Opus Dei at the service of the transformation of Dioceses, from merely administrative structures, into “Particular Churches”

 

The Pope solves an important ecclesial paradox

Opus Dei at the service of the transformation of Dioceses, from merely administrative structures, into “Particular Churches”

The Vatican council II declared –an ecclesiological innovation- that the Dioceses are “particular Churches”. This innovation contains an ecclesial renewal of large scope, and the Pope’s decisions regarding the personal Prelature of Opus Dei are at the service of this renewal: with them, the Pope solves an important ecclesial paradox.

The starting point is the autobiographical account by Saint Paul of his conversion and baptism in Acts 22, 12-16:

“A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him. “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.”

The vocational meaning of the Baptism is noticeable here: the reception of the sacrament seals Saint Paul’s answer to God’s call, confirms the charism, and communicates him the grace to reach eternal life. The vocational sense of Christian life is characteristic of the communities in the apostolic Church. In them, the belonging to the Church by the bond of Baptism is experienced as a vocational bond or answer to a divine call that informs one’s whole existence.

The task of the administration of the Sacraments became more and more weighty with the growth of the Church, and led to the increasing of a corresponding administrative structure. It is the structure that eventually crystalized in the Codex of Canon Law (CIC). Since the structure is at the service of the administration of the Sacraments after all, it is obvious that it is a manifestation of the Incarnation of the Word, and the same can be said of the CIC itself. Moreover, function and structure are expression of the divine mercy, God’s interest that all can receive the Sacraments and reach eternal life.

Nonetheless, and without seeking it, a “functional and administrative mentality” developed and became dominant in the Church during centuries till the Council Vatican II. The Church was seen as sort of a “multinational corporation”, and the Dioceses as its “regional headquarters”. This eminently administrative meaning crystalizes by the III century, as Diocletian organized the Roman Empire according to administrative territorial units (diœcésis), and the Church adopts a similar organization; this meaning prevails still today in the common understanding.

In a certain sense we can speak of an “ecclesial paradox”: on the one hand, the sacramental aspect of the Church requires guaranteeing the administration of Baptism and the other Sacraments to all people, seriously and effectively, and this demands an enrollment into an administrative circumscription (diocese) through a non-vocational bond (domicile, rite or similar); on the other hand, Baptism contains in germ a divine call, to follow Jesus Christ with the radicalism of the first Christians; it is a latent vocation that, like the oil in a lamp, waits to be lit.

The paradox is evident in the practice of infant Baptism: although as such it contains a vocational call, its administration does not generate a vocational bond since it lacks the conscious and free acceptance of the call.

This “paradoxical” development in fact led to the loss of the vocational sense characteristic of the communities of the apostolic Church. The prejudice eventually took hold that ordinary life –at work and in the family– should develop on the margins of a call from God to holiness.

The key to resolving this paradox is found in the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council. The key piece of the “conciliar ecclesiology” is the concept of the Particular Church, according to the following statement of the decree Christus Dominus, 11 §1:

“A diocese is a portion of the people of God which is entrusted to a bishop to be shepherded by him with the cooperation of the presbytery. Thus, by adhering to its pastor and gathered together by him through the Gospel and the Eucharist in the Holy Spirit, it constitutes a particular church in which the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church of Christ is truly present and operative."

Referring to the “Particular Churches” the Council affirms that “formed in the image of the universal Church, in them and from them the one and only Catholic Church is constituted.” (Lumen Gentium, no. 23§1). And it adds that the universal Church, as “Mystical Body” “is also the body of the Churches” (Lumen Gentium, no. 23§2), in continuity with the ecclesial theology of Pius XII in Mystici Corporis (cf. Communionis Notio, note 44). Without minimizing the importance of the Dioceses as administrative and functional units, the Second Vatican Council emphasizes that they must also be what they constitutively are, “Particular Churches”, and thus proposes a reconstruction of the pastoral structure of the Church in apostolic times (Lumen Gentium, no. 26§1).

The desire that “dioceses” be more than simply administrative units animates the whole of the Council’s ecclesiology and is in harmony with another fundamental teaching of Vatican II: the universal vocation to holiness (Lumen Gentium, ch. V). The Council rediscovers the importance of the vocational bond contained in Baptism (Lumen Gentium, n. 40§1), which is latent in the Sacrament, even when it is received without a conscious and deliberate act, as in the case of infant Baptism. By defining the “Particular Church” as a “portion of the People of God”, it is recognized that belonging to the Particular Church has in reality the character of a vocational bond. The defining emphasis thus shifts from the administrative-functional and territorial aspect to the vocational one.

