CONFESSION: RETREAT CFC, LENT 2012: Points!
The following text is a retreat given to “Couples for Christ”. The topic for the Retreat was on the Sacrament of Confession. Hopefully, though the grace of God and through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, our life our sweetness and our hope, these points and reflections will help you to appreciate more this Sacrament of God’s mercy and have frequent recourse to it as an infinite source of grace, peace and healing. The second reflection is points on how to make a Holy Hour. The primary focus is that Jesus is indeed your “Best Friend” as exemplified in the story of the movie of “Marcellino, Pan y vino”—The Miracle of Marcellinus. May your prayer life skyrocket!
GROWING IN WISDOM, AND GRACE BEFORE GOD AND MEN!
At the moment of your Baptism, you were transformed into the living temple of the Most Blessed Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit began to live within your very soul. God became your Father; Jesus became your elder Brother; the Holy Spirit, became your “Friend” and the “Sweet Guest of your soul” (Sequence prayer to the Holy Spirit for Pentecost).
Therefore, your dignity through Baptism, being so sublime, that your final destiny is the eternal Temple of God in Heaven. However, there is one condition, and this condition is of vital importance: do not lose the Presence of these 3 Divine Persons due to mortal sin; do not dirty that temple by hurting and expelling God by a serious sin; do not lose God for all eternity by dying in mortal sin.
The two worse calamities that can befall the human person are the following: committing a mortal sin, where God is expelled from the soul, but worse yet, dying in the state of mortal sin and losing God for all eternity. The Book of Revelation/Apocalypse calls this the second death. The first death is mortal sin; the second death is dying in mortal sin and being dead in eternal torment in hell for all eternity.
Ten short counsels to strive to enter in through the narrow gate so as to be with the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit for all eternity!
1. LIVE IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD. St. Teresa of Avila astutely noted a fact: we sin because forget about God’s loving-presence. Get in the habit of thinking more about God during the course of the day and remember the words of St. Paul: “In Him we live and move and have our being.” The secret of the sanctity of Brother Lawrence was precisely this: to always live in the “Presence of God”.
2. PRAY SHORT ASPIRATIONS/EJACULATIONS DURING THE COURSE OF THE DAY!
These short prayers are fiery arrows that pierce the Heart of God. Choose a few of your favorites and pray them as your lungs breathe air. Here are a few! “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine.” “Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation…” “Jesus I trust in you…” Jesus, Son of the living God, have mercy on me…” And a very good one– short and to the point in time of trial: “Jesus save me!!!”
3. LIVE EACH DAY AS IF IT WERE YOUR LAST! This is the secret of the saints. In the famous Rule of St. Benedict, there is very wise advice on this point, namely, we should think about death at least twice a day!
4. ORA Y LABORA. This is also taken from St. Benedict and is his motto. It is Latin and the English translation is simply, “PRAY AND WORK!” Notice, the order, first it is prayer and then work follows; if not, we fall into “Activism” and relegate God to a secondary place. God deserves the first, the best and our hearts in their totality!
5. PRAY FOR THIS GRACE: THE GRACE OF ALL GRACES: PERSEVERANCE IN GRACE! St. Alphonsus insists on this very special grace that we persevere until the very end in grace. Track runners can be winning 99 % of the time, but can fall at the end. As athletes for Christ we have not won until we have crossed the finish line, meaning until dying in the state of grace!
6. PRINCIPLE AND FOUNDATION. Often call to mind why you are here, where you came from, where you are heading, and the means to attain your end! Our starting point is the loving hand of God that created you and formed you. You are a loving child of God. GRACE! Living in grace and strengthening grace in your soul, should be your daily program. HEAVEN! Yes, heaven awaits God’s faithful servant!
7. ACTIONS. The Cure of Ars once stated do not do anything that you cannot offer to God. We would never offer our friends “Junk”. Much less should we ever consider offering God junk! That is what sin is, “Moral junk!” Give the Lord your best! Avoid the “Cain-complex”; be like Abel!
8. THANKFULNESS! Never go through a day in your life in which you do not render gratitude to God for all that you have and all that you are. God rejoices in a grateful heart and is desirous to flood that soul with blessings. “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving”. May your motto in life be precisely that word: EUCHARIST! “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His mercy endures forever.”
9. INSPIRATIONS! Living in grace, praying often and fervently, having received the Sacrament of Confirmation, cultivating interior recollection (meaning interior silence), all this is tantamount to being open to receiving frequent inspirations from the Holy Spirit. Be open, listen, obey, and trust! By saying “yes” to inspirations God has many more in store for you! Be generous and trust Him!
