Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4^TH   Mt. 21: 33-43 “Therefore, I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”

1. Intro Article … Fruit of the Kingdom by Father d’Elbée
2. KEEP THE FIRE OF GOD’S LOVE BURNING IN YOU! by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

 Fruit of the Kingdom… by Father d’Elbée (+1982)   

Why are you here? Why were you born into a Christian family? Why were you baptized? Why have you learned to know Jesus, to love him since your earliest childhood? Because He has chosen you and preferred you from all eternity, to heap these graces upon you.

Recall your first prayers, your Confirmation, your First Communion, that first union of your soul with Him; your infidelities, small or great, Jesus picking you up again, becoming for you so many times the Good Shepherd, running after His little lamb, carrying it back in His arms; the absolution you have received so often in the Sacrament of Penance, this pouring out of His Divine Blood, which purifies you in an instant.

And if there are any converts among you, you must unite yourselves with the thanksgiving of a Saint Paul or a Saint Augustine. What confidence He had in you, to give Himself in this way. One could say that you were in some way a need of His heart. 

Many among you have always been faithful, others perhaps have resisted His calls for a long time, others may have fallen very low.

If you have been loved like this, you must love in return, give love for Love. “I have loved you, you must love. I have given you my heart without reserve, in order to have your heart without reserve; I have put no limit on my love, you must put no limit on yours.”

KEEP THE FIRE OF GOD’S LOVE BURNING IN YOU!  by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Jesus said: “I have come to cast fire on the earth; I am not at peace until that fire is blazing.” (Lk. 12:49) Right now, that fire should be burning in your heart. That is the fire of the Holy Spirit. A bonfire to be kept ablaze must be fed constantly. Wood, leaves, brush, old papers must be constantly cast into the fire. If not, the fire extinguishes and soon there is only a pile of ashes.

As a result of the social and spiritual milieu in which we live, how easy it is for the fire of the Holy Spirit, the Fire of Divine Love to wane, decline, diminish and extinguish. Too many Catholics today are like smoldering wicks, smoldering embers that have lost their fire, lost their zeal, lost their enthusiasm, lost their joy for living. As T.S. Elliot penned poetically: “They will go out not with a bang, but with a whimper!”

A SERIOUS WARNING. The last Book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation/Apocalypse warns us: “You have lost your first love.” (Rev. 2:4) And, “You are neither hot nor cold, I wish you were, but you are lukewarm; so I will vomit you out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:16) Startling or even shocking as these words sound, they come from the Holy Spirit who is the Author of all of Sacred Scripture. May God save us from mediocrity! 

A FERVENT PRAYER. Let us make a heartfelt and fervent prayer from the depths of our heart that the fire of God’s love will never extinguish in our soul. However, if it has, let us beg the Holy Spirit to rekindle that fire. Then let us pray for the grace to ignite many fires—the fire of God’s love—wherever we go, with whomever we meet, in whatever circumstances God places us!

JUMP-STARTS TO SET OUR HEARTS ABLAZE. This being the case, let us use all the tools, all the means that God has placed in our path to jump-start the flame of God’s love in our heart. May we follow in the footsteps of the Master Jesus, making His words our own: “I have come to cast fire on the earth, and I am not at peace until that fire be enkindled.” (Lk. 12:49) Here are the Big Ten Jump-starters!

1. REIGNITE THE FLAME. Go to Confession! If we have lost God’s grace through Mortal sin, then God’s fire has been extinguished in us. Have no discouragement on your part—rather trust in God! Like the Prodigal Son (Lk. 15:11-32) get up and return to the loving embrace of the Father through a good Sacramental Confession. The loving arms of the Father are wide-open to receive you. He patiently awaits your return!

2. CONSECRATION TO MARY AND THE SCAPULAR. At the crack of dawn upon awaking every morning consecrate your whole being, your day, and all your activities to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and then kiss your Scapular. Paintings depict the Immaculate Heart of Mary with fire flowing out from her heart—the fire of love, the fire of the Holy Spirit—for you and your eternal salvation!