In the words of Pope Francis, it can be said that this conciliar ecclesial renewal seeks:

    - to promote that all the faithful may be “next door saints” (Gaudete et Exultate, 6-9);
    - to overcome “functionalism”: At times we forget about baptism, and the priest then becomes a functionary, and the danger of functionalism sets in. We should never forget that each particular vocation, including that of Holy Orders, is a completion of baptism.” (Address to the Symposium “For a Fundamental Theology of the Priesthood”).

This renewal project makes evident the importance of promoting among the lay faithful the search for holiness in the ordinary circumstances of life, through the sanctification of work and family and social commitments: the vocation of the lay faithful who live marriage is not less divine a vocation than that of the ordained ministers who live celibacy. This requires an intense program of spiritual coaching and formation (theological, apostolic, familial) of the lay faithful, and instruments capable of assuming this task with professionalism and continuity. And (surely not without inspiration of the Holy Spirit) the Council has foreseen such instruments, among them the personal prelatures.

Certainly, both the conciliar decree defining the Personal prelature (Presbyterorum Ordinis, no. 10) and the Motu proprio for its implementation (Ecclesiae Sanctae, I, no. 4) leave ample room for interpretation with regard to the bond that defines membership in this ecclesial reality. On the other hand, the founder of Opus Dei, St. Josemaría, his successor, Blessed Álvaro del Portillo, and Pope St. John Paul II sensed the potential of this juridical figure to embrace secular institutions with a vocational bond, and “saw clearly that it was perfectly suited to Opus Dei.” (Ut sit). Now, Pope Francis has ratified this intuition: confirming Opus Dei in the “authentically charismatic sphere of the Church […] in harmony with the witness of the Founder, St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, and with the teachings of conciliar ecclesiology on personal prelatures” (Ad Charisma Tuendum), the Pope confirms in fact that there can be personal prelatures with a vocational bond. He thus completes the ecclesiology of Vatican II for the benefit of the conciliar project of reconciling function and vocation in the Dioceses in order to make them particular Churches, according to the ideal of the ecclesial realities of the apostolic time. The Successor of Peter thus resolves the important ecclesial paradox mentioned above, and shows that the Church always succeeds in finding room for all the great awakenings that the Holy Spirit stirs up in her midst (cf. Joseph Card. Ratzinger, Rome, 27-29 May 1998).

The Lord expects a free and generous response to his call to holiness (cf. Mark 10:17-30), and his method is to form some who will act as leaven. Such is the mission of the personal prelatures with vocational bond: their action is “complementary and non-competitive with that of the dioceses and parishes, while their lay members remaining fully faithful to their dioceses and parishes.” (Fernando Ocáriz, interview Aug.11, 2023); particular Churches and personal Prelatures need each other, they are called to enrich and strengthen each other.

In this context are quite significant the following words of Saint Josemaría:

“For this reason, we can say, my children, that there weighs upon us the concern and the responsibility for the entire Holy Church – sollicitudo totius Sanctae Ecclesiae Dei – and not just for this or that particular portion of it. Backing up the official responsibility of the Roman Pontiff and of the Right Reverend Ordinaries (a juridical responsibility, and theirs de iure divino), we serve the whole Church, with a responsibility which is not juridical, but rather spiritual, ascetical, born of love. We offer a service of a professional nature, as citizens who bring a Christian witness of example and doctrine to the furthermost reaches of civil society." (Letter about the work of Saint Gabriel, n. 15)

With the centenary of Opus Dei in sight, I think that this teaching of the Founder is amply corroborated by the development of this personal Prelature. I limit myself here to pointing out some realities:

1) The work to motivate and enable the lay faithful to live daily a demanding plan of Christian life, and to carry out an effective personal work of evangelization and spiritual accompaniment in their professional and family environment.

2) The process of incorporation into the Prelature, which emphasizes the vocational character of belonging to it as a free response to the call of Jesus Christ to follow him.

3) The institutionalization of different modalities of living the same bond, which guarantee the means for any of the faithful to sanctify ordinary life, without having to change canonical status, e.g.: Associates lay faithful who live in apostolic celibacy and, for various personal or family needs, do not change their place; Supernumerary lay faithful who live marriage and family life with a vocational sense, and also help to form young people and newlyweds for family life (very much in line with Iuvenescit Ecclesia 22a); parish priests incardinated in the local Churches and members of the Priestly Society of the Holy Cross, whom the vocation to Opus Dei impels to live their priestly vocation without falling into functionalism, to strengthen unity with their Ordinary, and to kindle in their parishioners the vocational fire of Baptism.

