Nov 15 Sun - What am I doing with my life?

 

Nov 15 Sun

What am I doing with my life? 

The liturgy of the Church reaches the end of the liturgical year, encouraging us to consider the last things, the eternal truths that greatly benefit our souls. The Second Reading of the Mass (1 Thess 5:1-6) tells us that the Lord's return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.

The Gospel also teaches us (Mt 25:14-30) that life on earth is a time to administer the Lord's inheritance, and thus gain Heaven, happiness forever. The parable tells us about a man who left the care of his goods to his employees while he was absent. Its meaning is very clear: The servants are us; talents are the conditions with which God has endowed each one; the time of the master’s absence is our life; the unexpected return is death; the rendering of account, judgment; and the entering the banquet, Heaven.

We are not owners, but administrators of some assets which we have to account for. Today, we wonder if, when we may stand before the Lord, we will bring our hands full, and say: "Look, Lord, I have tried to spend my life working in your estate. I've had no other end than your glory.”

One of the servants hid the talent entrusted to him: "Wicked and lazy servant,” he is called by his master… He was lazy; he lacked love. The opposite of laziness is precisely diligence, which means to love. Love gives us wings to serve the one we love. Laziness, the fruit of disloyalty, leads to increasingly greater disloyalties.
 
In this parable, the Lord condemns those who do not develop the gifts they have received, and those who use them for their own whim, instead of serving God and their neighbor.

Let us examine ourselves: how we use our time; if there is punctuality and order; if we devote due attention to family duties; if we develop a fruitful apostolate; if we seek to spread the Kingdom of Christ in souls and in society with the talents received.

Our life is short: Thus, we must make good use of it until the last moment, grow in love, in service to God. To make good use of time is to do what God wants us to do at that time. To make good use of time is to live the present moment fully, putting our head and heart on what we do, even if, humanly speaking, it seems insignificant, without worrying excessively about the past, without worrying about the future.

“Let this be the fruit of your prayer today: be convinced that your time is for God; that it's a God-given treasure; that it is something divine; that, in your hands, it is something marvelous that you have to administer for God, with a sense of responsibility."

When our life ends, it should be like a knitted tapestry, beautifully finished: Our Father God will look at it, smile, and enjoy seeing a well-finished work, the result of having used well our life, our time each day, hour after hour, minute after minute. 

Nov 14 Sat - Does Jesus really expect his followers to be broke?

 

Nov 14 Sat

Does Jesus really expect his followers to be broke?

To follow Christ, one must have a soul free from shackles, especially from the love of oneself and excessive concern for health, the future, riches, and material possessions.

In his travels through cities and small villages, Jesus asked some individuals, in particular, to renounce everything completely so He could use them more fully.

He did so with the apostles, and the rich young man. And He has done the same over the course of centuries with many others who would find their treasure and riches in him. Christ requires of all who seek to follow him an effective detachment from self and from all that the individual owns and uses. If this detachment is real, it will show itself in many facets of ordinary life.

Since God's world is so good, our hearts can get a bit too attached to things and creatures. But the Lord promises a great joy that comes with spiritual poverty and not being tied down by possessions.

The poverty that the Lord asks for is a state of soul in which a person's treasure is in God, using other things merely as means.

Christians have to be “poor” in this life, even when they have many possessions, because their treasure has to be in the Lord. Human resources are just tools, playing a secondary role. The amazing prize Christians have found is Jesus Christ, who teaches us to share what we have with others.

Rather than a social condition, this poverty is the expression of a religious attitude of being devoid of means and being humble before God. You are poor when you turn to God to be saved, not because you deserve it, but by trusting only in his mercy. This requires real detachment from material possessions and frugality in making use of them.

The religious concept of poverty already had a long-standing tradition in the Old Testament. It clearly echoes throughout Revelation.

In the early books of Sacred Scripture, there seems to be an exaltation of material things as a gift from God. Poverty and shortages are seen as evil, a punishment. But with the unfolding revelation, the relative value of the presence and absence of possessions emerges more and more clearly. It is understood with ever greater clarity that although the things of this world may be good in themselves, they can lead us to forget God due to excessive reliance on them and the sense of self-sufficiency to which they give rise.

Furthermore, to truly live frugally, a follower of Christ needs to willingly embrace and even seek out conditions of poverty, not because they have to, but because they want to. You're not "poor in spirit" just because you're having money troubles or tough social circumstances; you are so only if you also choose to accept that poverty. The poverty Jesus asks for goes beyond just not having money. It might also mean a lack of health or feeling lonely or misunderstood.

Jesus also had rich friends, yet they found their real riches in Him, had their hearts detached from material goods, and they were generous when sharing them with others. 

Nov 13 Fri - Am I aware that my life on earth is transitory?

 

Nov 13 Fri

Am I aware that my life on earth is transitory?
 
Men see nothing so commonly as death, and they forget it so easily. All of us have to die: this is one of life's great truths. Sooner or later a day will come when we render an account to our Father God. Our time on earth is a period of trial that God grants us.

“Here we have no lasting city. And lest we forget it, this truth appears crudely, at times, at the hour of death: lack of understanding, persecution or being despised... And always loneliness, for even though we may be surrounded by affection, every person dies alone."

“Now is the time to untie all the bonds that bind us. Let us prepare ourselves at all times for that step which will bring us into the eternal presence of the Most Holy Trinity."

Life is short, time is limited, and time is our treasure, the "money" with which to buy eternity. Our days will come to an end, and we'll be judged by our deeds. Nothing on earth has permanent value. All that this earth can offer us is continually passing away: hardly has pleasure begun than it is already ended. God will come for us only once. He should find us well prepared to enter happiness without end. “Always, for ever! Words brought to our lips by the human desire to prolong - to make eternal - what is pleasant."
“Lying words, on earth, where everything must end."

We are wayfarers. Therefore, while treading firmly on the ground, we should always keep our gaze set firmly on the goal of our journey, on our Father God.

“Death comes, and cannot be avoided. What empty vanity it is, then, to center our existence on this life. See how much many men and women suffer. Some suffer because life is coming to an end and it pains them to leave it; others because it goes on and they are sick of it. In neither case is there any room for the mistaken view that makes our passage through this world an end in itself."

One must leave that way of thinking behind and anchor oneself to another, an eternal one. A total change is required: to empty oneself of self-centered motives, which pass away, and to be renewed in Christ, who is eternal.

The lesson is clear: we have to be detached from material possessions, ready to render an account to God whenever he calls us. “Whoever considers his own state at death ... longs for nothing transitory, nor allows himself to be led by the present life's desires. Rather he considers himself almost dead, for he knows one day he must die."

Nothing we enjoy here will accompany us to the grave. Don't set your heart on loves here below. Such loves are selfish... Elsewhere are the loves that endure. Since we will enter God's presence empty-handed, why do we latch on to things? They are a dead weight, an obstacle on our journey. In the end, we'll have to abandon them anyway. Before God, only our good deeds have any value.

Therefore, we want to be completely detached from everything on earth. 

Nov 12 Thu - What did the Council teach on contraception, and the indissolubility of marriage?

 

Nov 12 Thu

What did the Council teach on contraception, and the indissolubility of marriage?

Pope Leo XIV summarized the Vatican II Council’s teaching: it upheld the indissolubility of marriage, condemned abortion and infanticide, and said that in matters of procreation, the judgment of the spouses’ consciences must conform to divine law, as interpreted by the Magisterium of the Church.

