Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)

MONDAY, February 1st   Mk. 5: 1-20   “Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea, to the territory of the Gerasenes. When he got out of the boat, at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him.”

• Today’s Gospel is a dramatic story of a man possessed by an unclean spirit named Legion, for there were many of them.
• They pleaded with Jesus to let them enter a large herd of swine on the hillside. He agreed and a herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea, where they were drowned.
• Then we read some of the saddest words spoken in the Gospels: “The people came out to see what had happened. Then they began to beg him to leave their district.”
• What about us? Have we ever begged Jesus to leave us? Perhaps when we suffered trials, troubles, illness, even the death of a loved one?
• The cross is an enigma, a mystery that can only be explained by faith. The cross entered the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, and the cross redeemed the world through the obedience of the “new Adam” and the “new Eve”, Jesus and Mary.
• Every day we make our own choices. To carry the cross of disobedience that leads to death, for sin bears its own suffering in this life and for eternity! Or to carry the cross of obedience that leads to life, and life eternal. It is called salvific suffering, because joined to the suffering of Jesus and Mary, we secure not only our eternal salvation but the salvation of other souls as well!

LEARNING TO OFFER UP OUR SACRIFICES & SUFFERINGS by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Our short life on earth has infinite value. We have both great dignity and eternal destiny. Our dignity? We are sons and daughters of God through the Sacrament of Baptism. Our destiny? We are all pilgrims on a journey heading towards our eternal homeland and that is Heaven.

VALUE OF SUFFERING.  Of immense value for the human person in the eyes of God is that of suffering. However, suffering in and of itself, separated from a supernatural perspective, has no real value. If you like, suffering either makes us better or bitter.  

ANGELS LOOKING DOWN ON HUMANITY.  In the Diary of Saint Faustina, the angels view the human person with a holy envy and for two reasons. First, the human person is capable of receiving the incredible Gift of the most Holy Eucharist—the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus in Holy Communion. The angels in heaven will never have this extraordinary privilege. Also, the angels cannot suffer. The angels understand that suffering, if viewed and accepted properly, has infinite value and can be most pleasing to God. In fact, Jesus, the Incarnate Word, chose the path of suffering as the means by which the salvation of the world would be consummated.

OUR LADY OF FATIMA’S MESSAGE.  Our Lady of Fatima told the three children, Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta to pray and offer sacrifices for sinners. Our Lady expressed with sadness that many souls are lost because not enough generous souls offer prayers and sacrifices for the salvation of poor sinners. Another name for sacrifice is that of accepting willingly some form of suffering. This message of Our Lady of Fatima can be applied to ourselves in our specific state of life and our own sufferings. Nobody in the world can avoid the reality of suffering.

OFFER IT UP!  These three short words sum up the entire message: offer it up! When God, in His infinite Wisdom, decides to visit you with some form of suffering, it is of enormous importance to accept the suffering given from the loving and providential Hands of God and offer it up. Remember, suffering can either make us better or bitter. Suffering can either save souls or be wasted!

HOW TO OFFER UP OUR SUFFERINGS?  When we are suffering, let us strive to unite our suffering to the Cross—to the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus. This is sometimes called the Paschal Mystery of Christ. United with Jesus in our lives, actions, and especially our sufferings, there is infinite value.

OFFERING IN UNION WITH THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS.  Jesus died once on the cross on Calvary about 2000 years ago. Jesus dies no more! However, it must be said that every time the priest celebrates the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, what happened on Calvary 2000 years ago is renewed and made present. In a real way, in every Mass Jesus offers Himself as the spotless Victim to the Father for the salvation of the world. Pope Saint John Paul II adds that in every Mass, as it happened on Calvary, Mary is present in a mystical but very real way!

START NOW TO OFFER YOUR SUFFERINGS.  Therefore, let us no longer waste these golden opportunities that God offers us when we undergo any form of suffering, and start to unite our sufferings with Jesus’ suffering on the cross. Better yet, in union with Mary, place your sufferings first in the hands of Mary and then in her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. Then ask Mary to deposit these sufferings on the altar where the Mass is celebrated to be joined to the sufferings of Christ. Living this style of life will transform even your smallest sufferings into an infinite reservoir of abundant graces.

SUFFERINGS THAT CAN BE OFFERED TO JESUS THROUGH MARY IN THE MASS.

Our Lady of Fatima, when asked by the children what they should offer to God, responded “everything”. Make your lives a holocaust, a living sacrifice of atonement, reparation, and praise. We will offer a few concrete suggestions on what we can offer to God through the Heart of Mary.

1. THE INCLEMENT WEATHER.  We would all prefer sunny days with the birds chirping their melodies and the fragrant aroma of flowers in full bloom. But this is not always the case. The bitter cold, the rain, the sleet, and the powerful winds characterize the real weather forecast many days.  Instead of complaining about the weather, accept it, then thank God and unite it to Jesus on the cross.

