Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

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

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29^TH Lk. 13: 31-35   “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling,”

Part 1: God’s Love and Our Obedience… Father Anselm Moynihan
Part 2: HOLY INDIFFERENCE AND OUR TRUST IN GOD by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

God’s Love and Our Obedience… Fr. Anselm Moynihan (+1998) O.P.

God’s loving care is with us all if only we accept it. “Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have gathered your children together as the hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not (Lk 13:34).

If I myself am willing and obedient then I can be certain that the hand of God is with me. In any case, of course, whatever I do or whatever happens to me will work out to the glory of God and the good of the universe as a whole. But they will work out to my own personal good only if I am seeking God by loving obedience. My own good will is the measure of God’s loving care for me. The more prompt I am doing and suffering what I believe God wants me to do and suffer, the more apparent will His guidance be in everything. When I come to the end of life I will see with startling clearness that just in proportion to my obedience was God with me. If I have been really faithful, I will see that there was a sure guidance, a deliberate purpose in every event of my life. I will see that events which seemed unmixed evil, were all a necessary part of the modeling which God destined for my soul.

With unwearied insistence the old Jewish prophets used to remind their people that “peace is the fruit of righteousness,” that the only true basis of personal or national security is obedience to God’s law.

Peace is indeed God’s promised gift to us if we only humble ourselves under His mighty hands – the soul’s peace which nothing can disturb since it comes from the assurance that His loving care is with us always, mightier than any power of evil.  End

HOLY INDIFFERENCE AND OUR TRUST IN GOD by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

One of the greatest challenges in our spiritual life is the matter of TRUST. Do we really have a total TRUST in God’s presence, in God’s workings, in God’s providential care in our life? Or is it such that, like the Apostle Saint Thomas who wanted to see, touch and feel the physical presence of the Risen Lord, we begin to waver, vacillate and doubt when things do not run smoothly and turn out according to our time and our determined plans?

One of the characteristic qualities of the saints is their limitless trust in God’s love and His providential care in their lives. If you can, read about the saints, whose lives characterize this limitless trust in God; to mention a few, Mother Teresa, John Bosco, Joseph Cottolengo, Padre Pio, Maximilian Kolbe, Alberto Hurtado, Mother Cabrini, Faustina Kowalska, and so many others. In common among these saints and many others is that they had to overcome impossible situations, often with health, other times with respect to economics, and frequently in their relationships with resistant authority. But they trusted totally in God, and God carried out His providential plans often by working untold and incredible miracles.

TRUST AND HOLY INDIFFERENCE. When all is said and done, when the rubber hits the road, of if you like the acid-test in living out Principle and Foundation, especially the very challenging concept of Holy Indifference, all boils down to one word: TRUST!!! Do we really, truly, and undeniably believe that God is with us, that God supports us, that God sustains us, that God knows us, and that God loves us and is walking with us step by step, and at all times works with us and in us, striving to carry out always what is best for us?

READ AND MEDITATE MT. 6: 25-34 DON’T WORRY!!!
These ten verses, incorporated within the very heart of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7) basically says it all! The opposite of trust is worry. These two saints said the same: “God forbids us to worry; He commands us to pray.” (Padre Pio and the Cure of Ars, John Marie Vianney) Many times in these ten short verses, Jesus commands us not to worry. Because when we worry, we are really saying: “God, I do not really, truly, and fully trust in you.” Because in the worry we focus more on ourselves, our weaknesses, and our limitations. But in trust we rely on God. “Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.”

THE CHALLENGE OF JESUS TO TRUST. The words of Jesus are simple and to the point. He tells us not to worry about what we are to eat or drink, or even what we are going to wear. These are worries and preoccupations of the pagans immersed in the world. The Father knows what we need even before we ask Him.

EXAMPLES FROM NATURE. Then Jesus takes two simple examples from nature: the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. The birds do not worry about what they are going to eat. I have never seen a bird flying to a psychologist or flying to get a prescription for depression pills, have you? Then Jesus makes reference to the lilies of the field comparing them to King Solomon in his Royal array. The flowers neither spin nor weave but their natural beauty exceeds that of Solomon at his best. If God watches over nature, which is important, how much more will God watch over us, the crown of His creation, men and women of little faith!!!

