Check out the archives

If you're a new reader of this blog, welcome. I encourage you to check out the archives to see previous posts. They're full of encouragement for those seeking a deeper experience with the triune God of the universe through His Church and His Saints.

You'll find prayers, devotions, and musings about the Christian life. Best of all I hope that you see how the Holy Spirit never left the Church founded by Jesus Christ on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets and continues His work today.

Have a happy new year!

Hung Between Two Thieves

The church is always God hung between two thieves. Thus, no one should be surprised or shocked at how badly the church has betrayed the gospel and how much it continues to do so today. It has never done very well. Conversely, however, nobody should deny the good the church has done either. It has carried grace, produced saints, morally challenged the planet, and made, however imperfectly, a house for God to dwell in on this earth.

To be connected with the church is to be associated with scoundrels, warmongers, fakes, child-molesters, murderers, adulterers and hypocrites of every description. It also, at the same time, identifies you with saints and the finest persons of heroic soul within every time, country, race and gender. To be a member of the church is to carry the mantle of both the worst sin and the finest heroism of the soul ... because the church always looks exactly as it looked at the original crucifixion, God hung among thieves.

~Ronald Rolheiser

Guardian Angels

Ever stop to think about your Guardian Angel? The historic Church has always taught that each of us has an angel given by God at conception. Not only does it protect us from danger, but instucts us and guides us through life. And when we die, our angel will be there with us.


That said, let's go a step further... our Guardian Angels fought Satan and his rebels in the battle of heaven. We have war veterans on our side who know how to fight against the devil!

Our guardian angels have seen the face of God! They've been in His presence and worshipped at His throne!

ANGEL OF GOD, my guardian dear,To whom his love commits me here; Ever this (day, night) be at my side, To light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

ANGELE DEI, qui custos es mei, Me tibi commissum pietate superna; (Hodie, Hac nocte) illumina, custodi, rege, et guberna. Amen.

Not only should we call upon our Guardian, but we can ask the archangels for assistance as well:

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

O heavenly doctor and most faithful companion, St. Raphael, thou who didst restore sight to the elder Tobit, and didst escort the younger Tobias throughout his appointed journey and kept him safe and sound, be the doctor of my body and soul. Dispel the darkness of my ignorance, and assist me in the dangerous journey of this life always, until thou leadeth me to my heavenly homeland. Amen.

O God, who from among all your angels chose the Archangel Gabriel to announce the mystery of the Incarnation, mercifully grant that we who solemnly remember him on earth may feel the benefit of his patronage in heaven, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Just think of all the things your Guardian must listen to, look at, and put up with because God put you in its care. My poor Angel! No wonder the Byzantine prayer to one's Guardian Angel includes an apology:

O Angel of Christ, holy guardian and protector of my soul and body, forgive me everything wherein I have offended thee every day of my life, and protect me from all influence and temptation of the evil one. May I nevermore anger God by any sin. Pray for me to the Lord, that He may make me worthy of the grace of the All-holy Trinity, and of the Most Blessed Theotokos, and of all the Saints. Amen.

The Byzantine Rite also sets apart Monday to remember the Holy Angels. During the hours of prayer you will hear this troparion:

Supreme Leaders of the Heavenly Hosts, we implore you that by your prayers you will encircle us, unworthy as we are, with the protection of the wings of your immaterial glory, and guard us who fall down I before you and fervently cry: Deliver us from dangers, for you are the commanders of the Powers above.

The Roman Catholic Church dedicates the month of October to the Holy Angels since they are celebrated on the second.

Let us thank God for these ministering spirits.

Queen of Prophets

Queen of Prophets, help me to imitate the prophets and your own example. They never sought the world with its pleasures, but God alone. They were willing to suffer for Him in their zeal to save souls. Teach me to be zealous for the honor of God and for the salvation of my soul and that of my neighbor. Help me to realize that the most divine thing is to labor with God for the salvation of souls. Amen.


Another one of my favorite titles for the Blessed Virgin Mary is "Queen of Prophets".