2. HEALTH CONDITIONS.  As a result of Original Sin all of humanity suffers weakening health, sicknesses, at times diseases, as well as viruses. This too is inescapable! Why not unite your own physical health condition, your suffering, to Jesus on the cross. The value of this offering is infinite!

3. PANDEMIC: CORONAVIRUS (COVID).  A world-wide pandemic as such is unique in the history of the world. Instead of wasting this universal suffering, why not unite it to the cross of Jesus on Calvary in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Of most special interest should be those who are in their last stages of life and are about to breathe forth their spirit to the Eternal Father. May their sufferings be a sacrifice pleasing to God for the salvation of souls, including their own!

4. FAMILY SUFFERINGS.  Many fervent and prayerful Moms and Dads suffer excruciating pains as they see the children they raised as Catholics, having received all the Sacraments, unfortunately wander from the fold and abandon the faith. Despite the invitations, exhortations, and bitter tears of their parents, still the children live oblivious of God, as if He did not even exist. In this case more than ever, Moms and Dads should not fall into discouragement, much less despair. On the contrary, parents should deposit their sufferings and their wandering children on the altar of the Mass where Jesus offers His wounds to the Eternal Father, and the Father is well-pleased! Saint Monica prayed for Augustine until he was 31 years of age—patience!!!

5. SPIRITUAL DRYNESS.  Anybody who takes their spiritual life seriously will eventually encounter dryness or aridity, most specifically, in their prayer life. This is called the dry-desert experience. Instead of abandoning the struggle, throwing in the towel and calling it quits, hang in there and pray just the same. Indeed, this can entail great suffering, but a spiritual suffering very efficacious and pleasing to God. Unite your spiritual dryness with Jesus in His Agony in the Garden and place it on the altar of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Jesus experienced an intense state of desolation. Nonetheless, He prayed all the more intensely and fervently! He is our Model!

6. THE DEATH OF LOVED ONES.  Sometimes when confronted with the death of our loved ones, our faith and hope can be shaken. In this critical moment, how very important it is to place our loved ones who have passed from this world to the next on the altar, on the cross in the Mass, and beg for their eternal salvation. “It is not important a long life, but a holy life.” (Imitation of Christ, Thomas Kempis) Acceptance and conformity to God’s providential will is our only sure solution. We should not question why God took their life, but what we can do in the present for their soul, as well as our own!

7. UPSET PLANS ON A DAILY BASIS.  None of us rejoice over people and circumstances interrupting our schedule, our plans, our well thought-out projects! However, whether we like it or not, our plans and projects will meet with frequent interruptions. Instead of losing our calm and composure, why not simply accept the contradictions and unite them to Jesus’ Cross of Contradiction. Place them on the cross of Calvary in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. So that the work you fail to accomplish may work to save souls!

In conclusion, my friends in Jesus and Mary, suffering is a human reality that nobody can avoid. Whether we are believers or non-believers, practicing Catholics or atheists, great contemplative mystics or had-core materialists, suffering is part of the human condition. But remember the short maxim:  “Suffering either makes you better or bitter.” Bitter, if one suffers for the mere sake of suffering! Better, sanctified and growing in holiness, when we unite our suffering with the suffering of Jesus on the cross in Holy Mass.

Therefore, starting today call to mind the sufferings of your life. Place these precious jewels in the hands and Heart of Mary. She will deposit them on the altar of the cross of Calvary. Your suffering united to Jesus and Mary’s suffering will indeed have infinite value for the salvation of souls in time and for all eternity!

Copyright 2021 Oblates of the Virgin Mary
St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)

SUNDAY, January 31st   Mk. 1: 21-28   “All were amazed and asked one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.’”

Part 1: Introductory Points…
Part 2: TEN WAYS TO PREPARE YOUR HEART FOR HOLY COMMUNION by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

PART I…

• Sunday is the day set aside, from the other six days of labor, to rest and be refreshed in the Lord. To marvel at the wonders He has done for us! To trust in His power to bring us victory over the enemies that assail us from within and without! To know the peace and the joy that He alone can give in this valley of tears!
• No matter what troubles and worries beset us… every morning the sun rises in the sky… and every morning the Son rises in the hands of the priest! Jesus – our Light,  our Strength, and our Refuge!
• Participating in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we commemorate the greatest love the world has ever known! Through the words of the priest and the action of the Holy Spirit, Jesus becomes truly present on the altar—His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the consecrated Host.
• Christ is the one and only mediator between sinful mankind and our Heavenly Father: “Through Him, with Him and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever.” By saying AMEN, we unite ourselves to the entire Paschal Mystery: the Passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus.
• In the Mass we worship the Father in a fitting and proper manner. We make reparation for our sins and offer worthy thanksgiving for His blessings by offering the Precious Blood of His Son. We make our petitions in Jesus’ name, who by the very act of showing His glorious wounds to His Father, intercedes unceasingly for us in heaven and on earth in every Mass.