All these realities confirm that Opus Dei’s intense work of formation aims to reinforce the vocational dimension of belonging to the particular Church as “a completion of Baptism”. A work in the image of that which St. Paul “carried out with ‘pastoral structures’ like the one described in Romans 16,” i.e.:, an ecclesial reality composed of priests and laity, men and women, married and celibate, united by the same vocational bond and by a personal jurisdiction (cf. Charism and Hierarchy in St. Paul).

In conclusion: “the relationship of the Prelature with the particular Churches is necessarily a relationship of service: all the activity of Opus Dei is oriented to collaborate in the intensification of the Christian life of the faithful of the particular Churches (whether they belong to Opus Dei or not).” (Fernando Ocáriz, Palabra (310, II-1991 (92)).

Continuing with the image of the Church as a body, it could be said that the “personal prelatures with a vocational bond” are called to be like the blood in the circulatory stream of that body: their mission will consist in reviving the different members of the body, enkindling in them the call to holiness latent in Baptism, in unity with the head and impelled by the beating of the heart. In this way, the personal Prelature of Opus Dei will continue to be “a valid and effective instrument of the saving mission that the Church fulfills for the life of the world” (Ad Charisma Tuendum), since the circulatory stream of the Church (the Body of Christ) is ultimately the circulatory stream of humanity (cf. Lumen Gentium 1; CCE 760).

By Antoine Suarez, Swiss physicist and philosopher, has developed significant experiments in the field of quantum physics. Since 1966 he contributes as a lay faithful to the apostolic work of the Prelature of Opus Dei in Switzerland. He lives in Zurich.

Apr 13 Sat - The Cross, lessons for the Leader

 

Apr 13 Sat
The Cross, lessons for the Leader

Often, leadership is not accompanied by success. “But we preach Christ crucified: a scandal to the Jews, foolishness to the Gentiles” (1 Cor 1:23).

Through their professional activity, Christian businessmen are also called to preach a crucified Christ who, even today, continues to be scandal and foolish. Scandal because the cross does not seem to have a place in a world full of hedonistic messages. It seems foolishness because, especially in the world of economics and business, failure is usually understood either as the result of an error, of making wrong decisions, or as that step that sometimes one must step on to reach success.  We are inundated with messages, born from the post-truth culture, that do not help us look at Christ crucified, they do not invite us to discover the face of the cross.

On the cross, Jesus experienced betrayal, mockery, loneliness, misunderstanding, abandonment, failure… Without a doubt, these experiences are familiar to people with managerial responsibilities.

The experience of the cross in life are three calls for Christian businessmen and managers:

– A call to look at the face of the crucified Christ: His face is reflected in that of every person who is humiliated and offended, sick or suffering, alone, abandoned and despised. Looking at the face of the Crucified moves us to transcend our suffering to that of others.

– A call to identify ourselves with Christ crucified: «The Christian has the face of Jesus engraved indelibly on his heart. He is not only “alter Christus", but “ipse Christus" (not another Christ, but Christ himself). Therefore, the ultimate goal of every man consists essentially in a full and total identification with Christ.

– A call to hope in Christ crucified: “And Jesus, crying out with a powerful voice, said: “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” And, having said this, he expired." The last words from the cross were uttered looking at Father God. Because pain and death are not the last word. Christians do not worship a God of the dead, but of the living. Our projects, our companies, must also be illuminated by hope, a hope founded on the conviction of the possibility of a resurrected life.

The cross is a call to fight for, and with, the crucified. As entrepreneurs and managers, we have the opportunity to put our projects at the service of this task. But have confidence: He promised to accompany us “to the end of the world.” His Mother, our mother, is also there. Do not hesitate to invoke the Holy Spirit to guide your choices. The Church needs your testimony.

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Apr 12 Fri - We too may experience Christ's loneliness on the Cross

 Apr 12 Fri
We too may experience Christ's loneliness on the Cross.
“As time goes by, people sometimes experience loneliness in their professional, social and even interior lives - the loneliness of Christ on the Cross. But if they realize that they are carriers of Christ, they are able to overcome that loneliness by seeking help from this Lord of ours, who has conquered death and now reigns victorious over all things. And with his help they too are victorious, and go on to live our Christian vocation even more effectively. So, don't let your mistakes get you down, as long as you try to pick yourself up and start again."

Christ's Resurrection is a victory for us. But we must renew our inner dispositions.
This is the great day which the Lord has made, this is the day of his victory. Where are the soldiers whom the authorities had commanded to guard the tomb? Where is the seal that they had placed on the stone closing the entrance to the sepulcher? Where are the men who crucified Jesus? Today it is Christ's enemies who are fleeing, for he never loses battles."

