Fr. Ed Broom, OMV Oblates of the Virgin Mary

Catholic Ignatian Marian Spirituality

BIRTHDAY OF JESUS THE LORD: OTHER WAYS HE IS BORN…

 

Jesus came into the world about 2000 years ago, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the stable of Bethlehem that cold winter night.  This was when He passed from His eternal presence in the bosom of the Most Blessed Trinity into the historical time frame into the world to save all of humanity.   Because of that reason His name is “Jesus” which means “Savior.
Jesus came to save all of humanityfrom all that is evil: sin, slavery to sin, sadness and depression, the
trickeries of the devil, and hell—the eternal separation from God. How grateful
we should be for His coming among us— Emmanuel, “God with us”.
Jesus was born in time 2000 years ago, but He desires to be born again, every day in all times and places until
the end of time.  How then is it that
Jesus can still be born today, now, this very instant?  This will be the topic of our reflection and
meditation together.   The ways and
manners are numerous, but we must have the eyes of the mystic to perceive His coming!

1.   BAPTISM.  Every time a Baptism is celebrated Jesus is truly born in the soul of the baptized. 
Not only is Jesus born in the soul, but also the other members of the
Blessed Trinity, the Father and the Holy Spirit.  For that reason Jesus insisted in His conversation
with Nicodemus that one must be born twice— once physically and then of water
and the Holy Spirit and this is the moment of Baptism. (Jn.3 Conversation
between Jesus and Nicodemus).

 

2.   CONFESSION/RECONCILIATION.  In the spiritual realm mortal sin is spiritual death, the loss of the presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and the loss of Friendship with Jesus.  Good News!   A confession well-prepared, with true sentiments of sorrow and sincere desire to amend one’s life results in Jesus being born in that soul.  What amazing and consoling words to hear:  “I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”  Through Sacramental Confession, Jesus is born once again in the depths of the soul.
               
3.   RECONCILIATION & MERCY.   Pride, self-love, self-sufficiency often leads to tensions and division between brothers and sisters.   All of us who belong to the human race are of the same family.  We all descended from Adam and Eve as our first parents; moreover, by praying the Our Father we are admitting that God is our Father and we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.   When two alienated and estranged brothers come together reconcile and make peace, then once again Jesus is born in their hearts.  The
Easter greeting of the Risen Lord was “Shalom”— peace be with you!

4.   LOVING AND SERVING THE POOR.    Before even becoming a Christian-Catholic  St. Martin had an
experience that radically changed his life. It was a bitterly cold winter night
and Martin the soldier looked down as he rode on his horse and he saw a
half-naked man laying on the ground, shivering and half dead.  Moved to compassion, Martin pulled out his
sword, cut his own cloak in half and gave the other half to clothe and warm the
naked man.  That very night Martin saw in a dream somebody wearing his cloak. However it was not the poor man that he
gave it to the night before but it was Jesus the Lord.   This act of charity led to the conversion of
Martin to Catholicism, to Martin becoming a priest, then a Bishop, then the
most generous and kind of Bishops and then a saint.  We honor him every year on Nov. 11th—-Saint
Martin of Tours.  Jesus was born in that encounter between Martin and the poor, half-naked man. Jesus indeed said, “I
was naked and you clothed me….whatsoever you do the least of my brothers that
you have done for me…(Mt. 25).

5.   JESUS IS BORN IN THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS.   One of the four Dogmatic
Constitutions of the Documents of Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium reminds us
of various “Presences” of Jesus, but especially “The Real-Presence”. How then
is Jesus present and then born in the greatest of prayers—the Holy Sacrifice of
the Mass? God is present in the praying assembly because as Jesus tells us,
“Wherever two or more are gathered in my name, I am with them.” Then, He is
present in song.  St Augustine chimes in: “Whoever sings well prays twice.”  Still
more, God speaks to us in His word when the Bible is read in the Mass, but
especially when the Gospel is being read it is actually Jesus Himself who is
speaking to us.  One of the classical definitions for the priest is “alter christus”, meaning, “another Christ”. As
such, God is present in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass through the person and
the ministry of the priest.  However, of greatest importance, Jesus is truly and substantially present in the moment of
Consecration in Mass when the priest takes the bread and wine and pronounces the same words that Jesus said at the Last Supper, “Take and eat this is my Body and Take and drink, this is my Blood. Do this in memory of me.”  Truly, this is Christmas!  In that precise moment of the double Consecration Jesus is born.  He becomes present
sacramentally but truly in His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.   “O come let us adore Him!”. Of course the
natural follow up of the CONSECRATION is the culminating moment of HOLY
COMMUNION.    In this moment the well-disposed hearts of the faithful receive Jesus into their hearts and once again Jesus is
truly born.   Their hearts are transformed into living “Bethlehems”— meaning, “House of Bread”.   The Christmas hymn, “O little House of Bethlehem” is nothing less than human hearts receiving Jesus in Holy
Communion.   Jesus who became the “Bread
of Life” (Jn. 6. The Bread of Life discourse) desires to be born in Bethlehem,
“The House of Bread” and to come into human hearts, “Living Bethlehems”.   “O Come let us adore Him, Christ the
Lord.”   Jesus indeed is truly present in Holy Mass but especially in His “Real-Presence” in the greatest of all
Sacraments—the Holy Eucharist, the Bread of Life.

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CHRISTMAS CAROL–TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and THE CHRISTMAS CAROL-all of these are the literary masterpieces
of one of the greatest English novelists, Charles Dickens.
The Christmas Carol— the literary masterpiece depicted in many films—has many pertinent messages for Christmas now more than ever in a world in which God’s primacy has been challenged and man’s power and materialism dominate.
Ebenezer Scrooge, before arriving at his conversion, exemplifies the Capital Sin of Avarice which can be defined as a disordered desire for material possessions.  Scrooge presents a marked contrast with his employer Bob Cratchet who is
seen as weak, but hard-working.
CONVERSION.   The conversion of Scrooge takes place upon his dream of past, present and future, but especially “future” in which he is
taken to the cemetery to view his tombstone and future death.   The prospect of his mortality and death served as an atomic bomb to wake him up to the reality of what is truly important in life.   What then are the key messages from Dickens to the world and to each and every one of us individually?        
1.  MATERIALISM.   Constantly there is the temptation and
danger to place the material over the spiritual, the temporal over the eternal,
the sensible and tangible over the mystical, the finite over the value of the
infinite.
2.   MONEY AS GOD.  Scrooge’s God was his making money, saving
money, hoarding money, counting money and burying himself in money. Instead of
the inscription on the American currency, “In God we trust” it was instead, “In
money we trust.”
               
3.   EXPLOITING AND USING THE PERSON AS AN OBJECT.
Scrooge, being blinded to the glitter of his piles of money, could not see the
innate value of the person.   His employee, Bob Cratchet, instead of being perceived as a human person created in
the image and likeness of God, was viewed as a mere object or machine to be
utilized to further his purpose and end all of life: to make more money and
hoard it!   In modern America the false-philosophy
of UTILITARIANISM is growing by leaps and bounds.   This philosophy expounded by the political philosophers
of the 19th century, John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham, asserted
that the person has innate value only inasmuch as he is economically
productive.   Therefore a “Downs-child”, a handicapped person, a person on dialysis, an elderly person suffering from
Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s have no inherent and intrinsic value, but are rather
an economic burden to society. Why not discard them?   We call this today “Euthanasia”.   Pope John Paul II teaches us the contrary that being is more important than having and that doing flows from being!  Every individual has great value because he
was created by a loving God for the purpose of serving God in this life and
being happy with Him for all eternity.
          
4.   MEDITATION ON DEATH AND CONVERSION.   Only once Scrooge was visited by the reality
of death by means of the dream and Marley who took him through three stages of
time and his life— past, present , and the future— was Scrooge able to wake
up to reality and recognize that which was of true and perennial value. Up to
this point his life focused on money, accumulating, having, hoarding and
exploiting people. Death!  Nobody escapes
this ultimate reality!   He was taken to
the cemetery and his tombstone with his name on it, his birth date and his
death with a question mark?????  Recognizing
the vanity of materialism now was the time to change immediately and drastically!
   
5.   GIVING WITHOUT COUNTING THE COST!   Awake and renewed by
the dream, Scrooge pulls the drapes,
swings opened the windows and asks the boy walking below in the snow and with
his sled if the big turkey in the market had been sold as of yet!  “No, sir!” 
Scrooge, with holy abandon and true freedom, launches a sum of money out
the window to the boy summoning him to purchase the Turkey and bring it to him
as soon as possible.  This done, and a
generous tip for the boy, Scrooge was ready to give generously to the one whom he
had been most miserly to for many years— his employee Bob Cratchet.   Giving generously can smash the chains of
slavery to things. Indeed our possessions can possess us.
6.   FAMILY OVER THINGS.   Scrooge arrives at Bob Cratchet’s humble
abode and knocks on the door.  At first
fearful Cratchet wonders about the purpose of the visit, but to his great
surprise it was a manifestation of his boss Ebenezer Scrooge’s total
conversion.  Scrooge had not come to
chastise, to exploit and try to   bleed
Cratchet of more money but to give.  The
turkey given, Merry Christmas wishes given, and a smile on his face— these
were the token gifts offered from Scrooge. 
Never in his life would Cratchet have dreamed of such a radical
conversion.

7.   TINY TIM.  The little paralytic son of Cratchet, Tiny Tim, would be the favorite of Scrooge. 
They would bond as true friends. Scrooge from now on would cherish the
Cratchet family, their friendship and warmth, more than all of the gold, and
sliver and money of the entire world!  
In a world in which the handicapped, the blind, the deaf and mute and
the Downs-child is seen as a useless burden to society, the novel-movie
Christmas Carol of Charles Dickens also teaches us the value of all people,
rich and poor, healthy and sick, abled or disabled are precious in the eyes of
their Creator.
CONCLUSION:EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE  What are your values?  What is first in your hierarchy of values? Does the Christmas Carol speak to you?  Is there something of the Ebenezer Scrooge hidden in the inner recesses of your heart? Has the value of the “things” that surround you prevail over the persons that surround you? Is the shortness of life, the dream and ultimate reality of your death something that you often meditate upon? Are you willing to give of yourself knowing that there is more joy in giving than in receiving?

 

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MARY AND ELIZABETH TEACH US TO SAY “YES” TO LIFE!

 

 

This is the Pro-life passage par excellence!  In modern USA these two
women would be prime-candidates for abortion. 
One would be considered too young to have a child, Mary; the other,
would be considered too old; St. Elizabeth.
However, both said “yes” to life and
brought into the world the greatest— John the Baptist, who Jesus said “the
greatest of men born of women” and Jesus the “Way, the Truth and the Life” the
Son of the living God.
What then are ways that we can truly
promote the Pro-Life cause?  All of us
have to be actively engaged in promoting life. We indeed are people of
life.   Pope John Paul II divided the
world into two categories: those who lift up the banner entitled “The Gospel of
Life”, opposed to those who embrace and promote the “Culture of death”.   This is the modern Ignatian “Two-standards”.

 

1.   First of all we must clearly understand where
life comes from, who gives life and who has the right to take life.   To all of these questions the response is
unique and unequivocal: GOD!    Human
life starts at conception when God implants that immortal soul in that baby
conceived in the womb of the mother.   It
is God who sustains life in every stage of its existence.  Finally it is God who decides when, where and
how that life is to be ended.  Every
human life is precious  and unrepeatable
from the moment of conception until natural death.   Even the Founding Fathers of our Country
asserted in the Constitution:  “Every
human being is endowed with inviolable rights: Life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness!”   In other words abortion is
against the 5th Commandment: thou shalt not murder!”
                   
2.   VOCATION TIME AND PLACE.    The two most important decisions in our
life are profession and vocation— that is to say, what work will we choose to
undertake for the development of the common good of society, our own personal
development as well as the welfare of our family.  However, even more important is one’s
specific vocation that should lead to one’s personal sanctification. Most are
called to the marriage vocation. The point at hand is that as the book of
Ecclesiastes underlines: there is a time for everything underneath the skies—a
time to plant and uproot, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to sow and
a time to reap.”  Also there is a time and a person with whom to establish a courtship and a time to avoid it!   The statistics on abortion are alarming in USA. There is about one abortion every 20 seconds, three a minute, 4000 a day,
between 180-300 in Los Angeles daily,  about 1.2 million a year, and since the Roe vs.
Wade decision over 50 million.   One of
the many reasons is unwanted pregnancy in early years.   Unfortunately minors— teen girls—can
legally have recourse to their school nurse, have a pregnancy exam and if it is
positive then she can opt for an abortion even without parental knowledge and
consent.    To make a long story short,
parents should block their children as well as teens from establishing a
courtship in these early years and motivate their children to get to know and
love God, to work hard at school, to engage in sports, to cultivate wholesome
friendships and to pray that after their studies they will meet the person with
whom they will marry, have children and be faithful until death do they part!

 

3.   SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE.   When it happens that a confused, insecure
and depressed woman approaches you to reveal the reality of her pregnancy, then
do all you can to support her.  First,
praise and thank the Lord for the gift of life that she is carrying within her
womb. Second, assure her of your prayers and moral support.  Third, if she is in crisis, offer her
economic and social support. Have a crisis pregnancy number in place at your
finger-tips.  Never forget also that
adoption could be a valid and realistic alternative for women who seem to have
no means at their disposal to provide for the child.   Frequently women have recourse to abortion
for the simple reason that all the people surrounding them have encouraged them
to have the abortion as the best option. Abortion—the killing of an innocent
baby—can never be an option.
   
4.  ABORTION CLINIC PRAYER AND COUNSELING MINISTRY & THE ULTRASOUND!  
If you feel called to be pro-active in praying in front of abortion
clinics, then praying the most Holy Rosary might be one of the most efficacious
weapons.  With this you might feel the
mission to undergo training as a sidewalk counselor.  Many babies have been saved especially
through prayer, others have been saved due to experienced counselors who have
convinced them to accept the child. Still other confused women were brought to
the ULTRASOUND.  By seeing their little
baby smile, laugh, suck his/her thumb yawn, and scratch his/her nose—the impact
was so great that women have decided to have their child as a great gift from
God the author and giver of all life. The powers of evil and darkness never
sleep; the devil is a liar and a murderer from the beginning as Jesus clearly
stated.  We who belong to the Kingdom of
Light and life must pick up steam in the defense of the little child who cannot
defend Himself.

 

5.   PRAYER, PENANCE, MASS AND MARY.  Of course the most efficacious means at our
disposal in this mortal battle for human life and for the soul of our nation is
the spiritual life.  Jesus said that some
devils can be cast out only by prayer and fasting.   Therefore, to save the unborn babies let us
offer more fervent and frequent prayers. Still more powerful, let us offer the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass— the Blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the
sins of the world— to save the innocent blood of the unborn baby. Then let us
turn to Mary who said “Yes” to life and brought us Jesus, who came to bring us
Life and Life in abundance. Let us  pray
over and over again the Hail Mary, especially the words: BLESSED ART THOU
AMONG WOMEN AND BLESSED IS THE FRUIT OF THY WOMB JESUS!  Christmas is a Feast of joy, peace and LIFE!
May Mary’s example and the example of St. Elizabeth motivate us to accept life,
speak up for life, and defend life.  Every individual is endowed with inalienable rights of Life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness.
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LETTER FROM FR. LARRY DARNELL, OMV, OUR PASTOR

 

  
December, 2012
Dear Friends of the Spiritual Exercises,

It is a week before Christmas and we want to thank the Christ Child and His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, for all that they have done at St. Peter Chanel. We thank them especially for the success of the Spiritual Exercises and Adult Catechism programs.
During the last 5 or 6 years you have come to our church to participate in these Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. We deeply appreciate your presence at these classes.
God has blessed us and the many people who have come here. We have been able in a small way, to fulfill the following words of the Prophet Isaiah:

“In days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the
highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward
it; many peoples shall come and say: “Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain, to
the house of the God of Jacob, that He may instruct us in His ways, and we may
walk in His paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of
the Lord from Jerusalem.” Isaiah 2:2-3

We have just finished constructing a new building, which is used for the Spiritual Exercises and to teach Catechism to both adults and children.Our expenses for these programs are very high. Also, we need to repair the old church building. If you can remember us at Christmas time we would be very appreciative.

May our Lady ask the Christ Child to bless you abundantly in this Season of Great Joy.
Sincerely
in Christ,
Fr.
Larry Darnell, OMV
Pastor
Fr. Edward Broom, OMV
Associate Pastor
“Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down,
and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you
measure will in return be measured out to you.” Luke 6:38
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THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS


1. Jesus is the reason for the season!   The real purpose and meaning of Christmas can be found in the name “Jesus”.  As St. Paul asserts in the letter to the Philippians: At the name of Jesus every knee in heaven, on earth and under earth will bow… (Phil.2). Jesus 
means “Savior”.   In the Annunciation, the Archangel Gabriel says to Mary that the child that she would bear His name is “Jesus” because He will save the people of their sins…

From what does Jesus save us? In a nutshell—from all that is evil!   He came to save us from sin; He came to save us from the power of the devil; He came to save us from sadness, hopelessness and despair; He came to save us from the meaningless characteristic of modern life; He came to save us from death; He came to save us from eternal loss in hell.   He came through the power of His Incarnation, life death and Resurrection to give us life and life to the full in the Resurrection , by which he crushed death and  opened wide the gates of heaven for
all who come to Him, love Him, obey Him and desire to be with Him for all eternity!

2.   CHRISTMAS TEACHES US TO AVOID MATERIALISM: A MODERN GOD!

A modern Psychologist, Erich Fromm, expresses the danger of placing all one’s hope in material things with these short but penetrating words: “If you are what you have and you lose what you have then who are you?” Blessed Pope John Paul II, who was instrumental in the promulgation of the Dogmatic Constitution of Vatican II, Gaudium Spes, expressed it in these words:  “Being is more important than
having and doing flows from being!” Even the most famous Rock n’ Roll group, The Beatles, had a handle on the concept, when they sang “Money can’t buy me love!”  It is true that money can buy comfort, ease and pleasure, but not joy.  True joy comes from within, is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and a keen awareness of God’s indwelling and abiding Presence and His limitless love for us.   
Of course the literary masterpiece of Charles Dickens made into many films since, “The Christmas Carol” teaches us many lessons on the meaning of Christmas. In the forefront is the message that hoarding money and things for oneself can cause grief to oneself as well as to
others. On the contrary, learning to give generously produces overflowing joy. Only once confronted with the reality of his mortality, his own death, his short and fleeting life, was Ebenezer Scrooge compelled to see his money not as a means for his own pleasure but as something to give away freely.  St. Paul reminds us:  “There is more joy in giving than in receiving.” The story and movie ends with Scrooge buying the expensive turkey, visiting the home of Bob Cratchet, ( his employee whom he used as an object for many years), visiting Bob’s home, donating the expensive turkey, embracing the little paralytic Tiny Tim and sitting at dinner and rejoicing in his giving!
In a society which lauds and applauds people with money, possessions names with fame, the birth of Jesus in the poor, squalid, cold, musty and smelly stable for animals sends us a radical  counter-cultural message: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God.” (Mt. 5:3 )

3.   A MOST SECURE HAVEN AND REFUGE: THE ARMS AND HEART OF MARY

The cold and bitter air, the profound darkness of the night, the smell of hay mixed with animal dung, the hard floor of the cave, the cold rejection of the Innkeepers— all serve to describe the reception Hall of Jesus into the world!  Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen captures the scene with these poignant words: “The Creator of the whole universe had nowhere to be born in his own creation.”
Despite this deplorable scenario of the birth of the Savior into a world that basically rejected Him, there was one sure refuge, haven, oasis of peace and that was the arms of His Mother Mary. Jesus found warmth, comfort and peace in her arms and was warmed by her Immaculate Heart.   In our lives, amidst the storms, earthquakes, and heartbreaks of life we can always find sure refuge in the arms and the Heart of Mary the Mother of Jesus and our Mother.  “Sweet heart of Mary be my salvation!” 

4.  O SILENT NIGHT!
Silence leads to interior recollection and then to contemplation of our awesome but loving God. In a world inundated by constant and almost deafening noise, what we might term “Noise Pollution” that first Christmas night in the profound night of Bethlehem
we learn the lesson of silence.   God speaks in the depths of the heart that has silence.  God did not speak to the prophet Elijah in the storm, the earthquake, or the lightning and thunder.  Rather, God spoke to Elijah in the soft and gentle breeze. Why not in deep silence and  recollection contemplate the Child Jesus sleeping peacefully in the arms of Mary.  Then speak to them from the depths of your heart.  “O come let us adore Him!

5.   CHRISTMAS: AND THE MASS AND THE EUCHARIST-JESUS IS BORN!“Christmas” means the “Mass of Christ”.  There are actually three comings of Christ into the world. First, He came in the flesh in the Incarnation when He was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the stable of Bethlehem about 2000 years ago. Second, Jesus will come at the end of time as a just Judge.  He will judge all who ever lived
for what they have done and what they have failed to do, as we pray in the Creed: “He will come to judge the living and the dead.” Third, Jesus comes mystically but truly in an invisible way through grace and the Sacraments. The greatest of all Sacraments is the Most Holy Eucharist!  

At every Holy Mass, in a real sense, Christmas is being celebrated because Christmas is truly the birth of Jesus. If that is true, then at the moment of Consecration in the Mass when the priest takes the Bread and repeats the words that Jesus said at the Last Supper, “Take and eat this is my Body…” in that moment Jesus is truly born in the hands of the celebrating  priest. Christmas is renewed every day and every
hour that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated! Still more, every time we receive Holy Communion with faith, devotion and love then our hearts become a Bethlehem to receive the Lord of the universe.  For that reason the word “Bethlehem” actually means “The House of Bread.” Jesus who said, “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,” desires to enter into your “Bethlehem” and mine (Our hearts and souls in Holy Communion). Why not celebrate Christmas in a totally spiritual way by placing Jesus in the Mass, Consecration, in Holy Communion in the very center of your life.

If this is done it will be a Christmas of great joy, peace, harmony, and love. May Mary who gave us the
greatest Gift in the world— Jesus, the Savior—attain for us the most holy, happy, and heavenly inspired Christmas in our lives!  Indeed “Jesus is the reason for the season!”

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