10. MARY THE STAR OF THE SEA! Mary has many beautiful titles and one of these is “Mary, Star of the Sea”. In the midst of the many storms of life, lift up your eyes and contemplate Mary, as star of the Sea. As sailors, with Jesus as Captain, Mary as star of the sea is always present to us to traverse the storms, to bail out the gushing waters, to brave the sea, and to sail swiftly into the Port of salvation— Heaven, out true refuge, haven and eternal resting place! Ave Stella Maris! Hail, Mary, star of the sea!!!
SEEKING FOR INTERIOR PEACE OF SOUL? TRY CONFESSION!
That first Easter Sunday night, as the Apostles hid in the upper room in fear of the Jews and possible execution from the Romans, Jesus walked through the wall in His glorified Body and greeted them: “Peace be with you! (Shalom!) Breathing on them He said: “Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you forgive they shall be forgiven; whose sins you retain they shall be retained.” (Jn. 21: 21-23)
By this gesture, Jesus was bestowing upon the Apostles, future Bishops as well as future priests until the end of the world, the ability in His Name to forgive sins through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Jesus’ Easter Sunday night gift was none other than giving us forgiveness, peace, joy, freedom and liberty, by instituting the Sacrament of Confession. Gratitude for this sublime gift should have no bounds or limits in our hearts! “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever.”
However, a problem exists far and wide today: this gift is misunderstood, forgotten, abused and sorely neglected! The nature of a “Gift” is that it is to be well used and graciously received by the recipient! In too many churches and Parishes throughout the world, the line for Holy Communion, never ends! On the contrary, the confessional line dwindles to nothing, except the scrupulous sacristan who confesses three times a day! Let us first present some of the major obstacles, roadblocks and objections to confession; then some practical tips on how to draw close to this infinite source of grace! SOME TYPICAL OBSTACLES AND OBJECTIONS!
1. TOMORROW. Too often the devil convinces us to follow the “Philosophy of tomorrow”. Simply do it, but tomorrow! We all know that tomorrow never exists; we only have today! C. S. Lewis in SCREWTAPE LETTERS, presents Satan in discussion with others devils on how to successfully win souls to hell. The best idea presented to Satan was to get the people to believe they have a long life and that they could put off their conversion for tomorrow! The devil of “Tomorrow” has won over man penitents who never make it tot he confessional! What should be done today, now, should not be put off till tomorrow. St Augustine presents Jesus as the Pilgrim knocking at the door. He knocks and knocks, but if the door is not open He will never return. Why not open today your heart to the Lord’s forgiveness!
2. ACT OF CONTRITION! I do not know the “Act of Contrition”; so I cannot go to confession! Easily resolved! Just ask the priest and he will give you a card with the “Act of Contrition”. Resolved! Just go! Then, see if you can memorize an “Act of Contrition!”
3. CONFESSION INVENTED BY PRIESTS– NOT IN BIBLE! FALSE! it can be found in the Bible in the Gospel of John, chapter 21: 21-23. Jesus breathes on them the Holy Spirit and empowers them to forgive sins in His name: “The sins that you forgive will be forgiven; the sins you bind shall be held bound…” A very clear and convincing Biblical passage substantiating the institution of the Sacrament of Confession! (Jn 20:21-23) Read it memorize it!
4. PRIESTS ARE TOO BUSY! Another false claim! The two greatest actions that a priest can carry out, related to his reception of Holy Orders, is the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the celebration of the Sacrament of Confession. Likewise, the two most important phrases a priest can say are: TAKE AND EAT THIS IS MY BODY; TAKE AND DRINK THIS IS MY BLOOD. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME…. and “I ABSOLVE YOU OF YOUR SINS IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT….” These words and actions of the priest are by far the most important manifestations of his priesthood. By calling upon a priest to hear your confession you are helping that priest to become a better and more holy priest! Holy priests usually spend much time in the confessional; take for example The Cure of Ars, Padre Pio and St. John Bosco! They all spent long hours in the confessional in their thirst for the salvation of souls. St. John Bosco’s motto was: “Give me souls and take all the rest away!”
5. I HAVE NO SIN TO CONFESS! Impossible! There were only two perfect persons that lived on the face of the earth: Jesus, the Son of the living God, and Mary, the Immaculate Conception! They were born without sin and were impeccable their whole lives. However, in the case of the rest of humanity, we were conceived with Original Sin, commit many actual sins and need God’s mercy through the Sacrament of Penance. The words of the late Pope Pius XII ring so true today: “ The sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin.” It is not that you do not have sin; it is that you are blind to your sin!
6. RATIONALIZATION/MODERN PSYCHOLOGY. Modern psychological schools tend to downplay, or worse yet, simply deny that “sin is sin”, especially in the realm of sexual morality! Simply follow your feelings; be free and uninhibited! The Church has never promoted license and following sinful tendencies but self-control through prayer, fasting, sacraments, Marian devotion and hard work!
7. EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING WHAT YOU CALL SIN! Never forget, the Church is not a democracy! Jesus never promised that to follow Him was going to be easy! On the contrary, he unequivocally stated the conditions to follow Him: “Whoever wants to be my follower, must renounce himself, take up his cross and follow me.” Keep in mind! The cross leads to the glory of the Resurrection and eternal life. Confession is dying to sin and living life and life in abundance. It is the sacramental realization of the Paschal mystery in the human heart: death to sin and rising to the new life of grace!
8. MY SIN (SINS) ARE TOO BIG! False! The greatest attribute of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is His Infinite Mercy. The essence of Devotion to Divine Mercy, written by “The Secretary of Divine Mercy” St Faustina Kowalska, is that Jesus is Mercy Incarnate. The greater the sinner, the more he has a right to God’s mercy. Also, the greatest sinners can be the greatest saints, under one condition: TRUST IN HIS INFINITE MERCY! Remember the words of St. Paul: “Where sin abounds, the mercy of God abounds all the more.” Never be fearful to draw close to the merciful Heart of Jesus. Remember the Prodigal son, but remember even more the Merciful Father of the Prodigal Son. His arms are open to receive you!
9. PRIEST WILL YELL AT ME! If it happened in the past, then forgive the priest! He was probably just having a bad day, as we all do! That was half of your penance! Most likely, it will not happen again! Most priests are kind, merciful compassionate and encouraging confessors! Pray for priests! Once St. Faustina went to confession and it did not go well, as if the priest did not understand her, nor she the priest. Jesus revealed to her that the reason was simple: she did not pray for the priest-confessor before entering the confessional. The next time she did pray for the priest and her confession was excellent! Before entering the confessional, say a short pray for the priest— maybe even to his guardian angel!
10. PRIEST WILL TELL MY SINS! Never! The priest is bound with the strictest observance to maintain what is called the “Seal of the Confession”. That means that a priest can never reveal to others what he has heard in the confessional! Otherwise, strict canonical sanctions can be leveled against that priest. So much so that there have been priests who were almost coerced into divulging the sins of the penitent. One famous case is in the life of St. John Nepomucene. Father John was the confessor to the Queen and the King wanted to know the sins of his wife, so he tried to bride, coax, force, coerce, the priest into revealing the sins of the Queen. In short, Father John resisted and was martyred, by being thrown over a bridge and drowning then dying as a martyr! He dies as a “Martyr for the seal of the Confessional”. So, do not worry! your sins are known to God, the priest(who easily forgets them) and to yourself! Be at peace!
11. I AM AFRAID! Time and time again Jesus rebuked the Apostles– and all of us too– not to be afraid. Jesus said, “Fear is useless, what is needed is trust! One of the tactics of the devil is to petrify us with useless, groundless, hopeless, fear! How often have we feared persons, places and circumstances and events and these fears had no really substance or meaning! Our motto should be: “Jesus I trust in you!” St. Paul put it bluntly, ” The Holy Spirit is not a cowardly spirit!” Pope John Paul II exhorted us: “Do not be afraid to open the doors to Christ!” That door is your heart!
12. I AM ASHAMED! Another tactic of the devil is to take away our shame when we decide to commit sin, but then to fill us with so much fear and shame that he paralyzes us, preventing us to draw close to God’s infinite fountain of grace in the confessional! Shame is related to pride, because we have an inflated view of who we really are. No matter what you think, we are always sinners. But that is the precise reason for Jesus’ coming: to save us from sin. The name “Jesus” means God saves! From what! Sin! And sin forgiven through sacramental confession! How great God’s mercy!
13. I WILL FALL AGAIN INTO THE SAME SIN! Probably true! However be careful! Classical catholic moral theology for priests-confessors is the theological principle called “The principle of graduality”. This means precisely this: frequent confession will not eliminate and obliterate all sins and the tendencies toward sin immediately, however gradually the sin will be conquered. How? There will be a gradual lessening of the “gravity” of the sins and the number of the sins. That is why it is called “The Principle of grduality”– meaning, the sins are gradually overcome through the grace of God and the good will and effort on the part of the penitent! Conversion often is slow, laborious and painful, but efficacious if one takes serious frequent and well-prepared confessions! Be resilient, like a “Super-ball!” If you fall, bounce higher, launching yourself into the merciful arms of your loving Father! He is waiting for you!
14. JESUS IS TIRED OF ME SINNING! Never! Right from the mouth of Satan! Jesus knows human nature and that we are “made of clay” and that we are the epitome of weakness. He Himself stated this in the Garden of Gethsemane: “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!” If one falls many times, the love of the Merciful Heart of Jesus for you is always overflowing, like a river after a huge, torrential downpour of rain!
15. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO SAY???? Might be the case! Ask the priest and he will cue you in and help you with the confession! Next time, however, prepare yourself better by acquiring a good booklet with an examination of conscience, explaining the ten (10) commandments, so that you have done a thorough and complete “Examination of conscience”.. Priests are “Doctors of the soul”. Doctors can get to the root of the sickness by pointed and opportune questions; priests the same, can help the “Sick of soul” to arrive at the heart and center of their spiritual malady and attain healing! Mission accomplished!
16. DEVIL WILL TONGUE TIE ME! Could be! However, prayer to the Holy Spirit is the answer! Remember St Peter and the Apostles, Holy Thursday night in the Garden, when Jesus was arrested, they fled and Peter– with his tongue– denied Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ three times! However, after the first and most efficacious novena of Pentecost, their hearts were filled with fire, their minds with light and their bodies ready to suffer for the sake of the Name and Person of Jesus the Lord! Tongue-tied by the devil, unlock, by a short but fervent prayer to He who can teach us how to speak: THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE INTERIOR MASTER AND TEACHER OF THE SOUL!
17. I FORGET MY SINS! Alzheimer’s indeed can kick in even when we are in our “late-twenties” especially when we are nervous and before special victories! Remember, often before major spiritual victories, the enemy tries to intervene with tension, friction and confusion! Still, the best remedy to avoid “Forgetting my sins” is simply to prepare well the night before and to write down the sins on a sheet of paper and have them written as a guide in the confessional! Don’t forget to destroy the sheet afterward; otherwise, they may appear in the local newspaper next week!
18. NO PRIESTS AVAILABLE! Indeed pray for more vocations to the priesthood, due to the shortage of vocations: “The harvest is rich, but the laborers are few!” Still, search and you will find parishes, sanctuaries, monasteries, Cathedrals, seminaries, retired priests, that indeed are available in most countries! Interesting note! St. Damian– the priest who died tending the lepers in Molokai (remote island in Hawaii)– sadly complained that his biggest suffering was his inability to go to confession , as there were no other priests on the forlorn island. Tenacious and persistent to the last, he would row out to a priest(or Bishop) on a ship and yell out his sins to the priest on deck! Give thanks that you do no have to go to these extremes!
19. PENANCE WILL BE TOO BIG! Hardly! Most likely the penance given is less than you deserve! Even if it seems to be somewhat weighty, look to the wall in the church and contemplate Jesus crucified and remember that He suffered all the bitter pains of His passion– down to the most minute detail of pain– due to your personal sins and mine! Remember the film “The Mission” (With Robert Dinero), in which a brother kills his own brother. For penance, the surviving brother is obliged to carry wherever ho goes indefinitely a ball of cumbersome things and tied to a rope! Finally after striving to scale a huge mountain falling and rising due to the weight and cumbersomeness of the load, the priest confessor orders the weight to be cut and severed! Quite a penance! Yours in comparison, literally nothing! Our novice master taught us– showing a spirit of true generosity– to always do double the penance of what the confessor imposed! Two wings to fly to heaven: prayer and penance! Soar high into the divine atmosphere! Be generous in accepting the penance and be willing to walk the extra mile
20. OTHERS MAY HEAR MY SINS! HARDLY! However, two precautionary measures! First, make sure you close the door to the confessional upon entering! While leaving, keep the door open! This is called “Common sense!” Use it! Second, speak gently nd softly and do not yell! Penitents waiting should have the courtesy to stand far enough way that they cannot hear your sins! Or at least to cup their ears!!!!
