“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
WEDNESDAY, August 25th Mt. 23: 27-32 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.”
- Today, in contrast to the Pharisees, we will meditate on what is beautiful. We will consider the beauty of Jesus Christ, God become man for our eternal salvation!
Part 1:
The Beauty of Holiness… by Dietrich von Hildebrand (+1977)
When we are profoundly affected by the beauty of purity, or when we speak of the beauty acquired by a soul through humility, we are concentrating on a radiance of the inner quality of these virtues… this beauty is the foundation of love. The divine beauty of Jesus, the beauty of the Saint of all saints, inflames our heart. It shone resplendent on the Apostles on Tabor; the beauty of his divine mercy melted the heart of Mary Magdalen. The irresistible divine beauty of Jesus not only moves our will, but attracts our heart.
Part 2 Intro by editor:
In Sinu Jesu was written primarily for priests. However, in the introduction, the priest-monk invites those laity who feel called, to enter into deeper union with our Eucharistic Lord by reading these words of Jesus spoken to them, and then enter into a communion of prayer for priests. Monk: I have been repeatedly told by Our Lord Himself that His words are meant for the blessing, instruction, and comfort of many Christians today, above all, His beloved priests.
Part 2:
IN SINU JESU: WHEN HEART SPEAKS TO HEART! (Journal of a priest at prayer/a Benedictine monk) by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
Writing as a priest for more than 33 years, and being also a Religious priest consecrated and given to Jesus through the Blessed Virgin Mary, I honestly believe that if priests can find time to read, meditate and pray over the book In Sinu Jesus, their lives will be transformed.
In this brief article we will highlight the essential points and messages in this text with the purpose of encouraging priests—myself included—to fall in love with their priesthood by falling in love with our Model, Friend, and Guide, Jesus the High Priest and Savior of the world.
Incidentally, this book can of course be read and prayed over by lay-people—married people or any person of good-will. The net result will be deeper friendship with Jesus, as well as a greater love and understanding for the Catholic Church and the essential role that priests play in the building up of the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church, the Universal Sacrament of salvation.
To facilitate the reading of this article, I will highlight ten of the most salient messages contained in this modern spiritual gem. May you treasure them and find a place for them in the depths of your heart.
1. FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS. At the Last Supper, which was the first Mass, on Holy Thursday in the Cenacle or the Upper Room, Jesus left us His Last Supper Discourse—Jn. Chap 13-17. Among the sublime words of truth that issued from the Sacred Heart of Jesus were these simple words: “I call you FRIENDS…” A priest must be firmly convinced of Jesus’ ardent desire to enter into a friendship with him that is dynamic and strong—that is to say, that will grow stronger as the days, weeks and years transpire. The priest is never alone because Jesus is at his side as his Best Friend. In Spanish, “El Amigo que nunca fall…” — The Friend that never fails!
2. FREQUENT VISITS AND CONVERSATIONS. A true friendship cannot subsist if there is little to no contact between the friends. Therefore, the priest should have an earnest yearning and longing to spend time, in quality as well as length, with Jesus. In the words of the Psalmist: “As the deer yearns for the running streams so my soul yearns for you, O Lord my God.” (Psalm 42:1)
3. PRIVILEGED PLACE OF ENCOUNTER: THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. True friends seek out propitious places for encounter. In this encounter between the priest and his Friend Jesus, the best place is in Church in front of the Blessed Sacrament, if exposed so much the better. As the text repeats time and time again, the priest will find consolation, light, peace and strength contemplating the Eucharistic Face of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Indeed, prayer is a Face to Face and Heart to Heart encounter and dialogue with Jesus.
4. ADORATION. Jesus earnestly yearns for priests who will come to adore Him. Friendship with Jesus must be ardent, frequent and dynamic. However, we should never be oblivious to the fact that Jesus also is God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. As such He merits sublime praise, glory and adoration. Two very appropriate short Eucharistic prayers are: “O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine” and “O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.”
5. THANK HIM. Given that Jesus has given us so much, all that we are and all that we have, what necessarily flows is an attitude of gratitude, the urgent need to thank the Lord Jesus. Everything, except our sins which we have willfully chosen, are gratuitous gifts that Jesus has given to us. In the words of the Greek poet by Saint Paul in the Acts of the Apostles, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) By the way, the word Eucharist actually means thanksgiving. A grateful heart overflowing with noble sentiments of thanksgiving is very pleasing to God and is preparing the terrain for future abundant blessings.
6. REPARATION. Unfortunately, within the Church, and sad to say even within the priesthood there exists at times, coldness, apathy, indifference and lukewarmness. Jesus came to cast fire on the earth, the fire of His love for the salvation of immortal souls. However, all too many hearts are both cold and indifferent. Many years ago, when the Sacred Heart appeared to Saint Margaret Mary Aloqoque in Paray le Monial convent in France, Jesus complained, displaying His Sacred Heart from which flared out fire: “Behold the Heart that has loved so much and receives only ingratitude and indifference in return. Console my Heart.” A true priest friend of Jesus will be drawn magnetically to the Tabernacle, to the Eucharistic Lord, and there to offer prayers of sorrow, contrition, and reparation for such widespread coldness and indifference, sometimes even among the ranks of the clergy!
7. CAST YOUR CARES UPON THE LORD, HE CARES FOR YOU. These words are taken from one of the Letters of the Apostle Saint Peter. We all have problems, some of us many, and at times very heavy ones. An essential part of true Friendship with Jesus is the honest and humble acknowledgment to Jesus that we have problems weighing down upon us. Jesus longs for us to tell Him about these problems; moreover, He desires to help us with them. When kept to ourselves, these problems result in depression and deep sadness. May we take these words of Jesus to heart: “Come to me all of you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mt. 11: 28-30) A problem shared is a problem halved.
8. TEMPTATIONS AND MORAL FAILURES—SINS! According to Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen the most important title that can be given to Jesus is that of Savior. In other words, the primary reason for the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery—the Passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus—was to save us from our sins and eternal death. For priests to be truly good confessors to their penitents, they must first be good penitents and experience the infinite mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In Sinu Jesu invites the priest to strive to go to Confession to another priest on a weekly basis so as to cultivate delicacy of conscience and purity of heart! St. Paul’s words have immense encouragement: “Where sin abounds the grace of God abounds all the more.” (Rom 5:20)
9. LOVE FOR THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. Of course the highest form of prayer that a priest can offer is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In this most sublime and august Sacrament, the priest unites himself most intimately with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Mystery of His Paschal Mystery, in Jesus’ Passion, death and Resurrection. All the fruits of Calvary that first Good Friday become a reality in every Mass that is celebrated. Upon receiving Holy Communion, the priest receives the total Jesus—His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. And in all truth, the priest receives a Spiritual-Heart transplant in every Mass and Holy Communion. How great is our God and how loving He is to us His children!
10. MARY, THE LOVING MOTHER OF PRIESTS. In Sinu Jesu is replete with abundant references to the relationship between the priest and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The priest must get to know Mary, talk to Mary, confide in Mary, seek consolation and comfort in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, entrust and consecrate his life and priesthood to Mary, and love Mary as his most tender and loving Mother, our life, our sweetness and our hope. (The Hail Holy Queen). For this reason, the Lord Jesus wants all priests to strive to imitate the beloved Apostle and Disciple Saint John, as depicted on the front cover of In Sinu Jesu. Indeed, it was to Saint John that Jesus entrusted His Mother Mary as He hung on the cross: “When Jesus saw His Mother there whom He loved, he said to His Mother, Woman, Behold your son. Then He said to the disciple, Behold your Mother. And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.” (Jn. 19: 26-27) Every priest must, in imitation of Saint John, have a filial and tender love for Mary, the Mother of all priests. In the midst of the sorrows, trials, sufferings and dark clouds in the life of the priest, Mary is the Morning Star, the Star of the Sea, the Mystical Rose, the Glimmer of Hope, the True Gate and Ladder to Heaven.
In conclusion, we invite all priests and lay-people to purchase, read, meditate upon and pray with the inspiring IN SINU JESU. We encourage all lay people to pray for priests, support priests, encourage priests, offer sacrifices for priests, and love your priests. The love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus passes through the heart of the priest!
