Blog Archives | Page 134 of 170 | Fr. Ed Broom, OMV Oblates of the Virgin Mary

Jan 08 2013

GOOD SHEPHERDS TO THE SHEEP OF MY FLOCK

One of the most renowned images in the whole of Sacred Scripture is that of the Shepherd and his relationship to the sheep of his flock.

David is a prime example. The prophet Samuel, moved by the Holy Spirit to seek out and anoint the future King of Israel, visits the house of Jesse and his many sons. After many of Jesse’s sons were discarded categorically, there was still one left— the youngest who was tending the sheep in the field. Upon viewing him, Samuel rejoiced and said that he would be the one to be anointed King. Indeed he was! Samuel anointed David as king and from that moment the Holy Spirit rushed impetuously on David.

Saul eventually dies and David replaces Saul and becomes the King of Israel for decades. Despite his failures and even serious sins, the Shepherd, King David, was loved by God dearly, a man after the very heart of God.

David was a man of prayer and devotion, composed many of the 150 Psalms, a gifted warrior, musician (a harpist), capable of deep-seated friendships (as with Jonathan, the son of King Saul), a man of great compassion, but especially a great lover of God.

Another modern example of a truly Good Shepherd could be found, meditated, and admired and imitated—at least to a limited degree—in the person of Blessed Pope John Paul II. He was Chief Shepherd of the enormous flock—the Catholic Church– from October 1978 until April 2005; one of the longest pontificates in the history of Catholicism.

Without a doubt he was one of the most admired men in world history. He was the most traveled Pope—possibly individually—in the history of the world. His funeral ceremony with the Mass brought in the largest number in attendance in the history of the world, not to mention the millions who viewed his funeral on television or via internet!

We all have to have models on which to pattern our lives. Jesus of course is our supreme model; He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. However, it indeed is important that we have human models.

What then are indispensable qualities to pursue becoming a GOOD SHEPHERD, to the flock that God has entrusted to us? Off we go!

1. GOOD SHEEP OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD. Of primary and capital importance in being a Good Shepherd to the sheep entrusted to us, we must be a good sheep of the Good Shepherd and Jesus is our Good Shepherd. Jesus says I know my sheep and they know me. My sheep hear my voice and they follow me. (Jn. 10). In concrete what does this mean? Another analogy that Jesus gives a parallel to the Good Shepherd is the Vine and the branches. (Jn.15) Jesus says that He is the vine and we are the branches. The Vinedresser will prune away any branches that are fruitless and cast them into the fire. Jesus says that He has called us to bring forth fruit and fruit in abundance. This means for us nothing less than a deep and growing union with the Good Shepherd and the Vinedresser (God Himself). How can this become a concrete reality?

a) DEEP PRAYER LIFE. Union with the Good Shepherd is in direct proportion to a serious, methodical, well-directed, dynamic and growing prayer life. Nobody can give what he does not have!

b) SACRAMENTAL LIFE. As sheep hunger and fall into pits and are bitten by wolves and are wounded and must be nourished and healed; likewise, we the sheep of the Lord’s flock must be nourished and healed. How? Our primary sustenance and stable is the Eucharist, the Bread of Life. Healing? The specific sacramental grace that comes from Confession is healing , healing of the wounds inflicted
by sin.

c) STUDY. In this year of faith (year of grace) the Holy Father challenges us to study our faith. Of the works that the
Holy Father encourages us to study are the four Dogmatic Constitutions of Vat. II: Dei Verbum, Sacrosanctum Concilium, Gaudium Spes, and Lumen Gentium. Furthermore, the Holy Father exhorts us to read and study and learn the basic content-matter of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The study of the catholic faith should not be temporary but on-going; if you like, permanent!

d) SAINTS. Saints were leaders! They followed the voice of the Good Shepherd and felt the call to lead others to the heart of the Good Shepherd. A wonderful enterprise and worthy undertaking would be to purchase a series of books on the lives of the saints and start to read them. This will foster friendship with the saints, prayer to them, a desire to imitate their holy lives and finally establish leadership qualities!

e) MARY. An authentic spiritual life which consists in constant growth in union and friendship with Jesus would be far from complete if the Blessed Virgin Mary were absent. All the saints— the great spiritual leaders of the church and world at large—had a great knowledge, love
and following after Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. But also the saints discovered a pearl of infinite value— the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mystical Rose, Tower of Ivory, Ark of the Covenant, Gate of Heaven, Our Life, Our Sweetness and our Hope are just of few of the sublime poetical expressions that refer to Mary that the saints
loved to pray to and meditate upon her virtues! If Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, then Mary is the Queen of the universe. It was through Mary’s presence and prayer during the first and most efficacious novena— that of Pentecost—that the Apostles received the gift of the Holy Spirit and then were transformed into among the greatest leaders (Good Shepherds) in the church. This being the case, Mary can intercede for us and help us to receive the “Gift of Gifts”—the Holy Spirit who will transform us into true leaders!

2. SELF-CONTROL. As a result of Original Sin and its effect on our person we enter into the world weak, prone to sin, with our intellect partially darkened, our emotional life in disarray, and a life of disorder.’ Therefore, a true leader must first order his own interior state of affairs—his own interior life and soul— before he can presume to lead and order the lives of others. Once again, you cannot give what you do not have yourself! There is a basic law in life: either we dominate the flesh and its urgings and experience the true liberty of the sons of God; or we give into the flesh and its cravings and we become slaves to our lower passions. How then can we arrive at this self-control? Very simply through two channels: the grace of God and our own collaboration, hard work, as St. Theresa of Avila reminds us, “We must have a determined determination…” In concrete, the constant practice of penance, abnegation, asceticism, self-denial. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ unequivocally taught us: “Whoever wants to be my follower must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me…” Still more, Jesus said, “Unless you do penance, you will perish…” How can leaders demand others to carry out obligations, apostolic commitments and practice virtue, if we who call ourselves as “leaders” do not manifest this by our own example? Why not start with Friday—which by the way is a day that we are obliged to do penance—to undertake specific concrete gestures of self-denial?

3. LOVE BEGINS AT HOME. If we presume to be leaders in the context of the church-community then it is incumbent upon us to start with the basics—that is to say, we should start with our own family which the Pope defines as the “Domestic church”. We do not want to fall into the “Rip-van-Winkle” complex. This novel figure was renowned for his love, dedication and service towards everybody who had a problem in his whole neighborhood; however, his own home was a total disaster! Start by loving and serving your spouse; then attending to the moral, spiritual, intellectual, and human needs of your children. With this in order, then church leadership will prove much more efficacious! Never forget the last and greatest Commandment of Jesus: “Love one another as I have loved you.”

4. UNION AND HARMONY WITH THE SHEPHERD OF THE FLOCK: THE PASTOR AND PRIESTS. Of vital importance for lay-church leaders is that they be in strict harmony with the Pastors of the church. This means an independent spirit, secretive attitude, overly-critical nature, underhanded and covert actions can wreak havoc in the context of the Church-community! On the contrary, lay church leaders must pray for their Pastor and priests, have a sincere love for them, open dialogue with them, and an attitude of great docility and obedience! The adage is so true in this context: “In unity there is strength.” And another maxim: “The chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” Remember the pop-song of the 60’s:”Divided we fall; united we stand.” The devil seeks divisive spirits to tear apart and destroy; the Holy Spirit is the spirit of unity. Related to this, gossip in all colors, forms, sizes and shapes should be shunned as a plague!

5. LEADERSHIP NOT AS DOMINION BUT AS SERVICE! Of course, the supreme model of service for all leaders far and wide is Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His whole life was an eloquent witness of an attitude leading concrete actions of service! Upon this point Jesus said: “The Son of man has not come to be served but to serve and give His life in ransom for many.” Of all times and places Jesus taught the supreme and sublime example of service at the Last Supper when He lowered Himself to his knees, girded Himself with a towel, and poured water on the dirty(probably not aromatic in scent) feet of the Apostles! What was the lesson here? Jesus explained that He was called Master and rightfully so, but what He did, they too were called to imitate— this was to wash the feet of others, to be truly servants of others. For that reason, the first Pope, St. Peter, calls himself the servant of the servants. When the Pope signs his letters often they too are ended with “Servant of servants”. True leaders do not pursue their own self-glorification but the honor and glory of God. The Ignatian motto should be the motto of all true leaders: AMDG– All for the greater honor and glory of God! However, true leaders receive as a reward true joy and peace of soul because they know that they are imitating the Master and Leader and Teacher, Jesus the Lord, who said that there is much more joy in giving than in receiving.

6. CONCRETE PRACTICAL HELPS TO EXERCISE EFFICIENT AND EFFICACIOUS LEADERSHIP.

a) Pray for the sheep of the flock that God has entrusted to you.

b) EXAMPLE. Always be willing to put into practice any activity, chore, duty or apostolic work that you would tell others to carry out!

c) PUNCTUALITY IN MEETINGS. In the course of organizing and summoning members to meeting the Leader—Good Shepherd—should be well-prepared and punctual! Too much valuable time is lost be lack of order and punctuality! Life is short and no time to waste! St. Father Alberto Hurtado reminds us: “There are two places to rest, the cemetery and heaven.”

d) MERCY. Group-members are not perfect because only God is perfect. Leaders must be merciful and willing to forgive not only seven times but seventy times seven times! Remember the words of Jesus: “Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful!”

e) FRATERNAL CORRECTION. However, if it happens that a sheep is wandering near the pack of wolves and is in danger of bringing the wolves into the flock, then the Leader/Good Shepherd, must exercise the art of fraternal correction. Actually in his Lenten message, the Holy Father Pope Benedict VI exhorted followers of Christ to be willing to speak up against clear injustices. The political philosopher Edmund Burke poignantly summarized it as such: “So that evil advance in the world, it is sufficient that good men do nothing.” In other words, we can fail due to the sin of omission!

f) CHARITY AT ALL COSTS. However, the most important quality of a true Leader and an authentic Good Shepherd is
CHARITY. Charity has two dimensions: the vertical and horizontal. The vertical refers to God! A true leader tries to live out the Gospel of Luke 10—to love God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength; then the horizontal, to love one’s neighbor as he would his very self! A true leader manifests a sincere, pure, honest, transparent, faithful and dedicated love! In the primitive church many were magnetically drawn to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. The reason was very clear: look how they love one another. May the true witness of love be the authentic hallmark of true Christian leaders, of the true Good Shepherd who loves his sheep, knows their voice and is even ready to lay down his own life for the love of his sheep. May the Good Shepherd, Jesus the Lord, be our Way, Truth, and Life!

Jan 07 2013

Adoration: 10 Ways to Practice It! Let’s Try It!

The highest form of prayer is that of adoration. Father John Hardon, S.J. defines adoration as the act of religion by
which God is recognized as alone worthy of supreme honor because he is
infinitely perfect, has supreme dominion over humans and the right to human
total dependence on the creator. It is an act of mind and will, expressing
itself in appropriate prayers, postures of praise, and act so reverence and
sacrifice.” ( Pocket Catholic Dictionary, Father John Hardon, S.J. page 10)

In honor of the Kings who came to honor Jesus
and pay Him homage and adoration by their prostrations and generous gifts, we
will offer ten specific ways that we can cultivate an attitude of adoration in
our own lives

1. THE GLORY BE— Pray this Trinitarian prayer of praise slowly and think what you are really
doing: praising and giving glory and honor to the Triune God—the one God and
three distinct persons.

. 2. PSALMS. Priests, deacons and Religious pray the Liturgy of the Hours every day so as to sanctify
the hours in different specific times. Many of the Psalms indeed are Psalms of
praise. For example, go to the last three Psalms of the Psalter and you will be
praying Psalms of praise. This is not exclusive; there are many more Psalms of
praise. Be more attentive as you pray the Psalms as to the quality of praise.
The Psalter which consists of 150 Psalms is the greatest prayer book in the
universe. Get in the habit of praying the Psalms more often and praising God.

3. ST. FRANCIS: THE CANTICLE OF THE SUN. One of the most famous prayers of St. Francis, along with
the prayer, “Make me a channel of your peace” is “The Canticle of the Sun”.
This beautiful and poetic hymn, song attributed to St. Francis invites us to
praise God through the beauty of nature. All nature praises God by its mere
existence. However as Christians we do not praise creation; rather we praise
the Author/Creator of creation— God Himself. By admiring the beauty of
creation, our eyes, mind and heart is elevated to the Origin of all beauty, God
Himself.

4. PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION. Off the bat, St. Ignatius invites us to reflect on the reason for
our existence in “Principle and Foundation”. In the very first words Ignatius
says, “Man is created to praise God…..” All the other considerations follow the
call to praise God…

5. ANGELIC CHOIRS. St. Thomas Aquinas divided the angels into categories or groups which are
called “Choirs”: angels, archangels, principalities, virtues, powers,
dominations thrones, cherubim and seraphim. The highest choirs of angels have
as their primary purpose and goal to praise God, the Father, The Son and the
Holy Spirit. Therefore, devotion to angels can heighten our ability to praise
God. Their example and prayer indeed can motivate us to do the same! That first
Christmas night the Shepherds learned about the birth of the Infant Child Jesus
die to the announcement of the choirs of angels in the darkness and the cold of
the night. “And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the
angel praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace
to those on whom his favor rests.” (Lk. 2:13-14).

6. THE ANGEL OF FATIMA. Before Our Lady of Fatima appeared to the three shepherd children,
Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia, the Guardian Angel of Portugal appeared three
times to them. The angel taught them to pray to God; also the angel taught them
a posture of prayer which was how to prostrate before the Majesty and Awesome
greatness of God and to praise Him. Furthermore, the angel invited them to
offer prayers of reparation. Finally, the third and final apparition, the angel
appeared, but suspended in the air was the Blessed Sacrament, the Most Holy
Sacrament, The Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus. A Large Host could be
seen and below it the Chalice of the Blood of Jesus. The angel invited them to
receive and offer reparation for the sins against this most sublime and august
of Sacraments. In sum, the message of Fatima can bring us to our knees in
humble adoration before our Eucharistic Lord; once again through the
instrumentality of the angels! O come let us adore the Lord!

7. THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS. Beyond a shadow of doubt the most perfect way that any human being
can adore God on this earth which is truly the antechamber of heaven is through
a reverent, devout, fervent and faith-filled attendance, and participation in
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The ultimate goal and purpose of the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass is to praise God the Father, by the offering of God the
Son— Jesus the spotless victim—and through the power of the Holy Spirit. The
Doxology says it all: “Through Him, with Him, and in Him, in the unity of the
Holy Spirit, all honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, forever and ever.
Amen! This sublime gesture is done right before the praying of the Our Father
and shortly before receiving the Bread of the angels, Holy Communion!

8. OUR LIFE. In one of his brilliant commentaries, the great St. Augustine cautions us to be
authentic. He says that we should be careful to not contradict the praise we have uttered with our lips with the hypocrisy of our lives. In other words, the praise that resounds from our hearts and lips must be reflected by the love we manifest to our brothers and sisters. Remember the last and greatest commandment of Jesus: “Love one another as I have loved you.”

9. CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER OF ADORATION. The church invites us to come before the Blessed Sacrament to be
with the Lord. However, simply being in front of the Blessed Sacrament does not
mean that we indeed are praising God. Statues, corpses, and bicycle pumps can
be in front of the Blessed Sacrament and we cannot say that they are adoring
the Lord! It is up to Pastors, teachers and catechists to train the faithful
how to exercise the art of adoration. Some practical suggestions! Silence in
church because we are approaching a three times holy God. (Isaiah’s vision in
the temple). GENULFLECTION! With great reverence, make a genuflection. This
indeed is a gesture of recognition of who God is and our duty to adore Him with
this bodily posture. Look at Him with love; as the Psalmist invites us:“Look to
the Lord and be radiant with joy.” Allow your memory, mind, understanding, will
and affections be totally engaged and enthralled, absorbed in HE WHOM YOU ARE
CONVERSING WITH! True prayer involves the engagement of the whole person and can
lead to adoration!

10. MARY. Mary can teach us how to pray. When she appears she always invites us to pray. The
longest and most beautiful prayer of Mary in the Bible is her Magnificat which
is an invitation to pray to God, but especially to praise God. Listen to the
words that the Holy Spirit inspired in the Immaculate Heart of Mary: “My soul
magnifies the Lord…. Another way for saying, “My soul praises the Lord…” May
Our Lady teach us to praise God here on earth and in heaven for all eternity!

Jan 05 2013

SUFFERING CAN MAKE YOU “BETTER” OR “BITTER”. CALL TO TRUST IN A MYSTERIOUS BUT LOVING GOD!

One of the most common objections posed against the existence of God is the following: “If God is so good then
why do innocent people have to suffer?” The prime example would be what happened in Connecticut, in which a
crazy young man barged into an Elementary school and opened fire killing 20 innocent children and adults beside and then he ended his own life.

Indeed suffering, especially of the innocent and those of little children (1st grade and Kindergarten) is a huge mystery. The whole of the country and way beyond suffers this tragedy not to mention the excruciating pain and anguish of the parents have to endure the rest of their lives. Our prayers and Mass intentions go out to the parents and relatives of these children. May the God of peace console them!

The response to these pertinent questions is not easy; however, it deals intrinsically with a supreme and inviolable gift that God has given to each and every person that comes into this world: THE GIFT OF FREE WILL!

As in the beginning with Lucifer and 1/3 of the angels, they decided to turn their backs on God, abuse their gift of freedom, and through the intervention of St. Michael the Archangel and the faithful and obedient angels, they were expelled from heaven and cast into the
fiery pit of hell where they will suffer the eternal loss of God and His glory for all eternity.

Likewise in the case of our first parents, Adam and Eve. We all know the story all too well taken from the 3rd Chapter of the first book of
the Bible, Genesis. The first couple was given freedom to choose; they could either obey God or disobey God. Indeed freedom is very risky, but it is because God indeed wants to be loved freely. If we were created as robots then there would be neither freedom nor the possibility
to love.

Tempted by the devil, disguised in the form of a serpent, Eve listened to the words of the seducer, the ancient serpent
he who is a murderer and a liar from the beginning (Jn. 8, Jesus’ definition of the devil). She listened to the devil,
entered into dialogue with the devil, looked at the forbidden fruit, like what she saw, gave consent in her will, bit into the forbidden fruit and then shared it with her husband, Adam. There we have it! ORIGINAL SIN! We were all born with and freed from the stain of it in our baptism, but still experience the effects in the tendency we experience towards evil; St. Thomas Aquinas calls this concupiscence.

Therefore, any form of moral evil en the world (which we call sin) has nothing to do with the action of God. However, it does relate directly to God’s allowing us to use our freedom— better said, God allows us to “abuse” our freedom!

Our hearts should always go out to all of these who suffer and to express great compassion, mercy, and weep with those who weep, remembering the words of Jesus in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are those who mourn they will be consoled. “ (Mt. 5:4)

At the same time, God should always be seen, depicted, and embraced as a loving father. God is slow to anger and quick to forgive.
Jesus presented God as a loving Father patiently waiting His wayward son to return. Upon returning, the Father showered the son with kisses, hugs, a new ring, sandals a new cloak, a party, a feast and joyful music. (Lk. 15:11-32). The Psalmist reminds us of
God with these words: “Taste and see the goodness of God.”

St. Augustine, one of the most profound thinkers in the world, reminds us of “Happy Fault”. God allows evil because He can always bring
greater good out of evil. God endowed Adam and Eve with free-will, the freedom to choose between good and evil. As we have said, they “abused” their will rather than using it to give honor and glory to God.

O HAPPY FAULT. God, in His infinite Goodness and Providence, brought much greater good out of the tragedy of Original Sin. In
time God the Father sent His only Son Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus then taught us how to life by His life which is model and pattern for us to imitate. The culminating moment was the Paschal mystery. Jesus willingly suffered what appeared to be the
tragedy of Calvary, wherein He allowed Himself to be brutally nailed to the cross for the salvation of the entire human race but for the salvation of each and every one of us individually. Then three days later, the Paschal mystery was brought to its consummation when Jesus gloriously rose from the dead. “The Lord is truly risen from the dead and dies no longer, Alleluia!”

Therefore, the tragedy of the first sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, was far surpassed in Goodness by our
loving Heavenly Father by sending us His only-begotten Son, Jesus to open up
the gates of heaven and to give us access to heaven for all eternity.

Tragedies that occur can truly rock our boat to the point of capsizing and sinking. We are all visited with mysteries,
sufferings, and if not major tragedies at least minor tragedies.

The Key so that suffering does not make us” bitter” but “better” a person can be summarized in the episode when
Jesus was walking on the water in the dark hours of the night and Peter,
hearing His voice and obeying the Master’s invitation began to walk on the
water. But the fragile Apostle started to sink. Why? The reason is very simple! Peter’s problem was that he focused more on
the problem then on the person who could resolve his problem. The cold water,
the piercing winds, the enormous waves—all of these captivated the attention of
Peter more than the person of Jesus. As soon as Peter lifted his gaze from that of the Master, he sunk in the water.

All of us can identify with the following. Problems we have had, problems we now have, and many problems await

us tomorrow and all of the days of our lives. The key and the solution is not in focusing on the problem but on the problem-solver, Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

In this year of faith, may our prayer be, Lord I have little faith, but strengthen my faith. Indeed true faith can move the highest mountains!

Jan 01 2013

NEW YEAR—NEW LIFE THROUGH A PLAN OF LIFE!

One of the concrete manifestations of good will towards God, a desire to grow in holiness through prayer and living out an attitude of “Magnanimity” in doing the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises is by formulating and writing out in a clear, methodical and practical way a PLAN OF LIFE. The variety of the ways to hammer out a plan of life are limitless. The Plan of life proposed in this article focuses on the various areas in our total life and how we can improve and make our life a fragrance pleasing to God. Let us make the Psalmist’s
prayer our prayer: “O Lord give success to the work of our hands; give success to the work of our hands.”

Of capital importance, a well-formulated Plan of Life serves to order the disordered in our lives. Due
to Original Sin and actual sin, our lives are marked by upheaval, confusion, and disorder. The Holy Spirit is a God of order. Our Lady of Guadalupe gently arranged in an orderly way the roses in the tilma of Saint Juan Diego. From this order comes peace of heart, mind and
soul. The Augustinian definition of peace is “Tranquility of order.”

Before writing out your specific plan of life why not give the spiritual project a specific theme, motto, or emphasis for the year. Some suggestions! Choose a corporal or spiritual work of mercy that you feel God is challenging you to embrace and live out this year. Maybe you prefer to take one of the 14 Stations of the Cross and that can be your motif. Or else you can choose one of the 8 Beatitudes found in Mt. 5:1-12 and strive to live that out with the help of your plan of life. Perhaps you would like to have a Marian thrust and choose one of the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary as your guiding star for the year. Finally, you might prefer choosing a Biblical verse or scene that captivates your attention: Jesus walking on the water, or one of his words from the cross, “I thirst…” or in the year of faith, “Lord strengthen my faith…” It could even
be the heart of the Divine Mercy devotion in the simple words painted in the image itself: “Jesus I trust in you.”

Now we will proceed into the Plan of life and give various specific and concrete areas that we want to examine
honestly and make a short, concrete and practical proposal so as to improve in
these areas. Much better to formulate
proposals that are practical and realistic then idealistic proposals that go up
like smoke before the 1st week of January has transpired! Remember the words of Jesus Himself: “He who
is faithful in the small will be faithful in the greater.” The essence of the spirituality of St Therese
is to do the ordinary things of one’s daily life with extraordinary love. There
we have the secret and key to holiness!

PLAN OF LIFE CONCRETE PROPOSALS: SPECIFIC CATEGORIES….

I. PRAYER LIFE. Examine seriously the tenor and tone and
present status of your prayer life and pray over this on some concrete way that
you can make improvements. SUGGESTION!
Why not decide to give just 5 extra minutes of prayer every day.

II. CONFESSION/RECONCILIATION. By birth we are all sinners. Until our dying
day we must fight fiercely, but trusting more in God’s grace, to overcome sin in our lives. Sin is mortal enemy number
one. One of the most efficacious means to conquer sin is through the reception of the Sacrament of Confession. God’s healing touch and grace manifests itself most abundantly through this Sacrament. PROPOSAL! Go to confession more frequently.(You can decide). Also prepare yourself better the night before you confess and trust more in God’s mercy! Victory through God’s mercy!

III. HOLY MASS AND HOLY COMMUNION. Our eternal salvation depends on allowing
Jesus to save us. The name “Jesus” means Savior. Jesus outlines a clear and
concrete plan of action to be saved in His “Bread of Life Discourse” (Jn.
6:22-71). Read it and meditate upon this Word of life. To sum up Jesus’ message in a few words, the
salvation of our immortal soul depends upon eating and drinking. Adam and Eve
ate and they brought death to the world. Jesus promises us eternal life through
eating and drinking His Body and Blood through reception of Holy Communion. He
states clearly without stammer or stutter: “I am the Bread of Life, whoever
eats my Body and drinks my Blood will have everlasting life and I will raise
Him up on the last day.” ACTION POINT! Why not aim for Daily Mass and Holy
Communion? If this is already your practice, come ten minutes early before Mass and offer your own intentions
depositing them on the altar. The graces that flow into your heart are in
direct proportion to your preparation and disposition. One Holy Communion could
transform us into saints! Fantastic!

St. Charbel Maklouf. Received permission to celebrate Mass at noon every day so he could spend the whole morning preparing for Mass and the rest of the day giving thanks.

IV. APOSTOLIC LIFE. To be a follower of Christ is to be a missionary. The last words of Jesus before ascending into heaven were, “Go out to all the world and teach them all that I taught you and behold I will be with you always even until the end of time.”(Mt28) In this year of faith we are challenged to grow in our faith, but also to share our faith with others. Indeed one of the best ways to fortify one’s own faith is to share it with others! TRY IT! What might be a concrete way? In the family suggest the daily recitation of the Rosary. Outside, invite a fallen away catholic back home to the Catholic Church. If we love God
we should love what God loves—the salvation of souls!

V. PERMANENT FORMATION. In this year of faith the Holy Father, Pope
Benedict XVI has exhorted us to read the Documents of Vatican II, most
specifically the four Dogmatic Constitutions: Dei Verbum(on the Word of God),
Sacronsanctum Concilium (on the Liturgy), Guadiem Spes and Lumen Gentium
(Documents on the Church in the modern world).
Catholic-Christians today must make a concerted effort to learn their
faith more deeply; our catholic faith is a fathomless ocean in its depth and
width. DECISION! Set aside at least 15
minutes every day to apply yourself to a serious study of your catholic faith.

VI. PENANCE. To take flight a bird needs two wings. So as
to soar high in the spiritual atmosphere the soul needs to apply itself
seriously to two practices: PRAYER AND PENANCE.
Our Lady of Fatima who appeared to the three little shepherd children
insisted that they pray— especially the most Holy Rosary—but also that they
offer up sacrifices for the conversion of poor sinners. Jesus expressed this bluntly: “Unless we do
penance we will perish.” COUNSEL! Friday is the day that we are obliged to do
penance why not choose one of the following: no meat, give up sweets for the
day, fast from watching television, eat less, make the Way of the cross, do not
complain the whole day!!!!

VII. WORK. All of us are called to work. God said to Adam that he would earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. St. Paul exhorts us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We also all know probably from personal experience
that idleness is the workshop of the devil. Examine carefully your daily work and
see areas for improvement. PROPOSAL! Be punctual in starting, hard in working,
and honest in the hour you leave. Remember that you are working for the Lord.
As St. Paul reminds us, “Whether you eat or drink do all for the Lord!”

VIII. VOCATIONAL CALL. Most are called to the life of marriage; some are called to the Priesthood and Religious life and others are called to the single life. If one is called to the married life then a clear examination of conscience and concrete proposals
can be made with respect to one’s plan of life? Examine and respond to these questions. How can I be a better
wife/husband/ son/daughter? How can I improve as father/mother? Pray over this and the Holy Spirit will
inspire you with a concrete proposal.

IX. SPIRITUAL DIRECTION. In addition to frequent confession, spiritual
reading, and serious theological studies, those who are pursuing the path of
perfection should have some form of periodic Spiritual Direction. St. John
of the Cross put it bluntly: “He who has himself as spiritual director has an
idiot for a disciple.” In other words we all have blind spots and need someone other than ourselves to help us on the
demanding and rigorous path to becoming a saint. ADVICE! Pray that God will
help you to find this guide. If you have already discovered one be thankful
humble, docile and obedient!

X. MARY: OUR LIFE, OUR SWEETNESS, AND OUR HOPE. A successful plan of life would be incomplete if Mary were neglected. As St. Louis de Montfort asserts with the utmost conviction: “The quickest, easiest and most efficacious path to
holiness is through True Devotion to Mary.” In other words, she is the shortcut
to God! PROPOSALS! The Daily Rosary, Consecration to Mary through True Devotion, reading on Mary, living in the
presence of Mary and imitation of Mary’s virtue. Why not choose your weakest
virtue this year and beg for Mary’s intercession to conquer yourself! Mary is the weak point of God. He can never
resist her prayers!

Let us conclude with the words of wisdom taken from Adolphe Tanquerey in his classic “The Spiritual Life”.

“The man who holds to a well-defined rule of life saves
considerable time: 1) He wastes no time in hesitation. He knows exactly what he
is to do, and when he is to do it. Even if his schedule is not mathematically
detailed, at least it sets off time-periods and lays down principles with
regard to religious exercises, recreation, work, etc…2) There is little or
nothing unforeseen, for even should the unusual occur, he has already provided
for it by determining beforehand exercises that may be shortened and the manner
of making up for them. At all events, as soon as these exceptional
circumstances cease to exist, he immediately comes back to his rule. 3)
Inconstancy likewise vanishes. The rule urges him to do always what is
prescribed, and that every day and at every hour of the day. Thus the habits are formed that, give
continuity to his life and assure perseverance; his days are full days, teeming
with good works and merits.” (Tanquery, Spiritual Life, # 560)

Dec 31 2012

FAMILY —THE BASIC CELL OF SOCIETY & FUTURE OF THE WORLD.

Divorce rates skyrocketing at an all-time high, adultery wide and rampant, trial-marriages resulting in cohabitation and separation
abandoning children to one-parent families, the homosexual agenda promoting “Same-sex unions” adopting children and calling this the “modern-family”, pornography invading homes thereby producing powerful addictions that lead to total alienation from other members of the family—- this is a bird’s eye view of the family situation in the modern world.

Nonetheless, followers of Jesus Christ lift up the banner with the word HOPE. The word “hope” is one of the three theological virtues that are infused in the soul in the moment of Baptism—-Faith, HOPE, and Charity.

Hope is the virtue by which we place our total trust in God. Despite our failures, weaknesses, shortcomings, our sins and total fragility we know that God is our Rock, our Fortress, and our Light in the midst of the dark tunnel. As the Archangel Gabriel announced to Mary, “Nothing is impossible for God.”

In this brief essay we would like to present one theme to strengthen families that are under assault, and that is the importance of the FATHER in the formation of wholesome, solid and holy families. The mother is the heart of the family but the Father is the “Head” of the family.

What then are goals that every many who is called to the marriage vocation should aim to attain so that indeed he
can live out what is true “Fatherhood” in a world of “Drop-out Dad’s”, negligent Father’s, and overly timid men?

First, to be a good “Father” he should first be a good “Son of God the Father”.
The Father of the family represents and reflects the image of God the
Father. If a Father has an identity crisis in the spiritual realm— that is to
say, he does not understand his intimate relationship to God the Father—then he
will not be able to transmit to his children and family an authentic vision of
God the Father.

However, if the earthly father has encountered God the Father in an intimate, personal, filial, and convincing way then he will be able to transmit this fatherhood to those whom God will place under his care.

A prime example can be found in the life of Karol Woytyla— the future Holy Father, Pope John Paul II. He lost his mother at 9 years of age and then spent much of his time with his father; they even shared the same bedroom at night.

Young Karol recalls waking up in the early hours, way before dawn, and could see the figure of his father kneeling, deeply absorbed in prayer. This example of his father left an indelible impression on the young Karol. His earthly Father had a deep and intimate
relationship to God the Father and transmitted this to his son.

Then Karol would become the great “HOLY FATHER”—Pope John Paul II, one of the greatest and clearest reflections of true fatherhood in the history of the world.

Second, after placing primary emphasis on his relationship with God the Father, a true father should love his wife. The love and friendship that he has with his wife should be indispensable. This love should not stagnate, or worse yet, fizzle out. On the contrary this human love blessed supernaturally by the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony should blossom, grow, and flourish until the moment of death.

All too many marriages lose their vibrancy; the love grows cold to the point that both live in the same house as if they were strangers to each other. Obviously the children will suffer the consequences! How can spouses maintain the flame enkindled and burning bright? As in any activity, sport, or profession, the relationship
between spouses demands work and hard work— blood, sweat and tears.

First of all both should cultivate an ever deeper relationship with God. How? Prayer, both individual and family, the Sacramental life—frequent confession and Holy Communion–, devotion to Mary manifested by the daily recitation of the Holy Rosary, calling to mind the
words of the Rosary priest Father Patrick Peyton, “The family that prays together stays together.”— all of these are part and parcel of growing in a mutual relationship with God. This, of course, will foster unity between themselves as husband and wife. Other activities should not be excluded such as a Marriage Retreat on an annual basis, Marriage Encounter, as well as cultivating good friendships among other good Catholic couples!

Third, the Father should love his children and see them as a precious treasure that God has given to him with the primary purpose of bringing these little ones to their ultimate destiny which is heaven. A child is a gift given to father and mother but with the primary purpose of the parents of being ladders by which the children can climb to heaven.

An authentic father first should provide for the spiritual need of the child. He should teach his child to pray as soon as possible. Little children are like sponges. The nature of a sponge is to absorb; it can absorb dirty water or clean water. Likewise a child can absorb
the dirt of modern world or through the help of a good father, absorb that which is pure, noble and uplifting.

The father should be the teacher to the child especially in prayer. He should be always mindful of the immortal saying of Father Patrick Peyton: “The family that prays together stays together.” With respect to the art of prayer, the father should exercise three different aspects of prayer: 1) He should be a man of prayer and not be afraid to manifest it publicly. There is a saying that praises prayer as
such: “ The man is greatest when he is found on his knees!” Why? Because he recognizes that true greatness comes from the Father of all good gifts, God Himself. 2) He should pray with the family—the blessing of the meal, the family Rosary and the active participation in Holy mass which is of course the greatest of all prayers. 3) Finally, a true father should be like Moses who elevated his arms so that the
Jews could win the battle against their enemies. A father should pray frequently and fervently for his family for their protection from all evils— physical, moral, spiritual—and for his family’s sanctification and salvation.

An authentic Christian father should have his eyes fixed on heaven at all times and aware of the world and the dangers that menace the flock entrusted to him—his wife and children.

The greatest desire of the father for his family should be the salvation of their immortal soul. Jesus said, “What would it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul in the process? What can we offer in exchange for our
immortal soul?”

Until we have restored the essential role of the father in the family to his proper place the world will suffer intensely. Man who is called to the vocation of marriage assumes an enormously important responsibility. The end of the vocation is holiness of life and the heavenly reward.

However, man (the father) must strive daily to cultivate a deeper relationship to God. Then his wife must be cherished as his greatest gift on earth; in the words of Jesus the pearl of infinite value. Then, as God sends children, they should be treasured as priceless gems. The father must receive them willingly from the hands of the Father, the Creator. They should be formed by the father emotionally, intellectually, morally, but especially spiritually. Indeed the father should do all in his power to instill in them a deep-rooted Fear of the Lord, but even more, a tender and loving trust and love for our Heavenly Father.

Let us turn to the best of earthly fathers, the Good Saint Joseph, and beg for his powerful intercession. St Joseph, ornament of the domestic life, patron of families, patron of fathers, pray for us!