A Photo Report

I was trying to think of a creative way to describe life for a novice here in Honduras. At the same time I was uploading some of my 162 pictures to the computer. Then it dawned on me, Paul, just put up some photos. As the cliche goes, a picture speaks a thousand words. That being said, I have also decided to put a few captions underneath to give the viewer some context. Enjoy and may God bless you in your mission!

Above, Hondurans and Americans work together to finish the floor of a village´s chapel.

Above is the facade of St. Peter´s Catholic grade school in southern Belize. The Jesuits are in charge of almost all the education in the Belizian state of Toledo.

Above, Honduran youth work to finish their ¨alfombra,¨ or carpet, which was one of many decorating the streets during the four Holy Week processions.

Above, a Jesuit Father leads the crowd of a few hundred in the stations of the cross on the feast of Our Lord of Esquipulas (February 3).

Above, the crowd of hondurans carry the statue of Christ through the city on Good Friday stopping in 14 different barrios for each station.

A grandmother and her five grandchildren of which she has full responsibility. They live in a rural mountain village and make their living by weaving baskets. Amidst such poverty I was still greated with ¨La paz de Cristo, mi hermano.¨

A woman and her three children living in the same village as the family above. They invited me in to take a photo of them in front of their family shrine to Our Lord of Esquipulas.

Two Delegados de la Palabra whom I accompanied to different moutain villages. Here they are taking a break in front of the village´s chapel.

Above is the imposition of hands at the priestly ordination of a Central American Jesuit. The Mass was so well attended that it had to be held in the town square.

¨For me, Christ is life.¨ Enough said.

...Through Mary

Today is the feast day of one of Mary's most devoted sons: Saint Louis Grignion de Montfort.

He was born in on the 31st of January 1673 in the small town of Montfort in Brittany. At the age of twelve he was sent to the Jesuit college of Saint Thomas Becket at Rennes, where he remained for eight  years. The assurance that he was called to the priesthood came to him when he was praying before the statue of our Lady in the Carmelite church at Rennes, and unexpectedly an opportunity was offered to him to study in Paris. So at the age of twenty he set off for the capital, walking the whole 200 miles as an expression of the poverty he had joyfully embraced. He gave away all the money he had to beggars, as well as the new suit he had received. Then, kneeling down in the road, he resolved never to possess anything of his own but to rely entirely on the loving providence of his heavenly Father.

He began his studies at St. Sulpice and attended the University of Paris. Among many gifted and devout students, he was outstanding both for his intellectual abilities and for the holiness of his life.

After his ordination in 1700 his great desire was to go to the foreign missions, preferably to the new French colony of Canada, but his spiritual director advised against it, and he chose a life of missionary work in France.

All was not well with the French Church of his day. What especially troubled Fr. de Montfort was the lack of priests to minister to the people's needs, and the widespread ignorance of the faith. A short experience in the parishes caused him to write to his director"

"Seeing the needs of the Church, I cannot help praying continually for a small society of poor priests who, under the protection of the Virgin Mary, will go from parish to parish, instructing the poor in the faith, relying solely on divine providence".

That aim and desire remained with him throughout the years of his unceasing missionary work, as he walked from diocese to diocese. Because of his unconventional way of life, his outspoken condemnation of what was wrong, and his firm opposition to the erroneous doctrines of his day, he made many enemies. In fact, due to the intrigues of influential people, he was requested to leave more than one diocese and to carry on his ministry elsewhere.

On account of the disapproval he met in various places, he began to wonder whether he was following the path God wanted. For him there was only one way to find out. He would go to Rome and put the matter to the Holy Father himself.

As always, he travelled the thousand miles or so on foot, and on reaching Rome was able to have a private audience with the Pope. Clement Xl, having heard his difficulties, assured him his vocation lay in evangelising France, and commissioned him to continue his missionary work - to catechise the children, to instruct the poor in the knowledge of their faith, and to encourage people to renew their baptismal promises, but always to work under the guidance of the diocesan authorities.

He left the Holy Father, his mind at rest, and endowed with the title of Missionary Apostolic to give authority to his teaching. There were only sixteen years between his ordination to the priesthood and his death, but they were full years. He went from parish to parish renewing the Catholic life of the West of France, preaching and instructing, providing for the poor, teaching catechism, organizing the building of shrines, renovating broken-down churches, and establishing schools.

All this strenuous apostolic work, added to his long journeys always on foot, his unceasing penances, and an attempt on his life by poisoning - all took their toll of his sturdy constitution. In 1716, while preaching a mission in the village of St-Laurent-sur-Sevre, he became gravely ill. He struggled into the pulpit to give his last sermon, which was significantly on the kindness of Jesus.

In the afternoon of April 28th it became evident that death was near. He kissed the crucifix and the little statue of our Lady which he held in his hands. Then he exclaimed, "In vain do you attack me, I am between Jesus and Mary. I have finished my course: all is over. I shall sin no more". Then he died peacefully.

Thousands came to pay him their respects before he was buried in St-Laurent, and ever since his tomb in the parish church has been a place of pilgrimage. He was canonized by Pope Pius XII on July 20th 1947, and his feast is kept on the anniversary of his death, April 28th. (Biographical notes taken from the introduction to True Devotion published by the Montfort Fathers 1980).

The great legacy which this holy priest has left to the Church is his Marian devotion. In his beautiful work, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, he lays out a plan for the spiritual life that does all things through Mary. His work influence many popes, including John Paul II, whose motto Totus Tuus came from Montfort's work. This spirituality, which brings all souls to Jesus through his Blessed Mother, is what Saint Louis called "an easy, short, perfect, and secure way of attaining union with God."

For all of us who are striving for that perfect union to which Jesus calls us (Mt 5:48), Saint Louis' total consecration to Mary is a great aid which will lead us quickly and surely to our destiny: Eternal Life.

Saint Louis de Montfort, Pray for Us!

Mary, Mother of God, Pray for Us!

This epitaph engraved in Latin on his tomb is an excellent summary of this saint's life:

You who pass this way, what do you see?
A light quenched,
A man consumed with the fire of charity,
Who became all things to all men,
Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort.

If you would know his life, there was none more holy;
If his penance, none more mortified;
If his zeal, none more ardent;
If his devotion to Mary, none more like Bernard. 
A priest of Christ, he showed forth Christ in his actions, 
and preached him everywhere in his words;
unwearied, he rested only in the grave.

A father to the poor,
protector of orphans,
reconciler of sinners,
his glorious death was the image of his life.
As he lived, so did he die.

To Emmaus

Today in Luke's Gospel we hear of the two disciples running back from their meal with Jesus, who was "made known to them in the breaking of the bread" (Luke 24:35). 

While the tail-end of the Emmaus story is mentioned today, I'd like to reflect on the different roads of our own lives.

During his installation homily two weeks ago, Archbishop Dolan relayed a story of his own walk down the road to Emmaus:

For three weeks in July, 1992, I was on pilgrimage in Israel. I had a wonderful Franciscan guide who made sure I saw all the sacred placed in the Holy Land. The day before I departed, he asked, "Is there anything else you want to see?"

"Yes," I replied, "I would like to walk the road to Emmaus."

"That we cannot do," he told me, "You see, no one really knows where that village of Emmaus actually was, so there is no more road to Emmaus."

Sensing my disappointment, he remarked, "Maybe that's part of God's providence, because we can now make every journey we undertake a walk down the Road to Emmaus."

I like the message in this story; it makes us realize that we can experience Jesus' love for us here, now, for all time. He is walking with us down the road to wherever we're headed; He even appeared to His disciples who were far too frightened to set out on the road themselves. Desperately in need of a guide, or even Google Maps, the twelve are astounded when Jesus appears to them. Point blank He asks them (and us) "Why are you troubled? And why do questions still arise in your hearts?"

Perhaps, during our encounter with Christ on our journey, Jesus might even convince us that our lives need to be re-routed. We need to take a moment to realize He's with us, and then, through prayer and reflection, run in the exact opposite direction from the path we mistakenly chosen to live. Anything is possible if we are receptive to His invitation to follow Him!

"You are witnesses of these things."

This Is the Day

As my alarm went off this morning I could not help but groan, and wish that the snooze was an option. Over the past few days the heat has stopped working in my room at school, and while the beauties and warmth of spring have showed signs of returning- my room has been veritably frigid in the mornings, and getting out from under the covers is often the last thing I want to do! It often seems like the night cannot last long enough, and that the coming day is a dread.

But as I was sitting in chapel this past week, thinking about this general mindset I have been in of late, my mind drifted to the responsory in the Divine Office which the Church gives us to pray each day in the Octave of Easter. 

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad, Alleluia! 

I realized that the Lord was trying to tell me something! This joy we have during the Easter season, the joy in the fact that we celebrate the Day when the Lord defeated Satan and death, is not just meant for Easter Sunday. Everyday is the day of the Resurrection if we are living a life in Christ. We are offered each day to share in his New Life of Grace. Each day is a gift, each morning is another opportunity, another gift given to us by God. He has a plan and a mission for us each day- to bring His love and the joy of His Resurrection to the ends of the world! 

I realized, thinking about this Easter verse, that I ought to sing out these words not just on Easter Sunday, or even just during the Easter Season, but everyday of my life! Because Today is the Day the Lord has Made! He has made it and has brought me, you, us to it- to enjoy! This is a reason to kick off the covers each morning! No matter how cold your room may be, no matter what activities, meetings, projects the day will bring- they are all gift! A gift from the Jesus to you!He wants us to seize it, and offer all of our activities for his greater glory! Today is the day of our salvation! Today is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice, and be glad! Alleluia!

Jesus Christ, the same risen Lord today, yesterday, tomorrow, and forever! 

Here are some words from the good Monsignor of Geneva on this idea: 

There is no moment when God is not present with us under the appearance of some obligation or some duty. All that is effected within us, about us, and through us involves and hides His divine action; it is veritably present though in an invisible manner; therefore we do not discern it, and only recognize its workings when it has ceased to act. Could we pierce the veil which obscures it, and were we vigilant and attentive, God would unceasingly reveal Himself to us, and we could recognize His action in all that befalls us. At every event we should exclaim, Dominus Est! It is the Lord! and we should feel each circumstance of our life an especial gift from him. 

-Saint Francis de Sales

The Need for Jesus

Recently, a few brother seminarians and I received tickets to one of the professional sporting events in town. We made it to our seats--really good seats--and started to watch the home team in action. After a while I sat back in my seat and relaxed. "What a treat, I thought." One of my classmates turned to me and said, "Isn't this great; we're with real people!" I smiled, knowing exactly how he felt. This was real.

Yet, there's always something that'll inevitably take me from my "happy place" of sports and send me hurling back to the reality that I'm studying to be a priest. While watching the game, I couldn't help but notice the conversation going on directly behind me. Now, before you label me as a snoop, they did mention one of our Catholic high schools by name, not to mention the word "Catholic" about four or five times. My ears perked up at that buzzword I say with such praise.

"I'd never marry a Catholic girl."

"I did. Man, you know how that turned out."

And so on. My ears had now turned a tinge of red; I was a bit miffed at the conversation topic. Yeah, this was real, but it was ruining my happy real, the one where I didn't have to think about being a future priest and could bury my face into a hot dog. While I was pleased that my team had taken a comfortable lead, I was frustrated by the guys behind me, who were now talking about whether one of them should have taken the Breathalyzer when he got pulled over for drunk driving. LOUDLY. The conversation festered in my mind; all I wanted to do was watch the game! As I turned to my classmate, he said in his noticeable accent:

"Man, those guys need Jesus."

Ah! How true! Here I was about to read them the riot act for their defamation of prudent Catholic women and derelict driving (especially since my dad was hit by one head-on), and my brother seminarian remembered what they really needed: Jesus. It's then I realized that, yes, while we're supposed to make leisure time for ourselves, there's never really a break from our task of bringing others to Christ. I'm not just talking about seminarians, either; each of us has a call from our baptism to evangelize, to show others the way! While it wouldn't have been prudent to sit down with those guys and explain to them the errs of their ways at the sporting complex, I could at least say a few prayers for them instead of banishing them to the pits of hell in my mind. 

I need Jesus too; otherwise my ministry is worthless.

My bishop told us something similar to this the other day: as priests we need to show everyone how much we care, and challenge them face-to-face when they aren't living up to the Gospel. We do so, he added, with gentleness, humility, and patience. That's why it takes so long to get ordained, I now realize. Anyway, it was a great learning moment.

And the home team won!

While You Were Sleeping

When I came back to my room yesterday after a day full of meetings and classes, I laid down on my bed to do some light reading. An hour later I woke up with wrinkled clothes and that horrid groggy feeling. You know, the one that makes you feel like a zombie? Anyway...

Later on in the evening while I was caffeinating myself before Evening Prayer, I thought about how God is always with us. We believe that He perpetually is present, His Spirit guiding, prompting us to receive His abundant grace. Then a thought came to me of God watching over us as we sleep, as a mother or father looks on as their children rest in peace.

How beautiful is that?! Even the gruffest hee-man needs his sleep, and needs God even more. Whether everyone recognizes the need for God is another question. As we envelop ourselves in blankets and sheets and drift off, God is there. He is with us always.

I don't know why, but this simple thought moves me, almost to tears. I rest easier at night knowing that the One whom I pray to, depend on, and even abandon at times, is ever-present. As my eyes begin to droop, He, fully aware of what tomorrow will bring, fills me with His grace, and gives me the ability to rise another day, to show how much I love Him by loving others. All while we are sleeping. Again, it's so simple, but so moving.

And while we prepare for restful nights, we remember Simeon's words spoken at the Presentation, words which we pray at Night Prayer, the Nunc Dimittis:

Lord, now you let your servant go in peace

Your word has been fulfilled.

My own eyes have seen the salvation

Which you have prepared in the sight of every people

A light to reveal you to the nations

And the glory of your people, Israel.

Christ is that light which Simeon is privileged to see, the One who allows him to rest eternally in peace. How good it must feel to have fulfilled one's life as a servant of the Lord, to lay down at night and know that the Lord--the Christ--dwells in your midst, on earth. While we are sleeping, He too watches over us, as He did His disciples.

Christ's ministry on earth will be carried on long after (perhaps) we depart from this earth. As we continue to follow Him, may we be aware of all He has given to us, and how we might express our love for Him through our service to His Church. That way, when we drift off to sleep, we too might say, "Nunc dimittis..."

Missing the Mark

I've always had a fascination with archery and the skill of shooting an arrow into a target. It's quite a sight to see when done masterfully; the fluid drawing of a bow, the moment taken for aim, and then the quick release of the string intrigue this suburban seminarian. How I'd love to be able to sink a few arrows into a target, to feel the tension in my muscles before I release the bow...

Actually, I gave up on this dream some time ago. In Boy Scouts I tried to earn my archery merit badge one year at summer camp. We were lined up along the archery range and received some basic instructions before target practice began. Once we were free to practice, my fellow patrol members issued forth a barrage of arrows on the targets down range; my friend the adventurer even hit a bulls eye or two. I'm sure I gave bull's eyes to him as I continued to fail miserably at loading the arrow, let alone shooting it.

After fumbling for a few minutes, one of the range counselors came over to show me what I was doing wrong. He corrected my stance, showed me how to place the arrow on the bow, and how to aim properly. Then, when he asked me to try again, I grew frustrated when trying to remember everything. After fumbling around for a while I finally fired a shot that stuck into the ground twenty feet in front of us. Smiling, the instructor told me to keep at it. My anger brought a new shade of red to my already-sunburned face...

I thought about my failed archery career last night as we seminarians prayed Psalm 45 in chapel. In one line the Psalmist asks the Lord to "Take aim with your bow in your dread right hand." The line also applies to our spiritual life; there are times when we, unlike God, fail to hit the target. Sin, after all, literally means "missing the mark."

Perhaps you're like me, standing on the firing line of life, looking down-range at life's difficulties, wondering how you're ever going to succeed. You pull an arrow out of your quiver, place it on the bow, and begin to draw the string back, wondering, in the midst of all the commands and instructions, how you're ever going to succeed. By this point your eyes are watery, your focus is lost, and you've psyched yourself out. You give into frustration and freely choose to let your arrow sail over the target, or blithely fire your arrow into the ground in front of you. Perhaps you've experienced this type of frustration, the continued failing at being a good "archer." Fear not; you've got company!

Oh how many countless times have I walked into my instructor's office and knelt down, confessing my failure at missing the target once more. I hang my head in sorrow, my soul bursting with contrition, just aching to be back on the line once more. For once I would love to feel the arrow leave my bow and pierce the target, my true goal of grace and good actions. Donning his purple instructor's stole, my mentor gives me a few pointers and some encouragement. "Don't be discouraged," he says consolingly. "It takes a whole lifetime to become an expert at hitting the target. You'll miss from time-to-time, yes. Just don't be afraid to seek forgiveness and the strength to try again."

Let's have the resolve this Easter Season to renew ourselves and focus on hitting the mark which the Master Archer has intended for us. Even if we miss, we must never give up!

A Sea of Divine Mercy

During my first week at the seminary we had a full day of Recollection. We headed out to a rural parish in the area and spent the morning and the first part of the afternoon in prayer and meditation. It was a beautiful day, and while the hours of silence were a little intimidating to me as a new seminarian, I ended up having a great day. We were supposed to end our time at the parish with Benediction at 3:00 PM. So I was in my pew in the this little country parish on time, and was ready to begin Benediction when one of my brothers started leading us in prayer from the back of Church. I noticed many of the other men getting out their rosaries and I followed suit, but I soon realized that we were not praying the rosary; instead we were praying a prayer I had never heard before. I soon caught on, and was able to respond with the group- "Have mercy on us, and on the whole world." As I prayed those words I for the first time I was somewhat confused, but I was captivated by their beauty and depth, calling on the Lord's mercy on the entire world!  How much is this needed in our world which is so torn by sin and pain!

On the way home that day, after Benediction, I worked up the courage to ask my brother what that prayer was (I was a bit nervous about looking silly since it seemed like everyone else knew what had been going on!) and he told me that it was the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and we left it at that. But that night when I was back in my room at school I typed "Chaplet of Divine Mercy" into google and started reading on EWTN's website all about this devotion. 

I was captivated. I had seen the Divine Mercy image in churches many times before, but I had never known what it was all about, but as I read the history and the promises surrounding this devotion I could not help but be amazed! Jesus had offered to us so many graces! He told Saint Faustina- the young Polish nun whom he had revealed himself to- 

On one occasion, I heard these words: My daughter, tell the whole world about My Inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very 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 receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will I contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. (Diary 699)

Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to our neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to absolve yourself from it. (Diary 742)

This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of my tender mercies. (Diary 420)

Today is the Feast of Divine Mercy! (For more on this incredible devotion and the image go here) The flood gates of Divine Mercy are open to anyone who approaches Him in trust, and asks for his merciful love! Let us not miss out on the graces he offers us today! Let us go receive communion today- with the purity from sin which that requires- and let the torrents of divine mercy flood our souls, and let us pray that his love may permeate the whole world! 

JESUS I TRUST IN YOU!

Consecrated in the Truth: II

Part II

....To be immersed in the Truth, in Christ – part of this process is prayer, in which we exercise our friendship with him and also come to know him: his way of being, of thinking, of acting.  Praying is a journey in personal communion with Christ, setting before him our daily life, our successes and failures, our struggles and our joys – in a word, it is to stand in front of him.  But if this is not to become a form of self-contemplation, it is important that we constantly learn to pray by praying with the Church.  Celebrating the Eucharist means praying.  We celebrate the Eucharist rightly if with our thoughts and our being we enter into the words which the Church sets before us.  There we find the prayer of all generations, which accompany us along the way towards the Lord.  As priests, in the Eucharistic celebration we are those who by their prayer blaze a trail for the prayer of today’s Christians.  If we are inwardly united to the words of prayer, if we let ourselves be guided and transformed by them, then the faithful will also enter into those words.  And then all of us will become truly “one body, one spirit” in Christ.

To be immersed in God’s truth and thus in his holiness – for us this also means to acknowledge that the truth makes demands, to stand up, in matters great and small, to the lie which in so many different ways is present in the world; accepting the struggles associated with the truth, because its inmost joy is present within us.  Nor, when we talk about being sanctified in the truth, should we forget that in Jesus Christ truth and love are one.  Being immersed in him means being immersed in his goodness, in true love.  True love does not come cheap, it can also prove quite costly.  It resists evil in order to bring men true good.  If we become one with Christ, we learn to recognize him precisely in the suffering, in the poor, in the little ones of this world; then we become people who serve, who recognize our brothers and sisters in him, and in them, we encounter him.

“Sanctify them in truth” – this is the first part of what Jesus says.  But then he adds: “I consecrate myself, so that they also may be consecrated in truth” – that is, truly consecrated (Jn 17:19).  I think that this second part has a special meaning of its own.  In the world’s religions there are many different ritual means of “sanctification”, of the consecration of a human person.  Yet all these rites can remain something merely formal.  Christ asks for his disciples the true sanctification which transforms their being, their very selves; he asks that it not remain a ritual formality, but that it make them truly the “property” of God himself.  We could even say that Christ prayed on behalf of us for that sacrament which touches us in the depths of our being.  But he also prayed that this interior transformation might be translated day by day in our lives; that in our everyday routine and our concrete daily lives we might be truly pervaded by the light of God.

On the eve of my priestly ordination, fifty-eight years ago, I opened the Sacred Scripture, because I wanted to receive once more a word from the Lord for that day and for my future journey as a priest.  My gaze fell on this passage: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth”.  Then I realized: the Lord is speaking about me, and he is speaking to me.  This very same thing will be accomplished tomorrow in me.  When all is said and done, we are not consecrated by rites, even though rites are necessary.  The bath in which the Lord immerses us is himself – the Truth in person.  Priestly ordination means: being immersed in him, immersed in the Truth.  I belong in a new way to him and thus to others, “that his Kingdom may come”.  Dear friends, in this hour of the renewal of promises, we want to pray to the Lord to make us men of truth, men of love, men of God.  Let us implore him to draw us ever anew into himself, so that we may become truly priests of the New Covenant.  Amen.

Consecrated in the Truth

I have been trying to keep up with some of the words of our Holy Father during this holiest time of the year, and this homily from last Thursday's Chrism mass really captured my attention. This Mass is the yearly time when priests re-consecrate themselves to their ordination promises, and as a young man hoping to one day share in Christ's priesthood, I found these fatherly reflections on the holy Priesthood not only insightful, but down right captivating. I encourage you to find sometime to read them over the next two days (part 2 will be posted tomorrow). No matter what your vocation, the Pope has something for you as he really gets to the core of our vocation as Christians. Enjoy! 
CHRISM MASS

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Saint Peter's Basilica 
Holy Thursday, 9 April 2009

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the Upper Room, on the eve of his Passion, the Lord prayed for his disciples gathered about him.  At the same time he looked ahead to the community of disciples of all centuries, “those who believe in me through their word” (Jn17:20).  In his prayer for the disciples of all time, he saw us too, and he prayed for us.  Let us listen to what he asks for the Twelve and for us gathered here: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.  And for their sake I consecrate myself, so that they also may be consecrated in truth” (17:17ff.).  The Lord asks for our sanctification, our consecration in truth.  And he sends us forth to carry on his own mission.  But in this prayer there is one word which draws our attention, and appears difficult to understand.  Jesus says: “For their sake I consecrate myself”.  What does this mean?  Is Jesus not himself “the Holy One of God”, as Peter acknowledged at that decisive moment in Capharnaum (cf. Jn 6:69)?  How can he now consecrate – sanctify – himself?

To understand this, we need first to clarify what the Bible means by the words “holy” and “sanctify – consecrate”.  “Holy” – this word describes above all God’s own nature, his completely unique, divine, way of being, one which is his alone.  He alone is the true and authentic Holy One, in the original sense of the word.  All other holiness derives from him, is a participation in his way of being.  He is purest Light, Truth and untainted Good.  To consecrate something or someone means, therefore, to give that thing or person to God as his property, to take it out of the context of what is ours and to insert it in his milieu, so that it no longer belongs to our affairs, but is totally of God.  Consecration is thus a taking away from the world and a giving over to the living God.  The thing or person no longer belongs to us, or even to itself, but is immersed in God.  Such a giving up of something in order to give it over to God, we also call a sacrifice: this thing will no longer be my property, but his property.  In the Old Testament, the giving over of a person to God, his “sanctification”, is identified with priestly ordination, and this also defines the essence of the priesthood: it is a transfer of ownership, a being taken out of the world and given to God.  We can now see the two directions which belong to the process of sanctification-consecration.  It is a departure from the milieux of worldly life – a “being set apart” for God.  But for this very reason it is not a segregation.  Rather, being given over to God means being charged to represent others.  The priest is removed from worldly bonds and given over to God, and precisely in this way, starting with God, he must be available for others, for everyone.     When Jesus says: “I consecrate myself”, he makes himself both priest and victim.  Bultmann was right to translate the phrase: “I consecrate myself” by “I sacrifice myself”.  Do we now see what happens when Jesus says: “I consecrate myself for them”?  This is the priestly act by which Jesus – the Man Jesus, who is one with the Son of God – gives himself over to the Father for us.  It is the expression of the fact that he is both priest and victim.  I consecrate myself – I sacrifice myself: this unfathomable word, which gives us a glimpse deep into the heart of Jesus Christ, should be the object of constantly renewed reflection.  It contains the whole mystery of our redemption.  It also contains the origins of the priesthood in the Church, of our priesthood.

Only now can we fully understand the prayer which the Lord offered the Father for his disciples – for us.  “Sanctify them in the truth”: this is the inclusion of the Apostles in the priesthood of Jesus Christ, the institution of his new priesthood for the community of the faithful of all times.  “Sanctify them in truth”: this is the true prayer of consecration for the Apostles.  The Lord prays that God himself draw them towards him, into his holiness.  He prays that God take them away from themselves to make them his own property, so that, starting from him, they can carry out the priestly ministry for the world.  This prayer of Jesus appears twice in slightly different forms.  Both times we need to listen very carefully, in order to understand, even dimly the sublime reality that is about to be accomplished.  “Sanctify them in the truth”.  Jesus adds: “Your word is truth”.  The disciples are thus drawn deep within God by being immersed in the word of God.  The word of God is, so to speak, the bath which purifies them, the creative power which transforms them into God’s own being.  So then, how do things stand in our own lives?  Are we truly pervaded by the word of God?  Is that word truly the nourishment we live by, even more than bread and the things of this world?  Do we really know that word?  Do we love it?  Are we deeply engaged with this word to the point that it really leaves a mark on our lives and shapes our thinking?  Or is it rather the case that our thinking is constantly being shaped by all the things that others say and do?  Aren’t prevailing opinions the criterion by which we all too often measure ourselves?  Do we not perhaps remain, when all is said and done, mired in the superficiality in which people today are generally caught up?  Do we allow ourselves truly to be deeply purified by the word of God?  Nietzsche scoffed at humility and obedience as the virtues of slaves, a source of repression.  He replaced them with pride and man’s absolute freedom.  Of course there exist caricatures of a misguided humility and a mistaken submissiveness, which we do not want to imitate.  But there also exists a destructive pride and a presumption which tear every community apart and result in violence.  Can we learn from Christ the correct humility which corresponds to the truth of our being, and the obedience which submits to truth, to the will of God?  “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth”: this word of inclusion in the priesthood lights up our lives and calls us to become ever anew disciples of that truth which is revealed in the word of God.

We can advance another step in the interpretation of these words.  Did not Christ say of himself: “I am the truth” (cf.Jn 14:6)?  Is he not himself the living Word of God, to which every other word refers?  Sanctify them in the truth – this means, then, in the deepest sense: make them one with me, Christ.  Bind them to me.  Draw them into me.  Indeed, when all is said and done, there is only one priest of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ himself.  Consequently, the priesthood of the disciples can only be a participation in the priesthood of Jesus.  Our being priests is simply a new and radical way of being united to Christ.  In its substance, it has been bestowed on us for ever in the sacrament.  But this new seal imprinted upon our being can become for us a condemnation, if our lives do not develop by entering into the truth of the Sacrament.  The promises we renew today state in this regard that our will must be directed along this path: “Domino Iesu arctius coniungi et conformari, vobismetipsis abrenuntiantes”.  Being united to Christ calls for renunciation.  It means not wanting to impose our own way and our own will, not desiring to become someone else, but abandoning ourselves to him, however and wherever he wants to use us.  As Saint Paul said: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).  In the words “I do”, spoken at our priestly ordination, we made this fundamental renunciation of our desire to be independent, “self-made”.  But day by day this great “yes” has to be lived out in the many little “yeses” and small sacrifices.  This “yes” made up of tiny steps which together make up the great “yes”, can be lived out without bitterness and self-pity only if Christ is truly the center of our lives.  If we enter into true closeness to him.  Then indeed we experience, amid sacrifices which can at first be painful, the growing joy of friendship with him, and all the small and sometimes great signs of his love, which he is constantly showing us.  “The one who loses himself, finds himself”.  When we dare to lose ourselves for the Lord, we come to experience the truth of these words.

To be continued tomorrow....

Polonaise

My family is more than privileged to have a Kimball Baby Grand piano in our Living Room; we're blessed. We're even more blessed to have someone in the family who knows how to play: my mother.

Saturday mornings in my family are best characterized by the gallons of coffee that are consumed and the complete onslaught of dusting by my parents. Armed with Pledge and cotton rags, they searched high and low for dust; any unsuspecting particles would be suddenly swept up in a fury of polish, most especially if "company" was coming over.

The last room to undergo its ritual shellacking was the Living Room, where mom's piano rests. From my city of Legos downstairs I could hear when the piano was being polished; sudden long swipes up and down the length of the keys would inevitably lead my mom to play a few medleys. Just like the children of Hamelin, we couldn't resist the soft tunes that the Pied Piper sent throughout our home. My sister left her Saturday morning cartoons and I my Legos and as we headed for the music upstairs.

Our favorite song was Frederic Chopin's Polonaise in A Flat Minor. We didn't know the name of the piece or the artist at the time, but it was as dear to us as to any other. Unlike those listening to the Polonaise in a concert hall, my sister and I couldn't help but dance, and dance wildly. While my mother had full control of the keys, my sister would let go of her inhibitions (not that she ever had any) and bounce about the room, her hair and pink boa flailing in every direction. I would dance about in my awkward manner, my movements usually sending me into fits of self-deprecating laughter. My mother, still at the helm of this impromptu hilarity, kept playing, smiling all the while...

This childhood memory was flung violently into the fore of my consciousness on Easter Sunday as Chopin's Polonaise made its way downstairs to my sister and me once more. Up we sprang--this time from our laptops--and headed like Pavlov's dog towards the Living Room. As my eighteen-year-old sister proceeded to dance as if she was five again, I stood back and did some smiling of my own...

If only we could somehow make each day a polonaise, a dance which matches the music that blares forth from Jesus' empty tomb, a song of triumphant praise, of jubilant glory. If only we weren't so afraid to live as we really ought, to leave our fears and anxieties bundled up with Christ's burial clothes, shedding our former selves and entering into new life with Him. If only we could embrace the Easter Season with the same devotion as Christ embraced the Cross, and thus be willing to run towards His enticing song of salvation!

Well, what's stopping us from becoming holy? Why won't we dance the polonaise?

Clearly holiness involves far more than a simple dance; the point is that we need to be willing to renew ourselves and enter into life of holiness with Christ without any reservations. Blessed Columbia Marmion tells us that the work of holiness is a life-long process. He writes:

We cannot arrive there in one day; holiness, inaugurated at our baptism, is only effected little by little, by successive stages. Let us strive to act in such a way that every Easter, every day of that blest period which extends from the Feast of the Resurrection until Pentecost, produces in us a more complete death to sin, to the merely created, and a more vigorous and abundant increase in Christ's life in us.

Beautiful! Thus, in order to achieve holiness, we must renew ourselves daily in the fight against evil, in the effort to remove the dust which might have settled upon our souls. Through Baptism and again through Reconciliation, our souls are wiped clean, allowing us to listen more carefully for God's call, His invitation to dance in His divine life. Through a life in Christ, we will discover that even the most beautiful polonaise cannot compare to the songs we will be singing upon entering His heavenly Kingdom...

Dolan and the Pope

Today Archbishop Dolan will be installed as the tenth archbishop of New York, a wonderful occasion for the Stateside church and beyond. The son from St. Louis, as they call him, will assume the task of shepherding the second largest archdiocese in the nation and will become an icon of Catholicism in America, more than ever before.

And the magnitude of this assignment? Unimaginable. What must Dolan be experiencing? The thought of such an assignment reminded me of Fr. Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) when he was made an auxiliary bishop of Krakow, Poland. Here's what the young, vibrant priest did when he learned of the appointment:

Wojtyla accepted the nomination and went straight to the Ursuline convent in the capital, where he knocked on the door and asked if he could come into pray. The sisters didn't know him, but his cassock was a sufficient passport. They led him to their chapel and left him alone. After some time, the nuns began to worry and quietly opened the door of the chapel to see what was happening. Wojtyla was prostrate on the floor in front of the tabernacle.... Some hours later they came back. The unknown priest was still prostrate before the Blessed Sacrament. It was late, and one of the nuns said, "Perhaps Father would like to come to supper...?" The stranger answered, "My train doesn't leave for Krakow until after midnight. Please let me stay here. I have a lot to talk about with the Lord...."

-George Weigel, Witness to Hope, 147

Dolan, too, realizes how invaluable his daily conversation with the Lord will be in his new assignment.  At a press conference outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral on Monday he appeared with his breviary, the Liturgy of the Hours, explaining to reporters how he had just stopped in to say some short prayers. Those prayers will be of great importance as Dolan begins to shepherd New York's flock; both Dolan and the pope realize that their joy, their sense of humor, their love for the people--all of it must be rooted in prayer.

Just as Bishop-elect Wojtyla assured his family and friends that "Wujek would remain Wujek" (sic), Dolan  also realizes that he is still the same parish priest that he set out to be when he was first ordained. He told the press, "All I wanted to do was to be a parish priest...and here I am going to be archbishop of New York, but I'm wondering if a good job description of that is still to be a parish priest.... I want to try and approach it as any good pastor would."

He was indeed a pastor last night at the Vespers service in St. Patrick's, grinning from ear-to-ear as he passed through the throngs of people who showed up to see their new ordinary and to see for themselves if their new archbishop was too good to be true. Even the skeptical had to be impressed as Dolan already seemed at home. As a pastor, Dolan related his "trepidation and unworthiness" as the Archbishop of New York to our fear of letting Christ into our hearts, "Opening wide the doors to Christ," as John Paul II spoke of so beautifully. Dolan went on to quote the Servant of God from an address he gave to the United Nations in 1995:

We must not be afraid of the future. It is no accident that we are here. Every human person has been created in the image and likeness of the One who is the origin of all that is. We have within us the capacity for wisdom and heroic virtue. With these gifts, and with the help of God’s grace, we can build . . . a civilization worthy of the human person, a true culture of freedom, a culture of life.

The nation and the Church abroad expect great things from this great man, just as all were inspired by a Polish pope elected just over thirty years ago. Both possess numerous gifts and abilities, yes, but give all the credit to the Lord, who has shaped and guided them throughout their priesthood. Through prayer, these men were able to see how to best shepherd their sheep, to be true pastors in the image of Jesus Christ.

Our prayers and best wishes for Archbishop Dolan!

The Enormity of the Empty Tomb

Happy Easter! 

This is my first chance to wish you joy and peace since this Holy Season began, and I hope that you have been very well!

As I sat in my home parish on Saturday evening at the Easter Vigil and Sunday morning as the 9:00 AM Mass I could not help but look out at the standing-room-only crowds that had gathered and wonder... do we really get this? 

The empty tomb of that first Easter morning must stand as a stumbling block for so many of us! Our human and earthly minds probably find it at least a little bit (and I would dare to say for many more than a little bit) difficult to grasp the enormity of the empty tomb.

Easter for the majority of my life meant one thing only: a basket full of candy. That is what I looked forward to, and Sunday morning Mass was the barrier standing between me and the treats from the Bunny! Don't get me wrong, I had some clouded notion of the fact that Jesus rose from the dead this day, but it was little more than a story- and little more than a mythical one. I don't want to foist my own littleness on others, but I don't think I am too unique. Hallmark, Walgreens, and Cadbury have so permeated our society that Easter- like Christmas- is more of a secular holiday than a religious one. But the Christmas mystery, unlike the one we celebrate at Easter, is a little easier to grasp. We can see the Divine Infant in his Immaculate Mother's arms in even the most secular of places- but we rarely see the Trimphant and Resurrected Jesus while walking through the local Walgreens or CVS! 

But let us not just keep Easter contained in a pastel colored box! This day is not about a little Bunny who brings candy to us! It is not about hunting for eggs filled with candy or money in your backyard (don't get me wrong--this is a lot of fun!) But this Day, and the 50 days which follow are about, as our ever wise Holy Father put it:

Neither a myth nor a dream not a vision or a utopia, not a fairy tale, but a singular and unrepeatable event: Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary, who at dusk on Friday was taken down from the Cross and buried, has victoriously left the tomb!

We celebrate Easter as the greatest feast of our year not because of the bunny and his candy (Santa can kick the bunny's tail any year!), but because Jesus has conquered sin and death! He has paid our debts by his death, and he has offered us new life! He don't just celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, we celebrate the fact that He offers us, all of us, a share in the Resurrected Life! We say at Mass every Sunday the Nicene Creed, and one of the last articles which we assent to in faith is that we believe in "The Resurrection of the Body." When we say this we are not talking about Jesus' body, we affirmed that mystery a few lines above, but we are talking about the Resurrection of Your Body and my Body! That is what Christ has won for us in his Resurrection!- a share in His life for all eternity! 

That is the meaning of the empty tomb! That is a reason to proclaim "Alleluia, He is Risen!" from the roof tops! It is Good News we ought to and must share! For if anyone serves Jesus in this life, they will have an eternal share in the Easter Joy of Heaven and in the New and Eternal Life of the Resurrection! 

These are the words that Jesus, the Resurrected and Victorious One, says to us this Easter Season:

"Who will contend with me? Let him confront me. I have freed the condemned, brought the dead back to life, raised men from their graves. Who has anything to say against me? I, He said, am the Christ; I have destroyed death, triumphed over the enemy, trampled hell underfoot, bound the strong one, and taken men up to the heights of Heaven: I am the Christ!

Come, then, all your nations of men, receive forgiveness for the sins that defile you. I am you forgiveness, I am the Passover that brings salvation. I am the lamb whom was immolated for you. I am your ransom, your life, your resurrection, your light, I am your salvation and your king. I will bring you to the heights of heaven. With my own right hand I will raise you up, and I will show you the Eternal Father!" (Office of Readings, Monday in the Octave of Easter)

Easter Monday

Hallelujah! The Lord has risen!

Wow. What a whirlwind of a week we've had! In between prayers and various liturgies, churches across the world, Catholic or otherwise, have had their fill and then some of busyness in the Lord's name. There's a great sense of peace which rushes over all of us once Lent, the Triduum, and Easter Vigil and Sunday have passed; our Lord is with us once more. Hopefully everyone is able to catch their breath!

After the powerful energy of last week has subsided, we might be tempted into thinking that this and following weeks are business as usual, Ordinary Time, if you will. Far from it! In fact, we've only just begun to experience the Easter season, the joys of Jesus' Resurrection!

While we should be relieved that we made it through another Lent and Holy Week, we also have to be ready to lift high that Cross and proclaim "How wondrous His works, how almighty His deeds!" Just as His Passion is not a solitary moment in time, so too is Jesus' Resurrection more than a simple occurrence which we celebrate and then pack away with our Easter decorations. The Resurrection must be lived!

Here's our challenge: we must sing the Gloria, the Alleluia, and the Great Amen with shouts of praise all the days of our life! Sounds difficult, right? That's because it is! How frightened the apostles were when Jesus first appeared to them; they had no idea how to go about sharing this Good News with others, let alone how to comprehend it themselves! But just as Christ revealed Himself to them that Easter morn, so too will He continue to offer Himself, His Body and Blood, so that we might unite ourselves to Him.

Have a great Easter Monday!

Slaves to Sin No Longer

On this most triumphant of days, it is fitting to yield to the saints, to hear what they have to say regarding the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here is a reading from St. Paul to the Romans; a blessed Easter to all!

Are you not aware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Through baptism into his death we were buried with him, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life.

If we have been united with him through likeness to his death, so shall we be through a like resurrection. This we know: our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed and we might be slaves to sin no longer. A man who is dead has been freed from sin.

If we have died with Christ, we believe that we are also to live with him. We know that Christ, once raised from the dead, will never die again; death has no more power over him. His death was death to sin, once for all; his life is life for God. In the same way, you must consider yourselves dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus...

This Is the Night...

The Easter Vigil, celebrated tonight, rocks! It's one of my favorite nights of the year, if not the favorite. I know that most people enjoy their weekly 45 minute Sunday masses, but for one night a year it's worth it to spend about 3 hours and go to the Vigil. It's about as beautiful and significant as liturgy comes. I first attended my sophomore year of high school. I have no shame in admitting that I cried (and I'm not much of a crier). To be honest with you, I still cry. Heck, I am getting chills right now. Why? It's our entire faith, all of salvation history, wrapped up and packaged into a three hour long prayer.

The Vigil starts off with the pitch black church packed full of people. The deacon lites the Easter fire and blesses the new Easter candle. Then he processes through the Church singing ¨Christ our light!" The people shout back, "Thanks be to God!¨ Once in the front of the church the ancient hymn of the Church known as the Exultet is sung...

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!

Exult, all creation around God´s throne!

Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!

Sound the trumpet of salvation!

Rejoice, O earth in shining splendor,

radiant in the brightness of your King!
Christ has conquered! Glory fills you!

Darkness vanishes forever!

Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!

The risen savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God´s people!...

...This is the night

when Christians everywhere,

washed clean of sin and freed from all defilement,

are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night
when Jesus Christ broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.

What good would life had been for us,

had Christ not come as our Redeemer?

Father, how wonderful You care for us!

How boundless Your merciful love!

To ransom a slave you gave away your son. ...

Beautiful. Can you believe it!? What an amazing gift we have been given! The son of God, Jesus Christ, died for us and rose again to free us from all of our sins that we may sit with God the ever-loving Father! And furthermore, He gave us the Church to celebrate such a glorious mystery! It blows my mind, being here in Honduras, that we are saying the same prayers as all the churches back home, in Rome, and across the entire world. Everywhere, people are celebrating that Jesus Christ has risen and wills us to follow after Him. Alleluia!

Many times during Lent I have wondered if the penance, fasting, and prayer are really worth it. But then, like every year before, the Easter Vigil comes and it all makes sense. The struggles, confusion, and sacrifices we experience during Lent and our entire lives are not in vain. We have the Resurrection, the greatest of all miracles. With such a miracle we have nothing less than authentic hope that Goodness has triumphed over evil. Difficulty, bad news, struggle, and injustice may always have a wicked face on this planet, but they will never triumph. Christ rose and called us, just like He called Mary in the garden, to come with Him. So after 40 long days, it is time to celebrate. Alleluia! Christ is risen!

Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!

Exult, all creation around God´s throne!

Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!

Ballad for Holy Saturday

Our Lord is shrouded in a tomb

Silent as His mother's womb

This day on which His sacred death

Those nails, that cross!

They stole His breath.

His followers hid; oh how they wept.

Believed our Lord forever slept

Confused, distraught without their Guide

With whom they roamed the countryside.

Peter, James and John abject

How quickly Christ had been reject

Transfigured then to Calvary

Mem'ries add to misery

The others, too; oh see them mourn

His absence makes them all forlorn

Messiah He was thought to be

The holy one from Galilee!

The Passover feast is underway

Today is just another day

Jerusalem without regret

His followers will not forget.

What is Christ said to have done

While we bask in Saturday Sun?

Descended He to pits of Hell

To rescue those who had befell

Adam, Eve, and others too

With His love He did imbue

"Awake, O sleeper, I Am here to claim"

For us He vows to do the same

He died for us, became a man

Word made flesh; then it began

Now that flesh is in the tomb

All our sins He did assume

To which, to where shall be our fate?

The fires of Hell or the Heavenly Gate

Shall we let Christ enter in

To heal our souls, free us from sin?

Repent, confess; let Christ forgive

A life anew you then shall live

Again, again! Let Christ forgive!

Then life anew you then shall live. 

Our churches bare, our altars stripped

We do not fear; for from the crypt

Springs life anew; tomorrow He'll come

The tomb is bare when rise the sun

And so dear friends, we beseech thee to

Join us in prayer, let's all renew

Our lives once more to Christ the Son

Come tomorrow; we've just begun!

Passion of Christ, Strengthen Me

At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.
And at three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Some of the bystanders who heard it said, "Look, he is calling Elijah."
One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to take him down."
Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.

(Mark 15: 34-37)

The clouds thicken. It's now almost as dark as night. The breeze turns into gusts. It begins to rain. I stare up at the rugged cross. On it hangs the naked, bruised, limp, dead man. Dead on a cross, but at least His hours of horrific torture and humiliation are finally over. This man named Jesus is finally dead after being rejected by His Church leaders, denied by His friends and followers, and even abandoned by His Father. Not long ago, hundreds of bureaucrats, mourners, soldiers, and bystanders filled this hill on which I kneel. They watched as his robes were traded in for nails. But now Christ hangs alone, His hands and feet tacked up against some beams. Blessed, I find myself alone with Him, just the two of us. Kneeling in front of the Crucifixion, such a painful thing to watch, I cannot help but ask...

Why, God, did it have to happen?

The question pains me. I rack my mind and grab at my chest. Why, Jesus? Why, God? Why did You die? Bankrupt of any answer, I throw my hands into the air. Their whiteness and tenderness shock me in comparison to the blood stained, worn out body in front of me. My hands seem untouched, and unharmed. Looking back to Christ's hands--bruised, bloody, and pinned to a tree--I begin to understand a little bit what this mystery is all about. I begin to understand a tiny bit what it is to love. His death was so that we may have life, and have it more abundantly. Jesus did not go through some kind of ¨virtual death.¨His love is not some "warm fuzzy feeling" we get just on Sundays and First Communions. His death, the ultimate sign of God's love for you and I, is as real as the beams, nails, hammers, and hands used to kill him. He bore on his hands, feet, side, back, and forehead the marks of our sinful nature. He did it for me and for you, and he did it in complete love.

Kneeling alone in front of the cross, it all seems too much for me. I turn my head to look away, but what I see behind me shocks me as well. In front of me now are the hills of Jerusalem. The famous city walls stand in the hazy distance. Outside the walls, packed one on top of the another, are the slum cardboard homes. The uneven streets of the unofficial city are filled with pirated electrical lines, burning trash, naked children, muddy water, and stray dogs. In front of me lives and breathes a forgotten city. The poor, forgotten, hopeless of Jerusalem. I wonder to myself, how can this be!? How can this crappiness still exist? Will I ever be able to escape it? Will this suffering ever end? Suffering and death, the results of our sins, surround me. What keeps me, O God, afloat amid all of this mess? How am I still breathing?

I turn my head back to Jesus, motionless on the cross. Once again, I become surprised. What before I saw as nothing but loss, I now see as hope...my only hope. Suddenly I understand that His death not only for my soul, but the soul of the whole world, from the poorest families living in slums to the richest man living in the biggest palace. Christ died for all. His arms were stretched out in a way on that beam as to receive the whole world in His merciful, salvific love. He wants us all to know His love. As a Catholic and specifically as a Jesuit I bear the honor to use these hands to spread throughout the world, the same love I found hanging on the cross. I have the honor to join Mary, the mother of God, Mary of Magdala, and the beloved apostle to remove those bulky nails from his hands and feet and to clean his wounds. I have the honor to care for the poor, neglected, blind, and lame. I, along with all of my brothers in the Society of Jesus, and all of my Christian brothers and sisters, have the honor to spread the good news that Christ has taken us into His heart and died for us so that, one day, we may rise with Him.

Anima Christi

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, save me.
Blood of Christ, inebriate me.
Water from the side of Christ, 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.

The Grey Dawn

As the sun rises grey this morning, our minds turn to our Blessed Lord who must have watched the sun rise that Friday morning so many years ago. What must have been on his mind? He had just been through an agonizing night, from the garden and the arrest, to a hearing before the High Priest and the Elders. Accused of so many false crimes, and outrageous offenses.  All the while with the agonies of the impending cross weighing on His heart. He has known that this day is the one which His whole life was directed toward. This most somber of days when the World will kill its Creator--or rather the Creator offers Himself as a perfect sacrifice for His creatures. It almost seems wrong that the sun would rise on such a day this, and yet, it does. 

Jesus rises to the yells of the jailers. He is being taken to Pilate. Another hearing, false accusations, an angry crowd, which rejects Him, and calls for His death. His death draws near. 

Soon His back will bear the leather and steel of the scourging- the stripes that will heal us. Soon His head will feel the sharp pain of thorns- blood runs down that most beautiful of faces. And His shoulders will receive their cross, the weight of sin, the tree of death- that will win us life. Soon He will begin that most holy way to Calvary- the via crucis. 

On His way up to the place of the skulls, there is only one thing on His mind. Us. He became a man of suffering, a man of sorrows for no other reason than to reconcile us to His Father. The sting of the whip, the spit of the soldiers, the splinters from the cross, the points of the thorns, and the exhaustion of the climb- all for you, and me. 

May we walk with Him this day, He who bore our sins. May our minds never wander far from Him. May we embrace our own crosses and penances this day in union with Him so that we might share in the fruits of His suffering. Today is the day- our redemption is here. Let us remember Him today in all that we do, so he might remember us when He comes into his kingdom.  

Three Times

After the Passover meal we left the room and walked through the streets on that unusually balmy night. Not much was said as we headed toward Gethsenamae; we were still pretty confused about the meal and Judas' sudden departure. Outside of Jerusalem, the crunching of the road beneath our feet and the hissing of bugs were the only sounds. It was deafening.

When we finally made our way across the Kidron Valley up to the garden, we all collapsed on some rocks, utterly exhausted. Jesus looked up into the night sky for a while and then asked James, John, and I to go deeper into the woods with Him. The rest of the men relaxed on the rocks.

A little further into the trees Jesus stopped and turned around to look at us. His eyes were deep and full, as though He wished to tell us everything. As He gazed upon me, my heart began to race. How much I loved Him! He was my Messiah, the Son of the living God! He then said to us quietly, "Please, pray with me for a while." The three of us sat down and began to pray as Jesus went still further into the trees.

As soon as I sat down to begin my prayers my eyelids began to droop. Ever since we entered Jerusalem five days earlier I hadn't slept well at all. I kept thinking something bad was about to happen. And, with the activities of the day and the eventful meal we had just finished, I began to doze off. I started thinking about the times we had shared, the Master and I. How much He trusted in me! I had often thought that I would do anything to protect Him, which is why I started carrying a sword on my hip.

