The Creed is all that Christ has come to teach us, and we do believe with all the strength of our souls. The symbol or Creed expresses our response and assent to what has been proclaimed in the readings taken from Sacred Scriptures and explained in the homily.

The Creed was not drawn up for use at Mass. In the earliest days of Christianity, a profession of faith was a prerequisite for being baptized. That explains why in the Creed we speak in the singular: “I believe...”

From this usage in the baptismal liturgy, the Creed later became an instrument to curb the heresy that threatened the principles of the faith. There arose the need to state these principles in precise and definite terms. 

However, the familiar statements of the Apostles’ Creed did not measure up to the degree of precision needed. So, a more elaborate statement of belief or Creed was drawn up at the Council of Chalcedon (year 451). It combined the truths of the faith professed by the two earlier councils, one held in Nicaea (in 325) and the other at Constantinople (in 381). It is this Nicene Constantinopolitan Creed, basically, that we find in our Sunday Masses.

In the climate of doctrinal unrest in the fourth century, a heretic could easily steal into the assembly of the faithful. To prevent this, the whole congregation began to state the Catholic faith and affirm their adherence to it.
 
Such usage of the Creed in the liturgy began in Antioch and Constantinople. Then it spread to Spain, where it was adopted in the Council of Toledo (589). The council specified that the Creed should be recited before the Lord’s Prayer: “Let the Creed resound, so that the true faith may be declared in song, and that the souls of believers, in accepting that faith, may be ready to partake, in Communion, of the body and blood of Christ.”
 
The Creed thus became, together with the Lord’s Prayer, a preparation for Communion. From Spain, it passed to Western Europe, where it was placed after the Gospel. Rome itself did not adopt it in the Mass until the year 1014.

Nowadays, the Profession of Faith by the priest and the people is obligatory on Sundays and solemnities. It may also be said at special, more solemn celebrations.

It is worthwhile putting our lives on the line, giving ourselves completely, so as to respond to the love and confidence that God has placed in us. 

It is worthwhile, above all, to decide to take our Christian life seriously. When we recite the Creed, we state that we believe in God the Father Almighty, in his Son Jesus Christ, who died and rose again, and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life. 

We affirm that the Church—one, holy, catholic, and apostolic—is the body of Christ enlivened by the Holy Spirit. We rejoice in the forgiveness of sins and in the hope of the resurrection. 
Oct 23 Thu 

What is the daily examination of conscience?

 

What is the daily examination of conscience?
We can always advance. We can always improve: in our prayer, in our spirit of sacrifice, in the way we work, in our concern for others, in our apostolate. And not in some vague way, but in quite definite points, namely those suggested in our “spiritual coaching,” or those we have discovered in our prayer. 

Making our struggle very specific helps our prayer of petition, and we will not acquire a "passive" approach to the spiritual life.

“We should not wait for another New Year to make resolutions. Every day is a good day for good decisions. Those who wait for the New Year before they start again are defeatists." Our constant starting again constitutes a true ascetical struggle, which has to be undertaken and continued each day with optimism and enthusiasm. We need supernatural enthusiasm, which does not always show externally, since it is compatible with weariness and sorrow. This kind of enthusiasm is forged from our good intentions, from our fortitude, and from the knowledge that God loves us and seeks us out.

“Rectify. A little each day. This must be your constant task, if you really want to become a saint." A sure way to advance: trusting God more, and trusting ourselves less. We achieve this in the particular examination.

At the end of the day, make a brief examination of conscience before going to rest at night. Two or three minutes are enough.
- Place yourself in the presence of God, recognizing his strength and your weakness. Tell him: “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”
- Ask your guardian angel for light to acknowledge your defects and virtues and examine your conscience with sincerity:
"What have I done wrong? Forgive me, Lord. 
What have I done well? Thank you, Lord. 
What could I have done better?" - and a resolution. 
It just takes two minutes, or half a minute. 

- Then, sorrow. Make an act of contrition, asking our Lord’s pardon. 
- Resolution. Make a specific resolution for tomorrow.
- Pray three Hail Marys to the Virgin Mary, asking for the virtue of purity for yourself and your loved ones.

“In this adventure of love, we should not be depressed by our falls, not even by serious falls, if we go to God in the sacrament of Penance contrite and resolved to improve. A Christian is not a neurotic collector of good behavior reports. Jesus Christ, our Lord, was moved as much by Peter's repentance after his fall as by John's innocence and faithfulness.

“Jesus understands our weakness and draws us to himself up an inclined plane. He wants us to make an effort to climb a little each day. He seeks us out, just as he did the disciples of Emmaus, whom he went out to meet. He sought Thomas, showed himself to him, and made him touch with his fingers the open wounds in his hands and side. Jesus Christ is always waiting for us to return to him; he knows our weakness."
Oct 22 Wed

What can I do to change the world?

 

What can I do to change the world?
There is an enormous task, human but at the same time supernatural, which every Christian who lives in this first half of the twenty-first century has to undertake. The threat of utter ruin hovers over the world; the problem is urgent. We must act now, immediately.

First, I want you to open your eyes wide and examine that lukewarm, worthless life which you are now leading. Naturally, some have fled from God, but your life interests me far more. And never forget that your lukewarm life is one of the real causes of this disease that is consuming the world. You, too, are guilty!

The problems of this century are various and urgent, much too urgent for you to sit down quietly and enjoy yourself, letting others look for solutions. Don't say that just one life, yours, can make no difference, that one man can do nothing. The sons of God must surely be as influential as the sons of the Devil. In the whole of Christendom, there must surely be young persons strong and healthy enough to put a stop to the vicious onslaughts of their enemies.

Have you too forgotten God? Do you realize that right now you are living and working side by side with saints?

Whatever you may think of yourself as an individual, you must realize that you carry within you the possibility, the seed, of a marvelous human life on which the supernatural life — which is grace — can be firmly based, and which could make of you, not just one more person, but a real son of God with all the strength and courage of our prophets.

Who says that disregard for solid human virtues is humility? Today, more than ever before, every Christian must be first of all a human being. This world has a vital need for Christians who are strong and courageous, loyal soldiers, and hard workers. It needs persons who have learned to unite a life of prayer with a life of daily work; who have learned to put together their intimate union with God with a happy social life among their parents, family, friends, and even enemies. Are we not ashamed to face the world as cowards, and have a religion which is insipid, timid, and altogether ridiculous?

Do not for one moment think that, because Christianity puts into practice the supernatural virtues, it is no longer compatible with ordinary life. Christianity above all is life: supernatural life united with human life. 

