Fr. Ed Broom, OMV Oblates of the Virgin Mary

Catholic Ignatian Marian Spirituality

SECRET TO PEACE OF MIND, HEART, AND SOUL.

 

That first Easter Sunday night Jesus appeared to the Apostles, hidden in the Upper Room, and breathed on them the Holy Spirit and said:  “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive will be forgiven and whose sins you hold bound shall be held bound.”(Jn. 20:21-23)
At this precise moment Jesus was instituting the Sacrament of Confession, giving ordained priests the power to forgive sins in His name. How exceedingly grateful we should be for the Easter Gift that the Lord Jesus gave to the Church and for its individual members.
We would like to encourage all to take advantage of this infinite ocean of God’s mercy by frequenting this Sacrament often, with an excellent preparation and with a limitless trust in His Infinite mercy. 
We will offer five wonderful effects that the Sacrament of Confession can produce in your tired and weary soul. Jesus invites you to come.  “Come to me all you who labor 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 your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”(Mt. 11:28-30)

SANCTIFYING GRACE.   By making a good sacramental confession, Jesus forgives mortal sins, through the person of the priest, and the state of sanctifying grace is restored to the soul.  Once again the soul is alive!

HUMILITY.   To examine one’s conscience, come to terms with his misery and dark shadows, to repent and then to go to the priest and sincerely open up one’s heart demands courage and much humility. But God loves the humble of heart.

SELF-KNOWLEDGE.  By approaching the Sacrament of God’s mercy, after a thorough examination of conscience, and a humble expression of  our sins to the priest, we arrive at greater self-knowledge. We get to know what makes our inner clock tick; we get to know our strong points, but we also get to know our own “Kryptonite”— that is to say, our own weakness. With this self-knowledge, we can avoid future moral pitfalls. Historians are well aware of this maxim:  “He who does not know history is condemned to repeat the same errors.”  With respect to
our spiritual life, if we do not know why, when, the reasons behind our falling in to sins, we are more than likely to fall into them again.  This is the vicious cycle of repeating the same sins ad-infinitum!

BETTER HOLY COMMUNIONS!  Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who encourages the making of a General Confession, also makes this observation. After making a good general confession, the individual is much more inclined to receiving Holy Communion with a much better disposition. An analogy!  You clean your windows with WINDEX. Notice now how the sunlight will enter and inundate your room much more. Why?  The reason is simple: the window is crystal clear. The sun has nothing to prevent it from penetrating and inundating the room to the fullest possible extent! Therefore, the  purer the soul, the more abundant the light of God’s grace!

PEACE OF HEART, MIND AND SOUL.  In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Lady Macbeth was not at peace and had to wash her hands over and over. This was symbolic of the cleansing of her conscience. Many people today live nervous, stressed out, tense, discouraged and depressed. Worse yet, they do not even know the reason for this anguished state of soul. The reason is simple and one word: SIN! Unconfessed sin that lodges in the depths of the heart, and torments the conscience takes away inner peace.  Why not today pursue this inner peace by making a good sacramental Confession. The words of dismissal from the priest are most encouraging: “Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace!”

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THE TWO WORSE THINGS IN THE UNIVERSE!!!

 

If you step on a rusty nail, you extract the nail and go to the Doctor for a tetanus shot. You make sure the garbage is taken out and disposed every week. How many of us would go a week without taking a shower or bath? If your little daughter accidentally drank poison you would call the Paramedics and rush her to the hospital for a stomach-pump! Even something as simple as a dust particle in the eye we remove instantaneously! We are keenly aware of our bodily needs especially in moments of suffering or sickness. What about our soul?
How many commit a mortal sin (or many mortal sins) and nothing is done to remove this mortal spiritual sickness? Mortal sin kills the life of grace in our soul. Pope John Paul II called it moral suicide!
The two worse things that could befall us would be to commit a mortal sin, but there is something even worse than committing a mortal sin and it is dying in the state of mortal sin. If this happens we lose our immortal soul for all eternity!
Those who commit mortal sins and purposely postpone, procrastinate and put off for tomorrow repentance, conversion and confession are committing another sin— the sin of presumption. Presumption means that we presume on God’s grace that He is so loving and kind and patient that He will always give us many more chances and will wait for us forever.  Wrong!
We know neither the day nor the hour that the Lord will knock at the door of our hearts and ask us a reckoning for our lives. He will come to judge the living and the dead.  He will come like a thief in the night; at the hour that we least expect!
If we are in mortal sin, we should never put off our conversion, but immediately turn to the Lord, repent, trust in His infinite mercy, confess, return to the state of grace and strive with all of the energy in our hearts to be faithful to the Lord and guard our souls against the three enemies: the world, the flesh and the devil!
Let us turn to Mary, Mother of mercy, to help us to fight against sin, treasure living in the state of grace and hope in heaven. Mary, mother of God pray for us!
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SINNING BY WAY OF OMISSION! NOT DOING WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING!