“Earthly things are only as important as we make them. If we are immersed in God nothing will disturb our interior peace. When, out of weakness, we make a big deal out of these insignificant events, and let them get us down, it's because we want to. If we stay close to our Lord, however, we feel secure. If we unite ourselves to Christ's Cross and his glorious Resurrection, there is no obstacle we cannot overcome."

Of course, sometimes sufferings can last somewhat longer and our body can give out on us and fall sick, so that we have to drag it around like a tired donkey. Nevertheless, you and I have the perfect remedy for this. We have the sacraments, and the other means of spiritual advise.

“Now is the time to make a change. Holiness means being reborn every day, starting anew every single day. Don't let your mistakes get you down, as long as you have good will and begin again each time."

“Be faithful to our Lord at every moment of your life, and when you feel that you aren't being faithful, give an extra push in your struggle, with a cheerful, sporting spirit, and you will be victorious. Take all your failings, all those obstacles on the road, and place them at Christ's feet, so that he will be raised on high and triumph -and you will triumph along with him. Don't let anything bother you; rectify your intention; try and try again; and in the end, if you yourself can't manage, our Lord will come and help you to leap the hurdle, the hurdle of holiness. This is the way to be renewed, to conquer ourselves: getting up again every day in the certainty that we will make it to the end of the road, where love awaits us."

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Apr 11 Thu - In the Mass, the risen Christ is present among us

 

Apr 11 Thu

Jesus promised the apostles, “I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world,” and fulfilled that promise. The disciples loved being with Jesus, talking to him, enjoying his presence. Consider, for instance, what happened one morning after the Lord’s resurrection. The disciples had returned to their usual occupations, and that morning they were on Lake Tiberias. After a whole night of fishing, they were coming back empty handed. Jesus was standing on the shore, though the disciples did not realize that it was him. A short while later, at the bidding of Jesus, they turned their boat around, threw out their nets again and caught so many fish that they could not haul them in. Then, immediately, the disciples recognized Jesus.

We can see in this miraculous catch of fish an allusion to the Church. She is compared to an unbreakable fishing net that becomes a divine and most effective instrument when she obeys Christ’s words.

Upon reaching the shore, the disciples found Jesus beside a charcoal fire with fish cooking on it. Jesus invited them, “Come and have breakfast!” He then took the bread and gave it to them, and the same with the fish.

That was not a Eucharistic celebration, of course, but it was a moment of intimacy for the Lord and his friends. That moment somehow reminds us of the Eucharist. There, Christ makes us feel his presence in an ineffable way: His love becomes especially evident. The risen Christ is present among us, fishers of men, offering us his friendship, his abiding love. This love sustains our fraternity and makes us apostolically fruitful.

“When I was a child, frequent Communion was still not a widespread practice. I remember how people used to prepare to go to Communion. Everything had to be just right, body and soul: the best clothes, hair well-combed - even physical cleanliness was important - maybe even a few drops of cologne... These were manifestations of love, full of finesse and refinement, on the part of manly souls who knew how to repay Love with love."

“As you attend Mass, you will learn to deepen your friendship with each one of the three divine Persons: the Father who begets the Son; the Son, begotten by the Father; the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. When we approach any one of the divine Persons, we approach the one God. And when we come close to all three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - again we come into the presence of the one true God. Love the Mass, my children, love the Mass. And be hungry to receive our Lord in Communion, although you may be cold inside, although your emotions may not correspond to your desires. Receive Communion with faith, with hope, with burning charity."

Let us ask our Lady to teach us to live each day's Mass with the sentiments of humility and adoration with which she received her Son Jesus Christ.

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Apr 9 Tue - We must be the Sacred Vessels of the Word

 

Apr 9 Tue
We must be the Sacred Vessels of the Word.
God created man in His image and likeness. Male and female, He created them. After the Fall, families expanded into nations, and nations participated in familial duties as vessels of the Word. Yet peoples fell into the horrors of evil and false worship.

God identified the Chosen People—the Twelve Tribes of Israel—as His vessel to carry the Word in history. God chose the Israelites—the most insignificant of all peoples—as the vessel of His Word to show forth His might.

Jerusalem became the seedbed for the Word of God in the fullness of time. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14). Jesus is the Word, true God and true man.

The Gospels reveal the three years of the public ministry of the Word. The Sacred Vessel of Jesus brought the Old Testament to fulfillment. The vessel of the Word is the Church, born of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

God guides the Church in her duties as the vessel of His Word through history. He respects our freedom. He allows us to make mistakes, but He repeatedly directs our attention to the Deposit of Faith we have received from the Apostles. The Deposit of Faith organically grows but cannot change (cf. Dei Verbum, Vatican II). God promises that His Church is the unfailing vessel of the Word.

The Church is the guardian and ultimate interpreter of the Scriptures. Bishops and priests under the guidance of the Vicar of Christ, the pope, help navigate history: “the Boat of Peter” as the vessel of the Word. Jesus offers His Divine guarantee against a definitive shipwreck. “You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my Church, and the [gates of hell] shall not prevail against it” (Mt. 16:18). Like the sacred vessels at Mass, the Church’s teaching authority is merely a guardian and a vessel, never a master of the Word, much less the Word itself.

The Church is the vessel for the study of doctrine and theology. The raw material of theology includes the dictionary of God’s Word: Scriptures (above all the Gospels), the Apostles’ Creed, the Ten Commandments, and the Sacraments. Like a game of Scrabble that helps expand our vocabulary, theological studies under the guidance of the Church develop our understanding of the Faith.

Church councils and synods play the continuing game of theological Scrabble throughout history. The vocabulary of God’s Revelation is rooted in Tradition and Scriptures. But the Scrabble of Faith does not allow changes that misspell or give a different meaning to the words of Revelation. Ordinary Catholics help redirect the path of the Word by holding fast to the Faith.

Through faithful and holy lives cooperating with His grace, His Word will “accomplish His purposes and prosper in the thing for which He sent it.”
Fragment By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky

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Apr 8 Mon - Contemplating Our Lady of Vladimir

 

Apr 8 Mon
Today, feast of the Annunciation, we contemplate Our Lady of Vladimir, Russian icon, (twelfth century). Belongs to the type of Our Lady of Tenderness. It is one of the most revered images of Our Lady in Russia.

Our first glance goes towards the eyes of Our Lady. Although her head is bowed toward her Son, her gaze is fixed on the viewer, almost with a sense of urgency, as if against a windowpane, and her large, beautiful almond-shaped eyes bearing a deep melancholy are the defining feature of her face.
“My child, why do you make my Son and me suffer? Couldn’t you do more? Couldn’t you take your life more seriously? Couldn’t you be more faithful to your Christian vocation? Leave aside whatever separates you from my Son, and come with me."
Our Lady’s veil tells us of her immaculate purity.

We continue our contemplation looking at the details of the icon following a circular path. Next, her deep blue mantle evokes the spiritual depth of her love.
Three stars appear on Mary's dress (one covered by the Child): her virginity before, during and after her Son's birth. The stars help us also to realize that she is the favorite Daughter of God the Father, the Mother of God the Son, and the Spouse and Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Next, we admire her hands. She cradles her Child in her right hand, and she supports Him. Am I “supporting” the Body of Jesus, which is the Church? Am I taking Him to my friends and colleagues?
Our Mother’s left hand calls the viewer’s attention to Jesus; she always directs us to Him, “Do whatever He tells you”, she said, opening a space for us to approach Jesus without fear.

Now we are gazing at the Child. The contrast between Our Lady’s dark mantle and his bright golden robes, her shadowed face, and his bright face, creates an effect that feels timeless and eternal; she seems to recede to the background even as she offers her Son to the viewer. Mother, that I should never be separated from Him.

The Child sits in her right hand, presented as a wise man dressed in adult clothes. His bare feet dangling, showing us that He took a human nature from her. Paradoxically, the Virgin and Child sit motionless and serene; and yet the Child’s whole body moves toward her. His eyes are directed toward his mother’s face. He reaches upward to her, embraces her fully around the neck with his left hand, clutching her veil with his right, and pressing his cheek to hers.

The Child shows us that God is not ashamed to be close to us, our God, to be identified as the One who is involved with us; here, though, it is as if He is not merely unashamed but positively shameless in his eagerness, longing to embrace and be embraced. It is not simply that God condescends not to mind our company; rather he is passionate for it. The image of God’s action we are presented with here is of a hungry love. My Lord, you are seeking my love; and I distancing myself from you.

Closing the circular movement, we conclude where we began, looking at Our Mother’s countenance. Mother, the gentle tenderness you share with your child is a quiet, strong feeling, reflected from your image. There is no distance between his soft, but total embrace and you. He loves you. Yes, there is no doubt! O how this Child loves you! And he is God. And yet, His Body is from your body, his flesh from your flesh, his Heart from your heart. His eyes praise you and thank you for your share in his humanity.

The entire surface of the icon, including its frame, is uniformly pitted and chipped. Perhaps the flaked paint and scars on the surface serve as a reminder to us who are wounded, and not yet fitted for the beatific vision. We can approach Mary and Jesus in this icon because it reminds us our condition: worn, damaged, and impermanent. And while they have reached resurrected glory, we still have to fight for it with our obedience to God’s Will.

These abrasions also suggest that over the centuries, devotees have not only handled the icon, but have touched it in meaningful gestures, connecting to the Virgin and Child through their hands and his foot. They give us a tangible experience of how Jesus and Mary do not remain ensconced in heaven but participate in our daily endeavors.

The golden background of the icon evokes a situation outside the limits of time and space, our true Fatherland, heaven.

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Apr 7 Sun - Christ, our peace and our light, appeared to the Apostles

 

Apr 7 Sun
We have Christ, who is our peace and our light.
The Lord appeared to the Apostles and greeted them: PEACE. Jesus destroyed the dividing wall between God and the sinner, and brought us together in himself, thus making peace. He is our peace, who has made both of us one.

Since Christ is our peace, we shall be really Christians if Christ is seen in our lives because peace reigns in our hearts. Thus, we must not allow conflict to come back to us. God has destroyed sin for our salvation. We must not, then, allow ourselves to give way to sin, for this would place our souls in danger. We must not revive what is truly dead, calling it back to life by our sins.

Since we bear the name of Christ, who is Peace, we too must end up all resentment, so that we may declare with our lives what we believe.

We too, then, should be reconciled with those who attack us, and also bring together the warring factions within us, so that our flesh may no longer be opposed to the spirit, and the spirit to our flesh. When the mind –that should control the flesh– is subject to the divine law, then we become a new creature, one of peace. When mind and flesh walk in the same direction, we have peace within ourselves.

When we consider that Christ is the true Light, far removed from all falsehood, we realize that our lives too should be lit by the rays of this Sun of justice. These rays are the virtues by which we cast off the works of darkness and behave as one in the light of day. When we refuse to have anything to do with the darkness of evil, and do everything in the Light, we ourselves become light, and our works give light to others.

But if we look at Christ, then we shall be free from all that is wicked and impure, both in thought and in deed. We shall prove ourselves worthy to bear Christ’s name, not with words, but in our actions, and in our lives.
Thus, fight; do not to be disheartened by any failure as long as you have done your best.

If we keep this marvelous supernatural perspective, no suffering in this life will discourage us. On the contrary, we will be filled with optimism, because we are fulfilling a divine mission, united to Christ on the Cross. As St. 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. Hence, 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."

Our Mother Mary, who encourages us, and gives us the assurance of her constant, all-powerful intercession on our behalf.

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Apr 6 Sat - Mary Magdalene, Prophetess and Penitent

 

Apr 6 Sat
Mary Magdalene, Prophetess and Penitent

The Gospel tells us that the Risen Lord appeared to Mary Magdalene. Probably, Mary of Bethany is also Mary Magdalene, the Apostle to the Apostles, prophetess and penitent.

Once, while Jesus was reclining at table, Mary “came with an alabaster jar of perfumed oil, costly genuine spikenard. She broke the alabaster jar and poured it on his head.” Our Lord himself calls attention to the importance of this action, and solemnly declares, “Amen, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed to the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

So, what is it exactly that she has done?

(1) What she did was a prophetic act. Mary proclaims a truth not by words but by an act. She proclaims the truth about Christ and about what was going to happen.

The truth is that he is the Messiah, the Anointed One – the Christ. As kings and priests were anointed in ancient Israel, so Mary anoints Jesus to proclaim and reveal what he already is. She doesn’t make him the Anointed One, but by her devotion she confesses him as the Christ.

(2) She is an apostle. The truth she proclaims about what is to come is made explicit by our Lord: “She has anticipated anointing my body for burial.” She proclaims his death – precisely the thing the Apostles were so deaf to. Thus, her actions proclaim him as both the Christ, and the Victim for our sins. This act reveals Mary as the “Apostle to the Apostles.” She proclaims to them what they will later proclaim to the nations.

(3) She showed a total, complete and absolute attitude of self-giving to Jesus. That’s conveyed by the financial waste, which the disciples pick up on immediately.  Their reaction is harsh. They are “indignant” and “infuriated.” They rebuke her, “Why has there been this waste of perfumed oil? It could have been sold for more than three hundred days’ wages and the money given to the poor.” Indeed, the jar and oil combined could have totaled tens of thousands of dollars.

She did what they hadn’t yet done; she gave all. She squandered her savings out of love for Jesus. Her act expresses her love of Jesus; he’s worth everything. Judas only values him at thirty silver pieces.

By Baptism, we all have a share in Christ’s prophetic office. But we typically keep our powder dry by slavery to human respect. What will people think? What will they say? Mary of Bethany teaches that to proclaim Christ means not to take account of such things.

