MASS READINGS AND MEDITATION | JULY 16, 2020

“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)

THURSDAY, JULY 16^TH Mt. 11:28-30   Our Lady of Mount Carmel  “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

• St. Augustine says the heaviest burdens that men carry are their sins. Every confession is a liberation! For sins – even venial sins – are a wearisome burden. We come away from the Sacrament of Confession strengthened, energized, and ready to enter the battle again. Nunc Coepi… now I begin… as often as necessary!
• Confession is likely the most misunderstood and under-utilized Sacrament! In reality, it is a powerhouse of graces and growth in holiness if used properly!
• Frequent confession with a regular confessor – every two weeks, if possible, or at least once a month! Prepare properly! Use a good examination of conscience booklet for mortal and venial sins. Write down your sins and bring your list with you. Express to God deep remorse for your sins and a firm purpose of amendment! All this before you step foot in the confessional!
• Now you are ready to enter the confessional and express your sins to the priest. “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been (amount of time) since my last confession and these are my sins.” You have the choice of confessing behind the screen or face to face with the priest. The priest may give you counsel, after which he will give you some form of penance. Then these wonderful words of Absolution – “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” One last and necessary step to make a good Confession – carry out the penance the priest gave you as soon as possible. Show God your good will by doubling the penance! Rejoice in the freedom of the sons and daughters of God!
• CCC 1456. “All mortal sins, of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious, must be recounted by them in confession” and by kind and by number. The kind relates mostly to the sixth and ninth commandments when we have to be specific about what sin was committed, as well as how many times. The Catechism goes on to say that even though it is not strictly necessary, confession of venial sins is strongly recommended. Don’t kid yourself! These so called minor sins are major stumbling blocks in our growth in virtue!
• We cannot stress enough the importance of frequent confession – every 2 to 3 weeks, a month at the most – to confess our mortal and venial sins to a regular confessor! Both our confessor and we ourselves will know when we are confessing the same sins over and over, which indicates a weak purpose of amendment. Our Confessor can counsel us on ways to overcome these pitfalls in our spiritual life!
• That being said, there may be times when we are confessing the same deeply rooted venial or mortal sins over and over again but with this significant and essential difference – over time we find we are committing them with less and less frequency. This is called the principle of graduality. Deeply ingrained sins can only be overcome by this painstaking and deliberate weeding out. It requires persistence and a determined determination to give up sin! The support, encouragement, and prayers of a regular confessor in this process is essential!
• Sometimes the Holy Spirit will give us deeper sorrow for a past sin already confessed and forgiven but that is weighing heavy on our heart due to deeper awareness of how this sin offended God, hurt us, and hurt others. This is called a “devotional confession.” It is a confession of love and can earn us many graces, as well as take time off Purgatory!
• GRACES OF CONFESSION… Now Let us appreciate the MANY GRACES that flow from the Sacrament of Confession, the Sacrament of God’s Mercy!!!
• Mortal sin separates us from God and from receiving Holy Communion. Confessing all our mortal sins to the priest in Confession restores us to sanctifying grace and intimate friendship with God, enabling us to once again receive Jesus in Holy Communion!
• A good Confession reconciles us with the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, wounded and weakened by our sins.
• Confession gives peace to our conscience and fills us with spiritual consolation.
• Confession removes some of the temporal punishment due to our sins according to the sincerity of our remorse and the penance the priest gives. Every sin entails an improper attachment of one kind or another which must be purified here on earth or after death in Purgatory. 
• Our improper attachments are also purified through prayer, works of mercy, self-denial for love of God and neighbor, and above all, through patient acceptance of the crosses God permits to visit us. Saint Therese says we should beg to suffer reparation for our sins here, so we can go straight to heaven when we die!  
• Confession weakens the hold of the seven capital sins in our soul and strengthens us to fight against temptations. Note: the seven capital sins are not actual sins but strong tendencies to sin that become actual sins when we consent to them in our heart, mind, or body.
• Confession fosters humility by reminding us of our utter dependence on the grace of God to say NO to sin and lead a virtuous life.
• Confession renders our conscience more refined, more delicate. We become aware of our sins sooner and they burn our soul until we find relief in confessing them.
• Confession increases our abhorrence of sin and our love for God helping us to recognize and avoid near occasions of sin.
• Confession brings healing of our intellect, memory, and will from the effects of our past sins.
• Confession purifies our soul so that we can see God more clearly… “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.”
• Confession teaches us to be merciful as the Heavenly Father is merciful!
• Today, let us beg for the grace to make frequent and fervent confessions with a regular confessor so our good God can begin to transform our heart and our life.
• Lastly, before entering the confessional pray for the priest, thank God for him and for his priesthood. Then ask your Guardian Angel to talk to your confessor’s Guardian Angel so that you and the priest will understand each other, and you’ll obtain all the graces God wants to shower upon you.
• St. Augustine says, “The beginning of good works is the confession of evil works. Destroy what you have made, so that God may save what He has made!”

Today let us not forget the celebration of the beautiful Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It  is Our Lady who leads us to the cleansing and healing waters of Confession through the prompting of the Holy Spirit! So that we may be purified by her Son and made worthy of our dignity as sons and daughters of the Father!

Reflection on Our Lady of Mount Carmel… by Saint Pope John Paul II

In Carmel and in every soul moved by tender affection for the Blessed Virgin and Mother, there has thrived a contemplation of her who from the beginning knew how to open herself to hearing God’s Word and to obeying His will. For Mary, taught and formed by the Spirit, was able by faith to understand her own history and, docile to the divine promptings, “advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross, where she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with her Only-begotten Son the intensity of His suffering and associating herself with His sacrifice in her mother’s heart” (Lumen Gentium).

This intense Marian life, which is expressed in trusting prayer, enthusiastic praise, and diligent imitation, enables us to understand how the most genuine form of devotion to the Blessed Virgin, expressed by the humble sign of the scapular, is consecration to her Immaculate Heart. In this way, the heart grows in communion and familiarity with the Blessed Virgin, as a new way of living for God and of continuing here on earth the love of Jesus the Son for His Mother Mary. 

Thus, as the blessed Carmelite martyr Titus Brandsma expressed it, we are put in profound harmony with Mary the Theotokos and become, like her, transmitters of divine life: “The Lord also sends His angel to us… we too must accept God in our hearts, carry Him in our hearts, nourish Him and make Him grow in us so that He is born of us and lives with us as the God-with-us, Emmanuel.”

Over time this rich Marian heritage of Carmel has become, through the spread of the holy scapular devotion, a treasure for the whole Church. By its simplicity, its anthropological value, and its relationship to Mary’s role in regard to the Church and humanity, this devotion was so deeply and widely accepted by the People of God that it came to be expressed in the memorial of July 16^th on the liturgical calendar of the universal Church.

End of Reflection by Saint John Paul II (+2005)

Wear the Brown Scapular, the Garment of Grace, at all times and pray this Consecration Prayer to Mary every morning:

Mary, my Queen and my Mother, I give myself wholly to you. To show my devotion to you, I consecrate to you this day my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, my entire being without reserve. Since I am your own dear Mother, keep me and guard me as your property and possession. Amen.

You may also do or renew your Consecration to Jesus through Mary using Father Ed Broom’s Book: “Total Consecration through the Mysteries of the Rosary.” (Tan Books) Your daily Holy Hour will be the daily meditations in the Book over 5 weeks (the four different Mysteries of the Rosary and The Seven Sorrows of Mary).