GOD KNOWS ALL. Nothing is hidden from God. He knows us through and through. He knows our past, our present, and our future. Even down to the most minute detail in our life, God knows all, absolutely all! Jesus expounds on this by saying He even knows how many hairs we have on our head; still more, He knows when one hair on our head falls to the ground. Jesus knows where it fell, its texture, and even where that individual piece of hair will be tomorrow and one hundred years from now!!! We can never fool God or take God by surprise. One of His key attributes is His omniscience—meaning that God knows everything!

HOLY INDIFFERENCE AND LIMITLESS TRUST. Saint Ignatius at the end of Principle and Foundation explaining Holy Indifference asserts the following:

We should not prefer one thing over the other, but God’s will in all things, yes all…

Not to prefer a long life over a short life; not to prefer health over sickness; not to prefer riches over poverty; not to prefer honors over humiliations, but to choose what is most conducive to the end for which we were created, that is, the honor and glory of God and the salvation of our soul.

KEY PASSAGE. The key passage that really captures the essence of our message on Holy Indifference are the words of Jesus: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything else will be given to you beside”. (Mt. 6:33) That is to say if we truly, honestly and whole-heartedly seek God first in our lives, in all times and all places and without doubting or vacillating, then God will truly provide what we need and what is best for us in the light of eternity and in the light of the salvation of our souls.

OTHER PASSAGES TO HELP US ARRIVE AT TRUST AND ATTAIN HOLY INDIFFERENCE.
1. PSALM 23—THE GOOD SHEPHERD… “The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall lack.”
2. PSALM 124:8. “Our Help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.”
3. SAINT PAUL: “If God is with us, who can be against us.” (Rom. 8:31) “When I am weak, it is then that I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:10)
4. PSALM 139… Read and meditate upon these words… “In my mother’s womb you made me, you formed me, you knitted me.”
5. Diary of Saint Faustina #2. Read and meditate on this passage:

#2. O My God. When I look into the future, I am frightened. But why plunge into the future? Only the present moment is precious to me, as the future may never enter my soul at all.

It is no longer in my power, to change, correct or add to the past; for neither sages nor prophets could do that. And so, what the past has embraced I must entrust to God.

O present moment, you belong to me, whole and entire, I desire to use you as best I can. And although I am weak and small, you grant me the grace of Your omnipotence. And so, trusting in Your mercy, I walk through life like a little child, offering You each day this heart burning with love for Your greater glory. End

It is indispensable that we arrive at an attitude of total TRUST in God. We must be convinced that our God is a God of love. Actually God is love, as Saint John teaches in his Letters. God’s love is overflowing; He truly loves us. But God wants for this love to be reciprocal and mutual: He wants us to love Him. This love on our part becomes manifest through TRUST. The more fully and totally we TRUST in God, the more God can use us as His instruments in the world.

Therefore, if our TRUST in God is total, unreserved, and without limit, then we can understand Principle and Foundation, and even more fully the challenging concept of Holy Indifference. Our life is in God’s hands. If He desires for me a shorter life rather than a long life, so be it. If God, in His Infinite Wisdom and Providence sends me some sickness or suffering to endure for love of Him and the salvation of my soul, then praise God for this sickness. If God has deigned to deprive me of material possessions, even to the point that I live in poverty, then God alone will be the treasure of my heart. Finally, if God sees it best for me to undergo many forms of humiliation—be they small or large—may this too give honor and glory to God and redound to my eternal salvation. Let us say with Mary: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to thy will.” With Saint Faustina Kowalska in the Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul, let us cry out far and wide: JESUS I TRUST IN YOU, JESUS I TRUST IN YOU, JESUS I TRUST IN YOU… AMEN!

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

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles

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

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28^TH    Lk. 6: 12-16 “He called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles.  Feast of Saints Simon and Jude

Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Simon and Jude – two of the Apostles hand-picked by Jesus from among His disciples. Tradition holds that after Pentecost, Simon preached the Gospel in Edessa and Jude in Egypt. The two Apostles met in Persia, where they suffered martyrdom on the same day.

In honor of these two Apostles and Martyrs, today we seek to grow deeper in our love for Jesus through deeper prayer.

Part One: The Love of Jesus for You by Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Part Two: JESUS: OUR MODEL IN PRAYER by Fr. Ed. Broom, OMV 

The Love of Jesus for You… by Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Jesus wants me to tell you again how much love He has for each of one of you – beyond all you can imagine! I worry some of you still have not really met Jesus – one to one – you and Jesus alone. We may spend time in chapel – but have you seen with the eyes of your soul how He looks at you with love?

Do you really know the living Jesus – not from books but from being with Him in your heart? Have you heard the loving words He speaks to you? Ask for the grace; He is longing to give it. Until you can hear Jesus in the silence of you own heart, you will not be able to hear Him saying, “I thirst” in the hearts of the poor. 

Never give up this daily intimate contact with Jesus as the real living Person – not just the idea. How can we last even one day without hearing Jesus say, “I love you” – impossible! Our soul needs that as much as the body needs to breathe the air. If not, prayer is dead – meditation only thinking. Jesus wants you each to hear Him – speaking in the silence of your heart. Be careful of all that can block that personal contact with the living Jesus. The devil may try to use the hurts of life, and sometimes our own mistakes – to make you feel it is impossible that Jesus really loves you, is really cleaving to you.

This is a danger for all of us. And so sad, because it is completely opposite of what Jesus is really wanting, waiting to tell you. Not only that He loves you, but even more – He longs for you. He misses you when you don’t come close. He thirsts for you. He loves you always, even when you don’t feel worthy. When not accepted by others, even by yourself sometimes – He is the one who always accepts you. 

My children, you don’t have to be different for Jesus to love you. Only believe you are precious to Him. Bring all you are suffering to His feet – only open your heart to be loved by Him as you are. He will do the rest.  End

JESUS: OUR MODEL IN PRAYER 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 in Nazareth, was absorbed in prayer. At the moment of His Baptism, Saint Luke presents Jesus absorbed in prayer. Before choosing the twelve 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. 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 Angel 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. (Mt. 10:30)

4. SUBMISSION TO GOD. In this same 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 total submission to His Heavenly Father: Father, not my will but yours be done! (Lk. 22: 42) Our sanctification, growth in holiness, 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. 26: 36-45) 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 in this critical moment. For this reason He 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 most needed them. Consequently, they failed Him. This 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. 26:40) May we propose to be faithful to the Lord in good times and bad, in health and sickness, in 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 of rain—from the sins of Adam and Eve, your sins and mine, and all the 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 reject His redemptive act and choose to live and die in their sins, 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 even to sweat large drops of His Precious Blood. For us, this anguished and bloody prayer of Jesus should motivate us to recognize our sins, and then make a firm purpose to renounce them and all that leads us to sin in any size, shape, or form!

8. PRAYER OF REPARATION. Of course, the shedding of Jesus’ Precious Blood and the anguish of His heart should challenge us to offer frequent reparation for our sins and for 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 love, 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 and heart 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

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

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

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27th Lk. 13: 18-21 Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.”

• In our life, God is the gardener and we are the mustard seed, meant to grow into a large tree so that even the birds of the sky can dwell in it branches.
• Another image? Christ is the vine, we are the branches, and our Heavenly Father is the vine dresser. “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (Jn. 15:2)
  
• To grow into the person God created each of us to become, we must let the Gardener, our Heavenly Father do His work in us – pulling the weeds that will choke and kill the plant! In frequent Confession, the priest is weeding our soul of the big and even the tiny weeds – which turn into big weeds if not attended to – which is why we must tell the priest everything so as to get it all out!
• In Mass and Holy Communion, our loving Father feeds the plant that is our soul with the most nutrient rich food imaginable – the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of His own Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
• Finally, through trials and suffering, the Father prunes us, cutting off the branches – the habits, friendships, and activities, that are bad for us! You might say, He rains on our parade! But in that rain, we find true fulfillment, joy and happiness!   
• ^“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.    (2 Cor: 1:3-5)

RAIN COME BACK AGAIN, AGAIN AND AGAIN!!!  by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

“Rain, rain go away; come again another day!” A very well-known adage often expressed with a frown on your face, as the drapes are drawn and the rain pours down on your party. The difference between an optimist and a pessimist is the perspective or interpretation of reality. A pessimist views the glass as half-empty; whereas the optimist, as half-full! However, the reality is the same! The pessimist is the one always expecting rain on the day of the picnic, even though there is not even one cloud in the sky!

In this short essay we would like to highlight the positive notes of the rain falling from the sky! To all things, there can be the positive or the negative, the optimistic or the pessimistic interpretation of reality. If indeed we are followers of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, then we should truly be perpetual optimists. Why not change the word optimist and say rather, a person full of the virtue of hope! The great Saint Augustine states that God can even allow evil, for the purpose of bringing the greatest good out of it! Saint Paul expresses the same idea in these words: “Where sin abounds, the mercy of God abounds all the more.” (Rom. 5:20) This being said, let us return to the blessings, rather than the curse, of rain.

1. GOD AND CREATION. The first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis, views God as the Creator. God brings physical reality into existence with His mere desire and word— “Let there be light… water, birds, and animals…”— then they exist. Upon creating all things, God looked down from heaven and said: IT IS GOOD!!! Therefore, the rain trickling from the sky or coming down in buckets is good. Why? For the simple reason that God created the rain and allowed it to descend from the heavens to the earth.

2. DROUGHT. After times of prolonged and extended drought, God allows the skies to open up and the rain to moisten and then fill the earth. How many farmers and those who till the ground, after suffering through a brutal drought, lift up their hands and hearts in praise of God for the gift of rain!

3. SUN: APPRECIATE THE SUN. If it has been raining for a long time, when the rain finally ceases, the clouds disappear, and the sun breaks forth shedding its rays and heat, how easy it is to appreciate the light and warmth produced by the sun! In the absence of some good, and this good can be material, social, family or spiritual—upon its return our appreciation is enhanced all the more. After recovering from a long and painful sickness, health is appreciated all the more.

4. THE TEARS OF JESUS AND MARY. Giving a spiritual and mystical interpretation. We can even imagine the intense pain and sorrow in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary over the many sins that have been committed from Adam and Eve up until the present day and hour, causing their tears to rain down upon the earth. For example, since the legalization of Roe vs. Wade, millions upon millions of innocent babies have been killed through the sin of abortion. Of course this must pierce the Hearts of Jesus and Mary through and through with intense sorrow. As the skies open and rain breaks forth falling from the heavens, may we unite our tears of sorrow with their tears for the many sins of humanity, including the sins of our family and our own personal sins.

5. TEARS AND GRACE. Another mystical interpretation can be the following. Mary has many titles and one is full of grace. Why not offer this mystical interpretation? As we send up to heaven our fervent Hail Marys which form the recitation of the most Holy Rosary, we pray that we will be imbued and consumed with GRACE. May the rainfall call to mind Our Lady’s most powerful prayers, her mantle of protection over us and our whole family, and her constant graces pouring down on us that we so desperately need to avoid sin, live in God’s friendship, and persevere to the end so as to die in grace and gain heaven one day.

6. CLEANSING. Another wonderful effect of rain is that it cleanses or cleans a dirty environment. A dusty and dirty car exposed to a torrential downpour of rain is totally cleaned. This can symbolically signify our soul. When we enter the confessional with a dirty soul, coated with the dirt of mortal sin, once we open up our heart to the priest with true repentance and receive absolution, grace pours into our soul, and like the downpour of rain on a dirty car, leaves our soul white as the snow. Hopefully the rainfall will remind many dirty souls, sullied by mortal sin, that now is the time to return to God’s grace and friendship by means of a good Sacramental Confession! May we allow Confession to wash away our sins, as well as bad memories of the past that can come back to haunt us and even torture our conscience.

7. RAINBOW. If it were not for the reality of rain, and rain giving way to sunlight, then the majestic beauty of a rainbow would never be seen. Its glory would never become a reality. How many poets, writers, and painters have delighted in the reality of the RAINBOW!!! God is the greatest artist and after the rain has ceased, God Himself seems to take a brush and paint the sky with a huge and colorful arc! Let the words of the Psalmist be ours: “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name through all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens!” (Psalm 8:1)

In conclusion, the next time you open up the curtains and are surprised by a downpour of rain, may you praise, worship, and offer thanksgiving to the Lord for the many gifts that He plans to give to you as the skies pour down that fresh, pure, clear, and glorious rainfall. May the words of the Psalmist resound in your heart: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; for His mercy endures forever. (Ps. 107:8)

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

Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

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

MONDAY, OCTOBER 26th Lk. 13: 10-17   “Hypocrites! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering. This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the Sabbath day from this bondage?”

• Gratitude to our good God leads to a deeper love for God that finds expression in our love for others. “Brotherly love is the real visible expression of the love of the invisible Father. It is the sign and witness of this love and cannot be separated from it.” (Servant of God Madeleine Delbrel)
• The depth of our love is measured by our compassion for others in their want and need, by our willingness to suffer with them and for them! Compassion for physical poverty, like the woman in today’s Gospel who for eighteen years was crippled, bent over, completely incapacitated of standing erect. We can easily feel compassion for her, suffer with her and for her, and feel gratitude for Jesus’ miracle of healing. We all have people in our lives who are suffering physically, mentally, or emotionally, who are in need of our compassion and love right now!
• However, sometimes we struggle with having compassion for others in their spiritual poverty – such as those who are crippled, bent over, suffocating in their sins, especially when their sins impact us! Condemnation is the opposite of compassion. Failure to be compassionate, merciful, and forgiving toward them is our own spiritual poverty. Jesus is our model – scourged, crowned with thorns, and nailed to the cross of crucifixion, Jesus looked at His persecutors and said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
• There is yet another form of spiritual poverty – losing our faith and hope in the triumph of love – in the triumph and glory of the cross – in our lives and the lives of others! Prayer of Blessed Miguel Pro: “I believe, O Lord; but strengthen my faith.  Heart of Jesus, I love Thee; but increase my love. Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee; but give greater vigor to my confidence. Heart of Jesus, I give my heart to Thee; but so enclose it in Thee that it may never be separated from Thee.” 

Let us reflect now on the wisdom of three saints, and beg to grow in charity and gratitude!

1. Saint Ignatius of Loyola, our spiritual father exhorts us to give gratitude to God:

“It seems to me in the light of the Divine Goodness, that ingratitude is the most abominable of sins. For it is a forgetting of the gracious benefits and blessings received. As such it is the cause, beginning, and origin of all sins and misfortunes. On the contrary, the grateful acknowledgment of blessings and gifts received is loved and esteemed not only on earth but in heaven.”

 Saint Ignatius, Pray for us!

SUSCIPE  – Prayer prayed by Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty,
my memory, my understanding and my will.
All that I am and all that I possess, You have given to me.
I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will.
Give me only Your love and Your grace,
with these I will be rich enough and desire nothing more.
Your love and your grace are enough for me.

2. Venerable Solanus Casey (+1957) 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 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 and seeking union with God.

Ven. Solanus Casey quotes:
“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.”

Ven. Solanus Casey, Pray for us!

3.  Saint Bernadette Soubirous (+1879)

Our Lady appeared to Bernadette in 18 visions at a grotto in Lourdes, France. Our Lady was dressed in white with a blue sash and she was holding a rosary. She told Bernadette to dig in the ground and a spring appeared, which we know as the miraculous waters of Lourdes. Her message was to do penance and pray for sinners.

On her last appearance, Our Lady told Bernadette her name. “I am the Immaculate Conception.” Just four years earlier the Church had proclaimed the Immaculate Conception of Mary a dogma of faith. Meaning that from the moment Mary was conceived in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne, Mary was preserved from original sin. Moreover, Mary never committed a sin in her life. Of all mankind, Mary alone is the sinless one! For this reason, the poet Wordsworth called Mary, “Our tainted nature’s solitary boast.”

Last Testament of Saint Bernadette from Abbe Francois Trochu’s biography of her life.

Quote: Saint Bernadette looked at her life in simple thanksgiving for everything. Her testament is an exceptional statement of gratitude. In her words:

+ For the poverty in which my mother and father lived, for the failure of the mill, all the hard times, for the awful sheep, for constant tiredness, thank you, my God!
+ For lips, which I was feeding too much, for the dirty noses of the children, for the guarded sheep, I thank you!
+ Thank you, my God, for the prosecutor and the police commissioner, for the policemen, and for the harsh words of Father Peyramale!
+ For the days in which you came, Mary, for the ones in which you did not come, I will never be able to thank you…only in Paradise.
+ For the slap in the face, for the ridicule, the insults, and for those who suspected me for wanting to gain something from it, thank you, my Lady.
+ For my spelling, which I never learned, for the memory that I never had, for my ignorance and for my stupidity, thank you.
* For the fact that my mother died so far away, for the pain I felt when my father instead of hugging his little Bernadette called me, “Sister Marie-Bernard”, I thank you, Jesus.
+ I thank you for the heart you gave me, so delicate and sensitive, which you filled with bitterness.
+ For the fact that Mother Josephine proclaimed that I was good for nothing, thank you.
+ For the sarcasm of the Mother Superior: her harsh voice, her injustices, her irony and for the bread of humiliation, thank you.
+ Thank you that I was the privileged one when it came to be reprimanded, so that my sisters said, “How lucky it is not to be Bernadette.”
+ Thank you for the fact that it is me, who was the Bernadette threatened with imprisonment because she had seen you, Holy Virgin; regarded by people as a rare animal; that Bernadette so wretched, that upon seeing her, it was said, “Is that it?”
+ For this miserable body which you gave me, for this burning and suffocating illness, for my decaying tissues, for my de-calcified bones, for my sweats, for my fever, for my dullness and for my acute pains, thank you, my God.
+ And for this soul which you have given me, for the desert of inner dryness, for your night and the lightning, for your silences and your thunders, for everything.
+ For you-when you were present and when you were not—thank you, Jesus.

End Saint Bernadette, from Saint Bernadette Soubirous, by Abbe Francois Trochu

Bernadette became a Sister of Charity and served in the infirmary and the sacristy. One day after she entered the convent, someone asked Bernadette if she felt bad not seeing the Blessed Virgin anymore. Saint Bernadette replied: “What does one do with a broom when one has finished sweeping? Why, put it in a corner.”

Saint Bernadette died 16 April 1879 at age 35 of tuberculous. Her body is incorrupt. A light wax covers her face and hands.

St. Bernadette, pray for us!

 

 

 

 

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

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25th Mt. 22: 34-40   Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

• Sometimes it seems easier to love God who is perfect – all knowing, all loving, all forgiving and all merciful – than to love our neighbor who isn’t perfect. Fully conscious that our neighbor feels the same way about us!
• We offer two reflections that can help us grow both in love of God and love of neighbor! The key to success is wishing the greatest good for our neighbor, as well as ourselves. Today, we will learn more about this “greatest good” from Saint Catherine of Siena and from Fr. Ed Broom, OMV in his exposition of subsequent messages of Our Lady of Fatima to Saint Jacinta Marto. Let us embrace and apply these messages to ourselves and bring them to our neighbor, that all may be saved!
• One final point… who is our neighbor? Every human being that our good God has ever created and ever will create!

Part 1: Love of God Means Love of Neighbor… by Saint Catherine of Siena
Part 2: JACINTA MARTO AND SUBSEQUENT FATIMA MESSAGES! By Father Ed Broom

Love of God means love of neighbor… by Saint Catherine of Siena (+1380)

I want you to understand that we can neither love God nor be virtuous without the mediation of our neighbors, because it is in our neighbors that we find love and virtue. How so? I’ll tell you. I can’t show my Creator my love for Him directly, because I can be of no service to God. So I have to use God’s creatures as intermediaries, and do for them the service I cannot do for God.

The virtues of charity and humility are discovered and acquired only in loving our neighbors for God’s sake, because those who are humble and peaceable banish anger and hatred for their enemies from their heart. And charity will banish self-centeredness and expand their hearts in a familial charity that loves enemies and friends alike as they love themselves, for the sake of the Lamb who was consumed and slain. It will give them patience in the face of any injurious word or deed, and gentle strength to know how to endure and bear with their neighbor’s shortcomings.

Those, then, who have so pleasantly acquired virtue by following in the footsteps of their Savior take all the hatred they had for their neighbors and turn it against themselves by hating their own sins and wrongs and vices against their Creator, who is infinite Goodness.   End of Reflection

 JACINTA MARTO AND SUBSEQUENT FATIMA MESSAGES!!! By Father Ed Broom, OMV

Jacinta Marto was born in Portugal March 11, 1910, daughter of Manuel and Olimpia Marto. Her older brother Francisco was born June 11, 1908. Jacinta and Francisco were first cousins of Lucia de los Santos. Jacinta would die of pleurisy in February of 1920—not quite ten years of age! Despite her short span of years, Jacinta soared high as an eagle in her spiritual life, making her one of the youngest saints in the Roman Catholic Church.

In this short essay we intend to transmit some of the subsequent messages that Our Lady gave to Saint Jacinta Marto, and we would like to make a brief commentary on these short but extremely important messages. In total, these messages are seven. Hopefully upon reading them, meditating on them, and assimilating them in your mind, heart, and soul, you will apply these messages to your own personal life. We would strongly exhort all to share these messages with others. Indeed, one of the best ways to grow in our own personal faith is to be ready and willing, with joy and enthusiasm, to share the Faith with others. In a word, what we have received freely, we should be ready to give freely!

OUR LADY’S SUBSEQUENT MESSAGES TO JACINTA:

1. MORE SOULS GO TO HELL BECAUSE OF SINS OF THE FLESH THAN FOR ANY OTHER REASON.

Jesus said in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” (Mt. 5:8) This being the case, let us be aware of the many temptations pervading our culture and society—for the young, the middle-aged, as well as the old—that could place in danger or jeopardy our eternal salvation. Never forget, our primary goal in life is unequivocal and clear: to save our souls and to be with the Blessed Trinity and Mary, the angels and saints, in heaven forever and ever. Let us give a list of the possible dangers of falling into the sins of the flesh: TV, radio, movies, billboards, ads, commercials, immodest dress (we will talk about this in the next segment), parties, and most important the ubiquitous presence of the internet via the cell phone foremost, the computer, tablet, and various other internet streaming devices. Examine your conscience to perceive any dangers for you in this area, and if you have a family, dangers for your family at large. You might have to make some changes in life style. Jesus calls all of us to conversion. His first public preaching was: “Be converted, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mk 1:15)

 2. CERTAIN FASHIONS WILL BE INTRODUCED THAT WILL OFFEND OUR LORD VERY MUCH.

 Try to make a comparison between the way that people dressed 50-100 years ago and now!!! What a marked contrast, to say the least; it is almost as clear and obvious as the difference between night and day! If you like, to understand how striking the contrast truly is: compare the movie starring Jimmy Stewart, “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946), with any modern movie today. In that movie, as a whole, women dressed modestly and were respected. Unlike today, where the woman is seen as a mere physical object to be utilized, exploited, and discarded, almost as if she were a Coca Cola bottle. Never forget that our body is the living Tabernacle of God, the Sanctuary of the Blessed Sacrament after receiving Holy Communion, and is destined for glory. Saint Pope Leo the Great in his Christmas homily message cries out: “Christian, remember your dignity!” If we recognize both our dignity and our destiny, we will radically change our lives! Dignity? Temples of the Blessed Trinity, once we are baptized! Destiny? Arriving safely in heaven to be enveloped in the loving embrace of the Holy Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! Therefore, we should dress in such a way that we are glorifying Almighty God and edifying our neighbor—who also is endowed with dignity and eternal destiny.

 3. MANY MARRIAGES ARE NOT GOOD; THEY DO NOT PLEASE OUR LORD AND ARE NOT OF GOD.

Sad to say, most marriages end up with quarrels, fights, separations and divorce, with the unfortunate victims being the innocent children. Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen gives us the reason in his famous book on marriage that all those who are preparing for marriage should read: “Three to Get Married.” Those three are? The husband, the wife, and Jesus!!! From the start, if God is not placed in the very center of the marriage, there will be problems and very quickly! In concrete, the famous words of the Rosary-priest, Father Patrick Peyton, offers us the solution: “The family that prays together, stays together.”  Our Lady of Fatima, whose official title is Our Lady of the Rosary, in every one of her six appearances told the children and the entire world to pray the Rosary.

 She also said that if the world did not pray enough then a worse war would break out. At that time World War I had been raging for three years. What happened 22 years later? World War II!!! Husbands should love their wives and children, but they should LOVE GOD FIRST. Wives should love their husbands and children, but they should LOVE GOD FIRST! If this is done, families will be strong, persevering, and wholesome for the growth of the children!

4. PRIESTS MUST BE PURE, VERY PURE. THEY SHOULD NOT BUSY THEMSELVES WITH ANYTHING EXCEPT WHAT CONCERNS THE CHURCH AND SOULS. THE DISOBEDIENCE OF PRIESTS TO THEIR SUPERIORS AND TO THE HOLY FATHER IS VERY DISPLEASING TO OUR LORD.

Very clear and to the point is this message for priests on the two virtues and the vocation that priests must embrace with all of their heart, mind, soul and strength! (Lk 10:27) First, a total purity of heart, mind, body, soul, and intention; then, the paramount importance of the indispensable virtue of obedience. May priests and Bishops take the words of Our Lady of Fatima seriously to heart! Furthermore, with respect to the vocation and the mission of priests, Our Lady expresses herself with utmost clarity and transparency: priests should love the Church and have an insatiable love for what God loves most—the salvation of immortal souls. The motto of the great priest, Saint John Bosco, resonates loud and clear: GIVE ME SOULS AND TAKE ALL THE REST AWAY!!! The last words of Saint Ignatius of Loyola to the great missionary, Saint Francis Xavier, also resonate forcefully: GO SET ALL ON FIRE!!! In a word, Our Lady most earnestly desires that priests be holy; that they pursue holiness of life, and the salvation of immortal souls above all else!!!

5. THE BLESSED MOTHER CAN NO LONGER RESTRAIN THE HAND OF HER DIVINE SON FROM STRIKING THE WORLD WITH THE JUST PUNISHMENT FOR ITS MANY CRIMES.

Two reflections parallel to Our Lady’s sad but powerful words! The first is the Biblical passage of Moses who perched himself on the top of the hill overlooking the battle of the Israelites against the Amalekites. When Moses had his hands elevated, raised on high, then the Jewish army with Joshua as Captain and leader prevailed. However, when the arms of Moses drooped and dropped due to weariness, the enemy camp prevailed. Brilliant idea! Hur and Aaron, who were present with Moses, decided they would seat him on a rock and together they would sustain his arms on high. This done, Joshua and the Israelite army mowed down the Amalekites and won the battle!  

The second can be found in the Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul of Saint Maria Faustina #39. In this powerful number, Jesus says that He is about to destroy their most beautiful city, most likely the city of Warsaw, due to their sins. However, as a result of the prayers of one person—Saint Faustina, this city was spared! What can we learn from these two examples? Very clearly: the power of two holy souls, Moses and Faustina. Jesus is calling us to individual and personal holiness so as to hold back and stay the chastising hand of God upon the world at large!

We might even add a third: the arms of the priest elevated in every Mass. Indeed, more than anything else, it is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the perfect prayer and sacrifice of Jesus Himself, that can placate, appease, hold back, and restrain the chastising justice of God the Father upon all of humanity. “My child, unite yourself closely to Me during the Sacrifice and offer My Blood and My Wounds to My Father in expiation for the sins of that city. Repeat this without interruption throughout the entire Holy Mass. Do this for seven days.” (Words of Jesus to Saint Faustina, Diary #39)

6. IF THE GOVERNMENT OF A COUNTRY LEAVES THE CHURCH IN PEACE AND GIVES LIBERTY TO OUR HOLY RELIGION, IT WILL BE BLESSED BY GOD.

With these words of Our Lady, we must pray fervently for all of our political officials—the President, Vice-President, Congress, Senate, local officials and all who are elected and engaged in political and governing positions. They indeed wield much power and will be judged more severely and strictly by God. First and foremost, we should pray for those in authority that they will defend the rights of the innocent—most especially, the rights of the unborn children. In a word, abortion is the number one evil in our country, as well as in the entire world. As our Founding Fathers so clearly emphasized: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta understood this so clearly with respect to world peace, that she stated we will not attain world peace until we defend the rights of the innocent unborn babies. Abortion is violence against the smallest, most helpless, and most innocent. If their lives are not defended, then peace will never become a reality in the world at large!

7. Tell everybody that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Tell them to ask graces from her, and that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be venerated together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Ask them to plead for peace from the Immaculate Heart of Mary, for the Lord has confided the peace of the world to her.

The Hearts of Jesus and Mary work in harmony. Indeed, Mary formed the Sacred Heart of Jesus within her most pure womb during the course of nine months. Mary is never an obstacle to Jesus, but rather a bridge to union with Him. The last words of Our Lady recorded in Sacred Scripture, in the context of a wedding, the Wedding Feast of Cana, were: “Do whatever he tells you.” (Jn 2:5) This advice is excellent! If only it would be obeyed! As Saint Louis de Montfort reminds us: “Mary is the quickest, shortest, and easiest path to Jesus.”  In a word, in the midst of the trials, storms, temptations, and tempests of our daily lives we must find our sure refuge in the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. As in the time of Noah, when he and his family, with all the animals, sought and found refuge in the Ark, so we must find our refuge in the modern Ark of the Covenant, and that Ark is the presence of Mary, most especially, in the depths of the Immaculate Heart of Mary! In the Immaculate Heart of Mary we find a sure refuge.

Furthermore, in the Immaculate Heart of Mary we encounter pure and tender MERCY. As at the end of the recitation of the most Holy Rosary, we pray: “Hail Holy Queen, MOTHER of MERCY, our life, our sweetness, and our hope…”  Finally, the greatest and most ardent desire of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is that the whole world will say NO to sin, and YES to loving fully and totally the most Sacred Heart of Jesus, in imitation of her Immaculate Heart. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Sweet Heart of Mary, be our salvation!

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