Fr. Ed Broom, OMV Oblates of the Virgin Mary

Catholic Ignatian Marian Spirituality

DOES SUFFERING HAVE A PURPOSE IN LIFE?

A crib-death of a two-month baby girl, a family of four slaughtered by a speeding drunk-driver, a newly-married couple tragically snuffed out by a freak plane crash— why? Why? Why?
Why is it that the innocent must suffer?  Does it all make sense?  Where is God present in all these inexplicable tragedies?  Where is He?
Sooner or later tragedy will inevitably knock at the door of all of us whether we like it or not. This is the human condition!
No easy and simplistic response can unravel the mystery of human suffering. The nature of “Mystery” is that it is hidden and not fully given to clear explanation. Our God is a mysterious God.
Christianity does not remove human suffering, but offers the best explanation for suffering.  All suffering, moral, spiritual, psychological, physical, emotional, social, economic stem from the reality of Original Sin. Because of the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, suffering entered into the world. However, God can always bring good out of evil. This indeed He did by sending His Son Jesus to save us and to teach us the true meaning of suffering in all forms, sizes and shapes!
The Bible says that Jesus went about doing good. Read through the Gospels. He healed the sick, cured the lepers, restored sight to the blind, gave hearing to the deaf and speech to the mute, strengthened the limbs of the paralytics. Even more, in three separate times He brought the dead back to life.
His heart tenderly moved for all forms of suffering. He took children in His arms and blessed them.  Jesus was the essence and sum-total of
goodness Incarnate! His whole life was a pouring out of Himself—even to the very last drops of His Precious Blood— in doing good to others.
How did His life end?  When life seems to have no meaning, when suffering knocks at your door, when tragedy catches you by surprise, truly the
only real answer is in Jesus, the Son of the living God.
THE CROSS.  All of us have to carry our own cross, the cross that God has decided to fabricate for us for all eternity. Nobody can
escape from the stark reality of the cross.
CROSS BEFORE US.   We should all have a cross/crucifix before our eyes. Choose the one that speaks most eloquently to you. Classical art
offers many variations.  You could purchase a crucifix and nail it to the wall of your room. Best to have a crucifix with the “Corpus”—the body of Jesus hanging from it.
ART.  You might even prefer some artistic depiction of Jesus hanging from the cross!  The depictions vary!  It could be Jesus looking tenderly upon His mother or talking to the His beloved disciple Saint John. Or it might be Jesus lifting His merciful gaze to the repentant thief opening up the gates of heaven to this repentant sinner in the last moments of his life.
It might be Jesus who is breathing His last breath and returning His spirit to His Heavenly Father.  If you prefer, maybe it is Jesus who has
already died and His dead body rests in the sleep of death having given His all— the Innocent suffering for the guilty!
CONTEMPLATE JESUS ON THE CROSS.  To help us in those dark moments in our lives that we call suffering, the contemplation of Jesus hanging on the cross can help us beyond words. Before retiring every night spend a minute or two simply contemplating Jesus as He hangs on the cross. Kiss His eternal wounds. Tell Him that you love Him and are grateful for His suffering on the cross for love of you. Be faithful to this practice every day.
One day the mother of Saint John Bosco had an unsupportable day in the Oratory. The children that were in the Oratory were driving her crazy.  She decided it was enough. She could not take any more!  She packed her bag and was all ready to return home, home sweet home! Before she left she wanted to say good-bye to her son, Father John Bosco. Moved by divine instinct, the saint took his other by the arm, and without saying a word, he pointed to the wall on which hung Jesus from a crucifix.  Mama Margarita, looked intently, contemplated Jesus hanging in agony from the cross. She went back to her room, unpacked her belongings, and stayed with her son to help the energetic and often rebellious boys until God called her to the next life.  What made Margarita Bosco change her mind? Very simple, it was the gaze and contemplation of Jesus on the cross.
In conclusion, suffering in and of itself has no positive value. However, it does have incalculable salvific value if it is seen in light of the cross, united to the cross, conformed to the crucified One who hangs on the cross.
Life indeed has many challenging mysteries, among which is the reality of human suffering.  Too much suffering is wasted and turning too many people young as well as old into bitter individuals. The reason is very simple: a lack of understanding of the cross and uniting one’s own cross to the
cross of the crucified Savior. Saint Francis of Assisi bore the wounds of the crucified in his body; we call this the stigmata. Let us conclude with the
prayer of this saint who understood the cross and its value possibly better than anybody else, except the Lord Himself.  “We adore you O Christ and we bless you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”
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AN ATTITUDE OF PERPETUAL GRATITUDE

 

 

Do you suffer from an all too common malady? The malady or sickness of COMPLAINITUS???  The weather is too hot or too cold; these
people drive my nuts!   Why do I have this work situation, family problem, health issue???? Why? Why? Why?  Woe is me! My favorite party is the PITY PARTY! Surely on the day of the picnic, rain will come!   If only I were born in another century, in another country and under different circumstances!   The Jews complained in the desert because they got sick and tired of their daily portion of manna! So do I find reasons to complain about anybody, anything and any circumstance! May God grant us a true conversion of heart!
FIGHT AGAINST NEGATIVISM!  If we are disciples of Jesus then we should fight vigorously against negativism and the infirmity already mentioned of COMPLAINITUS!
Shakespeare expressed it forcefully, “More painful than a serpent’s tooth is that of an ungrateful child.”   A poet has penned a concise  one-liner apropos to the topic: “I complained because I had no shoes until I met somebody without any feet!”  Jesus was amazed that after healing the ten lepers of their terrible and incurable disease that only one of them returned to give thanks. (Lk. 17:11-19)
Let us fight against COMPLAINITUS by cultivating an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE. The reasons to explode in this attitude of gratitude are countless, but we will limit it in this short essay to five!
First, LIFE!  Thank God for your life. Thank the generous Lord for having given you human life, but even more supernatural life through
the life-giving Sacrament of Baptism. This Sacrament infused you with supernatural life and union with God who is LIFE in His very essence.   Through the Sacrament of Baptism you became a son of God the Father, brother to Jesus the Lord, and intimate friend of the Holy Spirit. Lord, I praise you and thank you!
Second, THE EUCHARIST!   The word “Eucharist” from Greek actually means “thanksgiving”. How exceedingly grateful should we be that we believe in the “Real-Presence” of Jesus in Mass, in Holy Communion and afterward present for us to visit in the Tabernacle. “Come to
me all of you who are weary and I will give you rest…” (Mt. 11:28-32).
Third, MERCY!  “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever.”  In a cut-throat world where is it “Eye for eye and tooth for tooth” where mercy is quickly evaporating from the modern scene, we know and believe that our God is a merciful God. As the Psalmist emphasizes: “Our God is slow to anger and rich in mercy.”   Even though we may fall,  we know that the arms of the Father (The prodigal Son: Lk. 15:11-32) are always wide open to receive us, in a mere heartbeat, as soon as we say, “Jesus, mercy!” As St. Paul so clearly reminds us, “Where sin abounds, the mercy of God abounds all the more.”
Fourth, HOLY SPIRIT.   Many are the sublime names for the Holy Spirit: The Sanctifier, Counselor, Consoler, Advocate, Paraclete, Gift of Gifts, Breath of God, Love between Father and Son,  Finger of God, and finally Sweet Guest of the soul. By maintaining the state of sanctifying grace in our souls, the Blessed Trinity lives within us— the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Therefore, at any time, we can enter within the depths of our soul and begin a colloquy with the Holy Spirit. He should always be your best Friend!
Fifth, MARY OUR MOTHER.  Saint Juan Diego suffered an enormous problem: his uncle Juan Bernardino was dying. On the way to Mexico, searching for a priest, Our Lady of Guadalupe, stopped him and dispelled his fears and anxieties with these words:  “Do not be afraid! Am I not your mother? I have you in the crossing of my arms…”  Rejoice and give thanks to God for the great gift of Mary. Remember always but especially in moments of trial that Mary is your mother, she has you in the crossing of her arms. She has you hidden in the inner recesses of her most pure and Immaculate Heart.   “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; for His love endures forever.”
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CONFUSION CONCERNING CONFESSION???

 

Due to the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, sin entered into the world! One of the negative effects of sin is darkness of the intellect and with this CONFUSION!!!
With the building of the tower of Babel still more confusion pervaded the world at large!   This time the confusion spread through an actual “Confusion” of languages! Everybody began to speak but in a different language resulting in extreme difficulty in understanding.
MORAL RELATIVISM.  Today many decide to reject the moral authority of the Church, the Magisterium and the Papacy; this leads to moral
relativism and still more confusion. 
In this short essay we would like to respond to another crisis—the crisis of the loss of the sense of sin, the failure of the formation of the conscience and the huge drop off in the reception of the Sacrament of Confession.  An immortal saying of Pope Pius XII, so applicable today is “The sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin.”    Let us launch into our defense of Confession!
TYPICAL OBJECTIONS LAUNCHED AGAINST THE SACRAMENT OF CONFESSION!
1.  “It is a man-made invention. Where is it in the Bible!”  Wrong!  It is not a man-made invention!  Rather, Jesus, the Son of God and Divine
Healer instituted this marvelous Sacrament. Read Jn. 20:21-23.   Jesus breathes on the Apostles the Holy Spirit and says: “Whose sins you forgive they will be forgiven; whose sins you bind will be held bound.” Jesus forgives but through the person or minister of the priest.

2.  “I always confess the same thing. “  Maybe this is true, but thanks be to God you are not committing other sins.  In Sacramental theology there is a key element that must be understood to receive the Sacraments efficaciously.  This is called “Dispositive grace”.  This means
the better the disposition the more open the soul is to God’s graces.   Maybe you confess the  same  sins but with less gravity and less
frequency!  Bravo!  There is improvement.   This is called the Principle of Graduality—gradually, with the help of God’s grace, the gravity or the seriousness of the sin is diminished as well as the number of times is less.  The Italians have a saying: “Roma no fue fatto en un giorno.”   Rome was not built in one day and we cannot become saints overnight! Many want a “Micro-wave” spirituality—to become saints in the same time it takes to boil water in the Micro-wave oven.  Not that easy, my friend!
3.   “The priest does not understand me.”   The priest acts in the person of Christ.  He has received the Sacrament of
Holy Orders. He is the Doctor of the soul. Once Saint Faustina left the confessional in a state of confusion. Jesus revealed to her that she failed to pray for the priest before entering the confessional. Get in the habit of praying for the priest—maybe even his Guardian angel—before entering the confessional.  The confession will flow more smoothly!

4.  “I forget my sins; my memory goes blank.”  You are neither the first nor the last that this has happened to! 
However, here is a helpful tip! Write down the sins on a sheet of paper as a memory aid!  No way to forget if this is done!

5.  “I get tongue-tied.” Pray to the Holy Spirit.  At Pentecost he was able to untie the tongue-tied Apostles—especially Peter who denied Him three times. The Holy Spirit inspires us with honesty, sincerity and the ability to express our inner thoughts and of course our sins.

6.  “ASHAMED!”   You were not ashamed to commit the sin.   It is interesting how the devil works to block our salvation and the flow of grace. 
When we sin, the devil takes all of our shame away. However, when we must confess the sin, the devil can fill us with so much shame that we are paralyzed!  Beg the Lord for interior fortitude.

7.  “PRIEST IS A TATTLE TALE!”  Not true! On the contrary, the priest has a very serious obligation to maintain what is called the “Seal of the
Confessional”.    In concrete this means that the priest can never—even to the point of surrendering his life—reveal the sins that are confessed in the Confessional.   In the history of the church, priests have actually died as martyrs to defend the seal of the confessional.  One of the most famous saints is SAINT JOHN NEPOMUCENE!

8.  “TOMORROW!!!”  One of the most common victories of the devil is to convince us that we have a long life and that we can always put it off
until tomorrow!  If your house were burning down, would you wait? If your child accidentally took poison, would you wait till tomorrow?  If you stepped on a rusty nail, would you wait to have it extracted? To all of these questions, a blunt no!  These demand a quick and immediate response, if not serious consequences might follow, even death!  If we commit a mortal sin, we should seek to reconcile ourselves with God as soon as possible. Blessed Pope John Paul II calls mortal sin, “Moral suicide”.   We should not play “Russian Roulette” with the salvation of our soul. We have one life to live and one soul to save. This is our primary and principal goal in life—to save our soul!

9.  “I do not know the Commandments!”   The success of a good confession depends on prior preparation.  You might even say that ninety percent of making a good confession is the preparation made even before entering into the confessional. Find a good booklet as a help to examine your conscience with a clear explanation of the Ten Commandments. Recently I published a rather lengthy but clear explanation of the Ten Commandments. Check out my blog!
              
10. “I always forget the basic steps to make a good confession!” Well, try to memorize them, they are short and easy to memorize! Here
they are:
1.   Examination of Conscience.
2.   Contrition for the sins.
3.   Firm Purpose of Amendment.
4.   Confession of sins to the priest.
5.   Carry out the penance.
We have responded to ten of the basic objections to making a good confession. As a means of encouragement we will list ten awesome fruits of a good confession. These fruits are available for your picking and gathering in!
1.   FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS.  Mortal sin ruptures the friendship with Jesus, but confession restores it!
2.   SANCTIFYING GRACE INCREASES!  Related to friendship with Jesus is the growth of sanctifying grace every time we make a good confession! 
3.  HUMILITY.  Confession demands humility of heart. Jesus loves the truly humble of heart.
4.   SHIELD FROM THE DEVIL.  The devil is constantly attacking us with temptations, like fiery darts.  Confession serves as a shield of protection against the wiles and attacks of the devil.
5.  PREVENTIVE MEDICINE.  Even if one confesses venial sins this serves as spiritual medicine to prevent future sicknesses. Indeed sin is infirmity of the soul.
6.   HEALING GRACE.  The specific sacramental grace of the Holy Eucharist is spiritual nourishment. In confession, the sacramental grace is
healing of the sick soul! Jesus came to heal the lepers of body and soul!
7.   FERVENT COMMUNIONS.  St. Ignatius states that there is an intimate connection between Confession and Holy Communion.  Confession purifies the soul to be more receptive to receiving Jesus with greater purity of heart and greater love.
8.   PEACE OF SOUL. Sin robs us of our interior peace of soul. Confessions well-made restore peace to our souls.  Indeed we can be a
living “Shalom”—Peace be to you!
9.   SELF-KNOWLEDGE.  Being honest with the confessor, listening attentively and seeking advice all serve to help the sincere penitent to grow
in self-knowledge. In the spiritual life self-knowledge is indispensable to grow in holiness of life!
10.HEAVEN.  Frequent confession frees us from sin, liberates us from vices, forms in us permanent attitude of humility and contrition and repentance.  With this disposition of soul God is very pleased and will be ready to welcome us home like the Prodigal son.
 
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TEN HOLY REMINDERS TO GET US TO HEAVEN!

1.    LOVE OF GOD.  God is love; He created you out of sheer love; you are called to a vocation to love God and neighbor; if done, you will
love God for all eternity!

2.   ONE LIFE.   You have one life to live. Life is extremely short. You know neither the day, the hour nor the moment of your death. Live
your life to the fullest loving God at all times, places and circumstances!

3.   TEMPTATIONS.  Temptations are many and until you die. However, they will come especially through three sources: the devil, the flesh, and the world.

4.   COMBAT TIME. Life on earth is a constant battle.  As the Word of God teaches:  “Son if you decide to follow God prepare
yourself for battle.” (Sirach 2:1) Fighting time is now; rest will be in heaven forever.

5.   HEAVEN.   Think often about heaven, your ultimate destiny. “Our Father who art in heaven…  The constant thought of our heavenly home can help us to bear the heaviest crosses!
          
6.   PRAY ALWAYS! Jesus exhorts us: “ It is necessary to pray at all times
without giving up hope.” (Lk. 18:1) The principal reason for falling into
sin is poor prayer or lack of prayer!

7.   REJOICE!  “Rejoice in the Lord; I say it again: rejoice in the Lord.” (Phil. 4:4) The knowledge that Jesus is our best Friend always there for us should fill us with constant joy! Joy as well as sadness is contagious. Hopefully you will be a herald of glad tidings.

8.   SACRIFICE! Jesus paves the way to heaven—it is through the cross. “If anyone wants to be my follower let him renounce himself, take up his cross and follow me.”(Mt. 16:24)  When we say “No” to ourselves, we say “yes” to God!

9.   ANGELS AND SAINTS!  Loneliness weighs down many.  It should not be that way.  The Beatles sang, “Get a little help from your friends.” Our best friends are the angels and saints. Invite them to walk with you always!

 

10. MARY.  She is the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, and your Mother. It was through her powerful intercession that Jesus performed His first Public miracle turning water into wine. (Jn. 2:1-12). Mary can turn our water— our many problems—into wine, the resolution of the problems!
Read and meditate upon these short but substantial ten reminders and you will be traveling on the Highway of holiness and the Highway to Heaven. Mary, star of the Sea, pray for us!
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HELPING OUR YOUTH IN DIFFICULT TIMES!

 

Never have the young people been confronted with so many moral obstacles as today. The widespread diffusion of drugs, alcoholic beverages at every party, suicide rates skyrocketing, the easy accessibility and exposure to the ravenous wolf of pornography, marriages terminating in separations and divorces—all these phenomena and much more is the reality of the young today.
What can we do to support the young in this difficult environment in which they are forced to grow and mature? Is there anything that we can do to protect, safeguard and support the young against so many minefields that can explode in any moment?  We will offer five short but important suggestions.
1.   PRAYER.   Prayer can move mountains, heal the sick, and even raise the dead. Now more than ever we should lift up our hearts and
souls to God to save the young!
2.   GOOD EXAMPLE.  Jesus said that He is the Light of the world. But He also said that we are called to be the “light of the world”. In the
Baptism ceremony the Paschal Candle is lighted the whole time. The parents or godparents—after the child is baptized—lights the small candle from the big Paschal Candle. The meaning?  Adults are called to radiate the light of good example to the child and the young. May we
be shining lights in the path of our young people!
3.   GIVE GOOD ADVICE.   Many young people walk through life like a dog without a master, a ship with no port, an arrow with no target, a chicken with his head cut off, or even like a dog running after his tail.  In other words, they have no
orientation.  As adults we should impart to the young especially an explanation as to the meaning of life.  What is the meaning of life?   Here it is!  God is love; He created us as an act of love; He loves us infinitely; He desires that we correspond by loving Him in return
by obedience to His Commandments and service. He wants us to be with Him forever in Heaven.  May our advice always
be pointing the young to Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
4.   CORRECTION.  Fraternal correction is a dimension of love.  In one of his messages for Lent,  Pope Benedict XVI insisted on the importance
of addressing the wrong by fraternal correction. If a house is on fire we cry out, “Fire!”.  If there is a dangerous animal approaching on the prey to devour we cry out “danger”! If a meadow-patch is full of poison-ivy, we warn our friends to avoid walking there.  Therefore, we must warn, admonish, and correct young people when they are making wrong decisions.  A timely word of correction can prevent a moral catastrophe that could have repercussions a whole life-time!   
5.   INTRODUCE THEM TO JESUS.   One of the principal purposes of World YouthDay, started by Blessed Pope John Paul II, was to introduce the young people to the greatest person that ever walked on planet earth—JESUS CHRIST!   As adult believers in JESUS CHRIST we should
not be ashamed of Jesus—otherwise, He will be ashamed of us on the Day of Judgment. On the contrary, Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”  It should be our most ardent desire to make Jesus known, especially to the young people of the world. Andrew could not keep the treasure of friendship to himself; he had to introduce his brother Peter to Jesus. Consequently this bond of friendship was established. Jesus is not loved because He is not known. May we make Him known to the whole world but especially to the young people. Let us turn to Saint John Bosco, the patron of the youth, and beg him for the grace to convert the young to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!
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