God honors a person’s search for Truth. He looks deep into the heart and knows the will. The unpardonable sin is final rejection of God. God honors our will. He is also merciful and hears the prayers of others on our behalf. (from a homily by Fr. S.M)
“If, today, you hear His voice, harden not your heart.” Hebrews 4:7
Day31Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan 4/1/09
St. Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XX
Day 31 Lite Version
St. Athanasius: Life of Anthony: 82-89
Printer-Friendly Version of Outline: Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan PDF
Ed Morrisey recommends Brothers at War
Jake Rademacher who made the documentary said of it:
“The honest storytelling of “Brothers At War” has received praise from war fighters, veterans, military families, Hollywood celebrities, and now Medal of Honor recipients. Join them by supporting this film which gives a true depiction of our nation’s warriors and their families.”
Michael Yon says, “Gary Sinise has gotten personally involved in promoting this movie.”
“The film follows Jake’s exploits as he risks everything—including his life—to tell his brothers’ story. Often humorous, but sometimes downright lethal, BROTHERS AT WAR is a remarkable journey where Jake embeds with four combat units in Iraq. Unprecedented access to U.S. and Iraqi combat units take him behind the camouflage curtain with secret reconnaissance troops on the Syrian border, into sniper “Hide Sites” in the Sunni Triangle, through raging machine gun battles with the Iraqi Army.”
Purifying the Church is a work of the Spirit in all ages. The Church is the home of sinners working on being saints. Like the disciples that needed Jesus to wash their feet although they had already been cleansed by Christ, Christians in contact with the world do find that the dust and dirt does stick.
Here I want to repeat a message and spread an appeal made by Fr. Benedict Groeschel, of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. He says, some of the very liberal Catholic are calling for all kinds of changes that will leave the Catholic Church no longer the Catholic Church. Fr. Groeschel says, that the Church has be humiliated. It has been demoralized. We are asking what will happen. He says, “Pray! Pray! Pray!………Pray for the Church, pray for the victims and pray for our enemies?”
In an urgent appeal Fr. Groeschel joins EWTN in asking, “What can we do as Catholics and Christians to bring something good out to these most vicious attacks on the Church in the media and society?……Otherwise, we will have what Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen calls ‘wasted suffering’.”
Fr. Groeschel calls for reform; vigilance and reform to carry us forward from this point of humiliation, betrayal and defamation. Here are some areas which need reformation:
1. Liturgy and prayer
It should be reverent devout and worthy. Worship of God is a serious business. Prepare for it! Dress for it!
2. Eucharistic celebration and Reconciliation
Mass should be presented in a manner that supports prayer with appropriate music for all ages that lifts the heart and spirit. It should be prayerful.
3. Catholic education
Many Catholic schools of higher education should not be called Catholic. Many are simply trying to make money – greed!
4. Catholic Social Service and Hospitals
Many Catholic Hospital and Social Services are lacking in areas of Catholic sexual morality and catholic medical ethics. How do you make changes? Write letters!… Begin your letter to schools and hospitals the need change in these areas like this: “Before we do anything else, we thought it was only fair to contact you.”
5. Religious life
According to Fr. Benedict, Catholics can be very stupid. They don’t know how to deal with a theory. They let themselves be influenced by every passing fad. This is what has destroyed people; taking too much from psychology and not enough from the Gospel and from the Tradition of the Found. Give them a theory and they think they have to believe it. Something comes along, call it psychology, call it the ennegram and Catholics have to pick it up and play with it. For His part, Father Groeschel knows what he believes. He believes in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t need to believe in psychology or the creations of pop-culture. Psychology or things masquerading as modern thought have have far too much influence on Catholic thinking. Many Catholic communities are completely lacking in prayer life, in witness to the Gospel. They are openly open disloyalty to Catholic teaching and especially to the Holy Father.
Speak up! Cause trouble! Do not accept the false and mediocre. Resurrect the wonderful spirit of your community’s founder or foundress. Read the Gospel. Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Watch out for the influence of psychology. Some things are effective as tools but not as Creed.
6. Issues of Life
Finally, Fr. Groseschel says, “Speak out for Life.” We are not a loud voice. There are millions of Catholics and so far our voice is still a whisper. Get with it. Discover your Catholic heart and passion!
Don’t be surprised that the Church is being crucified. The Church is the Body of Christ. It is going to the Cross. As you call it on it’s sinfulness, don’t exempt yourself. Don’t be afraid of a Crucified Christ. Turn to Christ! Where Satan reigns; the Crucified Conquers! Christ conqueror! Christ captain! Christ command! The Church will come forth purified and one with its Lord.
From The Story of a Soul (L’Histoire d’une Ame):
The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, by Therese Martin (of Lisieux)
At last dawned the eternal day. It was Thursday, September 30,
1897. In the morning, the sweet Victim, her eyes fixed on Our
Lady’s statue, spoke thus of her last night on earth: “Oh! with
what fervour I have prayed to her! . . . And yet it has been pure
agony, without a ray of consolation. . . . Earth’s air is failing
me: when shall I breathe the air of Heaven?”For weeks she had been unable to raise herself in bed, but, at
half-past two in the afternoon, she sat up and exclaimed: “Dear
Mother, the chalice is full to overflowing! I could never have
believed that it was possible to suffer so intensely. . . . I can
only explain it by my extreme desire to save souls. . . .” And a
little while after: “Yes, all that I have written about my thirst
for suffering is really true! I do not regret having surrendered
myself to Love.”She repeated these last words several times. A little later she
added: “Mother, prepare me to die well.” The good Mother Prioress
encouraged her with these words: “My child, you are quite ready to
appear before God, for you have always understood the virtue of
humility.” Then, in striking words, Therese bore witness to
herself:“Yes, I feel it; my soul has ever sought the truth. . . . I have
understood humility of heart!”. . . . . . .
At half-past four, her agony began–the agony of this “Victim of
Divine Love.” When the Community gathered round her, she thanked
them with the sweetest smile, and then, completely given over to
love and suffering, the Crucifix clasped in her failing hands, she
entered on the final combat. The sweat of death lay heavy on her
brow . . . she trembled . . . but, as a pilot, when close to
harbour, is not dismayed by the fury of the storm, so this soul,
strong in faith, saw close at hand the beacon-lights of Heaven,
and valiantly put forth every effort to reach the shore.As the convent bells rang the evening Angelus, she fixed an
inexpressible look upon the statue of the Immaculate Virgin, the
Star of the Sea. Was it not the moment to repeat her beautiful
prayer:“O thou who camest to smile on me in the morn of my life, come
once again and smile, Mother, for now it is eventide!”[15]A few minutes after seven, turning to the Prioress, the poor
little Martyr asked: “Mother, is it not the agony? . . . am I not
going to die?” “Yes, my child, it is the agony, but Jesus perhaps
wills that it be prolonged for some hours.” In a sweet and
plaintive voice she replied: “Ah, very well then . . . very well
. . . I do not wish to suffer less!”Then, looking at her crucifix:
“Oh! . . . I love Him! . . . My God, I . . . love . . . Thee!”
These were her last words. She had scarcely uttered them when, to
our great surprise, she sank down quite suddenly, her head
inclined a little to the right, in the attitude of the Virgin
Martyrs offering themselves to the sword; or rather, as a Victim
of Love, awaiting from the Divine Archer the fiery shaft, by which
she longs to die.Suddenly she raised herself, as though called by a mysterious
voice; and opening her eyes, which shone with unutterable
happiness and peace, fixed her gaze a little above the statue of
Our Lady. Thus she remained for about the space of a _Credo,_ when
her blessed soul, now become the prey of the “Divine Eagle,” was
borne away to the heights of Heaven.(From the Project Gutenberg Ebook)
InstaPundit on behalf of Simon Jester:
Here is where we could use your help. Submit your t-shirt ideas. Send us articles about dumb government. Even send us pictures of you and your neighbors at a tea party, esp. if you are sporting a Simon Jester! We will publish your pictures down there in the gallery, investigate your articles and give our take on them, and some new designs are already in the works. We aim to be a source of information and a rallying point for citizens who love the liberty inherent in all men and codified in our founding documents.
Daniel Hannan, he’s just too funny and sensible to be in government!
Glenn Reynolds/Instapundit finds more Daniel Hannan MEP (Member European Parliament) and escoriator on Scarsborough’ morning joe:
“The truth Prime Minister is that you have run out of our Money….You’re pathologically incapable of taking responsibility for these things… You are the Devalued Prime Minister of a Devalued Government.
Liberal spending mania selling their children future for their projects and agenda.
Twelve days after the Pope on the way to Africa answered a reporters question saying the Aides“is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, and that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which can aggravate the problem.”
The media continues to defame the Pope but because of the controversy people are doing their homework and reading reports of disease control agencies and checking the stats.
The Pope is right. Media morality won’t work in the battle against Aids Their wishful thinking and magic condoms offer risky hope in an area where HIV and AIDS holds nations hostage.
Ugandan health officials wade into the fray with there knowledge based facts and observations (not biased based opinions.)
Raymond Arroy quotes author Matthew Hanley on the NCNC blot this week who wrote:
“An exhaustive review of the impact of condom promotion on actual HIV transmission in the developing world concluded that condoms have not been responsible for turning around any of the severe African epidemics. This rigorous study was originally commissioned by UNAIDS, and conducted by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco. Instead of welcoming the findings, and adapting HIV prevention strategies accordingly, UNAIDS first tried to alter the findings, and ultimately refused to publish them. The findings were so threatening to UNAIDS that the researchers were finally forced to publish them on their own in another, peer-reviewed journal.”
Day30Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan 3/31/09
St. Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XIX
Day 30 Lite Version
St. Athanasius: Life of Anthony:74-81
Printer-Friendly Version of Outline: Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan PDF
President Obama seems a man flying in the face of the Holy Spirit and not prone to be moved the Spirit, especially in areas of life, morality and the Natural Law…unless by “natural law” we mean survival of the most well-positioned, power-hungry and powerful.
Modern Medieval writes: “It appears that Joachim of Fiore is still around and voting for Obama.” “From the annals of strange stuff, I ran across this Italian article that has the mayor San Giovanni of Fiore inviting Barack Obama to his town in order to become an honorary citizen. Apparently, according to this article, Obama has invoked the 12th-century mystic and theologian Joachim of Fiore on no fewer than 3 occasions.”
In a Lenten sermon by P. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCAP – delivered in the presence of Benedict XVI 3-29-2009 Joachim of Fiore comes up again with regard to Obama and what this Presisent could possibly be doing in Joachim’s corner:
The fact that the recently elected president of the United States referenced Joachim of Fiore three times during his electoral campaign has renewed interest in medieval monk’s teachings. Few of the people who talk about him, especially on the internet, know or care to know just what exactly this author said. Every idea of church or world renewal is offhandedly attributed to him, even the idea of a new Pentecost for the Church, which was invoked by John XXIII.
One thing is certain: whether or not it should be attributed to Joachim of Fiore, the idea of a third era of the Spirit that would follow on the era of the Old Testament Father and the New Testament Christ is false and heretical because it affects the very heart of the Trinitarian dogma. St. Gregory Nazianzen’s statement is entirely different. He makes a distinction between three phases in the revelation of the Trinity: in the Old Testament the Father fully revealed himself and the Son is promised and announced; in the New Testament the Son fully revealed himself and the Holy Spirit is promised and announced; in the time of the Church, the Holy Spirit is finally fully known and we rejoice in his presence.
The Church speaks with the voice of the Holy Spirit teaching and guiding through its Magisterium. In speaking of the Holy Spirit Cantalamessa says:
St. Ignatius suggested practical means to apply these criteria. One is this: when we are faced with two possible choices, it is useful to first consider one of them, as if we must follow it, and to stay in that state for a day or more; then we should evaluate how our heart reacts to that choice: is there peace, harmony with the rest of our own decisions; is there something inside of you that encourages you in that direction, or on the contrary has it left a haze of restlessness… Then repeat the process with the second hypothesis. All this should be done in an atmosphere of prayer, abandonment to God’s will, and openness to the Holy Spirit.
And in closing he says:
When everything is reduced to just the personal, private listening to the Spirit, the path is opened to a unstoppable process of division and subdivision, because everyone believe they are right. And the very division and multiplication of denominations and sects, often contrasting each other in their essential points, demonstrates that the same Spirit of truth in speaking cannot be in all, because otherwise he would be contradicting himself.
It is well known that this is the danger to which the protestant world is most exposed, having built the “interior testimony” of the Holy Spirit as the only criteria of truth, against every exterior, ecclesial testimony, other than that of the written Word.[10] Some extreme fringes will even go as far as to separate the interior guidance of the Spirit even from word of the Scriptures. We then have the various movements of “enthusiasts” or “enlightened” who have punctuated the history of the Church, whether catholic, orthodox or protestant. The most frequent result of this tendency, which concentrates all attention on the internal testimony of the Spirit, is that the Spirit slowly looses the capital letter and comes to coincide with the simple human spirit. That is what happened with rationalism.
In a recent post, I wrote about the vengeance of Jesus. He took Satan and Sin to task on the Cross with the shedding of His Blood, not the blood of others. The God-Man suffered the punishment due our sins. All sin leads to lies, betrayal, murder, and war. Sin percolates and then escalates. It is as though the force of our sins hides beneath the surface of our daily existence and when its ready to show its ugly face, it appears as a slum, a dysfunctional society, a dysfunctional family or a war. Sin with its pride, lust, sloth, greed,envy and the like, ultimately brings havoc in its wake. However, it can be stopped. We know and have the remedy. Like the discovery of a vaccine or cure, it only has to be made known and available, applied and administered. There’s the rub. We are an important part of the remedy. The Good News of Jesus is here and at hand! Where are the penitents?
Monsignor recently gave a sermon in which he spoke of a conversation between a repentant prostitute and St. Francis De Sales. The Saint heard the confession of the woman. It was heartfelt and thorough, leaving out nothing of her past life. Afterwards she asked the Saint, “Now that you have heard my confession, what do you call me? Without hesitation, St. Francis de Sales said, “I call you a saint.” He went on to say that no matter how others saw her or what they called her, God saw her as she now was; as if her past sins never happened. The woman told the story again and again throughout her life. The Saint’s response of the mercy, love and pardon of God came back to her again and again, and strengthened her whenever she was tempted to return to her past way of life.
I tell that story because Rwanda is a nation soaked in the blood of its own people. Finding a way into a future full of hope rests on the Good News of Jesus Christ. Mother Mary as Our Lady of Kibeho predicted the catastrophes that would befall their nation. She also showed them the way back to unity and wholeness. In her numerous apparitions, she showed them that the Mother of God lived with them, cared for them and prayed for them. Her healing presence among them was constant and intimate. Her message is always the same, “Jesus.”
Jesus have mercy on me a sinner.
EWTN’s Sunday Night:Live with Fr. Groeschel featured – Our Lady Appears in Rwanda. Guest: Immaculee Illibagiza
Recently, I wrote about Immaculee , her book, Left to Tell and about the Apparitions of Our Lady of Kibeho that preceded and predicted the Rwandan genocide nine years before it occurred. The images of the apparition were graphic and terrorizing as was the genocide.
In Left to Tell, Immaculee Ilibagiza tells her story of her experience of the Rwandan genocide. In 1981, many years prior to the Rwandan events( to which the world turned a blind eye,) Our Lady made them known through a series of apparitions (approved by the Church) to seven children, Alphonse, Anathalie, Marie Claire, Agnes, Stephanie and Vestine and Emanuel, a young pagan, known as ‘Sagastasha’ at the time of the revelations.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Kibeho has been given Church approval. Sean Bloomfield writes:
Although Rwanda was graced by a divine visitation during the eighties, the nineties brought quite the opposite: a gruesome genocide in which a million men, women and children were brutally killed, often by friends and neighbors, in only 100 days. The message of Kibeho, however, is intrinsically tied to this tragic event.
It was not until after the war that the Catholic Church made a definitive ruling about the apparitions. Only three of the seven alleged visionaries gained Church approval:
Alphonsine Murmureka Nathalie Mukamazimpaka Marie Claire MukangangoThese seers were the first three young people to report experiencing apparitions of the Virgin Mary, who called herself Nyina wa Jambo, which translates to Mother of the Word.
My Imitation of Christ
by Thomas a’ Kempis
Book 4 chapter 9:
With a sincere heart I offer myself this day to You, O Lord, to Your eternal service, to Your homage, and as a sacrifice of everlasting praise. Receive me with this holy offering of Your precious Body which also I make to You this day, in the presence of angels invisibly attending, for my salvation and that of all Your people.
O Lord, upon Your altar of expiation, I offer You all the sins and offenses I have committed in Your presence and in the presence of Your holy angels, from the day when I first could sin until this hour, that You may burn and consume them all in the fire of Your love, that You may wipe away their every stain, cleanse my conscience of every fault, and restore to me Your grace which I lost in sin by granting full pardon for all and receiving me mercifully with the kiss of peace.
What can I do for all my sins but humbly confess and lament them, and implore Your mercy without ceasing? In Your mercy, I implore You, hear me when I stand before You, my God. All my sins are most displeasing to me. I wish never to commit them again. I am sorry for them and will be sorry as long as I live. I am ready to do penance and make satisfaction to the utmost of my power.
Forgive me, O God, forgive me my sins for Your Holy Name. Save my soul which You have redeemed by Your most precious Blood. See, I place myself at Your mercy. I commit myself to Your hands. Deal with me according to Your goodness, not according to my malicious and evil ways.
I offer to You also all the good I have, small and imperfect though it be, that You may make it more pure and more holy, that You may be pleased with it, render it acceptable to Yourself, and perfect it more and more, and finally that You may lead me, an indolent and worthless creature, to a good and happy end.
I offer You also all the holy desires of Your devoted servants, the needs of my parents, friends, brothers, sisters, and all who are dear to me; of all who for Your sake have been kind to me or to others; of all who have wished and asked my prayers and Masses for them and theirs, whether they yet live in the flesh or are now departed from this world, that they may all experience the help of Your grace, the strength of Your consolation, protection from dangers, deliverance from punishment to come, and that, free from all evils, they may gladly give abundant thanks to You.
I offer You also these prayers and the Sacrifice of Propitiation for those especially who have in any way injured, saddened, or slandered me, inflicted loss or pain upon me, and also for all those whom I have at any time saddened, disturbed, offended, and abused by word or deed, willfully or in ignorance. May it please You to forgive us all alike our sins and offenses against one another.
Take away from our hearts, O Lord, all suspicion, anger, wrath, contention, and whatever may injure charity and lessen brotherly love. Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy on those who ask Your mercy, give grace to those who need it, and make us such that we may be worthy to enjoy Your favor and gain eternal life.
I’m not holding my breath but for crying out loud, when does sanity return?
It figures. Obama’s first judicial nominee is a raving lunatic. Judge David Hamilton ruled that prayers in Jesus Name at the Indiana House of Representatives was unconstitutional, but prayers to Allah were not.
via Traditional Values Coalition
“We walk by faith and not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
No one knows that better than Myah who’s been walking the walk with grace and joy. Now she walks it with Faith, her beautiful babe in arms. Myah writes:
I was told that my baby was only alive because she was attached to me, but that she couldn’t survive on her own. The doctor said that I could continue the pregnancy safely, but that my baby would die shortly after being born. Or I could choose to terminate the pregnancy then, which would mean being induced at 20 weeks and letting my baby die without ever seeing or holding her (I don’t even want to know what they do with babies in this case). Well, to some people this would be a difficult decision, but it wasn’t for me. I knew there was nothing to gain by terminating the pregnancy and I already loved my daughter more than anyone else in the world. Even if she was unconscious like the doctors said and lived for only a few seconds or minutes –even if she was stillborn –it was worth it to me. And so we began our journey…
Pursuing Holiness writes:
Faith has confounded the medical community, helped her mother and other family members rely wholly on God, and she is the recipient of a very great love. And if those things are the extent of her success and achievement in her life, it will have been a life well-lived.
Best to read the whole story. The photos tell a beautiful tale of 32 days of love with more to follow. Keep Faith and Myah at the top of your prayer list.
Day29Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan 3/30/09
St. Athanasius: Life of Anthony:81-94
Day 29 Lite Version
St. Athanasius: Life of Anthony:67-73
Printer-Friendly Version of Outline: Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan PDF
Pope Benedict XVI must be doing something right because the press is crucifying him again. Monsignor Raun writes, “On his way to Africa, the Pope was asked what the Church thought of AIDS and condoms. Our Holy Father answered that the real answer was sexual morality, not pieces of plastic. The press dubbed him ‘a moral monster’.”
The liberalized world and press avoid the Truth, especially on issues of life. They prefer to propagandize, for the furtherance of liberal, secular, “progressive” agenda’s, which leave God out of such deliberations. As if an investigation without Truth could be substantive.
“I suspect every abortion, every “compassionate” bit of euthanasia has the evil one stamping his foot in triumphant glee.” says the Anchoress. In speaking of God’s influence and grace in the world, she submits that such grace is “subdued in the world” when those “enthusiastic about subduing new life – of judging how much life there should be, and of what quality” play God.
Monsignor Raun makes a few points of his own:
1. Ten to twenty percent of the time, condoms don’t
work. For argument’s sake, let’s say they don’t
work 1 percent of the time. Would anyone say it
was moral to do something that there was a one-ina-
hundred chance of giving someone a deadly illness?
Would any sane person take such a chance
with their own life? (If there was a one-in-a hundred
chance that holy water could give you
AIDS, would any of you put your fingers in the
fount, or allow your children to do so?)
2. And the sad fact is that some people think they are
“invulnerable” if they wear a condom, and so they
are all the more promiscuous – all the more spreading
the possibilities of infecting others with the disease.
Condoms are the answer to AIDS for those people who
are only willing to do what it takes to stop this horrible
disease as long as sexual freedom is preserved – which
for liberal society has become the ultimate good in life.
If you don’t want to get sexually-transmitted AIDS, be
faithful to your spouse or live a chaste single life. This
and this alone, is guaranteed to be 100% effective. It is
also the moral teaching of Christ and His Church –
which is the Holy Father’s duty to teach. To teach anything
else is cruel, and to gamble with peoples lives.
And, from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we have this:
To achieve the maximum protective effect, condoms must be used both consistently and correctly. Inconsistent use can lead to STD acquisition because transmission can occur with a single act of intercourse with an infected partner. Similarly, if condoms are not used correctly, the protective effect may be diminished even when they are used consistently. The most reliable ways to avoid transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), are to abstain from sexual activity or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner. However, many infected persons may be unaware of their infections because STDs are often asymptomatic or unrecognized.
The above report sounds like Russian Roulette to me. Chastity is still the best policy, even according to disease control scientific and statistical reports.
In today’s reading, Jer 11:18-20, Jeremiah wants revenge. He sees himself as a trusting lamb led to slaughter; although he knew he was in danger, he did not realize that his enemies were hatching plots against him. Jeremiah wants vengeance and he wants to be there to witness it in spades.
“Let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause!”
In today’s homily, Monsignor, asks, “How does Jesus take vengeance on His enemies?” Monsignor answers, “He dies for them!”
Christians imitate Jesus. Scripture directs us in dealing with our enemies:
We are all in the same boat, we are all sinners, enemies of God, so long as we persist in Sin. Jesus, for his part, dies for us. He has prayed for his enemies, “Father, forgive them!” He has fed them, “Take and eat!” He has satisfied their thirst, “Take and drink!”
Jesus appeals to the heart of men. We can turn away. We can experience, with Jesus, rejection. In all these circumstances Jesus says pray. That prayer is powerful, whether it is prayer of praise, worship, thanksgiving, adoration, or petition.
If we could only see it with Heaven’s eyes as John did as he records in the Book of Revelation:
“And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.” Rev 5:8
“These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they stand before God’s throne and worship him day and night in his temple.”Rev 7:14
What is this washing of their robes, if it is not the Sacrament of Reconciliation. If it were referring to Baptism, they would not be doing the washing, whereas in Reconciliation we have an active role.
Jesus wants what’s best for each of us. He wants enemies (sinners) to feel the hot coals of prayer heaped upon them. To see ourselves as Jesus sees us when we sin can be distressing. Such a moment, though wrenching, is a moment of grace. Jesus desires a response of the heart that sends the sick and sorrowful to show themselves to the priest for healing and forgiveness.
Our revenge is to be like our Christ. Our revenge is to die to ourselves with our Christ. Our revenge is to see the enemies of Christ come forth from the confessional with tears of joy and thanksgiving in all humility; no longer enemies but as brothers.
What will it take? Prayer. All are called, moment by moment, while we live, “Repent and believe the Good News!” Mk 1:15
Richard John Neuhaus writes in a previously unpublished essay appearing now in First things of how the Church may best characterize herself in relationship with other ecclesial communities of the Body of Christ. Neuhaus wants us to think more fully about this, saying, “We need to clarify what the Catholic Church claims for herself and what she does, and does not, acknowledge with respect to other Christian communities.” He acknowledges that it is a tricky business. In the long search for a greater visible unity of the Body of Christ in the world, a miss-step, misunderstanding or misspoken phrase can produce ever greater dis-unity and contention in tribal disharmony.
Neuhaus quotes Christopher J. Molloy, writing in his essay titled “Subsistit In: Nonexclusive Identity or Full Identity?” in reflecting on the uniqueness of the Catholic Church. Molloy states, “one can affirm both the essential fullness of the ecclesial reality of the Catholic Church and the concrete poverty and woundedness of her lived life, together with her practical need of the expressive ecclesial riches found outside her visible boundaries.”
On the Church, Lumen Gentium, the Constitution on the Church, reads:
“This is the one Church of Christ which in the Creed is professed as one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, which our Savior, after his Resurrection, commissioned Peter to shepherd, and him and the other apostles to extend and direct with authority, which he erected for all ages as ‘the pillar and mainstay of the truth.’ This Church, constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward catholic unity.”
The word “subsists” in the Lumen Gentium statement is thought by some a weakening of the Church’s understanding of Herself as the One True Church. Enter our present Pope Benedict XVI, then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. He clarifies with:
“The word subsistit derives from ancient philosophy, as it was later developed among the Scholastics. It corresponds to the Greek word hypostasis, which of course plays a key role in Christology in describing the union of divine and human natures in the one person of Christ. Subsistere is a special case of esse. It refers to existence in the form of an individual subject. . . . With the word subsistit, the Council wanted to express the singularity and non-multipliability of the Church of Christ, the Catholic Church: the Church exists as a single subject in the reality of history. But the difference between subsistit and est also embraces the drama of ecclesial division: for while the Church is only one and really exists, there is being which is from the Church’s being—there is ecclesial reality—outside the Church.”
Neuhaus writes on, including discussions arising from works of Avery Dulles as well as Molloy, finally, coming to this:
“In sum, Catholics should not fear offending our ecumenical partners by affirming what we believe the Catholic Church to be. To be sure, that affirmation has weighty implications. For instance, Lumen Gentium also says, “Whosoever, therefore, knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved.” But that, too, should not offend non-Catholic Christians, since we can all agree that such a person would be acting against his conscience and his sure discernment of the will of God. If he continues on that course without repentance, he could not be saved. It is quite a different matter with those who do not know—i.e., do not recognize the truth—that the Catholic Church is what she claims to be. They are wrong about that, of course, but that, presumably, is one reason why they are not Catholics.
And so I think I’ll stay with my admittedly provocative title, “The One True Church.” …. I will also continue to make the case for the proposition that “the Catholic Church is the Church of Jesus Christ most fully and rightly ordered through time.”
For those who would argue on, here is an olive branch: “All Christians can agree on the formula that there is finally only one Church because there is only one Christ and the Church is his Body.”
Day28Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan 3/28/09
St. Athanasius: Life of Anthony:71-80
Day 28 Lite Version
St. Athanasius: Life of Anthony:59-66
Printer-Friendly Version of Outline: Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan PDF
The Lenten readings are growing darker as Jesus approaches His hour
In Wisdom 2, we read:
The wicked said among themselves,
thinking not aright…
“Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;
he sets himself against our doings,
Reproaches us for transgressions of the law
and charges us with violations of our training.
He professes to have knowledge of God
and styles himself a child of the LORD.
The Gospel of John, too, sounds an ominous note:
“Jesus moved about within Galilee; he did not wish to travel in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill him. But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near…But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret.” John 7:1,10
Why did things have to go this way. Why the rejection? Why the Cross? And while we’re questioning; why do they sour for us?
Today, Fr. Michael, faced with these questions, asked one of his own (I’m paraphrasing.) Who made us judge and jury? Who confirmed us in our righteousness; which is, if honest, our self-righteousness?”
The Gospel of Light treads a path through every darkness and Darkness, itself. Without the stuff of darkness, weakness, war, tragedy and desperate dilemma, we go unchallenged, self-satisfied. We pursue our dreams and go willy-nilly, perhaps, even, to our own dissolution, seeing only the darkness around us, and none within. What we don’t like of Gospel or Church, we ignore or eliminate from our daily lives. “Let us condemn him to a shameful death.”
Until the unthinkable forces itself upon us and our decisions, we are content not to think but to ride the fence. The problems remain out there with “them.” If we do take a stand and speak the Gospel truth, we find what Jesus found: rejection and betrayal, even from within our families, the cruelest blow. It might not be explicit. It may be that no one has time to visit. Perhaps, the grand-kids are withheld and holidays less joyful. How doesn’t matter so much as that it happens. We are left on our Cross.
What to do? Look first to yourself. Question your ways and your motives. Repent, is the Gospel word for it. Then pray and wait. Wait upon God; first of all with praise and adoration, thanksgiving, and finally with petition. Place all the rest, loves ones and world, in the Tabernacle with the Lamb who was Slain and still lives. Then go on; “comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.” This is the Way until the end of the world and the coming of the Day.
From the Office of Readings – for Friday of fourth week of Lent from Easter Letter of Athanasias:
How fine a thing it is to move from festival to festival, from prayer to prayer, from holy day to holy day. The time is now at hand when we enter on a new beginning: the proclamation of the blessed Passover, in which the Lord was sacrificed.
There are people I know and some I love who love and live by the “Follow your passion,” “Live your dream” “Make your heart sing” banality that doesn’t exactly float my boat. I love to stop and smell the roses so long as you don’t stay stopped! I like to know where I’m going and why. Some people are happy with promises of HOPE and CHANGE period! …..No, how? No, why? No, at what cost?
Sometimes the catchy slog is just sop. It may be time to “Follow the crowd…and go the other way!”
The Anchoress came up with this from American Digest. It’s well worth watching all the way to the end, believe me. Mike Rowe of “DIRTY JOBS” fame knows more than manure and sewage.
He says somewhere in this piece, “We’ve declared war on work” and we accepted as fact things that need to be challenged. The mainstream media, tv boards room decisions and slants , inane sit-coms have indoctrinated us so heaven is hype and a latte or iphone = heaven. Just watch Mike and listen up a bit (no place for the squeamish.)
From The Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude the Great: (with my italics noting promises and favors)
May my heart and my soul, with all the substance of my flesh, all my senses, and all the powers of my body and my mind, with all creatures, praise Thee and give Thee thanks, O sweetest Lord, faithful Lover of mankind, for Thy signal mercy, which has not only dissimulated the utterly unworthy preparation with which I have not feared to approached the super celestial banquet of Thy most sacred Body and Blood, but has added this gift to me, the most utterly vile and perfectly useless of Thy creatures. First, of having been assured by Thy grace that all who desire to approach this Sacrament, and who are restrained by fear from a timid conscience, who come to me, who am the least of Thy servants, led by humility, to receive this Sacrament with fruit to eternal life. Thou hast also added that Thou wilt not permit anyone whom Thy justice deems unworthy to abase themselves to ask counsel of me, O Supreme Ruler, Who, through Thou dwellest on high, regardest the humble. (CF. Ps. 112:5).
What prompted Thy mercy, when Thou sawest me approach so often unworthily, to suspend Thy judgment, and not to inflict on me the punishment I deserve? Thou willest to make others worthy by the virtue of humility; and though Thou couldst do so more effectually without my assistance, Thy love, looking upon my misery, made Thee effect this through me, so that thus I may be a sharer in the merits of those who, through my admonitions, enjoy the fruit of salvation.
But, alas this is not the only remedy which my misery requires; nor will one remedy satisfy Thy mercy, O most kind Lord! For (secondly) Thou didst assure my unworthiness that Thou wouldst consider whoever should expose their defects to me, with a contrite and humble heart, guilty or innocent, as I had declared them more or less guilty, and from henceforward Thy grace would so sustain them that They should never again be in such danger from their faults as they had been previously. And thus Thou hast relieved my indigence, which is so great that I have never even for a single day corrected myself as I ought, and yet Thou dost permit me to participate in the victories of others, when Thou, my good God, dost condescend, to give the grace of victory to Thine other more deserving friends through my words.
Thirdly. The abundant liberality of Thy grace has enriched my poverty of merit by this assurance – that whenever I promise a favor to anyone, or the pardon of any fault, through confidence in Thy mercy, Thy benign love will ratify my words and execute my promise as faithfully as if it has been confirmed by an oath of the Eternal Truth. Thou didst add further, that if anyone found that the salutary effects of my promises were deferred, they should continually remind Thee that I had promised this grace from Thee. Thus dost Thou provide for my salvation according to the words of the Gospel: “With what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matt. 7:2). And as, I alas, continually fall into the greatest faults, Thou desirest by this means to remit the punishment I deserve.
Fourthly. To solace my miseries, Thou hast assured me, amongst other things, that whoever recommend themselves humbly and devoutly to my prayers will certainly obtain all the fruits which they hoped to obtain by the intercession of any other person: in which Thou hast provided for my negligence, which prevents me from satisfying, not only for the prayers which are made gratuitously for the Church, but also for those of obligation; and Thou hast found the means of applying the fruit of them to me, according to the words of David “My prayers shall be turned into my bosom” (Ps 34: 13); making me participate in the merits of Thine elect, who shall ask these graces of Thee through my intermission, although I am utterly unworthy of it, and granting me a share in them to supply for my indigence.
Fifthly. Thou hast further promised my salvation by conferring these special favors on me, that whom ever with a good will, a right intention and a humble confidence, shall come to speak to me upon their spiritual advancement, should never leave me without being edified or receiving spiritual consolation. In this also Thou hast most suitably supplied for my indigence: for alas, I have wasted the talent Thou didst so liberally bestow on me by my useless words, but now I may gain some merit by what I confide to others!
Sixthly. Thy liberality, O Lord, has bestowed on me thus gift, more necessary than all – certify to me that whoever, in their charity, will either pray for me – the vilest of God’s creatures – or perform any good works, either for the amendment of my life, or the forgiveness of the sins of my youth, or the correction of my iniquity and malice, shall receive this reward from Thy abundant liberality – namely, that they shall nit die until, by Thy grace, their lives have been pleasing to Thee; and that Thou wilt dwell in their souls by a special friendship and intimacy.
And this Thou hast granted of Thy paternal tenderness, to assist my extreme indigence, as Thou knowest how many great corrections are needed for my innumerable sins and negligences. Thus, as Thy loving mercy will not permit me to perish, and, on the contrary by reason of justice, will not permit me to be saved with all my imperfections, Thou hast provided for me by means of the gains and merits of others.
Thou hast added to all these favors, my kind God, by an abundant liberality – that if anyone, after my death, considering with how much familiarity Thou didst communicate with my unworthiness while in this life, should recommend themselves humbly to my prayers, Thou wouldst hear them as willingly as if they invoked the intercession of any other person, provided that they had the intention of repairing their faults and negligences, and that they humbly and devoutly thanked Thee for five special benefits which Thou didst grant me.
First. For the love by which Thou didst freely choose me from all eternity, and which I declare to be the greatest of all the benefits which Thou hast bestowed on me: for as Thou wert not ignorant of, or rather didst foresee, the corrupt life which I should lead, the excess of my ingratitude, and how I should abuse Thy gifts, so that I deserve to have been born a pagan, and not an enlightened human being – Thy mercy, which infinitely exceeds our crimes, has chosen me, in preference to many other Christians, to bear the holy character of a religious.
Secondly. Because Thou hast drawn me blessedly to Thee; and I acknowledged it to be an effect of the clemency and charity which is natural to Thee, Who hast won, by the attractions of Thy caresses, this rebellious and stubborn heart, which deserves to be loaded with fetters and chains; and it has seemed as if Thou hadst found in me the faithful companion of Thy love, and that Thy greatest pleasure was to be united to me.
Thirdly. Because Thou hast united me so intimately to Thee; and I declare, as I am bound, that I am indebted for this only to Thy signal liberality, as if the number of the just was not great enough to receive the immense abundance of Thy mercies, not that I had better dispositions than others, but, on the contrary, that Thy charity might be the more signalized in me thereby.
Fourthly. That Thou hast taken pleasure and delight in dwelling in my soul; and this, if I may so speak, proceeds from the ardor of Thy love, which has deigned to testify, even by words, that it is the joy of Thy all – powerful wisdom to stop to one so dissimilar to Thee, and so utterly ungrateful.
Fifthly. That it has pleased Thee to accomplish Thy work happily in me; and, it is a favor which I have hoped with humble confidence from the tenderness of Thy most benign charity, and for which I adore Thee with gratitude, declaring, O sovereign, true, and only treasure of my soul, that I have in no way contributed to it by my merits, but that it is a true gift of Thy liberality.
All these benefits coming from Thine immense charity, and being so far above my nothingness, I am unable to give thanks for them worthily; but Thou has further assisted my misery, in exciting others, by the most condescending promises, to render thanksgivings to Thee, the merit of which may supply my deficiencies. For which may all creatures in Heaven, on earth and under the earth, glorify Thee and thank Thee continually!
Virgin of Vladimir copyright J.Nelander
We are flesh and blood not angels. We need to see, and touch and feel in-order to experience and learn. The writers of Icons recognize that we need a bit of Heaven in the here and now.
St. James Pray For Me gives some insight and a bit of history and tradition.
Psalm 143: 8-11
In the morning let me know your love
For I put my trust in you.
Make me know the way I should walk;
To you I lift up my soul.Rescue me, Lord, from my enemies;
I have fled to you for refuge.
Teach me to do your will
For you, O Lord, are my God.
Let your good spirit guide me
In ways that are level and smooth.For you name’s sake, Lord, save my like;
In your justice save my soul from distress.
The Great Leap Forward -Get ready! Soon the posters will hit the billboards. Best seen in an exhibition and not along American highways or in our schools.
The Anchoress worries about mandatory volunteerism. Our “Good Sister”
should worry.
Day27Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan 3/27/09
St. Athanasius: Life of Anthony: 61-70
Day 27 Lite Version
St. Athanasius: Life of Anthony:50-58
Printer-Friendly Version of Outline: Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan PDF
More Nebraska!
Nebraska flashback-
Nebraska Tunnel Walk 9/11
Spiritual Maxims, Page 36
The holiest, most ordinary, and most necessary practice of the spiritual life is that of the presence of God. It is to take delight in and become accustomed to His divine company, speaking humbly and conversing lovingly with Him all the time, at every moment, without rule or measure, especially in times of temptation, suffering, aridity, weariness, even infidelity and sin. We must continually apply ourselves, so that all our actions, without exception, become a kind of brief conversation with God, not in a contrived manner, but coming from the purity and simplicity of our hearts.
Into Stillness 