Monday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

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

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23^rd Lk. 21: 1-4  “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.”

• Someone else gave from her poverty, in fact, she gave her whole self! “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according your word.”(Lk. 1:38) Mary’s Yes was unconditional. Whatever God willed, as He willed, when He willed, and in the way He willed! How many of us can say that? Therein, and therein alone, lies our peace and joy in this life and for eternity.

JOYFUL MYSTERIES: LET US LEARN TO LIVE AND LOVE THROUGH MARY! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Mary is the quickest, shortest, easiest path to Jesus. We can call her the shortcut! We are all called to holiness—meaning to be saints. Jesus said: “Be holy as your heavenly Father is holy.” (Mt. 5:48) This is a command! Therefore, the Holy Mother of God, Mary most holy, can help us in our joyful pursuit of holiness which ends in heaven.

THE MOST HOLY ROSARY. One of the most efficacious tools, or we might even call it spiritual weapon, that we should use to fight the good fight and run the good race so as to win the victory and prize of eternal life is the MOST HOLY ROSARY. Over centuries, the saints and popes have strongly encouraged the faithful to pray the Rosary and to trust in Mary’s most powerful intercession. The prayer of Saint Bernard encapsulates this truth in the famous Marian prayer, The Memorare, with these words: “Never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection was left unaided.”

MYSTERIES OF JOY, MYSTERIES OF LOVE. In this short essay we will focus on how we can learn to live for God, love God, and be truly happy by offering a few suggestions taken from the five Joyful Mysteries of the most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Rosary is a spiritual gold-mine for us to dig into; so let us dig in right now!

1. THE ANNUNCIATION (Lk. 1:26-38) Mary encounters God through His angelic messenger, the Archangel Gabriel. We offer three precious pearls to glean and polish from this profound encounter.
1) LISTEN AND TALK TO GOD. Mary teaches us the importance of silence in our lives. Mary teaches us the importance of listening to God, especially through the Word of God. Mary teaches us the importance of talking to God—that means the real importance of prayer, of talking to God with fervor and devotion from the depths of our heart. Mary teach me how to pray!
2) SAYING YES TO GOD: THE KEY TO HAPPINESS. All of us are given freedom to choose between good and bad; we can use or abuse our freedom. Mary said YES to God in these words: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word.” (Lk. 1:38) This is a universal truth: we all want to be happy in this world and always! Why then is it that so many people today want to be happy but walk around with a sad face that they display to the whole world? The reason is very clear: they say NO to God. Our Lady teaches us true freedom and the key to true joy: learning to say YES to God! Starting today, through the intercession of Mary, let us learn to always say Yes to God.
3) MARY TEACHES US HOW TO RECEIVE JESUS IN OUR HEARTS. By saying YES to God, Mary conceived Jesus in her most pure womb and the depths of her most pure and Immaculate Heart. Saint Pope John Paul II makes a beautiful parallel between Mary’s YES to God and our AMEN when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion. The end result of Mary’s YES and our AMEN in Holy Communion is the reception of Jesus into our hearts. Let us beg through the intercession of Mary to say YES to God and receive Jesus with burning love in our hearts in Holy Communion.

2. THE VISITATION OF MARY TO ELIZABETH. Like the Annunciation, this Mystery is rich in teaching and growth in holiness for us if we talk to Mary and try to imitate her. Let us take three lessons.
1) AVOID LAZINESS. Once Mary knew what the will of God was, she did not wait, or procrastinate, or put it off until tomorrow. Rather, she went quickly or in haste. Let us avoid laziness in all times, places, and circumstances. The proverb is so true: “Idleness is the workshop of the devil.”
2) GREETING WITH JOY. Let us learn from Mary not to wait for others to greet us, but to greet others FIRST and with joy! This is humility and charity—meaning, putting others first and valuing them for their innate dignity.
3) SERVICE IS A SOURCE OF JOY. Mary went to visit her elderly cousin, Saint Elizabeth, who was pregnant in her old age, so as to be of service to her in her needs. Saint Paul teaches us: “There is more joy in giving than in receiving.” (Acts: 20:35) Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta said: “We must learn to give until it hurts.” Starting today let us make it a firm proposal: I will look for opportunities to serve others in imitation of Mary, who went to visit and serve Saint Elizabeth! If done, we will experience deep joy within our souls.

3. THE BIRTH OF JESUS IN BETHLEHEM. In this mystery we celebrate the most important birthday in the history of the world—the birth of Jesus, that we call CHRISTMAS. The birth of Jesus separated the division of time into B.C. and A.D. The lessons that Mary can teach us are innumerable. We will offer three!
1) LIFE IS A JOURNEY. Mary went on a long journey and arrived at her destination, Bethlehem. Our life is a journey towards heaven. Let us ask Mary, Saint Joseph, and of course, Jesus to accompany us every step along the way in our journey towards our final destination, HEAVEN!
2) ACCEPTING TRIALS AND REJECTION. Mary experienced many trials, contradictions, and sufferings in her life, but she trusted God even more. Upon arriving in Bethlehem, she experienced rejection: “There was no room for them in the Inn!” (Lk. 2:7) When we experience trials, sufferings, and rejection in our lives, we should run to Mary and seek refuge. Immaculate Heart of Mary, be my sure refuge!’
3) Mary and the Holy Family chose to experience and live a life of poverty. One of the biggest obstacles in modern society is that of MATERIALISM, that means, being too attached to material things. If you like: Our possessions can possess us. Jesus was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the poor, cold, damp, bad-smelling stable (refuge for animals) of Bethlehem. Mary, please teach me that true happiness does not come from possessing things, but by allowing God to possess me!

4. THE PRESENTATION OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE. When Jesus was only 40 days old, He was presented in the Temple through the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary and good Saint Joseph. Once again, we will offer three wonderful lessons from this fourth Joyful Mystery.
1) Mary and Saint Joseph obeyed God by presenting their first born son in the Temple of Jerusalem as prescribed by the Mosaic Law. If we truly want to experience joy in the depths of our soul, then we must learn to imitate Mary in the virtue of obedience. Those in the modern world desire all too often to follow their own will which leads to sadness and eventual destruction. Like Mary, may we learn to obey the Word of God, the Church and the Magisterial teachings, and a well-formed conscience.
2) LIGHT TO ALL THE WORLD. Jesus in the arms of Mary is presented to the elderly Simeon who calls Jesus LUMEN GENTIUM—Light for the People. Mary teaches us that Jesus must be our true and overflowing Light. Mary, my Mother, give me eyes to perceive the Light of Jesus in the world, in my life, and in the circumstances surrounding my life.
3. THE SWORD OF SORROW. The Prophecy of Simeon entailed announcing that Jesus would be a sign of contradiction and that a sword of sorrow would penetrate the heart of Mary. The meaning may be difficult for us to understand, and possibly even more difficult to put into practice: the value of suffering. We must learn to offer our sufferings to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary and then these sufferings will have infinite value! “We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”

5. THE FINDING OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE. Present in this fifth and last Joyful Mystery is a hidden sorrow, but great joy. The sorrow, of course, is that Mary and Joseph lose Jesus for three long days. The joy, of course, is in finding Jesus. There is much for us to meditate upon in this Mystery. However, we will give three golden nuggets!
1) MANY PARENTS LOSE THEIR CHILDREN. Today many parents can identify very easily with this Mystery because they lose their children in that their children no longer want to practice their faith. This pierces their parents’ hearts. Mary teaches us not to give up hope, but to pursue our children through prayer, patience, and trust that they will find their way back to God. Saint Monica did this and her son, the wandering Prodigal Son of the 5^th century, became the great SAINT AUGUSTINE.
2) JESUS AND MARY AS OUR TEACHERS. After three long days of sorrowful search, Our Lady finally found her Son, Jesus. Where was He? Jesus was found in the Temple teaching the older men. Among the numerous lessons that we can glean is the following: Jesus and Mary must be our Teachers. PERMANENT FORMATION! One of the key struggles and failures in many adults is their unwillingness to study so as to grow in their faith; thus they remain stagnant and stultified in their faith. Jesus and Mary teach us the primary obligation parents have of transmitting their faith to their children. However, you cannot give what you do not have! Let us beg our Lady for the grace to really desire to learn our faith better, so as to be better teachers to our children!
3) MARY PONDERS IN HER HEART. Upon finding Jesus, Mary and Joseph rejoiced even though they did not fully understand the words of Jesus: “Did you not know that I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Lk. 2:49) For her part, Mary pondered these things in her Immaculate Heart. Mary teaches all of us the importance of praying, meditating, pondering in our hearts the Word of God, the circumstances in our life, and even the surprises and contradictions that we encounter all so often. Let us pray to Mary and beg her to attain for us a contemplative heart! Let us beg Our Lady for the grace to perceive God’s work in us always! For, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)

Conclusion. We hope and pray that all will understand the call to JOY in our lives. This joy can be learned in the life, words, and example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and most especially through the mysteries of the Rosary, starting with the JOYFUL MYSTERIES. Our Lady teaches this lesson in her beautiful prayer that we call the Magnificat: “My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit REJOICES IN GOD MY SAVIOR…” (Lk 1:47) By calling upon Mary, let us learn that true joy comes through deeper and deeper union with God!

 

 

 

 

 

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

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

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

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22^nd   Mt. 25:31-46 Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

 CHRIST AS KING… by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

Jesus of Nazareth is so intrinsically king that the title “King” has actually become His name. By calling ourselves Christians, we label ourselves as followers of the King.

God did not intend Israel to have a kingdom. The kingdom was a result of Israel’s rebellion against God. The law was to be Israel’s king, and, through the law, God Himself.

God yielded to Israel’s obstinacy and so devised a new kind of kingship for them. The King is Jesus; in Him God entered humanity and espoused it to Himself. This is the usual form of the divine activity in relation to mankind. God does not have a fixed plan that He must carry out; on the contrary, He has many different ways of finding man and even of turning his wrong ways into right ways.

The feast of Christ the King is therefore not a feast of those who are subjugated, but a feast of those who know that they are in the hands of the one who writes straight on crooked lines.

• Christ the King has a very specific calling for each and every one of us, expressed in our Profession and Vocation; living this calling out as God intended puts us on the right path to holiness and our eternal salvation!
• Ed enlightens and invigorates our path!

PROFESSIONAL/VOCATIONAL PLAN OF LIFE: PURITY OF INTENTION by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV (Excerpt from Roadmap to Heaven, Tan Books)

Call to Purity of Intention: Do the ordinary with extraordinary love!

Variety is the spice of life.  This saying can be applied to the variety of ways that we can compose our Plan of Life.  We have already proposed the Chronological Plan of Life in which we presented breaking down our spiritual life into blocks of time, then writing or composing certain acts of piety, penance, or specific prayers that we could incorporate into our lives yearly, monthly, weekly, daily, hourly, even down to using our minutes so as to order the disorder in our lives.

PLAN OF LIFE: MY PROFESSION AND VOCATION.  Now we would like to introduce you to another form, manner, or angle that you can use to compose your Plan of Life.  We can title this Plan of life: Professional/Vocational.  Our sanctification, our growth in holiness, and the realization of God’s Plan for us, depends in large part on our being faithful to our own specific profession and vocation.  Then we must strive to carry out our daily duties or obligations with purity of intention, and this combined with energy and exertion!

CARRY OUT THE ORDINARY WITH EXTRAORDINARY LOVE.  One of the most famous modern saints is Saint Therese of Lisieux, known commonly as The Little Flower.  In her short life, which lasted only 24 years, this contemplative and cloistered Carmelite nun did nothing out of the ordinary.  No miracles were attributed to her during the course of her life.  Her exterior actions did not seem to be stupendous, sparkling, or even outside the course of the normal and mundane actions of convent life.  However, there was indeed something in her life that she excelled in, more than most of us, and it was this: she did the ordinary tasks of her daily life with extraordinary love!  That was the key and the secret to her Little Way that has become a modern model for arriving at true holiness.  Saint Paul reminds us of this with these simple but profound words: Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31)

GOD AND OUR ACTIONS.  On one occasion Jesus was in the entrance of the Temple of Jerusalem observing people deposit their money in the metallic collections box.  Some threw in huge sums of coins that would resound throughout the Temple so that all would be aware of the quantity by the loudness of the dropping of the offering.  Jesus did not pay too much attention to these rich, vain, and pompous individuals.  Then a poor widow entered the Temple.  Being poor, she could offer nothing more than two copper coins—a few pennies and not much more.  This was the person that Jesus exalted and praised among the givers.  Why?  The others gave out of their abundance; whereas, this poor widow gave of her livelihood, all that she had.  And for all time and eternity, this poor widow will be praised.  This can be applied to us!  We may not have too much to give economically.  We may not be millionaires.  We may not have huge bank accounts which we can delve into and dole out in the thousands!  However, there is something that we can do in imitation of the poor widow, and that is we can give generously from what we do have as a gift from God.

BLESSED CARDINAL JOHN HENRY NEWMAN’S RECIPE FOR HOLINESS.  On one occasion, the great saintly English scholar, Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman, was asked how to be holy, if you like, a recipe for holiness!  Surprisingly, these were the practical daily points to grow in holiness given by this convert to Catholicism and great man of God.

1. Get to bed on time!!!  Importance of a good night’s rest!
2. Upon rising offer your first thoughts to God—The Morning Offering!
3, Eat and drink to the honor and glory of God.  Sounds like Saint Paul: Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31)
4. Banish bad thoughts immediately!  Keep the enemy outside!
5. Make a good visit to the Blessed Sacrament.  Love Jesus in the Eucharist!
6. ROSARY!  Honor the Blessed Virgin Mary by praying the prayer that she loves most—the Most Holy Rosary.
7. FINALLY, AND OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE:  Do the ordinary things of your daily life with extraordinary love.

Here you have it, a very simple daily plan of life from a convert to Catholicism, a scholar, a lover of truth, and a practical lover of God. His suggestions are not beyond comprehension or beyond our ability.  On the contrary, these suggestions and advice can be followed by almost all of us!

GOD READS THE HEART.  The essence of the message of this chapter is to arrive at the humble recognition that God does not pay so much attention to exterior actions and the applause one might receive, or the recognition and praise that others may give.  Rather, God reads the heart.  We pay keen attention to appearances; God, on the contrary, pays attention to the heart, and even the most secret intentions of the heart.  Remember how God sent the Prophet Samuel to the house of Jesse and his sons?  The strong, tall, handsome and impressive sons were discarded.  It was the last in line, the humble shepherd of the sheep in the fields, David, who was called, chosen by God and anointed by Samuel to be God’s King.  What man considers great, God despises; what man considers of little or no value, God esteems most highly!

GIVING GENEROUSLY OF ALL WE ARE AND ALL WE HAVE.  So it is with us!  We may not have much to give, but God receives most willingly from a pure heart, a generous heart, a detached heart, a humble heart. God can multiply beyond our wildest imagination the small things that we give with great love. Call to mind how the little boy offered Jesus all he had—five loaves and two fish.  Jesus was so pleased by this small offering given with such great generosity, that He multiplied the loaves and the fishes so that thousands could be fed!  Now it is up to us to look into our lives and see what we can do to change and give more generously to God, with a pure heart, and with nobility of intention.

Having set the stage by emphasizing the primary importance of purity of heart and purity of intention in all of our actions, even if they seem to be most insignificant, let us proceed in the next chapters to learn how in concrete we can compose a Professional/Vocational Plan of Life by living out our profession and our vocation to the fullest extent possible.

Editor’s Notes:
1) This is just one of 25 Chapters – each chapter highlighting various areas, ways, and means to grow in holiness. There is also a special Chapter dedicated to a Plan of Life for Teens.
2) Cardinal John Henry Newman was canonized in Rome on Sunday, October 13, 2019.

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

Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Friday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

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

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20^TH Lk. 19: 45-48   “My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.”

Part 1: Our Soul is a House of Prayer – A Guided Meditation
Part 2: JESUS: OUR MODEL PRAYER-WARRIOR! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

PART 1: Our Soul is a House of Prayer…

• Today Jesus invites you to renew or restart your commitment to your daily Holy Hour, the time you spend each day talking with Jesus, your Savior and Best Friend. He thirsts that you thirst for Him! Perhaps you are flagging in prayer, praying for less time and less often. “But I have this against you that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” (Rev. 2:4)  Now is the time to renew and deepen your love for Jesus by talking with Him daily in your holy hour. Like anything else worthwhile in life, you have to fight for it! You have to fight for your time alone with Jesus.
• Your Soul is meant to be a House of Prayer. Prayer is spending time with the One who loves you – even to death on the cross. Prayer is reading the Word of God and thinking about how it speaks to you. Prayer is sometimes conversing with Jesus, sometimes sitting quietly together, sometimes fighting off distractions, temptations and dryness. Prayer is turning to Jesus in your need, in your sorrow, in your joy! Give Jesus one hour a day, and He will bless the other 23 hours.  
• When you are tired… struggling through your job, your studies, your apostolic work, or the mundane duties of each day. Seek your rest in Jesus who sat down to rest at the well and talked with the Samaritan woman, resulting in her conversion. Jesus, who was so exhausted from preaching to the crowds that He fell asleep in the boat during a raging storm until the Apostles finally woke Him to calm the winds.
• When you are suffering material or spiritual poverty… Seek relief from Jesus who was born in a stable because there was no room in the inn… whose parents had to flee with Him to Egypt in the middle of the night because Herod wanted to kill Him… who had nowhere to lay His head during His three years of public ministry… who thirsted on the cross. He thirsts that you thirst for Him!
• When you are weighed down by life’s burdens and your own failures… Be comforted and lifted up by Jesus, who was sorrowful unto death in the Garden of Gethsemane… who sweat huge drops of blood as the sins of all mankind rained down upon Him… who willed to drink the chalice of suffering to the dregs, knowing that for some, His sacrifice would be in vain… who prayed to the Father not once, but three times, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Mt. 26: 39-44)
• When you are humiliated, rejected, unjustly accused, ignored, forgotten… Hide in the wounds of Jesus, who was beaten, scourged, crowned with thorns, spat upon, mocked, cursed, stripped, nailed to a cross to die as a common criminal, and finally lanced with a sword that pierced His side and Heart causing blood and water to gush forth. All of this He willing suffered in His great love for you!
• When you are in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness… and when you need to show mercy and forgiveness to others… Receive Jesus’ Infinite Mercy in Confession, then beg for the grace to give to those who have offended you the Mercy of Jesus … the Mercy that saved the woman caught in adultery, “Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone.” (Jn. 8:7)… the Mercy that granted eternal salvation to the repentant thief on the cross, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Lk. 23-43)
• When you are lonely and long for the joy of loving and being loved… Turn your eyes to Jesus who wept at the death of Lazarus, then turned the sorrow of Mary and Martha into joy by raising him from the dead… who spoke Mary Magdalene’s name after the Resurrection, changing her inconsolable grief into boundless joy as she recognized her beloved… who at the foot of the cross gave Mary, His Mother to be your own dear Mother of Mercy – your life, your sweetness, and your hope!
• “Behold I am with you always, until the very end of the world.” (Mt. 28:20) Jesus’ last words to you! Rejoice and be glad! This is the day the Lord has made! This day and every day, He calls you to Himself – to live in Him, with Him, and through Him.
• I am with you in your daily hour of prayer so I can sanctify you, and sanctify the rest of your daily activities and dealings with others! I am with you in the healing grace of Confession. I am with you as nourishment for your soul in Holy Communion. I am with you in Eucharistic adoration. Truly, you are My most beloved child!

Part 2: JESUS: OUR MODEL PRAYER-WARRIOR! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In all—His words, actions, silence, miracles—Jesus serves as the best Model for us to study, meditate, contemplate, and of course imitate.

JESUS AT PRAYER. A good part of His private life, which lasted a good thirty years as the son of a carpenter at Nazareth, were absorbed in prayer. At the moment of His Baptism, Saint Luke presents Jesus absorbed in prayer. Before choosing the 12 Apostles who would carry out His mission, Jesus spent the whole night in communion with the heavenly Father, once again, in prayer.  

JESUS AS MODEL OF PRAYER IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE. The essence of this short essay will be to show Jesus’ deep filial, fervent, humble, and you might even say heart-rending prayer that Holy Thursday night, shortly after the Last Supper, in the Garden of Olives. Let us step back and calmly contemplate all of the elements of Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Olives, also called the Garden of Gethsemane. May this be an inspiring lesson for us so that we will strive with all the fiber of our being to upgrade, improve, and motivate our own personal prayer life.

1. PRAYER—PLACE. Jesus habitually would go to the Garden of Olives where He would dedicate prolonged periods of silence to prayer and immerse Himself in a profound dialogue with Abba—Father! Likewise, we should have some specific place that is propitious for prayer, a place that fosters deep recollection and union with our Heavenly Father and with Jesus, our Redeemer and closest friend. Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen found his prayer-abode in Church in front of the Blessed Sacrament. If this is not possible for you, at least find a place where there is silence. Why? God speaks most eloquently when we are not bombarded by noise-pollution. With the young Samuel we can listen and respond: Speak O Lord, for your servant is listening!

2. PROSTRATION. In the Garden, Jesus prostrated Himself on the ground. Abram did this and God spoke to him. The Magi prostrated themselves before the Infant King Jesus and gave Him their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Finally, at Fatima in 1916, the Angels taught the children—Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta—to kneel and prostrate themselves, and then address their prayers to God. The bodily posture of prostration is very deep in symbolism. It means humility, subjection to God, and penance in recognition of our nature as sinners. God loves a humble heart. He wants us to submit our will to His will, and He wants us to humbly beg pardon for our many sins!

3. FILIAL PRAYER. By filial we mean a prayer of loving trust and confidence between Father and Son. Jesus calls His Father Abba—which loosely translated is Daddy! Like Jesus, our prayer must be one of loving trust in our Heavenly Father who loves us infinitely and cares for us so much that He even knows how many hairs we have on our head and even when one hair falls to the ground.

4. SUBMISSION TO GOD. In this heart-rending prayer, Jesus knows that His Passion, suffering and death is looming before Him and He asks God to remove the chalice of suffering from Him, but He ends with a total submission to the will of His Heavenly Father: “Father, not my will, but your will be done!” (Mt. 26:39) Our growth in holiness, sanctification, and perseverance depends in large part on assuming this attitude of Jesus—submitting our will to the will of our Heavenly Father. We reiterate this same interior disposition of heart in the Our Father: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

5. PERSEVERANCE IN PRAYER. A very interesting highlight of the model-prayer of Jesus in the Garden is that Jesus says this prayer three times: “Father, if it be possible remove this chalice from me; nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. (Mt. 25:39) The lesson? We must persevere in our prayer life to the very end. The message of the insistent widow clamoring for justice to the unjust judge is simply this: we must keep praying and never give up. Saint Teresa of Avila expressed it in these words: We must have a determined determination to never give up prayer.

6. PRAYER COMPANIONSHIP AND FRIENDSHIP. In His humanity, Jesus desired His friends to stay with Him and pray with Him in this critical moment. For this reason, Jesus took with Him His three best friends—Peter, James and John. However, this companionship in prayer proved to be a total failure as His three chosen friends fell asleep, and more than once, when Jesus needed them the most! Consequently, they failed Him. There is a key lesson for all of us. If we do not propose to pray well, fervently, and with trust, then like the Apostles, it is more than likely that we will succumb to temptation and give in to sin. Jesus left us with these poignant words: “Stay awake and pray because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mt. 26: 41) May we propose to be faithful to the Lord in good times and bad, health and sickness, riches and poverty until the end of our lives! Spouses promise faithfulness to each other; so should we promise faithfulness to Jesus!

7. JESUS SWEATS BLOOD. According to Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the suffering of Jesus was so intense that He sweat His Precious Blood and for these reasons. All of the sins of humanity were descending upon Him like a torrential downpour—from the sins of Adam and Eve, your sins and mine, and all sins, even up to the last generation and last person in the world. However, that which caused Jesus to suffer most was the cruel reality that many people, despite the intense suffering of Jesus, would willfully decide to reject His redemptive act, and choose to live and die in their sin totally unrepentant. Due to this, they would willfully lose their soul and be eternally damned. This reality of Jesus’ loving sacrifice rejected, was what caused Jesus to suffer most and to sweat large drops of His Precious Blood. For our part, this bloody and anguished prayer of Jesus should motivate us to recognize our sins, but to make a firm purpose to renounce them and all that leads to sin in any size, form, or type!

8. PRAYER OF REPARATION. Of course, the shedding of the Blood of Jesus and His anguish of Heart should challenge us to offer frequent reparation for our sins and those of the whole world. In the words of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy: “Have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

9. THE ANGEL OF CONSOLATION. Immersed in the most profound state of desolation, God the Father consoles Jesus by sending an angel to Him, The Angel of Consolation. Exactly what went on in this encounter, we will know only in eternity. However, the most immediate interpretation and application should be the transference of the Angel of Consolation in the Garden to our own relationship with Jesus. Yes! You and I are called to be the present and active Angel of Consolation in the life of Jesus and His Mystical Body that we call the Catholic Church. Why not try to make an effort to console the Wounded Sacred Heart of Jesus with your prayers of consolation and reparation? There are so many sins that need to be repaired for today, and today more than ever! Abortions, the practice of homosexuality, contraception, euthanasia, despair, and an overall religious indifference that is downright appalling! These sins and countless others need to be objects of our fervent prayer of reparation so as to be the modern Angel of Consolation in the life of Jesus!

10. OUR LADY OF SORROWS. In all of our meditations on the Passion of Jesus, most specifically the Agony in the Garden, which is the First Sorrowful Mystery of the Holy Rosary, we want to ask Our Lady of Sorrows to pray with us and to pray for us so that our prayer might be transformed into a fragrant aroma of incense that ascends on high to the heavenly heights! May Our Lady of Sorrows’ fervent prayers, with our prayers, result in consoling the wounded Heart of Jesus and result in the salvation of countless souls!

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

Thursday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

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

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19^TH Lk. 19: 41-44   “As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If this day you only knew what makes for peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes.’”

• Gratitude makes for peace within one’s own heart and with others.

“The deadliest sin is ingratitude – the cause, beginning, and origin of all evils and sins.”
+St. Ignatius of Loyola

 “No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.”
+ St. Ambrose

“The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for what He is sending us every day in His goodness.”
+St. Ambrose

“Thank God ahead of time.”
+ Bl. Solanus Casey

THE GRATITUDE OF THE ONE – OUT OF THE TEN (LUKE 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, 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 Corona Virus 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 disease. He tells them to go to the priest and on the way they are healed, all ten lepers 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 the most noble heart he expresses overflowing gratitude for the loving concern and miraculous cure of Jesus the Divine Physician. Jesus willingly accepted this gratitude, but remarked: “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 our situation. How many times have we been recipients of gifts, blessings, graces and we have 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, thanksgiving should be 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 has provided 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 even 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 by kind words? For these uplifting experiences we should express our gratitude to God.

 4. SUFFICIENT HEALTH TO MOVE ON. As the years transpire, so health declines, but God intervenes with His powerful Presence and lifts us up and helps 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. 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 thank God and praise God for all eternity!

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