Some people, usually the more intelligent, manage to understand the supernatural life, but the true value, the intrinsic value, of our human life remains unknown and forgotten by many. Our human nature will always have to be the basis and foundation of any serious, deep, and healthy interior life.
Oct 21 Tue 

Should I be intolerant toward error?

 

Should I be intolerant toward error?
Holy intransigence for error is inseparable from holy tolerance for people.
The spirit which God wants for us is as far removed from intolerance for people as it is from tolerance for error. “I'm aware of the difficulties you'll encounter. It's true - as I always point out to you - that this world, which you belong to and where you remain, has many good things, signs of God's inexpressible goodness. But men have also sown cockle, as in the Gospel parable, and propagated false teachings which poison minds and cause rebellion, sometimes even violent rebellion, against Christ and his holy Church." St. Josemaría

“Faced with all this, how should a child of God react? Should we ask our Lord, like the sons of thunder, to send fire on earth to consume sinners? Or perhaps lament continually, like a bird of ill omen or a doomsayer?"

“You well know that this is not the spirit of a Christian because it is not our Lord's: ‘The Son of Man has come to save men's lives, not to destroy them.’ … We must drown evil in an abundance of good. Our first obligation is to spread doctrine, while loving all souls."

“You also know the rule of thumb to practice this spirit: holy intransigence for error and holy tolerance for people, who may be mistaken. You need, however, to teach many people to practice this doctrine, because it's not difficult to find those who confuse intransigence with blind stubbornness, and tolerance with abdicating rights or compromising the truth."

“We Christians do not hold the legacy of Christ's truth, which is safeguarded by the Church, as our personal property to dispose of it at whim. It belongs to God, and his Church keeps it, and we have no right to cede, cut back, or give way in what is not ours."

We cannot yield in anything that pertains to the deposit of faith entrusted by Christ to the Church, for the simple reason that “it's the truth, and the truth does not admit of compromise. But together with holy intransigence, the spirit God asks of you is a constant tolerance, which is also holy. Being faithful to the truth, accurate in doctrine, defending the faith, does not mean having a sad attitude, nor should it be accompanied by a desire to destroy those who are mistaken."

“Perhaps some do act in this way, but it can't be our way. We can never be like that poor, deranged fellow who, applying Scripture his own way, ‘blessed’ his enemies by calling down upon them fire and brimstone and stormy winds."

“We don't want anyone to be destroyed. Holy intransigence isn't a rude and irritable intolerance. Nor is it ‘holy’ unless it is accompanied by holy tolerance."

“Our Blessed Mother understands and forgives her children's errors and weaknesses better than anyone. And no one has ever been more faithful to God's Will than our Lady. Let us ask her to help us spread abundant understanding for people, along with loyalty to God."
Oct 20 Mon

Does death always have the last word?

 

Does death always have the last word?
No, since Jesus redeemed the darkest places of our human existence.

Pope Leo XIV reflected on Jesus’ descent into the underworld on Holy Saturday to bring light to the darkness of human existence. That day, everything seemed immobile and silent, while in reality an invisible action of salvation was being fulfilled: Christ descended into the realm of the dead to bring the news of the Resurrection to all those who were in darkness and the shadow of death.

It is not enough to say or to believe that Jesus died for us: it is necessary to recognize that the fidelity of his love sought us out where we ourselves were lost, where only the power of a light capable of penetrating the realm of darkness can reach.

Jesus’ descent into the “underworld” – after His Crucifixion and before His Resurrection – is the most profound and radical gesture of God’s love for us.

The underworld is not so much a place as a condition, where life is depleted, and pain, solitude, guilt, and separation from God and others reign.

Descending into hell, Christ enters, so to speak, in the very house of death, to empty it, to free its inhabitants, taking them by the hand one by one. It is the humility of a God who does not stop in front of our sin, who is not afraid when faced with the human being’s extreme rejection.

In this act, we can see that, with God, death is never the last word.

This descent of Christ is not only something of the past, but must touch the life of every one of us, now. The underworld is not only the condition of the dead, but also of those who live in death as a result of evil and sin.

It is also the daily hell of loneliness, shame, abandonment, and the struggle of life. Christ enters into all these dark realities to remind us of the love of the Father. 
Not to judge, but to set us free. Not to blame, but to save us. He does so quietly, on tiptoe, like one who enters a hospital room to offer comfort and help.

When man is lost, the Lord descends where man has hidden, out of fear, and calls him by name, takes him by the hand, raises him up, and brings him back to the light.

He does so with full authority, but also with infinite tenderness, like a father with the child who fears he is no longer loved.

Heaven visits earth. The descent into the underworld shows us that nothing can be excluded from His redemption, not even our nights, not even our greatest faults, not even our broken commitments. There is no past so ruined, no history so compromised that it cannot be touched by mercy. Nothing can be left untouched by God’s compassion.

This is the silent embrace with which Christ presents all creation back to the Father to restore it to His plan of salvation.
Oct 18 Sat

How can I get to know Jesus better?

 

How can I get to know Jesus better?
By reading the New Testament every day.
Our zeal to know Christ better each day springs from our love for him: hence our meditation, prayers, and Gospel reading.

Christian life consists of falling in love with Christ and becoming identified with Him. Jesus has lived among us and continues to do so. Reading the Gospel, we contemplate each step of his earthly life: his birth in Bethlehem, his hidden life, his preaching throughout Palestine, his healing of the sick in body and soul, his proof of love on the Cross, his Resurrection, and his glorious Ascension into heaven. We see him with the Apostles, how he chooses them and instructs them in the mysteries of God's kingdom.

We need to enter deeply into the Gospel. Thus, we gain fresh insight while contemplating a Gospel passage we have already considered many times! 

Our reading of the Gospel should be marked by eagerness to learn and to improve. It should be prayerful and reflective, and so influence our whole day. Sometimes a single word or gesture of our Lord helps us to have a greater presence of God. As St. Josemaría said: “We must live so immersed in the Gospel that each of us could say with St John that we have heard with our ears, seen with our eyes, touched with our hands the Word of Life."

Knowing Jesus better makes it easier to love him.
To meditate on the Gospel means to look attentively at Jesus in eagerness to imitate him. We seek to conform our life to his, to make his words and feelings our own, by the help of grace. “I advised you to read the New Testament and to enter into each scene and take part in it, as one more of the characters. The minutes you spend in this way each day enable you to ‘incarnate’ the Gospel, reflect it in your life, and help others to reflect it.”

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, St Paul urges us. Here is the goal of our sanctity. The struggle to achieve holiness is not centered on the fight against sin, although this will always be necessary. Rather, it is a growing identification with Christ, begun here by sanctifying grace and brought to fullness in the glory of heaven.