PART 2: TEN WAYS TO PREPARE YOUR HEART FOR HOLY COMMUNION by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

By far, the most important action in life is your encounter with God, with Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How? As a practicing Catholic, every day you can receive Jesus, the Bread of Life, in Holy Communion—His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

In the Our Father we pray: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Giving a Sacramental interpretation to this phrase in the Our Father, it also means to give us this day Holy Communion in the context of Holy Mass.

Speaking without exaggeration, all of eternity would not be enough to prepare sufficiently to receive even one Holy Communion. Also, all of eternity would not be sufficient to render a worthy thanksgiving for one Holy Communion. The reason for this powerful assertion is the simple fact that Holy Communion is really God; it is Jesus, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity in His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity!

Therefore, we offer ten short suggestions with the purpose of helping all of us to upgrade, improve, and perfect the disposition of our hearts when we receive our Eucharistic Lord. One Holy Communion could transform us into saints. Solid theology teaches us very clearly the concept of dispositive grace. The fault is not in the Sacrament which is God Himself, but rather in us, the human instruments and our lack of proper preparation.

1. Fervent and Humble Prayer: “Lord, Strengthen My Faith!”
Faith can be compared to a seed; it must be watered and cultivated. It can also be compared to developing muscles in weight-lifting. If not done frequently and methodically, the muscle can easily degenerate into flabby tissue. Lastly, it can be compared to language arts and skills. By neglecting to practice a new language, speaking the language becomes broken and incomplete. As often said: “Use it or lose it.” 

So it is with our faith; if we do not practice and exercise it, then gradually it is lost. This being said, we must constantly remind ourselves that the Eucharist, “The Real-Presence”, is truly and substantially Jesus, the Son of God. This short prayer said fervently and frequently can attain this goal: “Lord, strengthen my faith.”

2. Purify the Interior Window Pane of Your Soul
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, as well as other saints, make the intimate and close connection between these two Sacraments—Confession and the Holy Eucharist. The Sacrament of Confession or Reconciliation cleanses and purifies the interior window pane of our soul of the ugly dirt and smut of sin. After receiving absolution, in which the soul is washed clean and becomes transparent through grace, our reception of Holy Communion will have a much more powerful influence and impact on our soul.

As the sun bursts forth with abundant radiance through a window made clean by Windex, likewise the light of Christ can explode with omnipotent graces in a soul made clean by a good Confession. Jesus expressed it succinctly: “Blessed are the pure of heart; for they will see God.” (Mt. 5:8) 

Of course, if we are in a state of mortal sin, we are required to make a sacramental Confession before receiving Holy Communion.

3. Never Take the Gift for Granted!
A very pervasive temptation for those who have easy access to daily Mass and daily Holy Communion is to take the Lord for granted. As posted on the plaque in many sacristies as a reminder to priests: “Celebrate this Mass as if it were your first, your last, and your only Mass.” Good advice for lay-people also: receive every Holy Communion as if it were your first, your last, and your only Holy Communion!

4. Arrive on Time, or better yet Early
Would you arrive late for a supremely important appointment—with the Pope, or the President, or new boss on your new job, or in the fifth inning in a World Series game? Of course not!

Therefore, in a parallel sense, we should not arrive late at God’s House for the greatest event on planet earth—indeed, the Greatest Miracle—the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! If you are perpetually late, at least strive to come early for Holy Mass. As Saint Ignatius reminds us: “We must strive to order the disorder in our life.”

5. Have Your Own Intentions
Normally in Parish Masses, the priest will mention the Mass intention at the start of the Mass—often for a deceased person, an anniversary, or for the intentions of a person still living. However, this does not exclude you from offering your own private intentions. You can load the altar with as many intentions as you like. God sets no limits and He loves generous souls who ask Him for much. Often we receive little from the Lord because we ask for little. “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.” (Mt. 7:7-8)

 6. Suggested Intentions
As mentioned above, the intentions are limitless. You can ask or beg the Lord for whatever intentions you have in your mind and heart. Still, strongly to be recommended would be three:
1) Pray for the souls in Purgatory;
2) Pray for the conversion of sinners;
3) Pray for your own conversion of heart!

As Jesus said to Saint Faustina: “Ask with bold confidence!”… “Jesus, I trust in you!”

7. Participate Fully
The Dogmatic Constitution on the Liturgy from the documents of the Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium (1963) exhorts the faithful in the context of the Mass to participate fully, actively, and consciously. In Mass, we must not be passive spectators, as if we were in a movie theater, but rather active members of the Mystical Body of Christ.

In other words, we should give responses clearly and enthusiastically, listen attentively to the Word of God and assimilate the message transmitted through the preaching of the Word of God. We are not called to be spiritual-benchwarmers, but actively engaged in Mass.