21. ANONYMOUS! You might prefer that the priest, not know who you are! Fine! No problem! That is the reason why the church has given the option to choose to go behind the screen, so as to maintain your anonymity, or if you prefer to go face to face to have a more open confession with the priest! Your choice! The church and the priest will respect your choice! Anonymity should be respected!
22. ANOTHER PRIEST PREFER! Perfect! All penitents have the option to choose their confessor! Choose whichever priest that you prefer to be your confessor! However, a bit of advice! If your confessor is not available due to travel, sickness or simply unavailability, then go to another priest! Never forget! Every validly ordained priest is an “alter-Christus”– meaning he is “Another Christ.” Also, that it is not so much the priest that is forgiving you! Rather, it is Jesus forgiving you and the priest is simply the “Instrument”. Jesus is the “Writer”; the priest is the “pen” in Jesus’ Hand!
23. I CONFESS DIRECTLY TO GOD! You should before you go to confession! Interesting note! You should confess your sins directly to God before entering the confessional. However, as catholics, that is not enough. Jesus’ forgiveness is mediated through the instrumentality of the priest in the Sacrament of Forgiveness. Crush your pride and confess to the priest. Jesus loves a meek, humble and repentant heart!
24. PRIEST A SINNER JUST LIKE ME! True, but it still does not matter! The priest could be even a greater sinner, but God’s grace still is mediated through his priesthood and the Sacrament of Confession. Dr. Scott Hahn gave a superb example, through the analogy of a doctor. A patient went to the doctor with lung problems– pneumonia! He told the doctor his problem. This doctor, with respect to his own personal life would eat too much, smoke, refuse exercise, and drink excessively. Still, the doctor upon giving the medicine and antibiotics, resulted in thre cure of the sick-patient! The same with respect to priest-confessor and penitent relation. The priest might be a great sinner, but Jesus still can use him as instrument of mercy and forgiveness in confession!
25. I WILL SHOCK THE PRIEST/HE WILL THINK LESS OF ME! Wrong! Wrong! Priests are trained to be ready to deal with all cases of sin! The human heart, due to Original sin and personal sin, is capable of the most heinous sins. Jesus came to save sinners, not the saints. Some of the greatest saints in the New Testament had committed serious sins before meeting Jesus. Examples: the Magdalen, from whom Jesus cast out 6 devils and was a “loose woman” before her conversion, Zacheus and Matthew, publicans, Peter, who denied Jesus three times and of course the Good thief, who died a thief because he stole heaven! Also, priests admire profoundly humble, penitent, sincere, sinners throwing themselves in the arms of the Merciful Father
Let us turn to Mary, “Mother of Mercy”. Pope John Paul II stated that Marian Sanctuaries are “Spiritual Clinics”– the reason being, so many sinners make pilgrimages there to meet Mary who points to Jesus, present in Mass and in the Confessional! Years ago, I had the privilege of confessing in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the city of Mexico. I sat in the confessional for 7 hours– non-stop– I had to leave because they were closing up, but the line was twice as long as when I started. Praise be to Jesus through the intercession of Our Lady, Mother of Mercy. “Hail Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope….
MOVING MOUNTAINS: THROUGH THE POWER OF PRAYER.
Healing paralytics, curing the blind, raising the dead, cleansing diseases, closing the mouth of hungry lions, penetrating the clouds and causing a torrential downfall of rain, stopping the rain, preventing disaster to visit a town, city, country, parting the Red sea in two walls— what do all of these miraculous events have in common? Right! They were all accomplished by the prayer of fervent “Prayer-warriors”. And that “Prayer-warrior ” can be you if you desire it!
The last few verses of the Letter of James presents as a model for fervent prayer the prophet Elijah. The prayer of a fervent man is powerful indeed. When the prophet lived there was a drought for 3 and a half years, Elijah prayed and the sky poured forth rain and the earth produced its fruit. (James 5: 17-18). One man with a fervent prayer-life can actually change the climate, the weather and pierce the skies so that they pour down rain.
Jesus said that Poland was about to be chastised, utterly destroyed. However, this chastisement was prevented due to one holy “Prayer-warrior”, one holy soul, and that soul was Helena Kowalska; we know her as ST. MARIA FAUSTINA. God is much more pleased with one fervent and saintly soul, then with 10,000 mediocre individuals. It is precisely this that gives us fire— a fervent prayer life. Jesus said that He came to cast fire on the earth and that He is not at peace until that fire be enkindled! May you, my friend, be transformed into the “Fiery arrow” in the hands of Jesus the warrior. Therefore, how then can we transform an anemic, weak, insipid, mediocre spiritual life into a life overflowing with sanctity, as well as abundant apostolic fruits? The answer to this is the most simple: learning the greatest of arts, the “Art of all arts”, the art of prayer.