Love stems from knowledge, from a personal, trusting relationship. Thus, we need to be familiar with Jesus' life. By meditating on the Gospel, we learn to fall in love with him; we see that Jesus is human and has a heart like ours. He became man so that we could draw near to him with greater trust. When reading the Gospel, we need to listen closely to Jesus' every word, dwell on each gesture, and allow it to move our hearts. “I would like you to close your earthly eyes and contemplate Christ's life as in a film, and take part in his life with the Apostles and the holy women, even closer to Jesus than St John. If not, it's not good enough."
Oct 17 Fri

Why is there a homily after the Gospel?

 

Why is there a homily after the Gospel?
On some days, the homily follows the proclamation of the Gospel. It is said that the ideal homily is firmly based on the readings of the Mass, is not too long (7 to 10 minutes), and sticks to the subject. 

In the synagogue, the Bible readings were always followed by an explanation of the sacred text. Our Lord took advantage of such instances to announce the kingdom of God. This custom was also observed in the primitive Church. The bishop himself, who normally celebrated the Mass on Sundays, spoke to the congregation.

Homily means “explanation” in Greek. Its purpose is to develop, explain, and teach the way of transforming into life what has been proclaimed. Accordingly, the homily is to be given by the priest or the deacon.  No layperson is allowed to preside over this means of catechesis.

The homily usually dwells on some point of the readings or of another text from the Ordinary or from the Proper prayers of the Mass of the day, so that it becomes alive for us here and now. It takes into account the mystery being celebrated and the needs of the listeners. The mysteries of the faith and the guiding principles of Christian life are expounded during the course of the liturgical year.

Catechesis should be all the richer and more effective by reading the texts with the understanding and the heart of the Church and by drawing inspiration from the two thousand years of the Church’s reflection and life. 

The writings of the holy Doctors of the Church, of so many saints, are a treasure chest from which abundant inspiration can be drawn.

It is advisable to stress the essential subordination of the liturgy of the word to the Eucharistic liturgy during the homily. Then, the commentary on the scriptural texts becomes like a preparation for the Consecration and the Communion.

The homily should never be omitted on Sundays and holidays of obligation; and it is strongly recommended on other days, especially on the weekdays of Advent, Lent, and the Easter season. 

So that it might more effectively move men’s minds, the priest should explain the word of God not in a general and abstract way, but rather by applying the lasting truth of the Gospel to the listeners’ particular circumstances of life. 

The priest will try to harmonize different mentalities so that no one feels like a stranger in the community of the faithful. In building the Christian community, priests are never to put themselves at the service of some human faction or ideology. Rather, they are to respect in the faithful the freedom with which Christ has made us free.

Lay people, on the other hand, should correspond to the effort and zeal of the priest preaching the homily. They should not mind the obvious limitations and imperfections that accompany any human instrument. Rarely will a homily leave satisfied those who are shallow and mean. But it will always profit those who go to the essentials, while understanding and overlooking the human shortcomings of the preacher.
Oct 16 Thu 

Should a Christian be mortified?

 

Should a Christian be mortified?
The Apostles continued Christ's mission by sacrifice. They learned their lesson well: Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Following in his footsteps, they laid down their lives for souls, and God blessed their apostolate abundantly.

Christ is urging us to proclaim the universal call to holiness from one end of the earth to the other. But He told us: If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Thus, to confess faith in God is not something comfortable. Let us then deny ourselves, not only in time of persecution or martyrdom, but always. Our Lord was crucified so that we, who believe in Him and have died to sin, might also be crucified with Him.

By mortification, we empty ourselves and begin to live for souls. By mortification, we are purified and made ready to draw close to God, to be docile to grace, to serve souls. By mortification, we can make atonement for the sins of others and, to a certain extent, win for them the grace of faith, conversion, or dedication. 

“Let us not forget that in all human activities there must be men and women who, in their lives and work, raise Christ's Cross aloft for all to see, as an act of reparation.”

Mortification is needed not only as a general disposition on our part, but also because any work with souls, if it is done as God wants, requires continual self-sacrifice. We need to overcome human respect and our character defects, our timidity and rashness, which are all so detrimental to a deep apostolate.

We have to rise above our own preferences and interests, following St Paul's example: I have become all things to all men, that I might save all.

We also need to be very constant, which entails renunciation and sacrifice; and to set a good example, to be willing to do without any comfort that is not in keeping with a life dedicated to God's service. Above all, we need to work much, with order and intensity. As St. Josemaría says, “If we fulfill our duty joyfully, even when it is hard; if we overcome ourselves, with a smile that is sometimes a mortification; then you and I will win God's grace abundantly for souls.

Are you trying to make sincere resolutions? Ask our Lord to help you to take a tough line with yourself, for love of him; to help you apply, with all naturalness, the purifying touch of mortification to everything you do. Ask him to help you spend yourself in his service, like the flickering lamp that burns beside the tabernacle."

Since mortification is contrary to our natural tendency, we go to our Mother's intercession. We ask Mary to help us follow Christ, right up to the Cross, in the realization that the greater our self-denial, the more abundant will be the fruit and joy that we reap.
Oct 15 Wed 

Can a simple employee become a saint?

 

Can a simple employee become a saint?
Work is holy, not just priestly work. Not just mission work. All work—when offered with love and intention—can become a path to sainthood.

The saints understood this well. And through the writings of spiritual masters like St. Josemaría, we’re reminded that God is not found only in the extraordinary, but in the ordinary duties of daily life. Consider these points:

1. Work Is Part of Your Vocation

Before sin entered the world, Adam was given a job: to tend the garden. Work is not a punishment—it’s part of God’s plan for our flourishing. When we work with purpose and love, we participate in His creative act.

“Work is part and parcel of man's life on earth. It is a manifestation of his dignity; it is an opportunity to develop his personality.” Quotes from St. Josemaría.

Whether you're raising kids, writing code, answering phones, or teaching a classroom, your work matters. Not just to your boss or your family, but to God.

2. Work Can Be Prayer

Prayer and work aren’t opposites—they belong together. That’s the essence of the Benedictine motto: ora et labora (pray and work). When we unite our tasks with Christ’s mission, our daily duties become a living prayer.

“You must understand now more clearly that God is calling you to serve Him in and from the ordinary, material, and secular activities of human life.”

You don't need to quit your job to serve God. You need to bring Him into your job—with attention, love, and humility.

3. Work Forms Us—Interiorly

Every email, every diaper change, every team meeting, every spreadsheet is an opportunity to grow in virtue:

    Patience when a task takes longer than expected.
    Fortitude when things get difficult.
    Charity when you serve others without being seen.
Our work isn’t just something we do—it’s part of how God forms who we are.
“Perseverance in our daily work is the real test of our love.”

4. Rest Matters, Too

Rest is not laziness—it’s obedience to God’s design. He Himself rested on the seventh day, and the Church upholds Sunday as a day of rest and worship.

Looking to integrate your faith and work more intentionally? These titles from Scepter Publishers can help:

- The Way by St. Josemaría Escrivá 
- Friends of God – Insightful homilies on work, prayer, and the call to holiness
- Interior Freedom by Fr. Jacques Philippe 
- Christ Is Passing By – Reflections on the meaning of Christian life in the world

5. Final Thought: Your Desk, Kitchen, Office, or Jobsite Is Holy Ground

After vacations, the world returns to hustle. But you don’t have to.
Return to your work with holiness, not just hustle.
Return with offering, not just output.
Return with the saints beside you, cheering you on in every task, no matter how small.

Because when you work with love and for the glory of God, your labor isn’t just necessary—it’s sacred.

Excerpted from Scepter Publishers
Oct 14 Tue

Oct 13 Mon - What is all about relics?

 

Oct 13 Mon
What is all about relics?
Seven questions about relics and their veneration.

To an outsider, the tradition of venerating relics may seem strange; however, the roots of the practice are found in Scripture as well as in the ancient tradition of the Church.

- What is a relic?
A relic is a physical object that had a direct association with Jesus Christ or with a saint.

- Why do Catholics venerate relics?
Catholics venerate the relics of saints as a way to honor the saints’ inspiring faith. As Catholics, we strive to become saints ourselves and are encouraged to imitate the lives of the saints in our own daily lives.

We do not worship relics, we do not adore them, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the Creator. But we venerate the relics of the martyrs to adore Him better, whose martyrs they are.”

- Is relic veneration biblical?
Yes. There are several instances in the Bible where individuals are healed by touching an item. 

In 2 Kings 13:20-21, the corpse of a man is touched to the bones of the prophet Elisha, and the man comes back to life. In Matthew 9:20-22, the hemorrhaging woman is healed by touching the hem of Jesus’ cloak. People were healed and evil spirits were driven out when handkerchiefs from the apostle Paul were placed on these individuals, as is written in Acts of the Apostles 19:11-12. 

- What are the different classes of relics?
There are “significant” and “nonsignificant” relics.

A significant relic is the body of the blessed and of the saints or notable parts of the bodies themselves or the total of the ashes obtained by their cremation. 

Little fragments of the bodies of the blessed and of the saints, as well as objects that have come in direct contact with their persons, are considered nonsignificant relics. 

These are also preserved in sealed cases and honored with a religious spirit, avoiding every type of superstition and illicit trade.

- Can relics perform miracles?

Although many miracles were performed connected to relics, the Catholic Church does not believe that the relic itself causes the miracle; God alone does. The relic is the vehicle through which God may work, but God is the cause of the healing.

If God chooses to use the relics of saints to work healing and miracles, He wants to draw our attention to the saints as models and intercessors.

- Can I buy or sell relics?
The sale is strictly forbidden. Relics can only be given away by their owners.

- Are there relics of Jesus or Mary?
There are no first-class relics of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven.

Similarly for Jesus. There are fragments of the true cross, a fragment of the holy manger in which Jesus was placed after he was born, of the nails and crown of thorns (allegedly), and fragments of black-and-white stone that are said to be from the pillar on which He was scourged.

Oct 12 Sunday - Should I ask Our Lord to increase my faith?

 

Oct 12 Sunday 
Should I ask Our Lord to increase my faith?
Like the Apostles in today’s Gospel, we can also find ourselves lacking faith. We might lack faith when we face difficulties, when we lack the means to go on, when we do not find response in the apostolate, and when facing events that we do not know how to interpret from a supernatural point of view.
 
We need more faith. And faith increases with humility, good deeds, and petition. God knows our needs, and He is ready to give us more light, more grace.

If we live of faith, we shall not be afraid of anything or of anyone. With faith, we will be able to reach and understand things far superior to our natural strength. Nothing is impossible for a person who lives of faith.

Faith is the virtue that reveals to us the true dimension of events and allows us to judge correctly everything that happens around us.

Only with the light of faith and with the meditation on the divine word can we recognize God, always and everywhere. In Him we move and we exist.

We should seek His Will in all events, contemplate Christ in all persons. Only with faith can we judge correctly about the true meaning and value of the temporal realities, in themselves, as well as in relation to the end of man.

Let us imitate the apostles and ask the Lord to have compassion on us and increase our faith.

Everything is possible for one who believes. These are words of Christ. Why don’t you say with the apostles, Increase my faith!

If we live of faith, we will know how to confess it and give true testimony to the world, as the first Christians did.

Only the Lord brings us to the true reality: we are servants, not the Master. Therefore, the glory of our actions belongs only to God. The servant does not add anything of his own. 

Thus, we have to be attentive not to rearrange the reality of things, because the desire for their own excellence leads many to seek themselves in everything: in the exercise of their profession, in family life, and in the holiest activities.

Thus, we must examine our intentions carefully in everything we do and not seek our own interests if we want to serve the Lord.

Our human talents are not enough to work for Christ effectively. Our natural capacity is not in relation to the supernatural fruits we seek. Without grace, we will be useless, and with it, we can do everything.

The first thing we must ask is God’s grace and his help, so that our service may be effective. To ask this, we must be aware of being in need. If we are humble, if we walk in the truth, we will realize that we are useless servants and will feel compelled to ask the necessary grace from God for everything we try to accomplish in his service.

Oct 11 Sat - Does God ask too much from us?

 

Oct 11 Sat
Does God ask too much from us?
As part of his plan of salvation, God, through his mercy, grants his gifts to each person according to each one’s needs. All are called to be co-redeemers with Jesus. Christ says, ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and have appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide.’

God shows particular care and favor toward those who are faithful to this calling; God is attentive to everything that happens to them. Christ himself is the Good Shepherd, and says: ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand.’

I should therefore have great confidence that God will not fail to carry out his part in the divine plan He decided for me before I was born, before the world was created.

But I should not forget that his loving care for me should be a new incentive for my loyal response. As Jesus also says: ‘Everyone to whom much is given, much will be required of him; and of him to whom much has been entrusted, more will be demanded.’

To be faithful instruments of God, we need to look after our interior life and fulfill the norms of piety with love.

Additionally, we must work conscientiously. Since we are co-redeemers, we are called to co-redeem with Christ through our work. Therefore, in the midst of our ordinary tasks, we can raise our hearts to God through Mary's intercession.

By God's special will, our ordinary daily work is the material for our sanctification. It is what we have to offer and sanctify, as well as sanctifying ourselves and other people. If we did not sanctify our work, we could not sanctify ourselves or bring the souls around us to God.

An outstanding feature of the first Christians was their dedication to their work. In this, they followed Jesus Christ's example. As one early writer puts it, He was himself considered a carpenter, and He made the things all carpenters make ... while He was among other men, thus teaching them the symbols of justice, and what a life of work is.

Thus, we will feel urged to offer God each of our tasks in union with Christ, to work intensely, with an upright intention, with a spirit of sacrifice, finishing each job down to the last detail, with the assurance that by our work we are collaborating in the redemption of all mankind.

Contemplate the scene on Golgotha. The fortitude of our sorrow-filled Mother gives rise in us to the firm resolution never to leave her alone, never to abandon Jesus. “Let us resolve to always stay at holy Mary's side, at the foot of the Cross. We want to console her, and to read from that book that is Christ crucified, to be filled with peace, joy, and desires of holiness."

Oct 10 Fri - Do I have a Guardian Angel?

 

Oct 10 Fri
Do I have a Guardian Angel?
During the month of October, the Catholic Church celebrates guardian angels.
Guardian angels are instruments of providence who help protect their charges from suffering serious harm and assist them on the path of salvation.

It is a teaching of the Church that every one of the faithful has his or her own guardian angel, and it is the general teaching of theologians that everyone has a guardian angel from birth.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “From its beginning until death, human life is surrounded by their angels’ watchful care and intercession. ‘Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.’ Already here on earth, the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united in God” (No. 336).

Several of our greatest saints have also shared their thoughts on guardian angels. Here’s what they had to say:
St. John Vianney: “Our guardian angels are our most faithful friends, because they are with us day and night, always and everywhere. We ought often to invoke them.”

St. John Bosco: “When tempted, invoke your angel. He is more eager to help you than you are to be helped. Ignore the devil and do not be afraid of him; he trembles and flees at the sight of your guardian angel.”

St. Jerome: “How great is the dignity of souls, that each person has from birth received an angel to protect it.”

St. Thérèse of Lisieux: “My holy Guardian Angel, cover me with your wings. With your fire, light the road that I’m taking. Come, direct my steps… help me, I call upon you. Just for today.”

St. Basil the Great: “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd, leading him to life.”

St. Bernard of Clairvaux: “We should show our affection for the angels, for one day they will be our co-heirs just as here below they are our guardians and trustees appointed and set over us by the Father.”

St. Francis de Sales: “Make yourself familiar with the angels, and behold them frequently in spirit. Without being seen, they are present with you.”

St. Josemaría Escrivá: “If you remembered the presence of your angel and the angels of your neighbors, you would avoid many of the foolish things which slip into your conversations.”

St. John Cassian: “Cherubim means knowledge in abundance. They provide an everlasting protection for that which appeases God, namely, the calm of your heart, and they will cast a shadow of protection against all the attacks of malign spirits.”
By Francesca Pollio Fenton

Oct 9 Thu - Why is the Gospel proclaimed in the Mass?

 

Oct 9 Thu
Why is the Gospel proclaimed in the Mass?
The reading of the Gospel is surrounded by special marks of respect. This rite emphasizes the union between the Incarnate Word, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, symbolized by the altar and sacramentally present after the Consecration, and the word of God written in the Gospel.

At first, the faithful express to God their cheerfulness by means of the Alleluia. 

The priest, who is about to speak in Christ’s name, prepares himself for that awesome task by begging God to purify his lips as He once did those of Isaiah when an angel touched the great prophet’s mouth with a burning coal.

We, too, reflect on God’s mercy in calling us—improbable people like us—to be Christians. To hear and to proclaim the Gospel: Every Christian preaches Christ every day by the life he lives, by the words he utters, daily. We are all the time unconsciously influencing other people. Can we say we are doing it worthily?

The priest (or deacon) takes the Book of the Gospel to the lectern. He who is going to read the Gospel may be preceded by servers who carry the censer and candles. 

The priest makes the Sign of the Cross with his thumb on the book and on his forehead, lips, and breast. If incense is used, he incenses the book before reading.

You probably have heard of all the care which, in the centuries before the advent of printing, the Church gave to the calligraphy of Gospel books, their pages being ornamented with illuminations and bindings at times encrusted with gold, ivory, and precious stones. The scent of incense used to fill the whole church, and candles were lit “as when”, wrote St Jerome, “the sun shines with all its brilliance; but their flame is not intended to dispel darkness, it is a sign of joy.”

We understand why the reading of the Gospel should be done with veneration. Ever since the Gospel was first read in Christian churches, the faithful have never listened to it in any other way than standing. In the Middle Ages, even those leaning on staves would leave them on the ground, standing erect as a servant stands before his lord. The bishop would hold his crozier in hand, and knights would draw their swords from their sheaths, removing also their cloaks and gloves. Men would remove their headgear, and princes their crowns.

Throughout the ages, all present made the sign of the cross together with the priest. 

The Gospel is the only book which is incensed, and on which the sign of the cross is made. It should be read and meditated on often. We should even memorize, not all its text perhaps, but at least the most notable passages.

We stand up when reading the Gospel, with the attitude of one who is prepared to suffer everything for the sake of those sacred words.

Prepared to die?...  If necessary, yes!
Prepared to die to ourselves, to our disorderly inclinations, to our own will?
Yes! 
And that is how you must be every day, every moment of every day.

Oct 8 Wed - Is it shameful to ask?

 

Oct 8 Wed
Is it shameful to ask?
In his catechesis at the Wednesday General Audience, Pope Leo XIV focused on Jesus’ final words on the Cross— “I thirst” and “It is finished.”

As Jesus hung on the Cross and humanity faced its most luminous yet darkest moment, those two sentences reveal his entire lifetime, making known the whole existence of the Son of God.

Jesus appears on the Cross as a “supplicant for love,” not as a victorious hero. He humbly asks for what He, alone, cannot give to Himself in any way, our love.

Jesus’ thirst on the Cross was not only the physiological need of a tortured body, but also an expression of a profound desire: that of love, of relationship, of communion.

It is the silent cry of a God who, having wished to share everything of our human condition, also lets Himself be overcome by this thirst for us.  Our God is not ashamed to beg for a sip, because in that gesture, He tells us that love, to be true, must also learn to ask and not only to give.

In expressing His thirst, Jesus shows that we cannot be self-sufficient or save ourselves, since His next words, “It is finished,” come only after He receives and accepts a sponge soaked with vinegar.

Love has made itself needy, and precisely for this reason, it has accomplished its work.

The Christian paradox is that God saves not by doing, but by letting Himself be done unto; not defeating evil with force, but by accepting the weakness of love to the very end.

Salvation is not found in autonomy, but in humbly recognizing one’s own need and in being able to express it freely.

Humanity finds fulfillment in trust, which opens us up to true hope, since even the Son of God could not be self-sufficient, thirsting as He did for love, meaning, and justice.

Jesus saves us by showing us that asking is not unworthy, but fulfilling. It is the way out of the darkness of sin to re-enter the space of communion.

Ever since the beginning, sin has produced shame. But forgiveness – real forgiveness – is born when we recognize our need and no longer fear rejection.

As He thirsted on the Cross, Jesus expresses the wounded cry of humanity for living water; when we utter this cry, it leads us to God and unites us to Him.

In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV invited Christians to find joy and true fulfillment in fraternity, in simple life, in the art of asking without shame, and offering what we can, without ulterior motives.

Let us not be afraid to ask, especially when it seems to us that we do not deserve. Let us not be ashamed to reach out our hand. It is right there, in that humble gesture, that salvation hides, for we recognize that we need Him. Thus, human fragility is a bridge towards heaven.

Oct 7 Tue - Do I have Psychological Insecurity?

 

Oct 7 Tue
Do I have Psychological Insecurity?

Psychological Insecurity is often an invisible obstacle that limits our success in family and business interactions, and may even offend God.

I believe that for those of us who belong to Generation X, with parents from the so-called Baby Boomer generation and children from Generations Y or Z, it presents an interesting challenge that we must face in all areas of interaction.

In that sense, I believe that the gray hair and some wrinkles that we usually already have should give us the wisdom to know ourselves well; otherwise, we will fall and make our loved ones (children and other family members) fall, as well as our teammates, into psychological insecurity.

Therefore, I’m going to share some defective behaviors that we’ve all probably had, starting with myself, and which I suggest we continue working on improving to grow in our endeavor to become better people, better Christians, and children of God:

- Hiding our weak points, whether as a parent, spouse, owner, manager, leader, or collaborator in a company.
- Never acknowledging that we do not know all the answers to the questions or concerns that may arise in any area of our lives.
- Not managing our non spoken language and gestures can make other people feel uncomfortable or disregarded. Even a harsh look can be more damaging than a word.
- Unconsciously “labeling” others, depriving them of the chance to contribute to an issue or challenging the status quo, and worse, making them feel like they don’t contribute value and thus inducing their silence.
- “Labeling” ourselves as first-class, or even being negative toward any idea or opinion contrary to our own.
- Not delegating tasks, whether at home or at work, with the mistaken argument that no one else will do them the way we do. That’s obvious: people are unique and unrepeatable in every sense of the word.
- Fear of losing prominence at work, and therefore not sharing information that will benefit the team as a whole.
- Not knowing how to listen and always believing that we are being attacked and judged, then interrupting and defending ourselves.

In this regard, I share with you some phrases that can help us reflect and face our fears:

- “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston Churchill – British statesman.
- “I fear no storm, for I am learning to sail my ship.” Louisa May Alcott.
- “Creativity requires courage.” Henri Matisse – French painter.

There’s no doubt about it, we’re all imperfect, yet we all have talents. For that reason, I invite you to begin working on self-knowledge, or if you’re already doing so, to continue to delve deeper into it and enjoy the process. Prayer, conversation with God, will help you to know yourself the way God sees you.

What do you say? Do you dare to swim against the current? And thus, contribute to better families, businesses, organizations, and society as a whole.

Excerpted from Hugo Saldaña Estrada

Oct 6 Mon - What can I do during adoration of the Blessed Sacrament?

 

Oct 6 Mon
What can I do during adoration of the Blessed Sacrament?

Why adoration? What is the difference between going to Mass and adoring the Blessed Sacrament?
The Church is a community, a family, and the Eucharist brings us together as a family. Adoration prepares our hearts to better experience the Mass. It would make no sense to go to Eucharistic adoration and not go to Mass.

Obstacles: “I don't feel anything. I get distracted a lot.”
The Lord awaits us in the Tabernacle. He is happy that you come and give him that little bit of time. And even if you are distracted, you are with Him. How often do we like it when our children or family come home, even if they are not doing anything special?

"I don't have time."
A visit can take from 15 seconds to even 15 minutes. When St. Josemaría was travelling and saw a church tower, he would greet Jesus from the vehicle.

“It’s boring.”
Try to maintain presence of God; be aware of who is there.
Try to make up for the offenses He receives in the Sacrament of the Altar.
Be a Eucharistic soul; treat Christ as the family of Bethany treated him. The Tabernacle should be the center of your thoughts and hopes.

Don’t be afraid to draw near to the Lord, especially when you realize you are a sinner.
Even after a fall, we must kiss Christ, look at him, and say: “Lord, from the mud of my sin, I know that You still love me." Then is when the change begins. 
We do not go to the Blessed Sacrament to show that we are perfect, but to recognize that God is very good. Jesus always waits for us, even in the midst of our failures.

Adoration enlivens love.
When a man meets his future spouse, he falls in love with her. Once he is married, he must keep the relationship alive instead of neglecting it. Similarly, we enliven our love during the Eucharistic visitation and adoration.
This love must be reflected in our daily conduct. Christ has remained in the Eucharist to strengthen us in our efforts to make divine the paths of the earth. To extend the kingdom of Christ, the recipe is only one: personal holiness. It is lived in love and fidelity to the Church and union with the Roman Pontiff. 

Can I read?  
You can read a passage of Scripture to meditate on, and listen to what God is telling you there.
Spiritual reading is also highly recommended.

Can I ask God?
You don’t go to inform God, but rather it is like opening a bag to put something inside, to receive the graces that God wants to give you, appropriate to your needs. God always answers our prayers, but He grants us what is best.

Can I be silent?
Once, the priest of Ars was in the parish when a farmer came in to pray at the church. The priest asked him what prayer he used. The farmer replied, "I don't know how to pray. So, I look at Him, He looks at me, and we understand each other." Try it.

Oct 5 Sun - Is each Christian a priest?

 

Oct 5 Sun
Is each Christian a priest?
The connection between the two parts of today’s gospel – increase our faith and serve Christ – is that, if we want a stronger faith, we should dedicate ourselves to doing God’s will.

To achieve this, God constituted the chosen people, the Church, as “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” 
There are two ways of participating in the one priesthood of Christ:
- The common priesthood of the faithful, which is conferred through Baptism and Confirmation
- The ministerial priesthood of the ordained minister, which is at the service of the common priesthood of the faithful.

The faithful exercise their baptismal priesthood through their participation, each according to his own vocation, in Christ’s mission as priest, prophet, and king. They do so by offering up their lives and work, by living and proclaiming the truth, and by carrying out all the requirements of justice. In everything, they try to conform to the will of God.

In other words, Christ gives us a share in his work. He makes our activity part of his activity.

Our common priesthood is exercised by the unfolding of baptismal grace—a life of faith, hope, and charity, a life according to the Spirit; the ministerial priesthood serves the common priesthood by directing that unfolding of the baptismal grace of all Christians.

Christ gives us the means by which we share in his priesthood: grace.

Thus, we are priests, prophets, and kings! See the great importance God gives us.

For the laity, all their works, prayers, and apostolic undertakings, family and married life, daily work, relaxation of mind and body, if they are accomplished in the Spirit—indeed even the hardships of life if patiently borne—all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. In the celebration of the Eucharist, these may most fittingly be offered to the Father along with the body of the Lord.

The sacrifice we offer to God is our lives. At the Offertory of the Mass, we can say to Our Lord, “I offer you this week.” And you can add who you would like to offer it for.

The laity live the prophetic role of Christ by evangelization, both by the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life.

Our good example of doing the right thing (“carrying out all the requirements of justice”) is a powerful proclamation in itself. The other proclamation is the apostolate, to bring those around us close to God.

If our lives are good, our actions testify to Christ's authenticity. And faithfulness to Christ is the reason we try to make our lives good.

The laity live the royal role of Christ through self-mastery and helping to conform society to the demands of the Gospel through justice.

In our kingship, our first subject must be ourselves. Then, as good kings and queens, we fulfill all our responsibilities. We live out justice and charity toward all.

Oct 4 Sat - Why is it important to live with purity of heart?

 

Oct 4 Sat
Why is it important to live with purity of heart?
According to Saint John Paul II, the purity of the heart is not merely the repression of desires, but a renewed gaze through grace that discovers in the body the reflection of God’s gift. This is also the foundation of consecrated virginity and celibacy for the Kingdom.

This has a Biblical foundation.

Jesus proclaims in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Mt 5:8). Purity, then, is not limited to a moral aspect, but is a condition of spiritual vision: a clean heart allows us to recognize God in ourselves, in others, and in the world.

Saint Paul adds: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, to discern the will of God” (Rom 12:2). Purity is an interior renewal that allows us to look at things with the eyes of Christ.

Saint John Paul II emphasized that purity is not simply the control of impulses, but the positive capacity to love. A pure heart sees in the body of another, not an object of use, but a person to whom God has entrusted a gift and a mission.

Purity is, therefore, a path of authentic love that frees us from the utilitarian temptation and from any reduction of the person to an object of pleasure.

The heart purified by the grace of the Holy Spirit allows a new perception of the body:

- One’s own body is no longer lived with shame or distrust, but as a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 6:19).

- The body of the other is recognized as a subject of love, not as an object of use or consumption.

- Sexuality is integrated into love, according to God’s creative design.

Saint John Paul II explains that this purity “matures to the extent that man learns to see the other with his heart, discovering the spousal meaning of the body.”

True purity consists in learning to see people as Christ sees them. He contemplates man and woman with creative and redemptive love, without possession or selfishness.

A pure heart is capable of reproducing that gaze, which heals, dignifies, and liberates. Therefore, purity is a relational virtue, expressed in the way we love, speak, and relate.

Thus, 
- Christian purity is not repression, but the fullness of true love.

- It educates sensitivity and effectiveness, integrating desires into charity.

- It allows us to see God not only in prayer, but in everyday life and in every human encounter.

- It makes authentic communion between people possible, overcoming possessive selfishness.

The purity in heart is not merely a blessed moral requirement, but moreover a promise of deep vision: to see God in the world, in others, and in one’s own body.

Purity is the key to rediscovering the spousal meaning of the body and living the true freedom of love. Thus, the purified heart learns to see as Christ sees and anticipates, already on earth, eternal blessedness: seeing God face to face (cf. 1 Cor 13:12).

Oct 3 Fri - Is it right to cry?

 

 Oct 3 Fri
Is it right to cry?
Pope Leo XIV explained that Jesus’ cry from the cross reveals the final stage of a love that is given up to the very end, and he encouraged us to view crying not as a weakness, but rather as an act of intense prayer.
Jesus shows us that crying out is not a weakness but an act of hope.

Jesus did not die in silence. He did not fade away gradually, like a light that burns out, but rather He left life with a cry.

That cry was more than the body surrendering, but the final sign of a life being offered. Before this, Jesus said: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Thus, the Son, who had always been in communion with the Father, experienced silence, absence, and solitude in the difficult moments of His Passion. Yet, it was not a crisis of faith, but the final stage of a love that gives itself to the very end.

Jesus cried out on the cross, not in desperation, but with sincerity; it was the truth taken to the limit, and trust that endures even when all is silent.

Then, the sky darkened and the veil in the temple was torn in two—as if all of creation was participating in Jesus’ pain. But this moment of darkness also revealed something new: God no longer dwells behind a veil—His face can be seen now in the Crucified One.

That image of Jesus’ broken body on the cross manifests the greatest love. We see that God is not distant from us, but giving all He had left, He joins us in our pain, in our life journey to the very end.

At the foot of the cross, one man understood this. The centurion—a pagan—came to believe after witnessing how Jesus died. His first statement of faith after Jesus' death was not a momentary profession, but one that truly touched and changed his heart.

At times, what we are unable to say in words, we express with voice. When the heart is bursting, it cries. This does not signify weakness, but rather is a deep act of humanity.

Our cries become a prayer when words do not suffice.

Crying out does not mean giving up or resigning to one’s fate. A person cries out because they believe someone can still hear them.
Jesus did not cry out against the Father, but to Him.

In that act of faith, Jesus shows us that we, too, can cry out with trust and hope, even when things seem lost.

Crying out is a human gesture, the first gesture we make when we are born, and it is a means of staying alive.

A cry born of love, addressed to God, will not be ignored. Crying means rejecting cynicism and carrying on the belief that a different world is possible.

A cry can be the threshold of a new light, of a new birth for us.

Oct 2 Thu - Why do we sing the Alleluia in the Mass?

 

Oct 2 Thu
Why do we sing the Alleluia in the Mass?

After the second reading (if there is any), the acclamation before the Gospel or Alleluia follows. Unlike the responsorial psalm, it is not related to the preceding reading but to the Gospel, which follows. It serves as the assembled faithful’s greeting of welcome to the Lord who is about to speak to them and as an expression of their faith through song. The whole congregation stands up to sing or recite it. 

The word “Alleluia” is an ancient Jewish expression of joy; it means “Praise the Lord.” It was incorporated into the liturgy of the Church at a very early date and passed from religion into everyday life. Sailors, when they recognized another ship, used to greet each other with a shout of Alleluia. In the year 429, when the Christian Bretons fought the Saxons, they used Alleluia as their war cry. St Jerome heard the farm laborers of Bethlehem sing it while ploughing. 

The Alleluia was at first sung at Rome only once a year—on Easter Sunday. There was a proverb current in Rome in the fifth century: “God grant that I may hear the Alleluia!” This wish is similar to that which we make on New Year’s Eve, that we shall again be gathered and reunited as a family at the beginning of the next year. After Easter Sunday, the Alleluia was heard during the fifty days of the Easter season.

Nowadays, the Alleluia is sung in every liturgical season outside Lent. It is usually begun by the cantor or choir, and then it may be repeated by all. It ends with a renewed Alleluia acclamation from the congregation. 

The Alleluia is the song of people set free by God, our loving Father, people redeemed by the blood of Christ. This triumphal acclamation is linked to the cheerfulness of Easter.

“Cheerfulness is a necessary consequence of our divine filiation, of knowing that our Father God loves us with a love of predilection, that He holds us up and helps us and forgives us. 
“Remember this and never forget it: even if it should seem at times that everything around you is collapsing, in fact, nothing is collapsing at all, because God does not lose battles.”  

During Lent, instead of Alleluia, an acclamation is made before and after the verse before the Gospel. One of these is:

• Praise and honor to you, Lord Jesus Christ!

In the early liturgy, the singing of the Alleluia was extended with a long vocalization executed on the final vowel, resembling the joyful modulations of country people who, without using words, hum a tune on one isolated syllable. This was called the jubilus. In the West, words were soon placed instead of this vocalization. The texts that followed the official verses were called “Sequences.” Only four of these most beautiful Sequences remain: For Easter, an exultant dialogue between the cantor and the congregation, for Pentecost, for the feast of the Body and Blood of our Lord, and for the celebration of our Lady of Sorrows.

Oct 1 Wed - What if there is a hidden meaning in the Sunflowers of Van Gogh?

 

Oct 1 Wed
What if there is a hidden meaning in the Sunflowers of Van Gogh?
Known worldwide for their vibrant yellows and emotional depth, Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers have become symbols of joy and creativity. But is there more here than meets the eye? Could Van Gogh’s masterpiece also be read as a profoundly Christian painting — one that, like the flowers themselves, calls us to turn toward the light of God?

Far from a delicate still life, the paint is thick, sculpted, almost carved into blossoms that seem to grow from the canvas itself. What might it reveal about our faith?

Born in 1853 in the Netherlands, Vincent Van Gogh was the son of a Protestant pastor. Morning prayers, hymns, Scripture, and Sunday worship shaped him from the start. For a time, he pursued ministry, serving as a missionary among coal miners in Belgium. Though he later abandoned formal ministry, this pastoral calling transformed into something new: a conviction that he could speak of God not with words, but with color.

Encountering the Impressionists in 1886, Van Gogh replicated their revolutionary use of light and color. Darkness gave way to blazing yellows, swirling blues, and restless skies. His brush no longer merely described the world — it prayed. It wept. It proclaimed. This journey is traced through paintings like ‘Café Terrace at Night,’ where the luminous awning, like Christ’s cloak of the Last Supper over the everyday world, and the disciples shining in the sky, and ‘The Sower at Sunset,’ where the glowing orb of the sun, like a monstrance, takes on an almost Eucharistic radiance.

In 1888, Van Gogh turned to sunflowers. Devoting himself almost entirely to yellow, he created blossoms that pulse with life, each petal shimmering with energy. And if you think of an artist's paintbrush being the extension of the artist's soul, we can see that the paintbrush is trembling with urgency. And yet at the end of the day, well, it's just a painting of flowers in a vase. But what if he was telling us about our faith?

Van Gogh elevated ordinary subjects into radiant symbols of creation itself. Yet he struggled with mental illness, loneliness, and despair, dying at just 37. At his funeral, friends placed sunflowers beside his coffin — the flowers he once called “mine.”

Perhaps these flowers are more than flowers. Possibly the painting is a kind of prayer. A prayer, yes, without words, where each flower almost represents us. Some flowers look battered, some are drooping, some even have their backs turned towards us, some are fully flourishing, but each all uniquely shaped by God. And all of them are trying to find the light.

These luminous sunflowers remind us that holiness is not about perfection. Holiness is about orientation, like these flowers, trying to turn constantly towards the light of God. Even in this vase of fading blooms, we realize that God is present in the ordinary as much as in the extraordinary events of our lives. 

Sep 30 Tue - How can I begin again?

 

Sep 30 Tue
How can I begin again?
With the five paths of repentance.
Shall I list them for you? There are certainly many of them, and all of them may lead you to heaven. But begin with these:

(a) The first path is the path of rejection of sins. As Isaiah says, Tell your sins, and you will be forgiven. And the Psalmist adds: I said, 'I will accuse myself before the Lord, and you forgave the guilt of my sin.’ So, too, you must discard the sins you have committed. Get rid of them, and you will be excused in front of the Lord, since whoever repents of the sins he has committed will be slower to commit them next time. Stir up your conscience to be your accuser – so that when you come before the judgment-seat of the Lord, no one will rise to accuse you.

(b) The second path is in no way inferior in excellence. It is to forget the harm done to us by our enemies, to control our anger, and to forgive the sins of those who are slaves together with us. If we do this, our sins against the Lord will be forgiven. Thus, the second path is contrition for our sins. As the Lord says, ‘Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours.’

(c) The third path of repentance is prayer: intense, sincere, and focused prayer, prayer coming from the depths of your heart.

(d) The fourth path, I will tell you: it is sacrifice and little mortifications. They have great power.

(e) And finally, act always with modesty and humility; make them part of your personality. This path is very effective in depriving sin of its central part: pride. Look at the publican, who had no good deeds to speak of. In place of good deeds, he offered humility, and the huge burden of his sins fell away.

So, now you have the five paths of repentance. First, getting rid of your sins. Second, forgiving the sins of those near you. Third, prayer. Fourth, sacrifices. Fifth, humility.

Do not be lazy, but advance along all these paths every day. They are not hard roads to follow. Poverty is no excuse for not setting out on the journey. Even if you are penniless, you can do all these things: put aside anger, carry humility in front of you, pray hard, and get rid of your sins.

Here you have learnt the right way to heal your wounds; apply these remedies. Recover true health and confidently receive the strength of Holy Communion. Thus, you may enter, filled with glory, to the glory of Christ’s kingdom, and receive its eternal joys through the grace, mercy, and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Excerpts from St John Chrysostom