8. Receive Communion with Reverence
The most important moment of Mass is the reception of Holy Communion. Approach with humility, reverence, confidence, and beg the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the grace to receive Jesus with great love, trust, confidence, and hunger for holiness.

9. Thanksgiving
If you have no impending obligations, stay after Mass to thank the Lord for coming to visit this poor sinner. All of eternity would not be sufficient to prepare your soul to receive the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. Also, all of eternity would not be sufficient to render the Lord Jesus adequate thanksgiving. Saint Pope Paul VI suggests praying the Rosary after Mass as an excellent way to thank Jesus through the Heart of Mary.

10. Become a Eucharistic Missionary like Mary
After you have received Jesus in Holy Communion and made your thanksgiving, then imitate Mary, who after receiving Jesus into her womb and her heart in the Annunciation, went in haste to bring Jesus to her cousin Elizabeth in her need. Like Mary, bring the presence of Jesus to others! Strive to bring the many lost and wandering sheep back to the fold, back to the Good Shepherd, back to the Catholic Church and its Sacraments.

O Sacrament Most Holy, O Sacrament Divine, All Praise and All Thanksgiving be every moment Thine!

Copyright 2021 Oblates of the Virgin Mary
St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA

Saturday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)

SATURDAY, Jan. 30th   Mk. 4: 35-41   “He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ The wind ceased and there was great calm.”

• Jesus calms the storm and the apostles are in awe! They are the nascent Church – the Church being formed. Mary is the “exemplary realization” of the Church.
• CCC 967: By her complete adherence to the Father’s will, to his Son’s redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church’s model of faith and charity. Thus she is a “preeminent and . . . wholly unique member of the Church”; indeed, she is the “exemplary realization” (typus) of the Church.
• CCC 968: Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. “In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace.”

Part 1: CALL UPON MARY by Saint Bernard
Part 2: TEN WAYS WE CAN LOVE MOTHER MARY! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

PART 1: CALL UPON MARY by Saint Bernard

 All of you, who see yourselves amid the tides of the world, tossed by storms and tempests rather than walking on the land, do not turn your eyes away from this shining star, unless you want to be overwhelmed by the hurricane. If temptation storms, or you fall upon the rocks of tribulation, look to the star: Call upon Mary!

If you are tossed by the waves of pride or ambition, detraction or envy, look to the star, call upon Mary. If anger or avarice or the desires of the flesh dash against the ship of your soul, turn your eyes to Mary. If troubled by the enormity of your crimes, ashamed of your guilty conscience, terrified by dread of the judgment, you begin to sink into the gulf of sadness or the abyss of despair, think of Mary.

In dangers, in anguish, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let her name be ever on your lips, ever in your heart; and the better to obtain the help of her prayers, imitate the example of her life. Following her, you do not stray; invoking her, you do not despair; thinking of her, you do not wander; upheld by her, you do not fall; shielded by her, you do not fear; guided by her, you do not grow weary; favored by her, you reach the goal. And thus will you experience in yourself how good this saying is: “And the Virgin’s name was Mary.”

PART 2:  TEN WAYS WE CAN LOVE MOTHER MARY! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

We often discuss who might be the best athletes, the best artists, the best writers, the best musicians; also, it must be said, there are the best of mothers. By far—and in a class by herself—the Blessed Virgin Mary was, is and always will be the best of all mothers.

This being said, mothers should recognize the fact that Mary is the best of all mothers and contemplate Mary’s words, actions, gestures, looks, intentions and life so as to become better mothers.

For our great consolation, Mary is the Mother of God, she is the Mother of the Church, but also, Mary is our dearest Mother! Let us try to please and imitate Mary our Mother and as a consequence, the many mothers in the world will make huge strides in becoming better mothers all the days of their lives!

Below we will present ten different ways that we can show Mary, our Mother, our great love for her, and without a doubt, through her most powerful intercession, she will attain for us the most choice graces to help us become the saints that we are called to be, and many of us as mothers.

1. Talk to Her… We want to get in the habit of talking to Mary, our dearest Mother, very often. Confide in her, speak to her from your heart, love her and entrust all of your life to her. This is most pleasing to her, as well as to her Son Jesus, the Son of God and the Son of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary is your Model, your Guide, your Friend and your dearest of Mothers. She loves you so much and desires to have frequent conversations with you! Mary is your Mother, but she is also your friend and confidant. Good friends think about each other and talk frequently! Why not start today!

2. Start Your Day with Mary… Upon waking every morning, your first action should be that of prayer, and what prayer? Why not start your day by giving yourself totally to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in all you think, say, and do. Give to Jesus through Mary, your eyes, your ears, your mind, your heart, your body and even your intentions—in a word, give everything to Jesus through Mother Mary. How important it is to start and so live your day well through the Heart of Mary!