3. SHORT ASPIRATIONS IN THE DAY. During the course of the day lift up your heart in short prayers, like arrows piercing the heavens, such as: “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I love you; save souls!”Whenever a short, fiery dart occurs to you, shoot it up to heaven as an act of love. Keep the fire aflame!

4. RECOGNIZE YOUR DIGNITY. Through Baptism our souls were radically transformed: we became Temples of the Holy Spirit! Among the many beautiful, mystical, and poetic titles for the Holy Spirit in the Sequence of the Holy Spirit is that of “Sweet Guest of the soul”. As Pope Saint Leo the Great reminds us in his Christmas homily: “Christians, recognize your dignity!” Through a constant awareness of your dignity and destiny—“I am a Temple of Holy Spirit and Heaven is my destiny”—the fire leaps up incessantly!

5. HEAVEN: RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER. The virtue of Hope inflames the interior of your soul. With your feet on the earth and your spiritual eyes lifted on high towards Heaven that awaits you, God’s fiery flames ignite your soul! Life is short, like the flower of the field that rises in the morning and withers and dies as the sun hides its face. (Ps. 103: 15-16) If you carry your cross patiently and with love, Heaven awaits you!

6. EXTINGUISH THE FIRE OF GOD’S JUSTICE BY THE FIRE OF YOUR LOVE—PURGATORY! Frequent prayers, sacrifices, alms-giving, and acts of love offered for the souls in Purgatory can mitigate the fire of God’s Justice that purifies the souls in Purgatory. That is to say, the fire of your Charity can result in these souls arriving sooner at their final destiny—Heaven. Then their prayers from heaven will serve to ignite and enflame you constantly with God’s fiery love!

7. FIERY LOVE FOR GOD AND MY NEIGHBOR. The fire of love that burns in your heart towards a God you do not see, must rush forth impetuously towards your neighbor whom you do see and who is created in the image and likeness of God! “I was hungry, thirsty, naked, a foreigner, sick and in prison, and you tended to my needs!” (Mt. 25:31-46) Every time you serve Jesus in either the Corporal or Spiritual Works of Mercy, the fire of God’s love ignites and burns brightly in you. Read the lives of the saints as your models!

8. THE HOLY HOUR: THE HOUR OF POWER, THE HOUR OF FIRE! If you come in out of an icy winter night and sit before the hearth where a fire is blazing, you will thaw out. The flames shooting from the brick hearth will even dry your wet, soggy winter clothes. In a similar fashion, it is easy for worldliness and mundane values to permeate our inner being with a wet, soggy indifference! It is precisely the Holy Hour, the Hour of Power, the Hour of Fire that sets our minds, our hearts, and our wills aflame! In the Tabernacle lives the Lord of Lords and King of Kings in all of His Majesty, fire, and power! Pope Saint John Paul II stated that the Tabernacle is the living heartbeat of the Church. May His fiery Heart set our hearts on fire through faithfulness to our daily Holy Hour!

9. SPIRITUAL READING/LECTIO DIVINA. For us to cast fiery darts into the minds and hearts of others, it is necessary to have firm convictions in our mind that translate into actions. All too many are sluggish, lethargic, anemic, and half asleep in their spiritual life. They lack the fire of motivation that is sparked and ignited by solid spiritual reading. Consult your spiritual director or regular confessor on your choice of reading. May the choice help you to put on the mind of Christ, in the words of the fiery Apostle Saint Paul. Then you will be able to say: “I have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:16)

10. HOLY COMMUNION AND FIRE. When possible, receive Holy Communion. In a very real sense Holy Communion results in a Spiritual Heart Transplant. You truly receive the Total Christ—Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. This means that you receive the Sacred Heart of Jesus! If you contemplate any image of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus you will see that a blazing fire rushes forth from His Heart! He suffers so much, as He said to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque: “Behold the Heart that loves so much and receives only coldness, indifference, and ingratitude.” If your reception of Holy Communion is indeed fervent, then Jesus’ Heart takes your heart and floods it with the fire of His Divine Love so that you can share it with the whole world!!!

