Sub tuum praesidium confugimus

Keeping Mass in Christmas

2011-12-13T19:30:00.002-07:00

‎"May the Mass be the focus of your Sunday, which must be rediscovered and lived as the day of the Lord and of the community, a day on which to praise and celebrate the One Who was born for us, Who died and rose again for our salvation, and Who asks us to live together joyfully, to be a community open and ready to welcome anyone who is alone and in difficulty. Do not lose your understanding of the significance of Sundays, and remain faithful to your appointment with the Eucharist. Early Christians were ready to give their lives for this."

~Pope Benedict XVI, 12 Dec 2011

God Intervenes

2010-12-27T06:56:00.001-07:00

God continually intervenes through people in His love and concern for the welfare of all peoples. Yet, there are those who choose to allow pride and selfishness to overtake their hearts. They diminish the light of Jesus in the world. Reflect on how you yourself reveal the light of Jesus Christ in your life. Can you say of yourself that you are a hopeful person? Do you reflect God’s love in your words and actions with others? Or, do you allow selfishness and pride to dominate your choices in life? Do you radiate God’s love or do you diminish it?

Choosing to love God and to share the light of Jesus Christ will bring you to a closer journey with Jesus in your earthly life and in eternity. Allow yourself to be the bright light of Jesus’ love and care in the word around you and with the people you were given to love and to nurture in Jesus’ name. You will come to share in the blessedness of our Blessed Mother who will intercede for your needs with Her Son, Jesus. You will then truly celebrate Christmas!

From the Christmas Pastoral of the Hierarchs of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the USA

+Stefan Soroka
Metropolitan-Archbishop of Philadelphia

+Richard Seminack
Eparch of St. Nicholas in Chicago

+Paul Chomnycky, OSBM
Eparch of Stamford

+John Bura
Apostolic Administrator
of St. Josaphat in Parma

Christ Brings Liberation

2010-12-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

God is always faithful to his promises, but he often surprises us in the way he fulfils them. The child that was born in Bethlehem did indeed bring liberation, but not only for the people of that time and place - he was to be the Saviour of all people throughout the world and throughout history. And it was not a political liberation that he brought, achieved through military means: rather, Christ destroyed death for ever and restored life by means of his shameful death on the Cross. And while he was born in poverty and obscurity, far from the centres of earthly power, he was none other than the Son of God. Out of love for us he took upon himself our human condition, our fragility, our vulnerability, and he opened up for us the path that leads to the fullness of life, to a share in the life of God himself. As we ponder this great mystery in our hearts this Christmas, let us give thanks to God for his goodness to us, and let us joyfully proclaim to those around us the good news that God offers us freedom from whatever weighs us down: he gives us hope, he brings us life.

~Pope Benedict XVI, "Thought for the Day" on BBC, Christmas Eve 2010

Happy Christmas!

2010-12-24T23:42:00.001-07:00

Gotta be my favorite version of this song.

The Cave of Your Soul

2010-12-24T05:24:00.000-07:00

To celebrate in a Christian way the Nativity of our Lord, we have to ask Jesus to come into the cave of our soul to transform it, by His presence, into Heaven. "If anyone is in Christ," said Paul, "there is a new creation; everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new." (2 Cor. 5:17). And he said to the Romans: "Do not conform yourself to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." (12:13)

Then we will be born again with the Divine Infant; then we will be restored to the true image of God; and then we will have on this earth some of the days of Heaven.

+Archbishop CYRIL (Bustros) Melkite Eparch of Newton

Personal Ordinariates

2010-12-15T09:10:00.003-07:00

I've always described myself as a Charismatic Byzantine Anglo-Catholic--that is, someone who embraces the whole Church in communion with Rome.

I'm so excited about the invitation given by the Holy Father to welcome Anglicans into the Church. My experience with Anglo-Catholics is that they are often more traditional than your average Roman Catholic parish.

We must continue to pray for the Bishops, Priests, and communities that will be making great sacrifices to re-establish communion with Rome. We must pray for everyone involved with establishing the Ordinariates.

Thank you Bishop Peter Elliott, Episcopal Delegate in Australia, for publishing these prayers for the Personal Ordinariates:

Eternal father, we place before you the project of forming the Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans seeking full communion with the Catholic Church. We thank you for this initiative of Pope Benedict XVI, and we ask that, through the Holy Spirit, the Ordinariates may become: families of charity, peace and the service of the poor, centres for Christian unity and reconciliation, communities that welcome and evangelize, teaching the Faith in all its fullness, celebrating the liturgy and sacraments with prayerful reverence and maintaining a distinctive patrimony of Christian faith and culture.

Drawing on that heritage we pray: Go before us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help; that in all our works, begun, continued and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy Name, and finally by thy mercy obtain everlasting life; though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

V/ Our Lady of Walsingham.
R/ Pray for us as we claim your motherly care.

V/ Saint Therese of the Infant Jesus.
R/ Pray for us as we place this work under your patronage.

V/ Blessed John Henry Newman
R/ Pray that Christ’s Heart may speak unto our hearts.

\V/ Saints and Martyrs of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.
R/ Pray for us and accompany us on our pilgrim way.

Know How to Be Silent

2010-12-14T05:25:00.001-07:00

“It is great wisdom to know how to be silent and to look at neither the remarks, nor the deeds, nor the lives of others.” ~St. John of the Cross

Having read many books and lived through some wild experiences, I enjoy sharing what I've learned. I always have something to add to any discussion. But it might not always be wise to throw my two bits into the pot.

What I've found lately is that many discussions can lead to a feeling of superiority when I know more than others. Then there's humiliation when someone knows more than me. Sometimes I just get frustrated that the other person won't listen or just doesn't seem to get what I'm saying. In general, the result is usually some form of pride or anxiety.

Then there's the tendency to criticize others based on things they say or do. And if I don't criticize I might feel superior to them or more enlightened. This is especially common when talking with someone who is not following Christ. Evangelism changes from an act of love into an act of judgment.

What if I just shut up? What if I concentrate more on my own sin, hypocrisy, and failure? Maybe I should focus on working out my own salvation (Philippians 2:12).

"Acquire inner peace and thousands around you will find salvation." ~St. Seraphim of Sarov

Virgen de Guadalupe

2010-12-12T03:22:00.001-07:00

Open to the Holy Spirit

2010-12-10T15:13:00.002-07:00

"Mary tells us that we are all called to open ourselves to the action of the Holy Spirit in order to achieve, as our ultimate destiny, the immaculate state, fully and definitively free from evil".
~ Pope Benedict XVI, Feast of the Immaculate Conception 2010

Mary on Pentecost

2010-05-22T12:27:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite titles for Mary is "Spouse of the Holy Spirit". At the Annunciation the Blessed Mother had an intimate encounter with the Spirit of God. I'm sure that relationship continued throughout her life.

On the day of Pentecost I'm sure she was the first to recognize the sound of that rushing wind. I imagine the disciples turning to her, "Is this the Paraclete our Lord promised?" then the flame appeared and she spoke in tongues.

Yes, Mary was a tongue-talking Charismatic!

Rejoice, O Queen, glory of mothers and virgins. No tongue, however sweet or fluent is eloquent enough to praise you worthily. Every mind is overawed by your child bearing. Therefore with one voice we glorify you.

~Pentecost hymn to the Theotokos

St. Thomas & Divine Mercy

2010-04-11T09:23:00.000-06:00

The Sunday after Pascha for Eastern Catholics and Orthodox is called Thomas Sunday and recalls the incredulity (unbelief) of the apostle when he heard that Jesus rose from the dead. Then Jesus appeared and St. Thomas thrust his hand into the wounds, convincing him of the resurrection.

For Roman Catholics today is Divine Mercy Sunday. Based on revelations given to St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun, the devotion called the Chaplet of Divine Mercy was established in the Church. Her diaries are a spiritual masterpiece and reveal conversations she had with our Lord.

The icon of Divine Mercy show two rays (the water and the blood) beaming from the side of Christ. "O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You"

Hannah Whitall Smith (what, he's quoting a Quaker!) said that to "grow in grace" the soul must be planted in the very heart of divine love, "enveloped by it, steeped in it. ' (The Christian's Secret to a Happy Life, 1875)

Now, I don't think Mrs. Smith had the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in front of her, but I sure did when I read what she said. St. Thomas planted his hand literally into the heart of Divine Love! And the two rays coming from the side of Christ in the Divine Mercy image are like vines growing from Christ's Heart--vines that we are grafted on to.

See how it all ties together?

St. Thomas shows us how a true mystic acts when he became a little child and stuck his hand in the wounds of Christ. St. Faustina, St. Therese of the Child Jesus, John Wesley, Smith Wigglesworth--any of these "mystics" were simply obedient children who did what God told them. They were rooted in the Heart of Jesus, nourished by the blood and water that poured from His side.

My prayer is that we can all do the same. Plant yourself in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and grow!

Lent & Holy Week recalled

2010-04-03T08:18:00.003-06:00

What a glorious Lent and Holy Week I had. I took full advantage of East & West sharing the season.

Started out Lent with the all night vigil for the first Sunday of Lent. Went to the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts at Sacred Heart Byzantine Catholic parish. Attended a Lenten mission at a Roman parish in Ypsi that featured speakers from renewal Ministries. Went to Gorzkie Zale at St. Florian's Catholic church in Hamtramk.

Holy Week started out at my old Orthodox parish in Sylvania, Ohio for Bridegroom Matins. Holy Unction was at St. Joseph Melkite parish in lansing, MI. Holy Thursday at my home parish, Christ the King in Ann Arbor. On Holy Friday went to Greektown in Detroit for Lamentations at the tomb of Christ and the procession with the Epitaphios through the streets.

In 2011 East & West will again be celebrating at the same time. I suggest that Western Christians supplement their Lenten & Holy Week observances with some Eastern services. If you are Roman Catholic you can receive the Sacraments in any Eastern Catholic parish (Mewlkite, Ukrainian or Byzantine Greek Catholic).

Triumphant Entry

2010-03-28T06:40:00.000-06:00

"The (willow) branch beats you, not I beat you, Pascha is one week from today!"

This is how Ukrainians and other Slavs greet each other after the Divine Liturgy on Palm Sunday. They do this while tapping each other with blessed willow branches that represent the branches used to welcome our Lord during His entrance into Jerusalem the week before his Passion.

Palm Sunday Troparion (Tone 1) O Christ God, when You raised Lazarus from the dead, before the time of your passion, you confirmed the future resurrection of all. We too, like the children of old, carry before You the symbols of your triumph and victory and cry out to You, the Conqueror of Death: "Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"

Easter Novena Begins

2010-03-26T10:33:00.001-06:00

Here we are nine days before Pascha! That means it's time to start your Novena for the Resurrection in preparation.

Here's a short novena prayer:
O Divine Saviour, who rose from the dead on that first glorious Easter morn, grant that I may rise from my sins and so live as to see You, glorious and immortal, in heaven. Lord, I am nothing, but, although nothing, I adore You.
(Mention request then conclude with 3 Aves, Our Father, and Gloria Patri)

This Resurrectional Stichera from the Eastern Catholic & Orthodox tradition could also be used:

Your resurrection, 0 Christ our Savior, is praised with songs by the Angels in heaven, make us worthy to praise You also here on earth and to glorify You with a pure heart. (Tone 6)

Fourth Sunday in Lent

2010-03-14T00:27:00.000-07:00

"Ascend, ascend, Brethren."

Today in the Eastern Catholic tradition we are reminded of the "Soul-saving and Heavenward Ladder" described by St. John Climacus in the seventh century.

The ladder reminds us that union with God -- theosis, or sanctification -- is a process. No one can climb the ladder in one stride, St. John reminds us, the virtues lead from one to the other. Since the work was originally written for monastics it should be read carefully under spiritual direction.

Meanwhile, over in Rome....

Today's Collect:
Father of peace, we are joyful in your Word, your Son Jesus Christ, who reconciles us to you. Let us hasten to our Easter with the eagerness of faith and love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Many Roman priests wear rose vestments today. The fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally called "Laetare Sunday", a day of hope and rejoicing that Easter is almost here.

Third Sunday of Lent

2010-03-06T12:25:00.001-07:00

We're halfway to Pascha (Easter)!

For Byzantine Catholics today is dedicated to the "Adoration of the Holy Cross". The Cross is the center of our faith, so here it is at the center of our Lenten journey.

This is a good time to review your spiritual progress (or lack of it). Have you been fasting, praying, and giving to the poor? Have you been controlling the passions?

Have you even observed Lent? It's not too late to start. Lay down your life at the foot of the Holy Cross. The season of sacrifice continues.

"Hail! life-giving Cross, the fair Paradise of the Church, Tree of incorruption that brings us the enjoyment of eternal glory: through you the hosts of demons have been driven back; and the hierarchies of angels rejoice with one accord, as the congregations of the faithful keep the feast. You are an invincible weapon, an unbroken stronghold; your are the victory of kings and the glory of priests. Grant us now to draw near to the Passion of Christ and to His Resurrection." ~From Great Vespers

The following Troparion and Kontakion are sung in the Byzantine Catholic Church today:

Save Your people, O Lord, and bless Your inheritence. Grant victory to Your Church over evil, and protect Your people by Your cross.

No longer does the flaming sword guard the gates of Eden, for the tree of the Cross has come to quench it wondrously. The sting of death and the victory of Hades have been driven out.

Second Sunday of Lent

2010-02-27T09:31:00.001-07:00

Byzantine Catholics commemorate Gregory Palamas on the second Sunday of Lent, following the Eastern Orthodox custom. Before the 14th century the day was dedicated to Apostolic Father St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna.

Palamas opposed union with Rome and called the Pope a heretic, yet, Pope John Paul the Great called Gregory a saint, so who am I to argue?

Palamas made a distinction between the "Essence" of God and the "Energies" of God. He taught that the unknowable God can be experienced through His energies present in the Sacraments and other mystical experiences . The eastern council of Blachernae declared this teaching as dogma in 1351.

Since more scholastic types considered God unknowable, they questioned the mystical experiences of the hesychast monks who saw visions of the "Uncreated Light" while reciting the Jesus Prayer. The Essence of God may be unknowable, Gregory argued, but men can experience God through His Energies.

You would think that the emphasis on sanctification through the power of God would result in Orthodox becoming Charismatics. Instead, priests who experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit get "disciplined". Maybe it is because Orthodox limit access to God's energy to the Sacraments and staring at your belly button saying the Jesus Prayer. Despite his defense of experiencing the Divine Energies, Palamas did consider emotionalism and enthusiasm as lower forms of prayer.

In my opinion, Gregory's distinction hinders personal experience with God. St. Paul didn't say "seek divine energy", he said, "Be filled with the Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18). He said, "If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through His Spirit which dwells in you." (Romans 8:11) It is the person of the Holy Spirit who dwells in me, not some energy force. Finally, I don't think the Apostles were navel gazing in the upper room on the day of Pentecost.

The teaching of St. Gregory Palamas has some flaws, but it tries to show that we can personally experience God. It also reveals "God" as both a noun and a verb. So today, don't just seek after "Divine Energy" or a vision of the "Uncreated Light of Mt. Tabor"--seek a deeper life in the Holy Spirit.

Dies Cinerum

2010-02-17T09:21:00.003-07:00

"Memento homo, quia pulvis es, et in pulverem reverteris." (Gen. 3:19)

In the books both in the Old Law and in the New the men who repented of their sins bestrewed themselves with ashes and clothed their bodies with sackcloth. Now let us do this little at the beginning of our Lent that we strew ashes upon our heads to signify that we ought to repent of our sins during the Lenten fast.

~Ælfric (Anglo-Saxon, 10th c.)

A few years ago I went to Mass at Noon during my lunch hour. I went back to my job at the car dealership repair department with ashes on my forehead. All day mechanics kept telling me "you got grease on your head". It gave me an opportunity to tell them that Lent was starting and this opened the door to talk to them about the Lord.

Last year I was at the library and noticed someone else with ashes and we said hello. It's nice to recognize fellow travellers.

Axios! Patriarch Irinej of Serbia

2010-01-23T10:33:00.007-07:00

I wrote a post back in November about the death of Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle and the Serbian selection process.

The Serbian Synod has selected a new Patriarch, IRINEJ. According to The Times of Malta, he is "...considered a moderate and has signalled his openness to improving relations with the Roman Catholic Church that have been strained for years. In a recent interview he said Pope Benedict XVI would be welcome to visit, something that would once have been unthinkable in Serbia."

The Pope might be welcome to visit Serbia in 2013, during ceremonies to mark the 1700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan, when Roman emperor Constantine established religious tolerance for Christianity in the Roman empire.

Patriarch IRINEJ is also in favor of replacing the Julian calendar with the Gregorian. This move, while promoting Church unity may lead to schism in the Serbian church, so I'm sure they will proceed with caution.

Pray for the continued warming of relations between East and West!

Theophany

2010-01-06T13:05:00.003-07:00

Why then is this day called Theophany? Because Christ made Himself known to all -- not then when He was born -- but then when He was baptised. Until this time He was not known to the people. And that the people did not know Him, Who He was, listen about this to John the Baptist, who says: "Amidst you standeth, Him Whom ye know not of" (Jn.1:26). And is it surprising that others did not know Him, when even the Baptist did not know Him until that day? "And I -- said he -- knew Him not: but He that did send me to baptise with water, about This One did tell unto me: over Him that shalt see the Spirit descending and abiding upon Him, This One it is Who baptiseth in the Holy Spirit" (Jn. 1:33).

~St. John Chrysostom, "

Happy Christ-Mass

2009-12-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

Christ is born; glorify Him!
Christ comes from heaven; go to meet Him!
Christ is on earth; be exalted!
Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
And praise Him with joy, O people,
for He has been glorified!

~ St. Cosmas the Melodist, Nativity Canon, Ode 1

Venite adoremus,
Venite adoremus,
venite adoremus,
Dominum!
~ Adeste Fidelis

Whom have we, Lord, like you?
The Great One who became small,
the Wakeful who slept,
The Pure One who was baptized,
the Living One who died,
The King who abased himself to ensure honor for all.
Blessed is your honor!
It is right that man should acknowledge your divinity,
It is right for heavenly beings to worship your humanity.
The heavenly beings were amazed to see how small you became,
And earthly ones to see how exalted.
~ St. Ephrem the Syrian

E sursum Agnus mittitur
laxare gratis debitum;
omnes pro indulgentia
vocem demus cum lacrimis.

The Lamb descends from heaven above
to pardon sin with freest love:
for such indulgent mercy shewn
with tearful joy our thanks we own.
~ Prudentius, Vox Clara

Keep Mass in Christmas

2009-12-23T12:45:00.004-07:00

Christmas Eve Vigil Mass is one of my favorite services of the year.

I encourage and invite all my readers to celebrate the feast by becoming a manger yourself through reception of the Eucharist.

Make room in your heart's cave for the newborn king!

Our Lady of Guadalupe

2009-12-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

I was drawn to this miracle of Our Lady's image not made by hands even before I was Catholic or Eastern Orthodox. I was at the house of the pastor I worked with at an Assembly of God and he had on EWTN (this was in 1994). They were discussing the icon and it's symbolism. Pastor Dan made the comment, "It reminds me of the woman clothed with the sun in Revelation."

My next experience with OLG occured while I was in the hospital for asthma during Lent 2006. Bob & Penny Lord were on EWTN with a program about her and Juan Diego. Hearing the whole story for the first time brought me closer to Mary's visit to America.

In closing, I'll leave you with the Byzantine Catholic Troparion and Kontakion for the feast of the Theotokos of Guadalupe:

When you appeared in the New World, O Theotokos, you fixed your image on Juan Diego's rose laden tilma. All the poor, hungry, and oppressed seek you, Lady of Guadalupe. We gaze upon your miraculous icon and find hope, crying out to your Son concealed in your womb: Hear our plea for justice, O most merciful Lord.

No longer shall the New World lie wounded in useless blood sacrifice, for she who is clothed with the sun has revealed the Son to us. O Mother of the Americas, imprint His Name upon our hearts, just as you wove your image into the cactus cloth. Teach your children to cry out: O Christ God, our hope, glory to you.

The Four Advents

2009-11-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

Catholic tradition says that there are four comings of Christ. All of them are mentioned in the Advent Liturgy. The first is His coming in the flesh. The last is when He comes again in glory. But between them are two more: Christ comes into our hearts, and Christ comes for us at our death. The purpose of this season is to prepare us for all of these "advents".

In hora mortis meae voca me.
Et iube me venire ad te,
Ut cum Sanctis tuis laudem te
in saecula saeculorum.

Selecting a Patriarch, Serbian Style

2009-11-16T16:57:00.003-07:00

Patriarch PAVLE of the Serbian Orthodox church died today. May his memory be eternal. He led his flock through some tough times.

Now comes the process of finding a new Patriarch to serve the Serbian church. Here's how they do it:

~Candidates for patriarch must have five years of eparchy service.

~The names of the three bishops who receive the most votes are put into separate envelopes and placed inside the Holy Gospel.

~The Holy Gospel is then placed at the holy throne in the church.

~A monk, who is appointed by the Assembly, takes out the envelopes from the Holy Gospel and draws one of them.

~The monk then hands it to the chairman of the Election Assembly to read the name of the new head of Serbia's Orthodox Church.

This process was instituted in the 1960s to keep politics out of the Church and is the way Patriarch PAVLE was selected.

What do you think of this "vote to narrow it down then let God decide" approach?

Has it really been 2 months?

2009-10-30T18:42:00.002-06:00

I've been away for a while focusing on my new job. There is plenty going on right now to talk about.

There's the Vatican provision for Anglicans wanting to unite with the Church (Paul of Graymoor, ora pro nobis!)

40 Days for Life is almost over for the year. I spent many evenings praying and singing outside the local Planned Parenthood killing center.

Relations between the Vatican and the Patriarch of Moscow have thawed. Other encouraging news of East-West reconciliation is bubbling up.

The USCCB is standing up against pro-abortion politicians and the health care reform monstrosity.

I will be back to offer my insights and share information in Novemeber, so stay tuned!

Anima Christi

2009-08-28T04:19:00.001-06:00

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malicious enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints
and with Thy angels
Forever and ever
Amen

Our Lady of Chestochowa

2009-08-26T04:53:00.001-06:00

Maryjo, Królowo Polski,
Jestem przy Tobie, pamiętam,
Jestem przy Tobie, czuwam, czuwam.

Mother, with a face black as the earth of Poland
Our Queen, defending shield, pray for us

Live Webcam from the icon chapel at Jasna Gora
CLICK HERE!

New Roman Missal Coming Soon

2009-08-23T17:44:00.005-06:00

The USCCB just put up the text of the newest Roman Mass translation. Now it just needs approval from the Holy See.

I'm so glad to see changes that bring it closer to the Latin original. Having been in the Antiochian Orthodox (Eastern & Western Rite), I was accustomed to replying "And with your Spirit" when the priest says "The Lord be with You".

It's also great to see "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault" restored to the Confiteor. Now I can strike my chest three times in pious contrition--one time just doesn't seem enough.

I can again profess "I believe..." at the Creed.

I'm glad I get to say: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed." I always liked that wording better, as it is the prayer of the centurion from the Gospel (mostly).

The only change I'm not happy about is the new wording for the Embolism, the part the priest says at the Lord's Prayer. I liked the old wording "protect us from all anxiety". Now it asks to keep us "safe from all distress". I can live with the change, but being bipolar and prone to panic attacks, the old wording pulled me through some tough times.

Overall, kudos to the U.S. Bishops for improving the English Mass. Be gone liturgical minimalism!

Here's the complete text of the revised Mass.
Here are the changes.

None of Your Beeswax?

2009-08-20T13:53:00.003-06:00

In the News...
Candle use linked to cancer risk

South Carolina State University experts found that paraffin wax candles give off harmful fumes linked to lung cancer and asthma. They did, however, admit that it would take many years use to risk health.

The scientists suggested switching to candles made from beeswax or soy, which do not release significant levels of the chemicals.

I light the candles in my icon corner when I pray at night. Guess I'll be spending the extra money for beeswax from now on. No more bulk votives from Big Lots for me!

Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above

2009-08-18T08:24:00.003-06:00

Hail holy queen enthroned above,
Oh Maria.
Hail mother of mercy and of love,
Oh Maria.
Triumph all ye cherubim,
Sing with us ye seraphim.
Heaven and earth resound the hymn.
Salve, salve, salve regina. :|

Bogurodzica

2009-08-16T04:05:00.001-06:00

Oh Mother of God, Oh Virgin,
Maria, blessed by God,
Your son, our Lord,
Maria, chosen Mother,
Return to us, bestow upon us.
May the Lord have mercy.

This poem is the earliest known original literary composition in the Polish language

Dormition of the Theotokos

2009-08-15T04:44:00.000-06:00

O marvellous wonder! the source of life is laid in the tomb, and the tomb itself becomes a ladder to heaven. Make glad, O Gethsemane, thou sacred abode of the Mother of God. Come, O ye faithful, and with Gabriel to lead us let us cry: "Hail, thou who art full of grace: the Lord is with thee, granting the world through thee great mercy".

Glorious are thy mysteries, O pure Lady. Thou wast made the Throne of the Most High, and today thou art translated from earth to heaven. Thy glory is full of majesty, shining with grace in divine brightness. O ye virgins, ascend on high with the Mother of the King. Hail, thou who art full of grace: the Lord is with thee, granting the world through thee great mercy.

The dominions and the thrones, the rulers, the principalities, and the powers, the cherubim and the fearful seraphim glorify thy Dormition: and those who dwell on the earth rejoice, adorned by thy divine glory. Kings fall down and sing with the archangels and angels : "Hail, thou who art full of grace: the Lord is with thee, granting the world through thee great mercy".

~Stichera from Dormition Vespers (Tone 1)

The Church is One

2009-07-31T05:57:00.001-06:00

The separation of Churches or, better said, the schism of Christianity is the greatest failure of the Christendom in history. This failure testifies, how much freedom the Providence of God has given to man, and how much man has misused this freedom.

In the Church there cannot be separation, because the Church is One, and it is homogeneous. Its oneness is determined through the fact that Christ is living in it, that it is mediating the gifts of Grace, and that in it are administered the sacraments.

It is not the Church that is divided, but rather Christian humanity. The separation happened within the kingdom of Caesar which became interweaved with the Kingdom of God, but it is not in the Kingdom of God, in which there cannot be separation.

~Nikolai Berdyaev

"Unifying Christians of the East and the West" (1926)

There is only one Church, not several Churches. And de facto the schism was not in the Church of Christ, but in sinful humankind, in the kingdom of this world, in the kingdom of Caesar. And the restoration of Christian unity does not consist in unifying the Churches, but rather in reunion of the splintered parts of Christian humankind. All parties are guilty of the schism between Christians.

Even when I am convinced that the dogmatic Truth is with Orthodoxy, I must still however feel the guilt which is on us, Christians of the Orthodox East. Also with us there was a lack of love, self-assertion, aloofness, an aversion to engage a spiritual world which seems to be something strange, also with us there was the ecclesiastical nationalism and particularism, there was the recoursing to the typical confessionalism.

Reunion and union of the Christian world must begin with community and unification of Christians of all Confessions, with mutual respect and love, with an inner universal spiritual attitude. All must begin with spiritual life, with spiritual unity, and it must work from inside outwards.

Unification of the Churches can only be a work of the Holy Spirit. But we can prepare this work spiritually in our human part, we can create a favorable spiritual soil. Christian unity must not begin with negotiation of Church governances, but with a spiritual unification of Christians, with forming a Christian friendly association, which is possible while also remaining true to one's own creed.

~Nicolai Berdyaev
"Orthodoxy & Ecumenism" (1927)

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

2009-07-29T04:04:00.000-06:00

O Holy Spirit, most merciful Comforter: You proceed from the Father in a manner beyond our understanding.

Come, I beseech You, and take up your abode in my heart. Purify and cleanse me from all sin, and sanctify my soul. Cleanse it from every impurity, water its dryness, melt its coldness, and save it from sinful ways. Make me truly humble and resigned, that I may be pleasing to You, and that You abide with me forever.

Most blessed Light, most amiable Light, enlighten me. O rapturous Joy of Paradise, Fount of purest delight, my God, give Yourself to me, and kindle in my innermost soul the fire of Your love.

My Lord, instruct, direct, and defend me in all things. Give me strength against all immoderate fears and against despondency. Bestow upon me a true faith, a firm hope, and a sincere and perfect love. Grant that I always do your most gracious will.

Amen.

~St. Antiochus of Lyons (5th c.)

Need for the Holy Spirit

2009-07-27T12:19:00.004-06:00

Without the Holy Spirit, God is far away, Christ stays in the past, the Gospel is a dead letter the Church is simply an organization, authority, a matter of domination, mission, a matter of propaganda, the Liturgy no more than an evocation Christian living a slave mentality.

But in the Holy Spirit, the cosmos groans with the birth pangs of the kingdom; the risen Christ is there, the Gospel is the source of life, the Church shows forth the life of the Trinity, authority is a liberating service, mission is a Pentecost, the Liturgy is both memorial and anticipation, human action is deified.

~Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch ATHENAGORAS (1948-1972)

Catholic Without Being Latin

2009-07-27T05:26:00.000-06:00

"Dear brothers from Rome, one can be Catholic without being Latin. And we were attacked on two fronts, Catholic-Latin and Orthodox-Byzantine. And we said: No, dear brothers, one can be Ukrainian, one can be Byzantine, one can be at the same time Catholic. These different elements do not contradict one another. So this is why neither the Latin Church nor the Orthodox Church is very happy with us. "

~His Beatitude Lubomyr Husar,
Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Patriarch of Kviv-Halych

Ghetto Mentality: Threat to the Eastern Catholic Mission

2009-07-26T15:37:00.002-06:00

In a ghetto life is closed in upon itself, operating only within itself, with its own ethnic and social clichés. And the Parish lives upon the ethnic character of the community; when that character disappears, the community dies and the parish dies with it.

One day all our ethnic traits - language, folklore, customs - will have disappeared. Time itself is seeing to this. And so we can not think of our communities as ethnic parishes, primarily for the service of the immigrant or the ethnically oriented, unless we wish to assure the death of our community. Our Churches are not only for our own people but are also for any of our fellow Americans who are attracted to our traditions which show forth the beauty of the universal Church and the variety of its riches.

~Melkite Archbishop Joseph Tawil
"The Courage to be Ourselves" Christmas, 1970

Jesus Takes a Break

2009-07-20T15:09:00.003-06:00

Jesus withdrew with His disciples...(Mark 3:7)

I found this curious. He was healing people and casting out demons, showing His power, yet Jesus was concerned about being crushed by a mob. He told the disciples to have a boat ready so he could get away (Mark 3:9).

Was He turning His back on people who needed to be healed?

Here again we see the humanity of Jesus. From reading Mark's Gospel it seems like Jesus has been going non-stop since emerging from the desert. He's been so busy: preaching, healing, calling His disciples. Action, action, action!

It's as if He finally wore out and just needed to get away from the crowd.

This is important to remember in our own lives. I've seen people get so busy in their work for the Lord that they burn out.

You can't heal everybody.

Take time to rest. Time to breathe. Time to think. Time to discern.

Renewal and Prelest

2009-07-13T04:36:00.001-06:00

I remember talking with an Eastern Orthodox brother about the Charismatic Renewal and he referred to it as "Prelest". That there are no shortcuts in the spiritual life, so the idea of "baptism in the Holy Spirit" and speaking in tongues was delusion.

This Russian Orthodox word "Prelest" is often translated into English as spiritual deception, illusion, or delusion. It is the opposite of spiritual sobriety or watchfulness.

General Prelest is to think that you have no sin or need for forgiveness. Like the pharisee you see yourself as righteous before God based on your own efforts. The reality is that without Christ you are nothing. As you truly grow in holiness you become more aware of your sinfulness.

The Eastern fathers often speak of a particular Prelest that happens when you "live beyond your capabilities". This is someone who hasn't been cleansed of passions yet strives for a life of contemplation and desires the delights of spiritual grace. This spiritual "eagerness" leads to demonic exploitation of these desires. This person imagines that they are near to God and in a higher dimension of spirituality.

Seraphim of Sarov warned that "Surpassing their acquaintances in struggles of prayer and fasting, they imagine that they are seers of divine visions, or at least of dreams inspired by grace. In every event of their lives, they see special intentional directions from God or their guardian angel. And then they start imagining that they are God's elect, and often try to foretell the future."

The possibility of falling into Prelest is the leading cause of Eastern reluctance to the Charismatic Renewal. "The monks on Athos don't speak in tongues, so how could Nick the usher?"

I've been around the Charismatic movement since I was in diapers and will admit there were ups and downs in the last four decades. Mistakes and mis-steps have been made and some people do swim out over their heads and get into trouble.

The best safeguard against Prelest, according to Eastern writers, is to have a good spiritual director. If you are accountable to a priest or other elder in the Lord you are less likely to fall into error.

And that is exactly what the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church did. Those who had experienced this new outpouring of the Holy Spirit went to the Church hierarchy for guidance and clarification. In their wisdom the Pope along with many cardinals and bishops recognized the "new Pentecost" that they were praying for.

My experience in the Orthodox church showed me a different reaction. Suspicious bishops "disciplined" priests who encouraged Charismatic experience. Lay people who experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit had their enthusiasm "bridled".

Direct access to the Holy Spirit? That's something you earn by fleeing the world and living a life of strict asceticism--even then there are no guarantees. Illumination is a reward--no shortcuts!

This rigid thinking has led to a quenching of the Spirit. Like the pharisees they only expect God to act in a certain way according to established rules. Anything outside of those rules is suspicious, delusional, or even heresy.

It's all based on fear. Fear of prelest, fear of diluting or destroying tradition, fear of losing ethnic identity, fear of "ecumenism".

We are so fortunate in the Catholic Church to have a shepherd that encourages all the faithful to experience the baptism in the Holy Spirit (May 2008). We have a growing Charismatic presence that compliments and enhances our ancient rituals and devotions.

Pray for our brothers and sisters of the East that they would overcome fear and re-discover the joy and freedom found in the Holy Spirit.

St. Symeon the new Theologian

2009-07-12T05:03:00.000-06:00

Let us be like those who knock patiently and to whom the Lord opens the doors of His kingdom, according to His promise, and like those who seek and are given the Holy Spirit. It is impossible for a man who seeks with all his soul not to find the Holy Spirit and be enriched by His Charismata. (Cateshesis 22)

A person who has within him the light of the most Holy Spirit, unable to endure it, falls prostrate upon the ground; and he cries out and shouts in terror and great fear, for he sees and experiences something that surpasses nature, thought and imagination. He becomes as one whose entrails have been set ablaze: devoured by fire and unable to bear the scorching flame, he is beside himself, and he cannot control himself at all. And though he sheds unceasing tears that bring him some relief, the fire of his longing is kindled to yet fiercer flames. Then he weeps more abundantly and, washed by the flood of his tears, he shines as lightning with an- ever-increasing brilliance. When he is entirely aflame and becomes as light, then is fulfilled the saying, ‘God is joined in unity with gods and is known by them. (Practical and Theological Chapters 3:21)

When someone suddenly lifts up his gaze and contemplates the nature of existing things in a way that he had never done before, then he is filled with amazement and sheds spontaneous tears without any sense of anguish. These tears purify him and wash him in a second baptism, that baptism of which our Lord speaks in the Gospels when He says, ‘if someone is not born through water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.’ Again He says, ‘If someone is not born from above’ (John 3:5,7). When He said ‘from above’, He signified being born from the Spirit.

Did Eastern Fathers Pray in the Spirit?

2009-07-11T04:25:00.001-06:00

In the Spiritual writings of the Christian East, specifically the Philokalia, many types of prayer are described: psalmody, the Jesus Prayer, contemplation, singing hymns, and vigils. One type of prayer that is often mentioned but not explained is "formless prayer" that, according to St. Peter of Damaskos, exchanges human words for "the divine words of the Spirit".

Ilias the Presbyter calls this free-form prayer, "sweet smelling wine," and "those who drink deep of this wine are rapt out of themselves." (Gnomic Anthology, 72)

If you've been following my recent posts then you can guess where I'm going with this. When I read words like this through a Charismatic lens I can't help but connect it to the spontaneous prayer in the Spirit associated with the Renewal. I naturally associate praying with "divine words of the Spirit" with praying in tongues. And the resulting rapture and ecstasy is that sweet consolation one feels when caught up in Spirit-filled worship.

I'll admit that I could be totally off-base here and simply projecting my experience onto ancient words. Even so, what I have discovered in my recent survey of Eastern Christian spirituality is a vocabulary for understanding contemporary Charismatic experience in an Eastern context.

My prayer is that Eastern Christians find joy and "sober-minded drunkenness" as they transcend the words of prayer, psalms, and Liturgy into communion with the Holy Spirit.

Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life, come and dwell within us, cleanse us of all stain and save our souls, o gracious One.

~Eastern Prayer to the Holy Spirit, Tone 6

Fire Divided for Sharing Gifts

2009-07-10T04:48:00.000-06:00

O Lord, the Spirit of Your salvation, which formerly was received by the prophets in fear, now creates a pure heart in Your apostles and renews in our hearts an upright Spirit; for your commandments, O Lord, bring us light and peace.

~Pentecost Matins Canon, Ode 5

From Pentecost Matins arranged by the
Metropolitan Cantor Institute of the
Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh

Getting Drunk with St. Macarius

2009-07-09T05:36:00.001-06:00

The Makarian Homilies were attributed to St. Macarius of Egypt, a fourth-century desert father. In the eleventh century they were paraphrased by St. Symeon Metaphrastis. It is this text that appears in the Philokalia.

Like much of Eastern Christian spirituality he considers individual effort (heroic virtue) essential to spiritual perfection: We receive salvation by grace and as a divine gift of the Spirit. But to attain the full measure of virtue we need also to possess faith and love, and to struggle to excercise our free will with integrity. (1)

But, St. Macarius adds that through much prayer and faith, and by turning completely to God, we are able, with the help of the Spirit, to conquer the passions and root out sin (3). This is what distinguishes him from most Eastern Fathers. He emphasizes communion with the Holy Spirit and the need for more than human effort. In fact, he considers asceticism without the joy of the Holy Spirit to be empty:

[The Christian] may have fasted, kept vigils, chanted the Psalms, carried out every ascetic practice and acquired every virtue; but if the mystic working of the Spirit has not been consummated by grace with full consciousness and spiritual peace on the altar of his heart, all his ascetic practice is ineffectual and virtually fruitless, for the joy of the Spirit is not mystically active in his heart. (113)

To bear fruit, according to Macarius, requires participation in the Holy Spirit. He calls the Spirit a heavenly treasure and admonishes his reader to aquire it (87). For those who experience this release of the joy and love of the Holy Spirit, "Sometimes it seems they are in some realm greatly rejoicing and drunk with the inexpressible drunkenness of the mysteries of the Spirit, and then at other times they are full of grief, weeping and lamenting as they intercede for men's salvation." (89)

His descriptions of communion with the Holy Spirit sound very much like my experience in the Charismatic Renewal. I've seen similar emotional and physical reactions to the Spirit at prayer meetings. So, what we see is that such experience is not foreign to Eastern spiritual life. Of course, St. Macarius lived during the golden age of Church history before spontanaety succumbed to institutionalism.

Later, St. Macarius describes that the spirit-filled person at prayer, "...experiences an ineffible and measureless delight; his intellect wholly suspended and ravished, is overwhelmed, and during the time he is in this state he is mindless of every worldly concern. For his thoughts are filled with numberless incomprehensible realities and are taken captive by them. In that hour his soul through prayer becomes one with his prayer and is carried away with it." (91)

Those who have experienced the release of the Holy Spirit in their life know this delight and feeling of being carried away by love. The Charismatic Renewal did not invent this kind of prayer and worship, nor did we borrow it from Protestant Pentecostals--it was part of the undivided Church in the East and West.

What we see today is a rediscovery of refreshing, dynamic, active life in Communion with God the Holy Spirit. To my brothers and sisters in the Eastern Rite, I invite you to enter into joyful communion with the Holy Spirit by following the admonision of St. Macarius of Egypt:

We should eagerly drink spiritual wine and become drunk with a sober-minded drunkenness so that, just as those glutted with ordinary wine become more talkative, we too, brim-full with this spiritual wine, may speak of the divine mysteries. (99)

~David Samuel Thomas

*Quotations from "The Philokalia, Vol III". Palmer, Sherrard, & Ware, ed. trans. London: Faber & Faber, 1984

Spontaneous Prayer in Eastern Spirituality

2009-07-08T11:29:00.004-06:00

St. Peter of Damaskos was an Eastern bishop of the eighth century. His writings appear in the Philokalia, an influential compendium of spiritual writings revered in the Orthodox church. In his work on the eight stages of contemplation he mentions yielding to the Holy Spirit when He "interrupts" your normal prayer routine:

When, however, God's grace kindles a sense of deep penitence in the heart, you should allow your intellect to be bathed in tears of compunction, even if this means that your mouth stops reciting psalms and your mind is made captive to what St. Isaac the Syrian calls 'blessed captivity'. For now is the time to harvest, not plant.

He also quotes St. Isaac's description of someone in a state of pure prayer:

Often it happens that a person so concentrates his intellect during prayer that, like Daniel the prophet, he falls unbidden to his knees, his hands outstretched and his eyes gazing at Christ's Cross; his thoughts are changed and his limbs are made weak because of the new thoughts that arise spontaneously in his intellect. (from the Mystic Treatises)

St. Peter adds that "the more habitual these thoughts become, the more the longing for God draws us on to understand and worship the Father ' in Spirit and in truth', as the Lord said. St. Paul also indicates this when he says: 'I would rather speak five words whose meaning I understand than ten thousand words in a strange tongue' (1 Cor. 14:19); and again: 'I wish that men would pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without anger and quarrelling' (1 Tim 2:8)."

He concludes that singing hymns is a remedy for weakness, but "the experiences of rapture mark the perfection of the intellect."

Here is an example of the charismatic and liturgical working together in the spiritual life of the Eastern church. If you are sensitive to the action of the Holy Spirit, then don't be surprised if He interrupts your regularly scheduled prayer rule. Don't be afraid to fall on your knees, lift holy hands, and even pray in tongues. Here are two eastern saints, Peter of Damaskos and Isaac the Syrian, who testify to this reality.

*Quotations from "The Philokalia, Vol III". Palmer, Sherrard, & Ware, ed. trans. London: Faber & Faber, 1984

Spontaneous Vocal Worship in the Eastern Rite?

2009-07-03T16:48:00.005-06:00

As long-time readers know I spent 12 years in the Eastern Orthodox church and was a tonsured Reader in the Antiochian Arrchdiocese.

I still frequent Eastern Rite Catholic parishes now that I am in communion with St. Peter's successor in Rome. My home parish in the Latin Rite is officially Charismatic and encourages spontaneous vocal worship, and yes, "speaking in tongues", during Mass. There are liturgically appropriate times for such expression, known among the Church Fathers as "jubilatio".

Today I was musing about how such expression would work in the Byzantine Rite.

The Divine Liturgy in the Eastern churches has less flexibility and is treated as a museum treasure that should never be altered. Of course, one finds variations between Russians, Greeks, Antiochians, Serbs, and Romanians but nothing to convene a council about. Then you get the ultra-orthodox who only do the Liturgy in Church Slavonic or Greek and consider English as an inferior language for worship. But I digress...

There are two parts of the Divine Liturgy where I most often feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. So, maybe I'm biased about where He would inspire the faithful to break out in spontanous worship and glossolalia.

The first place is during the Trisagion. Right after the Little Entrance, when the priest comes out with the Gospel and declares "Wisdom, be attentive" the faithful sing "Come let us worship and fall down before Christ..." But where is the worship? Where is the falling down? Sounds like an invitation to DO something.

Next is the Trisagion hymn: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times). Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen. Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.

HERE is the place where I imagine singing in tongues, shouting praises to God, vocal declarations of worship like I find in my Charismatic parish. What happens after? The priest declares "Dynamis" or "Again with fervor" and the faithful sing one more time "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us."

Okay, I can hear a collective groan from the Byzantine liturgists, but if you consider this seriously, it appropriately enhances what is happening at that point in the Divine Liturgy. What if people are distracted? Well, the next thing said is "Let us be attentive", so everything is brought back into order. Did the Holy Spirit set it up that way?

At the beginning of the Anaphora, right after the priest tells the faithful to lift up their hearts,"We lift them up unto the Lord" is the reply, then the celebrant commands "Let us give thanks to the Lord", with the response "It is proper and right".

Here we go again! More time to worship in the Spirit. Hearts (and for some, hands) are already lifted, why not praise the Lord with angelic tongues. This naturally leads to the next part of the Liturgy, what the Latins call the Sanctus, where we join the angels in singing "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of Sabbaoth..." Totally appropriate in timing and order.

I don't claim any historic precedent for these musings. We know that spontanous expression did happen in the early Church, but with the establishment of organized Liturgy the freedom faded. I am not proposing that Orthodox and Eastern Catholics modify their Liturgies to accomodate such innovations.

My point is that IF spontaneous worship and speaking in tongues were to happen in a Byzantine Divine Liturgy, this is where I imagine it.

July Arrives!

2009-07-01T12:41:00.004-06:00

July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus.

Precious Blood,Ocean of Divine Mercy: Flow upon us.
Precious Blood,Most pure Offering:Procure us every Grace!
Precious Blood,Hope and Refuge of sinners: Atone for us!
Precious Blood,Delight of holy souls:Draw us! Amen.
~St. Catherine of Siena

The Holy Father's Prayer Intention for July are:

Christians in the Middle East -- That Christians in the Middle East may live their faith in complete freedom and become instruments of reconciliation and peace.

Humanity Reconciled -- Through the witness of the faithful, may the Church be the seed and soil of a humanity reconciled to be God's one true family on earth.

Commemorations this Month:

+Blessed Junipero Serra (1)
+Sts. Cosmas & Damian (1-Eastern Rite)
+St. Thomas (3)
+St. Maria Goretti (6)
+St. Benedict (11)
+Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel (13-ER)
+Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (14)
+St. Vladimir of Kiev (15-ER)
+Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (16)
+St. Elias [Prophet Elijah] (20-ER)
+St. Mary Magdalene (22)
+St. Panteleimon (27-ER)
+St. Macrina (19-ER)
+St. Christina (24-ER)
+St. Ignatius of Loyola (31)

Unless You Become as a child...

2009-06-24T10:25:00.004-06:00

A child is dependent, open, simple, trusting, playful, sensitive, emotional, blunt, truthful, and compassionate.

They don't know barriers and rarely doubt.

When they fail, they try again. Failure just means that a skill still needs to be learned.

When they fall, they may cry, but quickly brush themsleves off and keep on playing.

Play is their work--a spontaneous extension of self. It is serious business that recieves full attention.

Ordinary things are gateways to adventure. They turn cardboard boxes into spaceships and race cars.

They desire independence, but aren't afraid to ask for help when needed.

They learn by doing, by experiencing, taking risks and making mistakes.

They embrace the present moment, living in the NOW.

They make friends easily--with others, grasshoppers, stray dogs, and their imagination.

They avoid things that steal their joy.

They eat when hungry and sleep when tired.

They speak as if everything they say will come to pass.

~David Samuel Thomas

Conformity to the Sacred Heart

2009-06-18T19:08:00.002-06:00

Salvation is this deification or conformity to the Sacred Heart. No soul which is deformed, that is, which is unlike to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, shall enter the Kingdom of God. No soul can live eternally which is not in union with God. And no soul which is not conformed to the Sacred Heart can be united with God. Therefore conformity to the Sacred Heart is the vital condition of our salvation.

~Cardinal Henry Edward, The Glories of the Sacred Heart (1876)

Pentecost Vigil Podcast

2009-06-09T11:42:00.003-06:00

Pentecost Vigil at Christ the King Catholic Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan was incredible this year. What a wonderful time of praise, worship, encouragement, and best of all, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Fr. Ed Fride's homily was a rallying call to boldly proclaim the message of Pentecost and stop apologizing for being Charismatic.

Now that the sermon is online, I recommend it to everyone who wants to know about what the Holy Spirit has been doing in the Catholic Church. It's almost an hour long, but is time well spent. You can listen or download the message here...

http://ctkcc.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=489322

It's June

2009-06-04T18:03:00.004-06:00

June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The feast of the Sacred Heart is on June 19 with the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the 2oth.

The Holy Father's Prayer Intentions for the month are for:

Foreign Debt Relief -- That international efforts to help poorer nations bring prompt, concrete results to relieve the crushing burden of foreign debt.
The Church in Areas of Violence -- That local Church communities serving areas torn by violence may be supported through the love and help offered by Catholics around the world.

Commemorations
St. Justin the Martyr (1)
St. Ephrem the Syrian (9)
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ (14)
Sts. Thomas More & John Fisher (22)
Birth of St. John the Baptist (24)
St. Cyril of Alexandria (27)
Sts. Peter & Paul (29)
First Martyrs of Rome (30)

**Eastern Rite Catholics begin the Apostles Fast on June 8 and continue fasting until the 28th, the eve of the feast of Sts. Peter & Paul.

Drink of the Spirit

2009-06-02T17:07:00.008-06:00

In prayer one drinks the wine that gladdens a man's heart, the intoxicating wine of the Spirit that drowns all memory of the pleasures of the flesh. It drenches anew the arid recesses of the conscience, stimulates digestion of the meats of good works, fills the faculties of the soul with a robust faith, a solid hope, a love that is living and true; it enriches all the actions of our life.

~St. Bernard of Clairvaux, On the Song of Songs 18:5

More from the Holy Father on Pentecost

2009-06-02T06:42:00.000-06:00

Without [the Holy Spirit] what would the Church be reduced to? Certainly it would be a great historical movement, a complex and solid social institution, perhaps even a type of humanitarian agency. In truth many regard the Church in this way because they observe it from outside the viewpoint of the faith. Yet in reality, its true nature and its real historic presence has ceaselessly been guided and formed by the Spirit and the Lord.

~Pope Benedict XVI, Pentecost 2009

B16 - Pentecost 2009

2009-06-01T06:13:00.000-06:00

God’s Spirit, wherever it enters, quashes fear; it helps us recognize and feel that we are in the hands of an Omnipotent love; whatever happens His infinite love will never abandon us.

The witness of the martyrs shows us this, the courage of the confessors of faith, the intrepid zeal of the missionaries, the frank nature of the preachers, the example of all of the saints, some even adolescent and children. The very existence of the Church shows us this, which, despite the limits and fault of man, continues its journey on the oceans of history, blown onwards by the breath of God and animated by his purifying fire.

With this faith and joyous hope we repeat today through the intercession of Mary: "Send your Spirit Oh Lord, and renew the face of the earth!".

~Pope Benedict XVI, Pentecost Sermon 2009

Pentecost Poems & Prayers

2009-05-31T17:16:00.006-06:00

In the womb that bore
you are Fire and Spirit,
Fire and Spirit are in the river
where you were baptized,
Fire and Spirit are
in our baptism too,
And in the Bread and Cup
are Fire and Spirit.

~St. Ephrem the Syrian

O God the Holy Ghost
Who art light unto thine elect
Evermore enlighten us.
Thou who art fire of love
Evermore enkindle us.
Thou who art Lord and Giver of Life,
Evermore live in us.
Thou who bestowest sevenfold grace,
Evermore replenish us.
As the wind is thy symbol,
So forward our goings.
As the dove, so launch us heavenwards.
As water, so purify our spirits.
As a cloud, so abate our temptations.
As dew, so revive our languor.
As fire, so purge our dross

~Christina Rossetti

Most Holy Spirit,
the Paraclete, Father of the poor,
Comforter of the afflicted,
Light of hearts, Sanctifier of souls;
behold me prostrate in Thy presence.

I adore Thee with profoundest homage:
I bless Thee a thousand times
and with the Seraphim who stand before Thy throne,
I also say: "Holy, holy, holy."

I firmly believe that Thou art eternal,
consubstantial with the Father and the Divine Son.

I hope in Thy goodness
that Thou wilt deign to save and sanctify my soul.

I love Thee, O Divine Love,
with all my affections
above all the things of this world,
because Thou art Infinite Goodness,
alone worthy of all love.

And since in my ingratitude and blindness
to Thy holy inspirations,
I have so often offended Thee by my sins,
with tears in my eyes
I beg Thy pardon a thousand times,
and am more sorry for having offended Thee,
the Sovereign Good, than for any other evil.

I offer Thee this most cold heart of mine,
and I pray Thee
to pierce it with a ray of Thy light,
and with a spark of Thy fire,
which shall melt the hard ice of my iniquities.

Thou who didst fill the soul
of the most holy Mary with immense graces,
and didst inflame the hearts of the Apostles
with holy zeal, inflame, I beseech Thee,
my heart also with Thy love.

Thou art the Divine Spirit:
give me courage against all evil spirits.

Thou art Fire:
enkindle in me Thy love.
Thou art Light:
enlighten my mind with the knowledge of eternal things.
Thou art the Dove:
give me innocence of life.
Thou art the gentle Breeze:
disperse the storms of my passions.
Thou art the Tongue:
teach me how to bless Thee always.
Thou art the Cloud:
shelter me under the shadow of Thy protection.
And lastly, Thou art the Giver of all heavenly gifts:
animate me, I beseech Thee, with Thy grace;
sanctify me with Thy charity;
enlighten me with Thy wisdom;
adopt me by Thy goodness as Thy son,
and save me in Thy infinite mercy;
so that I may ever bless Thee, praise Thee, and love Thee;
first during this life on earth,
and then in heaven for all eternity. Amen.
Alphonsus Liguori

O living Spirit, O falling of God-dew,
O Grace which dost console us and renew,
O vital light, O breath of angelhood,
O generous ministration of things good,
Creator of the visible, and best
Upholder of the great unmanifest
Power infinitely wise, new boon sublime
Of science and of art, constraining might,
In whom I breathe, live, speak, rejoice, and write, --
Be with us in all places, for all time!

~Manuel Phile (tr. by Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

PENTECOST!

2009-05-30T11:43:00.004-06:00

Pentecost Troparion, Tone 8

Bearing the seal of the divinity, the Spirit was imparted to the apostles in the form of fire; He is manifested through the gift of tongues, for He is the divine power who comes freely from the Father.

Receive the Holy Spirit, breathing the flames of fresh dew as a baptism that takes away sin, O children enlightened by the Church. For today the law comes forth from Zion; it is the grace of the Spirit which comes in tongues of fire.

When the Most High descended and confused tongues, He scattered nations. When He distributed the tongues of fire , He called all to unity. We also, with one voice, glorify the Most Holy Spirit.

While the apostles were preaching the marvels of God, the unbelievers took for drunkenness the power of the Spirit who made known to us the Trinity, the one God of our Fathers!

Let us approach the inviolate mountain without fear of the terrible fire; come, let us climb the mountain of Zion, the city of the living God. In joy, let us now unite ourselves with the choir of the disciples, the bearers of the Spirit: Sing to the Lord, all you works of the Lord, and exalt Him forever.

~from the Pentecost Canon (Eastern Rite)

Feast of St. Philip Neri

2009-05-26T12:19:00.003-06:00

"Let me get through today, and I shall not fear tomorrow."
~St. Philip Neri

St. Philip Neri liked to pray at night. He would go out in the streets, sometimes to churches, but most often into the catacombs.

On the vigil of Pentecost in 1544, St Philip was praying in the Catacombs of St. Sebastian, as he had done many times, and asked God to give him more of the Holy Spirit.

As the night passed, he was suddenly filled with great joy, and had a vision of the Holy Spirit, who appeared to him as a ball of fire. This fire entered into St Philip’s mouth, and descended to his heart, causing it to expand to twice its normal size, and breaking two of his ribs in the process. He said that it filled his whole body with such joy and consolation that he finally had to throw himself on the ground and cry out, "No more, Lord! No more!"

St Philip is often described in art, poetry and prayers as having a "heart of fire". St. John Newman called him a "Vessel of the Holy Spirit".

When asked how to pray his answer was, "Be humble and obedient and the Holy Spirit will teach you."

St. Philip Neri was well known for his sense of humor. To honor him today try to laugh at yourself when something annoying happens, try to make someone else happy by your cheerful disposition.

His order, the Oratorians, have established oratories throughout the world. One North American oratory is in Toronto.

Ascension Sunday

2009-05-23T12:20:00.004-06:00

Christ has ascended! From earth to heaven!

The Lord ascended into heaven to send the Comforter into this world. The heavens prepared His throne and clouds were His ladder; the angels marvelled at the sight of a human being more exalted than themselves. Today the Father receives again in His bosom the One who was in Him from all eternity, and the Holy Spirit gives command to all the angels: Lift up your lintels, O you gates! O you nations of the earth, clap your hands, for Christ ascends to the place where He had been from all eternity.

~Stichera from Ascension Vespers, Tone 6

By going up again into heaven from which you had descended, you did not leave us orphans, O Lord. Show to all Your people the works of Your power, that Your Spirit may come down upon us and bring peace to the world, O Lord and lover of us all.

~Litija, Tone 1

Still Breathing

2009-05-14T12:20:00.000-06:00

Hello everybody, it's your humble blogger here. Half the month is passed and no updates. Sorry about that. I just moved into a new apartment in Ypsilanti, Michigan and I don't have an internet connection. I will add new posts soon since Ascension and Pentecost are coming up. I have not abandoned you loyal readers.

Stay tuned...

David

May 2009

2009-05-01T05:16:00.003-06:00

May is Mary's Month

Spend some time this month getting to know Jesus' Mom. She is our Mother too: Mother of the Church. There are two decent books written by Evangelicals about Mary that I reviewed last year.

On May 13th she is celebrated as Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament.

Hopefully you can find a local parish that is having a May Crowning. The ceremony traditionally takes place with young girls dressed in dresses carrying flowers (traditionally hawthorn) to adorn the statue. One of the girls (often the youngest) carries a crown of flowers or an actual golden crown on a cushion for placement by the May Queen (often the oldest girl) on the statue. The flowers are replaced throughout the month to keep them fresh.

O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today!
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.
O Mary we crown thee with blossoms today,
Queen of the Angels and Queen of the May.

The Holy Father's Prayer Intentions

Lay Vocation Promoters: That the laity and Christian communities may embrace their responsibility for promoting vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

A Missionary Church: In response to the Lord for the gift of faith, may the younger Catholic communities generously participate in the universal mission of the Church to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

Feasts:
Prophet Jeremiah (May 1 Byzantine)
Athanasius the Great (May 2)
Martyrs of England & Wales (May 4)
St. John the Evangelist (May 8 Byzantine)
Sts. Cyril & Methodius (May 11 Byzantine)
St. Isidore the Farmer (May 14)
Ascension of Our Lord (May 21)
Venerable Bede (May 25)
St. Philip Neri (May 26)
Pentecost (May 31)

Myrrh-Bearing Women

2009-04-26T15:05:00.004-06:00

On the second Sunday after Pascha (Easter), Eastern Catholics remember the women who brought spices to the tomb of Jesus. In some countries Mother's Day is celebrated today.

Why do you hasten, O myrrh-bearers? Why are you carrying myrrh to the living God? Christ is risen as he said. Wipe away your tears and from now on change your tears into joy.

Coming near to your tomb, O Savior, the myrrh-bearers hesitated, saying to each other: Who will roll the stone away from the tomb for us? They looked and saw that it had been rolled away. Startled by the sight of the radiant angel, they were seized with fear and wanted to flee, but the young man cried out to them: Do not be afraid! The One whom you seek is risen; come and see the place where the body of Jesus lay. Hasten to his disciples and proclaim to them: the Savior is risen from the tomb.

(Matins Canon, Ode 6)

The Grace of Poor Health

2009-04-22T13:42:00.004-06:00

This is an English translation
that I did of a French holy card.

The original can be seen at the
"Holy Cards for Your Inspiration" blog.

Divine Mercy Sunday

2009-04-19T05:17:00.000-06:00

The Feast of Mercy is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Day of Atonement. It is a day of reconciliation and intercession.

The Gospel reading shows Jesus appearing in the upper room and giving the disciples the authority to forgive sins [John 20:19-31]. The Epistle reading mentions the Blood and Water which poured forth from the heart of Jesus [1 John 5:1-6]. The Psalm reading declares, "His mercy endures forever" [Psalm 118].

"I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the Fount of My Mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and recieve Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet." ~Jesus to St. Faustina (Diary 699)

**Today is Pascha (Easter) for the Eastern Orthodox. Christ is Risen! Visit Last week's post for my Paschal greeting.

Maronite Patriarchate - Pascha 2009

2009-04-15T06:10:00.000-06:00

The resurrection of Christ was the greatest proof he gave about his divinity. Human beings die but do not return to this life. But Christ died and returned alive but in body not made of earth. His resurrection is a pledge of our rising up from death. Thus , the Apostle Paul says : “If , then , we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him” (Rom. 6:8).

In order to be able to live with Christ after death, we must live with him on earth. This means that we have to fill ourselves with his teachings, implement them and apply them in our daily life throughout all its stages. The Christian cannot be Christian in the Church and non-Christian at work, allowing to himself what is refused by right, justice and the conscience enlightened by faith.

The Christian who is willing to live his Christian life as wanted by Christ, cannot permit for himself the forbidden , violate the sacred and commit reprehensible actions as if he had two ways of action : one with God and the other with people. There must be a harmony between the two ways of living. Moreover, he has to lead one life with his ownself , with people and with God . Being true to oneself is a sine-qua-non condition, for man, to live in an atmosphere of truth with people. He who is not true with his ownself , how can he be true with people ?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says : “the Christian must live in truth as God does”. The total truth of God was revealed in Jesus Christ. He is full of the grace and truth (Jn. 12:8). He who believes in him does not stay in darkness. The disciple of Christ keeps his word so that he knows the truth which sets him free and sanctifies (Jn. 8:31-32).

Following Jesus means that the faithful lives out of the spirit of truth (Jn. 14:17) sent by the Father in his name (Jn 14:26) and who leads to all truth (Jn.16:13). Jesus taught his disciples the love of an unconditional truth. “Let your “Yes” mean “Yes”, and your “No” mean “No” (Mt. 5:37).

On the occasion of Easter, we ask God for many returns full of blessing, good, tranquility and peace of mind.

Ukrainian Catholic Hierarchs - Pascha 2009

2009-04-14T05:46:00.000-06:00

CHRIST IS RISEN!

"Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus…" Luke 24:13

The highlight of Easter morning for each of us is undoubtedly the moment we first hear the triumphant Paschal troparion ringing out at the beginning of the Matins of the Resurrection: "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death by death, and to those in the tombs giving life!" When we repeat these joyful words, as we will many times on Easter Sunday and for the next forty days, all our earthly cares seem to melt away, things that trouble us fade into the background and become somehow less burdensome. A heavy weight – the weight of sin and eternal death – has been lifted from our shoulders with the glorious Resurrection of Christ.

These feelings of joy were not shared by at least two of Jesus’ disciples, however. In one of the most memorable and evocative scenes from the Gospel accounts of the Resurrection, we see Cleopas and his nameless companion, hurrying away from Jerusalem as the sun sets on that momentous day.

They are distressed, disappointed and fearful. As they walk they speak in hushed and agitated tones to one another about what has just taken place before their eyes: the seizure, trial, scourging and death by crucifixion of their leader upon whom they had pinned all their aspirations of national liberation, Jesus of Nazareth. Their hopes are dashed; they are convinced that everything is finished. And then, it seems out of nowhere a stranger joins them on the road and begins to converse with them…

We are all familiar with this marvelous scene, how Jesus gradually lifts the veil from the eyes of Cleopas and his companion so that they are able to recognize him, how he transforms their fear and doubt into rekindled hope and a zealous faith in the reality of his Resurrection. How does he do this; how does he convince them? Through his word and through the breaking of the bread.

As he walks with them Jesus does not perform a miracle that would instantaneously convince Cleopas and his companion of his identity. Instead, he teaches them. He speaks to them from Holy Scripture and allows everything that Moses and the prophets said about the coming of the Messiah to gradually reveal to them who he really is. And later, at table at the inn in Emmaus, when Jesus takes the bread, invokes a blessing, breaks it and shares it with them, the final obstacle is removed from their mind, the veil is completely lifted from their eyes. The light floods in and they recognize him. It is the Lord! And in this jubilant realization they drop everything and race back to Jerusalem, even now in the dead of night, to share with the others, this astonishing appearance of the resurrected Jesus.

It is no accident that the name of Cleopas’ companion on the road to Emmaus is never revealed. He is nameless because he is us. And the road that links Jerusalem to Emmaus and back again is a symbol of the road along which each of us is a traveler. In fact all humanity moves along this path – the path of life – an immense caravan of people who are sometimes happy and content, but often distrustful and disillusioned, sometimes sure and steady, but often uncertain and disoriented, but who are always searching or waiting.

We, like Cleopas’ companion along the road, are naïve, filled with fickle hopes and worldly aspirations. We are blind to God’s Providence and have been brought low by the circumstances of life and our own sinfulness and pride. Who can restore our equilibrium? Who can save us?

Who indeed, but the Resurrected Lord, who comes to us of his own free will. It is he who joins us as we journey every day along our road of life. It is he who teaches and comforts us. It is he who shares a meal with us, as he did with Cleopas and his companion. In other words he enlightens us through Holy Scripture and he nourishes us with his Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist. And our eyes are opened and our hearts are warmed and we gain strength for the journey.

Our prayer for you on this glorious Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is that our ears may always be attuned to hear the voice of the Lord as he speaks to us in many ways but especially through the inspired writings of Holy Scripture. May also our eyes be opened to truly recognize our Lord in the breaking of the bread so that we may worthily receive him in the Holy Eucharist. And, along with Cleopas and his companion, may our hearts also ‘burn within us’ with the love of God and neighbor.

God grant to you and to your loved ones, and to our brothers and sisters in our beloved Ukraine and scattered throughout the world, good health, joy, peace and contentment. A blessed Pascha!

~Ukrainian Catholic Hierarchs in the U.S.A.

+Stefan
Metropolitan-Archbishop of Philadelphia

+Robert
Eparch of St. Josaphat in Parma

+Richard
Eparch of St. Nicholas in Chicago

+Paul
Eparch of Stamford

+John
Auxiliary Bishop to the Metropolitan

Patriarch Gregorios III - Paschal Message 2009

2009-04-13T05:34:00.001-06:00

No Cross
without Resurrection:
no Resurrection
without Cross
For every Cross
a Resurrection:
for every Resurrection
a Cross

The fact of linking resurrection to cross and cross to resurrection, cross-resurrection and resurrection preceded by cross, is not simply a ritual gesture and not an ingenious liturgical genre, but rather the highest expression of life’s reality and the longings of mankind.

We say to each and every human being, find in every cross the seeds of the beginning of the resurrection, as you find in every shadow of a very dark night, the first glimmerings of dawn. In the depths of your suffering, trust that the resurrection is for you, your suffering and cross.

So it becomes evident again that liturgical prayers and services are not marginal to the lives of the faithful, but go to the very depths of their lives. The liturgy and liturgical prayers, through their meanings, teachings, spirituality and symbols, express our reality and illuminate our way. The saying is still true, “Whosoever prays is saved:” (cf. Romans 10:13) so, whosoever does not pray is not saved.

That deep relationship between cross and resurrection in the Liturgy is the expression of their relationship, or spiritual correlation, in our life and evidence that one cannot subsist without the other. No cross without resurrection to follow the cross and save us from the cross: no resurrection without cross in the reality of our life. Resurrection takes us down from the cross.
Just as cross and resurrection are intimately linked in Jesus and in the life of Paul and the other saints, so it is too with our reality, as Saint Paul testifies, saying, “…If Christ be not raised (after his passion and cross) your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” (I Corinthians 15:17)

Besides, refusing to link cross to resurrection and resurrection to cross is the cause of many dangers, including despair, suicide, atheism, darkness, sin and crimes.

Linking cross to resurrection and resurrection to cross goes to the heart of our Christian faith and doctrine and is essential in the lives of the faithful and in Christian philosophy. Both of them sum up the meaning of the incarnation and redemption, as they do the relationship between man and God. “For he created us, yet did not cease to do everything to raise us up to heaven..” (that is, to bring us to resurrection life.) (Prayer of the anaphora from the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom)
Besides, this relationship sums up the economy of salvation. It is the best response to our human condition and the longings of our soul for immortality, for, on the one hand, we live the reality of the cross, but we hope to have done with it and, on the other hand, we aspire to immortality and resurrection. That is the meaning of being taken down from the cross and resurrection; that is the experience of Paul on the road to Damascus; that is the journey of the saints and martyrs. It is Jesus’ mission to save us from the cross and grant us the gift of resurrection.

Jesus has abased himself for us, to death, death on the cross. He came down to our human reality and rose again to fulfil our longings for resurrection. As we read in the Kneeling Prayers on the Monday of Pentecost, Jesus gives life “with the hope of resurrection to those who were smitten with the sting of death,” and announces to us the great “hopes of resurrection and of life immortal.” He is the “Chieftain of our resurrection,” who has “become a partaker, on equal terms, of our flesh and blood, because of (his) exceeding great condescension.” Of his own will, he “took upon (himself) our passions,” and “led us to apatheia,” (or passionlessness: that is, to resurrection.) (Kneeling Prayers)

That is also what appears very clearly and splendidly in the prayer of consecration of light on the morning of Great and Holy Saturday (the Saturday of Light) where we find a very beautiful description of the whole economy of salvation and the linkage between sin, incarnation, cross, death, resurrection and return to paradise. Here is an extract from this prayer, to be found in the Triodion: “Thou, Saviour, didst set the law before the first man, while he was in the state of light, to guide him towards the new world and give him the desire to grow towards eternal life, but by transgressing thy commandment, he fell from that great glory which was his. And he disgraced himself by his fall and became exiled from thee, thou glorious Light. But thou, O Lord, Lover of mankind, by thy death and the abundance of thy goodness and limitless compassion, hast condescended to the lowliness of us abandoned sinners, so as to restore us to that glory and first light whence we fell. And thou didst will to dwell in the tomb for the sake of us, who transgressed thy divine commandments. Thou didst descend to Hades and to the bowels of the earth and hast destroyed the everlasting doors and saved those who were in the darkness of death and raised them. Thou hast illumined the human race by thy resurrection on the third day and hast granted the world new life, illumining the whole world more brightly than the sun and hast restored our nature, by thy compassion, to its first rank and to the glorious light, whence we were exiled. As thou hast raised us up and restored us to life from the abyss of sin and hast delivered us from the shadows of our crimes, make us worthy, by thy rich compassion, to light our own lamps from the light of this day, symbol of thy glorious, radiant resurrection and grant to thy holy catholic and apostolic Church that perfect light.”

The meaning of that prayer is that Jesus condescended to our condition (reality of the cross). He was crucified so as to participate in our condition and he rose up to the level of our aspirations and hopes for immortality. In other words, man wished to become God and was disappointed: so “God became man that man might become god.”

~His Beatitude Gregorios III, Melkite Patriarch of Antioch and of All the East, of Alexandria and of Jerusalem

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen!

2009-04-12T00:01:00.002-06:00

Al'Masiah qam! Haqqan qam! (Arabic)
Krist je uskrsnuo! zaista je uskrsnuo! (Croatian)
Vstal z mrtvŷch Kristus! V pravdê vstal z mrtvŷch! (Czech)
Le Christ est ressuscité! En vérité, il est ressuscité! (French)
Christus ist auferstanden! Er ist wahrhaftig auferstanden! (German)
Krisztus feltàmadott! Valóban feltàmadott! (Hungarian)
Tá Criost éirithe ; go deimhin tá sé éirithe. (Gaelic)
Cristo è risuscitato! In verità è risuscitato! (Italian)
Harisutosu hukkatsu! Jitsu ni hukkatsu! (Japanese)
yinqa' HrIyStoS! yinqa'bej! (Klingon)
Jidu fuhuo liao! Zhende, ta fuhuo liao! (Mandarin)
Christ daaztsáádéé' náádiidzáá! 'ááníí, daaztsáádéé' náádidzáá! (Navaho)
Chrystus zmartwychwstal! Prawdziwie zmartwychwstal! (Polish)
Christo ha resucitado! En verdad ha resucitado! (Spanish)
Kristus är uppstånden! Ja han är sannerligen uppstånden! (Swedish)
Hristos vosskress! Vo iss-tinou vosskress! (Ukrainian)
Atgyfododd Crist! Atgyfododd yn wir! (Welsh)
Ukristu uvukile! Yebo uvukile! (Zulu)

Surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia! Et apparuit Simoni, alleluia! (Latin)

Sabbatum Sanctum

2009-04-11T05:45:00.000-06:00

Rise, let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see, I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal chamber is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity.

Lamentation at the Tomb

2009-04-10T22:00:00.001-06:00

Christ our Paschal Lamb has been sacrificed! (1 Corinthians 5:7b)

Holy and Great Friday

2009-04-10T16:51:00.001-06:00

I saw how the Lord suffered as He was being scourged. Oh, such an inconceivable agony! How terribly Jesus suffered during the scourging! O poor sinners, on the day of judgement how will you face the Jesus whom you are now torturing so cruelly: His blood flowed to the ground, and in some places His flesh started to fall off. I saw a few bare bones on His back. The meek Jesus moaned softly and sighed.

~St. Faustina Kowalska, Diary 188

Listen to the Heartbeat

2009-04-09T06:43:00.000-06:00

"One of His disciples, whom Jesus loved, was lying close to the breast of Jesus." (John 13:23)

We must not hurry past this scene in search of deeper revelation, or we will miss a magnificent insight. John lays his head on the heart of God, on the breast of the Man whom the council of Nicea defined as "being co-equal and consubstantial to the Father... God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God."

This passage should not be reduced to a historical memory. It can become a personal encounter, radically affecting our understanding of who God is and what our relationship with Jesus is meant to be. God allows a young Jew, reclining in the rags of his twenty-odd years, to listen to His heartbeat!

~Brennan Manning "Abba's Child"

Anointing of the Sick

2009-04-08T06:55:00.000-06:00

In the Eastern Rite an anointing service takes place on Holy Wednesday evening. During the service the following hymns about healing are sung:

Through the prayers of Your holy Apostles,
You have shown us Your favor, O Lord,
for You are easily swayed and love all people
in this holy anointing for the healing
of the wounds and illnesses of all mankind.
Have mercy now upon those who approach
in faith the anointing with this holy oil.
Sanctify them and show them your mercy,
for you are full of compassion.
Purge from them every illness
of soul and body, and grant them
Your incorruptible blessing, O Lord
(Troparia, Tone 4)

With eyes that are spiritually blind
I come to You, O Christ;
and, like the man who was blind since birth,
I cry out to You with repentance:
You are a shining light to those in darkness.
(Kontakion, Tone 4)

O Lord, with Your divine authority,
as You once raised the paralytic,
now raise my soul, paralyzed dreadfully
with all kinds of sin and disgraceful deeds,
that, being saved, I may cry out to You:
Glory to Your power, O merciful Christ.
(Kontakion, Tone 3)

O faithful healers who worked
for the community without pay,
you were fountains of healing,
for you were deemed worthy
of mighty gifts from our Savior,
the everlasting fountain.
As to the zealous workers,
the Lord said to you:
Look, I have given you power
over unclean spirits,
to cast them out and to heal
every sickness and disease.
You were as zealous as the apostles.
As you lifted uprightly
according to the commandments,
you received freely and gave freely,
and healed the ills of soul and body.
(Troparion, Tone 4)

The Hymn of Kassiana

2009-04-07T07:13:00.000-06:00

O Lord, the woman who
had fallen into many sins,
sensing Your Divinity,
takes upon herself
the duty of a myrrh-bearer.
With lamentations
she brings you myrrh
in anticipation of
your entombment.
"Woe to me!" she cries,
"for me night has become
a frenzy of licentiousness,
a dark and moonless love of sin.
Receive the fountain of my tears,
O You who gathers into clouds
the waters of the sea.
Incline unto me,
unto the sighings of my heart,
O You who bowed the heavens
by your ineffable condescension.
I will wash your immaculate feet
with kisses and dry them again
with the tresses of my hair;
those very feet at whose sound
Eve hid herself from in fear when
she heard You walking in Paradise
in the twilight of the day.
As for the multitude of my sins
and the depths of Your judgments,
who can search them out,
O Savior of souls, my Savior?
Do not disdain me Your handmaiden,
O You who are boundless in mercy."

~Bridegroom Matins (Byzantine 9th c.)

Fig Monday

2009-04-06T07:46:00.001-06:00

O faithful let us fear the
punishment of the fig tree
which was dried up for
not having borne any fruit;
let us offer worthy fruits of
repentance to Christ,
who grants us His great mercy.

Bridegroom Matins, Tone 8
Metropolitan Cantor's Institute

Holy Week Companion

2009-04-05T18:36:00.002-06:00

One way to make Holy Week more meaningful is to spend it with a Biblical character. Follow them through the days. Take them with you to church.

The Blessed Virgin Mary: What joy she must have felt as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. A proud Jewish mother thinking "That's my boy!" Then, sorrow as she meets Him on the Via Dolorosa covered in blood and carrying a cross.

St. Peter: "I will not forsake you." Cutting off a servant's ear while defending the lord. Then denying Christ and going into hiding.

St. John: Leaning on Jesus' breast at the Last Supper. Standing at the foot of the Cross.

The Centurion: Mocking Jesus, whipping Him, guarding Him at the Cross. "Surely this man was the Son of God!"

Who will be your traveling partner?

Forsake and Follow

2009-03-30T06:03:00.000-06:00

"Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for My sake and the gospel's (for the kingdom of God)," Jesus said, "shall receive a hundredfold in this present time, and in the age to come inherit eternal life." (Matt 19:29, Mark 10:29-30, Luke 18:30 paraphrase)

Last week ended with lamenting for all the loss I went through in the past year. Like Job, everything I had was taken away. Yet, I recognized that having nothing made it easier to follow Christ. Rather than a curse I saw it as liberation.

"The forsaking was done for the purpose of following," writes St. John Chrysostom, "and the following was rendered easier by the forsaking." (Homily LXIV)

I wonder if St. Peter was remembering the words of Jesus about forsaking and following when he wrote: "Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will do right and entrust their souls to a faithful Creator. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you." (1 Peter 4:19 & 5:10)

Those who suffer for a while will be restored, established, and strengthened. Those who forsake all to follow Christ will benefit both in this life and gain eternal life.

Last Sunday of Lent

2009-03-29T04:30:00.000-06:00

Eastern Catholics remember St. Mary of Egypt on the fifth Sunday of Lent:

One of the most striking examples of penance ever witnessed, is this day proposed for our consideration: Mary, the Sinner and Penitent of Egypt, comes to animate us to persevere in our Lenten exercises; Like Magdalene and Margaret of Cortona, she had sinned grievously; like them, she repented, atoned for her guilt, and is now the associate of Angels.

Let us adore the omnipotence of our God, who thus changed a vessel of dishonour into one of honour; let us lovingly contemplate the riches of his mercy, and hope for our own participation in them. At the same time, let us remember, that pardon is not granted, save where there is repentance; and that repentance is not genuine, unless it produce an abiding spirit and deeds of penance.

Mary of Egypt had the misfortune to lead a life of sin for seventeen years; but her penance lasted forty: and what kind of penance must not hers have been, living alone in a desert, under a scorching sun, without the slightest human consolation, and amidst every sort of privation!

The pledge of pardon--the receiving Holy Communion--which we received so soon after our sins, was not granted to Mary, till she had done penance for nearly half a century. Yes, that pledge of Jesus' forgiveness, which he has given us in the Sacrament of his Love, and which was communicated to us so promptly, was withheld from this admirable Penitent, so that her second time for receiving it was at the moment when death was on the point of separating her soul from her body which was worn out by austerities !

Let us humble ourselves at such a comparison; let us think with fear on this great truth--that God's justice will require an exact account of all the graces he has heaped upon us; and with this thought, let us rouse ourselves to a determination to merit, by the sincerity of our repentance, a place near the humble Penitent of the desert.

The Liturgical Year: Lent (1870) by Dom Prosper Gueranger

Sabbath at the Carpenter's House

2009-03-27T05:00:00.001-06:00

It's Friday,
just before sundown.
Mother is lighting
the Sabbath candles.

After kindling the fire
she waives her hands
over the flames three times
then covers her eyes.

She chants:
"Blessed art Thou,
O Lord, King of the Universe,
who commands us to
observe the holy act of
lighting the Shabbat candles."

As a devout Jewish mother,
the Blessed Virgin Mary
performed this ritual each week.

I'm sure that to her
it wasn't just an empty custom.
She knew that she brought the
True light into the world,
the Lord of the Sabbath,
her little Yeshua.

Did the words of Holy Simeon
echo in her soul:
"A light for revelation
to the Gentiles, and for glory
to Your people Israel."

The Incarnation of Mercy

2009-03-25T05:19:00.005-06:00

In this way, in Christ and through Christ, God also becomes especially visible in His mercy; that is to say, there is emphasized that attribute of the divinity which the Old Testament, using various concepts and terms, already defined as "mercy." Christ confers on the whole of the Old Testament tradition about God's mercy a definitive meaning. Not only does He speak of it and explain it by the use of comparisons and parables, but above all He Himself makes it incarnate and personifies it. He Himself, in a certain sense, is mercy. To the person who sees it in Him - and finds it in Him - God becomes "visible" in a particular way as the Father who is rich in mercy. (Eph 2:4)

~ John Paul the Great, Dives in Misericordia

Hoec ilia solemnis dies (hymn for Evensong)
This is the day, the solemn day,
Which God appointed to convey
Such news as made our sorrows cease,
Glad news of mercy and of peace.

Our parents' guilt, our parents' fall,
To certain death consigned us all:
From certain death mankind to save,
His only Son Jehovah gave.

Yes! He who was th' Eternal's Son,
E'er time had yet its course begun,
Our life of pain and weakness bore,
Nor did the Virgin's womb abhor.

He took on him our mortal state,
That he might bear the sinner's fate,
That so his blood, in ransom given,
Might take away the wrath of heaven.

Yes! He, the infinite great God,
In human flesh awhile abode:
That we might high in glory dwell,
He came as our Immanuel.

Redeemer of the world, to thee
All praise and glory rendered be:
And to the Father, King of heaven,
And Holy Ghost, all praise be given.

~Translated by John Chandler,
1837 Hymns of the Primitive Church

I am Learning

2009-03-23T05:23:00.001-06:00

* to love
* to be loved
* to slow down
* to be patient
* to think before acting
* to think before talking
* to question assumptions
* to accept contradictions
* to admit frailty
* to pray
* to meditate
* to contemplate
* to soak in God's presence
* to bring life before the Lord
* to ask questions
* to wait for answers
* to discover what's really necessary
* to simplify
* to pay attention
* to imagine
* to focus on now
* to embrace the present moment
* to manage time
* to prioritize
* to flee anything that steals my joy
* to hope
* to let go of what isn't mine
* to give people space
* to set boundaries
* to be silent
* to breathe

4th Sunday of Lent - Climbing the Ladder

2009-03-22T01:00:00.000-06:00

God's Tent

2009-03-20T20:04:00.005-06:00

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on Your holy mountain?

Psalm 15 gives us some clues:

* walk blamelessly and do what is right
* speak truth from your heart
* do not slander with your tongue
* do no evil to your friends
* take no reproach against your neighbor
* hold the godless in disdain
* honor those who fear the Lord
* keep your pledges
* don't collect interest when you loan
* don't take bribes

Micah 6:8 tells us what the Lord requires of us:
* to do justice
* to love mercy
* to walk humbly with your God

James 1:27 reveals pure and undefiled religion:
* to visit orphans and widows in their affliction
* to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Mercy Endures

2009-03-18T18:01:00.004-06:00

Your merciful hand guides me through darkness. Your merciful light shines on me through the day. In the fog Your voice calls to me.

Why should I despair?

No trouble has befallen me that was not resolved. No sickness that was not cured. No wound that was not healed. No wandering that was not restored to the path. No hunger that was not fed. No thirst that was not quenched.

I have no doubt...

All confusion will be clarified. All loss will be restored. All patience will find its desire. All hope will see expectation fulfilled.

How long does your Mercy endure?

FOREVER!

St. Patrick's Day with Veggies & Byzantines

2009-03-17T06:32:00.005-06:00

Troparion (Tone 1)

Today Armagh rejoices
with Antrim and Mayo,
and all Ireland praises
the illustrious apostle Patrick.
On all he met,
he made a deep and lasting impression,
for the grace of God
overflowed his noble and tender nature.
With Christ the Lord as his breastplate
and the Spirit's lamp in his hand,
he went forth to make the Irish
children of the Font,
baptizing them into Christ,
the lover of us all.

Free Gifts to Form Your Conscience!

2009-03-16T15:20:00.003-06:00

[The] Word of God is the light for our path; we must assimilate it in faith and prayer and put it into practice. We must also examine our conscience before the Lord's Cross. We are assisted by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, aided by the witness or advice of others and guided by the authoritative teaching of the Church. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1785)

Why settle for second-rate faith?

The Lord wants you to grow and mature.

As a Catholic Christian you can access valuable resources to assist you as you journey to God:

* The Bible properly interpreted
* The Cross of Christ
* The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
* Spiritual Direction
* 2000 years of Holy Spirit inspired Teaching

Why limp through life when you can RACE TO THE FINISH LINE!

If your faith seems flat, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

**Not all resources are available at every parish, but all can be found somewhere in the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

The Blind Fiddler

2009-03-12T11:53:00.003-06:00

When I walk with the blind fiddler,
I sometimes close my eyes,
pretending to be without sight,
allowing him to lead me.

Mama told me not to go near the fiddler.
His breath reeks of whiskey,
he curses and wears rags,
sleeps God knows where.

Mama says the fiddler
plays the devil's music--
it sounds like a baby crying,
or two roosters fighting.

When the blind fiddler plays,
I hear honey-bees buzzing,
the neighbor cat singing,
or Mama and Papa in bed at night.

The fiddler needs me
to help him down the street.
I hold my hat out for coins,
dance barefoot with my eyes closed.

~David Samuel Thomas

I googled myself today and found that this poem I wrote back in 1996 is floating around cyberspace. Originally, I think it appeared in an online poetry journal. I have a recording of my son Andrew reading that showed up on some German guy's podcast.

Listen to the recording or download the MP3 HERE

Fearless Warrior

2009-03-10T19:24:00.003-06:00

A warrior who is constantly in battle is not terrified by the roar of the cannon. Far from being frightened, it listens to determine from which side the enemy is launching his attack, in order to defeat him. It does nothing blindly, but examines and ponders everything deeply and, not counting on itself, it prays fervently and asks advice of other warriors who are experienced and wise. When the soul acts in this way, it nearly always wins.

There are attacks when a soul has no time to think or seek advice; then it must enter into a life-or-death struggle. Sometimes it is good to flee for cover in the wound of the Heart of Jesus, without answering a single word. By this very act the enemy is already defeated.

~St. Faustina Kowalska, Diary 145

Ashes or Dust?

2009-03-07T16:44:00.005-07:00

"I would rather be ashes than dust!" ~Jack London

Here we are coming into the second Sunday of Lent and I'm talking about ashes again.

But I know that some of you might still be struggling to get your Lenten journey started. You might still have the instructions, "Repent and believe the Good News" ringing in your ears, but you stand there asking, "How do I do that?"

I have a few suggestions, but first...

ASHES come from contact with fire. Scripture tells us that our God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24, Hebrews 12:29). Our faith will be tested with fire according to St. Peter (1 Peter 1:7). Jesus Himself said that He came to cast fire upon the earth (Luke 12:49). We are perfected and purified by fire.

DUST on the other hand comes from rotting and death. "To dust you will return," is another truth we are reminded of on Ash Wednesday. Decay comes from lack of movenment or malnutrition.

How does this help you on your Lenten journey? You must decide if you will be ashes or dust then decide to be transformed by the light and heat of Divine Love, or stagnate.

The refiner's fire is burning, and you can be made into pure gold through all the opportunities available through Holy Mother Church:

* Increase your prayer time
* Read Scripture daily
* Attend Mass on a week day
* Confession
* Add a devotion: Rosary, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, Novenas
* Spend time in Eucharistic Adoration
* Attend a retreat
*Read a spiritual book

It's not too late to get started.

DON'T GET LEFT IN THE DUST!

Ufać (Trust)

2009-03-03T15:59:00.004-07:00

The size of your bucket determines how much water you can draw from the well. The following words were spoken by our Lord to St. Maria Faustina of the Most Blessed Sacrament:

"The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is -- trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive." (Diary 1578)

As we trust, Jesus fills us with His mercy, even to overflowing. What can we do but pass it on to others.

"When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls." (Diary 1074)

Lenten Objective

2009-03-02T13:00:00.001-07:00

What do you hope to accomplish during Lent? How will you do it? I heard this passage from Isaiah on Fat Tuesday while at evening prayer. Then it was the first reading last Friday. I found myself meditating on it and decided to share it with you.

"Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD?

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

"Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am." ~Isaiah 58:5-9

What is the purpose of fasting? Well, one is to humble ourselves. Some others include to loose the bonds of wickedness, undo heavy burdens, to let the captive go free, and to break every yoke.

What do we do? Usually bowing down your head and wearing sackcloth and ashes is a good start. But what pleases God? Through the Prophet Isaiah the Lord tells us what pleases Him more than punishing ourselves: share your bread with the hungry, bring the homeless poor into your house, clothe the naked.

Sure the sackcloth and ashes part results in humility, but what happens when we do it God's way? Our light breaks forth, healing springs up, righteousness proceeds us, and the glory of the Lord protects us. And best of all, when we cry out to the Lord He answers.

So I ask again: what do you want from Lent and how will you get it?

March 2009

2009-03-01T22:29:00.000-07:00

Sanctus Ioseph, Ora Pro Nobis

March is dedicated to St. Joseph, the chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary and "Earth Dad" to our Lord Jesus Christ. His feast day is on March 19. St. Joseph is the patron saint of the Universal Church, Carpenters, Doubters, Travelers, House Hunters, and of a Happy Death.

GUARDIAN of virgins, and holy father Joseph, to whose faithful custody Christ Jesus, Innocence itself, and Mary, Virgin of virgins, were committed; I pray and beseech thee, by these dear pledges, Jesus and Mary, that, being preserved from all uncleanness, I may with spotless mind, pure heart, and chaste body, ever serve Jesus and Mary most chastely all the days of my life. Amen

The Holy Father's Prayer Intentions for March

* Dignity of Women. That all nations of our world may grow in appreciation of the dignity and value of women and their roles in society.

* Church Unity in China. That all the bishops, priests, consecrated persons, and laity of the Catholic Church in China may strive to be instruments of unity, communion, and peace, as enjoined by the letter sent to them by Pope Benedict XVI.

Feast Days

St. David of Wales (March 1)
St. Katherine Drexel (March 3)
40 Martyrs of Sebaste (March 9 Byzantine)
St. Benedict of Nursia (March 14 Byzantine)
St. Patrick of Ireland (March 17)
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (March 18)
Annunciation of the Theotokos (March 25)

*Lent continues throughout the month

Triumph

2009-03-01T06:17:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are on the first Sunday of Lent. In the Byzantine tradition it commemorates the restoration of icons at the Seventh Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (AD 787). In 754 the "robber council" of Hieria banned icons. This led to "iconoclasm", the destruction of icons and the persecution and murder of those who adored them. During iconoclasm many icons from the East were taken to West (Our Lady of Grace, Perpetual Help to name two).

Icons are not simply a devotional preference, but an integral part of Byzantine Catholic faith and devotion. They remind us of the incarnation of the Logos, the Second Person of the Trinity, in Christ. They make present to the believer the person or event depicted on them.

To celebrate victory over heresy, St. Theodore of the Studium composed a canon which is sung during Matins. The following is from an interpretation of it by English hymn writer John Mason Neale.

Awake, O Church, and triumph
Exult, each realm and land!
And open let the houses,
The ascetic houses stand!
And let the holy virgins
With joy and song take in
Their relics and their Icons,
Who died this day to win!

Assemble ye together
So joyous and so bold,
The ascetic troops, and pen them
Once more within the fold!
If strength again he gather,
Again the foe shall fall:
If counsel he shall counsel,
Our GOD shall scatter all.

The LORD, the LORD hath triumphed:
Let all the world rejoice!
Hushed is the turmoil, silent
His servants’ tearful voice:
And the One Faith, the True Faith,
Goes forth from East to West,
Enfolding, in its beauty,
The earth as with a vest.

They rise, the sleepless watchmen
Upon the Church’s wall;
With yearning supplication
On GOD the LORD they call:
And He, though long time silent,
Bowed down a gracious ear,
His people’s earnest crying
And long complaint to hear.

Crystal Ball and Chain

2009-02-28T11:04:00.004-07:00

"If a prophet arises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder which he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, 'Let us go after other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us serve them', you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him, and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and cleave to him." (Deuteronomy 13:1-4)

False prophets have always been a problem. Sure, their predictions might come true, or they might perform signs and wonders, but if their message contradicts the True Faith, then they should be rejected.

Fulfilled predictions or miracles do not validate doctrine. During my visit to Tennessee I met a young man who is converting to the Catholic Church from a "Oneness" Pentecostal church. He was a certified minister in a denomination that rejects the Trinity. They expressed the gifts of the Spirit just like charismatic Catholics, but their teachings were out of line with the historic Christianity. He gave up his ministry and his friends to be united to the Church founded by Jesus Christ on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets.

But what about in the Catholic Church--are there false prophets there? Yes, there are people who claim private revelation from Jesus or the Blessed Virgin within the Church and gather followers around themselves. They might set themselves up as spiritual directors or "Secretaries of the Lord". People who are spiritually hungry, weak in their faith, or poorly catechized are easily influenced by such characters.

The result is bondage, especially when their messages lead to fear. It leads to distrust of the Church's teaching authority. It can turn into personality cults. When the hierarchy tries to correct such people, rather than submit to the apostolic authority of the Church, they consider themselves persecuted and above the Magisterium.

"...there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:7-9)

St. Paul wasn't just talking about those outside the Church. A message that produces panic and worry should be questioned. True prophets are used to convict and warn, but the fruit is repentance, not anxiety about the future.

Lenten Perseverance

2009-02-24T12:38:00.003-07:00

You who fear the Lord, wait for His mercy;
and turn not aside, lest you fall.
You who fear the Lord, trust in Him,
and your reward will not fail;
you who fear the Lord, hope for good things,
for everlasting joy and mercy.
Consider the ancient generations and see:
who ever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame?
Or who ever persevered in the fear of the Lord and was forsaken?
Or who ever called upon Him and was overlooked?
For the Lord is compassionate and merciful;
He forgives sins and saves in time of affliction.
~Sirach 2:7-11

Today's first reading from Sirach was exactly what I needed to catapult me into Lent. Yesterday I drove back to Michigan from my month stay in Tennessee. At 3pm I prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet and spent the hour in mediation and contemplation. The presence of God was so strong and I knew everything would be alright.

I felt the Lord telling me to focus on mercy during Lent. Both receiving and giving.

Mercy is more than just forgiveness or clemency. Mercy reaches out to want, misery, or suffering. The Incarnation of Christ, every miracle he performed, and the crucifixion. are all expressions of Divine Mercy. The Psalms say His mercy endures forever.

"Miserere" is the Latin word for mercy. "Misericordia", means "heart of mercy" and is usually translated as compassion (For instance: Salve Regina, mater misericordiae). At every Mass we pray Kyrie Eleison (in Greek) or "Lord, have mercy". It is both something God does and something He IS. Through the Holy Spirit God's merciful love pours into our hearts the power to grow in faith, hope, and love, and to serve Him with joy.

What is human mercy? St. Thomas Aquinas defined mercy in general as "the compassion in our hearts for another person's misery, a compassion which drives us to do what we can to help him." Our sensitivity to others should result in action.

What does Sirach say? Wait for His mercy. And what should we do while waiting? Don't get distracted and turn away, trust in Him, hope for good things. Then Sirach reminds us of God's reputation for mercy: consider the ancient generations and see.

What conclusion can we draw? For the Lord is compassionate and merciful; He forgives sins and saves in time of affliction.

Who ever persevered in the fear of the Lord and was forsaken? This is an important reminder as we start the Lenten journey. It should be a time of heroic virtue and growth. A time to conquer passions and uproot habitual sins. Persevere on the Lenten path and your reward will not fail.

Forgiveness Sunday

2009-02-22T05:56:00.000-07:00

The first time I set foot in an Orthodox church was on Cheesefare Sunday. I was overwhelmed by the incense, icons, chanting, and vestments. The standing up and sitting down, and the occasional foreign tongue was challenging to follow. The priest mentioned something about Lent starting and invited everyone to come to Forgiveness Vespers that evening.

Evening came and I decided to go. Vespers was interesting, but then came the Rite of Forgiveness. One by one people came forward, made a bow and said "forgive me" to which the other person replied "God forgives". I thought to myself, "If only more churches did this. Maybe there would be fewer factions and splits."

Of course, going through a forgiveness ritual and actually living a forgiveness lifestyle are two different things. Year after year our parish celebrated the Rite of Forgiveness. Year after year the community was plagued with factions, politics, and blatant un-forgiveness. Lips that once kissed each cheek in forgiveness, soon turned to gossip.

Tonight the Byzantine Catholic mission I attend is having Forgiveness Vespers. And we will have the Rite of Forgiveness. If you don't have the blessing of attending the service, at least start out the Lenten season by asking those around you for forgiveness--start with your family, then work your way out from there.

Kontakion for Cheesefare, Tone 6

The complete Forgiveness Vespers service book from the Metropolitan Cantor's Institute is available HERE

Jesus Encounters of the Gospel Kind

2009-02-20T05:58:00.001-07:00

I've been studying the Gospel of Mark with some friends. In the first two chapters we met several people: John the Baptist, Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, a man with an unclean spirit, Simon's mother-in-law, a leper, a paralytic with some dedicated friends, scribes, Pharisees, Levi the tax collector and a dinner party full of sinners.

While reading a book called "Abba's Child" by Brennan Manning I came across something that caused me to read their stories in a deeper way:

"Jesus discloses God's true feelings toward us. As we turn the pages of the gospels, we discover the people Jesus encounters there are you and me. The understanding and compassion He offers them, He also offers you and me."

I am each of those characters. He calls me to follow Him. He wants to deliver me from bondage, from sickness, from paralysis. He wants to be with me even if I am a social outcast. Am I the voice crying out in the desert, or the self-righteous Pharisee? I can think of times where I've been both.

We should let the Lord love us and heal us.

The Vocation of Being Yourself

2009-02-19T05:05:00.000-07:00

Poet Wendell Berry wrote in his essay God and Country that using the term "full-time Christian service" turns the devoted life into a religious specialty or career. It removes the possibility of devotion from other callings. If the priest or preacher is a "full-time Christian servant", then the farmer can merely serve God in his spare time.

The work of Christ on earth is not just for the professionals. At several points in my life I was in full-time "career" ministry. Now that I am a "civilian" it's easy to discount what I am doing for the Kingdom. Would my service mean more if I wore a collar or a cassock? Of course not. My daily social contacts provide opportunities to minister to others. A parent, a good neighbor, a caring friend: all of these are vocations.

The fathers at Vatican II reminded the ordinary Christian of this. In Apostolicam Actuositatem they explained, "the laity likewise share in the priestly, prophetic, and royal office of Christ and therefore have their own share in the mission of the whole people of God in the Church and in the world." Here are some other declarations from this document:

"Since the laity, in accordance with their state of life, live in the midst of the world and its concerns, they are called by God to exercise their apostolate in the world like leaven, with the ardor of the spirit of Christ."

"On all Christians therefore is laid the preeminent responsibility of working to make the divine message of salvation known and accepted by all men throughout the world."

"They should not cease to develop earnestly the qualities and talents bestowed on them in accord with these conditions of life, and they should make use of the gifts which they have received from the Holy Spirit."

When you wake up in the morning, ask the Lord to show you ways to bless those around you. Seek the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the building up of the Church. Be the fragrance of Christ in a dying world.

The Eyes

2009-02-18T05:40:00.001-07:00

The mysteries concealed in ordinary realities are often revealed most fully to the eye that observes rather than to the hand that seizes and holds.

Reality can be luminous and radiant with inner meaning for eyes that are content to observe with gentleness and respect.

~Charles Cummings, OCSO
The Mystery of the Ordinary

Ralph

2009-02-17T05:11:00.000-07:00

I wondered why my allergies began to act up. Then I noticed that something finished off my bag of nuts. Then I saw the little droppings. Eek! A mouse!

So I bought some mouse traps and baited them with peanut butter. One behind the refrigerator and one under the stove.

I came back an hour later and Ralph managed to get the bait without activating the trap behind the fridge. Clever rascal. So I baited it again. An hour later, same story. I didn't bother to bait it again.

The next morning I woke up and found Ralph with his neck snapped in the trap under the stove.

Why would I bring up the murder of one of God's creatures? Because he made me think about temptation and compromise.

The first time you "take the bait" and seem to get away with it you feel lucky. The next time you're bolder in your action--no consequences again. But eventually, SNAP! You're trapped.

Lent is the perfect time to conquer your passions. To stop taking the bait from the traps in your life. The goodies are there, but you can resist them. That's what the prayer component of Lent is for.

The Physician

2009-02-16T05:10:00.002-07:00

"Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick." (Mark 2:17a)

"Those who are well" is one word in Greek: ἰσχύω (ē-skhü'-ō). It means those of sound health but is also used to mean strong or powerful. "Sick" is the Greek word κακῶς (kä-kō's), meaning ill or diseased, but also miserable. As with any language words have literal and figurative meaning.

Who did Jesus say this to? The scribes and Pharisees. They had power and considered themselves strong in the faith because they were strict observers of the Law. So did they need Jesus too? Of course they did.

I always looked at this verse to mean that broken people need Jesus the most of all. Well, that is true, but I also see another meaning here. They "have no need" for healing, not in the sense that they don't require it, but that they don't see any use for it.

The Pharisees considered their works enough, so a savior wasn't necessary. Pride blinded them to the sickness of sin within them. The addiction to control and order made change seem unnecessary, even threatening. The towers they built to protect themselves from the unclean became prisons that kept them from true healing.

How often do we reach a level of devotion and religiosity and feel like we've "arrived"? We are whole and can cruise through the rest of our lives saying the Rosary, going to Sunday Mass, and even popping by the Adoration chapel now and then. Wrong. Refusal to keep growing leads to decay, like a body that breaks down due to inaction.

It is vulnerability that brings liberation from this prison. Grace comes crashing through and our wounds are exposed. We realize that we are broken and in need of healing. Then our acts of devotion become part of our healing. Then the Sacraments become medicine to our souls. The Church becomes a spiritual hospital.

If we recognize our sinfulness, admit our frailty, and face our wounds then salvation makes sense. We will hear the Lord calling for us to follow Him. We will leave everything to sit at His table.

Originally posted to a private Bible Study group I am involved with.