3. Love Her… A Mother never gets tired of hearing her child say: “Mom, I really love you; you are the greatest!” The temptation might be to think the following: “She already knows I love her, why tell her something that she already knows?” True, a good Mother most likely knows that you love her. However, it should be expressed in words. When you say, “Mom, I really love you”, the heart of your mother leaps with joy. The same must be said about your Mother Mary. In the simplest of words when you say: “Mother Mary, I love you”, then Mary the Mother of God experiences great joy in her most pure and Immaculate Heart. Therefore, during the course of the day, you should simply say feverently: “Mother Mary, I love you!”

4. Walk With Her… There is a well-known song in both Spanish and Italian dedicated to Mary that is related to this topic with the title: Santa Maria del Camino—meaning, “Our Lady of the Way”. Therefore, when you travel, and it can be a short trip or a very long one, you should invite Mother Mary to come along with you. She is a good traveling companion and can protect you from many dangers in your travels, perils both physical and moral. How many accidents, physical and moral, have surely been prevented by traveling with Mary—Santa Maria del Camino!

5. Imitate Mary… If you know someone in a very deep way, that often leads to imitation, and imitation to following, and following to a deep love for that person. Saint Louis de Montfort highlights the ten principal virtues of Mary that you should strive to imitate: her deep humility, lively faith, blind obedience, unceasing prayer, constant self-denial, surpassing purity, ardent love, heroic patience, angelic kindness, and heavenly wisdom.

6. Trust and Entrust to Mary… If you truly have confidence in a person then you can entrust your cares to them, knowing that this special person will care for you and protect you. God the Father entrusted His only begotten Son to the care of Mary. Therefore, you can entrust your life totally to the care of Mary, your dearest and most loving Mother. “Never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided.” (The Memorare by Saint Bernard)

7. Tell Mary of your Sorrows and Failures… You could be tempted by the enemy—the devil who truly hates Mary, to feel inhibited about telling Mother Mary your sorrows and deep sufferings. The contrary should be the case! Mary, the best of mothers, knows very clearly that when a child is hurt and wounded, that is when the child needs the most tender love and care. So it should be with you! When the days seem to be cloudy, bleak, gloomy and downright depressing in the depths of your soul, it is then that you really need to open up and talk to your Mother Mary! Mary is both refuge of sinners and health of the sick—two titles for Mary in her famous Litanies!

8. Call Upon Mary When Tempted… Your life is a constant battle; you are a soldier of both Jesus and Mother Mary. Your enemies are three: the devil, the flesh, and the world. Aware of this intense reality of spiritual combat, you should call upon the Holy Name of Mary in the midst of each battle and the victory will be yours! The famous Battle of Lepanto proved a striking victory through invoking Mary and the recitation of the most Holy Rosary, at the insistence of Saint Pope Pius V. May you entrust your battles to Mary, who is more powerful than a whole army in battle array! The mere name of Mary causes terror and fear in all of hell!

9. Promote Love for Mary as Your Mother. If indeed you have truly experienced the love, care, and tenderness of Mary in your daily life, then undoubtedly, you will want to make Mother Mary known far and wide. Mary is not loved and honored for one principal reason: she is not known! How can she be made known? In many ways! Encourage recitation of the Holy Rosary and praying it daily. Give out Rosaries with pamphlets on how to pray the Rosary. Encourage the wearing of the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Finally, encourage the reading of good books on Mary like The Glories of Mary by Saint Alphonsus Liguori, True Devotion to Mary by Saint Louis de Montfort, and Mater Redemptoris andBlessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary by Saint Pope John Paul II.

10. Die in the Arms of Mary. The most important moment in your life is the moment that you die. This moment will determine for all eternity your eternal destiny—either heaven or hell. Why not prepare to die in grace and die a holy death at least 50 times a day? How, you might ask? Simply by praying the most Holy Rosary. Every time you pray the Hail Mary, you are preparing yourself for a holy and happy death with these words: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Therefore, rejoice in the keen awareness that you have a heavenly Mother, Mary the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, and your own dear Mother. She knows you, cares for you, protects you, but especially, she loves you! Indeed, in the midst of the trials, struggles, and intense battles of life, may you find your refuge in the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus!

Copyright 2021 Oblates of the Virgin Mary
St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA

Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)

FRIDAY, Jan. 29th   Mk. 4: 26-34   Jesus said: “To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God… It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”

Part 1: Christians are Small People… by Madeleine Delbrel (+1964) French laywoman, writer, and mystic devoted to the poor.
Part 2: SANCTITY IN SMALL THINGS by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

PART 1:  Christians are Small People… by Madeleine Delbrel (+1964)

The law of Christ may only be lived by people who are gentle and humble of heart. It is this gentleness and humility which are the characteristics of Jesus Christ in His filial love for God and His fraternal love for human beings. 

Whatever their personal gifts, Christians are small people. Small people, whatever their place in society, their jobs, their possessions, their class, their race, whatever the development and power of the human sciences, whatever the discoveries concerning the prodigious evolution of the human race and its history—in spite of all this, Christians remain people who are small.

Small in God’s presence because God created them and they depend on Him. Whatever the journeys that mark their lives and their fortunes, they came from God and they are going to God. They are gentle like weak, loving children, close to their Father who is strong and loving.

They are small because they know that they are in God’s presence and they know only a few things, can do only a few things, and are limited in their love and in their knowledge. They do not argue about the will of God in the events that happen, nor do they argue about what Christ has commanded them to do, so that in these events they may themselves, for their part, do the will of God.

They are gentle like the trusted and active performers of a work, the enormousness of which is hidden from them, while yet they know their own particular task.

Part 2:  SANCTITY IN SMALL THINGS by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

As Jesus watched at the entrance of the Temple the money being thrown into the treasure-box, He did not pay so much attention to the rich and their large sums that they threw in. Indeed they wanted to be seen and applauded for their abundance given ostentatiously.

Then a poor widow threw a few small coins in the treasure box barely amounting to anything! This was the person that Jesus looked at with great love and approval. Why? Not for the economic substance of her offering—it was barely anything. Rather, Jesus read the depths of her heart. She was giving generously all that she had to live on.

The message is the following: man can see and judge from appearances. But Jesus reads the inner movements of the human heart. What often is worthy of praise in the eyes of the world, Jesus despises. On the contrary, what the world deems as insignificant, Jesus highly approves and praises.

Saint Therese and her Little Way can be our way and the way and path to holiness! Holiness does not depend simply on the greatness of the action, but rather on the intensity of love that accompanies the action.

In other words, the secret to holiness on a daily basis is trying to do the ordinary things of everyday life with extraordinary love. That is the key! So much so that Saint Therese was known to say: “Pick up a pin from the sewing room floor for the love of God and you can save a soul.” Picking up a pin from the floor physically speaking is no big deal! However, if this action is done in the Presence of God, for the purpose of pleasing God, and with great purity of intention then indeed, it has infinite value in the eyes of God.

Most of us are not involved in monumental and monolithic activities that will make the front page of the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal. On the contrary, many of our actions are the most ordinary and mundane. But they can have infinite value if we know the secret of offering them up to God.

The normal activities of a homemaker do not make the morning newspaper or evening news. Sweeping the floor, taking out the garbage, buying, preparing and serving meals, and then afterwards cleaning the pots, pans and dishes—all of these are the glorious routine of thousands of Home-makers and Moms on the Highway to Heaven!

However, if the Mom does all this work complaining and with a scowl on her face, playing the role of a poor victim, then her merit in the eyes of God is reduced to almost nothing. To the contrary, if this Mom rises in the morning and offers her day to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, then willingly offers everything she does during the day to please God, sanctify her family, and save souls, then her actions have great value!

Naturally, the same applies to a Father going to work day after day for the support and sustenance of his wife and children. All must be offered daily and willingly to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the glory of God, and the eternal salvation of his family, then his actions have great value in the eyes of God.

What can be of infinite value for the sanctification of our daily actions are the following. First, we do all our actions through the powerful intercession of Mary, “God’s Masterpiece of Creation.” Second, we unite our actions to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered throughout the world that day!

First, the importance of going to Jesus through the intercession of Mary. Mary is the short-cut to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Saint Louis de Montfort paints this image. A poor man wants to give a bruised apple to the King. No way will the poor man have access to the King; much less will the King receive the apple, especially a bruised apple. However, the poor man knows the Queen and the Queen has a real affection for this poor man. So the Queen takes the apple, cleans it, polishes it, and places it on a golden platter next to a beautiful rose. The King, loving the Queen, receives the apple most willingly and with delight, not because of the quality of the apple, rather because of the person who gave him the apple, his lovely bride, the Queen.

It must be the same for us! Our actions are like the apple. In and of themselves, our actions are often tainted and spoiled by our enormous self-love and egotism. However, if we can give ourselves and our actions to Jesus through the hands and heart of the Queen, then Jesus, who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, will not refuse it, but receive it most willingly. In other words, Mary can help ennoble and sanctify our smallest actions.

Second, we must unite our actions and intentions to Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Every Holy Mass that is offered has infinite value. Why? For the simple but profound reason that Jesus is offering Himself as a Victim of expiation to the Father. The Father looks at His Son and says: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” The Father can deny His Son nothing!