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

Saturday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Photo: Spiral staircase located in the Vatican Museums, designed by Giuseppe Momo in 1932.

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

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5th   Lk. 10: 17-24 Our Lady of the Rosary    “At that moment, Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.’”

• October is the month of Mary and the Rosary. … “To recite the rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ. No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary.” (Pope Saint John Paul II.)
• The rosary is “an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb. Never as in the Rosary do the life of Jesus and that of Mary appear so deeply joined.” (Pope Saint John Paul II.)
• Moreover, “the rosary leads to an encounter with Christ in His mysteries and so cannot fail to draw attention to the face of Christ in others, especially in the most afflicted.” (Pope Saint John Paul II.)
• St. Bernard referred to each mystery of Mary’s life as either a white rose or a red rose. “White roses and red ones; the white of serenity and of purity, the red of suffering and of love. Have we often tried to unravel the content of her life, day by day, while passing the beads through our hands?” (J.M. Escartin)

THE HAIL MARY – UNDERSTANDING THE WORDS AND THE MEANING by. Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Thanks be to God, as Roman Catholics we learn by heart the words of the Hail Mary, also known as The Angelic Salutation—the greeting of the Archangel Gabriel. However, it might be that we never spent any serious time reflecting on the meaning of the words in this glorious prayer. In this chapter we would like to offer a few simple but very important insights. The greater the depth of our understanding of our faith and of the immense treasure-house of these beautiful prayers, the more we will appreciate them and use them with greater intensity!

HAIL MARY…  These words were actually addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary by one of the angels sent from God, an Archangel whose name is GABRIEL—which means, Power of God. This was one of the most important messages communicated in the history of the world. For that reason, Saint Pope Paul VI proclaimed the Archangel Gabriel as the Patron of modern communication; that would include Television, Radio, Movies, Internet, YouTube, Podcasts, Smartphones, and any other form of communication. May the humble praying of the Hail Mary encourage us to be better communicators, like the Archangel Gabriel, and strive to communicate the presence of God in whatever walk of life God has called us to!

FULL OF GRACE… Of all women, Mary was by far the most beautiful, sublime, glorious, pure, laudable, holy, as well as the most endowed with grace! The poets wax eloquent in this regard! What then is grace??? In the study of Theology, the topic of grace is of paramount value and importance. A short catechetical definition for grace is the following: Grace is the participation in the life of God. There we have it: Grace is God’s life within us! We are conceived with Original Sin and born without grace. Mary, on the contrary, was conceived without the stain of Original Sin, so she was born in grace—she is the full of grace. (CCC 491 *See note below)

THE GRACE OF ALL GRACES: TO DIE IN THE STATE OF GRACE.  The great Doctor of the Church, Saint Alphonsus Mary Liguori, asserted that the grace of all graces is for us to die in the state of grace. If this happens, with the help of God’s grace, we will be saved for all eternity!

INVOKING FREQUENTLY THE FULL OF GRACE—MARY, MOST HOLY!  If we form the habit of praying the HAIL MARY and better yet—the Hail Mary fifty times in the most Holy Rosary—then we will be constantly growing in grace. In fact, every time we pray the Hail Mary with faith, fervor, and love, we are augmenting sanctifying grace in our souls and preparing ourselves for an eternity in heaven!

WHAT DOES MARY, THE FULL OF GRACE, DO FOR US???  By praying the Hail Mary to the Mother of God, Mary will attain for us extraordinary graces, divine helps to stay close to God; among the many graces or helps are the following:

1. PROTECTION. The devil shoots fiery darts to wound and to kill us spiritually. Praying the HAIL MARY is like a shield of protection against the fiery arrows of Satan and his minions.

2. JOY. Grace communicates Joy! By praying the HAIL MARY frequently, Our Lady attains for us a joyful heart, a radiant smile, and jubilant disposition that flows out abundantly upon all those we meet!

3. POWER TO RESIST TEMPTATIONS. Upon praying the HAIL MARY, the great Mother of God intercedes for us before the throne of Almighty God, and she attains for us the grace (God’s divine assistance) to resist temptations that can come often, powerfully, and insidiously.

4. A CLEAN HEART. By praying the HAIL MARY often and fervently, the full of grace will obtain for us a pure and clean heart; actually purity of heart, mind, body, soul, intention, and life—a life pleasing to Almighty God!

5. PEACE OF MIND. In the midst of a world beset by anguish, tensions, rivalries, envy, wars and bloodshed, praying the HAIL MARY frequently, Mary the Mother of God and the full of grace, can attain for us great peace of mind, even in the midst of so much tension, turmoil, and conflict.

THE LORD IS WITH YOU….  These essential words, part of the Hail Mary, have great meaning and importance. From the very moment of Mary’s Immaculate Conception in the womb of her mother, Saint Anne, God was with Mary. Never for even the slightest moment was Mary ever separated from God. As we said, Mary was and is the full of grace. Mary’s whole being was imbued, absorbed, and penetrated by the Presence of God. Mary’s mind was filled with God’s heavenly light. Mary’s thoughts were focused totally on God and how God could be constantly glorified. Mary’s eyes contemplated the beauty of God in all His glory and splendor. Mary’s words proclaimed the greatness of God. Mary’s whole body was a Living and Glorious Temple of the Blessed Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And of great importance, Mary’s Immaculate Heart constantly poured forth acts of fervent love for God. The heart is created especially to love, and aside from Jesus Himself, nobody ever loved more constantly and intensely than the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

THE LORD IS WITH YOU (MARY)….  But what about us??? The Lord was always with Mary, but what about us? Is the Lord always with us? Unfortunately, weak creatures that we are, the Lord may not always be with us! Why? Being free creatures, we can willingly choose to reject God in our lives, and this is called MORTAL SIN! However, there is Good News, and it comes through the presence and intercession of Mary! If we suffer the disgrace of losing grace by committing mortal sin, by beseeching the powerful intercession of Mary, she will attain for us the grace of heartfelt contrition and compunction, and the grace to return to God through a good Sacramental Confession. Indeed, Mary is the full of grace and God is always with her. But Mary loves sinners. She is the Mother of Mercy towards the fallen. If we turn to Mary, she will help us return to grace.

We pray and hope that these short reflections will encourage you to go deeper into the insightful well-spring of the Hail Mary prayer that Mary loves so much. The words that we have expounded upon are actually taken from the Archangel Gabriel. In this real sense, your words become nothing less than angelic every time you greet Mary, with the HAIL MARY—also known as THE ANGELIC SALUTATION—THE ANGELIC GREETING! Greet Mary frequently with faith, joy, and love in this prayer, in this life—and Jesus, the Son of Mary, will greet and welcome you to heaven!

*Note:

CCC 491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, “full of grace” through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854: The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.

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

Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels

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

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2nd Mt. 18: 1-5, 10 Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels    “He has given his angels orders to watch over you in all your ways.”

• Saint Bernard in today’s Liturgy of the Hours says, “Those words should fill us with respect, inspire devotion, and instill confidence because of their protection. The angels are at your side, with you, and present on your behalf. They are there to protect you and to serve you. But even if it is God who has given them this charge, we should nonetheless be grateful to them for the great love with which they obey and come to help us in our great need.”
• We each have our own Guardian Angel chosen by God to help us reach our eternal home in heaven, where our Guardian Angel will join us in glory as an eternal companion and friend. If through our own fault we go to hell, our angel will leave us and we will receive instead a demon who will torment us forever. Our Guardian Angel understands better than we do that our life on earth is a fight for eternal life!!!
• Our Guardian Angel knew us from the moment of our conception and rejoiced at our birth. At our Baptism, we became even dearer to our Guardian Angel, for the Blessed Trinity came to dwell within us and our soul shone with glory!
• Since the day of our First Holy Communion, our Guardian Angel rejoices to accompany us to the holy altar to adore Jesus every time we receive Him in Holy Communion worthily. “If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.” (St. Maximilian Kolbe)
• Our Guardian Angel grieves when we sin as if they themself are guilty of the offense! And they do all they can to disturb our peace until we are reconciled with God by a good Confession.
• Our Guardian Angel rejoices with us when times are good, and sorrows with us when times are difficult. Over the years, they have prevented many near accidents and protected us from many near occasions of sin! One day they will assist us in our last and greatest conflict. They will be there to help us fight against the devil’s final attempt to ensnare our soul before it leaves our body.
• On the threshold of eternity, as the light of earth fades and the brightness of eternity bursts upon us, our Guardian Angel will present our soul to Jesus for judgment and faithfully plead our cause. 
• If we need purification in the flames of Purgatory, our holy Angel will visit and console us there. They will inspire family and friends to intercede on our behalf, bringing the prayers, penances, and good works done on our behalf to the very throne of God! Finally, when our time of purgation is ended, they will joyfully escort us to our eternal bliss in heaven!
• Let us praise and thank God today for the presence of our heavenly companion! Let us beg for the grace to be docile to the inspirations of this holy Angel who is our guide, our protector, and our most worthy friend!

ANGELS PAVING OUR HIGHWAY TO HEAVEN by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

We cannot see ANGELS with our physical eyes, but they truly exist. They were created by God out of pure love. All of us have a Guardian Angel that God gave to us at the very moment of our conception. How few people know of these powerful friends, much less pray to them!

In this very simple article we invite all of our readers to strive to give more attention to your GUARDIAN ANGEL. He is your dear friend on earth and desires more than anything else to help you get to heaven. What then can we do to foster our knowledge, love, and attention to our Guardian Angel? We will offer five simple but very concrete ways to foster this union with our Guardian Angel.

1. PICTURE, PAINTING OR STATUE.  Given that our Guardian Angel is invisible to our physical eyes, it is important that we call attention to them by means of some sacramental such as a painting, picture, or statue. In your room, in the car, in your office or study, on your Bible – all of these are places where you can post an image of your Guardian Angel and call attention to their presence.

2. BIBLE AND THE ANGELS.  Pay attention to the many times that Angels are mentioned in the Bible – both Old and New Testaments, and meditate upon their presence, their purpose and role in the history of salvation. Just to mention a few, we would like to direct you to the Mysteries of the most Holy Rosary. In many of the Mysteries we encounter the presence of an Angel. The Annunciation in which the Archangel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will be the Mother of God. The birth of Jesus announced by a Choir of Angels to the Shepherds watching over their sheep at night. St. Matthew tells us that an Angel spoke to Joseph more than once in his dreams: to take Mary as his wife since the child she bore was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit; to take Mary and the child Jesus and flee to Egypt because Herod sought to kill the child – and then when it was safe to return to the land of Israel. After Jesus fasts 40 days and nights in the desert, and is tempted three times by the devil, Angels come and attend to Him. In the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus sweats Blood for our redemption and the Apostles sleep, an Angel comes to console Him. Of course at the Resurrection, the Angels are present at the empty tomb. And much more. As you read through the Bible and encounter the Angels, stop and think about them, then talk to them and ask for their help. You will feel and experience their presence in your life!

3. REMEMBER OCTOBER 2nd!  We should never forget that the Catholic Church officially celebrates the presence of the Guardian Angels on October 2nd. Why not make a novena to our Guardian Angels every year? By the way, this novena to our Guardian Angels can be made at any time. Our Guardian Angels are always waiting for us to call upon their assistance.

4. LIGHT.  One of the primary purposes of the Guardian Angel is to communicate to us LIGHT. We all have moments of darkness, obscurity, confusion, blurred spiritual vision. Why not call upon your Guardian Angel to cast out the darkness? Imagine going through a tunnel, a very dark tunnel. Finally, the tunnel comes to an end and you enter into the light of day. What a relief! Our life sometimes casts us into the shadows, better yet tunnels! Turn to your Guardian Angel and beg for the grace to exit those dark moments so as to live in the Light of God’s presence. This darkness might even become desolation in your soul. Beg your Guardian Angel to bring you to consolation. They will not fail you, if you call upon them. They are waiting for you to ask!

5. AN ANGELIC MISSIONARY.  Talk to others about the reality of the Angels, especially our Guardian Angels! We live in a world dominated by an almost all-pervasive materialism where money, buying, and consuming dominate the hearts of many. It is time to invoke the Angels to pull us out of this sewage of materialism. Many people do not believe in Angels, possibly even many Catholics, due to a lack of good catechesis. It is time to speak out in honor of the Angels, to honor them, pray to them, and promote their presence and power.

MARY AND THE ANGELS.  The Hail Mary that we pray every day has another official name—THE ANGELIC SALUTATION! Why this name? For the simple reason that it was the Archangel Gabriel who came to greet or salute Mary and with these exact words: “Hail Mary”. May Our Lady, Queen of the Angels, help us to be more aware of the presence of the Angels in our daily lives, most especially our own Guardian Angel!

Let us pray:  Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

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

Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus,
Virgin and Doctor of the Church

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

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1^ST Lk. 10:1-12  “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

• If you are reading these Points of Meditation, and have done Fr. Ed Broom’s 10-Week Spiritual Exercises Course, you are called to be a laborer for His harvest!
• To begin with, the purpose of our life as a single person, married person, priest and/or religious is to reap a harvest by giving witness to Christ in living our vocation faithfully and fully as Catholic-Christians in the modern world! Each of us must ask ourselves, how well am I doing that?
• Next, we all have a personal vocation to carry out within our state in life. Here is a real life example. A married couple have eight children. Besides their vocation as husband and wife, father and mother, they each have a unique personal vocation. She feels called to teach Natural Family Planning. Exposing the lies about contraception by explaining ways it harms the ecology of a woman’s body that we don’t hear about, as well as alienating husband and wife rather than unifying them in marriage as God intended. Then teaching the beauty and benefits of Natural Family Planning based on a healthy ecology for the bodies of both the man and the woman – that is why it is called “natural” – as well bringing unity between husband and wife emotionally and spiritually in their marriage. He feels called to teach Theology of the Body by Pope Saint John Paul II, adapted to High School Juniors – both boys and girls – at a Catholic school. A message they won’t hear anywhere else! This is the true story of a Catholic couple and family.
• Everyone has a personal vocation – a way they are called to share, spread, and defend the Good News of the Gospel! The ways are many and varied, but they always demonstrate God’s Truth about the sacredness, the dignity and value of the human person created in the image and likeness of God, and the beauty of all creation.
• What is your personal vocation? Pray about it. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern your “personal vocation” within your vocation! Start with what your interests are, what sets your heart on fire! Then think how you can develop one or more of these interests and use them to lift the hearts and minds of others to God???
• The Saints are our models! Today we present a Saint with many diverse and varied talents! All used for the Glory of God and the Salvation of Souls! Let us pray that this will inspire us to use our God-given interests and desires to manifest the Glory of God and draw many souls to Him!

POPE SAINT JOHN PAUL II—JOHN PAUL THE GREAT!!! By Father Ed Broom, OMV

 Of all of the many graces that God has bestowed on me, I would have to consider and thank God most abundantly for the gift of the Priesthood, but also the unique, unmerited, and humbling experience of having been ordained by one of the greatest men in the history of the world—POPE SAINT JOHN PAUL II—JOHN PAUL THE GREAT!!!

Yes, it is true. I had the unique privilege of being under the holy hands of the Bishop of Rome, the future saint, John Paul II on May 25^th, 1986, which was a Sunday and the Solemnity of the Most Blessed Trinity, in which we praise the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

In all truth, I can say that I have a holy head and holy hair because I was touched, blessed and ordained by the hands of Pope Saint John Paul II. How abundant God truly is in His enormous blessings. I am a living third class relic!

The following day, after celebrating my first Mass by myself (actually my first Mass was after ordination with Pope Saint John Paul II and the many other Bishops and newly ordained priests), I had the privilege of meeting with Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, both blessing her and then Mother kissing my hands!

So within not much more than 24 hours, I had the unique privilege of meeting with two of the greatest towering figures and modern saints—Pope Saint John Paul II and Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Without a doubt, a time in my life that I will never forget—meeting with the two greatest missionaries in the 20^th Century!

In gratitude for so many blessings, as we celebrate on May 18^th, 2020, the 100^th Anniversary of the birth of Pope Saint John Paul II, whose name was Karol Wojtyla, I would like to render this great man of God homage by highlighting and thanking God for ten of his almost countless accomplishments for the Church and for the world at large.

1. TOTUS TUUS!  This great pontiff started off his pontificate by consecrating his service to the Church with a very special emblem or motto: TOTUS TUUS—Totally Yours (Mary)! This comes from the great Marian Saint, Louis de Montfort, who left us a sure and powerful path of consecration to Jesus through Mary, True Devotion to Mary, as well as his literary classic on the Rosary, The Secret of the Rosary. John Paul II wanted to receive a special protection from Mary whom he loved as Mother, Guide, Star of the Sea, and Star of the New Evangelization. Upon his numerous papal visits throughout the world, he would often seek out the Marian Sanctuary and pay tribute and honor to Mary in that sacred place. No surprise that the most visited place in his pontificate outside of Italy was Mexico, where he visited the famous shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe several times.

2. CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.  Never have we lived in a time, place and epoch with so much information. However, at the same time, never have we lived in a world with so much confusion, a true mass of confusion, and this sadly is applicable with respect to doctrinal and moral truth. For that reason, possibly the greatest literary accomplishment of John Paul II was the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This literary masterpiece explains clearly the four pillars of Catholic Truth: 1. Dogma—Who God is and His attributes; 2. Morality—the Ten Commandments; 3) The Sacraments—Channels of Grace and Sanctification; 4. Prayer—Union and Friendship in conversation with God.

3. WORLD YOUTH DAY.  It was John Paul II who called meetings with the youth throughout the world. One even took place in Denver, Colorado in 1993, the first WYD held in either North America or an English-speaking nation. Catholic News Agency (CNA) reported: “As the registrations started coming in, it went to 150,000,” said Archbishop Dennis Schnurr of Cincinnati, who served as national director for Denver’s WYD. “The final registration was 500,000. We know there were walk-ons, particularly for the final Mass. It was 750,000 people there.” Who would have ever believed that an elderly man dressed in white could attract thousands upon thousands of youth, be viewed by millions, and generate an enthusiasm that shook the very foundations of the modern materialistic, hedonistic, and sensual culture in which modern humanity is so deeply immersed!

4. CANONIZATIONS AND BEATIFICATIONS.  We are all called to become saints. Lumen Gentium, Chapter V, exhorts all with “The Universal call to holiness”. All of us are called to be holy, all of us are called to become saints, as Jesus so clearly reminds us: “Be holy as your heavenly Father is holy.” (Mt. 5:48) However, it is worthy of mention to list ten of the most renowned figures or persons who were canonized during the 26-year Pontificate of John Paul II.

Here is the list: 1. Saint Pio of Pietrelcina—known as Padre Pio. 2. Saint Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer—Founder of the Opus Dei Movement. 3. Saint Faustina Kowalska, the first saint to be canonized in the new Millennium, known as the Secretary of Divine Mercy. 4. Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross—Jewish convert to Catholicism, Carmelite nun, and martyr in Auschwitz (Like Kolbe). 5. Saint Katharine Drexel, an American saint who gave of her riches to find her treasure in God. 6. Saint Maximilian Kolbe—the Martyr of Charity, who chose the two crowns that Mary offered him—the white crown of purity and the red crown of martyrdom. 7. Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, who sacrificed her life for her baby in the womb; 8. Saint Juan Diego—the Apostle of Our Lady of Guadalupe; 9. Blessed Jacinta Marto—The Little Victim Soul. 10. Blessed Francisco Marto—The Little Mystic. (Jacinta and Francisco were two of the three visionaries of Our Lady of Fatima. Pope Francis canonized them Saints on May 13, 2017.) By beatifying and canonizing so many from all walks of life—Religious, priests, and lay-people, John Paul II highlighted and exhorted all of us to pursue true holiness of life.