Prayer is the breath of the soul; prayer is the key that opens up the gateway to heaven; prayer is the strength of man and the weakness of God— because He gives to the person that really loves and trusts Him. “He who learns how to pray well learns how to live well,”says St Teresa of Avila, “Doctor of the Church/Doctor of prayer”. Prayer is a matter of life and death; so much so that the great Doctor of the Church, St Alphonsus Liguori, asserted poignantly: “He who prays much well be saved; he who does not pray will be damned; he who prays little places in jeopardy his salvation.” The point! Want to make it to heaven? Then learn how to pray well!
Some tips on how to attain a powerful prayer, especially of petition!
1. MOTIVATION OF FAITH. Life teaches that we will never undertake or carry out any initiative if we do not believe that it is worth the time, effort, and suffering involved. Great athletes, successful businessmen, superb students— all have one thing in common: a determined determination and purpose to arrive at their goal. Prayer is of capital importance, but we must convince ourselves of this! Our models, the saints, were so convinced that they spent long hours in prayer and for that reason they were able to conquer insurmountable difficulties and undaunted by countless obstacles accomplish unspeakable apostolic miracles!
2. HUMILITY. Beyond a shadow of doubt, God resists the proud but he lifts up the humble. Off the bat, at the very start of the explanation of prayer, the Catechism of the Catholic Church highlights pride as a major obstacle. The example given is the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. (Lk.18) The humble Publican, who would not dare to lift his eyes to heaven and constantly beating his breast– Lord, have mercy on me a sinner— found favor with God. The Blessed Virgin Mary reiterates this message: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, because he has looked upon the LOWLINESS (Humility of his handmaid). A humble heart recognizes that all the good he has done comes from God and all of his sin and misery is his own!
3. TRUST. Prayer must be accompanied by an interior attitude of Trust. If God indeed is a loving Father then he will provide for all of my needs. If an earthly Father labors to provide for his children, how much more will our Heavenly Father for us! A prayer that should often spring from our lips and start in our hearts is JESUS I TRUST IN YOU!
4. PERSEVERANCE. A major drawback in cultivating a successful prayer of petition is the lack of perseverance. Many of us like to impose time limits on God! We believe in the “Infallible Novena”. Nine days, to St Jude (The miracle-worker) will do it! This is called “Micro-wave” spirituality”. Food can be cooked in 2 minutes, so God should be able to work at the same time pace as the “Micro-wave!” Wrong! Never stuff God into your limited time-structure and force Him to do it your way, in your time and in your manner! Allow God to work in His time and manner! It took the great St Monica more than 30 long years of prayer, penance, fasting, copious tears after which resulted one of the greatest conversions in the history of the world— the conversion of St Augustine! Be patient! Pray, pray, pray and persevere till the end!
5. PENANCE. Add dynamite and power to your prayer by incorporating penitential practices to your daily routine. Getting up early and being on time, giving up a dessert, drinking water over soda, prolonging your prayer time an extra 5 minutes, getting up from the table with a little bit of an appetite, forgoing condiments on your meal— all of these are penitential practices– that if done with the gold of love– can prove very pleasing to God. Consequently, the quality of prayer is enhanced! Like an eagle soaring into the heights, with its two wings, so are we called to reach the heights of holiness through the practice of prayer and penance!
6. PURITY OF INTENTION. Often prayers are not heard because the intentions are not pleasing to God. Furthermore, it could be that we are praying for something that could be downright poisonous to our spiritual life. A 4-year old child in a garage that points to the brown liquid in the jar, pleading to drink it! She thinks it is chocolate milk, whereas it is really rat poison. Mother must say “No!” It could be we think we are begging God for chocolate milk, but in fact it is poison! In sum, God can say “No” to us when he sees that the petition , if granted, would be detrimental to the well-being of our soul!
7. MARY. In our prayer of petition, we should never forget to invite the Blessed Virgin Mary to pray for us, to pray with us, to guide us in our prayer, to help us to persevere in our prayer, to purify our intentions in prayer. If we go to the King accompanied by the Queen, the King cannot resist! The “weak-point” of Jesus is Mary His Mother. To Mary, Jesus can deny absolutely nothing!
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