I awoke suddenly when I felt someone standing over me; it was Jesus. James and John were also awake now, rubbing there eyes. He addressed the three of us, but looked at me the entire time: "Could you not watch with me for one hour?" Drowsy with sleep, I sat up straight, but drifted off once more. After what seemed like a long time, I awoke with Jesus standing over me once more, with tears in His eyes and a stream of blood trickling down His face. My face burned with shame; I had failed him once more. He said with conviction, "Rise, let us be going; my betrayer is at hand."

In the distance flickers of light grew brighter, accompanied by a muffled sound which turned out to be marching. Jesus led us to a clearing in that mount of olives, that garden which would be the place of His surrender. We were confused, terrified--what was happening? Had they come for Him like He had said they would?

Judas was at the front of the pack as they approached, his face aglow in the torchlight. That slimy treasurer of ours--that's where he had fled to during the meal! I felt a rage build up inside of me. It conflicted with the fear and trembling within my chest. That one from Iscariot came forth and kissed the Master. "Judas, you betray Me with a kiss?" came the reply from Jesus.

As soon as he had paid false homage to Jesus, they moved to seize Him. It all happened so fast; I saw them lunge for Jesus whom I was next to; I grabbed the hilt of my sword and swung it down upon one who had captured Him, a servant of the high priest. Jesus looked at me with eyes full of sorrow. "Peter," He said, "put your sword into its sheath. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has sent me?" We looked at each other for a moment, and I knew I would lose Him. Slowly I put my sword back into its sheath.

Soon I was on the ground, pinned by guards; blood was spurting out of what once was the man's ear. Jesus, in the midst of the fighting of the guards and the other disciples, moved in and touched the slave's ear, restoring it to its former state. Even then He thought of others; but now He's gone from me forever.

After they took Him we all dispersed, going one way or the other. I followed the captors to the courtyard of the high priest, concealing myself as the accusations began. As they brought Jesus in, he already looked terrible. They had Him in chains, forcing Him about, shoving Him and shouting at Him. His nose was bleeding; no one tried to stop it. They accused Him of what He said about raising up the temple, about being the Son of God; they struck Him again and asked who had done it. All the while He remained silent. Finally He said, "...hereafter you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven..." At this the crowd erupted and called for His death, calling Him a blasphemer. Then they seized Him and dragged Him off to the praetorium where Pilate dwells. I began to sob, knowing that the end was near.

A little while later I drew near to the fire they had made in the courtyard; the temperature had dropped a lot as the night drew on. I tried to shield my face from those around me, but they soon realized who I was.

"Aren't you a follower of the Nazarean?"

"No. I do not know the man."

"Wait, didn't I see you in the garden with him?"

"You're mistaken. I do not know him!"

"Oh, come on. Your accent gives you away!"

"I'M TELLING YOU--I DO NOT KNOW THE MAN!!!"

At this a cock crowed, and I fell deeper and deeper into the depths of my own despair.

I sit here now against a stone wall, weeping and mourning the loss of my Lord. Oh how He called me forth from my boat; how excited my brother was to introduce Him!  The times we had shared, the miracles He had performed, and how He loved me! He saved me as I sunk in the waves, He yelled at me as I tried to stop Him from doing His duty--but I never thought it would be like this! My Jesus, the one whom I saw transfigured, conversing with Moses and Elijah, now faced with death before Pilate! And I--whom you call the "Rock"---I have failed you so! I have let my nets break under the pressure; I have sunk beneath the waves; I have denied you three times, as you said I would this very night. Oh Jesus, my rock. Oh Jesus, save me!

And now you know, fellow disciple, the events of this night. The Master will surely die tomorrow. I know not what will happen next...

The Humble Servant

Holy Thursday presents us with so many mysteriesof our faith. The Mass of the Lord's Supper recalls two of the central tenants of our faith- the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Not only these, but it is also the moment when Christ instituted the Holy Priesthood by telling his 12 disciples "Do this in memory of Me." But there is another great image, an incredible event that we witness this Holy Day: The Washing of the Disciples' Feet.

It was during the middle of the Last Supper, which we recall this night, that Jesus rose from the table, took off his outer garments, wrapped himself in a towel, got down on his knees, and washed their feet. 

In this simple gesture, one which we are probably so used to after years of Holy Thursday Liturgies, we find the core of Jesus' entire mission, and by extension the center of our lives as Christians.

First, Jesus rose from the table, took off his out garments, and put a towel on around his waists. In this gesture we can see a microcosm of what we celebrate at Christmas! Jesus- the eternal Word of God the Father, the Fullness of Divine Wisdom- rises from the heavenly banquet with the Father and the Spirit, and exchanges His glorious Divine Splendor, for the simple trappings of an infant. God comes down to us! God becomes man! Jesus stripped himself of his glory and took on our human condition- pains, pleasures, joys, sorrows, labor, and relaxation. And on this night, his appointed hour when the "Son of man is to be glorified" he again rises from the table, trades his outer robes for a towel, and comes down. 

Secondly, having exchanged his nicer robes, for a simple towel, just then falls to his knees and begins to wash the disciples feet. We must remember that these are not clean, nike-wearing, shower-taking American feet either. These are sandal-wearing(if that), desert sand walking, no shower-taking, dirty feet. But it was see in this time that if one's feet were washed, then their whole body was clean. And so this gesture, had great significance to those 12 men at the table. It was the kind of act a slave, or a servant would usually perform. In this, again, we see the heart of Jesus life encapsulated. He humbled himself to come among us, and he did not desire great honors. He desired, to serve us. He wanted to love us, and to heal us. He came not to clean our feet- he came to clean our Souls! Our lives we mired in sin, all of us, from Adam to Peter to you and I, are sinners. But, Jesus came to take away the sins of men. So he got down on his knees, and washed. He washed our feet in his long nights of prayer for us with the Father, he washed out feet in the exhausting work of preaching the kingdom, he washed out feet by healing and curing disease and ailments- but most of all, at the end of his earthly life- he washed our feet, he cleansed our sinful souls, by pouring out his blood for us on the Cross. 

Jesus' entire life, his whole Incarnation, is capture in this gesture. He came down to wash the feet of sinners. He came to be our servant. And in this, he shows us his love. He has given us a model. Indeed, those other great mysteries we celebrate today- the institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood- only make greatest sense in light of the washing of the feet. For in the Eucharist, and the through the priesthood Jesus continues, through his Holy Church, to wash our feet. Cleansing our sins in Holy Communion, and healing our wounds through the ministry of priests in confession. For all who are thinking, or praying about a vocation to the priesthood- or any vocation- we must always keep in mind this great act of Jesus. For he shows us, that we are called to get down and serve our brothers and sisters. 

On this most holy of Days, knowing what tomorrow brings, let us keep this mystery before our eyes, and in our hearts. Let us remember that Jesus' passion and death was all about washing our feet, about pouring out his love on us, and for us. And let us remember his words to his apostles:

"Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so,  for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do." (John 13:15)

Becoming Judas

In the midst of hearing so much about Jesus, the preparations for the Passover, Peter's allegiance and denial, and all other events which lead up to the Passion, I've never taken time to truly reflect on Judas' role. After all it was his actions which led to the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of our Lord. What must it have been like, becoming Judas?

In their own way, the Evangelists explain how Judas was not of best repute. Different passages describe how this son from Iscariot was in charge of the collections, that he held the money purse at his belt, and most likely stole form the contributions to Jesus and the disciples. We see the extent of his miserly ways when the jar of perfume, the one which would have equaled "300 days wages" (Jn 12:5), is used to anoint Jesus; Judas scoffs at the homage. Lord knows he would object to the ceremonies surrounding a diocese's Chrism Mass, traditionally celebrated today. Still, there's more to Judas; something else gnaws at him besides the pomp and circumstance.

We hear in Luke's Gospel how Judas came to be, that is, how he came to betray Jesus. Satan entered Judas (22:3), and compelled him to hand Jesus over to the chief priests. Money was involved, yes; those infamous thirty pieces of silver for which our Lord had nails driven through His flesh and suffered death on a cross. The greed which consumed Judas led to the consummation of Jesus' death; his love for money outweighed his love of the Messiah. 

While Satan entered Judas, this disciple of Jesus acted of his own accord. He took the steps to the temple and arranged to betray Jesus with a kiss. But what must he have felt when he realized his terrible mistake? A despair so great, an agony beyond measure, a void, a solemn black death due to his sin. No mercy could ever repair the heart of the man after it had been rent so violently from his chest.

How wrong Judas was! No sin is unforgivable, not even his!

We must weep as we read Matthew 27:5; Judas, after trying to undo his egregious act, flings the silver back in the faces of the chief priests, "and goes off and hangs himself" (sic). As he lowered the noose upon his neck, could he not see that Jesus would--and had--forgiven Him?! Oh what Judas became, a man who followed Jesus, was one of His twelve, who fell to temptation--fell to depths far greater than he could have ever known. In his Inferno Dante depicts Judas as held in the Devil's mouth, as both are incased in a prison of ice. Even this description cannot fully convey how horrific is this soul's fate.

If you're like me, you've never felt too comfortable yelling "Crucify Him!" during the reading of the Passion. And yet, as Andrew and Paul have expressed, we're just as responsible. Our sins two centuries later are just as relevant to Jesus' Passion as Judas'. It's one thing to slightly murmur the words in the missalette; it's another to realize how harmful my sins are. I shudder when I think of the times when I've fallen to the temptations of Satan; how boldly do I march into the chief priest's court! Yet, when I lower the noose upon my neck, I remember Christ's words to a penitent woman:

Your faith has saved you; go in peace (Lk 7:50).

If only Judas had realized how merciful Jesus is!

Let us remember during the Triduum and on towards Easter that Jesus died for all of us, and will forgive us our sins if we seek Him. Through Reconciliation we are made clean, for "Who is this who even forgives sins?" (Lk 7:48). It is Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High, who died on a cross for the sins of all humanity. Let us not become like Judas, then, and forget the mercy of our Lord!