Now how is this translated from the mystical into the practical? Not too complicated! Go to Mass, but arrive early before Mass starts. Give yourself at least a good 15 minutes. Now open up your heart to the fullest with an infinite trust in Jesus, His love for the Father, His love for you, and His love for the entire world. In opening your heart place all that you were, are, and will be on the altar before Mass has even started. Your day and your activities—place them now all on the altar, absolutely everything—hold nothing back: the daily grind of work in the workplace, or your cooking and cleaning in the home, your battle with your teenage son, your struggle with your spouse, your fear of the future and insecurities in the present, your headache and clouded mind!

The key is that you want to place all on the altar even before Mass has started. You are offering yourself and all that you have been, and are, and all that you will be to the Lord in the course of the day. Every minute detail of who you are, what you are about, what you would desire for yourself and your family, is of infinite importance to Jesus. Nothing escapes the loving eyes of Jesus. He knows even the number of hairs on your head and when one falls to the ground! The Lord Jesus indeed cares for the whole world, but also for each and every one of us individually.

Then, while Mass is being offered, especially during the Consecration of Jesus’ Body and Blood, all that you have placed on the altar is being lifted on high to the Majestic Throne of the Eternal Father, who sees you but through His beloved Son in whom He is well-pleased. For the beloved Son, He can deny nothing.

Then, even more important, receive Holy Communion into the depths of your heart and soul. If you are well-disposed with a burning heart filled with love for the Lord Jesus, then there will be an explosion of graces. Your small actions will have infinite value because your smallest of actions have been offered to the Eternal Father through the loving Heart of Jesus!

In sum, let us learn the art of sanctity. It is not so much in the greatness of the action, but in the purity of intention and intensity of love. For this reason, of paramount importance is learning to offer ourselves to God through the pure and Immaculate Heart of Mary, and through Jesus the spotless Victim offered to God the Father in the most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Copyright 2021 Oblates of the Virgin Mary
St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA

Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church

“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)

THURSDAY, January 28th   Mk. 4: 21-25   “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

• How generous are we with God? How generous are we with our neighbor? How can we be MORE GENEROUS with both God and neighbor???

SPIRITUALLY HEALTHY LIVING: RIGHT NOW!!! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Healthy organic foods, physical workout centers or gyms, various vitamin pills, vacation Spa Resorts, and many other such avenues are all attempts to maintain good bodily health. No doubt, all of this can be good for this simple reason: our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we should be responsible guardians and custodians of this gift of our body that God in His generosity has given to us.

BODY OVER SOUL.  However, there often exists this error: we place the needs of our body over those of our soul and this is a wrong hierarchy of values. The words of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ teach us this truth: “What would it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? What can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mk. 8: 36-37)

AVOID DAMAGING OUR BODY.  On a human and natural level, we should make a concerted effort to avoid that which could damage our body. Good parents have taught this to their children from the start. Don’t play with fire… look twice before you cross the street… don’t hang out with bad companions… clean your room—cleanliness is next to godliness… wash your hands before you eat… eat your vegetables… brush your teeth before going to bed… get to bed on time. All of these are common words of advice that parents have given their children for years on end.

OUR IMMORTAL SOUL. Let us lift this to a higher, supernatural plane and offer advice on how to avoid that which damages our immortal soul, which has more value than the whole created universe! Indeed, we can sin through thought, word, deed, and omission which means not doing what we are required by God to do! Avoiding the near occasion of sin is an indispensable quality in our pursuit of holiness and acquiring the crown of glory that we call eternal life!

1. AVOID GOSSIP AND GOSSIPERS. Jesus says clearly that we will be judged on every word that issues forth from our mouth. He also says that from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. If we have a habit of talking with people who are perpetual “Gossipers” then make a change; do not frequent this company anymore. Read James Chapter 3, an excellent chapter in Scripture on the sins of the tongue!

2. DRESS PROPERLY. We do not want to be an occasion of sin for others. Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit from our Baptism. Saint Paul reminds us that we are ambassadors of Christ—that means representatives of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. We should dress accordingly. When we say dress properly we do not mean only in Church, as if it were the only place where we should dress with decorum and modesty! Rather, dress modestly in all times and places. Never forget: we are Christians 24/7—24 hours a day/7 days a week! Meaning always!!!

3. AVOID BAD COMPANY IN GENERAL. Saint Paul says that bad company corrupts morals. This proverb succinctly expresses this truth: Tell me with whom you associate and I will tell you who you are. We do not have to be rocket scientists to know that we tend to imitate our friends and associates. Pray for the grace to find a friend or two who are really noble, honest, pure, hard-working Christians and you will have discovered a real blessing. Old Testament Wisdom teaches us that to find a true friend is to find a treasure.

4. WANDERING EYES. Another proverb is apropos of this concept: Curiosity killed the cat. Worse yet, the wandering eyes of King David resulted in adultery with Bathsheba, and eventually even killing her husband, the valiant and honest Hittite soldier Urias. (2 Sam 11) The holy man Job asserted: “I have made a pact with my eyes: not to look upon a woman.” (Job 31:1) Finally, Jesus drives the point home with one of the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the pure of heart; they will see God.” (Mt 5:8) In a world abounding with impure images, human and electronic, more than ever do we need to practice strict custody of the senses, especially our eyes!