The shattering of the alabaster and the pouring of the oil reveal also a penitential act. It’s an expression of gratitude for sins forgiven. Here the prophetess and penitent intersect. She proclaims him as the Christ who has freed her from sin and possession.

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Apr 5 Fri - Being nailed to the Cross means giving ourselves completely

 

Apr 5 Fri
Being nailed to the Cross means giving ourselves completely.
“Reflect on the example that Christ gave us, from the crib in Bethlehem to his throne on Calvary. Think of his self-denial and of all he went through: hunger, thirst, weariness, heat, tiredness, ill-treatment, misunderstandings, tears... But at the same time think of his joy in being able to save the whole of mankind."

“Jesus gave himself up for us in a sacrifice of love. What about you, who are a disciple of Christ? You, a favored son of God, who have been ransomed at the price of the Cross; you too should be ready to deny yourself. So, no matter what situation we may find ourselves in, we can never allow ourselves to behave in a way that is selfish, materialistic, comfort-loving, dissipated or -forgive me if I speak too candidly- just plain stupid!"

Christ is not merely asking us to renounce things which may or may not be important. He is asking for something of greater value. He wants us to renounce our own selves, and to practice a spirit of self-denial and sacrifice every single day. That is the condition he sets for everyone who wishes to follow him.

A day without mortification is a day lost. But if we are faithful, we can say with St Paul: “I have been crucified with Christ." We must be nailed to the Cross and surrender our own selves. We must put everything around us at Jesus' feet and not keep anything back. We must say "Yes" to Jesus about anything he asks from us.

St Paul writes: Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we, an imperishable crown. And St. Josemaría comments: “All you have to do is look around you. See how many sacrifices men and women make, willingly or less willingly, to take care of their bodies, to protect their health, or to gain the respect of others... Are we unable to stir ourselves at the thought of the immensity of God's love, so poorly corresponded by men, and mortify what needs to be mortified so that our hearts and minds may be more attentive to our Lord?"

If anyone wishes to come after me... If the grain of wheat does not die... These are clear warnings, urgent invitations from Jesus Christ for us to value the role of the holy Cross in our lives. We are the seed of God, and we cannot go through this world without dying, without being nailed to the Lord's Cross, so as to obtain the fruits of his sacrifice. Now, in the intimacy of our prayer, we can ask ourselves: What am I doing in order to die to myself each day? Do I carry my cross resolutely from morning till night?

Let us ask our Lord to increase our faith. Let us appeal to our Mother Mary to teach us to love the Cross, so that we can learn from her how to follow Jesus Christ right up to Calvary.

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Apr 4 Thu - God gives us new life through the sacraments.

 Apr 4 Thu

God gives us new life through the sacraments.

The sacraments are sources of supernatural life, divine channels through which grace reaches our souls. Whenever we receive them with the proper dispositions, we are putting ourselves in vital contact with Christ in his Passion, the source of all grace, and hence we are putting ourselves in contact with God himself. In them, the humanity of Christ stands to God as a conjoined instrument (like the hands of the carpenter), whereas the sacrament stands as a separate instrument (like his hammer).

“The sacraments are the main medicine the Church has to offer. If you voluntarily abandon them, it is impossible to advance along the road, to follow Jesus Christ. We need them as we need air to breathe, the circulation of the blood, and light to appreciate at every moment what God wants of us."

“If the sacraments are abandoned, genuine Christian life disappears. Yet we should realize that particularly today there are many people who seem to forget about the sacraments and even scorn this redeeming flow of Christ's grace."

Let us contemplate the mercy of God, who has shown us so much love; and may our hearts be set on fire with thanksgiving and the desire to respond to him more fully, through greater dedication every day.

“I would like us to reflect now on the sacraments, which are fountains of divine grace. They are a wonderful proof of God's loving kindness. Just meditate calmly on the Catechism of Trent's definition: ‘certain sensible signs which CAUSE GRACE and at the same time DECLARE IT by putting it before our eyes.’ God our Lord is infinite; his love is inexhaustible; his clemency and tenderness toward us are limitless. He grants us his grace in many other ways, but he has expressly and freely established, as only he can do, seven effective signs to enable men to share in the merits of the redemption in a stable, simple, and accessible way."

The water poured on the head, the bread, the words pronounced in the name of Christ: all these are external signs of deep inner communion with our Lord. And thus, through material things, God himself acts on the soul.

The sacraments do not depend for their effect on the goodness of the person who administers them, for they act by virtue of a power conferred on them by Christ, who is always the principal minister: the sacraments are acts of Christ, who administers them through men. But they are administered by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The priest merely lends his tongue and his hands to God.