The word of God came through the mouth of the prophets, finally the WORD became flesh through Mary.

Like the prophets of the Old Covenant she leads us to Christ.

She is the means by which the prophecies were fulfilled.

By saying yes to the archangel, Mary became the first to receive Christ. She is our example, our leader, our Queen.

She was there on Pentecost, and would have been the one that the disciples looked to when the Holy Spirit came. I imagine them asking her, "Is this Him? This sound like wind, these tongues of fire?" She nodded, lifted her hands, then danced at this reunion with the Spirit she experienced three decades before at the Annunciation--but this time the Spirit would remain with her, the disciples, and the Church.

God in the Flesh

On Christmas Day billions of Christians worldwide join together with one voice to celebrate the Word become flesh. But when did the incarnation begin? Not on Christmas, but at the Annunciation (celebrated March 25, see Luke 1:26-38).

Think about it. Life begins at conception, thus the incarnation began when the Holy Spirit overshadowed the blessed Virgin. For nine months, wherever Mary went, God went. Jesus took His flesh from Mary and He dwelt among us in the womb of His Mother before appearing in Bethlehem. The Blessed Virgin was the Lord's throne before the manger.

No wonder all generations call Mary blessed just as she prophesied in Scripture.

Happy ChristMass

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

Church on Christmas Eve

For me, going to church on Christmas Eve is a must. When I came back to Christ (after 6 years of running, I wanted to find a service in San Francisco where I was living at the time. A friend and I drove around the city for two hours until we came upon an unlabelled church around 11:30. It turned out to be Catholic, but I put my Romophobia aside and went in.

What struck me was how reverent it was. The piety of the people was inspiring. Everything had a purpose--the candles, the procession, the music. We did our best to follow along. That was my first midnight Mass on Christmas.

Another memorable service came a few years later when I was the assistant at an Assembly of God. My mom wrote an avant-garde Christmas performance art piece for "living Christmas Tree" and childrens choir.

I started out alone in a black turtle neck while we sang "O Come, O Come Emmanuel". Next, the green tree frame was added and the kids sang another carol. With each carol the kids added different ornaments that represented something about the incarnation and salvation.

Very minimalist and quirky, yet instructive and fun.

Be sure to make a church service part of your Christmas Eve. Keep the MASS in Christ-Mass.

Two attitudes

How can we understand the supernatural things of God?

One attitude is to be a humble disciple who considers the Catholic Church as the Body of Christ illumined by the Holy Spirit and created by the Father to preserve the Faith.

The other attitude is the innovative explorer who considers himself as the supreme judge of what is. This person takes the ground that man can teach himself with just a Bible and conclusions that he hopes are from the Holy Spirit.

If the Bible and not the Church was meant to be the revealer of truth, then why write books or preach sermons? Why have ordination and Bible Colleges? All someone would need to do is read or hear the Bible and come to the correct conclusion by the power of the Holy Spirit without any human intervention. Everyone would believe the same thing miraculously simply by the words of Scripture.

But what do we see? 22,000 denominations all claiming to read the same Bible. Children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Every heresy started with private interpretation of Scripture.

The Church empowered by the Holy Spirit spread among the nations before the New Testament was written. Even after the Epistles and Gospels appeared, not every community had a copy—the Faith spread by word of mouth under the authority of Bishops taught by the Apostles and annointed to safeguard the Truth. Her Liturgy and Sacraments were established four-hundred years before the New Testament Canon.

The Church was established by the blood of martyrs not by ink and paper. Wherever the early Church went, she went not as bearer of the New Testament, but as authoritative teacher of the truth. She was charged by Christ to go into the world and make disciples empowered by the Holy Spirit.

So what attitude do you have? Will you come to the Temple of the Spirit built with living stones on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets with Jesus as the Cornerstone? Will you trust in the Lord with all your heart or lean on your own understanding?

Why don't the Fathers say much about tongues?

"As we know it (the gift of tongues) was abused; but this from its nature was, when once given, possessed as an ordinary talent, and needed no fresh divine influence for subsequent exercise of it. It may besides be viewed as a medium of conveying the message, as well as being the seal of its divinity, and as such needed not in every instance to be marked out as a supernatural gift."

~Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman, Two Essays on Biblical and on Ecclesiastical Miracles (1890)

How often I hear the comment that the gift of tongues must have ceased in the Church because it is not mentioned explicitly after Apostolic times. We hear of healing and deliverance wrought at the hands of the saints throughout the centuries. They experienced visions, "raptures", and apparitions. But what of tongues?

In the quote above, the blessed Cardinal explains that tongues was so common that it ceased to be considered miraculous, thus wasn't mentioned. It was an ordinary talent.

Think about it... if it weren't for the abuse of tongues in Corinth, we might not know much more than what is in the Acts of the Apostles.

Something else to ponder... miracles aren't really a big deal. Christians should expect them and thank God when they happen. Our lives should be naturally supernatural.

Like Finding an Old Friend

Damian Stayne, the founder of Cor et Lumen Christi, mentioned in an interview that one of his inspirations was the early 20th Century Pentecostal Smith Wigglesworth. It’s been fifteen years since I read his books when I was in the Assemblies of God. So I Googled his name and found two pdf E-books available:

Faith That Prevails

Ever Increasing Faith

"The secret for the future is living and moving in the power of the Holy Ghost. One thing I rejoice in is that there need not be an hour or a moment when I do not know the Holy Ghost is upon me. Oh, this glorious life in God is beyond expression; it is God manifest in the flesh. Oh, this glorious unction of the Holy Ghost — that we move by the Spirit." (1920 Sermon)

Signs

St. Cyril of Jerusalem says that the sign of Christ’s resurrection is the descent of the Holy Spirit:
In the words of the Prophet that follow in the same context, He says plainly, For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language (Zeph. 3:9): since, after the Resurrection, when the Holy Ghost was sent forth the gift of tongues was granted, that they may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one accord. (Catechetical Lecture 14:7)

“Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not” (1 Cor. 14:22) Those who do not believe that Jesus rose from the dead will be convinced because He ascended into Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit as a witness.

The “tongues of angels”, the heavenly language, is given as a sign to those who surrender to the Holy Spirit. It is a reversal of Babel according to many Church Fathers. Where God once brought confusion and discord, He now brings unity (Eph. 4:4).

Salvation is confirmed with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will (Heb. 2:4). The Holy Spirit is a sign that Christ abides in us (1 John 3:24).

When we don’t know what to pray the Spirit can call on the name of the Lord (1 Cor 14:14). “For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” (1 Cor. 2:10) Speaking in tongues is speaking to God (1 Cor. 14:2). Through the Spirit we cry “Abba, Father” (Gal. 4:6) and we have access to the Father (Eph. 2:18).

Again, hear what St. Cyril says about the Holy Spirit:

A mighty ally and protector, therefore, have we from God; a great Teacher of the Church, a mighty Champion on our behalf. Let us not be afraid of the demons, nor of the devil; for mightier is He who fighteth for us. Only let us open to Him our doors; for He goeth about seeking such as are worthy (Wisdom 6:16) and searching on whom He may confer His gifts. And He is called the Comforter, because He comforts and encourages us, and helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered (Rom. 8:26.), that is, makes intercession to God. (Catechetical Lecture 16:19-20)

“And may the God of peace, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, count all of you worthy of His spiritual and heavenly gifts—To whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.” (C.L. 16:32)

Incarnation: The Holy Spirit & Mary

Christianity is a union of two loves in the one person of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit is the love of God come down to earth. Mary is human love rising to meet God.

Jesus Christ is the heart of this union: the intersection of a two-fold love.

We must try to understand the meaning of this union between the Holy Spirit and His instrument, the Blessed Virgin. We must try to plumb the depths contained in this truth: that Christ is the fruit of this mutual love.

At the heart of the Credo are the words: “And Jesus was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary.”

~ Cardinal Suenens