Entering into His Passion

The time had finally come for Jesus and the twelve to celebrate the the Passover meal. The most sacred time of the year was just upon them yet tensions among the group had never been higher. After the long journey to Jerusalem, the men were tired, dirty, thirsty, and cranky. Worse still, Jesus' teachings were becoming weirder and weirder. He had been saying things like the temple would be destroyed in three days, that He would be handed over to the authorities, and even a few times that He would be killed. Still worse, the followers they had in the sea towns of Galilee were nowhere to be found and all the pharisees seemed to make it their primary duty to catch Jesus making a mistake. Tired and alone in Jerusalem, Jesus and the twelve had become the little fish in the very big, hostile pond.

Judas was the first to break under the pressure. He had known that the pharisees were looking for anyway to get their hands on Jesus. Judas handed over his master and friend's head for 30 cheap pieces of silver. I often wonder why he did it. How did Judas justify the deed? As the group's treasurer, was he worried that "the cause" was running out of money? Was he worried about the huge number of poor in the city and think this money could help them? Was he tired of all these crazy teachings and wanted to finish the rest of his life in comfort? I guess we will never know Judas' motive and justification, but I have the somber feeling that his choice to betray Jesus wasn't as absurd and irrational as we would like to make it.

That night at the meal, relationships that were already strained among the group were made even more tense. Before breaking the bread, Jesus directly accuses the group, "One of you will betray me." The previously somber, quiet room erupts in panic. John glances over confused to James. Peter shoots an accusative eye over to Thomas. Andrew begins whispering to Matthew about Thaddeus. Each one of them, except Judas, is wondering to himself...

What is Jesus' talking about? I would never betray him.

Amidst the confusion, glances, and accusations, Judas asks Jesus, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" as if to clear himself of the sinful deed he had already committed. Jesus tenderly passes over the cup, looks Judas in the eyes, and says quietly, "You have said so." Judas quickly shoots his eyes away, wanting to puke, knowing full well that what he has done and that he cannot take back. Be it shame, pride, ideals, guilt, or a mixture of it all, Judas cannot admit to Christ what he has done. What a shame. I am no theologian, but maybe just as big of a sin as selling Jesus was hiding his sin from Jesus.

To be honest with you, I have a tough time putting myself in these scenes of the New Testament when I meditate. Judas started the whole thing by turning in Jesus, running from his guilt and finally taking his own life. Peter publicly denied his master and friend of three years three separate times, all in the matter of a couple of hours. Besides John the Beloved, the other cowards ran off to the darkest corners of Jerusalem until the drama blew over and the mobs had scattered. It seems no matter who I choose to be of the twelve, I loose.

I like to think that I would be different in that situation; but I guess if I was really there, I would have done the same thing. I think that these next few days are a great opportunity to bring the reality of the Passion of Christ more deeply into our hearts. With each year's readings, prayers, and rituals, the Passion of Christ becomes that much more alive for me. These days are opportunities for us to come face to face with our sin and humbly, like Peter, confess our sins to Jesus who is love, mercy, and goodness. The more honest we our with ourselves these days (and every day of the year) the deeper we come to trust in God's love and grace in our lives even in the toughest of times. We may feel as awkward as a 14 year-old kid at a high school dance confessing our weakness and need for Christ, but when we are honest with Christ, the Church, our families, and neighbors, we become people of mercy, grace, and love.

Let us pray that these coming days we can enter more fully into the mystery of Christ's passion as to better know Him, love Him, and serve Him. Amen.

Coming Attractions

Through prayer and reflection, we've been preparing for this holiest of weeks for over a month, and hope that our upcoming posts will help you to encounter Christ in His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

Here are the following times when posts are scheduled to appear:

• Wednesday
• Thursday morning
• Thursday, The Last Supper
• Thursday, Jesus' Arrest and Trial
• Good Friday
• Holy Saturday
• Easter Vigil
• Easter Sunday

Our prayers for you during Holy Week!

-Andrew, Peter, and Paul

Gaze upon Him

As we approach the Holy Triduum in which we will encounter the great mysteries of our Redemption and Salvation I offer a quick thought that I hope will allow us all to celebrate worthily the glories of the Divine Economy.

As modern Americans- imbued with the pragmatism that fills the air of this Land- we probably are taken aback at the Gospel which Holy Mother Church gives to us on this Monday of Holy Week. We hear from Saint John's Gospel about how Mary, the sister of Lazarus, took a liter of costly perfumed oil, anointed Jesus' feet, and then dried them with her hair. This may seem like a waste of money- for the oil was worth 300 days wages!- or perhaps just a very strange occurance. But what is so telling about it, is the reaction of Judas. He is appalled by her "waste" of the oil. He, perhaps an American pragmatist before his time, so upset because it could have been sold and used the money for a more effective purpose- food for the hungry, shelter for the homeless, medicine for the sick, or even to pay off some bills! 

But this mindset of Judas' is not that of Christ. Jesus was the ultimate anti-pragmatist, and we ought to be so as well. Jesus rebuked Judas, and praised Mary, because she had not worried about anything but showing her love to Jesus. She was willing to sit at his feet and comfort Him. She became humble, and was willing to spare no expense to show her love for Him. And I think that this seems to crazy to most of us!

Our faith often revolves around doing things- service work, signing this petition, protesting, evangelizing, and who knows how many other practical actions- but this misses the whole goal of our lives as Christians. The first precept of the Christian life, the greatest commandment that Jesus gave to us was, and is: "You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, all your mind, all your strength, and all your soul." (Luke 10:27) Our first task is to love God. To anoint his feet with the love poured out from our hearts. To sit at his feet like Mary did in a different gospel story, and to gaze upon the one we love, and to contemplate His life giving words. Only when we truly love God, can we love others. The second half of the precept-and you neighbors as yourself- is empty and lifeless with out the first. 

We must keep this in mind as we approach the mysteries of Christ's passion, death, and Resurrection. They are not about what we can get from them, what they can do for me, or what their "practical value" is. These Holy Days, with their magnificent liturgies, and august truths, are given to us so that we might dive deep into contemplation and meditation on Jesus Christ, the Man of Sorrows, the Suffering Servant, the Crucified Lord, and the Resurrected King. We are meant to gaze upon the one who was pierced, the one whom we pierced, and to let our Hearts be moved in love- but not just an emotional response- but that our hearts would be transformed, and we might be made able to share in the Divine Life and Banquet in Heaven.

May we come this Holy Week, not primarily to receive, but to give. May we sorrow in his pain, and to rejoice in his glory, and above all-  pour out our love and adoration upon the one who loved us first, and who has spared no expense for our salvation.

With Palms We Praise Him

On a colt borrowed from Olivet, Jesus entered Jerusalem a few days before the Passover. With shouts of praise Jesus rode over clothes and palms, signs of respect and homage due a king. How happy they were to see the Messiah, the Son of the Living God! Perhaps, they thought, this one would save them from oppression once and for all. They were eager to honor this man from Galilee!

Yet, when the procession is complete, when the crowds disperse, what is to be said of Jesus, our Lord? Yes, we place our palm branches in a prominent place to remind us of the Son of God, but how do we live out that praise, that glory? In today's Office of Readings, St. Andrew of Crete explains that this day is a day of praise, yes, but also one of uniting ourselves to His Passion:

"So let us spread before his feet, not garments or soulless olive branches, which delight the eye for a few hours and then wither, but ourselves, clothed in his grace, or rather, clothed completely in him."

Jesus desires us to offer ourselves in homage and praise to Him. Especially in this holiest of weeks, we have numerous opportunities to lay down whatever impedes us from truly knowing the Son of God. Instead of trampling on them with the hooves of a colt, Jesus scoops them up, bearing our sins and obstructions, bringing them with Him to the Cross. In this way we, "clothed in His grace" from His sacrifice, are able to love without ceasing. Our challenge comes in knowing how we need to purify ourselves to be receptive to His grace. And then doing it!

Happy Palm Sunday!

PS: Don't leave all the palm strings all over the pews; it's a sacristan's nightmare!

The Truth about Holiness

In light of  several factors (not the least of which is the thirty or so guests we are entertaining this weekend!) I have decided to forgo my own thoughts for a man of greater repute.

 Let these words penetrate deeply into your heart- they capture the truth of our lives as members of Christ's body. Have blessed day!

"The goal I am putting before you, or rather that God has marked out for us all, is no illusory or unattainable ideal. I could quote you many specific examples of ordinary men and women, just like you and me who have met Jesus passing by, hidden as it were, at what appeared to be a quite ordinary crossroads in their lives, and have decided to follow him, lovingly embracing their daily cross. In this age of ours, an age of generalized decay, of compromise and discouragement, and also of license and anarchy, I think it is more important than ever to hold on to that simple yet profound conviction which I had when I began my priestly work and have held ever since, and which has given me a burning desire to tell all mankind that "these world crises are crises of saints."

Interior Life. We need it, if we are to answer the call that the Master has made to each and everyone of us. We have to become saint, as they say in my part of the world, "down to our finger tips," Christians who are truly and genuinely such, the kind that could be canonized. If not, we shall have failed as disciples of the one and only Master. 

Some of you might think I am referring only to a select few. don't let the promptings of cowardice or easygoing ways deceive you so easily. Feel, instead, God urging each one of you one to become another Christ, ipse Christus. To put it simply, God is urging us to make our actions consistent with the demands of our faith. Four our sanctity, the holiness we should be striving for is not a second-class sanctity. There is no such thing. The main thing we are asked to do, which is so much in keeping with out nature, is to love: "charity is the bond of perfection;" a charity that is to be practiced exactly as our Lord himself commands: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with they whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with they whole mind," holding back nothing of ourselves. That is what sanctity is all about.  

Certainly our goal is both lofty and difficult to attain. But please do not forget that people are not born holy. Holiness is forged through a constant interplay of God's grace and the correspondence of man. As one of the early Christian writers says, referring to union with God, "Everything that grows begins small. It is b y constant and progressive feeding that it gradually grows big." So I say to you, if you want to become a thorough-going Christian- and I know you are willing, even though you often find it difficult to conquer yourself or to keep climbing upwards with this poor body of ours- then you will have to be very attentive to the minutest details, for the holiness that our Lord demands of you is to be achieved by carrying out with love of God your work and your daily duties, and these will almost always consist of small realities."

-Saint Jose Maria Escrivá 

  Friends of God

N.B. -- This is not exactly the Opus Dei of Dan Brown, is it?  ;-)

First Friday

In a humble convent in France in the summer of 1674 a poor little sister of the Visitation received a visit from her most intimate Love. He revealed to her His Sacred Heart, saying: 

"Behold this Heart, which has loved men so much, that it has spared nothing, even to exhausting and consuming itself, in order to testify to them its love." 