Every time a Catholic priest celebrates the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, after greeting the people, he introduces them into an examination of conscience. Everybody, the priest included, should enter into the inner recesses of his heart, discover his sins, and then confess publically that he/she is a sinner.
The Liturgy offers a variety of penitential expressions. However, possibly the most well-known (composed by a repentant sinner who became a great saint, Saint Augustine) is the “Confiteor”—“I confess….
As the prayer continues we arrive at four different ways that we can sin and offend God: thought, word, deed, and omission. Bad thoughts not rejected can become sins; lies are against the truth and so we sin; stealing, we actively sin. Finally there is the sin of omission.
What does omission mean?  Simply this: failing to carry out the obligations that are imposed on us by our state of life.  Being negligent, overlooking responsibilities, cutting corners, choosing an easy path due to expedience, and let us cut to the quick— simply giving into 
sloth or laziness often results in sins of omission!
Due to a poorly formed conscience, all too frequently sins of omission are overlooked!   Pope Pius XII expressed the state of conscience in these penetrating words:  “The sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin.”  How many people, who call themselves “Catholic” today, will not even approach the confessional uttering these words: “I do not need to go to confession because I have no sins!”
Wrong!   Only Jesus, the Son of the living God and Mary His Immaculate Mother can honestly state that they are sinless from the moment of their conceptions until death.But as for the rest of humanity, we are born with Original Sin, have strong tendencies toward sin, do not resist these tendencies and fall into sin.   The Bible says:  “The just man falls seven times a day.” St. John in one of his letters reiterates this: 
“If we say we have no sin we are a liar and the truth of God is not in us.”  Words quite blunt and clear! 
The very name of Jesus expresses the primary purpose of His mission.  “Jesus” means God saves.  What did He come to save us from? SIN! He was born, lived, suffered and died on the cross and rose from the dead to save us from sin, the devil, and eternal damnation!
This being the case, what are some concrete ways that we may be guilty of falling into sin, specifically the sin of omission?   In this short article we will focus on the sin of omission related to our attitude and reception of the Sacraments.
One of the most painful thorns that must pierce the most Sacred Heart of Jesus is INDIFFERENCE!  How excruciatingly painful is the sin of
indifference!   The last book of the Bible,  Revelation/Apocalypse expresses how God views indifference.  “You are neither hot nor cold, I wish you were, but you are lukewarm. I will spit you out of my mouth.”  Powerful words!  How often in the modern world, and especially among Catholics, is Jesus forgotten, put on the back burner, and simply taken for granted?
Jesus said, “I have come to cast fire on the earth and I am not at peace until that fire be ignited.”  Lovers have passion for human love. Millionaires exert themselves to the last ounce of their strength to make money. Athletes train to the point of exhaustion. What about Catholics
who are called to follow Christ and pursue the pathway to holiness!   We should learn from these worldlings!
SACRAMENTS.  Let us start with the first of Sacraments in our life, that which is called the doorway to the church, the portal or entrance—the Sacrament of Baptism!
OBSERVATION AND COMMENTARY!  These would be the most common manifestations of negligence and omission on the part of parents that prepare to have their children baptized in the Church.
1.   UNMARRIED.  Most parents that come in to have their child baptized are not even married in the Catholic Church. Now you tell me!  How can parents that have chosen a sinful lifestyle of living in free-union or cohabitation teach their children the basics of the Catholic faith?  Even if they knew their faith better then Saint Thomas Aquinas, still their lifestyle contradicts the faith that they may profess with their lips.   There is a poignant Argentine proverb: “Escribir con la mano y borrar con el codo.”— “Write with your hand and erase with your elbow.” In other words, hypocrisy! How can you teach your faith with words if you contradict it with your lifestyle?
2.   NO MASS ATTENDANCE.  Not only do many fail to get married properly in the church, but they do not even make any effort to do the minimum and that is to attend Sunday Mass. True, living in free-union they cannot receive Holy Communion, but they should at least attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.

3.   BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.  Finally, with respect to negligence in the reception of the Sacrament of Baptism, more than ninety percent of those who baptize delay. The Church wants the child to be baptized within the first few weeks, before the month has transpired.   Priests in Parishes meet parents bringing their children from three months to five years!   Jesus said:  “Let the children come to me.”   Delaying the baptism of the child without sufficient reason could result in grave sin. Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Unless a man be born of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Very serious words of the Savior!  By delaying and denying baptism of the child all the following graces and blessings are lost: sonship with the Father, brotherhood with Jesus, friendship with the Holy Spirit, the elimination of Original Sin, the deprivation of the three theological virtues, the four moral virtues, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, future actual graces and inspirations, and even the liberation from the evil spirit!   All of these are lost because parents are
flippant, lazy, and nonchalant about baptizing their child in obedience to the teaching of the Church.   Pope Benedict was born
Holy Saturday in Germany 1927 and was baptized the same night at the Easter vigil Mass—the first to be baptized. Superb example!

THE URGENT CALL FOR ADULT EDUCATION!

 

Working in a Parish context for more than a quarter of a century I make these observations.   All of these reflect an urgent need for evangelization, education, and permanent formation, especially on the level of the adults.
Children are catechized to make their first Holy Communion. The teens come to classes for Confirmation, the sick are anointed, they die and are buried. But what about the huge class of individuals that we call  ADULTS????
Unfortunately, after first Communion and Confirmation, and these formation classes, almost across the board, no more doctrinal formation is given on the adult level.  This must change and as soon as possible!
PROPOSAL!  Adult formation classes for parents who register their children for first  Communion and Confirmation should be given, but with solid doctrinal, and moral content. Let us pray that parishes will offer— better than offer require — that parents must attend ongoing formation classes accompanying their children who prepare to receive their sacraments.
Many parents have never learned or have forgotten that they are the primary educators of their children.  The priests, the nuns, the catechists indeed can help in the formation of the child or teen, but it is the primary responsibility of the parents to teach their children about God. Parents must be the first educators.  The primary responsibility of the parents is to prepare and pave the road to heaven for their children.
So let us beg the Lord mercy for our negligence, our failures due to sloth or laziness and our sins of omission and starting right now propose to be a blazing light for our children always pointing to Jesus  who is the Light of the world.
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TELLING THE TRUTH IN ALL TIMES AND PLACES!

 

Jesus reminds us of a key aspect to living our faith to the full: to be faithful to the small things.  The Master states clearly:  “He who is faithful in small things will be faithful in the large.  He who is unfaithful in the small will be unfaithful in the large.”(Lk. 16:10)
In this short essay we would like to call to mind practical ways that we can easily fail in the small areas. To rationalize and justify or intellectualize our faults (even our little lies) comes easy. Why?   The world that surrounds us often does not think twice about cutting corners, being devious, and simply in lying. Also, Jesus gives the devil many names and one of these is “The Father of lies”.
So, let us dive in to the mud so that we can come out clean by coming to terms with actions, words, or gestures that do not harmonize with the call to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Christian means to be a follower of Christ. St. Paul goes so far as to say that we are “Ambassadors of Christ.”
WHITE LIES. A very revealing comic strip of Charlie Brown shows him talking to Lucy about lying.  Charlie says: “Lucy it is only a white lie!”  Lucy retorts quickly: “Charlie, I did not know that lies come in colors!” How often has it happened that possibly your child answered the phone and the call was for you and you told your child to state simply that you were not at home! “Tell her I am not at home now!” How common and ordinary this is! But let us step back and objectively analyze through the divine perspective this simple action! Let us see how much damage has been done, even though we sweep it beneath the rug with no scruple whatsoever!
First, the child was morally damaged by the parent. Parents must be the first teachers of their children in the realm of faith. Instead of teaching the child honesty, lies and dishonesty are being taught. No surprise if in the future this child is transformed into a chronic liar.
Second, the mother/father that told the lie has hurt himself. Lying is a sin against the eighth commandment: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”  Sin in any size, color, shape or form always damages the sinner and all too often many others!  Blessed Pope John Paul II calls sin “Moral suicide”. As poison can kill the body; so sin is poison that can kill the soul!
Third, who else is hurt?  The person that was lied to is also damaged. Lies often become revealed. Jesus says that all that is hidden will be brought to light. If not in this life then definitely on the Day of Judgment. Jesus said that all the words that come out of the mouth will be judged; we will have to render an account! Even if this lie is not revealed there is damage done. To live in harmony, peace and honesty in our social relationships, lies must be overcome. 
Fourth, the purpose and end of speech is frustrated! God created all things for a purpose.  A bird is made by God to fly in the air. Fishes are created to populate the sea and to swim freely.  Man was created to know, love and serve God in this life so as to be with Him forever. 
The purpose of speech is to communicate the  truth   with love! People will no longer trust each other if we live constantly in a “Culture of lies”.
Fifth, the devil rejoices!  Jesus often makes strong statements.  One of these is that “the devil is a liar from the beginning. He is the father of lies.”  This we see as he lies to Eve in the Garden seducing her to eat from the forbidden fruit. A Protestant Pastor once asserted with energy against lying using these words: “Jesus called the devil the father of lies. So if we lie the devil is our father and we are sons of the devil.”  Pretty strong stuff! Makes you stop to think twice before falling in to the all-too-common white lie!

Sixth, God is hurt! Pope John Paul II said in his Apostolic Exhortation “Reconciliation and Penance” that sin has five effects: theological, social, personal, ecclesial, and cosmic. First and foremost sin is theological—that means, it hurts God. The Baltimore Catechism depicts mortal sin pictorially as a boy with hammer and nail in hand, nailing Jesus to the cross!  On the back of the boy’s sweat-shirt is written SIN!  A picture is worth more than a thousand words!
 
So when we succumb  to the lie, we actually hurt God.  There are many names for Jesus. On one occasion He gave three names for Himself at the same time:  “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen offers us a very personalistic definition of sin: “Sin is hurting the one you love.”

So what should you do next time the phone rings and the call is for you and your little son or daughter answers the phone and you find yourself simply too busy to tend to the call? Be honest and truthful! This could be the best and most honest response: “Honey, tell her I
am very busy and will try to call her a little later!”  Excellent!  The response is true, simple, transparent, honest and charitable. By this the child is being taught honesty by the first teacher—the mother or father!
Jesus said that He came to set captives free. To lie is to be bound up in slavery. To tell the truth will indeed give us freedom, the freedom of the sons and daughters of God and will set that captive free!

Indeed the phone lie is a small lie, a venial sin. However remember the words of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:  “He who is faithful in the small will also be faithful in the large.” Let us start today to carry out all our actions under the loving gaze of Jesus, Mary, and St. Joseph.
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RULES FOR GLORIFYING GOD BY OUR WORDS!

Jesus said that we will be judged on all of the words that have come out of our mouths. We will have to render an account on the Day of Judgment. He also said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Then Jesus said, “Let your speech be ‘yes’, ‘yes’ or ‘no’, ‘no’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
Saint James chapter three is the classical chapter on the sins of the tongue. The blunt and to the point letter encourages us to control the tongue.  “We should be slow to speak and quick to listen.” Also the person that has control over his tongue is pursuing true holiness of life.
Given that the control of our tongue and the content of our speech and conversation are of such enormous importance, how can we learn to control this little member of ours that Saint James compares to a little spark of fire that can ignite a forest-fire?
Following are concrete and specific rules that we should all take into account in our daily battle to control our tongue so that our words serve to give honor and glory to God and to sanctify our neighbor.
1.   PRAYER TRANSFORMS—EXAMPLE OF ST. PETER.   Recall St. Peter denied Jesus with his tongue Holy Thursday night after Jesus made the prophecy that before the cock crowed he would deny him three times. Cowardice got the best of him!   Transformation through
prayer!   With Mary and the Apostles, Peter made the first novena by praying and fasting. The Holy Spirit descended on Peter and the Apostles in fire. Then Saint Peter got up and preached a powerful sermon and 5,000 were converted. Prayer which brought the Holy Spirit
transformed Peter’s heart and tongue. If you pray well, Jesus will breathe forth on you the Holy Spirit and he will teach you how to speak!
2.   SPIRITUAL READING.   Many people have little to say because little is in their head! Nobody can give what he does not have!  An empty mind will result in giving very little in speech!  Get into the habit of doing some form of spiritual reading on a daily basis, at least fifteen
minutes, better yet, a half hour or more! What to read?  The Bible, the lives of the saints, church documents, the Fathers of the Church, the Doctors of the Church, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Documents of Vatican II—and much more!  A well-formed spiritual mind will result in good speech and conversation!

3.   THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK!   An impulsive and impetuous temperament can wreak havoc. We should not always speak our mind or say the first thing that comes to our minds! We must learn to ponder, be more reflective, more interior and think before we speak. For that reason the advice of Saint James hits the mark:  “We should be slow to speak and quick to listen.”

4.   IF YOU HAVE NOTHING NICE TO SAY DO NOT SAY IT!   Advice that our mothers gave to many of us years past and still words of wisdom! At times indeed silence is golden. If our mind is confused, angry and our heart bitter, best to calm down and purify our hearts and intentions and then speak!

5.   GOLDEN RULE APPLIED TO SPEECH.   We all know the Golden Rule:  “Do to others what you want them to do to you.”  Why not give this rule a twist: “Say to others what you would like them to say to you!” The golden rule is universally understood!

6.   “THE WAY YOU SAY IT!”   All too often we may be expressing the truth but with a loud, imperious, dominating, arrogant and cutting tone of voice. It is not only what we say, but also how we say it! How true the words of the “Gentle and saintly Bishop (and Doctor) of the Church” Saint Francis de Sales when he said:  “You can catch more flies with a teaspoon of honey than with a barrel of vinegar.” How often children
complain:  “Mom tone it down; do not scream!”

7.   ANGRY?   Calm down first! How often has it happened that when under a cloud of anger and passion we open up our mouths and as soon
as the words come flooding like a Tsunami we regret it?  But, once the words have been expressed, it is too late! Angry?  Move out of the situation! Pray for interior peace! Calm down! Then once the animal has been tamed, return!

8.   THE PRESENCE OF JESUS, MARY, AND SAINT JOSEPH.   Of enormous help, especially in helping us to control the mortal weapon we have in our mouths—- the tongue—is cultivating the habit of living constantly in the presence of Jesus, Mary, and Saint Joseph. St. Teresa of Avila noted that we often sin because we become oblivious to the presence of God in our lives. Being aware of the noble presence of Jesus Mary and Saint Joseph can serve as an efficacious curbing of the tongue against possible verbal bomb shells!

9.   AVOID GOSSIP AT ALL COSTS!   Pope Francis has reminded us in more than one of his pastoral and paternal talks of the danger of the tongue.  He has gone so far as to say that we can kill others with our tongue. The tongue can be transformed into a pistol and the words are bullets that penetrate and kill the heart.   We all have a right to our reputation and good name. The gossiper or slanderer kills with his tongue!

10. SAINT BONAVENTURE’S THREE EXCELLENT RULES OF SPEECH.  This great doctor of the church, friend of Saint Thomas Aquinas, gives us three excellent rules to follow to guide our speech and conversations:

a)   PRAISE GOD!  Our tongues should be used to praise God. An interesting note!  About three hundred years later another saint, Saint Ignatius of Loyola in his Principle and Foundation reiterates the same truth:  “Man is created to praise God, reverence God, serve God and to save his soul.” (Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius #23). Start and end your day with praising your Creator!

b)   ACCUSE YOURSELF! We are all sinners! The just man falls seven times a day! Saint Augustine observes:  “The less we examine our own conscience, the more we judge and condemn others.”  We should first examine our own conscience and accuse ourselves of our faults;
this is humility. Then, off to the confessional!  At the start of Mass we accuse ourselves of sinning in “thought, word, deed, and
omission, through my own grievous fault….” (Mass, Confiteor).  The person that honestly comes to terms with his own sinfulness will not so easily point the finger of condemnation at his neighbor!

c) EDIFY YOUR NEIGHBOR.  St. Bonaventure ends by encouraging us to use our speech to edify our neighbor.  The word edify actually means to “Build up”, to construct. Our words should not be destructive, but constructive! May Saint Barnabus be our model and guide. He was always encouraging the members of the early church.  “Barnabus” actually means “Son of encouragement.”
In conclusion, let us render praise and thanks to God for giving us the wonderful gift of speech. May we always use our words and speech to communicate the truth with love. May Our Lady be our inspiration and guide who praised God with these sublime words: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.”
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