The Council proposes a renewed conception of marriage as an intimate partnership of married life and love. By incorporating the legal dimension of marriage as a contract, the foundation of this union is recognized in the ‘conjugal covenant,’ understood as the ‘human act whereby spouses mutually bestow and accept one another.’

Highlighting Vatican II’s teaching on the indissolubility of marriage, the Pope continued:
The mutual self-giving of man and woman, such that ‘they are no longer two but one flesh’ (Mt 19:6), underlies the requirement for “total fidelity” and the “unbreakable oneness” of the spouses, finding vivid expression in the procreation and upbringing of children. As a reflection of the Divine Trinity, conjugal and parental love, through the Sacrament of Marriage, is governed and enriched by Christ’s redeeming power, so that spouses may love one another just as He loved the Church and handed Himself over on her behalf.

And on conjugal love and marital fruitfulness, the Pontiff summarized the Council’s teaching on contraception, abortion, and infanticide.

The fruitfulness of conjugal love is expressed in the procreation of children, the supreme gift of marriage. By transmitting and educating human life, which must never be rejected, spouses become cooperators with the love of God the Creator, and are, so to speak, the interpreters of that love.

Called to this human and Christian responsibility, they are bound to allow themselves to be guided by a sound judgement regarding their own good and that of their children, whether already born or yet to be born. Such a judgement, which, in the final analysis, the spouses themselves must form before God, requires that their conscience conform to divine law, as interpreted by the Magisterium of the Church in the light of the Gospel.

The emphasis on loving communion and procreative fruitfulness within marriage leads the Council to rule out the possibility of there being a true contradiction … between the divine laws on the transmission of life, and those pertaining to authentic conjugal love, and to affirm, instead, that when there is question of harmonizing conjugal love with the responsible transmission of life, one must preserve the full sense of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true love.

From this it follows both that from the moment of its conception life must be guarded with the greatest care, renouncing abortion and infanticide; and that the acts themselves which are proper to conjugal love and which are exercised in accord with genuine human dignity must be honored with great reverence.

Recalling that the Council urged all those with social responsibilities, especially in the political and cultural spheres, to fulfill their duty to work efficiently for the welfare of marriage and the family, Pope Leo said that this task is more urgent than ever before. 

Nov 11 Wed - Do I have a sincere concern for all souls?

 

Nov 11 Wed

Do I have a sincere concern for all souls?

St. Josemaría wrote: “My children, 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. Thus, we have an imperative duty to do likewise."
“In the course of your life, how many of your friends' hearts you could set ablaze!
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 the heart... and very often degrade it. Leave all that and come with us in search of Love!’"

Our desire to identify ourselves with Christ must lead us to feel responsible for the salvation of all souls. We can't limit ourselves to helping just one person or a few; that would show feeble love. When we truly care that everyone be saved, we find ways 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, 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 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 committed Christian must seek 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!"

“The desire to set the earth ablaze with Christ's fire makes my children propagators, missionaries of Christian perfection in the midst of temporal tasks. And their apostolic zeal leads them to draw vocations to a life of commitment, or at least to help others to arise from the death of sin, to awaken from the torpor of lukewarmness, to lift themselves from mediocrity."

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. When, as happens to everyone, the moment comes for them to sense more deeply their need 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 should be the meaning of our lives. All the rest is worthless, and we get rid of it so as not to distort the brightness of the divine message. 

Nov 10 Tue - May I know the “What” and “for Whom” of Anointing of the Sick?

 

Nov 10 Tue

May I know the “What” and “for Whom” of Anointing of the Sick?

In his Incarnation, Jesus Christ came to sanctify every aspect of human life. This even extends to life's most severe moments, like illness and death. Christ meets us even here and has instituted a particular Sacrament to extend his healing presence to us: the Anointing of the Sick.

This Sacrament strengthens us in times of sickness. It can also bring about bodily healing if conducive to the person’s salvation and the forgiveness of sins if one cannot receive the Sacrament of Penance.

The primary effect of this Sacrament is the strengthening of the sick person amidst their suffering. During times of trial, it can become increasingly difficult to persevere in the faith, hope, and love proper to Christian life. 

With this sacrament, we also receive a gift of the Holy Spirit, who renews trust and faith in God and strengthens against the temptations of the evil one, discouragement, and anguish in the face of death. Thus, the Apostle James wrote:

- “Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” (Jas 5:14-15)

This “raising up” is the work of the Holy Spirit in the soul, enabling us to keep our eyes fixed on our Savior despite the pain and anxiety we may be enduring.

This spiritual "raising up" also extends to removing sin and its effects from our lives. When we love created things more than our Creator, we understandably become anxious over the potential loss of these things through our suffering and possible death. This improper attachment to created things is both a cause and an effect of sin in our lives.

This effect of the Sacrament is so strong that it can even forgive sins if it is impossible for the sick to receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

Finally, this Sacrament is at times the means through which God brings about our bodily healing. Jesus healed untold numbers and sent out his apostles to do the same. This work has not ended but continues by means of the Church in her care for the sick and poor and in her Sacraments. Crucially, the recipient only receives this healing “if it is conducive to the salvation of his soul.”

The Anointing of the Sick is not reserved solely for those on the brink of death or as a part of Last Rites. Rather, it is for all the faithful experiencing grave illness, a worsening of the same illness, before major surgery, or an increase in the weakness of old age.

In this Sacrament, we invite Christ, the Good Physician, to bring us Light and Everlasting Life, enabling us to say with St. Paul, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

Excerpts from Sam Landon 

Nov 9 Mon - What it means to be human and sexual

 

Nov 9 Mon

What it means to be human and sexual

God made us male and female, meaning He wanted us that way. We're totally equal as people, but we're also distinct in how we are as men and women. Being a man or a woman is a good thing, willed by God. We both have the same worth, "in the image of God," and how we are as male and female shows God's wisdom and goodness.

We all have a "sexual side" that's part of who we are. We "are" a woman or "are" a man in every part of our lives: physically, mentally, and spiritually. We're all equal because we're all human; the difference is in how we are human. Men and women are just different versions of the same human reality, meant to connect in a specific way.

Being straight means accepting the natural differences between men and women. It says we're equal as people but also recognizes our different ways of being a person. 

And it shows how this mix of equality and difference makes possible the creation of a special bond where everyone gives and gets something. This makes us richer together and allows a couple to create new life.

The natural pull between men and women leads to a unique kind of love, called married love. This means giving and receiving each other, especially in our differences. Marriage isn't just approved sex; it's "conjugality," a deep bond where we "co-own" each other as man and woman, husband and wife, potential mom and dad. This exclusive and lasting union is also vital for the dignity of any kids, and for their care and upbringing.

Obviously, treating men or women unfairly because of their sex disrespects them. But it's okay to treat women (or men) differently in a positive way if it's to fix a specific problem or an unfair situation in society. It's allowed because it's trying to balance things out or correct a past injustice.

Some mistaken gender theories claim that sex differences aren't real, but just something society creates. Of course, from this viewpoint, there's no need to think about equality between men and women because the main difference (sex) doesn't exist as such, only a personally chosen “gender.”. Only biological traits exist, but these are seen as "naturally neutral" and should be used however each person wants; anything else would be discrimination.

So, they're saying that the first error is to accept the "real difference" between men and women. They say, That  would force heterosexual marriage and the monogamous family. To ditch this error, we would have to eliminate the tie between a man and a woman getting together and procreation, get rid of motherhood itself (because it supposedly punishes women), and all the family ties that come with it.

From this twisted perspective, everything's on the table and equally cool, since there's no actual reality to say otherwise. All of this, though, goes against what the Church teaches about how humans are actually made: body and soul being one, why our bodies have sexes, how men and women complete each other, freedom, sticking with things, love in marriage, why marriage and family are a big deal, and so on. 

Nov 8 Sun - Do I always consider what course of action I should pursue?

 

Nov 8 Sun

Do I always consider what course of action I should pursue?

Christ's parable of the wise and foolish virgins should remind us that each one of us—no matter how young or old—can live wisely or foolishly.

The good news of the Book of Wisdom is that we can be wise as soon as we want to be. God’s Wisdom is ready and waiting to meet us as soon as we call to her.

We become “worthy of Wisdom” when we want her. This means wanting to live by what she reveals to us –that is, God’s Will.

“Taking thought of wisdom is the perfection of prudence.” This means that our decision-making is most sound (prudence) when we consider what is the best course of action in God’s eyes (wisdom).

Not many of us actively set out to do evil, but many of us sleepwalk through life. This is why we should be awake at dawn.

In the parable of the ten virgins, Christ is the bridegroom. We are the virgins awaiting his return to begin the wedding feast of heaven.
Christ admonishes us to be prepared and awake.

Christ will “return” and judge each and every one of us at the moment of our death in what the Church calls our particular judgment. We do not know when that moment will be. This raises two vital considerations.

First, do I have the oil of being in the state of grace, or am I in the empty state of mortal sin?
Just as the foolish virgins had time to get more oil for their lamps up until the arrival of the bridegroom, but not after, so we have time to repent and to go to Confession up until the moment of our death, but not after.

Second, assuming I am in a state of grace, is my life bearing the fruit that Christ wants to see? Is my way of life foolish?
I still have time to amend my life and live it according to God’s will.

Christ has not yet made everything subject to Him, but He will. This will happen when He returns to earth with power and great glory.

That is why Christians pray, above all in the Eucharist, to hasten Christ’s return, by saying to him: Marana tha! ‘Our Lord, come! 

The ten virgins did not plan; they were not prudent. As a human virtue, prudence is sound decision-making. It is the most important and desirable cardinal virtue which helps us see and sets us in motion toward pursuing the good. Whenever we face a decision or conceive of a course of action, prudence takes counsel, makes a decision, and then acts.

As a supernatural virtue, prudence is assisted by God’s grace, directed at pleasing God, and takes counsel with God’s wisdom.

As a human being, it is exciting to look at your life, choose a better course of action, and then pursue it.

As a child of God, it is sanctifying to look at your life from God’s perspective, choose the action that He wants, and then set out to accomplish it with Christ at your side, and the Holy Spirit guiding you.

And then, it's not about doing just what you like, but about loving what you must do. 

Nov 7 Sat - What do we ask in the Lord's Prayer?

 

Nov 7 Sat

What do we ask in the Lord's Prayer?

We need to use words to remind ourselves what we're asking for, not so much to tell God what to do or try to force our way on Him.

So, when we say, "Hallowed be your name," we're reminding ourselves to want His Name, which is always holy, to be seen as holy by everyone. I mean, it shouldn't be disrespected. But this is always for our benefit, not God's.

And when we say, "Your kingdom come," it's definitely coming whether we want it to or not. But we're stirring up our desire for the kingdom so it can come to us and we can be worthy to be a part of it.

When we say, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," we're asking Him to help us obey so we can do His will just like His angels do in heaven.

When we say, "Give us this day our daily bread," by "this day," we mean "in this world." Here, we're asking for just the right amount of His material help, by pointing out the most important part: "bread." We also ask for the sacrament faithful Christians need in this world, not for temporary happiness but for eternal happiness.

When we say, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us," we're reminding ourselves what we need to ask for and what we need to do to be worthy of receiving in return.

When we say, "Lead us not into temptation," we're reminding ourselves to ask that His help doesn't leave us; otherwise, we could be tempted and give in, or lose hope and surrender to it.

When we say, "Deliver us from evil," we remind ourselves that we're not yet in that blessed state where we won't suffer any evil.
This is the last request in the Lord's Prayer, and it's a big one. In this part, Christians can express their sorrow, cry their tears, and through it, they can start, continue, and finish their prayer, no matter what they're going through. Yeah, it was fitting that God gave us these important truths to remember in these exact words.

No matter what other words we might prefer to say (to get our state of mind clear or to make it stronger), we're not saying anything that isn't already in the Lord's Prayer, as long as we're praying correctly and properly, of course. But if someone says something that doesn't fit with this prayer from the Gospel, they're praying in a worldly way, even if it's not exactly sinful. And yet, I don't know how that couldn't be called sinful, since those reborn through the Spirit should only pray in the Spirit.

A letter to Proba by St Augustine 

Nov 6 Fri - What should I do in times of spiritual darkness?

 

Nov 6 Fri

What should I do in times of spiritual darkness?

In times of darkness, we must intensify our hope.

“For our Lord to act in us and for us, we must tell him that we are ready to struggle each day, even though we realize we are feeble and useless, and the heavy burden of our personal shortcomings and weakness weighs down upon us. We must tell him again and again that we trust in him and in his help: if necessary, hoping against all hope."

It may happen in our lives that the way ahead becomes dark for a time, that we lose our perspective and our sense of direction. A cloud of discouragement may hide the path markers. Then more than ever, we need to rest on the solid rock of faith and hope.

If God takes away all human consolations, it's so that our faith and hope may grow, and we may find our support only in him. Sometimes, when things turn out the very opposite of what we intended, we cry out spontaneously: "Lord, it's all going wrong, every single thing I'm doing!" The time has come for us to rectify and say, “With you, Lord, I will make steady headway, because you are strength itself."

“These difficulties shouldn't surprise us. As a consequence of our fallen nature, we carry within us a principle of opposition, of resistance to grace. It comes from the wounds inflicted by original sin and is aggravated by our own personal sins. Therefore, we have to strive ever upwards by means of our everyday tasks, which are both divine and human and always lead to the love of God. In this we must be humble and contrite of heart, and we must trust in God's help, while at the same time devoting our best efforts to those tasks as if everything depended on us."

Success is not final; failure is not fatal. The courage to continue is what counts.

Let us persevere even when our passions rear up and attack us, attempting to imprison us within the narrow confines of our selfishness; or when puerile vanity makes us think we are the center of the universe. I am convinced that unless I look upward, unless I have Jesus, I will never accomplish anything. And I know that the strength to conquer myself and win comes from repeating that cry: ‘I can do all things in him who strengthens me,’ words that reflect God's firm promise not to abandon his children if they do not abandon him.

“As we fight this battle, which will last until the day we die, we cannot exclude the possibility that enemies both within and without may attack with violent force. And, as if this burden were not enough, you may at times be assailed by the memory of your own past errors, which may have been very many. I tell you now, in God's name: don't despair. Should this happen (it need not happen), then turn it into another motive for uniting yourself more closely to our Lord, for He has chosen you as his child and will not abandon you. He has allowed that trial to befall you so that you may love him more and may discover even more clearly his constant protection and love.” 

Nov 5 Thu - What happened to the eagle that fell in a muddy swamp?

 

Nov 5 Thu

What happened to the eagle that fell in a muddy swamp?

I read it a long time ago. I don’t know where. It’s an old story that comes alive every day. I will tell you only the final part of the anecdote —which is what can truly move you deep inside.

“It’s fallen over there,” a boy of the group said.

Sure enough, the fierce storm that early morning had caused a gigantic golden eagle to fall to the ground, dazed and half-dead. There it lay with its large beak, its long, square-tipped tail, and its wingspan of nearly three meters.

The youngest children kept their distance. One of the boys, approaching carefully, managed to tie a chain to one of the eagle’s legs and secure the other end to an iron hook on the swampy ground. The children stepped back to watch what would happen.

When the eagle awoke from the daze caused by its fall, it spread its enormous wings and tried to take flight; but, held fast as it was by the chain, it fell back into the dust.

The eagle saw some pigeons flying swiftly past her; this gave her new courage. And, with great effort, she began flapping her wings again; but the chain attached to the ground pulled her down once more.

Four, five, six, ten, twenty times she tried to rise up to reach her nest high in the rocky cliffs. But four, five, six, ten, twenty times she fell again under the weight of the chain. Finally, discouraged by so much futile effort, she resigned herself to dying chained to the earth.

But the story continues that on her continuous attempt to reach the clouds, the wear and tear on the chain rubbing against its iron rings finally broke the link holding her leg. The golden eagle was free to fly to its place in the sky!

With just one more attempt to struggle, with just one more attempt to fly, it would have found itself soaring high above the mountains. But there, floundering in the dirty swamp, the eagle remained forever—the one whose flying paths were on the rocky peaks—even though it was free!

How many failures in our plans! How many broken decisions! How many unfinished projects in your life, right? 
It doesn’t matter. Start over today. With plenty of encouragement or plenty of discouragement, just the same… start again! And you’ll reach the goal.

Alongside our defeats, God has left us a bucketful of hope.

Trilogy (3), excerpts from J. Urteaga. 

Nov 4 Wed - With my defects, should I begin again every day?

 

Nov 4 Wed

With my defects, should I begin again every day?

After confessing your sins and doing penance—and perhaps shedding some tears—a message of hope springs forth once more for the heart that wants to start over: “The Lord has forgiven your sin.” Forget what God has already forgotten, and… let’s continue on the path of the brave.

Were there falls or setbacks? Well, get back up. And with even greater zeal than before, even if your soul has been pierced.

Listen to St. Josemaría: “In this tournament of love, we must not be saddened by our falls—not even serious ones—if we turn to God with sorrow and good resolve in the sacrament of Penance. The Christian is not a maniacal collector of an immaculate record of good deeds.”

But what if all the effort I put into behaving well turns out to be in vain? What if, after so many years of struggling and fighting to behave like a good Christian, I stumble headlong over the very same stumbling block?
Listen: “We continually experience our own personal inadequacy. But sometimes it seems as if all these things come together, as if they were revealed to us with greater clarity. This is so to realize how little we are. What should we do?”

“Wait on the Lord; live by hope,” the Church suggests to us, “with love and faith.” Viriliter age—be manly. What does it matter that we are creatures of clay, if we place our hope in God? And if at any time a soul suffers a fall, a setback—which need not happen—the remedy is applied, just as is normally done in everyday life with the health of the body. And then, start over again!”

Start over again, my friend. You can do that. This is what is within your power. Do not trust in yourself, but rely completely on Him. Up, up! Do not remain stuck in the mud thinking you are worthless. Do not dwell morbidly on the times when you’ve had to resume the climb.

Should I always be starting again? 
Of course, you must! In that, at least, you can imitate the saints, who started anew every day—several times a day—every time they made an act of contrition, on countless occasions, with a sincere humility that led them to love and to strive with all their might.

“It brings me joy to see you begin each day anew; there is no better way to end life well than to always start over, and never think that we’ve already done enough.”

Lord, take me as I am, with my defects, with my weaknesses; but make me become as You wish me to be.

Trilogy (2), excerpts from J. Urteaga.
Pic: Caravaggio, the Conversion of St. Paul. 

Nov 3 Tue - Should I go back to God and begin again?

 

Nov 3 Tue

Should I go back to God and begin again?

Along with our defeats, God has left us a bucketful of hope.

Some of God’s people often remind us of how much we must accomplish on earth as we journey toward Glory. The Church, like a loving Mother, sets before our eyes the words of that convert who, after deciding to follow Christ, never looked back. It is an exclamation from Paul-Saul that contains a strong warning: “Do not throw God’s grace into the wind!"

Let us not squander grace, let us not lose it, let us not render it useless.

We all need light. When it is kindled, let us not extinguish it!

We all need God’s waters. When they come, let us not defile them!

Time is a treasure that the Lord places in our hands; let’s make the most of it. Do not let it slip away empty-handed.

May the wicked (and who is excluded from that list?)… may the wicked abandon their ways and return.

Come back! You’ve gone too far. You’ve strayed too far from the path. Come back!

You want me to start over? Yes, start over!

We must follow in the Master’s footsteps; that is why we must abandon the wrong paths, retrace our steps, and return.

After a fall, ask for forgiveness

Let us take refuge in the great—truly great—mercy of our God, the God who forgives, and let us begin our Christian life anew!

Holy men are always struggling, and those who fight often fall, but when they do, they get up again. And if the sins are great, so too are the penances. Men of God perform many deeds filled with love for the Lord, and sometimes, because of their weakness, they commit small acts of unfaithfulness or great blunders.

“When a soldier in battle is wounded or retreats a little, no one is so demanding or so ignorant of the ways of war as to think that this is a crime. The only ones who do not sustain wounds are those who do not fight; those who charge most ardently against the enemy are the ones who take the blows.”.

The Lord allows setbacks and relapses in the lives of those who serve Him so that, once they repent, they may resume their usual journey with renewed vigor. Even when acts of disloyalty are very serious, the sorrow is also great, and the resolve to make amends is sincere. And then… everything leads not only to continuing on the path, but even to rising to heights never before reached in one’s previous supernatural life. Everything can help us. St. Paul tells us that all things work together for good for those who love God; St. Augustine adds that this includes even sins.

Thus, these souls are filled with humility, with a lack of confidence in their own strength, with a resolve to give of themselves generously, and with a deep desire to make amends for the sins they have committed, and they rise higher and higher and higher in the life of Love.

Trilogy (1), excerpts from J. Urteaga. 

Nov 2 Mon - Should I pray for the dead? Is it in the Bible?

 

Nov 2 Mon

Should I pray for the dead? Is it in the Bible?

– The practice of praying for the dead is not merely Catholic; it is biblical.

First, it isn’t only Catholics who pray for the dead; many others also do. Furthermore, prayer for the dead has been practiced by Jews since before the time of Christ and continues to be practiced by them today.

In Scripture, Judah Maccabee and his men were retrieving the bodies of fallen comrades when they discovered that some who had fallen were wearing pagan amulets, and so “they turned to prayer, praying that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out” (2 Macc. 12:42). This gives evidence of prayer for the dead among Jews before the time of Christ. Jews continue to pray for the dead today, particularly using a prayer known as the Mourner’s Kaddish.

The New Testament also contains a plausible instance of prayer for the dead. After praying for the household of a man named Onesiphorus, Paul goes on to pray “may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day” (2 Tim. 1:18). Paul twice mentions “the household of Onesiphorus” (2 Tim. 1:16, 4:19), but does not greet him with the rest of his household and speaks of him only in the past tense. Many scholars have concluded that Onesiphorus had died, so Paul was praying for the departed.

The Protestant apologist C.S. Lewis writes: “Of course I pray for the dead! The action is so spontaneous, so all but inevitable, that only the most compulsive theological case against it would deter me… At our age, the majority of those we love best are dead. What sort of interaction with God could I have if what I love best were unmentionable to Him?” (Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, 107).

It is a natural human impulse to pray for our loved ones, even when they have passed from this life. Prayer for the souls in purgatory is a duty of charity; and in many cases, also one of justice.

The most valuable suffrage we can offer is the holy sacrifice of the Mass. The Mass can be applied for the deceased to satisfy for the temporal punishment due to their sins. With a mother's love, the Church has also established that the faithful can gain indulgences that are applicable to the deceased. These indulgences flow from the treasury of graces formed by the merits of Christ, our Lady, and the saints.

Personal penance, offered as expiation for sins, can also be offered for the deceased. Our hope that God will heed our prayers, our suffrages, and our penance on behalf of the souls in purgatory stems from the certainty that all who are united to Christ form a single Body in Him.

We ask our Lady, Gate of Paradise, to open the gates of heaven for those who have left us, and that some day we may all be reunited there forever. 

Nov 1 Sun - Were the saints some kind of “special” people?

 

Nov 1 Sun

Were the saints some kind of “special” people?

Today, the feast day of all the saints, we have the opportunity to increase our hope, since most of the saints were unknown, and strove “to fulfill God's will perfectly without leaving their ordinary tasks, or their condition and state of life in the world.... Some have been canonized by the Church. However, the great majority of these souls have remained unnoticed, in obscurity and silence. It is almost impossible to know to what extent their holy lives have been an example to others, and have contributed to manifesting the sanctity of the Church.”

By this feast the Church reminds us that sanctity is within everyone's reach. For “all of the baptized can and ought to sanctify themselves, and be a powerful leaven of Christian life, while they continue their normal life of work in the midst of the world.” Jesus taught this very clearly: You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

“Our Lord wants each of you to strive to be a saint in the particular circumstances of your own situation in the world. This is God's will, your sanctification” (1 Thess 4:3).

The Gospel specifies some of the requirements for sanctity. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven... Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God… The beatitudes show the path that we must follow to reach holiness.

“The call to sanctity is truly universal, and not merely for a few or for a particular state in life. It does not generally require abandonment of the world; any work, any profession, can be a path to sanctity, and a means for apostolate.”

We are not the only travelers along the road to sanctity. We live the communion of the saints when we help one another achieve sanctity. We are united to all Christians: to those already triumphant in heaven, to those undergoing purification in purgatory, and to those still journeying on earth. “A Christian cannot be an individualist. He cannot be uninterested in others. He cannot have his back selfishly turned to the world. He is essentially social, a responsible member of the Mystical Body of Christ.”

We live the Communion of the Saints by our prayer for one another. Throughout the day we ask many times that grace may strengthen or heal the one most in need. Thus, we too will experience the Communion of the Saints.

If you feel the Communion of the Saints—if you live it—you'll gladly be a man of penance. Our daily work will also contribute toward spreading divine life in the souls of our friends, and in others, whom we do not even know.

Our Lady, Queen of All the Saints, will help us to awaken in all hearts the universal call to holiness, the foundation for our apostolic zeal and our co-redemptive work in the midst of the world. 

Oct 31 Sat - Why was there cowardice among the Apostles?

 

Oct 31 Sat

Why was there cowardice among the Apostles?

What if we were to make a list of the stubbornness, recklessness, obstinacy, cowardice, and selfishness of the twelve Apostles, as described in the New Testament? We’d never finish.

John was so jealous, so ridiculously exclusive, that he said: “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he doesn’t follow us.” And Jesus rebuked this behavior, as he did when they argued along the way –out of human ambition!– about who would be first in the Kingdom.

Yet they did not learn the lesson –about serving others– taught by the Master on this occasion. Sometime later, they quarreled among themselves and the Son of God had to speak to them about generosity once again, because neither He nor His own came to be served, but to serve.

It seems the advice was already clear, doesn’t it? Well, no. At the Last Supper, Jesus had to set words aside and teach them by example. He washed and dried His disciples’ feet, and then said to them: “For I have set you an example, so that you may do as I have done.”

Among the hundred thousand flaws of these twelve Apostles, I’ll single out one as a prime example. As you know, Christ’s life centered on the Redemption of humankind. And at the very center of that Redemption stood the Cross. Then, at the crucial moment of dying on the cross, only one Apostle stood his ground –the youngest. The rest hid; they were afraid. Such are the shortcomings of the chosen ones.

All these men –fickle, boastful, of little faith, reckless, distrustful, always loving yet sometimes displaying attitudes that revealed a lack of love– will become saints… because they persevered. Only one withdrew, and he ended up badly.

To be effective, we are all called to persevere in the struggle; that is true holiness: An inner life that manifests itself in love for God, in service to others, in lending a hand to those in need, and in overlooking others' petty faults.

Holiness does not consist of standing on a pedestal with a palm branch in hand. Saints cannot remain inactive. We must take action: care for a brother’s illness, make sure the rice doesn’t stick to the pot, and talk to our children’s teachers.

These are today’s saints, who ride the subway, pray the Rosary, work in the fields, use a cell phone, spend the weekend relaxing with their loved ones, and return on Monday mornings to do what they always do –what they do every week, all year long: making sure that everything they do today –Communion, work, service– is done with a little more love, affection, and fervor than yesterday.

Let’s not lose hope. If we have fallen, like the saints, let’s also strive to imitate them in getting up again. Let’s renew ourselves in love. We need it. Today is a good day to say to God: “I’m starting now!” Even if it’s been a while since we last said that to Him. We still have a long road ahead of us. “I’m starting now!” 

Oct 30 Fri - Am I afraid of death?

 

Oct 30 Fri

Am I afraid of death?

Someone asked me for an answer without euphemisms. What comes after?
“Well, life,” I replied: “Life without any limits, glory –but conditioned by each person’s –good or bad– use of his freedom.”

The answer to the problem of death is the Risen One, and to rise with Him –but you must want it seriously. 

Some define themselves as “I’m Catholic, but not a practicing Catholic.” 
I tell you, it is an evasive way of saying that you’re Catholic, but you struggle with it. You haven’t won the battle, and you don’t want to face it.” 
To win it, you have to undergo a second conversion.

Some prefer to remain mediocre; for instance, they admit that sometimes they go to Mass as if they were clocking in for work. They lack formation: a basic understanding of what Mass is, attention to the readings and the psalm, and an awareness that during the Eucharistic Prayer, the mystery of Christ’s presence takes place –one in which one fully participates by receiving Communion.

And then, your honest professional life.
A man who sacrifices his honor for business loses both his business and his honor.

Without that, it’s of little use, although –I admit– a certain kind of faithfulness may also count.

I asked you, “Are you afraid of death?"
You answered, “Well, a little, of course.”
I don’t know if there’s anyone who isn’t, except for Saint Teresa, who was dying because she wasn’t dying.

“When you think about death, do not be afraid, despite your sins…For He already knows that you love Him… and what stuff you are made of.

   –If you seek Him, He will welcome you as the father welcomed the prodigal son; but you have to seek Him!"

“Don't be afraid of death. Accept it from now on, generously… when God wills it, where God wills it, as God wills it. Don't doubt what I say: it will come in the moment, in the place and in the way that are best: sent by your Father-God." 

We must look at death as a form of martyrdom: it hurts, but one says “yes,” like Jesus, whose Passion caused Him tremendous pain and led Him to complain to the Father, yet He rose again.

You must remind yourself: “I am going to meet someone –the Risen Jesus– and I go knowing that there will be a certain judgment.” The One who judges is a friend, one who loves me, and so I must trust him.

At the end of life, what really matters is having been humble enough to know that everything that came into your life, all the good, was the fruit of a gift—of the love of the Lord who has guided and accompanied you all the way, and of his Mother.

You should like to be remembered as a Catholic who sought to be faithful, who tried to respond to that gift (your Christian vocation) –with many ups and downs throughout your life– but who, deep down, always wanted to reciprocate that gift by giving yourself, by giving your life. 

Oct 29 Thu - Is it good to have a real family, with parents united in sacred marriage? (cont.)

 

Oct 29 Thu

Is it good to have a real family, with parents united in sacred marriage? (cont.)

In the so-called “de facto unions,” there is a serious lack of mutual commitment, and an inconsistent desire to maintain the autonomy of one’s independent will within a relationship that should be relational. 

What is missing in non-marital cohabitation is trusting openness to a future life together, which love must create and build and which the law is specifically tasked to guarantee.

In other words, the law should not be a mere set of norms, but a guarantee of human coexistence and its dignity.

When “de facto unions” claim the right to adopt, they clearly show their disregard for the child’s proper upbringing.

The “de facto unions” between homosexuals are a deplorable distortion of what should be a communion of love and life between a man and a woman in a reciprocal gift open to life.

Today, there is a widespread fear of being parents coupled with a disregard for the right of children to be conceived within the context of total human self-giving, which is an indispensable prerequisite for their peaceful and harmonious growth.

Thus, an alleged right to fatherhood or motherhood at any cost is asserted, and its exercise is sought through technical means involving a series of morally illicit manipulations.

Another feature of the present cultural context is the tendency of many parents to renounce their proper role, to become merely friends to their children, refraining from warning and correcting them even when this is necessary for teaching them the truth, albeit with every affection and tenderness.

It therefore should be stressed that the education of children is a sacred duty and a shared task of the parents, both father and mother: it requires warmth, closeness, dialogue, and example. At home, parents are called to represent the good Father in heaven, the one perfect model to inspire them.

Fatherhood and motherhood, by the will of God himself, intimately share in his creative power and consequently have an intrinsic reciprocal relationship. On this subject, I wrote in the Letter to Families: “Motherhood necessarily implies fatherhood, and in turn, fatherhood necessarily implies motherhood. This is the result of the duality bestowed by the Creator upon human beings ‘from the beginning.’”

This is another reason why the relationship between man and woman is the cornerstone of social relationships: while it is the source of new human beings, it closely binds husband and wife, who have become one flesh, to each other and, through them, their respective families.

Dear brothers and sisters, as I thank you for your dedication to defending the family and its rights, I assure you of a constant remembrance in my prayer. May God make fruitful the efforts of all those who, in every part of the world, are devoted to this cause. May he help the family, the bulwark and defense of humanity itself, to withstand every attack.

Second part, excerpted from Address of John Paul II to the members of the Pontifical Council for the Family, June 4, 1999 

Oct 28 Wed - Is it good to have a real family, with parents united in sacred marriage?

 

Oct 28 Wed

Is it good to have a real family, with parents united in sacred marriage? 

In today’s family, the father figure risks becoming increasingly hidden or even absent. In the light of God’s paternity “from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,” human fatherhood and motherhood acquire all their meaning, dignity, and greatness. “Human fatherhood and motherhood, while remaining biologically similar to that of animals, contain a ‘likeness’ to God which is the basis of the family as a community of human life, as a community of persons united in love.

Just as the Holy Spirit is the life of the Church, He must also be the life of the family, the little domestic church. For every family, He must keep the flame of conjugal love ever burning in the spouses’ reciprocal gift of self.

An atmosphere of shared prayer must exist in a Christian family, where God is addressed with the freedom of children and called by the affectionate name of “our Father”! May the Holy Spirit help us discover the Father’s face as a perfect model of fatherhood in the family.

For some time now, the family institution has been under repeated attack. These attacks are all the more dangerous and insidious since they ignore the irreplaceable value of the family based on marriage. They have reached the point of proposing false alternatives to the family and of calling for their legislative recognition. But when laws, which should be at the service of the family, a fundamental good for society, turn against it, they acquire alarming destructive power.

Thus, in some countries, there is a desire to impose on society so-called “de facto unions,” reinforced by a series of legal effects that erode the very meaning of the family institution. “De facto unions” are marked by instability and the lack of the irrevocable commitment that gives rise to rights and duties and respects the dignity of the man and woman. Instead, there is a desire to give juridical value to a will that is far removed from any form of definitive bond. 

With these premises, how can we hope for truly responsible procreation which is not limited to giving life, but also includes that training and education which only the family can guarantee in all its dimensions?

The truth about marriage and the family is based not only on Revelation, but also on the demands of natural law, which are at the foundation of the true good of society and its members. In fact, it is important for children to be born and raised in a home where parents are united in a faithful covenant.

It is quite possible to imagine other forms of relationship and cohabitation between the sexes, but none of these, despite some people’s contrary opinion, offers a real juridical alternative to matrimony, but rather a weakening of it.

First part, excerpted from Address of John Paul II to the members of the Pontifical Council for the Family, June 4, 1999 

Oct 27 Tue - How can I carry my cross with joy?

 

Oct 27 Tue

How can I carry my cross with joy?

No one wakes up hoping for suffering.

Yet sooner or later, every Christian encounters some form of the cross.

Jesus made that clear when He said, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me."

The real question is: How do I carry it?

The saints didn't find joy by avoiding suffering. They found joy because they discovered Christ within it.

Here are five habits that can help you see your crosses differently.

1. Begin each day by offering it to God.

This is the Morning Offering.

Before checking your phone, spend a few moments placing the day into God's hands. Offer Him your work, your relationships, your joys, and even the difficulties you don't yet know are coming.

This small habit gradually shifts your perspective. Instead of asking, "Why is this happening?" you begin asking, "Lord, how can I love You here?"

2. Stop asking "Why me?" and start asking "Lord, what are You teaching me?"

Sometimes we spend so much energy trying to explain our pain that we miss the grace God wants to give us through it.

This doesn't mean every suffering has an obvious explanation. Some wounds remain mysterious this side of heaven. But Scripture reminds us that God can bring good even from situations we would never choose.

A difficult coworker may become an opportunity to grow in patience. A season of uncertainty may deepen our dependence on God. A personal disappointment may free us from placing our identity in success.

3. Stay close to the Sacraments.

When life becomes difficult, it's tempting to pull away from prayer and the Sacraments.

Ironically, that's when you need them most.

The Eucharist is not a reward for people whose lives are going well. It is nourishment for pilgrims who grow tired along the journey.

Likewise, the Sacrament of Reconciliation restores not only your relationship with God but also the peace and hope that suffering can sometimes hide.

4. Practice gratitude in the midst of difficulty.

Even during painful seasons, there are signs of God's presence: a friend who checks in, a sunrise that catches your attention, the kindness of a stranger, a comforting Scripture passage, or the quiet strength to make it through another day.

Joy is not the absence of pain.

It is the presence of hope.

5. Remember that your cross has purpose.

Perhaps the hardest part of suffering is believing it has meaning.

The world tells you to escape suffering as quickly as possible. Christianity offers something far more hopeful. Through Christ's Passion, suffering can become a place of encounter, transformation, and even love.

This doesn't mean you should seek suffering or pretend it isn't painful. Jesus Himself wept, experienced anguish, and asked that the chalice pass from Him in the Garden of Gethsemane.

But He also showed us that suffering united to the Father's will can become a path to resurrection.

For you, suffering must not be meaningless pain, but where Christ meets you and slowly refines you, much as fire purifies precious metal. All this, without exaggerating the difficulties.

It's all about believing that you never suffer alone. 

Oct 26 Mon - Do I believe in God, but live as if God didn’t exist?

 

Oct 26 Mon

Do I believe in God, but live as if God didn’t exist?

A Ten Signs Test. 

It’s not enough to say that I believe in God. The real question is whether my faith is transforming my decisions, relationships, and the way I live.

If I believe in God, I must trust Him. If I receive the sacraments, I must understand them and know their effects. If I talk about Christ, I must learn from Him how to love, forgive, serve, and build peace.

Reflect,

1. I make important decisions without ever asking God.

I pray, go to Mass, and consider myself a believer, but when I have to make decisions about work, marriage, children, money, or my relationships, I act as if everything depended solely on me.
A simple question can change your perspective:
“Lord, what do You want me to do?”

2. I seek God only when I have problems.

God is not simply your help in a crisis. He wants to be your Father, your companion, and the center of your existence.

3. I always put off my prayer until later.

You devote your time to what you consider important.

4. I want God to approve what I’ve already decided.

You are not seeking His will; you are seeking His approval.
A mature faith dares to ask before deciding.
Seeking God’s will means accepting that His answer might not match what you wanted.

5. My moral judgment depends more on prevailing trends than on the Gospel.

“Everyone else is doing it.” When culture becomes your only compass, you may end up living a form of practical atheism.

6. I know a lot about many things, but almost nothing about my faith.

Do you devote five minutes daily to read the Gospel or take the time to study your faith?

7. I live as if everything depended on me.

I want to control everything around me, my future, and even what others think of me, and thus fall into anxiety.

Faith leads us to do what we can and to leave the rest to God.

We are not God. And accepting that limitation can be deeply liberating.

8. I think more and more only about myself.

My rights, my comfort, my time, my needs.
But the question, “Who needs my help?” hardly ever comes up. Jesus teaches that whoever wants to be great must become a servant to others. Authentic faith does not shut us in on ourselves. It opens us up to others.

9. I show little gratitude and complain a lot.

When God disappears from your horizon, you may begin to feel entitled to everything. Gratitude brings us back to a fundamental truth: everything is a gift –my life, my family, my talents…

10. My faith determines the way I treat others.

Perhaps this is the sign that should worry you. You can pray a lot and still remain cruel, gossipy, arrogant, resentful, and unable to ask for forgiveness. 

The Christian faith cannot be limited to religious practices alone. It is called to become a way of life.

In which of these ten signs do I recognize myself?

Some excerpts from Lupita Venegas 

Oct 25 Sun - Will I be happy if I serve others?

 

Oct 25 Sun

Will I be happy if I serve others?

Our Lord put the law at the service of man, as in the principle, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
This applies to many realities—one’s work, the economy, the state, civil law, civic associations, the natural world—all made for the good of man; man is not created ultimately to serve them.

Our Lord taught that the true good of human beings is how we should measure both creation and human institutions. Thus, the Church defends the unborn, the poor, the sick, and the elderly.

By doing so, people around us are to see Christ in us and through us. By our example and words, we are to proclaim the Word of the Lord, who is Christ.

It is good for each of us to review the principles of Catholic social teaching to discover, with the help of the Holy Spirit, what each of us can do to promote justice and charity, beginning with the poor and vulnerable. These actions will differ based on our specific circumstances.

First come matters of justice: we should examine our responsibilities, remedy anything unjust we may be doing, and begin doing our duty. A healthy community can exist only if we protect human rights and meet our responsibilities.

Beyond that comes charity: we ought to ask ourselves what we could do for others, out of love, and try to do it.

Living justice and charity make us the “sort of people” in whom others can see Christ, so that we and they can escape “the coming wrath.”

Some other themes at the heart of our Catholic social tradition are:

The call to family, community, and participation. We are social beings with marriage and the family as our central social institution. Laws, policies, and the economy must support human dignity, not undermine it. 

Through the principle of subsidiarity, “people have a right and a duty to participate in society, seeking together the common good and well-being of all. 

The dignity of work and the rights of workers.

And care for God’s creation.

The Lord has created us for joy. However, we cannot attain it if we do not seek God, if we are not socially minded. Sadness arises from selfishness, from the desire for compensation, from neglecting the things of God and those of our fellow human beings; it paralyzes the best intentions of holiness and apostolate, and casts a shadow over our lives.

Sadness does not stem from difficulties or sufferings—whether minor or severe—but from ceasing to look to Jesus.

Sadness is like a diseased root that produces only bitter fruit; it gives rise to many acts lacking in charity and often prevents the soul from readily resisting the temptations that arise from sensuality.

“What is needed to achieve happiness is not a comfortable life, but a heart in love,” for joy is the first fruit of love. If we truly seek the Lord in our lives, nothing can take away our peace and joy. Suffering will purify the soul, and sorrows themselves will be transformed into joy. 

Oct 24 Sat - Is it necessary to frequent the Sacraments?

 

 Oct 24 Sat 

Is it necessary to frequent the Sacraments?

Jesus opened up broad new channels for God's grace to reach us, among them, the sacraments. They foster our interior struggle and help us advance in the Christian life.

“The grace that flows from Christ's open side reaches us through these seven divine channels; through them the Head communicates his grace to the rest of the Mystical Body." 
Do you want to be strong? First, realize you are weak. Then trust in Christ, who is both Father and Brother, and who makes us strong by giving us the means to conquer: the sacraments.

“All the sacraments are ordered toward the Eucharist, where we receive Christ himself: his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity." 

In the Sacrament of the Eucharist, Jesus gives himself to us as food. Because He comes to us, everything is changed. Our being acquires new strength—the assistance of the Holy Spirit—which fills our soul, affects all our actions, and shapes our way of thinking and feeling.

Thus, we become divinized. We live a supernatural life, and the virtues and gifts received in Baptism grow to completion.

Together with the sacraments, we have other means for progressing in holiness: prayer and mortification.

The Second Vatican Council asserts: If charity is to grow and bear fruit in the soul like good seed, each of the faithful must willingly hear the word of God and carry out His will with deeds, with the help of His grace; they must frequently partake of the sacraments, chiefly the Eucharist, and take part in the liturgy; they must constantly apply themselves to prayer, self-denial, active brotherly service and the practice of all the virtues.

Prayer and mortification are indispensable for preparing our souls to receive God's grace. By prayer we identify our will with God's. “If God is life for us, we should not be surprised to realize that our very existence as Christians must be interwoven with prayer. But don't imagine that prayer is an action to be carried out and then forgotten. Somehow, our whole day can be a time of prayer –from night to morning and from morning to night."

We pray to become enkindled, seeking God's strength to fulfill everything He wants of us. Therefore, “our life of prayer should also be based on some moments that are dedicated exclusively to our conversation with God, moments of silent dialogue, before the tabernacle, if possible, to thank our Lord for having waited for us –so often alone– for twenty centuries."

“This heart-to-heart dialogue with God is mental prayer, in which the whole soul takes part; intelligence, imagination, memory and will are all involved. It is a meditation that helps to give supernatural value to our poor human life, with all its everyday occurrences."

And along with prayer, mortification. “Mortification is so important for us, so much a condition for our effectiveness."

Anyone who wants to fight has to use the available means, which have not changed in twenty centuries of Christianity. They are prayer, mortification, and frequent use of the sacraments. Since mortification is also prayer –prayer of the senses– we can sum up these means in two words: prayer and sacraments.

Oct 23 Fri - What is the Church's mission in the contemporary world?

 

Oct 23 Fri

What is the Church's mission in the contemporary world? 

Pope Leo XIV reminded Christians that “the first mission of the Church is to help people be attentive to the profound questions of life: those concerning our origin and our destiny, as well as those concerning the meaning of love and suffering.”

This requires a balanced mind, free from slavery to cultural trends, capable of viewing the world in a positive light whilst remaining steadfast in preserving and presenting the Gospel message in its entirety.

It is not by diluting the content of faith and softening its demands that Christianity can be made attractive.

It is the task of the whole People of God, especially pastors and theologians, to discern what in the cultures of our time is worthy of consideration, always taking the Word of God and the Tradition of the Church as the supreme criteria for discernment. This requires a balanced mind, free from cultural inclinations, capable of viewing the world in a positive light while remaining steadfast in preserving and presenting the Gospel message in its entirety.

The lay faithful, by virtue of their Baptism, are called to enliven the world with the Christian spirit and the vision of the Gospel. The principal settings for this activity are undoubtedly the family and the workplace, but it extends to every sphere of life.

The Church’s Social Doctrine guides the actions of Christians, who collaborate with all people of good will in promoting the common good.

The Church, therefore, desires to develop herself freely under any kind of government which grants recognition to the basic rights of the person and the family, and to the demands of the common good.

Likewise, the Pontiff made it clear that the Church’s mission is also fulfilled by contributing to the building of the earthly city. However, her methods and purpose are not primarily political in nature, but consist in bearing witness to faith and charity, together with a commitment to justice, peace, and fraternity.

Leo XIV further explained that the Church is neither “above” nor “beside” the world, but is grafted into it.

The logic of profit at all costs and the manipulation of information risk exerting undue pressure on people; they are forced to adapt to a lifestyle centered on the consumption of material goods, but our hearts are made to look upward, he said.

Proclaiming the Gospel requires believers to live lives of integrity. To fulfill the Gospel mission effectively, every baptized person must commit to cooperating with the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that their faith may be alive and expressed through consistent behavior.

In this context, he affirmed that “the separation between professed faith and daily life must be considered one of the gravest errors of our time.”
The Importance of the Holy Rosary

The Holy Father emphasized that Mary is a safe haven amid life’s difficulties. The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, celebrated every October 7, recalls the Virgin Mary’s special protection over the Church and promotes devotion to the Holy Rosary as a path of contemplation, conversion, and strengthening of the faith.

Pic: Mosaic Mater Ecclesiae, St. Peter's Square, Rome.
Project: Javier Cotelo. Execution: Virgilio Cassio. 

Oct 22 Thu - Can mortal sin be compared to leprosy?

 

Oct 22 Thu

Can mortal sin be compared to leprosy?

On one of his journeys, a leper approached Jesus and prostrated himself on the ground before him. 

Lepers had to keep away from other people for fear of spreading the disease.

Furthermore, they were banned from all inhabited places once they were legally declared impure. They were obliged to have their heads bare and their clothes torn, and when going along a road, they had to announce their presence from afar.

Even their own families fled from them. These poor sick people had often seen the horror and fear on the face of anyone who encountered them. That terrible disease, it was thought, was a punishment for their sins.

The leper prostrated himself before Jesus, gazed up at him, and showed him the advanced state of his illness. He just said, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean."

Just that:
- “If you will, you can."
This was his entire prayer. His faith was manifested in these words: “You can."
He barely used words. He only displayed his misfortune. 

Jesus could have cured the leper from a distance, as He had done before, but He wanted to touch his diseased flesh.

Jesus looked at the leper with affection, with a gentle expression full of compassion. Then Jesus extended his hand and touched him.

Perhaps the text means that He hugged him or raised him with his hands, since the leper was kneeling at Jesus' feet. How grateful the sick man would have been for that gesture. And then Jesus said: “I will; be clean."

Immediately the leprosy left him. The leper’s very illness had been the occasion to come closer to Christ.

He would never forget it. Perhaps he gave thanks for it. The Lord asked the leper not to tell anyone, but how could he keep quiet? His happiness overflowed uncontrollably from his soul, and he just had to share it with the whole world.

Having cured him, Jesus sent him to the priest to have it certified that he had been healed, and so enabled him to return to a normal life. 

The ancient Fathers of the Church saw in leprosy the depiction of sin, with its ugliness and repugnant character, and with the separation from everyone else that it causes. Sin, even venial, is incomparably worse than leprosy for its ugliness, repugnance, and for its terrible effect on the sinner in this life and in the next.

“Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.'
What a beautiful prayer for you to say often, with the faith of the poor leper, when there happens to you what God and you and I know! You will not have to wait long to hear the Master's reply: ‘I will; be made clean!'”

“When you have fallen or when you find yourself overwhelmed by the weight of your wretchedness, repeat with a firm hope: Lord, see how sick I am; Lord, you who died on the Cross for love of me, come and heal me.

– Be full of confidence, I insist. Keep on calling out to his most loving Heart. As He cured the leper, He will cure you." 

Oct 21 Wed - Is it right to accept martyrdom?

 

Oct 21 Wed

Is it right to accept martyrdom?

Yes –if accepting martyrdom means remaining faithful to Christ when unjustly threatened with death rather than denying the faith or committing grave evil. The Church teaches that martyrdom is the supreme witness to the truth of the faith, borne through fortitude and charity.

But accepting martyrdom is not the same as seeking death. Christians may flee persecution or protect their lives when they can do so without betraying the faith or harming others. The call is to accept death if fidelity leaves no morally sound alternative, but we must not seek danger recklessly.

The principle is: do not choose sin to save your life, but do not choose death for its own sake. The Church describes martyrdom as a special, high form of witness, while all Christians are called to daily fidelity even when it requires suffering or sacrifice.

Martyrdom is the supreme form of Christian witness, but it is not the only form, nor the ordinary measure of holiness. It bears witness to Christ and to the truth of the faith when fidelity to God is maintained even at the cost of death. The Church also teaches that every Christian is called to a consistent daily witness, sometimes involving serious sacrifice.

Other forms of witness include:

- Apostolate in ordinary life: living the Gospel through one’s actions and words.
- Apostolate through moral fidelity: resisting evil and refusing to do wrong, even when doing so brings hardship or loss. This may demand great courage without leading to death.
- Apostolate through service and friendship.
- Apostolate through sacrifice: generously giving one’s time, possessions, or personal comfort in response to God’s call and in love of others.

These forms are not rivals to martyrdom. Martyrdom is their highest expression when it is required; daily fidelity is the witness all Christians must be ready to give. Thus, the measure is not how dramatic the sacrifice looks, but whether one is faithful to Christ in the circumstances one actually faces.

The Catechism presents Christian witness as a broad, ordinary obligation—not something reserved for martyrs. Its treatment has three complementary dimensions:

- A life that makes the Gospel credible.

- Openly acknowledging Christ, not just privately living by Christian values.

- Readiness for costly fidelity. Christians must bear witness in every sphere of activity, public and private, and, if necessary, at the cost of life.

“You want to be a martyr. I will place a martyrdom within your reach: to be an apostle and not to call yourself an apostle, to be a missionary –with a mission– and not to call yourself a missionary, to be a man of God and to seem a man of the world: to pass unnoticed!"

“From time to time I have wondered which kind of martyrdom is the greater: that of the person who receives death for the faith, at the hands of God's enemies; or the martyrdom of someone who spends his years working with no other purpose than that of serving the Church and souls, and who grows old smiling, all the while passing unnoticed…
For me, the unspectacular martyrdom is more heroic… That is your way."