5. IMPULSIVITY. Another attitude or disposition that we must avoid is that of giving into our impulsivity in all ways, but especially in speech. A good proverb: Think before you speak. Another somewhat down to earth proverb for those who speak before thinking is the following: Open mouth, insert foot. Lifted to a more spiritual level, Saint James admonishes us: “We should be quick to listen, and slow to speak.” (Jas. 1:19) Saint Thomas Aquinas offers this important insight: “God has given us two ears and one mouth so as to listen twice as much as we speak.” Meditate on this before speaking up!!!

6. ELECTRONIC MEDIA. Of paramount importance for all of us who now live in this electronic cosmos is the dire need to have strict surveillance over our use of all the present electronic media. “Obviously we would never open up our mouth to shovel in garbage,” Venerable Fulton Sheen once stated, but we can easily be imbibing and absorbing with our eyes moral garbage. A good vomit can release the physical garbage consumed. However, it can take years to expunge and delete ugly images that we have seen from one of the many sources in the modern world of electronic media. Our mind is a huge archive that stores all of our experiences—all that we have done, as well as all that we have seen. Therefore, we must be very strict with ourselves and with our children in what we bring into our mind and heart through what we see.

7. COUCH-POTATO SYNDROME!!! Another proverb for you: Idleness is the workshop of the devil. In other words, if you don’t have anything to do, the devil will give you plenty of things to do! Saint John Bosco had a mortal fear of vacation time for the youth/teens. Work is good for all of us. Work perfects our nature by helping us to cultivate our talents. Work serves as a means of helping others. Work was what God commanded of Adam after Original Sin: “You will earn your bread by the sweat of your brow.” (Gen. 3:19)

8. MENTAL LAZINESS. As a follow-up to Number 7, the Couch-Potato Syndrome is the reality of mental laziness. Another youthful slogan: If you don’t use it, you lose it. God has endowed all of us with a mind that He desires us to cultivate. A garden that is not cultivated will quickly grow weeds. A mind that is not cultivated allows for the growth of mental weeds. This mental laziness can be prevented or corrected through the excellent habit of good reading. We have never lived in a world with so much confusion. However, we have never lived in a world with so much good literature! It is up to us to find good literature and form the habit of reading. Some of our best friends can be good books! Saint Ignatius received the grace of his conversion by reading good books about the lives of the Saints!

9. AVOID OVER-EATING. Gluttony is one of the seven capital sins. Definition of gluttony: It is a disordered desire to eat and drink. Many health problems result from bad eating habits. Also, these three of the seven capital sins – Gluttony, Lust, and Laziness –often work together as a team to drive us into actual sin, and serious sin at that! Want a remedy? Here goes! Pray for an authentic hunger for Jesus, The Bread of Life. (Read John Chapter 6: 25-71—the Bread of Life discourse). In the Our Father we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”  This can be interpreted in a sacramental way—the habit of going to daily Mass and receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, the true Bread of Life! He will help us subordinate the desires of our body to the command of our will!

10. AVOID THE PROTESTANT VIEW OF MARY. Many Protestants reject vehemently the power of the intercession of Mary, to their own serious spiritual detriment. Mary will never, and I say never, distance us from Jesus. On the contrary, as Saint Louis de Montfort asserts: “Mary is the quickest, safest, and shortest path to Jesus.” If you like, Mary is the short-cut to union with Jesus. The last words of Mary recorded in Sacred Scripture were spoken at the Wedding Feast of Cana: “Do whatever He tells you.” (Jn. 2:5) No doubt, the best advice in the entire world! Our Lady serves as a bridge to union with Jesus.

Listen to the words of the Cure of Ars, Saint John Marie Vianney: “Everything that the Son asks of the Father is granted. Likewise, everything that the Mother asks of her Son is granted.” Saint Ephrem, with his mystical and poetic flare exclaims: “The incomparable Mother of God is the purest golden censer. In her, prayers are offered to the Eternal God.” Finally, prayerfully meditate upon the words of Saint Maximillian Kolbe: “Place yourself in Mary’s hands; she will think of everything and provide for the needs of body and soul. Therefore, be at peace, be at complete peace, with unlimited confidence in her.”

CONCLUSION. It is most true that we must avoid all the dangers that can so easily jeopardize the health of our body, that which pertains to our natural life. However, we should make a firm decision on our part, and for the benefit of those entrusted to our care, to avoid all the moral poison that can possibly kill the spiritual life in our soul. May Our Lady attain for us the grace to love God with all of our heart, mind, body and soul so that one day heaven will be our perpetual home and perpetual resting place! Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us poor sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Copyright 2021 Oblates of the Virgin Mary
St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA