Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28^TH  Lk. 21: 34-36    “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with the anxieties of life. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

• Isaiah 7:14 “Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” – meaning “God with us”!
• Advent is a time of preparation and purification through prayer, penance, and fasting anticipating the most crucial event in the history of the world – the great divide – life on earth before Christ and life after Christ for which we are accountable!

Part 1: The Spirituality of Ven. Solanus Casey
Part 2: EMMANUEL: COME LORD JESUS, DO NOT DELAY! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

PART 1:
Ven. Solanus Casey (+1957) was a Capuchin Franciscan priest and the first man born in the United States to be declared venerable. In his service as porter, Solanus became known for his spiritual counsel and miracles. His spirituality consisted in seeking union with God through prayer and gratitude deep-seated in the certainty of God’s goodness. The disappointments, humiliations, and family tragedies of Solanus’ life could not deter him from believing in God’s goodness.  Ven. Solanus Casey, Pray for us!

+ “We are all called to have our lives blend with God’s. An essential key in this blending is gratitude.”
+ “Gratitude is the first sign of a thinking, rational creature. It’s ‘Heaven Begun’, for the grateful on earth. Our gratitude ought to be unconditional, thanking God for events yet unknown, and even for those that are distasteful or distressing to our nature. Always be thankful to the good God.”
+ “Worry is a weakness from which very few of us are entirely free. We must be on guard against this most insidious enemy of our peace of soul. Instead, let us foster confidence in God, and thank Him ahead of time for whatever He chooses to send us. Confidence is the very soul of prayer.”
+ “Blending is the experience of complete union with God. We really shouldn’t know where God’s life ends and our life begins. We are to become the translation, the sacraments, the images of God in the world.”

PART 2 – An Ignatian Repetition… EMMANUEL: COME LORD JESUS, DO NOT DELAY! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Every year we have the extraordinary opportunity to welcome the Lord Jesus into our hearts with the Season of Advent which culminates on Christmas Day—the Birthday of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Actually, the Church invites us to meditate upon the three comings of the Lord Jesus. Indeed, this could be a most fruitful meditation. What then are the three comings of the Lord Jesus?

1. The Lord Jesus came, born in the Flesh about 2000 years ago of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the stable of Bethlehem. Saint John, in the Prologue, reminds us in these words: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (Jn. 1:14)

2. AT THE END OF TIME. Jesus will come again, and it will be at the end of time. The day, the hour, the moment, as well as the circumstances are not known to us. They will be determined by the Will of God the Father. Jesus constantly reminds us: “Stay awake and be vigilant because we know neither the day nor the hour. He will come like a thief in the night.” (Mt. 25:13)

3. THE THIRD COMING. The third coming of the Lord Jesus is actually now, tomorrow, and constantly, in a very different but very real way. Jesus comes through grace. God is so loving and generous that He comes through grace in many ways and with different intensity. The following are Jesus’ comings through grace: in prayer, through works of charity and almsgiving (Read Mt. 25: 31-46), through penances and sacrifices made to God for the conversion of sinners. Furthermore, and in a much more powerful way, grace is communicated through the worthy reception of the Sacraments. A Sacrament is an exterior sign instituted by Christ to confer grace. Most especially grace pours forth in abundance through the frequent and fervent reception of the Sacrament of Confession and the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist.

Aware now of the three different manners in which Jesus has come and is willing to come until the end of the ages, let us strive to prepare our hearts so that Jesus will be born in Bethlehem on Christmas Day. However, it is our most ardent desire that Jesus be born in the very depths of our own soul this Christmas. The word Bethlehem means House of Bread. May our soul be a true Bethlehem—House of Bread—where Jesus can be born.

We will offer five simple but efficacious practices to dispose our hearts to Welcome Emmanuel—God with us!

1. Let us all have recourse to the Sacrament of Confession in the Holy Season of Advent. Let us clean our own interior Cave of the dirt, the cobwebs, the spider-webs, the foul smell – not of animals – but of sin. In the words of Saint Paul, may we be the fragrance of Christ!

2. GOD’S WORD. Saint Jerome stated quite poignantly: “Ignorance of Sacred Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Find some quiet place and good time of the day, with a ton of good will, to encounter the Lord in His Word. Live out the Our Father: “Give us this day our Daily Bread!” This daily Bread is the Word of God. Jesus stated this very clearly by rebuffing the temptation of the devil: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Mt. 4:4)

3. PRAY MORE. Here is the Advent question for you: what do these letters mean? A.S.A.P.? Why not baptize the more secular interpretation surfacing in your mind – AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! – with ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER!!! This indeed is a Season in which we must make a concerted effort to pray more and sin less! Actually, a life of sin and a life of deep prayer are diametrically opposed, like trying to mix oil with vinegar, or mix fire with a fire hose, or combine light with darkness. The more frequently and fervently we pray, the more we distance ourselves from the reality of sin.

4. FASTING: MANY WAYS—HOW ABOUT THE TONGUE??? There are many ways that we can practice fasting, and variety is the spice of life. Eating less or even depriving ourselves of food can be very beneficial. Jesus said: “Some devils can be cast out only by prayer and fasting or penance.” (Mt. 17:21) However, we must add to the physical form of abstaining from food, the verbal abstaining from sinning with our tongue. How often do we sin with our tongue and offend God and offend our neighbor, most frequently our family members? Vulgar words, off the cuff expressions, bitter sarcasm and irony, white lies, vociferous explosions, and it must be said: gossip, gossip, and again, gossip! Why not enter into Advent by reading James Chapter Three—the famous chapter on the Sins of the Tongue!!! Better yet, read it individually, but also as a family. Make this commitment, following the advice of Saint Bernard, we should open our mouths on three occasions: 1) To Praise God, 2) To accuse ourselves of our own faults, and 3) To edify our neighbor! If this is lived out in the family, how many blessings will abound!!!

5. MARIA COGITA, MARIA INVOCA!!! One of the most salient characteristics of the physiognomy of the Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary (the author of this article belongs to this Congregation) is a tender and confident love for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Next essential in the charism of the Oblates is the saying: NUNC CAEPI—meaning, I will start again after I fall into sin, even if it be a thousand times a day! However, the Oblate lives in the spiritual atmosphere or milieu of Mary, inhaling and exhaling MARIA COGITA, MARIA INVOCA—meaning: Think about Mary, Invoke Mary. Being faithful to the spirit of the Season of Advent, we accompany Mary who with great joy and expectation longs for the birth of Jesus her Son, Jesus our Elder Brother, and Jesus the Savior of the world!

The success of the Feast is in direct proportion to the preparation prior to the Feast. Equally true is this concept related to the celebration of Easter or Christmas. The more generous our souls in giving ourselves to God before the Feast of Christmas, the more joyful and exultant will it be on the very day of the Feast. May God’s love and generosity towards us’ spur us on to great generosity starting right now!

Copyright 2020 Oblates of the Virgin Mary
St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA

Friday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27^TH  Lk. 21: 29-33   “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”

Part 1: Moving Thanksgiving away from a holiday to a life-style … by Ann Voskamp
Part 2: BE OPEN TO THE INSPIRATIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

PART 1:  Moving Thanksgiving away from a holiday to a life-style… by Ann Voskamp

A friend dared me to start counting one thousand things I loved. I took the dare, accepted the challenge, kept track of one thousand things, one thousand gifts – a thousand graces. Before I knew it, thankfulness to God began fully to change me.

What I actually found – startling! – was more daily wonder and surprising beauty than I had ever expected. And in a few short years, this daily hunt for God’s grace, His glory, had ushered me into a fuller life. A life of joy!

I decided to try to live this giving thanks as I believe Jesus did each day, regardless of His circumstances. And what I found was that in giving thanks for each moment and savoring it as bread from His hand, I’d find sustenance and the grace of God Himself in it.

Even when I am sometimes impatient or unwilling, when I face conflict and heartache, I’ve begun to accept that even the impossible is a possible opportunity to thank God, to experience the goodness and grace of the Giver of all! There is always more grace. And it is always more than I expect.

And you? You in the midst, you in the mire, are you too thinking about counting one thousand gifts, about making your life all about joy in Christ, about loving God and enjoying Him forever? There is so much joy in seeing how He uses our simple act of noticing the blessings He bestows all around us to transform our lives and the lives of those we touch.

Praise Him for the unexpected and the unlikely, for the daily and the difficult, and the graces in disguise. The more you count, the more gifts you will see. Do not disdain the small. The moments add up, and we might come to believe it – the whole earth is full of His glory!

Whatever you do, the practice is intended to be a way of cultivating a habit, of learning to live in praise, to make gratitude and joy your default, to move thanksgiving away from a holiday to a lifestyle – that all the days might be holy and set apart for real joy! God is waiting to reveal so much through your desire to know Him more deeply and completely!

PART 2:  GET TO KNOW THE HOLY SPIRIT—GOD’S GIFT TO YOU! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Common sense teaches us that it is almost impossible for us to really love a person if we do not know that person. This principle can be applied to our relationship with God, to our relationship to the Blessed Trinity, to our relationship to the Holy Spirit.

GET TO KNOW GOD AND JESUS.  In the Diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, Jesus pointed out to Saint Faustina that one of the ways that she could get closer to God, get to know God better, would be to meditate upon one or some of His attributes. By attribute is meant, descriptive quality.  Omnipotence, Omniscience, Wisdom, Eternal, Infinite, Love—these are a few of the attributes given to God. With respect to Jesus, there are many simply gleaned from the Gospel text: Lord, God, Savior, Way, Truth, Life, Good Shepherd, Bread of Life, Lamb of God, Light of the World, the Alpha and Omega, etc. Following up in this line of thought, let us apply this now to the Person of the Holy Spirit. There are many titles that can be attributed to the Holy Spirit, most especially in the prayer called “The Sequence” that the Church prays on the Solemnity of Pentecost, as well as in the prayer that the Church calls “Litany of the Holy Spirit.”

TITLES FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT.  This brief essay has as its thrust and purpose to highlight ten of the most noteworthy titles given to the Holy Spirit. It is our hope that all will get to know the Holy Spirit better and deeper, speak more often to the Holy Spirit as your Best-Friend, and most important, fall in love with the Person of the Holy Spirit. In fact, it is the Holy Spirit Himself who can teach us to love sincerely!

1. THE SANCTIFIER.  Let us initiate our title description for the Holy Spirit with the title “The Sanctifier”.  What this word really means is that the Holy Spirit is the one who makes us holy! Pope Saint John XXIII stated: “The saints are the masterpieces of the Holy Spirit”. Indeed, you are called to become a saint. Therefore, why not entrust your goal and mission to the Person of the Holy Spirit. Pray this simple prayer every day: “Holy Spirit make me a saint!!!”  By way of biographical note, we encourage you to read the spiritual masterpiece of the saintly Bishop of Mexico, City, Luis Martinez in his work on the Holy Spirit with the title (you can probably guess it?) “The Sanctifier”!

2. CONSOLER.  Life can be tough; the cross at times can be exceedingly heavy and burdensome; trials, contradictions and even persecutions can visit us frequently. With the cross weighing heavy on our shoulders we all need at times some consolation from a Good-Friend. That consolation can come from none other than the Holy Spirit who is invoked as The Consoler.  In the classical prayer to the Holy Spirit we pray: “May we always rejoice in His consolation.”

3. COUNSELLOR.  Not only is the Holy Spirit known as the Consoler, but also as the Counsellor! When in doubt, when the heavy cloud of uncertainty descends upon you, when weariness, frustration, and confusion seem to darken your reasoning powers, then it is time to recoil from the battle-field and fervently invoke and pray to the Holy Spirit for light, for counsel, for insight so that you can make the right decision for the honor and glory of God and for the salvation of immortal souls. Pray as such: “Holy Spirit, cast out my darkness and give me light!”

4. INTERIOR MASTER OF PRAYER. Anybody who takes their spiritual life and prayer life seriously, sooner or later will encounter obstacles on the road to progress. This is par for the course in the spiritual life! Therefore, when it seems as if your prayer life is stagnant or even paralyzed, that you are on a spiritual-tread-mill and going nowhere fast, then it is most certainly the time and moment to invoke the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Even the great Apostle Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, expressed his struggle in pray with these words: “We do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with ineffable groans so that we can say Abba-Father.” (Rom. 8: 26) Indeed, the Holy Spirit is the Interior Master of your soul and He is most willing to help you to pray if you have an open and docile heart.

5. THE GIFT OF GIFTS. One of the simplest but sublime titles that is given to the Holy Spirit in the Catechism of the Catholic Church is that of The Gift of Gifts! The nature of the theology of Gift is that it is given freely, free of charge. We simply have to open our hearts to receive it! If God wants to give The Gift of Gifts to you then why not open up your heart in humble gratitude and receive it!

6. THE BOND OF LOVE. In the Mystery of the Most Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit is the bond of love between the Father and the Son. In a word, the Holy Spirit is uncreated love. Saint Paul states that charity—supernatural love—is the bond of perfection. Why not, right now, beg the Holy Spirit to set your heart on fire with the love of God! Saint John of the Cross writes most beautifully: “In the twilight of our existence we will be judged on love.”

7. SWEET GUEST OF THE SOUL. One of the most poetic and beautiful titles found in the Prayer to the Holy Spirit on Pentecost called the Sequence is the following: “Holy Spirit, Sweet Guest of the Soul.” In essence, its meaning is the following: through Baptism we became living Temples of the Blessed Trinity and this of course includes the Presence of the Holy Spirit. Not only is He a Guest in the most intimate part of our being which is our soul, but still more: he is the SWEET GUEST. As honey is to the tongue, and the fragrance of spring roses to the nostrils, so is the Holy Spirit to the docile, humble, and loving soul. In the midst of the bitter valleys and dark tunnels that we must all traverse, in the depths of our being we can invoke the Holy Spirit as the Sweet Guest of our soul.

8. THE SOUL OF THE CHURCH. With respect to basic Ecclesiology, the study and the knowledge of the Church, the Holy Spirit has a primary and essential role. Jesus is the Head of the Mystical Body the Church and we are the Members of the Mystical Body the Church. The Holy Spirit is the SOUL of the Mystical Body the Church. By definition the soul is the life-giving principle! Indeed, if we truly want to experience life and life in abundance in the Lord and His Church, we must constantly invoke the Presence of the Holy Spirit. “In Him we live and move and have our being.”

9. THE PURIFIER. One of the most common symbols or images for the Holy Spirit is that of FIRE. On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles as FIRE—TONGUES of FIRE. Our God is a devouring fire. In drawing close to this devouring fire that is the Holy Spirit, He desires to burn away in us anything that is not pleasing to God. Saint John of the Cross uses the image of a piece of rusty metal cast into an ardent and scathing fire. In time. all the rust falls off and the metal becomes red hot like the fire. So the Holy Spirit, this consuming fire, works efficaciously to scour, burn, and purify from our soul all our sins and the residual effects of sin. So we can say with Saint Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.’

10. THE MYSTICAL SPOUSE OF MARY.  Finally, the Holy Spirit in His relationship to the Blessed Virgin Mary is that of being her Mystical Spouse. It was through the powerful overshadowing of the Holy Spirit that the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived Jesus within her womb—the sublime accomplishment of the Incarnation of the Son of God. Saint Louis de Montfort makes this consoling connection: “Those who love Mary, the Holy Spirit flings Himself into their souls.”

In conclusion, by praying and meditation upon these ten titles or names or descriptions of the Holy Spirit, we pray that you will get to know this Sweet Guest of your soul, that you will enter into more frequent conversation with your Interior Master, and finally, that you will learn the art of truly loving God with your whole being and your neighbor, created in the image and likeness of God. Come Holy Spirit, come through the Heart of Mary.

Copyright 2020 Oblates of the Virgin Mary
St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA

Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26th   Lk. 21: 20-28   “Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”

Gratitude and Thanksgiving… by Pope Francis
(Editor’s Note: Pope Francis could have written this to each one of us personally.)

I accompany you at this moment of pain and difficulty, and I thank God for your faithful service to His people. In the hope of helping you to persevere on the path of fidelity to Jesus Christ, I would like to offer two brief reflections.

The first concerns the spirit of gratitude. The joy of men and women who love God attracts others to Him. Joy springs from a grateful heart. Truly we have received so much, so many graces, so many blessings, and we rejoice in this. It will do us good to think back on our lives with the grace of remembrance. Remembrance of when we were first called, remembrance of the road travelled, remembrance of graces received… and, above all, remembrance of our encounter with Jesus Christ so often along the way. Remembrance of the amazement which our encounter with Jesus Christ awakens in our hearts!

Let us seek the grace of remembrance so as to grow in the spirit of gratitude. Let us ask ourselves: Are we good at counting our blessings, or have we forgotten them?

A second area is the spirit of hard work. A grateful heart is spontaneously impelled to serve the Lord and to find expression in a life of commitment to our work. Once we come to realize how much God has given us, a life of self-sacrifice, of working for Him and for others, becomes a privileged way of responding to His great love.  End.

Today we will do an Ignatian repetition of the following contemplative meditation to draw more fruit – more insights to apply to ourselves and our lives, thereby gaining greater merit and graces in our journey towards our heavenly home, Heaven!

THE UNGRATEFUL NINE OF THE GROUP OF TEN (Lk 17:11-19) by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

What a horrible physical condition, that of being afflicted with leprosy! Eyebrows disappearing, on one hand three fingers, a swollen eye with the vision totally lost, dark spots up and down the spine, and the coarse, the shrill sound of a voice impaired through eroded vocal cords. All of these could be possible symptoms of the disease of leprosy.

Not only was this disease contagious, like the Coronavirus Pandemic, but it basically had no vaccine, no possible way that Doctors or medicine could provide any sure remedy.

Adding to the gravity of the plight of the leper was the social stigma that magnified the problem. According to the Levitical Law, the lepers were forced to live isolated in what might be called Leper Colonies. Indeed they were social outcasts.

Perhaps the worst of all the sufferings of the person of the leper was a prevalent theological belief that the leper suffered this incurable disease because God was angry at him for something that he did or possibly something that a relative or ancestor did, and he was paying the consequences of this with the disease of leprosy.

Therefore, to contract the disease of leprosy at the time of Jesus was considered to be one of the worst sufferings that any individual could undergo. As mentioned, the suffering was experienced at various levels: physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, theologically, spiritually and morally. The last person that anybody wanted to see was a leper; worse yet, the last suffering anybody wanted to have to endure was the sickness, disease, and suffering of the plight of the leper. Indeed, it truly could be said, the leper was among the class of the living dead.

With this in mind, picture the scene of ten lepers in view of Jesus crying out with all of their strength: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us!” (Read and meditate on Luke 17:11-19)  Moved to the very depths of his tender Heart, Jesus desires earnestly to heal their plight. He tells them to go to the priest and on the way they are healed, all ten lepers are healed! This manifests with utmost clarity the infinite compassion, mercy, tenderness and kindness of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In this group of ten lepers only one returns, and with a most noble heart he expresses overflowing gratitude for the loving concern and miraculous cure of Jesus the Divine Physician. Jesus willingly accepts this gratitude, but remarks: “Were there not ten that were healed, where are the other nine?” This one who was healed and profusely thanked Jesus was a foreigner, a Samaritan.

The ungrateful nine who never returned to render thanks to Jesus could easily be us, this could be our situation. How many times have we been recipients of His gifts, blessings, graces and failed to thank God, and even to thank others? How many times have we simply failed to say those two words: Thank you!

True, Thanksgiving Day comes and goes every year at the tail end of November. However, as followers of the Lord Jesus who so generously healed the ten lepers, and so often heals us, our thanksgiving should extend all the days of our lives. Let us get into the habit of cultivating an attitude of gratitude. Let us form the habit of saying thanks for these gifts bestowed upon us. The following are ten concrete ways that we can cultivate an attitude of gratitude and live constantly thanking God. “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever.” (107:1)

TEN WAYS THAT WE CAN RENDER THANKS TO OUR LOVING SAVIOR…

1. A NEW DAY: A NEW SUNRISE. Every day that we rise from sleep after a good night’s rest, we should thank God for His protection during the night and the gift of another day.

2. A NOURISHING MEAL. Many will go to bed hungry this night; some will even die from malnutrition and starvation. We should always bless the meal that God provides for us through the hands and hard work of others. A child said this prayer during the Thanksgiving holiday: “God, I thank you that I can choose the food I eat!” How many people throughout the world have never seen a Refrigerator? Or a sumptuous meal with multiple, delicious foods to choose from?

3. FRIENDLY AND SMALL WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT. Desolation is part and parcel of human existence and we all know of it from personal experience. How often has it happened that the Good Lord has rescued us from a state of desolation by sending some Good Samaritan along our path to give us a shining smile of friendship and encourage us with kind words? For these uplifting experiences we should express our gratitude to God, but also show our gratitude by becoming that Good Samaritan for others!

4. SUFFICIENT HEALTH TO MOVE ON. As the years transpire, so health declines, but God intervenes with His powerful Presence to lift us up and help us move on despite our weakening frame and creaking structure. Never forget the words of the poet: “I complained because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet!” We will always bump into people who are worse off than us. Count your blessings!

5. TIME, TALENT, AND TREASURE. Render a heartfelt Thank You to God for the time, talent, and treasure that God has given to you right now. Show your gratitude in a concrete way by imitating the two servants in the Parable of the Talents who doubled their talents and returned them with interest to the Master. (Mt. 25: 14-28) May we never show ingratitude to God by laziness; rather, let us show our gratitude by hard work and diligent effort!

6. JOY! We must be constantly grateful for the many times that God has filled our hearts and minds with joy! This is a fruit of the Holy Spirit that becomes manifest when we correspond to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Remember the acronym J.O.Y. = Jesus, Others, You!

7. HEAVEN. The thought of HEAVEN that awaits God’s faithful followers should fill us with both joy and gratitude. Jesus expressed these most consoling words: “I am going to prepare a place for you now, so that where I am, you also might be. In my Father’s house there are many mansions.” (Jn. 14: 1-3) Constantly we should thank Jesus that He has gone to Heaven to prepare a place for us. Let us live in such a way that when we die, we are prepared to go to Heaven to be with Jesus!

8. ANGELS AND SAINTS. Today in many parts of the world, many people suffer a constant, crushing loneliness. They have an overriding feeling that nobody cares for them, nobody loves them. For followers of Jesus, this is never the case because we belong to a warm and loving family—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Other important members of our family are the angels and the saints. They are the best of friends to us. We should form a constant habit of talking to them and thanking them for their friendship and assistance, for they are eager to help us whenever we ask them!

9. GOD’S MERCY AND PROVIDENCE. How can we ever go through a day without thanking God for His Divine Providence and His Infinite Mercy? By Providence we mean the simple fact that God provides for us, defends us, protects us, nourishes us, and simply cares for us as a loving Father—let us render thanks for His Divine Providence! Even though we are weak, fragile, and prone to fall many times a day, God is a loving and merciful Father who, when we ask for mercy, forgives us in a heartbeat. “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever.” (Ps. 107:1)

10. MARY MOST HOLY: OUR LIFE, OUR SWEETNESS, AND OUR HOPE. Finally, let us never let a day go by in which we fail to talk to Mary as our loving Mother, as “our life, our sweetness, and our hope.” (Hail Holy Queen) How grateful we really should be that Mary is our Mother—she loves us, she prays for us, she cares for us, she protects us, and she will help us to pass from this life to the next in the state of grace. Then with our Mother Mary, we will love God, thank God and praise God for all eternity!

 Copyright 2020 Oblates of the Virgin Mary
St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA

Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25TH Lk. 21.12-19  “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

• “Christ has no body now, but yours. No hands, no feet on earth, but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ looks compassion into the world. Yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which Christ blesses the world.” St. Teresa of Avila
• Today we will give thanks for God’s Gift of Family and beg for perseverance in becoming a Family Fortified and Faithful and by this give witness to Christ’s presence in the world.

FAMILIES FORTIFIED AND FAITHFUL by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

It is the basic cell of society; it is the oldest and one of the most important institutions; it is the Domestic-Church; it is the society and community in which children enter the world and are formed and trained to be citizens of this world and the world to come— yes, this is the HUMAN FAMILY!

The health, wholesomeness, and duration of the society as a whole depends on the moral and spiritual state and quality of the family. Time and history have proven with catastrophic, disastrous and undeniable facts the following: when the family disintegrates and comes unraveled, the whole society crumbles and evaporates. The Greek and Roman civilizations, as well as other great Empires that dominated the world declined, withered, and died due to the decline of the moral quality of the family.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church expresses with great clarity, transparency and depth what the true nature of the family must aspire to. It is an ideal that all families should strive to attain with their own strenuous effort, but especially by relying on the super-abundant grace of God. No doubt, God’s grace overflows in abundance, but it is incumbent upon us to open our hearts to receive this free gift. The Catechism of the Catholic Church comments on the indispensable and primary importance of the family for the child, their development, the formation of their character, as well as their insertion into the fabric of society.

“The family is the original cell of social life. It is the natural society in which the husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority, stability, and a life of relationships with the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within the society. The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society.”  (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2207)

Now let us present the TEN-M’S to aid and motivate us to strive to form noble and holy families in imitation of the best of all human families—Jesus, Mary, and St. Joseph—the Holy Family of Nazareth.

THE TEN M’S TO BUILD NOBLE AND HOLY FAMILIES by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

1. MORNING PRAYER. Every member of the human family has incalculable importance, dignity and destiny. So from the youngest to the oldest, the day should start with prayer. What prayer? Highly to be recommended would be the Morning-offering in which we start the day by giving all we do, all we are, all we have, and even all of our intentions to Jesus through Mary. Then end the prayer by kissing your Scapular—this is your eternal sign of consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a sign that you are in Mary’s family and you belong to her as her beloved son/daughter.

Morning-offering Prayer: Mary, my Queen and my Mother, I give myself entirely to you, and to show my devotion to you, I consecrate to you this day my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart , my whole being without reserve. Whereas I am your own, dear Mother, keep me and guard me as your property and possession. Amen

2. MEDITATION ON THE WORD OF GOD. Never allow a day to pass in which you have not spent some time immersing yourself in the infinite abyss of the treasures and riches of the Word of God. The Gospel presents the Virgin Mary as an example. Twice in the Gospel of Luke, Mary is portrayed as the model contemplative: Mary pondered the word of God. If you like, here is a short method for meditating on the Word of God: Eyes, mind, heart, and feet. In concrete: read carefully the Word of God and assimilate it in your mind and heart; then go from your mind and heart to your feet—like Mary put it into practice. Allow the Word of God to transform your life and the lives of your family members!

3. MEAL-TIME: FAMILY TIME!!! One of the most common stock-phrases or clichés is the following: “I don’t have time or I’m too busy!” Misnomers as these two short phrases are, unfortunately, they dominate far and wide the modern culture. Meal-time on a daily basis should be the high-point or apex of family time. Meals should begin with a prayer of blessing, and then time to eat and time to share. Everybody at the meal-table has great importance. Every person should learn two key arts that come with practice: learn how to communicate clearly and humbly what is in your heart. Then learn the art of listening to others attentively and non-judgmentally.  How many suicides or attempted suicides could have been avoided and still can be avoided—especially among the teens—if they could open up their hearts and express themselves freely at the family table. Topics? Anything that is honest, pure, enlightening, edifying, spiritual, religious, and never forget: humorous! Everybody should have an arsenal of good jokes! I invite all of you to listen to the Cat in the Cradle, Harry Chapin. Get your handkerchiefs ready because it is a tear-jerker! However, it is a splice of reality of the American culture over the last fifty years. Fathers do not have time for their kids and this is perpetuated from one generation to the next. Homes are being transformed into mere-hotels. Families live together today as if they were strangers; as the poet expresses, like ships passing in the night.

4. MATRIMONY: MARRIED IN THE CHURCH. Due to a deluge of materialism, secularism and hedonism in society, the modern generation of young people have taken it upon themselves to set up living arrangements in which they live together, at least apparently as husband and wife, but having never been married sacramentally. The terminology is vast: cohabitation, free-union, trial marriage, waiting to see if they are compatible, have chemistry, etc. Call it whatever you like, but until the man and woman, husband and wife have been married in the Catholic Church in a Sacramental marriage, they are not married in the eyes of God. And despite the most noble intellectual qualities, sports prowess, exterior beauty, wit and charm, material prosperity, this union will eventually fall-apart. Why? For the simple reason that this union is built on sand, not on the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Rock, the bastion and fortress in defense of the Marital Commitment. Ven. Archbishop Fulton Sheen penned a spiritual masterpiece in this regard for couples who marry with the title: “It Takes Three to Get Married.” The three are the husband and wife, with the hidden but most important of the trio—Jesus Christ, who unites the couple in permanent, faithful, and indissoluble love. Now more than ever Pastors, catechists, spiritual mentors, and good Catholic writers should promote the primordial importance of receiving the Sacrament of Matrimony so as to establish a solid rock foundation on which to build holy and happy families!

5. MASS: GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. The most noble gesture that a human person can carry out on this side of eternity is to participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass fully, actively, and consciously and to receive with faith, fervor, and love the most Holy Eucharist—the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus the Lord. Related to the topic of the family, what an enormous deluge of graces would shower from heaven on the family, if family members went to Mass together, received Holy Communion together, and offered their Holy Communions for the purpose of augmenting love among the family members. Upon receiving Holy Communion, we have truly received a Spiritual Heart transplant and the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus beats in our heart and overflows on our family members! Why not live out the Our Father with a sacramental interpretation: “Give us this day our daily bread… the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus!!!”

6. MERCY, MERCY, MERCY! Truly the family can be and should be a school of virtue. That is to say, a place where the many domestic, social, theological and moral virtues can be practiced and on a daily-basis. Among the most noble of all virtues is that of mercy. In the Diary of St Faustina Jesus emphasizes mercy as the greatest of all the virtues in His Sacred Heart. What then is mercy? Quite simply, mercy is the love of God forgiving the sinner. However, in this Divine-human relationship, for us to receive God’s mercy, we must practice mercy by giving it to others. There is no better place in the world to practice mercy, love and forgiveness then in the context of the family. On a daily basis family members hurt us and we hurt them. The key to the problem is this: once offended, forgive right away and have the humility to ask for forgiveness. Remember Jesus’ words: “Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful”… “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

7. MIRTH: OVERFLOWING JOY IN THE FAMILY.According to the expert in the Art of Spiritual Discernment, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the state of desolation often is an open door to powerful and insistent temptations, capitulating, and then cascading into sin. Of course one of the manifestations of desolation is a sad and depressed spirit. Rewind the film of your life and you will find that many times your sins were preceded by a general sadness of being. To recompense for that sadness, you had recourse to some sin, your kryptonite, your basic weakness. Afterwards, your conscience reproached you until finally you returned to God through prayer, penance and Confession.  On the other hand, joy, happiness, jubilation, a truly happy spirit is a strong bastion to ward off the devil of sadness and prevent slipping into the mire of sin. Moms and Dads should be happy. They should radiate their joy with a smile. They should learn the art of encouragement—words that edify, lift up, sustain, and motivate. Children who experience an exuberant and overflowing joy from their parents will not desire to seek refuge in drink, porn, drugs, or gang activity—which are all cop-outs, lies and false-gods presented by the devil as a haven or refuge. Let us learn to live out these words in the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord; I say it again: rejoice in the Lord.”  (Phil. 4:4)

8. MORTIFICATION. If we run away from our cross, most likely, we will run into a cross that is heavier than the one God designed in His Divine Providence to send us. One of the conditions for following Jesus the Lord is the willingness to carry the cross that He has sent us. Resounding and powerful are the words of the Master: “Unless he denies himself, takes up his cross, and follows me, he cannot be my disciple.” (Mt. 10:38) To fortify families, the cross +++ must be present. It can be a cross living with difficult people. But above and beyond demanding and challenging social conditions, we should all make an effort to practice mortification, to practice self-denial, to learn to say NO to ourselves so that we can say YES to God. To be patient with the tardy, to hold back an unkind word when tempted, to take the last seat and the smaller portion at meals, to smile when you are assaulted with a splitting migraine—all of these are concrete manifestations of practicing self-denial and mortification. In other words, mortification is the antithesis of egotism which corrodes family harmony!

9. MISSIONARY. The last words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of St. Matthew were nothing less than a missionary mandate, an imperious obligation for all Christians, all serious followers of Christ, to share the Good News of salvation far and wide, in fact, to the four corners of the world. The words of the Savior are serious and as such we should take them to heart and live them out: “Go out to all nations and teach them what I taught you; baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And behold, I am with you always even until the end of the world. (Mt. 28: 19-20) Families that have discovered the love of Christ should be overflowing with enthusiasm to share the love of Christ with other families where maybe the love of Christ has dried up and extinguished, or perhaps, where the love of Christ never existed. Aquinas points out that when we share some material commodity we are poorer after giving it away. But not so in the spiritual realm! By sharing Christ with others, those who receive the Good News are enriched, but those who have shared it are all the more enriched for having shared it! The first Encyclical of Pope Francis was precisely this message: The Joy of sharing the Gospel. Why not on a monthly basis, bring families together to pray the Rosary, share spiritual insights, and then share a happy-meal together. This might be a tool that families can utilize to implement the missionary call of the family!

10. MARY: OUR LIFE, OUR SWEETNESS AND OUR HOPE. Our essay would be far from complete if we did not conclude by encouraging all families to cultivate a tender, filial, and loving devotion to Mary. As prayed in the Hail Holy Queen, Mary is “our life, our sweetness, and our hope.” On their Wedding Day, the couple lays their bouquet of roses at the feet of Mary, expressing by this gesture their consecration to her. Families should enthrone the images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary in their homes. St. Pope John Paul II in his inspired and practical writing Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary, strongly exhorts the whole world, but especially families, to pray the Rosary for two intentions: for world peace and for the protection of the family. The Rosary priest, Ven. Father Patrick Peyton has coined these two immortal sayings related to the urgency in praying the Rosary: “The family that prays together stays together”; and, “A world at prayer is a world at peace.” If this tender, filial, and loving devotion to Mary exists in the family, then positive fruits will eventually take root in the family: love, purity, respect for self and respect for others, peace, harmony, patience and joy. Mary was the perfect wife and the perfect Mother. She can help married women to strive for ever greater perfection in their duties as both wives and mothers and do it with courage, joy, and perseverance.

Copyright 2020 Oblates of the Virgin Mary
St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA

Memorial of Saint Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs

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

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24TH Lk. 21: 5-11   “The days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”

• Jesus’ forewarning about the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, which occurred about the year 70 A.D., is followed by an apocalyptic warning about the end times. “Then He said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful famines, and plagues from place to place, and awesome sights and sounds.’”
• Advent is almost upon us. It behooves us to begin thinking about and preparing for Advent – our preparation and purification for the birth of the King of Kings, indeed the King of the Universe, and our hope for salvation in the tribulations to come.

EMMANUEL: COME LORD JESUS, DO NOT DELAY! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Every year we have the extraordinary opportunity to welcome the Lord Jesus into our hearts with the Season of Advent which culminates on Christmas Day—the Birthday of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Actually, the Church invites us to meditate upon the three comings of the Lord Jesus. Indeed, this could be a most fruitful meditation. What then are the three comings of the Lord Jesus?

1. INCARNATION. The Lord Jesus came, born in the Flesh about 2000 years ago of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the stable of Bethlehem. Saint John, in the Prologue, reminds us in these words: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (Jn. 1:14)

2. AT THE END OF TIME. Jesus will come again, and it will be at the end of time. The day, the hour, the moment, as well as the circumstances are not known to us. They will be determined by the Will of God the Father. Jesus constantly reminds us: “Stay awake and be vigilant because we know neither the day nor the hour. He will come like a thief in the night.” (Mt. 25:13)

3. THE THIRD COMING. The third coming of the Lord Jesus is actually now, tomorrow, and constantly, in a very different but very real way. Jesus comes through grace. God is so loving and generous that He comes through grace in many ways and with different intensity. The following are Jesus’ comings through grace: in prayer, through works of charity and almsgiving (Read Mt. 25: 31-46), through penances and sacrifices made to God for the conversion of sinners. Furthermore, and in a much more powerful way, grace is communicated through the worthy reception of the Sacraments. A Sacrament is an exterior sign instituted by Christ to confer grace. Most especially grace pours forth in abundance through the frequent and fervent reception of the Sacrament of Confession and the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist.

Aware now of the three different manners in which Jesus has come and is willing to come until the end of the ages, let us strive to prepare our hearts so that Jesus will be born in Bethlehem on Christmas Day. However, it is our most ardent desire that Jesus be born in the very depths of our own soul this Christmas. The word Bethlehem means House of Bread. May our soul be a true Bethlehem—House of Bread—where Jesus can be born.

We will offer five simple but efficacious practices to dispose our hearts to Welcome Emmanuel—God with us!

1. Let us all have recourse to the Sacrament of Confession in the Holy Season of Advent. Let us clean our own interior Cave of the dirt, the cobwebs, the spider-webs, the foul smell – not of animals – but of sin. In the words of Saint Paul, may we be the fragrance of Christ!

2. GOD’S WORD. Saint Jerome stated quite poignantly: “Ignorance of sacred Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Find some quiet place and good time of the day, with a ton of good will, to encounter the Lord in His Word. Live out the Our Father: “Give us this day our Daily Bread!” This daily Bread is the Word of God. Jesus stated this very clearly by rebuffing the temptation of the devil: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Mt. 4:4)

3. PRAY MORE. Here is the Advent question for you: what do these words mean? A.S.A.P.? Why not baptize the more secular interpretation surfacing in your mind – AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!!! – with ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER!!! This indeed is a Season in which we must make a concerted effort to pray more and sin less! Actually, a life of sin and a life of deep prayer are diametrically opposed, like trying to mix oil with vinegar, or mix fire with a fire hose, or combine light with darkness. The more frequently and fervently we pray, the more we distance ourselves from the reality of sin.

4. FASTING: MANY WAYS—HOW ABOUT THE TONGUE??? There are many ways that we can practice fasting, and variety is the spice of life. Eating less or even depriving ourselves of food can be very beneficial. Jesus said: “Some devils can be cast out only by prayer and fasting or penance.” (Mt. 17:21) However, we must add to the physical form of abstaining from food, the verbal abstaining from sinning with our tongue. How often do we sin with our tongue and offend God and offend our neighbor, most frequently our family members? Vulgar words, off the cuff expressions, bitter sarcasm and irony, white lies, vociferous explosions, and it must be said: gossip, gossip, and again, gossip! Why not enter into Advent by reading James Chapter Three—the famous chapter on the Sins of the Tongue!!! Better yet, read it individually, but also as a family. Make this commitment, following the advice of Saint Bernard, we should open our mouths on three occasions: 1) To Praise God, 2) To accuse ourselves of our own faults, and 3) To edify our neighbor! If this is lived out in the family, how many blessings will abound!!!

5. MARIA COGITA, MARIA INVOCA!!! One of the most salient characteristics of the physiognomy of the Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary (the author of this article belongs to this Congregation) is a tender and confident love for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Next essential in the charism of the Oblates is the saying: NUNC CAEPI—meaning, I will start again after I fall into sin, even if it be a thousand times a day! However, the Oblate lives in the spiritual atmosphere or milieu of Mary, inhaling and exhaling MARIA COGITA, MARIA INVOCA—meaning: Think about Mary, Invoke Mary. Being faithful to the spirit of the Season of Advent, we accompany Mary who with great joy and expectation longs for the birth of Jesus her Son, Jesus our Elder Brother, and Jesus the Savior of the world!

The success of the Feast is in direct proportion to the preparation prior to the Feast. Equally true is this concept related to the celebration of Easter or Christmas. The more generous our souls in giving ourselves to God before the Feast of Christmas, the more joyful and exultant will it be the very day of the Feast. May God’s love and generosity towards us’ spur us on to great generosity starting right now!

Copyright 2020 Oblates of the Virgin Mary
St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA