Fr. Ed Broom, OMV Oblates of the Virgin Mary

Catholic Ignatian Marian Spirituality

ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE: GIVE THANKS ALWAYS!

Meister Eckhart, a great spiritual;
writer of the past stated blunt and to the point, with respect to a fundamental
attitude of prayer, with these consoling words: 
“If the only prayer we ever uttered were that of THANKSGIVING, then that
indeed would be enough.”
Shakespeare had sharp words to the
ungrateful!  “More painful than that of a
serpent’s toot is that of an ungrateful child.”
The Psalmist reminds us time and time
again of the call to thanksgiving:  “Give
thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His love endures forever.”   Count the number of times that the Psalmist
reminds us and encourages us to render God thanks giving! You will be amazed at
the number of times!
The Apostle Paul does not forget this
“Attitude of gratitude” that should characterize the life of the follower of
Christ.   The fiery apostle to the
Gentiles goes so far as to challenge us to “give thanks at all times.”   God indeed loves a heart that overflows with
gratitude and He is longing to pour an abundance of graces specifically on
those who are known for their gratitude.
In another passage Paul challenges to
be humble and grateful asserting:  “What
do you have that you have not received?”  
Humbling as this may sound, the only thing that we actually have that
has not been given as a gift from God are the SINS that we freely choose to
commit against God’s love and super-abundant bounty!
Of course our Model,  par-excellence, for gratitude is Jesus
Himself.   We see Jesus giving thanks to
the Heavenly Father before working the stupendous miracle of the multiplication
of the loaves and fishes.  Jesus
expressed both wonder and sorrow after accomplishing a miracle full of
compassion and love in which he healed the ten lepers of this terrible, incurable,
and isolating disease of leprosy.   Only
one of the ten who were cured came running back to Jesus, praising and thanking
Jesus for the gift of being healed.   The
other nine, went their happy way without even a word of thanks to Jesus!  By the way, the healed leper that did return
was a Samaritan— a class of people that the Jews despised!
The passage in the Gospel that best
manifests the “Attitude of gratitude” of Jesus toward the Father happened
precisely at the  Last Supper, a few
hours before He was to undergo His most bitter Passion.
At the Last Supper Jesus took bread
broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying “Do this in memory of me.”  Priests have been carrying out this mandate
of Jesus the past 2000 years every time they celebrate Holy Mass, which is
called, “The Eucharist”— Eucharist actually means thanksgiving!
                                                  
Jesus was thankful to the Father to
be able to celebrate the First Mass on Holy Thursday and leave us a memorial of
His Passion, death and resurrection every time Holy Mass is celebrated. How
exceedingly grateful we should be every time we participate in Holy Mass!
Starting today, let us foster and
cultivate an “attitude of gratitude” towards God from whom comes every good
gift.  What do we have that we have not
received from Him, except our own sinfulness?  
Why not start with these five categories of “Gifts” that God has gratuitously
bestowed on us and teach others— especially parents their children—to do the
same!                                                                   
First, Life!  And on two planes: natural and
supernatural.  The fact that God, the
author, origin and sustainer of life has endowed us with human life and
supernatural life through grace should motivate us to sing a canticle of praise
as id the mystical and poetically sensitive heart of St. Francis of
Assisi!  Our life could have been
destroyed in the horrific act of abortion, snuffed out underneath a bomb, are
ended tragically in a head on collision. But no, God has given us life and
protected it. Even more worthy of gratitude is the gift of belief in God!
Second, NOURISHMENT!   Contemplating little children with bloated
stomachs, sunken eyes and toothpicks called arms, how can we not raise our
hearts in gratitude to God and make an effort to alleviate the plight of those
who practically have nothing! 
Spiritually, God nourishes us by His Word, and by Hos Sacrament, The
most Holy Eucharist, His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity! Eternal gratitude
towards you, O Lord!                                                       
Third, HEALING!  Thanks be to God for the dedication and
expertise of those in the Medical Profession, who have saved us from serious
illness and maybe death itself.  Still
more, abundant thanks to the Lord for the healing of our souls through the healing
and gentle touch of Jesus the Physician who anoints us, and heals us though the
priest in the Sacrament of  Confession
!  Jesus is the wounded healer who has
come to heal our wounds so that we also can be wounded healers in broken world!
Fourth, FRIENDSHIP!  Call to mind the many friends that Jesus has
sent.  Consolation, compassion, mere
presence, advice, at times fraternal correction, a timely smile and a fervent
prayer— all of these are hallmarks of the signs of an authentic friend.  But even more important Jesus clearly
expressed an intimate desire of His Sacred Heart to the Apostles, and to you
and me:  “I do not call you slaves
but  FRIENDS!    Most certainly Jesus is Friend and the most
faithful of friends. Even the best of friends fail at times. However, Jesus is
our true Friend and he will never fail us!  
Fifth, HOPE, TRUST, TRUE
HAPPINESS!  As followers of Jesus we can
start our day, end our day—despite trials, struggles and even failures—with
renewed hope!   Merciless are political
regimes, dictators, calculating money-makers! 
Not so with our Lord and God.   In
Him we can place all of our hope; He is worthy of total and limitless trust and
in Him can be found true happiness.  As
the sun rises tomorrow morning so does God’s love for each and every one of
us!  God is our Rock, Fortress, anchor,
Principle and Foundation and the source of our happiness here on earth and in
heaven for all eternity!  For this let us
“Give thanks to the Lord for he is good for His love endures forever.”