How great is Christ's self-surrender in binding himself to the actions of men! How effective are his sacraments! Trusting in his mercy, we say to him with the Church: Father, Creator, you give the world new life by your sacraments. May we, your Church, grow in your life and continue to receive your help on earth.

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Apr 3 Wed - Who is my patron saint?

Apr 3 Wed
Who is my patron saint? From the beginnings of Christianity there has been no doubt that persons who led a life of great holiness or suffered and died for the cause of God enjoyed the glories of a special reward in Heaven and deserved highest esteem and veneration from the faithful on earth. Yet the majority of saints are unfamiliar to many people.

The saints serve as the refracted prism through which Christ’s light shines in every time and place and state in life.

Given the present circumstances, what can we do to restore them to their rightful prominence in the Church’s liturgical and devotional life?

In the first place, priests should mention the saints. They are the superheroes of our religion, and their stories rival any Hollywood blockbuster. Priests would do well to frequently incorporate them into their homilies, perhaps on a Sunday that coincides with a feast day, or a saint whose life illustrates a given Gospel in a profound way. People will benefit from those stories far more than from the banal ones we too often hear about Father’s hobbies or childhood memories.

Parishes should also make it a point to celebrate their patron saint in a way that fosters a deep bond between patron and parishioners. Thus, a patronal feast should not pass by like any other saint’s day on the calendar.

That celebration of the patron saint of the city or district also speaks of specificity of Christianity. Of all the saints who ever lived, this one was given to us, some should say. There is something beautiful, though, in the identification of a parish with a particular saint, perhaps an obscure one, whom the parish claims as its own special and heavenly friend and intercessor.

Moreover, pastors should encourage the faithful to have devotion to and invoke the patron saint whose name one has received in baptism. This "baptismal saint" is considered a special and personal patron all through life. Children are made familiar with the history and legend of "their own" saint, are inspired by his life and example, pray to him, and gratefully accept his loving help in all their needs. It is a beautiful custom, this close relationship of an individual to his personal patron saint in Heaven.

Finally, priests should encourage acts of piety that give pride of place to the display and veneration of relics. When we honor here the body that will one day reunite with its soul, we have a tangible reminder that we, too, are called to be body and soul in Heaven. We are called to be saints.

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Apr 2 Tue - Faith, hope, and charity are also things to do

 

Apr 2 Tue
The truth will win, often more quickly than we expected. This is an optimistic view, often maintained by the Catholic Church, especially when she is put to the test.

Hope itself is not an argument for complacency, but rather, against despair. But it is not easily understandable in our present, unorthodox “woke” environment. We should be hoping for what? they say.

Hope is a theological virtue, higher than any of the cardinal virtues. The “cardinals” are “reasonable” virtues, easy to defend.

Whereas, the “theological” virtues – Faith, Hope, Charity – cannot make sense to the man formed on the ideal of “pure” science, shaking off religion. Such a person is a pure sceptic, and may follow that route to pure cynicism.

His hopes can be placed only in naturalist or material things, encountered by chance. He is a tourist in this world, as are all humans. Without the theological virtues, he cannot hope to “write home” through prayer. His hopes for himself must always depend upon his human knowledge. He knows that he will die. Nothing can end well.

We must instead give our answer to the question, “Hope for what?” – based on the divine promise. “Thy kingdom come” is the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer. It is in the coming of His Kingdom that our individual hope is vested, and for the Christian, it is Hope writ large.

This isn’t a “scientific” hope that God’s kingdom will prove to have been real, and authentic. We are in no position even to speculate about that. We are TOLD it is reality, and we accept or reject what we have been told.

To imagine that this kingdom MIGHT exist, is like imagining that the earth might be; that in spite of every reservation, the appearances of the here and now are NOT illusion.

Instead, we wish to be saved, for real. The Kingdom of God is, as it were, at hand.

We entertain the notion that a human has a body, that he has memory, that he has the power and the calling to be a saint – we take for real, because that is how things are in the here and now.

Hence: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is another phrase, expressing our theological Hope – not to be confused with an expression of expectation. Our task, in the approach to Heaven, must begin here, and now. Our work “is cut out for us.”

Faith, hope, and charity go beyond reason, lighting the way to Heaven. These are not things to “believe,” merely, but things to do. By complement, such cardinal virtues as that of Prudence offer rational checks on our “journey,” or “pilgrimage,” but would be useful wherever we were going.

But by contrast, the theological virtues are mere words to the man on the naturalist path.

“Woke” is the current lunacy, the current phase. But it can be defeated, by a genuine Christian virtue. By Hope.

From David Warren, Against the Woke Heresy. Illustration: Our Lady of Hope (Seville).

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