Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

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

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9^TH   Lk. 11: 15-26 “If it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Jesus proposes two scenarios:

First: Jesus drives a demon out of our heart, and we invite Jesus to take its place: “The kingdom has come upon you.”

Second: Jesus drives a demon out of our heart; and our heart, though swept clean, remains empty. In consequence, seven demons worse than the first come and take its place! Nature abhors a vacuum. Either Jesus reigns in our heart or the devil will reign. Let us examine ways Jesus can reign in our hearts.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

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

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8th   Lk. 11: 5-13   “If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

The Prologue of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Part IV, No. 14) confirms “our baptismal faith in the one God: the almighty Father, the Creator; his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior; and the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, in the Holy Church.

At the Last Supper, Jesus said to the Apostles:
“Very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (Jn. 16:7)  “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” (Jn. 16:12)

St. Paul to the Romans:
“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (Rom. 8:12-18)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus assures us that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. Two very important questions: 1) Have we asked the Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit? 2) Do we know how to listen for and respond to the Inspirations of the Holy Spirit? This will be our very important meditation today!

RESPONDING TO INSPIRATIONS FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

One of the most important activities of the Holy Spirit working in our lives is that of INSPIRATION. The Holy Spirit inspires in us what is good, noble, pure, worthy, and of course, that which is holy.

PROBLEM: RESISTANCE! Arriving at the heart of the matter is the word RESISTANCE. Ever active in the lives of the saints, the Holy Spirit often inspires, but we can resist. By resist we mean this: simply to say NO or to reject the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.

GENTLEMAN.  The Holy Spirit is a GENTLEMAN in the sense that He will never force Himself into our lives, but He gently invites us by means of His inspirations to a higher means of existence, to a life rejecting sin, to a life of purity, to a life of holiness. However, it must be reiterated: The Holy Spirit will knock on the door of our heart, but if we fail to open the door, like a true Gentleman, He will leave. He will always respect our free will.

SILENCE.  Bombarded by countless noises—cars, motorcycles, radio, T.V., planes overhead, all of this militates against the ability to pick up the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. For that reason, spiritual writers insist on the necessity of silence. Elijah did not encounter God in the thunder, lightning, or earthquake. Rather, he encountered God in the silence and a whispering breeze.

GOOD VIBES, BAD VIBES!  The younger generation speaks about vibes. They might say that this person transmits good vibes or bad vibes. We live in a world bombarded by many noises which militate against picking up inspirations. Still, there are the good vibes and the bad vibes. One comes from the Holy Spirit and the other from the devil. Every inspiration isn’t necessarily a good inspiration. It is up to us to have proper discernment so we can reject the bad and receive the good.

COMMON INSPIRATIONS.  The following are a list of inspirations that the Holy Spirit often uses to bring us closer and closer to Himself and to our eternal salvation. Read, reflect, and pray, and then apply these to your life.

INSPIRATIONS FROM THE GOOD SPIRIT: LISTEN AND FOLLOW…

1. PRAYER… Known under the title of The Interior Master of Prayer, the Holy Spirit gently, but insistently beckons us to pray. Listen and obey!!!

2. SACRIFICE! The Holy Spirit will often challenge us to give up something we like so as to give us something much better for us; this is what we call sacrifice. Jesus reminds us: “Whoever wants to be my follower must renounce himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (Mt. 16:24)

3. CONVERT! The first preaching and teaching of Jesus was the following: “Be converted because the Kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mk. 1:15) The Holy Spirit constantly challenges us to change what is sinful in our lives.

4. CONFESS! Equally important is the Sacrament of Confession! When we have fallen into sin, one of the key operations of the Holy Spirit is to beckon us back to God through a good Sacramental Confession. The devil, on the other hand, will try to paralyze us with fear.

5. RECONCILE. Upon hurting another by word, action, omission, or even silence, the Holy Spirit is intent upon mending the breach through an act of reconciliation. This demands humility of heart. The Holy Spirit will inspire us to take the first step on the path to reconciliation.

6. SERVE.  Jesus said: “The Son of man has not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life in ransom for many.” (MT. 20:28) The Holy Spirit will inspire in us noble sentiments of service. When an opportunity presents itself in our lives, the Holy Spirit will inspire us to exit our comfort zone and serve the needy and suffering who are present and waiting for our helping hand.

7. ENCOURAGE.  The bad spirit is the Accuser, ready to condemn and tear down. The Holy Spirit will often move us to say a word of encouragement to the downtrodden, to lift up the fallen, sometimes with something as simple as a gentle smile to the forlorn and abandoned. The Holy Spirit will inspire and encourage us to be a modern BARNABAS—meaning, Son of Encouragement. Accept the challenge!

8. AVOID THROWING IN THE TOWEL. The expression throwing in the towel is a term used in sports meaning to simply give up the fight, to abandon the struggle, to call it quits! The Holy Spirit will often inspire us not to give up when all seems bleak, the skies are cloudy, the mist is thick, and the sun has set. The Holy Spirit will inspire us in this way: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!” After Jesus died, for the Apostles, for all intents and purposes, it seemed to be over, fait complit—a done deal! But no! Jesus returned to console and encourage them not to give up, but to hang in there and trust in Him all the more. When all seems lost, do not be surprised if the Holy Spirit inspires us to try again and trust in God’s power. As the Psalmist expresses it: “Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.” (Ps. 124:8)

9. SEEK ADVICE! How many of us regret, looking at our lives in retrospect, some decisions and actions that marked our lives in the wrong way leaving indelible scars or wounds? If only we were to have sought and asked for advice, those wrong thoughts, resulting in wrong decisions and actions, would never have become a reality!!! The Holy Spirit will often inspire us to seek advice when we do not have clarity on the topic or the issue at hand. This demands humility, the recognition that we do not know the answers to everything; to be honest, we do not know the answer to most things. A humble request for timely advice can prevent future tragedies!

10. OUR LADY—TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.  The Holy Spirit will always inspire us to call out to His Mystical Spouse, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Saint Louis de Montfort, author of the Marian classic on Consecration, True Devotion to Mary, asserts: “Those who love Mary, the Holy Spirit flings Himself into their souls.”

We hope and pray that all will be open and attentive to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. If done, you will experience greater peace and joy in your lives, a steady growth in holiness, long life, and eternal life. Mary, Mystical Spouse of the Holy Spirit, help us to be open, to listen, and to respond to all the inspirations of the Holy Spirit!

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

Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

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

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7th   Lk. 11: 1-4   “Lord, teach us how to pray.”  OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY

 Part 1: The Rosary by Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange O.P.
Part 2: Growing in Faith through the Holy Rosary by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

 PART 1
The Rosary by Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange O.P. (+1964)  (Extracts)

After Holy Mass, the Rosary is one of the most beautiful and efficacious forms of prayer, on condition of understanding it and living it.

The Rosary is a Credo: not an abstract one, but one concretized in the life of Jesus who came down to us from the Father, and who ascended to bring us back with Himself to the Father. It is the whole of Christian dogma in all its splendor and elevation, brought to us that we may fill our minds with it, that we may relish it and nourish our souls with it. The Rosary well understood is, therefore, a very elevated form of prayer which makes the whole of dogma accessible to all.

The Rosary is also a very practical form of prayer: for it recalls all Christian morality and spirituality, by presenting them from the sublime point of view of their realization in Jesus and Mary. The Mysteries of the Rosary should be reproduced in our lives. Each of them is a lesson of virtue – particularly in the virtues of humility, trust, patience and charity.

The Rosary is therefore most practical. It takes us from the midst of our too human interests and joys, and makes us think of those which center on the coming of the Savior. It takes us from our meaningless fears, from the sufferings we bear so badly, and reminds us of how much Jesus has suffered for love of us, and teaches us to follow Him by bearing the cross which divine Providence has sent us to purify us. It takes us finally from our earthly hopes and ambitions, and makes us think of the true object of Christian hope: eternal life and the graces necessary to arrive there.

Try to recite the Rosary with the eyes of faith fixed on the living Jesus who is always making intercession for us, and who is acting upon us in accordance with the Mysteries of His childhood, or His Passion, or His glory. He comes to us to make us like Himself.

Let us fix our gaze on Jesus who is looking at us. His look is more than kind and understanding: it is the look of God, a look which purifies, which sanctifies, which gives peace. It is the look of our Judge, and still more the look of our Savior, our Friend, the Spouse of our souls. A Rosary said in this way, in solitude and silence, is a most fruitful intercourse with Jesus.  It is a conversation with Mary too, which leads to intimacy with her Son.

(From the book of Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange O.P., The Mother of the Saviour and our interior life, Saint-Louis (Missouri), Herder Book Company, 1948, Part II, Chapter VI, Article II.)

PART 2…

GROWING IN FAITH THROUGH THE HOLY ROSARY by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Jesus sent His Loving Mother, Mary most holy, from heaven to the small town of Fatima, Portugal in the year 1917. The Queen of heaven and earth appeared to three little shepherd children, Lucia de los Santos and Francisco and Jacinta Marto—brother and sister.

Our Lady appeared six times and every time that she appeared she repeated the message: PRAY THE ROSARY! She revealed her name and identity as OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY. In Lourdes, Our Lady appeared 18 times to Saint Bernadette and revealed her name and identity as THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.

Therefore, we would like to present ten reasons why we should form the most important habit of praying the Rosary, not sporadically or sometimes or simply upon an impulse. Rather, we should form the habit of praying the most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary every day; if possible, we could even pray the Rosary more than once a day, as was often the habit in the lives of many of the saints! Therefore, let us launch into reasons to convince us of the dire importance of loving Our Lady, by loving what she loves, and obeying her command—pray the holy Rosary!

1. OUR LADY TOLD US TO!  If a mother repeats to her child an order many times it is because the mother believes in the depths of her heart that the order she is commanding is of great importance. Likewise, the Mother of God and our Mother too, Mary most Holy, at Fatima commanded the children, as well as the world at large, six times to pray the Rosary! If it is a command to obey our earthly mothers (the 4^th Commandment), much more should we obey our Heavenly Mother, Mary most Holy!

2. THE ROSARY IS A BIBLICAL PRAYER.  Many non-Catholics condemn the recitation of the Holy Rosary. However, very few of those who condemn this most beautiful prayer realize or recognize the fact that the Rosary is a prayer that almost totally has its origins in the Word of God itself! For example, the first series of Mysteries that we call the Joyful Mysteries are all of them found in the Gospel of Saint Luke, Chapters One and Two! This being said, we can get to know and love the Word of God by meditating upon the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary!

3. GETTING TO KNOW, LOVE AND IMITATE JESUS BETTER.  Saint Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, and the instrument God used to give us the Spiritual Exercises, offers us a fruit that we should beg for when we meditate on or contemplate the life of Jesus; that fruit, or we might call it virtue, is to arrive at intimate knowledge of Jesus, so that we love Him more ardently and follow Him more closely. In a parallel sense, when we form the habit of praying the Rosary well, giving our whole self to entering into the scenes or mysteries of the Rosary, one of the most sublime fruits is the same that Ignatius presents. In praying the Rosary, we get to know Jesus, love Jesus, and desire to follow Jesus through the prayers and intercession of the first disciple of Jesus, His Mother Mary!

4. SUMMARY OF THE GOSPEL.  Recent Popes, Blessed Paul VI and Saint John XXIII called the Rosary a summary of the Gospel. This was said even before the insertion of the relatively new mysteries of the Rosary, The Luminous Mysteries. In a short, clear, methodical and systematic form we have the Infancy of Jesus in the Joyful Mysteries; followed by the Luminous Mysteries, which are a good summary of the Public Life of Jesus (30-33 years of age). Then we have the Passion, suffering and death of Jesus in the Sorrowful Mysteries. Finally, as the summit of the whole prayer, we have the Glorious Mysteries, which of course present Our Lord’s Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, the Coming of the Holy Spirit, and Our Lady’s Assumption into heaven and Coronation as Queen of heaven and earth. As the Popes have alluded to, the contemplation of the mysteries of the most Holy Rosary is a clear and concise summary of the Gospels—the conception, life, death and Resurrection of Jesus seen through the eyes and heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

5. MARVELOUS PRAYER THAT CAN LIFT US TO THE HEIGHTS.  The Rosary is indeed a marvelous prayer that can lift us to the heights of holiness if prayed well and with perseverance. This prayer is vocal in that we vocalize the beautiful prayers, the Our Father and Hail Mary. Then it is a meditative prayer in that we reflect upon the meaning of the mysteries and how they can be applied to our own lives right now. Furthermore, it is a contemplative prayer, meaning that we are summoned to enter into the scenes or mysteries of the lives of Jesus and Mary. We are not called to be passive spectators, like going to a movie; rather we are called to enter into these contemplative scenes and become part of the lives of Jesus and Mary! If this is done, we become transformed. The saying is true: tell me with whom you associate and I will tell you who you are. How true if we apply this to our frequent association, contact and conversation with Jesus and Mary and Saint Joseph! We will be transformed, becoming more like them. Our desire and goal are the words of the great Apostle Saint Paul: “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20)

6. PRAYER FOR PEACE OF MIND, HEART AND SOUL, AND A WORLD AT PEACE.  In a world in which there is so much tension, fighting, selfishness, and egotism, we need a peace program. Of course the key element is to expel the negative with the most positive, and that is to place Jesus and Mary as King and Queen of our world, country, state, city, home, family, and even our individual lives and hearts! At Fatima, Our Lady insisted that the Rosary be prayed to bring an end to World War I and also to prevent another war. Our Lady made the warning that if the world did not pray enough, another and worse world war would erupt. And so it happened! Sad to say, not many years after the cessation of World War I, the more bloody and gruesome World War II broke out. Sin is due to a lack of the presence of God. The recitation of the most Holy Rosary is the opposite. We invite Jesus into our hearts, families and society through the prayerful, peaceful, but powerful presence of Our Lady, Queen of Peace!

7. CONQUERING VICES.  Sin can get hold of us and we become slaves to sin. Jesus Himself says that sin is slavery. A well-known convert once said that before becoming Catholic, he liked going to book stores to look over the books and buy some of them. However, while there, no matter how hard he tried, he could not resist, almost as if he were drawn by a magnet, checking out and browsing through the bad magazines. Though he was still a Protestant, he started to pray the most Holy Rosary, and immediately, his desire to look at the indecent magazines left him totally. He attributed this miracle to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Rosary. Among the many virtues that Our Lady desires to attain for us is the virtue of purity. One of Our Lady’s messages in Fatima was that most souls are lost for all eternity due to the sins of the flesh, that is to say, sins against the virtue of purity. Jesus expressed this most clearly in one of the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the pure of heart; they will see God.” (Mt 5:8) 

8. FAMILY UNITY.  One of the most sorrowful realities in the modern world is the breakup of the family unit. Vatican II calls the family the domestic church. Saint Pope John Paul II says, “The family is the basic cell of society. As the family goes, so goes the nation, and so goes the whole world in which we live.” After the attack on the World Trade Center, Sept. 11^th 2001, Saint Pope John Paul II published a spiritual masterpiece with the title Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary. We encourage all of our readers to read and meditate upon this spiritual masterpiece so as to get to know and love the most Holy Rosary more and more. In this papal document the saintly pontiff encourages the world at large to pray the Rosary, but especially for two intentions. First, he exhorts us to pray the Rosary for world peace. Second, he warmly encourages us to pray the Rosary for the sake and salvation of the family. The Rosary priest, Ven. Father Patrick Peyton, expresses this truth in these timely maxims: “The family that prays together, stays together!” and “A world at prayer is a world at peace!” This being said, every family should make a concerted effort to pray the Rosary together for the sake of their own family, as well as for all of the families of the world, and that peace would reign in the world starting first and foremost with our own individual hearts!

9. THE ROSARY AS SPIRITUAL SLINGSHOT TO CONQUER THE DEVIL.  In one of the most important meditations in the Spiritual Exercises, with the title The Two Standards, Saint Ignatius presents our spiritual life in the light of a fierce combat between Satan and his disciples fighting against Jesus and His disciples for dominion in our souls! Given today’s materialism, consumerism, hedonism, agnosticism, moral relativism, and militant atheism, the devil can hide behind each of these erroneous philosophical systems to trap us and finally enslave us! It almost appears as if we are David against Goliath! (I Samuel 17) David was much younger and smaller, with no military preparation, no sword, no shield, nor even any armor. On the other hand, Goliath was a giant, with much experience in battle, wearing armor and wielding a huge crescent sword that he had used to kill many, with a shield bearer preceding him. Goliath curses David, but David proceeds with confidence in the name of Yahweh, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. The little shepherd boy approaches the line of battle quickly and resolutely reaches for a stone, places it in his slingshot, and launches it at Goliath. The stone takes off like a rocket and rivets itself in the forehead of Goliath, who quickly cascades to the ground. As the giant lays unconscious on the ground, David wields the sword of Goliath and cuts off his head! Victory!!! Today we are surrounded by many Modern Goliaths, as mentioned and named above. Therefore, for us to win the fierce battle, we must place ourselves under the military leadership of the Blessed Virgin Mary, carry proudly our spiritual weapon— the most Holy Rosary, and use it frequently and confidently. We have sure hope with such a weapon and so great a leader that the battle will be won and the victory will be ours!

10. SPIRITUAL TREAUSRES STORED UP IN HEAVEN. One of the greatest saint-mystics in the Catholic Church is Saint Gertrude, the Great. Not only is she the author of the classic Herald of Divine Love (read it!!!), but also she was a great mystic and visionary. Jesus often would appear to her and talk to her with great familiarity and love, as He desires to do with us. On one occasion, the saint saw Jesus in heaven. The scene was beautiful! Bathed in light and beauty, Jesus had a huge pile of coins, shiny and glimmering golden coins. As Saint Gertrude contemplated this scene, Jesus placed another golden coin on the top of the huge pile. Curious as to the meaning of the scene, this great lover of Jesus and Mary, Saint Gertrude, begged the Lord to explain it. Without any hesitation Jesus said that those golden coins were the many fervent Hail Marys that Gertrude had prayed, and that she had just finished another, upon which Jesus was depositing another golden coin for all eternity. Therefore, if you want to be a multi-billionaire in heaven, start right now and pray the Rosary by praying the Hail Marys that compose the Rosary. Indeed, Jesus through the intercession Mary, His Mother, the Mother of the Church, and your loving Mother, will store up for you abundant treasures in heaven.

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

Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6th   Lk. 10:38-42   “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of one thing only.”

• In yesterday’s Gospel, a scholar of the law asks Jesus what is necessary to inherit eternal life. Jesus answers with a question: “What is written in the law?” The scholar responds: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
• We know that loving our neighbor is pleasing to God as Jesus demonstrated in yesterday’s parable of the Good Samaritan. Yet today Jesus says tells Martha, “Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
• What did Jesus do in His life on earth? Scripture tells us that Jesus got up very early to pray! (Mk. 1:35) The rest of His day was spent in traveling long hours through all the towns and villages preaching the Good News of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness of those who came to Him or were brought to Him. (Mt. 9:35)
• Jesus is our model! Venerable Fulton Sheen put it this way, “First Come, Then Go!” First come to Jesus, then go serve others in His name! First we come to Jesus in our daily Holy Hour – we sit at the feet of Jesus. Like Mary, we are totally available to Him – open, vulnerable, and docile. Then we go – sent out by Jesus to bring His presence, His love, and His mercy to our neighbor! Like Martha, we serve! Who is our neighbor – every single person God places in our path each day, beginning with those in our own family!  
• In this way we live by Grace and the Holy Spirit! What does that mean??? How do we do that??? First of all, where Grace is present, the Hole Spirit is present! Where Grace is absent, the Holy Spirit is absent! So it behooves us to learn about Grace!

GRACE: GOD’S RICHES AT CHRIST’S EXPENSE! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

On one occasion the Great Saint, Mystic and Woman Doctor of the Church, Saint Catherine of Siena was given by God the grace to contemplate one soul in the state of sanctifying grace. Enthralled and captivated by the magnificent beauty of this one soul, the holy woman mystic fell to her knees ready to adore this soul—believing the soul to be God Himself. Quickly God informed Saint Catherine that this person was not God, but very simply, this was nothing more than a soul living in the state of sanctifying grace.  

The utter, ineffable and indescribable beauty of this one anonymous soul in the state of sanctifying grace moved Saint Catherine to the very depths of her soul and caused her to fall to her knees, almost casting her into ecstasy!

SANCTIFYING GRACE, WHAT IS IT? WHERE DOES IT COME FROM? HOW TO GET IT?  Sanctifying grace is participation in the very life of God Himself. It is the “God within us” that makes us pleasing to God. We first receive sanctifying grace at the moment of our reception of Holy Baptism. It is a free, gratuitous gift from God whose nature is to give abundantly, and as abundantly and copiously as we are willing to receive.

THE GRACE OF ALL GRACES.  In one of his many writings, Saint Alphonsus asserted the following related and pertinent to our present topic: “The grace of all graces is to die in the state of grace.” Therefore, let us present a clear but demanding pathway in our lives to appreciate and realize to the highest degree the reality of grace in our soul. We will offer a very simple program on how we can constantly, by making a concerted effort with the help of God’s grace (no pun intended!), preserve grace in our soul, defend grace in our inner being, grow in God’s grace, be a channel of grace to others that we meet, and be a means of spreading and growing the grace of God in the world at large.

Let us turn to Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, and the Mother of all of us, who is the full of grace to appreciate grace and grow in grace until we reach our Heavenly Home!

TEN WAYS THAT WE CAN GROW IN GRACE DAILY

1. MORTAL ENEMY NUMBER ONE: SIN—MORTAL AND VENIAL.  The worst enemy in our spiritual life in general is the reality of sin. If you like, it is toxic, poisonous, lethal and deadly in our pursuit of living and growing in sanctifying grace. Venial sin diminishes God’s grace in our soul; mortal sin—our worst enemy—expels grace from our soul. Let us humbly beg God for the grace to detest and have an abhorrence for sin—all sin, but especially mortal sin!

2. PRAYER.  What air is to the lungs, so is prayer to the soul. It is recorded in the life of the Jesuit scholar Suarez that after having written many solid, scholarly works, he said that he would gladly trade all of these for the value of one fervently prayed HAIL MARY! The reason? This saintly scholar arrived at the keen awareness at the end of his life of the value of grace and how grace flows to the soul through prayer, and especially through Mary, the full of grace! This being said, any prayer offered to God with humility, purity of intention and love increases grace in our souls.

3. PENANCE: PRACTICE OF SACRIFICES.  Our Lady of Fatima stated with sadness that many souls are lost for all eternity because not enough prayers and sacrifices are offered to God for the conversion of poor sinners. In the eyes of God, even though they may be small, any sacrifice made with love attains grace, and sometimes even the grace necessary for the conversion of a sinner, especially deathbed sinners. Saint Therese stated: “Pick up a pin for the love of God and you can save a soul.”

4. CHARITY/SERVICE TOWARDS OTHERS.  All the saints are unanimous on the greatest of all virtues—it is supernatural love or charity. Saint Paul expresses this truth eloquently in his letter to the Corinthians—I Cor. 13. Get in the habit of striving on a daily basis to put into practice at least one, better yet some of the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy; they are seven apiece. By practicing concrete acts of love toward our neighbor, grace increases in our soul! Let us get to work now.

5. SACRAMENT OF CONFESSION.  Now we are ascending to a higher level or realm of attaining grace—that is to say, the Sacramental life. If we have the misfortune or disgrace of forfeiting the grace of God in our soul through committing a mortal sin, we should never despair, but place our trust in God’s Infinite Mercy. Remember the words of the Psalm: “God is slow to anger but rich in mercy.” (Ps. 145:8) If we have not fallen into mortal sin, we can still have recourse to frequent Confession confessing our venial sins and thereby augmenting sanctifying grace in our souls, utilizing the Sacrament of Confession as preventive medicine as well as healing medicine!

6. DOCILITY AND OPENNESS TO THE INSPIRATIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Another most efficacious means to augment grace in our soul is to live a recollected life and be open to God’s presence through the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. The more humble, silent, pure, and recollected we can become, the more powerful the work of the Holy Spirit in such a beautiful soul. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit sends us a gentle but insistent touch, inspiration, knock at the door of our heart, each time we say YES a deluge of graces descend into the terrain of our soul and growth in holiness takes place. “If today you hear His voice harden not your hearts.” (Heb. 3:15) Rather, may we say: “Speak, O Lord, for your servant is listening.” (1 Sam. 3:10)

7. BECOME A BEGGAR BEFORE GOD, YOUR MASTER.  Jesus stated unequivocally the importance of the prayer of petition or prayer of supplication: “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Mt 7:7) If you humbly beg God, as well as Our Lady, the full of grace, to attain for yourself the ability to defend grace in your soul, to strengthen grace in your soul, as well as to grow in grace, no doubt this request will be granted. In fact, God desires to communicate grace to us even more than we desire to receive it!

8. THE GREATEST MEANS OF SKYROCKETTING IN GRACE: HOLY MASS AND HOLY C0MMUNION.  By far and beyond comparison, the most efficacious means by which we can grow in grace, better yet skyrocket in grace, is a fervent, humble, confident and worthy reception of the Eucharist. The reason could not be clearer: the Eucharist is GOD HIMSELF! Therefore, make a decision and concerted effort to attend Holy Mass and receive Holy Communion as often as possible, but with passion, fervor, and burning love for Jesus in your heart. If done, every fervent Holy Communion can result in the reception of an immense ocean of graces. Yes, and immense ocean of graces!

9. HAVE MASSES OFFERED FOR YOU AND YOUR INTENTIONS.  Arriving at the celebration of my Silver Jubilee as a priest, my good Mom won the prize of all the gifts that I received on that momentous occasion. She had 25 Masses offered for my 25 years as a priest. Explosions of grace skyrocketing to the sky, an infinite ocean of blessings and graces flowing from every one of those Masses that were offered for me and my intentions. I am infinitely grateful for such a gift and blessing—Thanks Mom!

10. OUR LADY: “THE FULL OF GRACE”.  It goes without saying that turning to Mary, the full of grace, praying to her frequently and fervently is one of the most efficacious means to preserve sanctifying grace in our soul, to defend it, augment it, and eventually die in the state of sanctifying grace. Every time we pray the HAIL MARY with love and devotion, Our Lady communicates grace to our soul. Better yet, every time we recite the most Holy Rosary to Mary—50 times more graces—like a deluge—rain down from heaven into the garden of our soul. Therefore, let us beg Our Lady, the full of grace, to attain for us the grace of all graces—to die in the state of sanctifying grace—so as to be united with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Mary and the Angels and Saints forever in Heaven!

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

Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

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

MONDAY OCTOBER 5th Lk. 10: 25-37 Feast Day of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska
Parable of the Good Samaritan: Jesus asked, “Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered. “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”

Today we honor Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska—Secretary of Divine Mercy—known today the world over as the Apostle of the Divine Mercy and numbered by theologians among the outstanding mystics of the Church.

Following Fr. Broom’s Commentary, we conclude with Faustina’s Prayer to Be Merciful.

MERCY, MERCY, AND AGAIN MERCY!!!  By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

God’s Mercy is His greatest attribute! Saint Faustina, Saint Pope John Paul II, and the Angelic Doctor, Saint Thomas Aquinas, agree on this unanimously! Mercy is nothing other than God’s love forgiving the sinner.

God longs to inundate the entire world with His Infinite Mercy. It is like a burning fire consuming Him, that He desires so ardently to bestow on all, but too few know of His mercy, and even less want to receive this free gift.

May we be among those who trust in God’s Infinite Mercy, receive it, and also try to promote it! May we be living Apostles of God’s Great Mercy. God rejoices in those who trust in His mercy and promote it to the entire world! 

God chose Saint Faustina Kowalska to be His Secretary of Divine Mercy and the ardent promoter of this most sublime of God’s virtues in the most widely diffused manner through the classic: Divine Mercy in My Soul – Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska.

How then can we understand, embrace, live, and promote God’s Infinite Mercy in our own lives – in the concrete circumstances in which we are living right now? We will offer fifteen ways to fall in love with Divine Mercy, so that we can be heralds and apostles of Divine Mercy, so that one day in heaven we will be praising God’s Mercy for all eternity.

1. READ DIVINE MERCY IN MY SOUL – DIARY OF ST FAUSTINA KOWALSKA. All of us should own this spiritual classic and masterpiece and get in the habit of reading, meditating, contemplating, praying over, loving, and living this most simple but sublime message that God has given to the modern world. What the world needs today more than ever is to understand and to live the Gospel of Mercy. Every day get into the habit of reading for five minutes or at least one number of the 1820 entries in this gift from God! Start today! One more suggestion: try to put into practice what you are reading.

2. ENTHRONE THE IMAGE AND HONOR IT! Purchase a beautiful image of Divine Mercy and enthrone it in your home in a prominent place. Then formally enthrone it through the ministry and blessing of a priest. Honor the image frequently, by such means as saying, “Jesus, Mercy!” when you see it. Let those who enter your home be keenly aware of the fact that Jesus, the King of Mercy, is King of your home and King of all those who enter your home. God promises very special blessings upon those who honor this image, in time and for all eternity! Promote the enthronement of the Divine Mercy image in other homes. Teach children and young people about God’s Infinite Mercy! There is no sin, that God’s Mercy is not greater! This will bring great joy to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

3. CHAPLET OF DIVINE MERCY.  Learn and get into the habit of praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as often as possible; it only takes about five minutes. It can be prayed in church, at home, in the car, in the supermarket line, waiting at the doctor’s office, at any time and in any place. Jesus exhorted Saint Faustina to pray it often. This prayer appeases the anger of God and has the power to convert the hardest of sinners. “For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” Even better, in addition to praying the Chaplet yourself, buy Divine Mercy Pamphlets and pass them out to family, friends, co-workers, and even strangers, in the hope that they too will pray it!

4. MERCY HOUR. Try to be more and more aware of the Mercy Hour which is 3:00 pm every day. Jesus asked Saint Faustina to pray the Way of the Cross at this hour, or visit the Blessed Sacrament, or at least to unite herself with the Passion, agony, and death of Jesus on the cross at the Mercy Hour, which was the very hour and minute that Jesus died on the cross for the salvation of our souls! In your case, pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at the 3:00 pm hour, or at least try to remember the Mercy Hour by uniting yourself with Jesus’ last agony and death on the cross, and then beg of Him any grace you so desire. He has promised to answer those prayers. Especially pleasing to God is to beg for the conversion of deathbed sinners. At the 3:00 pm hour, when God the Father is contemplating the agony, suffering, and death of His beloved Son, Jesus, He can deny us nothing. Nor can Jesus. I will often beg the Lord Jesus through His most bitter passion for the conversion and salvation of all those who will die that afternoon and that night. God loves the salvation of souls and so should we!

5. NOVENA OF DIVINE MERCY.  Very pleasing to God is to do the Novena of Divine Mercy. This novena starts on Good Friday and lasts for nine days up until the Solemnity of Divine Mercy, which is on the Sunday after Easter Sunday. Each day there is a special prayer intention to be prayed that God inspired Saint Faustina to write in the Diary. The intentions are very inspiring and a model for prayer of petition! This novena can also be prayed any time during the course of the year, but most especially from Good Friday to Divine Mercy Sunday. You can find this Novena in the Divine Mercy Pamphlet.

6. MERCY SUNDAY.  Live out to the fullest extent possible Divine Mercy Sunday. As stated above, this Sunday follows Easter Sunday and it was instituted as a formal Liturgical Feast in the year 2000 (April 30), on the Sunday after Easter by Saint Pope John Paul II. On that same day, the Holy Father canonized Saint Faustina Kowalska; she was the first saint to be canonized in the new millennium. This great Pope of Divine Mercy declared with heartfelt emotion that this was the happiest day in his life. He felt himself to be a true Apostle of Divine Mercy, starting off the new millennium instituting this Solemnity of Divine Mercy and canonizing the saint whom God used as a key instrument in bringing to the world this extraordinary grace!

7. OBTAIN THE DIVINE MERCY PROMISE. Among the most extraordinary promises of Divine Mercy is the Promise that we can receive on Divine Mercy Sunday. It is this! If we make a good Sacramental Confession anytime in Lent or even Easter week, and then attend Mass and receive Holy Communion on Mercy Sunday with great faith, devotion, and love, all of our sins of the past are totally forgiven. And not only are our sins forgiven, but also the temporal punishment due to these sins is totally forgiven. “Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them as white as the snow.” (Is. 1:18) In concrete, this means that we have our baptismal innocence restored to our souls! If we were to die the moment we receive this privilege, we would go straight to heaven!!! No time in Purgatory! What an extraordinary grace that we should long to receive every year on Mercy Sunday! For each year our past sins are forgiven and the temporal punishment due for those sins is wiped out. Let us spread the Good News to the whole world!

8. GOOD CONFESSIONS. Another concrete manner in which we can live out Mercy is to have frequent recourse to the reception of the Sacrament of Confession, also known as the Sacrament of God’s Infinite Mercy. Every time we make a good sacramental Confession, the loving Father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son embraces us with the most tender love, and there is rejoicing and feasting in heaven among the angels and the saints! (Lk. 15:11-32) Make it a habit to go at least once a month to the Sacrament of God’s Mercy and bring your whole family with you! Become an Apostle of the Sacrament of Confession; this is very pleasing to God. A good sacramental Confession inundates us with an ocean of God’s Mercy!!!

9 BE MERCIFUL AS YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS MERCIFUL! Mercy indeed is a two-way street, not a one-way street! If we want to receive God’s mercy in our lives then we must be constantly ready and willing to be merciful to those who have wounded and offended us. The most famous prayer in the world is the OUR FATHER, in which we pray: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” These words of Our Lord are unambiguous and clear; if we want God to forgive us, then we must necessarily be willing to forgive others, always, and at all times! Remember the words of command from the Heart of Jesus: “Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful.” Let us take these words seriously to heart and beg for the grace to put them into practice!

10. DO ACTS OF MERCY ON A DAILY BASIS. Jesus also told Saint Faustina that He desires us to practice at least one act of mercy every day. There are three different ways that this can be carried out: 1) Words—Say a kind word or words to someone; this can lift their tired, afflicted, and wearied spirit; 2) Deeds—Carry out some concrete deed or action of mercy; you might even look up the Eight Corporal and Eight Spiritual Works of Mercy and try to live out at least one of these on a daily basis; 3) Prayer—Praying for some person is pleasing to God and falls under the category of doing an act of mercy towards someone. By the way Jesus reminds us that whatever we do to others, we actually do to Him. (Mt. 25:31-46)

11. DYING AND THE CHAPLET.  Of the greatest importance with respect to the salvation of souls is to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy when some person is in their last hours, last moments, and last agony. These are moments of great trial, tribulation, and at times temptation. Jesus promised that if anyone is praying the Chaplet when the person is dying then that soul will be saved. Therefore, let us, as Saint Paul reminds us, fill up what is lacking in the Passion of Christ by striving to save souls by praying the Chaplet at the bedside of the dying. (cf: Col. 1:24)

12. DISTRIBUTE DIVINE MERCY CARDS. Another simple but very pleasing practice in the eyes of God is to purchase a packet of 1000 Divine Mercy holy cards and simply distribute them freely. Prayer meetings, funerals, weddings, first Communion Masses, in the park, and even in the grocery store—give them out freely and abundantly. God will reward you abundantly!

13. THE EUCHARIST AND DIVINE MERCY.  Get into the habit of visiting the most Blessed Sacrament. In fact, every time we are kneeling or praying in front of the most Blessed Sacrament, we are in the presence of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus and in contact with His Divine Mercy. May the rays of His Divine Presence transform your heart into a heart filled with the most noble sentiments of Mercy!

14. HOLY COMMUNION AND MERCY. Still greater is that of assisting at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and receiving Holy Communion. The truth is that every Holy Communion contains the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ! That means we actually receive His most Sacred Heart! In a real sense we have a spiritual HEART TRANSPLANT every time we receive Holy Communion with faith, devotion, and love. Let us beg our Eucharistic Lord to help us love others with His Heart of Mercy! A prayer He never fails to answer if prayed earnestly!

15. OUR LADY AND MERCY. It would be all but incomplete if we did not invite Our Lady to help us to understand, love, and live the message of Divine Mercy. Saint Alphonsus states that we should never fear approaching Our Lady. In God there are two opposing attributes—His Mercy and His Justice. However, in Our Lady there is pure Mercy. At the end of every Rosary we pray the Hail Holy Queen. “Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope….” May Our Lady attain for us a deeper and deeper understanding and appreciation of God’s Infinite Mercy for souls, of God’s infinite Mercy for our families, of God’s Infinite Mercy for you and me individually!!!

CONCLUSION:  May the prayer of the Psalmist be the prayer that overflows in our hearts and lives now and forever: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.” (Ps. 136:1) Let us praise God’s Mercy in time, so that we may praise His Mercy forever and ever in heaven!!!

PRAYER TO BE MERCIFUL…  (Saint Faustina’s Diary #163)

O Most Holy Trinity! As many times as I breathe, as many times as my heart beats, as many times as my blood pulsates through my body, so many thousand times do I want to glorify Your mercy.

I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your living reflection, O Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of Your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.

Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors’ souls and come to their rescue.

Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors’ needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings.

Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.

Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.

Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor, overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service of my neighbor.

Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own suffering in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me.

You Yourself command me to exercise the three degrees of mercy. The first: the act of mercy, of whatever kind. The second: the word of mercy – if I cannot carry out a work of mercy, I will assist by my words. The third: prayer – if I cannot show mercy by deeds or words, I can always do so by prayer. My prayer reaches out even where I cannot reach out physically.

O my Jesus, transform me into Yourself, for You can do all things.

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