 

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JONAH COMPLEX: DO YOU HAVE IT?

It is couched in between two Minor Prophets, Obadiah and Micah, it is composed of only 4 chapters, with only 48 verses in total, a small book, a minor prophet but with an extremely explosive message—it is the book and the person of JONAH!
God summoned Jonah to go to a place he did not want to go, to visit a people he did not particularly like, and to
give a message he literally detested—all this to the pagan city of Nineveh!
Jonah’s response to God’s call?  A flat and unequivocal “No!”   I will not go!  To prove it, Jonah jumped into a pagan ship
going in the exact opposite direction! Jonah reasoned that this would solve the problem.
God had other plans.  When God wants to carry out a mission, he finds the means and the wherewith to accomplish it! God sent two unexpected surprises to Jonah: a powerful storm and a huge fish.  Neither of these ever crossed the mind of Jonah!
The storm compelled the sailors to question who provoked it. Jonah pleads guilty! Then Jonah, cast into the depths
of the sea, surmising his life would be snuffed out, finds himself swallowed up
by a huge fish and remaining in the fish’s belly for three long days and three long nights!
After the duration of three days, the fish vomits Jonah out of his mouth and where does Jonah end up?  Guess where???  Exactly where Jonah had decided to escape and avoid at all costs— the huge city of Nineveh.  When God wants His way, He will carry it out and sometimes in the most surprising ways!
Now Jonah, the resistant prophet of
the Lord, starts out on his mission and preaching. The city of Nineveh was
enormous, filled with pagans, even more filled with sin and Jonah’s message
clear and to the point was that of conversion or else condemnation:  “In 40 days Nineveh and its entire people
will be destroyed!”
To his great surprise, the news of this “message of doom” arrived to the ears of the king and the result was
shocking: total call to conversion for the whole kingdom, nobody excluded, not even the animals!
Man and woman, young and old, even
the four-footed creatures had imposed upon them from the King himself both a rigorous
fast and outward display of penance—the donning on of sackcloth and ashes!
Peering down from heaven upon the
humble and repentant Ninevites, God points out to Jonah their attitude of
conversion, their change of heart. Consequently, God Himself decides to hold off
on chastising the Ninevites!
Irritated at God’s decision, Jonah
was expecting another Sodom and Gomorrah to be displayed to Nineveh!   Jonah wanted revenge and justice to be
requited and quickly. However God preferred mercy.   God is slow to anger and rich in mercy.   Man, on the contrary, is quick to anger and
slow to forgiveness. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, as high are the
heavens above the earth, so are God’s thoughts above ours!
The last verse and thought in the
Book of Jonah is very telling.  These
poor people do not know how to distinguish between their right hand and their
left!  In other words, ignorance is so
vast in this huge land.  Jesus said from
the cross similar words:  “Father forgive
them for they know not what they are doing.”
How many lessons can we glean from
this short but powerful book of the Prophet Jonah?   In how many ways might we be able to
identify with the person of Jonah?   Do
we suffer from the same “Jonah-complex?” 
Why not enter our own hearts and make a brief but sincere examination of
conscience.  Pray and respond interiorly
to these thought-provoking questions!
1.   RESISTANCE!  How often in our lives have we heard God
calling us clearly—as in the case of Jonah—and we purposely closed our ears to
that call?
2.   FLIGHT!  
Worse yet!  How often have we
heard the call insistently and clearly and not only have we resisted but worse yet,
turned our backs on God—like the Prodigal Son—and ran in the opposite
direction? Maybe it happened within the last 48 hours???
3.   SURPRISE DIVINE INTERVENTION.  In His Divine Providence and infinite
goodness, how often has God— like Francis Thompson’s, the “Hound of Heaven”
sought us out despite our resistance and flight from Him—pursuing us and
tracking us down?
4.   STORMS. Spiritual, emotional, moral, social, family, economic storms! How often has God intervened—possibly in a very
powerful and unexpected way—sending some powerful storm in your life to bring you back to the right path?  God is a mortal enemy of complacency. In a clear and cutting way God reminds us of this in the Book of the Apocalypse:  “You are neither hot nor cold—I wish you were—but you are lukewarm. Therefore, I will vomit you out of my mouth.”  Sometimes God is forced to descend in
torments, storms and tempests to shock us out of our lukewarm, anemic, indolent
spiritual malaise!  Augustine reacted violently to this attitude—after God sent storms in his life—with these words:
“Lord, cut me in this life, burn me in this life, but save me for the life to come!”
5.   SURPRISE CONVERSIONS! True, conversion is the work of God in His
way, His time and His manner.  However, God often utilizes secondary means to bring about the conversion of
individuals, families and even nations! Jonah’s shock was the conversion of these Ninevites; he was expecting
quick chastisement and total annihilation!  However, God had other plans, surprise plans. God wanted Jonah simply to
obey, to say “yes” to Him as His instrument and then God would do the rest!  Could it be right now that God is
calling you and calling me to be a modern Jonah? Could it be that our timidity, our fear, our lack of total trust in God is blocking God’s work in the conversion of one, many, maybe even a multitude?  What would have happened of Saul had he never
converted to St. Paul,   if Simon were never converted to St. Peter, if Augustine were never converted to SAINT
AUGUSTINE? Today if you hear His voice harden not your hearts!  “Speak, O Lord for your servant is listening!”
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FATHER: THE GOOD SHEPHERD TO THE FLOCK

 

A Good Shepherd knows his sheep, calls each one by name (the sheep hear and know his voice). Also, a truly Good Shepherd watches over his sheep , nourishes or feeds his sheep and when the sheep wanders away then the Good Shepherd leaves the other 99 in search of the lost sheep and will not give up until he finds the  one lost sheep.  Upon finding the sheep, he bends over to place the sheep on his shoulders communicating warmth to the bewildered, cold and lost sheep and he gently restores the’ lost and found sheep” to the flock.   The Good
Shepherd heals the wounded sheep, corrects its behavior for future safety.
Finally, the most noble characteristic of the truly Good Shepherd is that he loves all of the sheep in his flock but also every one of them individually, such that he gives each a specific name and they know His voice. This self-less love of the Good Shepherd is manifested, in the highest and most sublime degree, in his willingness to protect the sheep, suffer for the sheep and even to die for the sheep.  No greater love has one than to be willing to die for the ones he loves!

 

All of these qualities of the Good Shepherd can be applied most perfectly to Jesus, who knew Psalm 23, the Psalm of the Good Shepherd and applied it to Himself.   We indeed are the sheep of His flock.  Jesus knows us, names us, calls us by name, protects and defends us, searches us out when we wander, bends down to lift us up out of the gutter, gently places us on His shoulders, returns us to the flock and even dies for us and for our salvation.  How thankful must we be to be created, formed, loved and saved by this “Good Shepherd”.
The concept of Good Shepherd can be applied to all of us: we are the sheep of the Lord but also we are called to be Shepherds to the flock entrusted to our care!  The Pope, Bishops, priests, and parents all belong to the “Good Shepherd” club!  Let us outline practical ways that ‘Fathers” of the family can be a Good Shepherd to the flock entrusted to his care! Indeed one of the major   failures in the modern world is the lack of true “Fathers” to their flock, their family!    
1.   GOOD SHEEP OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD.   The first quality of a good father to the family must be that he should have a deep relationship with God the Father.   He must have a deep prayer life and to have experienced the love of God the Father for him!   To be a good Shepherd to the flock, he must first be a good sheep of the Good Shepherd. Nobody can give what he does not have.
   
2.   GOOD SPOUSE: TRUE TO MARRIAGE VOCATION!  After God, the married man—the father—should have a tender, warm, affectionate, trusting and loving relationship with his wife.  St. Thomas Aquinas asserts that the deepest relationship on a human level is between husband and wife.  Their love and friendship should be the deepest!   This takes time effort, patience, but especially the grace of God!

3.   GOOD FATHER TO HIS CHILDREN.   What does this mean?  First and foremost, he should provide for the spiritual welfare of his children. In concrete, he should make sure that they are baptized soon, within the first few weeks. (Canon Law/Catechism of the Catholic Church- teaches).  He should pray for them, teach them to pray and pray with them!  He should procure that at an early age they make their first  Communion.  Also, he should provide ample opportunities for them to go to Confession. Actually, he should be the one who takes the whole family to confession and he should give good example by being the first one to enter and exit the confessional, radiating the peace of a good conscience.  Example speaks more eloquently than thousands of words.  He should bless his wife and children before they go to bed. The Father is called to be the “priest” of the family.
 
4.   PROVIDER FOR THE FAMILY!   From the book of Genesis, the woman is called to bring for the children in pain, but the man is called to earn the bread by the sweat of his brow. (Gen. 3).  This means that the man/father is called to provide for the family.  In a more global sense, he should provide economically, emotionally, intellectually, socially, morally and most important spiritually for the flock that God has entrusted to his care!  “The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall lack.”  He should be aiming to fulfill this verse from Psalm 23. A true shepherd cares for and provides for all of the needs of those entrusted to his care.

5.   PROTECT.   The enemy of the Good Shepherd of course is the wolf.  A wolf is much different than a sheep.  A wolf is quick afoot, crafty, intelligent, sharp-toothed, vicious and bent on going for the kill!  He knows the weak-point of the sheep and waits for the moment of attack!   A good father must be aware of the modern wolves that are on the prowl for the defenseless sheep!   What are some of the major wolves that are seeking to devour the sheep of the flock today?  There are many!  Let us mention just a few , so that fathers—“The Good Shepherds” to their flock –can be alert and always vigilant! Gang activity, drink and drugs, pornography, bad TV programs as well as movies and computer websites and licentious living, vulgar and obscene language and jokes, erroneous teaching on marriage (homosexual unions), bad  friends/ companions (that corrupt morals), premature courtships, religious sects on the prowl such as Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons and the like.   It might seem as if it is a monumental Herculean task that supersedes the natural strength of any father.  This indeed is true!  But our help is in the name of the Lord, who made Heaven and earth.  “The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Finally, all things are possible for God
Let us turn to a model GOOD SHEPHERD:  the good SAINT JOSEPH!  This greatest of saints loved God with all
the fiber of his being. Then he loved and cherished Mary his wife.  His Son was his prize-possession—Jesus the
Lord. He provided for the family by hard work as a carpenter and then was always
available for the family in all of their needs. Finally, he protected them from
danger as we see in the flight from the wicked King Herod!  St. Joseph, pray for our fathers that they
indeed will be good shepherds to the flock entrusted to their care!  “The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I
shall lack.”  (Psalm 23)

 

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EDIFYING SPEECH! BUILD UP OTHERS BY YOUR WORDS!

All of us can remember having been hurt by somebody speaking without thinking and stinging our heart, and leaving a lasting bad memory. Also, all of us remember having opened up our mouths without sufficient reflection and wounding our brother, sister or friend!   Immediately after the word slipped out of the mouth, we wanted to fish it back in, but no, too late!  Once the word has been uttered, no “muting”, cancelling or postponing its arrival to the ear and heart of the listener.
Jesus speaks very clearly about our words:  “Every word that comes out of the mouth will be subject to judgment.”   St. James dedicates almost an entire chapter (chapter 3) to the sins of the tongue. In short, the Apostle underscores the importance of learning the art of speech, reminding us that we should be slow to speak and quick to listen.  He reminds us that man can control almost all types of animals, but not the tongue. Moreover, he says that the same tongue that is used to praise God ends up by cursing one’s neighbor. This is wrong!
Therefore, we would like to offer five short suggestions to help us to utilize our tongue, our speech, our words,
our conversation as a means to truly edify our neighbor—that means, to build up our neighbor.
First suggestion!   We should make it a habit to first talk to God and then to talk to our neighbor. It was said of the great St. Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers among which were the great Preachers (“Speakers”) St. Albert the Great and his student St. Thomas Aquinas, that he would first talk to God and then talk about God to others!  Superb!   Ideally that should be our motto and objective in life with regard to speech— that our words would in some way be communicating the presence of God to others.
Second idea!   Think before you speak!   St. Ignatius observes that a soul agitated is in a state of desolation; in this state it is not the good spirit that is guiding us but the bad!  Speak after reflection and with a calm and peaceful mind! Rushed and impetuous words from unclear or muddled ideas will often cause confusion and hurt. Avoid it.
Third counsel!  SILENCE! The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in the past few months has insisted on the capital importance of cultivating silence in our daily lives! Today we suffer from noise pollution!  Radiotalk-shows, “Rock n’roll” music, non-stop TV programs, dogs barking into the late hours of the night,  adding to that non-stop useless chatter, often filled with gossip— all of us have experienced these scenarios all too frequently!   The Holy Father went so far as to say that if we do not have zones of silence, then we really cannot understand the person who wants to talk to me! Silence creates an interior space for listening, then listening disposes us for union with the Holy Spirit; finally the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray and then to listen attentively and charitably towards our brothers and sisters!
Fourth, a Biblical counsel of great importance: THE GOLDEN RULE!  The “Golden rule” enunciated by Jesus Himself is very simple but everybody in the world understands it:  “Do unto others what you want them to do to you.”   Why not take the Golden Rule one more step and apply it specifically to our speech.That is to say, “Do unto others what you want them to do to you, but most especially  say  to others what you would want them to say to you!   Try it out!
Fifth, at times it is not clear if what we are saying is harmful to others or beneficial; it is not always crystal clear!  What could be of  great help in this matter is to imagine that during the time of your conversation, your choice of words, tone of voice and even facial expression, that three very important persons are present there during that conversation.   Those three persons are Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph.  Ask yourself this question: “If Jesus, Mary, and Saint Joseph were present during the conversation and listening to your words, would they be nodding a smile of approval?” This is the acid test for followers of Jesus! Are our words pleasing in the sight of God, His Holy Mother and Good St. Joseph—who never even said a word in all of Sacred Scripture???
Conclusion.   Jesus said that from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Also Jesus warned us that we will be judged by every word that comes out of our mouths. St. James warns us to be slow to speak and quick to listen.
In the Diary of St. Faustina she admitted her three primary faults were: 1) Pride in not being open to her Superior Irene; 2) TALKING TOO MUCH!!!   She admitted  honestly that Jesus revealed to her that at times He preferred her to be silent rather than to speak  for two reasons: a) the person would not profit from her words; b) it would be much more beneficial for the souls in Purgatory her prayers( in those moments) rather than her conversation. Finally 3) she did not always observe the Rule faithfully.
Let us remember the challenging exhortation of the Franciscan Doctor of the Church, St. Bonaventure:   “We should open our mouths on three occasions: to praise God, to accuse ourselves, and to edify our neighbor.”   Faithful to this exhortation, we will surely avoid many slips of the tongue, anoint our words with the Spirit, and store up for ourselves an eternal inheritance in heaven!
May Our Lady, who pondered in her Immaculate Heart before speaking, teach us to magnify the Lord in our words and to truly edify our neighbor!  “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”
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EAT TO LIVE OR LIVE TO EAT???

 

One of the most serious problems modern America is that of GLUTTONY. What then is “Gluttony”?  A concise and practical definition of Gluttony is the following: “ it is a disordered desire to eat and drink.”
Here is the key question:  “Do you live to eat or eat to live?   If you live only to eat then you are a “Glutton”.  St. Paul describes it as the “God of the stomach”!  But, if it is such, that you eat to live, then that is the practice of one of the four moral/cardinal virtues called “Temperance”.
Health clubs, diets, eating menus and recipes, even expensive operations have all been designed to help the overweight, due to gluttony, to lose those pounds and foster more healthy living.
REASONS BEHIND THE VICE OF GLUTTONY

 

1.   ORIGINAL SIN. As a result of Original Sin inherited from Adam and Eve, there is a disorder in the human heart and one of these is gluttony—the desire to eat or drink too much. Interesting note:  Adam and Eve’s Original Sin was that of disobedience but also gluttony—they ate what they should not have eaten.
2.   FAMILY TRAIT.    Frequently parents who have no self-control
in their eating habits will transmit this to their children. No set eating
times, eating out all the time,a bad diet— all these contribute to bad eating
habits and gluttony, transmitted and passed on to the children!
3.   SOCIETY OF ABUNDANCE.   In most parts of the world food is actually
a scarcity.  Many children die of hunger every day—as much as 4000 according to modern statistics.   Not so in the United States.  A perennial problem of parents is too throw out old food almost every week.  What is
thrown in the garbage in the United States would be gladly  “blessed” and eaten in many other countries.

4.   GLUTTONY PROMOTED!   With the abundance of food, is united the promotion of eating and going overboard!  
“It’s Miller time!”   “You deserve a break today at Macdonald’s”, Chinese buffet:  $5:99— eat all you can!  Buy two
pizzas; get one free!   With all these commercials and promotions, it is not easy to resist falling into gluttony!

5.   STRESS:  LAW OF COMPENSATION.    Many overeat due to the stress of modern life.   Tension,  deadlines to make, traffic jams, economic problems, family feuds, worries about the future— add these all up and as a temporary flight from these problems why not seek refuge in the “pleasure of the palate”.  Dive into that Chinese buffet—all you can eat $4:99!  Go for it!

6.  INNER EMPTINESS!   A spiritual reason for gluttony is the following: the existence of an inner vacuum, an inner emptiness, an inner
feeling of failure!   St. Augustine expressed it in this immortal saying:  “O Lord you have made our hearts for thee and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.” (Confessions). In other words, our hearts have a hole!  That hole can be filled with moral junk (sin) or it can be filled with spiritual riches—God and His abundant grace!  It is either one of the other!   The Angelic Doctor, St Thomas Aquinas, put it this way—“Either we seek the true God in Jesus Christ or we will seek the false god in creature-pleasure!”
REMEDY TO OVERCOME VICE OF GLUTTONY
First of all, we should never despair due to our human misery.   We indeed are the epitome of weakness; however, God is the essence of power and strength. One of His attributes is that of OMNIPOTENCE— God is all-powerful! “Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.”   God can indeed move mountains and He can help us overcome any vice, and that includes Gluttony. Here are some concrete
suggestions!
1.   ADMIT IT!   One of the key problems of alcoholics is precisely this: living in denial!  That is to say, they do not admit they have a problem with excessive drinking!  In Spanish there is a saying, “No hay peor ciego que aquel que  no quiere ver’; no hay peor sordo, que aquel que no quiere oir.”  Translation—“There is no worse blind person than he who does not want to see; there is no worse deaf person than he who does not want to hear!”  Gluttons must admit it:  “I EAT TOO MUCH!!!” or “I EAT WHAT  DOES ME DAMAGE!”   Healing can start once we admit we have a problem!

2.   CONFESS IT!  The specific sacramental grace from  Confession is that of healing.  Sin wounds our soul; Jesus heals us but most
specifically through the Sacrament of Confession.  “Through His wounds we are healed.”
3.   STRATEGY: GAME PLAN!  St. Ignatius offers us a strategy!  Before sitting down to eat, already decide
before-hand what you will eat.  Then, and this is the most challenging: get up from the table with a bit of appetite
left!  Wow! Usually we get up, having overeaten!   This is called conquest in the Spiritual battle!

4.   IMAGINE THE HOLY FAMILY!   Another potent suggestion would be to imagine that when you are eating that you are sitting down at the table with the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and St. Joseph.  Contemplate a typical meal of the most holy of all families eating and
sharing together.  We know the saying: “Birds of the flock stick together.” And “Tell me with whom you associate and I will tell you who you are.”  The manners, the courtesy, the self-control, the exquisite charity of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph will teach us the importance of eating not simply to satisfy our taste-buds and earthly desires, but to be aware that our body is the temple of
the Holy Spirit and should be respected as such as well as our body is destined to eternal glory.

 

5.   REASON OVER PASSION!   In moments of tension and passion, when you
are about to eat beg for the grace not simply to follow passion and desire but
to submit your lower impulses to that of reason.  Reason teaches us that the purpose of food is
nourishment and strengthening so as to carry out our daily obligation
better.  “What gas is for the tank of the
car; so is food for the stomach!”

6.   HUNGER FOR THE TRUE FOOD!   Cultivate hunger for the best of foods— Jesus the Bread of Life!  Indeed, why not
strive after assisting at Daily Mass, receiving Holy Communion frequently—if possible even on a daily basis.   If our
hunger and thirst for Jesus in eating and drinking His Body and Blood is intense, then Jesus indeed will help us to “order the disordered”, in all ways, but specifically,  in the proper use of food and drink! Let us beg Mary, who gave to us Jesus the “Bread of life”, to attain for us self-control and to seek for eternal and perennial realities: the Bread of the Word of God and the Bread of Life in Holy Communion!
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