Jun 1 Sun - When Jesus goes to heaven, what does He expect us to do?

 

Jun 1 Sun
When Jesus goes to heaven, what does He expect us to do?
The Ascension of Christ is connected to the Christian apostolic mission.
While they were gazing into Heaven as He ascended, two men in white robes appeared to them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into Heaven? This Jesus, who was taken from you into Heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into Heaven" (Acts 1:11). Like the Apostles, we are partly perplexed and partly saddened by his departure. It is not easy to get used to Jesus' physical absence. It makes me think that out of an excess of love, He has remained with us even after He has gone. He has ascended to Heaven, and at the same time, He gives Himself to us as our nourishment in the sacred host. However, we miss his human speech, his actions, his gaze, his smile, and his acts of kindness. We long to see him closely again. How can we not miss his presence?

The angels told the Apostles that it was now time for them to begin their task, that there was no time to waste. With the Ascension, Jesus' earthly mission comes to an end, and ours as his disciples begins. Jesus intercedes for us before his Father: "I do not pray that you should take them out of the world" (John 17:15), out of our rightful place in society, out of our jobs or families, "but that you should keep them from the evil one." Jesus wants each of us to remain in our place, sanctifying the world from within, improving it, and offering it to God. Only then will the world be a place where human dignity is valued and respected, a place where people live in true peace, a peace closely linked to God.

As Jesus ascends to Heaven, He sends us out as his witnesses to the whole world. Our responsibility is great because being a witness of Christ means that we should behave according to his teachings, reminding others of Jesus and his most lovable personality.

Those we live and work with, those we come in contact with, should find us loyal, sincere, joyful, and hardworking. We should act as people who fulfill their duties honestly and live as children of God in the ups and downs of each day. The ordinary norms of courtesy, such as how we greet others, our cordiality, and spirit of service, should not be merely conventional and superficial for us. Instead, they should be the result of charity and a genuine interest in others.

We find Jesus in a special way in the Tabernacle. Let us turn to him there, even if we cannot physically go but only in our hearts, and ask for his help. Let us assure him that he can rely on us to spread his teachings wherever we go.

The Apostles returned to Jerusalem with Mary and awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit. Let us also prepare for Pentecost by staying close to our Lady.

May 31 Sat - How does Mary teach us to serve others?

 

May 31 Sat
How does Mary teach us to serve others?
In Nazareth, the Archangel Gabriel revealed the purpose of his embassy: See, how it fares with thy cousin Elizabeth; she is old, yet she too has conceived a son; she who was reproached with barrenness is now in her sixth month, to prove that nothing can be impossible with God.

With these words, the divine Messenger revealed to Mary the mystery of St. Elizabeth's motherhood: the Lord had chosen her to be the mother of the Precursor. God wanted to heap joy upon joy. To the infinite happiness of knowing that she was the Mother of the Redeemer was added more good news—her cousin had also been blessed. And the heart of the Blessed Virgin overflowed with happiness.

In the days that followed, Mary rose up and went with all haste to a town of Juda, in the hill country. In her womb, she bore the Desired of all nations, the Messiah Israel had waited for centuries. Break into song, fair Sion, all Israel cry aloud; there is joy and triumph, Jerusalem, for your royal heart. The Lord has revoked your doom, your enemy repulsed; the Lord is there in your midst, Israel's king! Peril for you henceforth is none.

In the feast of the Visitation, which we are celebrating today, we can admire firstly the concern of the Blessed Virgin for St Elizabeth. She knows that her cousin, well on in years, needs the care of a young person, and she therefore goes with haste to bring her help and affection. This availability to serve is the immediate consequence of having found Jesus Christ.

In our lives, too, intimacy with Jesus and with Mary is necessarily shown in the help we give others. As St. Josemaría wrote: “If we have this filial contact with Mary, we won't be able to think just about ourselves and our problems. Selfish personal problems will find no place in our minds. Mary brings us to Jesus, and Jesus is the firstborn among many brothers. And so, if we know Jesus, we realize that we can live only by giving ourselves to the service of others. A Christian can't be caught up in personal problems; he must be concerned about the universal Church and the salvation of all souls."

Concern for our spiritual improvement must be bound up with apostolate. “We must, therefore, develop our interior life and the Christian virtues with our eyes upon the good of the whole Church. We cannot do good and make Christ known if we're not making a sincere effort to live the teachings of the Gospel."

“If we are imbued with this spirit, our 'conversations' with God will help others. And if we take our Lady's hand, she will make us realize more fully that all men are our brothers -because we are all sons of that God whose Daughter, Mother, and Spouse she is."

Mary brought Jesus to the house of Zachary. The unborn Baptist leaps in his mother's womb, full of the joy of the Holy Spirit. And we, too, “if we become identified with Mary and imitate her virtues, we will be able to bring Christ to life, through grace, in the souls of many who will, in turn, become identified with him through the action of the Holy Spirit.”

“If we imitate Mary, we will share in some way in her spiritual motherhood. And all this silently, like our Lady; without being noticed, almost without words, through the true and genuine witness of our lives as Christians, and the generosity of ceaselessly repeating her personal commitment, which we renew as an intimate link between ourselves and God."

May 30 Fri - Should I be docile to the Holy Spirit?

 

May 30 Fri
Should I be docile to the Holy Spirit?
Today, we begin the Ten Days devotion to the Holy Spirit.
Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. The Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father in the Holy Spirit; and through grace we are enabled to share in God's intimate love and life. Union with God through love transforms the soul until it reaches holiness. And this work is attributed in a special way to the Holy Spirit.

So that our trust in the Holy Spirit may grow, and that we may be ever more conscious of the fact that interior progress is neither solely nor principally the result of our efforts, let us go to the Consoler, who comes to help us in our weakness ... and intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. Let's put St. Josemaría's advice into practice: “Get to know the Holy Spirit, the Great Unknown, the one who has to sanctify you."

The Holy Spirit's action embraces our whole life. As St Cyril of Jerusalem teaches, the Holy Spirit is one, but at a mere sign from God the Father, and in the name of Christ, He produces a variety of virtues. He uses the tongue of one person to communicate wisdom, He enlightens the mind of another with the gift of prophecy; on this one, He confers the power of casting out demons, and on that one, the ability to interpret Sacred Scripture. In one, He strengthens temperance; another, He teaches all that refers to the works of charity; someone else, He instructs in fasting and the ascetical life. He moves this person to scorn material possessions while he prepares that person for martyrdom.

With the passing of the years, the spiritual development that takes place in our thinking, desiring, and working is also the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we can never lose hope of becoming holy, of accepting the invitations of God, of persevering until the very end. God, who has begun in us the work of our sanctification, will bring it to completion. Because if the Lord is with us, who can be against us? After having not spared his very own Son, but rather turned him over to death for us, after having thus given us his Son, can he fail to give us every good thing?

Realizing that all our sanctification depends on God, we pray: Come, Father of the poor; come, giver of gifts, since we are truly poor and needy in every way. But we ask for even more than this: Heal our wounds, our strength renew; on our dryness pour your dew; wash the stains of guilt away. Bend the stubborn heart and will; melt the frozen, warm the chill; guide the steps that go astray. For it will also have to be the grace of the Holy Spirit that removes every obstacle to his sanctifying action in us, so that our life may bear fruit in virtue and the exercise of his gifts.

We must be docile to the Paraclete, “because it is the Holy Spirit who, with his inspirations, gives a supernatural tone to our thoughts, desires, and actions. It is he who leads us to receive Christ's teaching and to assimilate it profoundly. He gives us the light by which we perceive our personal calling and the strength to carry out all that God expects of us. If we are docile to the Holy Spirit, the image of Christ will be formed more and more fully in us, and we will be brought closer every day to God the Father. For whoever is led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God."

May 29 Thu - What is the Liturgy?

 

May 29 Thu
What is the Liturgy?
Liturgy is the priestly action of Jesus Christ, continued in and by the Church under the direction of the Holy Spirit. In the Liturgy, the Holy Spirit brings about his work of salvation through effective signs, thus giving both a perfect reverence to God and salvation to mankind.

The concept of Liturgy includes:
• The worship of God, blessing him for all his gifts,
• The presence of Christ, He is the Priest in the liturgical action,
• The action of the Holy Spirit in the Church’s Liturgy,
• The history of salvation that is continued and brought about through effective signs in the Liturgy,
• The sanctification of mankind is realized through the liturgical action.

The Liturgy is a work of the Blessed Trinity:
• God the Father is the origin and end of the Liturgy.
• The glorified Christ is present in the earthly Liturgy of the Church of the apostles, which participates in the heavenly Liturgy.
• God the Holy Spirit brings about the mystery of Christ in the Church’s Liturgy.

The Liturgy is a work of God the Father:
God the Father blesses us in his Son and gives us, as his children, the Spirit of adoption.

In the Apostolic times, Christ instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist—the center of the Liturgy—within the ritual Jewish supper of Passover on Holy Thursday. The oldest account of the Last Supper is given by St. Paul (cf. 1 Cor 11:23-29) and was written at Ephesus in either A.D. 55 or 56.

In the narrative, the command is given to the apostles (and implicitly to their successors) to celebrate the Eucharist until the day when Christ returns in the full glory of his second coming. St. Luke’s account (cf. Lk 22:14-20) is very similar, as might be expected from the disciple and companion of St. Paul.

St. Matthew and St. Mark (cf. Mt 26:26-29; Mk 14:22-25) give a similar narrative of the events.

The Acts of the Apostles and the epistles of St. Paul describe the primitive community as already “devoted … to the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).
“Prayers” and the “breaking of bread” constituted the Liturgy of the earliest Mass. It used the Jewish ritual of religious gatherings. To the prayers and readings inherited from the synagogue, it added the Eucharist—the work of salvation realized by Christ.

The Didache, or Doctrine of the Apostles (a valuable short treatise from the first half of the second century), gives evidence of a real meal (a love feast, or agape) connected with the celebration of the Eucharist. The connection between the Eucharistic celebration and the agape did not continue for long. It still existed at Corinth in the time of St. Paul. There, the faithful brought provisions to the supper but did not always share them in common, to the Apostle’s great chagrin. The agape was soon relegated to a position of secondary importance before it disappeared altogether. At that time, the term “Eucharist” had replaced the terms “the Lord’s Supper” and “Breaking of Bread.”

The term Eucharist means “thanksgiving” and takes its name from the prayer of consecration pronounced by the main celebrant. The early Christians did not merely attend the Mass; they participated and offered it with their bishop and priests. They took an active part, answered the response, said their part aloud in chorus, contributed gifts, answered the celebrant’s invitation, gave the kiss of peace, and, when the celebrant ended the consecration, they all responded in a solemn “Amen” of assent. All Christians, even the absent ones (thanks to the deacons), received the Eucharist.


Illustration: This chalice of is a piece of Romanesque art donated by the queen Urraca of Zamora (1033-1101), daughter of the king Fernando of León.

May 28 Wed - Why do we receive Baptism?

 

May 28 Wed
Why do we receive Baptism?
Baptism is a sacrament instituted by Christ, in which, through the washing with water and by invoking the three divine Persons, the spiritual regeneration of humanity is achieved. Baptism is “the sacrament of regeneration by water in the word.”
“In Baptism, our Father God has taken possession of our lives, has made us share in the life of Christ, and has given us the Holy Spirit.”

The mystery of Baptism was prefigured in some events of the Old Testament:
- Water is seen as the source of life. At the beginning of the world, “the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.” (Gen 1:2).
- Noah’s ark is a type of salvation through Baptism.
- Seawater is also a symbol of death and the mystery of the cross. Through the waters of the Red Sea, Israel was led out of slavery.
- After crossing through the waters of the Jordan River, the people of God entered the Promised Land, a symbol of eternal life.
- The most important of the prefigurations is the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. With his Passion and Death, the waters of Baptism were available for all humanity. The water and blood flowing from his pierced side are respectively symbols of Baptism and the Eucharist.

The Lord, who gives us our life, also gave us Baptism, containing both life and death. The water fulfills the image of death, and the Spirit gives us the promise of life.

Hence, the answer to why the water was associated with the Spirit is clear. The reason is that baptism prefigures two things for us:
- The destroying of the body of sin, that it may never develop into eternal death; and,
- The birth of a new son in the Spirit, ripening to a new life, and traveling to holiness.

Like a tomb, the water receives the body, symbolizing death; then we are revived by the Spirit, who pours his grace on us, and renews our souls from the deadness of sin of the old man, into their original life of the newborn. This is what it is to be born again of water and of the Spirit, the water bringing the necessary death, while the Spirit creates life within us.

In three immersions (or pourings of water), and with three invocations, Baptism is performed. There is no grace in the water alone, but in the presence of the Spirit. Baptism is not the cleansing of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of the newborn towards God.

Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to paradise, our ascension into the kingdom of heaven, our return to the status of adopted sons, our liberty to call God our Father, our being made partakers of the grace of Christ, our being called children of light, our sharing in eternal glory – in a word, our being brought into a state of all fullness of blessing both in this world and in the world to come, of all the good gifts that are in store for us.

Through faith, we contemplate the presence of the Spirit’s grace, but we still have to wait and fight for the full enjoyment of the fruits of grace. If such is the promise, what will heaven be like? If these are the first fruits, what will be the complete fulfillment?

May 27 Tue - What are the fields of action of the Church and the State?

 

May 27 Tue
What are the fields of action of the Church and the State?
The common good cannot be secured without the efficient direction provided by authority. Authority is the natural and necessary link for ensuring the cohesion of the social body. The obligation to submit to it is thus based on the moral force that defines it, not on its coercive power, although using coercive means within the limits of the common good is legitimate. Authority cannot treat free persons as mere robots, since it is precisely meant for their service.

To avoid the political community being ruined while everyone follows their own opinion, an authority is needed to guide the energies of all towards the common good, not mechanically or despotically, but by acting above all as a moral force based on freedom and a sense of responsibility.

The core point is that the State, like the Church, receives its authority from God. Therefore, the State has a duty of obedience to God, obedience which cannot be arbitrarily limited to what can be known by reason, excluding Revelation. So, Pope Leo XIII says, the State has duties, among these, to profess, protect, and foster religion, and not just any religion, but the true Faith.

The dictates of civil authority can bind in conscience only when they agree with the Law of God. If there is a conflict between human and divine law, a Christian must always obey God rather than men.

The state must regulate social life and serve society. Rulers must avoid disorders in the exercise of civic rights. They must ensure that the private interests of some individuals do not prevail over the rest, and that there is due harmony between the reciprocal rights and duties of each person.

Human dignity demands that the state respect the moral dignity of the person, which has been granted by God himself. The state must thus strive to build a healthy moral environment, which will encourage citizens to practice virtue.

Ordinarily, state authorities must encourage personal and social initiatives, rather than take their place. The state must coordinate and direct these according to the interests of the common good. In this field, the function of the state must be guided by the principle of subsidiarity.

As an example, parents are the first and primary educators. Theirs is the ultimate responsibility for the education of their children. Thus, they have the right to delegate part of that education to appropriate educational institutions that agree with their moral and religious convictions. This is no right of the state, whose role is to facilitate the exercise of this primary and inalienable parental right, instead of encroaching upon it.

Pope Leo XIII condemned the vision of freedom of speech and opinion as indifference or equivalence among all religions.
“The Church considers it unlawful to place the various forms of divine worship on the same footing as the true religion. The Church does not condemn those rulers who, for the sake of securing some great good, or of avoiding some great evil, allow patiently custom or usage to be a kind of consent for each kind of religion having its place in the State.”

Pope Leo compared the relationship between the Church and the State to the harmony between the soul and the body. Thus, the State’s indifference toward God and true religion brings evil consequences.

Thus, for the good of society, a synthesis must be integrated of the whole magisterium on Church, State, and religious liberty.

May 26 Mon - How should the teaching on the Mystical Body shape our lives?

 

May 26 Mon
How should the teaching on the Mystical Body shape our lives?
When there is less fraternal affection and less concern for souls, when charity starts to grow cold, then it is a sign that the interior life is weakening. St Augustine says: Let your charity include everyone, if you truly want to love Christ, because Christ's members are scattered over the whole earth. If you love only a part of the Body, you are separated from the Body. If you are separated, you are not in the Body. If you are not in the Body, you do not receive the vital influence of the Head, Christ.

As our Lord's arms were wide open on the Cross, so too our hearts should be open to everyone. Our spirit should be to understand, excuse, and forgive... Your love should cover all the deficiencies of human wretchedness. We don't want to show indifference to anyone; on the contrary, we should always try to see Christ in others.

Each day, our work is carried out amid the hundreds of people who cross our path from the moment we wake up in the morning until we finish our day: relatives, domestic staff, colleagues, clients, and friends. We must recognize Christ in each of them, seeing Jesus, our brother, in each one. Then it will be easier to serve them generously, attentively, affectionately, with peace and joy.

Within the general duty to love all souls, the dogma of the Communion of Saints involves a practical requirement that should be reflected in our daily conduct: the obligation of bearing proper witness to Christ. St. Josemaría wrote in one of his Letters: “Each of us acts in a personal and responsible way. We must try to set a good example for each person and for society as a whole. A Christian cannot be an ‘individualist’, forgetting the needs of others. He cannot live selfishly, with his back turned on the world. He is essentially social, a responsible member of Christ's Mystical Body.

The Communion of Saints; how shall I explain it to you? You know what blood transfusions do for the body. Well, that's what the Communion of Saints does for the soul.
Just as a blood transfusion helps to give life to every last cell of the body, so our concern for souls must extend to everyone, all of Christ's members scattered throughout the world. But our first concern should be to look after and help the lives of the others closest to us. That is how we fulfil the New Commandment.

Live a special Communion of Saints, and at the moments of interior struggle, as well as during the long hours of your work, each of us will feel the joy and strength of not being alone.
Everything we do, good or bad, has its effect on others. None of us is an isolated piece. If you stop, you make everyone else stop. And you have no right to destroy the souls of others!

We are responsible, despite our passions, for the holiness of others, for the effectiveness of all. We cannot let souls down; we mustn't cause harm to others. Our example must be constant.
We will find it easier to do our duty if we think of how others are helping us, and of the help we fail to give them if we are not faithful.

May 25 Sun - What will the Holy Spirit do for me?

 

May 25 Sun
What will the Holy Spirit do for me?
The Magisterium of the Church is the teaching authority of the pope and bishops.
If asked what must be believed or what must be done to be saved, people on their own will come up with a thousand different answers. Some will be flat wrong. Some will impose unnecessary burdens. Some will only make sense at one time in history. Some will zero in on one true aspect of the faith to the exclusion of the others. This is why there have been thousands of denominations of our separated brethren.

The Church did not want to impose any unnecessary burdens on Gentile converts.
All of us, the laity living in the secular world, do not want to separate ourselves from the people around us, but embrace whatever is normal, only rejecting what offends faith or morals.

Through the Holy Spirit, and in Jesus Christ, God strengthens us with His grace. God also has revealed mysteries we could never have discovered on our own.
The greatest mystery is that within the only one God is a trinity of Persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
If we love the Son and keep his word, the Son and the Father will love us and make their dwelling with us and send us the Holy Spirit as our advocate and teacher.
Peace and joy are the consequences of this indwelling of the Blessed Trinity in us.

As the weeks of Easter roll on, the Church begins to draw our attention to Christ’s Ascension and then to the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Church at Pentecost.

In our Gospel reading today, Our Lord tells the Apostles that “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”
At work since creation, having previously ‘spoken through the prophets,’ the Spirit will now be with and in the disciples, to teach them and guide them into all the truth.

Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Paraclete (meaning, “he who is called to one’s side” or “ad-vocatus.”) The Holy Spirit is at our side, speaking to us and on our behalf, as “consoler” and “spirit of truth.”

The work of the Holy Spirit in our interior lives is to transform us into “other christs.” Part of it is to prove we are wrong about sin. We are wrong when we think that sin is our salvation, and that sin will make us happier.

In reality, salvation is from Jesus, whom the Father sent. And the Consoler gives the human heart grace for repentance and conversion.

When the Holy Spirit proves us wrong about sin, we receive a double gift: the gift of the truth of conscience, and the gift of the certainty of redemption.

The truth of conscience is that we see that our sins are wrong.

The certainty of redemption is that through Christ, we have God’s forgiveness. This is true consolation.

We are foolish (and unnecessarily so) if we feel we have to hide our sins from ourselves, if we dread admitting them to God, and if we do not want to accuse ourselves of them in the confessional.
The Holy Spirit will help our reason and our memory so we can properly make this judgment of conscience.

At the same time, the Holy Spirit reminds us that Christ came to redeem sinners.

This is why we should resolve to examine our consciences daily and to confess our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation regularly.

May 24 Sat - Will the Pope solve all the problems?

 

May 24 Sat
Will the Pope solve all the problems?
Christ established the papacy as the Church’s firm foundation, a rock, to proclaim His saving doctrine. The Pope’s first and fundamental responsibility is to preserve and hand on the deposit of Faith. He doesn’t need to be a great orator, or theologian, or administrator, or diplomat – however beneficial those gifts might be. He does need to confirm us in the faith.

Looking back on the past twelve years, it becomes clear that every pontificate was not a day longer or shorter than God willed it to be. So, while sober and respectful analysis of any pope was warranted, complaining in a self-centered way about “how sick I am of this Pope” was a rebellion against God’s will, against His permissive will to allow evils in the Church, and His perfect will for us to glorify Him by suffering them well. There is a difference between recognizing human injustice objectively, and whining and raging as though we can stand righteously before God and tell him, “Your chastisements are unjust.”

In the Church’s trials, our focus should be on the suffering of Christ rather than our inordinate self-love. One who suffers with Christ is not impatient.

Even Pope Paul VI did not hide his pain and anguish: ‘Given the situation in the Church today, we have the impression that through some cracks in the wall the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God: There is doubt, uncertainty, questioning, dissatisfaction, confrontation. There is no confidence in the Church. Instead, people put their trust in the first who comes along to talk to us about a newspaper editorial or a social movement, and they run after him to ask him whether he has the formula for true life, ignoring the fact that we already have it, that we are the owners of that formula.’

We should pray and fast for the present Pope Leo XIV out of love for the Church, but we should not expect the Pope to “save” us, so that we will not have to fight for it, or convert personally. The Church is as holy as her members. Likewise, we should not complacently put our hope in a reaction against the sins of previous generations. Every generation has its problems. Only a worldly man trusts in a pendulum.

If the attitude of some during the previous pontificate was one of complaint against God’s will or distrust in Providence, let us resolve to start fresh with the present Pope. We must be part of the solution rather than the problem. That does not mean merely speaking against the errors we hate, but living a Christian life, offering mortifications, and committing to a heroic prayer life.

Conclusion: Even if the present Pope is a saint, he cannot sanctify the Church alone.
Do not be afraid to accept your responsibilities: the Church needs you; she needs your commitment and generosity; the Pope needs you, and, at the beginning of this new period, he is asking you to live the Gospel on the paths of the world.
Illustration: Ancient ivory carving with Christ between St Peter and St Paul.
Some excerpts from Thomas V. Mirus

May 23 Fri - Should I believe in something specific, or just ‘in general’?

 

May 23 Fri
Should I believe in something specific, or just ‘in general’?
The Lord said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Now, it’s a terrible thing to call this Apostle “Doubting Thomas.” Yes, he was “unbelieving.” But that wasn’t the end of his story. He proclaimed the Gospel in distant lands and was martyred for Christ. He should also be remembered for that.

Of course, there’s no getting away from Thomas’s doubt: I will not believe. But Thomas’s error is entirely to our benefit, as it was ultimately to his. It teaches us what it means to believe.

First, faith comes from the Church. Thomas did not believe that the disciples had seen the Lord, that Jesus was risen from the dead. But more to the point, he did not believe the testimony of the Church. For when the disciples say to Thomas, “We have seen the Lord,” it is in effect the Church herself bearing witness to the Resurrection. It is the Church announcing what is to be believed. Thomas doesn’t believe in the Resurrection because he doesn’t accept the Church’s witness.

The only way we know our Lord and His teachings is through His Church. To believe doesn’t mean to prove it for ourselves, as Thomas wanted to do. It means to receive and to accept what the Church believes and teaches. An individual’s act of faith is inseparable from the Church’s faith.

Once, when defending her conversion to Catholicism, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton blurted out to a relative, I believe everything the Council of Trent teaches – and I have not even read it! That sounds crazy to our individualistic culture. But it captures the truth that our faith rests not on our cleverness or human proofs, but on the Church’s authoritative teaching. It is the Church that believes first. Each of us can say ‘I believe’ only because the Church first says ‘We believe’.

Second, faith has content. The disciples proclaimed to Thomas a specific truth: the Resurrection. And Thomas made this article of faith even more specific: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” This is faith not only in the Resurrection but in the physical resurrection.

We don’t believe in God in some vague or general way. We believe in a particular, specific God, Who has revealed Himself by word and deed, and is known by the articles of the Creed.

It’s silly to exhort someone to “Just believe!” or “Have faith!” Believe what? Faith in whom? The content of faith makes all the difference. It determines whether we have faith at all. To believe in the triune God gives us the truth and leads us to salvation. To believe in error or merely to have religious opinions leads us astray, no matter how well-intentioned we may be.

This fuzziness about faith leads inevitably to the notion that all religions are the same, just different paths to God. This trivialization of belief insults members of other religions (“You’re Muslim? What a coincidence, I’m Catholic!”). More importantly, it fails to take our faith seriously. We don’t believe in our own ideas about God. We believe in the one true God, Who has revealed Himself to us and taught us how to live in union with Him.

May 22 Thu - How does the Mass begin?

 

May 22 Thu
How does the Mass begin?
The Holy Mass is celebrated normally in a building set aside for the cult; thus, the church building is sacred. It deserves respect. No matter how grandiose the building is, how ancient and venerable, or how modern, the church is never a museum or merely a work of architecture to be admired. It is always an icon of the living Church where the people of God is gathered.

The church building is a space for communion among the faithful and, above all, with Jesus Christ. We go there to find God, to adore Him, to praise Him, to talk to Him, and to listen to the teaching of the Church through the legitimate pastors. In it, we are strengthened by the Eucharist, our faith is renewed, and the Gospel becomes life in our souls.

The introductory rites of the Mass have twofold purposes: to make the faithful come together and take on the form of a community, and to help them prepare themselves to listen to God’s word and celebrate the Eucharist properly. These parts are integrated by the following elements: Entrance Song, Veneration of the Altar, Greeting of the Congregation, Penitential Rite, Kyrie, Gloria, and the Opening Prayer or Collect.

The celebration of the Mass begins with the entrance of the priest and ministers. This procession toward the altar symbolizes the journey of the pilgrim Church toward heaven. The symbolism is still clearer when the cross and the Book of the Gospel are brought: Christ, Redeemer and Teacher, assures us a safe arrival. The standing attitude of the faithful manifests both respect for the priest, the minister of Christ, and the desire to participate in the celebration.

Let us reconstruct one of the Sunday gatherings of the fifth or sixth century in Rome. The people have taken their places in the church. The service is about to begin. The door of the secretarium (where the Roman pontiff and his suite vest themselves) is opened. The procession moves down the nave, while the schola sings the psalm of entry: the Introit. The pontiff is preceded by a solemn procession of his attendant clergy, deacons, and acolytes. A subdeacon walks at the head of the procession swinging the censer. Then in front of the celebrant and the deacons come seven acolytes, each holding lighted candles. These seven flames are a reminder of the visions of St John recorded in the Apocalypse, in which the apostle calls Christ “He who walks amidst the seven golden candlesticks.” A young cleric reverently carries the Book of the Gospels, which is placed on the altar.

Psalms are chanted by alternating choirs—in antiphonal style, as it is called. These psalms are specially chosen for their consonance with the underlying intention of the day’s Mass. They are joyous in Advent; on a saint’s day, they acclaim his glorious triumph; and when the Epiphany and the Transfiguration are being commemorated, their theme is the royalty of Christ. This was how the Introit became an entrance song or introduction.

In our time, there is but a vestige of this impressive rite; by a few brief words, the entrance song states the theme or point of emphasis of the Mass formulary, which it opens. It intensifies the unity of the gathered people, leads our thoughts to the mystery of the season or feast, and accompanies the procession of the priest and ministers.

In Masses with a congregation, the priest and ministers may go to the altar in this order: a server with a lighted censer, two servers with lighted candles and between them a server carrying the cross, other ministers, a reader with the Book of the Gospels, and the priest.

May 21 Wed - In his Passion, was Jesus sad or in distress?

 

May 21 Wed
In his Passion, was Jesus sad or in distress?

Sadness is a response to loss, a pain of the soul, which, like physical pain, serves as an alarm bell, redirecting our attention to prevent a possible danger. A bad kind of human sadness, if not managed, can lead to discouragement, depression, and a sense of being weighed down by sorrow.

Jesus fully embraced human nature, including the capacity to experience emotions. As man, He is distressed; as man, He weeps; as man, He is crucified. During his Passion, Jesus experienced a particular kind of profound sadness and distress. Saint Mark renders this, in the original text of the Gospel, as ἐκθαμβεῖσθαι (he was greatly awe-struck) καὶ ἀδημονεῖν (and deeply distressed).

By experiencing human emotions, Jesus demonstrates his solidarity with humanity. He understands our pain and suffering because He has experienced them himself.

In the agony in the garden, the Lord, moved by a natural human resistance, wished to put aside suffering, but He fully accepted the will of the Father. Moved by his free human will, Christ felt “the anguish of death” before his Passion; at the same time, He freely submitted his human will to his divine will and accepted death on the cross.

The agony (or combat) was the struggle between the sensitive appetite in our Lord, which naturally shrank from suffering and death, and their superior will, which voluntarily accepted the divine decree.

Unlike ours, Jesus’ anguish was always perfectly controlled by reason and directed toward the good.

Perhaps the most profound suffering was Jesus' sense of abandonment, by which He cried on the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Many were the sufferings of Jesus, and whenever we listen to the account of the Passion, they pierce our hearts. There were sufferings of the body: let us think of the slaps and beatings, the flogging and the crowning with thorns, and in the end, the cruelty of the crucifixion.

There were also sufferings of the soul: the betrayal of Judas, the denials of Peter, the condemnation of the religious and civil authorities, the mockery of the guards, the jeering at the foot of the cross, the rejection of the crowd, utter failure, and the flight of the disciples. Yet, amid all these sorrows, Jesus remained certain of one thing: the closeness of God the Father.

Jesus' cry on the Cross was not the cry of anguish of a sad man without hope, but the prayer of the Son who offered his life to the Father in love, for the salvation of all. At the very moment when He takes on the burden of our sins, "abandoned" by the Father, He "abandons" himself into the hands of the Father. His eyes remain fixed on the Father.

We can ask ourselves, how could Jesus experience at the same time his profound unity with the Father, by its very nature a source of joy and happiness, and an agony that goes all the way to his final cry of abandonment? The simultaneous presence of these two seemingly irreconcilable aspects is rooted in the fathomless depths of the union of his divine and human nature.

His unwavering love for the Father and his humanity shone through his suffering.

When affected by the bad type of sadness, we must try to accept the trial and offer to God the suffering we experience. Prayer, faith, and seeking God's consolation are key to navigating sadness in a healthy and constructive way, identifying ourselves with the will of God.

“Sadness, which is a vice, is caused by a disordered self-love, and this self-love is not a special vice, but the general root of the vices.” This statement by St. Thomas could surprise us if we think, for example, of someone suffering because of the death of a loved one. In reality, such a situation would not necessarily bring sadness in that sense, but rather sorrow, which is not the same thing.
It is a common experience that not all sorrow or all renunciation causes sadness, especially when they are accepted with love and for love. Thus, a mother’s sacrifices for her children, at times very great, can produce pain and sorrow, but without causing sadness.” Msgr. Ocáriz

May 20 Tue - Can the Pope be wrong?

 

May 20 Tue
Can the Pope be wrong?
Jesus Christ promised a specific authority over the Church to St. Peter. Among the apostles, Peter received a very special mission and authority (it is also a service, the Petrine ministry) that was directly passed on to his successors.

Christ, the “living stone” (1 Pet 2:4), assured his Church (built upon Peter) victory over the powers of death. Peter, Jesus said, will have the mission of guarding the faith and confirming his brothers in the same faith.

Thus, Peter’s successor, the Pope, is the visible head of the Church and her universal government; he is the Vicar of Christ on earth. He is also the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity of the Church, both among the bishops and among all the faithful.

By his primacy, the Roman Pontiff has several proper and exclusive prerogatives:
•  He feeds, rules, and governs the entire universal Church; his authority is also direct over each of the faithful. He is the visible source of unity.
•  He is also the visible head of the Church of Rome as a particular church.

The Catholic Church affirms the doctrine of papal infallibility under specific conditions.
This means that the Pope is protected from error when he speaks definitively on matters of faith and morals as the supreme pastor and teacher of the Church. However, the Pope is not infallible in everything he may say or do.

Conditions for Papal Infallibility:

Subject Matter: The Pope must be speaking on a matter of faith or morals

Capacity: He must be speaking in his official capacity as the supreme pastor and teacher of the Church, not as a private individual or theologian.

Intention: It must be clear that he intends to teach with the fullness and finality of his supreme Apostolic authority, defining a doctrine in an absolutely final and irrevocable way.

Binding the whole Church: The Pope must clearly intend to bind the whole Church to accept the teaching.

How is infallibility exercised?
When the Pope speaks "ex cathedra" (from the chair), meaning when, in the exercise of his office as pastor and teacher of all Christians, he defines, by his supreme Apostolic authority, a doctrine of faith or morals to be held by the whole Church. Such definitions are non-reformable of their own nature.

The Second Vatican Council's Lumen Gentium explains that the infallibility promised to the Church also resides in the body of bishops when, together with Peter's successor, they exercise the supreme Magisterium, especially in an Ecumenical Council.

Limits of Infallibility: Infallibility does not mean the Pope is incapable of sinning (that would be impeccability) or that he receives divine inspiration for every utterance. Not every statement or action by the Pope is considered infallible. It applies only to his ex cathedra teaching. Other teachings of the pope must be received with due respect.

No doctrine is understood as defined infallibly unless this is manifestly evident.

The Pope's ex cathedra teaching does not need ratification by the Church to be infallible. The International Theological Commission notes that papal definitions "in themselves and not in virtue of the consensus of the Church" are infallible. This doesn't make the consensus of the Church superfluous, but affirms the authority belonging to the Pope by his specific ministry.

May 19 Mon - What can I do about laziness?

 

May 19 Mon
What can I do about laziness?

Christian life demands a constant struggle against difficulties and temptations.
When we allow ourselves to be dominated by a comfortable lifestyle, negligent tiredness, and inconstancy, laziness appears.

Laziness (or sloth) is a repugnance of the soul to work’s efforts and difficulties necessary to acquire and preserve the virtues, or to fulfill one’s moral obligations.
Laziness when related to our obligations towards God is called tepidity.

It can be manifested as an "I-don't-care feeling" or sadness when facing a spiritual good that one needs to achieve.

It can also appear as spiritual apathy, by showing displeasure and aversion to attentive prayer and growth in one's relationship with God.

Laziness can lead to neglect of one's duties due to the labor they require. It can also result in depression, due to lax ascetical practice, decreasing vigilance, and carelessness of the heart.

Sloth, or laziness, is considered one of the seven capital sins, while diligence is a virtue that opposes it.

A lazy person is not only one who spends his time without doing anything, but also one who undertakes many random things but refuses to fulfill his concrete obligations. He chooses his occupations according to the caprice of the moment. He accomplishes them without energy, and the minimum difficulty is sufficient to change his work.

The lazy person is incapable of undertaking continuous, profound work and finishing it. He doesn’t set the last stones to what he has begun. The Lord refers to the punishment the lazy person deserves: Every tree that does not bear fruit will be felled and thrown into the fire.

Laziness can be a mortal sin if it leads someone to defy a serious obligation willingly, or if it causes distress at the prospect of what one must do for God.

Overcoming laziness requires patience, accepting the dark night of faith, setting practical goals, and relying on Jesus. Perseverance, even when one is not acknowledged or mistreated, is essential.

To fight laziness, we must consider the work of Jesus Christ, the dangers it brings about, and the grandeur of the eternal reward.
We must consider that time belongs to God, we are just borrowing it; we must administer it and bear fruit. Every second is valuable for eternity.

Diligence in work, beginning with enthusiasm, is equivalent to having done more than half.

Intense work doesn’t mean activism. Precipitation is a way of wasting your time. Things must be done with order, devoting to them the time their importance may require.

We must fight from the first moment of the day, getting up on time, at a fixed time, without yielding a minute to laziness. If, with God’s help, you overcome yourself, you will have a lot advanced for the rest of the day.

Get rid of useless thoughts. Avoid idleness, considering that resting is not “doing nothing” but engaging in activities that demand less effort, like playing sports or cultivating a hobby.

Laziness, fueled by pride, can lead to the death of the soul.
It causes one to neglect necessary tasks, become indecisive, and give in to lower desires.
The sluggard avoids work and ultimately suffers the consequences of their inaction.

Diligence is related to industriousness. It involves attentiveness to one's business and a willingness to work to support oneself and others.

True progress in spiritual life comes not from multiplying ecstasies, but from persevering through difficult times in our duties.

May 18 Sun - What is Christ’s New Commandment?

 

May 18 Sun
What is Christ’s New Commandment?

Christ reveals his New Commandment to his closest disciples at the Last Supper. This command is not “one more thing” to do. It is the one thing to do. It is the one command that sums up the two commandments (to love God above all and neighbor as oneself), that encompasses the Ten Commandments, and that summarizes the entire moral law.

We are to love each other. What is the love we are talking about? It is to give true good to another.

It is new because the model for loving one another is ‘the way Christ loved’. How did He love? He laid down his life in the most painful, gruesome death. So, real love is giving yourself without conditions, until it hurts.

It is what mothers and fathers do for their families, what true friends do for one another, what soldiers do for their country, what artists do for their art.

With this same love, Christ honors his Father, and how the Father is pleased with his Son.

So, we can summarize the entire moral law and the entire mode of living of a follower of Christ in this New Commandment: Love one another with a sacrificial love.

Doing the right thing for another, acting for another person’s true good, is often hard because we are selfish, pleasure-seeking, weak, angry, indifferent, and more.

We might think of heaven as a place of great beauty and happiness of every kind. It is that. But it is the place where love dwells.

Practical application: to live the New Commandment, we must know first what is ‘a loving thing’. Usually, this is obvious. If your child is sick, you take care of him. If your elderly neighbor is struggling to carry something, you offer to help her. Some people are experts at making other people happy by giving of themselves.

However, sometimes it is hard to know what the right thing to do is. Should I quit my job because it is hurting my family life? Should I move somewhere else for the sake of my family? What profession should I choose to best serve others?
So, to love, we need prudence and justice. Justice is giving others what you owe them, and Christ is saying we owe each other ‘love’. Prudence is sound decision-making.

The second part of living the New Commandment is making the sacrifice. Doing the true good of the other will cost us a tiny amount or a great deal. This is where the virtues of temperance and fortitude are vital. Temperance is the habit by which we postpone or forgo some pleasure for a good reason. Fortitude is doing the right thing even though it might be hard or we might be afraid to. This is one reason the Church gives us forty days of Lent every year and why she asks us to practice a little Lent often.

If love is the game, then the ascetical life is the training, calisthenics, coaching, and practice sessions we need to play that game.

When we love one another–and this takes sacrifice–not only do we fulfill the New Commandment, but we make a little bit of heaven present on earth.

May 17 Sat - What should be the goal of every Christian?

 

May 17 Sat
What should be the goal of every Christian?
A Christian has received in baptism the gift of sanctifying grace, which makes him participate in the divine nature, and enables him to act in a divine manner. This divine life, as it happened with natural life, is destined to grow through prayer, the sacraments, and the exercise of the supernatural virtues.

Life is not only fighting against sin; it is not something negative. The life of a Christian must be centered in Jesus Christ, who understands us because He is our friend, knows our worries, our needs, and our feelings.

Christian life is destined to grow, because it is based on love; it is destined to spread around. Love either grows or weakens. With the good kind of love, we are raised up to God; with the bad one, we sink into the abyss. If you say enough, you are lost. Grow, keep on advancing, always; don’t remain idle. Help others to come to Love.

The goal of every Christian is to be holy and to help sanctify others.

“Whoever has the word of wisdom, but does not want to use it for the good of his neighbor, is like the person who puts his money into a purse, and then keeps it permanently closed. Hidden wisdom and concealed treasure, what advantage is there in either of them?" St Gregory taught.

When anyone has something good, when they are happy, when they know they are fortunate, they strive to share that blessing and joy with others.

“Aren't you saddened to see so many restless young people around you searching vainly for an ideal? Shout to them: ‘Fools! Leave those petty things that shrink your heart... and very often degrade it. Leave all that and come with us in search of Love!’"

Our desire to identify ourselves with Christ leads us to feel responsible for the salvation of all souls. We can't limit ourselves to helping just one person or a few people to seek sanctity, with false excuses that would denote weak love. We must find a way to reach many souls. The cry of countless anguished voices reaches us, clamoring from the darkness of their lives for a worthwhile ideal. How many people who cross our path await only an encouraging word, a kind look, or our clear example, in order to resolve to love God above all things and serve others for God! “Not a single soul - not one - can be a matter of indifference to you.”

Our personal Christian vocation is a flame that must spread, turning our lives and the lives of those around us into an ever-burning ember. This is “the personal apostolate that each one tries to carry out continually, as though always hearing those divine words: I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and would that it were already kindled!"

This apostolic concern should shape our whole life. The sight of a world straying from God has to be a constant spur for us. Our task is immense and pressing: we are called to restore Christian meaning to the lives of so many people who impatiently await a friend's conversation, full of supernatural outlook. Then, as they begin to grasp the divine meaning of their daily lives, we have to be at hand to guide them.

Our life, in sum, is to be mediators between God and others by our identification with Christ. If we live in this way, we'll bring back joy to countless people and guide them on the path to salvation.

But everything depends on our falling more and more in love with our Lord, identifying ourselves with him. Bringing Christ to souls, and souls to Christ, gives meaning to our lives. All contrary to it, is worthless, and we get rid of it so as not to distort the brightness of the divine message.

May 16 Fri - Does sin make us all spies?

 

May 16 Fri
Does sin make us all spies?
Judas betrayed Jesus. We all do.

Judas, a close follower of Jesus and part of His inner circle, ultimately turned against Him. His decision to betray Jesus was hidden, secretive, and deceptive, reflecting a dark desire to turn his back on both Jesus and the apostles.

The sin of Judas was serious, but did Jesus need Judas to betray Him to save the world? No, Jesus is God and could have chosen any way to save humanity. The Jewish hierarchy was already plotting Jesus' death, and Judas merely facilitated their plans. At this point, Judas became a spy, waiting for the right moment to hand Jesus over.

Judas was close to Jesus but ultimately turned his back on Him. Those committed to living the Faith—through daily prayer, attending Mass, and following the Church's teachings—must recognize the temptation to become like Judas. Understanding his character can help us avoid such choices.

Judas possessed a heroic and holy quality that prompted Jesus to call him. This potential resides in everyone. He witnessed Jesus' miracles and profound sermons, surely feeling awe for a Man who captivated minds and transformed lives.

After Mary anointed Jesus' feet with expensive perfume, Judas criticized her, questioning why the oil wasn't sold to benefit the poor. The Gospel notes that Judas didn't care for the poor; he was a thief who stole from the money bag.

The desire for monetary stability and the influence of Jesus’ ministry outweighed showing reckless love and honor to Christ. Judas, familiar with money, had an unhealthy attachment, as evidenced by his betrayal for 30 pieces of silver.

Jesus predicted Peter's denial and foresaw that one of His disciples, who shared the first Eucharist with Him, would betray Him to His enemies.

How often do we partake of Holy Communion and then quickly deny Christ through anger, gossip, lust, and pride? We can also apply the words of Jesus to Judas to our own hearts. He told Judas and the Twelve that temptation was coming. And yet, they still chose it.

Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, mocking their relationship and signaling to the Jewish leaders who to arrest.

Proximity to Jesus doesn't guarantee holiness. Spending time with Him doesn't free us from mocking Him through our actions. We must continue fighting. While we may not formally deny Him, do we reject Him in our words and actions toward others?

Finally, the end of Judas’ life is detailed for us:

Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, deeply regretted what he had done. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? Look to it yourself.” Flinging the money into the temple, he departed and went off and hanged himself.

Judas spied against Christ, rejecting Him after receiving the Eucharist and betraying Him with a kiss. His conscience tormented him afterward, revealing his regret and desire for forgiveness, which he ultimately could not accept. This distinction set Judas apart from Peter, as both disciples rejected Jesus and failed to love Him in His final hours.

One of them believed in the possibility of forgiveness through the love of Jesus, despite his threefold denial. While we fight against sin, we may still occasionally deny Jesus.
We have the opportunity for forgiveness if we transform our regret into genuine repentance and a good confession.

Some excerpts from Thomas Griffin

May 15 Thursday - Why is God always so silent, so far away?

 

May 15 Thursday
Why is God always so silent, so far away?
Why can’t God just come down and talk to me – like a regular guy?”

Here’s the problem. If God showed up “as a regular guy” and said, “Hi, I’m here; you said you wanted to talk,” what would you do? Wouldn’t your first reaction be: “You’re not God. You can’t be God. You’re just a regular guy! You’re just walking on the ground, and you’re getting sweaty in the hot sun, you’re not dazzling white, and you’re even kind of scruffy-looking.”

“Well, you said you wanted to talk to me just like a regular guy. So, I’m a regular guy.”

“Alright,” says God, “what would I need to do to show you?”

“How about some miracles?” you say.

“What kind of miracle do you think would convince you?” asks God.

“Maybe you could zap some people with a lightning bolt,” you say.

“That wouldn’t show that I’m the just, loving God of the Old and New Testament. That would only show that I might be a subordinate deity like Zeus or Apollo.

“Oh, right,” you reply. “Well, how about making a big volcano or a massive earthquake right here in town?”

“So now you want me to kill even more people?” says God. “Destroy countless homes? Unsettle the delicate balance of nature? Would that prove that I’m ‘God,’ or would it show that I’m a very powerful, but bad, deity?”

“How about levitating?” you ask.

“Haven’t you seen magicians do that?” asks God. “And do you want to know whether I’m God, the Creator of All Things, or whether I’m a Marvel superhero?”

You see the problem? What could the Incarnate God do or say to prove to you that He is, in fact, God, and not some person or being pretending to be God? Although you say you want Him to be a “regular guy,” His being a “regular guy” makes it difficult, if not impossible, for you to believe that He is God. And if he does certain “god-like” things like zapping people or showing off His divine power, this would prove that he isn’t the wise, loving God of Christian faith but a demon. So, you’re in kind of a bind.

“I’ve got it,” you say. “How about if you overcome death?”

“Just for you, or for everyone?” asks God.

Having become wiser to the fact that if you say, “Just me,” and He says okay, this would show that He is an evil deity, tempting you, not the God of all Goodness. So, you say: “Everyone.”

“Do you want me to keep everyone alive for all eternity, getting older and older with no new children so the world doesn’t get jammed?”

That doesn’t make immortality sound as good as you thought it would, so you ask: “Isn’t there some other way?”

“Yes,” says God, “but you’d have to get beyond death into a different kind of life.”

“That sounds good,” you say. “What would this different kind of life be like? Would there still be burritos and margaritas and puppies?”

“Nothing good in this world could be absent in the next, since you would be united with the Source of the Goodness of all that is good.”

“Okay, that’s good,” you say. “So, how do you show that you’ve conquered death for us?”

“Well,” says God. “To show it, I’d have to die and then rise from the dead to make possible your entry into this new life.”

“Wait,” you say. “If you die, then we’re back to the original problem. People won’t know that you’re God. Gods don’t die. You’d look like you were just a guy who died.”

“Any better ideas about how I could show people that I love them so much that I am willing to die for them, and that I can help them overcome sin and death, but they have to selfishness, and give themselves selflessly to others, even in the face of the threat of suffering and death? Because zapping people or earthquakes or flying around and shooting laser beams out of my eyes won’t show what I want to show.”

So maybe, since you’re God, and you’re, like, all-wise and stuff, maybe we should just go with your dying and rising-from-the-dead thing.”
Excerpts from Randall Smith

May 14 Wednesday - How can I be happy when facing problems?

 

May 14 Wednesday
How can I be happy when facing problems?
Sacrifice brings joy, since it unites us to Christ on the Cross and leads us to achieve our end.
We must work with our eyes set on heaven, and we cannot allow anyone or anything to slow us down. We will reach our goal because heaven is pledged to its fulfillment. No sacrifice will seem too great for us if we have set our hearts to attain our aim.

Saint Josemaría: “We can understand the emotion which a poor priest felt some time ago when he heard within his soul the divine locution: ‘I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.’ At the same time, he saw the meaning that our Lord wanted to give those words of Scripture: we have to put Christ at the summit of all human activity. He understood clearly that, by our ordinary work in the very heart of civil society, we have to reconcile the world to God in such a way that worldly things, while remaining worldly, are at the same time turned into something sacred, consecrated to God, the end of all things."

This is our goal: that all creation should give glory to God, and that we should be happy in heaven. What we give up is very little. We should give ourselves entirely, joyfully uniting our sufferings to the sufferings of Christ on the Cross.

Thus, optimism will ensue in the face of difficulties.
“It is true: we are worth nothing, we are nothing, we can do nothing, we have nothing. And, at the same time, during our daily struggle, obstacles and temptations are not lacking." But we should continue relying on Him, because you, Lord, are our strength.

This is the source of our optimism and daring whenever we face obstacles.
The victory of Christ over the devil, sin, and death is the guarantee of our victory if we truly rely on Him. Still, “Without the firm resolve to do your part, all the spiritual resources in the world would go for nothing. Recall the phrase which you frequently see engraved on old daggers: ‘Don't rely on me if you lack a stout heart.’"

If we keep this marvelous supernatural perspective of the love of Christ, of co-redemption, and of the sanctification of all human realities, no suffering in this life will discourage us. On the contrary, it will fill us with optimism, because it guarantees that we are fulfilling a divine mission, united to Christ on the Cross.

As Saint Josemaría told us, “to find the Cross is to find Christ. And with Him, there is always joy, even when we are faced with injustice, misunderstanding, or physical suffering.
“Optimism? Yes, always! Even when things seem to turn out badly, perhaps that is the time to break into a song, with a Gloria, because you have sought refuge in him, and nothing but good can come to you from Him."

“Beside the Cross of Christ stands our Mother Mary, who encourages us and assures us of her constant, all-powerful intercession on our behalf."

May 13 Tuesday - Why does Our Lady urge us to make reparation for sins?

 

May 13 Tuesday
Why does Our Lady urge us to make reparation for sins?
In her apparitions at Fatima, the Blessed Virgin insisted on the urgency of making reparation for the sins that are committed throughout the world. In the third apparition, on the 13th of July, the shepherd children say that she asked them for sacrifices for the conversion of sinners; at the same time, she showed them the torments suffered by the damned. And in August, she once again insisted: “Pray, pray a lot, and do sacrifices for sinners, because many souls are going to hell because they have no one who sacrifices himself and prays for them."

These words should ring in the hearts of all Christians, but especially in those of us who truly wish to care for souls. And not this alone - they should move us to make very specific resolutions to make atonement to our Lord with our whole life.

“The situation is serious, my daughters and sons, Saint Josemaría said. The whole battle front is threatened. Let it not be breached because of one of us... How many offences against God are there! We are as fragile, and even more fragile, than others; but we have a commitment of Love; we must now give our existence a sense of reparation. Sacred and Merciful Heart of Jesus, give us peace!"

“We have repaid light with darkness. We have repaid generosity with egoism. We have repaid love with coldness and contempt. Do not be ashamed to acknowledge our constant misery; rather, let us ask for forgiveness."

“Every day, I become more aware of these realities, and every day, I am seeking more intimacy with God in reparation and atonement. Let us place before Him the number of souls being lost and would not have to be lost if they had not been exposed. They are souls that have abandoned the Faith, since nowadays one can make unrestricted propaganda of every type of falsehood and heresy; souls that have been scandalized by so much apostasy and by so much malice; souls that have been deprived of the help of the Sacraments and of sound doctrine..."

“Through the intercession of Holy Mary and of the Holy Patriarch, Saint Joseph, ask our Lord to increase our spirit of reparation, that we have sorrow for our sins and that we know how to have recourse to the Sacrament of Penance."

In Fatima, the summons to penance is maternal; and, at the same time, it is energetic and resolute... The call to penance is united, as always, with a call to prayer. Following a tradition of many centuries, the Lady of the message of Fatima points out the Rosary, which can rightly be defined as 'the prayer of Mary', the prayer in which she feels particularly united to us. She herself prays with us.

Our Lady has often recommended praying the Rosary: to win peace for the world: “To pray the Holy Rosary, considering the mysteries, repeating the Our Father and Hail Mary, with the praises to the Blessed Trinity and the constant invocation to the Mother of God, is a continuous act of faith, hope and love, of adoration and reparation."

Saint Josemaría: “I repeat to the Blessed Virgin many times each day, in different tones - some asking for help, others thanking her, but always with Love - Mother, my Mother! That is what I am saying to Our Lady of Fatima."

May 12 Monday - What is the main apostolate of Opus Dei?

 

May 12 Monday
What is the main apostolate of Opus Dei?
The Ethiopian was reading a passage from the Bible. Then Philip, beginning with this Scripture, told him the good news of Jesus; he helped him to know Jesus, the incarnate God, and begin to love him.

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Blessed Alvaro del Portillo, Bishop, who presided Opus Dei. Like every Christian, we must spread the good news of Jesus. We must get rid of ignorance through an abundance of revealed doctrine, the truth of Christ. “The Christian apostolate - and I'm talking about an ordinary Christian, living as just one more man or woman among equals - is a great work of teaching. Through real, personal, loyal friendship, you create in others a hunger for God and help them discover new horizons, naturally, simply: with the example of your faith lived to the full, with a loving word which is full of the force of divine truth."

In the Work, “whatever the external forms our apostolates may adopt, they always tend towards one end: that of giving doctrine." We must teach doctrine, taking advantage of every occasion, and making opportunities where none exist.

Saint Josemaría told us: “Build up a store of good doctrine and fill your heads with clear ideas. Absorb our God-given Christian spirit in its fullness so that you can give to others from your abundance. To teach good doctrine, you have to possess it; nobody can give what they don't have. We can’t wait for some inspiration from God, who does not need to give it to us. He has already given us the practical human means: work and study. We must study; we have to learn."
“Ours should be the piety of children and the sure doctrine of theologians."

“If the world has come from God, if He has created man in his image and likeness, and given him a spark of divine light, the task of our intellect should be to uncover the divine meaning embedded in all things, even if this can be attained only by dint of hard work. And with the light of faith, we can also perceive their supernatural purpose, resulting from raising the natural order to the higher order of grace. We can never be afraid of developing human knowledge, because all intellectual effort, if it is serious, is aimed at truth. And Christ has said: I am the Truth."

“The Christian must have a hunger to know. Everything, from the most abstract knowledge to manual techniques, can and should lead to God. For there is no human undertaking that cannot be sanctified, which cannot be an opportunity to sanctify ourselves and to cooperate with God in the sanctification of the people with whom we work. The light of the followers of Jesus Christ should not be hidden in the depths of some valley, but should be placed on the mountain peak, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."

As well as doctrinal formation - indeed, as an integral part of it - we also need the gift of tongues. “Such a gift of tongues does not mean knowing many languages, but knowing how to adapt oneself to the capacities of one's hearers."

“It's not a question of 'simplifying the message to get through to the masses', but of speaking words of wisdom in clear Christian speech that all can understand.
This is the gift of tongues that I ask our Lord and his holy Mother for all their children."

May 11 Sunday - Why is Jesus the Good Shepherd?

 

May 11 Sunday
Why is Jesus the Good Shepherd?
If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine safely on the hills, and go in search of the one that went astray?

Perhaps the sheep that was not with the others in the sheepfold was simply straggling behind. Maybe it was just idly nibbling at the grass along the way, or wandering among the bushes. Or possibly it was already dead, killed by some beast of prey. But no upright shepherd ever abandons a sheep that has gone astray. He leaves the rest of the flock in a safe place and goes off to look for the lost sheep.

Jesus Christ goes in search of the lost sheep, regardless of the difficulties, and he does not give up until He finds it. “Our Lord's perseverance is wonderful! My daughter, my son, if the thought should ever cross your mind, as a diabolical temptation to take your peace away (bear in mind that the devil would strip you, if he could, of all the gifts God has given you, especially faith, purity and vocation); if, as I was saying, you ever suffered the temptation of thinking you had strayed so far from God that you couldn't return, remember how, as in the parable, Christ always goes to look for the soul that has gone astray; and He for his part never denies you the grace to begin again.”

“Then, if you are humble and acknowledge your mistakes, you will persevere. Try to raise your eyes to heaven; don't just look at things from a purely selfish point of view. Have faith and hope, and trust in the love which Jesus has for you. He is the Good Shepherd, and for your sake, He will make his way through crags and ravines, to take you in his arms, hug you to his wounded breast, and urge you to be faithful. It is only if you reject him with a flat "No", or if you are foolishly determined to throw yourself over the precipice, that He will be unable to bring you back to the right path.”

Don't be ashamed of being wretched, if sometimes you are. Don't panic because you find the ‘fomes peccati’ (the inclination of sin) in your heart. Don't be afraid of anything. Be truly faithful! Sincere! Be sincere! Let's have the common sense and the supernatural spirit to realize that God our Father, loves us with a Love that is both fatherly and motherly. Yet He does not force himself on us, he leaves things very much open. And for that very reason, and because you want to be a steady, reliable sheep, with common sense, to let the Good Shepherd work on you.

“Lord, knowing that you are the Good Shepherd and that we are sheep of your flock, how confident we can be, and how easy it is to begin again and persevere!”

“My daughter, my son, if you should ever go astray, either a lot or a little, don't deprive our Lord of the joy of finding you, and of being able to say: ‘Here's a sheep of mine who wants to be faithful, who wants to persevere in my flock’."

May 10 Saturday - Does Jesus want me to go back to Him?

 

May 10 Saturday
Does Jesus want me to go back to Him?
Glory belongs to God alone because He is the Lord of all things.  And on being made man and coming to live among us, He has shown us that we are not on this earth to seek a passing, temporal happiness. We are here to reach eternal happiness, following in his footsteps. And we will only attain this by learning from him.

The world was created for the glory of God. He is the highest good and supreme goodness, and He knows that we can only be happy if we live for him. And the only purpose of created beings, man included, is to give glory to God. We were born to give him glory. “If life did not have as its aim to give glory to God, it would be detestable - even more, loathsome.” St Josemaría.

Thus, our life should be one of continuous praise to God, and redirect ourselves to Him. Because whatever is lovable in us belongs to God. Convinced of this reality, we must not work for our own glory, but to disappear from view; and with our sacrifice, we shall put Christ at the summit of all human activities.

Thus, we shall be, each, an icon of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
It wasn't enough for Jesus merely to show us the way to the richest pastures; nor was He content simply to come into the world in search of the lost sheep. He was not satisfied with dying and rising from the dead for his flock; nor did he stop at giving himself to us - Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity - in the Sacrament of the altar. Knowing our failings and weaknesses, He saw to it that as often as we went astray, we could return to him, cleansed and renewed by the Sacrament of Penance.

“My children, the sacrament of Penance not only serves to forgive sins, be they big or small; it also strengthens our soul for the struggle, renews our sorrow for not having been true to our word, as good children feel sorry at having offended their father.”

“Confession is so helpful! Never neglect it. Foster the devotion of making a good Confession, although there may be nothing grave to accuse yourselves of. Make a good examination of conscience, and you will see things. Above all, you will renew your sorrow for your past sins, and you will receive more grace for the struggle. You will be given some spiritual advice that will set your heart on fire, making you capable of everything good, everything great, whatever requires sacrifice.”

Let us allow ourselves to be guided by the Good Shepherd, to be faithful to our mission. Let us renew every day our "yes" to Christ, and be a worthy sign of his love for every person around us.
Let us tell Him: "Lord, for myself I want nothing. All for your glory and for Love."
Lord, raise up generous souls, ready to be icons of the Good Shepherd, and place themselves totally at the service of the Kingdom of God.

Our Lady lived a hidden existence, and yet her whole life was a constant act of praise, a "yes" to God. _Magnificat anima mea Dominum_, my soul glorifies the Lord. Let us ask her to help us rectify our intention, and go along the right track, many times during the day; and imitating her, let us repeat: _Deo omnis Gloria!_ - all the glory for God.

May 9 Fri - How can I rectify and begin again?

 

May 9 Fri
How can I rectify and begin again?
We must foster hope, despite our defects.
God himself encourages our desires for love and dedication. Possumus! - We can! For we rely on his help, despite our frequent falls. He makes use of our mistakes to help us be humble and begin again.

"What does it matter that we stumble on the way, if we find in the pain of our fall the energy to pick ourselves up and go on with renewed vigor? Don't forget that a saint is not a person who never falls, but rather the one who never fails to get up again, humbly and with holy stubbornness.

If the Book of Proverbs says that the just man falls seven times a day, who are we, poor creatures, you and I, to be surprised or discouraged by our weaknesses and falls? We will be able to keep going ahead, if only we seek our fortitude in him who says: ‘Come to me, all who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest.’ Thank you, Lord, because you, and you alone, my God, have always been my strength, my refuge, and my support."

Our hope must rest on God's desire to share his holiness with us. St Josemaría teaches: “If you want to progress in the interior life, be humble. Turn constantly and confidently to the help of our Lord and of his Blessed Mother, who is your mother too. No matter how much the still open wound of your latest fall may hurt, embrace the cross once more and, calmly, without getting upset, say: ‘With your help, Lord, I'll fight, so as not to be held back. I'll respond faithfully to your invitations. I won't be afraid of steep climbs, nor of the apparent monotony of my daily work, nor of the thistles and loose stones on the way. I know that I am aided by your mercy and that, at the end of the road, I will find eternal happiness, full of joy and love forever and ever.’"

"Therefore, with our heart now fully enkindled, we tell God ‘Yes’, that we want to be faithful and are ready for any sacrifice; we should add: Jesus, with your grace; Mother of mine, with your help. I'm so weak and prone to error, to small mistakes, that I see myself capable of committing big ones, if you leave me. I know I shall succeed, not because I am sure of myself, Jesus, but because I am sure of you."

These good resolutions must be followed by a daily effort to begin again, preparing yourself for the next day's struggle by doing the daily Examination of Conscience.

How can I make the EXAMINATION  OF CONSCIENCE (every evening)?

    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: What have I done wrong? What have I done right? What could I have done better?

•    Examine your conscience with sincerity:
    Did I often consider that God is my Father? Did I offer him my work? Did I make good use of my time? Did I pray slowly and with attention?

    Did I try to make life pleasant for other people? Did I criticize anyone? Was I forgiving? Did I pray and offer some sacrifices for the Church, the Pope and for all those around me?

    Did I allow myself to be carried away by sensuality? By pride?

•    Sorrow. Make an act of contrition, asking our Lord’s pardon.

•    Resolution. Make a specific resolution for tomorrow:
    Staying away from certain temptations.
    Avoiding some specific faults.
    Exerting special effort to practice some virtue.
    Taking advantage of occasions for improvement.

•    Pray three Hail Marys to the Virgin Mary asking for the virtue of purity for yourself and your loved ones.