Her name was Sr. Margaret Mary, and this was but one of the many times that her little soul was blessed and visited by Jesus, and it was through these revelations that we received that most glorious of devotions and images: The Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Within this one devotion is captured the fullness of Divine Love. Jesus, by taking on Flesh, became for us the living Icon of the God who rests in Darkness. He was the image of the invisible God, who became a physical representation of He whose name, as He told Moses from the Burning Bush, is Being- I am Who Am. (Ex. 3:14) This God who for so long had been hidden in darkness, whose glory is so great that man was unable to look at His face, -became a man like us. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the virginal womb of Mary, and in that silence the God-Man was formed.

 Just like any other human person, he began as only the smallest of cells- the beginning of Human Life. And within she who is most blessed of all women He grew- a tiny person with little arms, legs, head, brain, and undoubtably, a little heart. A tiny little heart that started beating after only five weeks, just like ours did. Yet, this heart, the Sacred Heart, was already burning with Divine Love. With every beat it pumped His most precious blood throughout the tiny veins and arteries of His body. How amazing are the ways of God! The fullness of Divine Charity- the God who is LOVE -contained in the little heart of a fetus only five weeks old in His mothers womb. 

Let us fast forward in time some thirty years, to that day which we will remember in but a week's time. It is this same child- the son of Mary- whom we saw in the manger of Bethlehem, but the peace of that scene is gone. His precious blood has been split all upon the streets of Jerusalem- the scourging, the Crown of Thorns, the weight of the Cross- accepted without a complaint as He mounts the hill of Calvary. His precious hands and feet- which were smaller than a tear drop in his Mothers Womb- are now pierced with the iron of the nails. His broken body nailed to the Cross for our redemption- our Sacrificial Victim. And after he dies, having begged Mercy for his murderers and with his Spirit commended to the Father, the solider takes the spear and pierces his side. The sharp lance cuts through flesh, and bone, and blood until it reaches that core of Life- the Heart. Out flow blood and water- what will be the spring from which the Church's sacraments draws their power. His Sacred Heart, the physical image and seat of the Divine Love, pierced and poured out for you, and for me. 

It is this Sacred Heart that Jesus showed to that humble sister 400 years ago. He asked her to spread a devotion to His Heart. So that all Humanity might know of his Divine Love and Mercy, and that we might come to love Him more who has love us so much. The sign of devotion that he asked of Her was that souls might dedicate the First Friday of each month to His Sacred Heart. He asked her to make a Holy Hour each First Friday- to spend it before the His Sacred Heart - truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. But, this was not just an invitation for her, but it was an invitation and calling for all of us, for the whole world! Jesus' Sacred Heart yearns to love us, and to be loved by us. He wants to pour out his loving graces, and consolations on us. He also wants to purify us- and the more fully we entrust our lives to his Sacred Heart the more his burning furnace of divine Charity will burn away our impurities. Making us into perfect sons and daughters of the Father- sharers in His Divine Life.

On this First Friday of April, as the Holiest Week of the year draws near let us take the time to love Jesus, and to rest in His love. He wants us to rest, like the Apostle John at the Last Supper, with our heads upon his Chest, to listen to the beating of the Sacred Heart- the seat of Divine Love, and to let that love transform us. 

Let us consecrate all of our lives to his Sacred Heart in the words that He gave to Saint Margaret Mary:

Act of Consecration to the Sacred Heart

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, to Thee I consecrate and offer up my person and my life, my actions, trials, and sufferings, that my entire being may henceforth only be employed in loving, honoring and glorifying Thee. This is my irrevocable will, to belong entirely to Thee, and to do all for Thy love, renouncing with my whole heart all that can displease Thee.

I take Thee, O Sacred Heart, for the sole object of my love, the protection of my life, the pledge of my salvation, the remedy of my frailty and inconstancy, the reparation for all the defects of my life, and my secure refuge at the hour of my death. Be Thou, O Most Merciful Heart, my justification before God Thy Father, and screen me from His anger which I have so justly merited. I fear all from my own weakness and malice, but placing my entire confidence in Thee, O Heart of Love, I hope all from Thine infinite Goodness. Annihilate in me all that can displease or resist Thee. Imprint Thy pure love so deeply in my heart that I may never forget Thee or be separated from Thee.

I beseech Thee, through Thine infinite Goodness, grant that my name be engraved upon Thy Heart, for in this I place all my happiness and all my glory, to live and to die as one of Thy devoted servants. Amen.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Make our hearts like unto Thine!

To a Concerned Parent...

After 90 days in Honduras, my VISA was finally up last week. That would have been fine if I had not intended to stay in Honduras until the end of May. The only way I could renew it was to leave the country (more specifically the Central American block)--every mother's dream. I put Jesuit networking to the task and made this international inconvenience into an adventurous opportunity. Thanks to technology I shot a quick email to my brother novice currently stationed in southern Belize, telling him to get a room ready "'cause I'm comin' over for dinner!"

Boy, what a trip: a couple of very stuffed bus rides, a quick scurry through Guatemala, and a bumpy boat ride through the Bay of Honduras. By 3pm my brother novice and I were sitting on a wooden veranda connected to the local parish's rectory, catching the ocean breeze, overlooking the Caribbean sea, and sipping some local Belizian beer. (The life of a missionary isn't all struggle).

I ended up spending four full days visiting all sorts of villages, convents, and cultural events. Most nights we went along the sea front two homes away to where the four International Jesuit Volunteers lived. The Jesuit volunteers, or JVI's, are a group of mostly recent US college graduates who volunteer to work two full years at a Jesuit apostolate throughout the world. Not quiet sure what they want to do with their lives yet, many JVI's end up doing the program because they want to figure things out, give back some of the gifts they have been given, experience a new culture, and do it all in the context of faith.

The four JVI's living in southern Belize were full of life, kindness, and generosity. Moreover, I was struck at the jobs they were in charge of, the context in which they worked, and they age at which they were doing them. All four were younger than 25. I couldn't believe that people so young could give up their home culture, friends, and families and wander for two years into the unknown. Didn't they miss their families? Didn't they want to get a head start on a career? Didn't they want a Big Mac?

Almost blind the first couple of days to my own situation, it eventually hit me that I was in the same boat as them. Young, away from home, and in a very different culture. I began to ask myself, what is it that keeps me, Jesuits, volunteers, seminarians, and missionaries going on when they are so far removed from "the norm?" What keeps our vocations running?

Family. More than anything, support from parents, siblings can keep a person at work far off in the field from feeling he's lost. They may go a very long time without seeing each other, but I firmly believe nothing can surpass the support of family. Emails, letters, drawings, and most of all, prayers feed the far off worker. The farther along a person goes in his or her calling to serve the Lord, the more and more he begins to depend on the basics: love, faith, and hope. Other things like new clothes, a trip to Starbucks, and iPods begin to mean less and less. In their stead, the love of family, coworkers, and those they serve fill their hearts.

I am amazed at the men and women who spend a few years volunteering, join religious life, or take the "less desirable" career to follow their vocation even though their family doesn't support them. It breaks my heart to know that parents and siblings many times don't support their son or daughter, brother or sister, to answer the call. It may be risky, but it's the most joyous life there is. I think the best things we can do as Catholics for the sake of our Church and world is to support one another, to love our neighbors as ourselves. I learned well from my parents that first and foremost, you do what God asks of you--that is how you find love. His call may seem odd, and you may not recognize it at first, but when you hear God's call, follow it and grow in it. Let God's call mold your character. There could have been many reasons why my parents may have wanted lead me somewhere else, but they didn't. They let God lead and have supported me all along the way.

I would like to say a big thank you to all the parents, siblings, and friends who have supported a volunteer, nun, brother, and priest in exploring their vocation in the service of God and the Church. A special big thank you to my parents, siblings, and friends.

To the JVI's who may be reading, keep rockin' onward. Thanks for the stuffed green peppers and good music. Oh, and to the concerned parent, don't worry. I have made it back safe and sound back to Honduras with everything intact and my VISA renewed!

FOOLS!

Happy April Fools Day, everyone! This day has a special place in my family...

On this day in 1994 my family moved into a new house. We put our old house on the market in September of '93; it sold two weeks later, which meant we would have to move into a nearby apartment until the work on our new house was done. After suffering through two children with Chicken Pox, their own bouts of stomach flu, and an overall sense of cabin fever, my parents couldn't wait to get us out of the apartment and into the house. Of course there were foundational problems and the signing date was pushed back to April 1, Good Friday.

I vividly remember driving to the housing place and waiting patiently while my mom and dad went to sign the final papers on the house. They were both in business attire that Friday morning and were ready to commit to a 30-year payment on their brand new abode. We were really excited to be moving in, even if we didn't have grass in the yard. Clumps of dirt seemed far more appealing than another night in our apartment...

Everything was all set to go, including the movers with all our belongings. My parents had made sure that we could take occupancy of the house far in advance; they really wanted to be somewhat settled in time for Easter Sunday. They just wanted the past year of stress, including my grandma's death, to be past them.

I guess that's why my parents didn't like the practical joke the housing people pulled as they signed the papers to close on the house: "And this one says you agree not to take occupancy for two weeks..."

WHAT?!

....April Fools!....

My parents chuckled a little bit and finished signing. 

Perhaps April Fools wasn't exactly what St. Paul meant when he wrote to the Corinthians, that we need to be "Fools for Christ" (4:10). It doesn't mean we should go around pranking each other incessantly, but we do in fact appear foolish to others, for the Christian life does in fact appear to be ridiculous to secular onlookers. "Those fools!" they jest. "Why are they protesting the president speaking at some university?" Or, "celibacy? That's unnatural, not to mention just plain bizarre!" We may look like fools, but we've certainly got them wondering about this whole "Catholic thing."

And why can't this foolishness have a hint of tomfoolery attached? Seminarians in particular love this day; practical jokes have little or no repercussions--they're signs of the joy with which we lead our lives, all for Christ. While my parents weren't amused with the housing people for their prank, that type of light-heartedness counteracts the bitterness and cynicism which plague our society. The same goes for the Church; I don't think Jesus began one of the Beatitudes with "Blessed are frumpy..."

So, be fools for Christ! Enough said.