5. THEOLOGY OF THE BODY.  No doubt one of the greatest accomplishments in moral theology was the teaching of John Paul II on the Theology of the Body. In 1968, Pope Saint Paul VI published one of the most explosive and controversial Encyclicals in the history of the Church, Humanae Vitae. In this explosive document, Paul VI stated unequivocally that human sexuality must be open to the possibility of life, to procreation, and that any form of artificial means of contraception is intrinsically disordered. The Magisterial Teaching of John Paul II developed in greater detail this true understanding of human sexuality. Either the human person is viewed as an object to be exploited, used, and discarded or the human person is respected, loved, and cherished for their innate dignity and eternal destiny. The great Pontiff was giving a series of teachings on these great truths during his Wednesday Papal audiences, but this was interrupted by the attempted assassination May 13, 1981.

6. MERCY AND FORGIVENESS.  If you were to ask anybody about one of the most important memories of John Paul II, most likely many would call to mind the day and the moment that he was shot and almost killed on May 13, 1981. (The same month and date as the first Apparition of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917.) After his recovery in that same year of 1981, John Paul II was seen in the prison cell embracing and forgiving the man who had planned and attempted to kill the great pontiff. This would turn out to be one of the most powerful icons or images of mercy and forgiveness in the history of the world. The words of Jesus as He hung on the cross resonate far and wide in this gesture of John Paul II: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” (Lk. 23:34)

7. SAINT FAUSTINA AND DIVINE MERCY.  As mentioned earlier, the first canonization of John Paul II in the new Millennium was that of his compatriot from Poland who lived contemporaneously with him and Kolbe, Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska. It was heard that this day, April 30^th, 2000 was the happiest day in the life of John Paul II. The reason? He both canonized Saint Faustina and officially instituted the Solemnity of Divine Mercy—the second Sunday after Easter, the crown and culmination of the Easter Octave! John Paul II felt that one of his primary missions was to promote far and wide the urgent need to be merciful and to trust in God’s Infinite Mercy.

8. MISSION OF THE REDEEMER.  Pope Saint John Paul II and Saint Mother Teresa can be seen as the two greatest Missionaries in the world in the twentieth century. Never in the history of the world was a man so visible and never had a Pope traveled so many miles, circling the globe several times in distance, visiting so many diverse places, and offering so many different talks. In his Encyclical, “Mission of the Redeemer” (1990), John Paul II stated with utmost clarity and urgency that all the baptized have an urgent call and vocation to be missionaries—to bring the Word and Person of Jesus to the whole world. The last words of Jesus were a missionary mandate: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, until the end of the world.” (Mt. 28:19-20)

9. HIS ENCYCLICALS AND TEACHINGS.  Nobody can doubt that John Paul II was one of the greatest teachers in the history of Catholicism, even in the history of the world. One day he will be declared a Doctor of the Church—for the depth and spiritual profundity of his Magisterium. For sake of brevity, we will list only ten of his most renowned writings with the hope of delving into the immense ocean of his sublime teaching:

• The Redeemer of Man (1979)—His first Papal Encyclical which set the stage for his intensely Christological Pontificate. Christ the Redeemer of man reveals man to himself, his dignity as well as his eternal destiny.

• Rich in Mercy (1980)—Encyclical. Emphasizing the greatest attribute in the Heart of Jesus—His mercy. This is taught by means of an explanation of the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Lk. 15:11-32), that could correctly be called, “The Parable of the Merciful Father!”

• The Gospel of Life (1995)—Encyclical. Condemns the worst moral evil of our day—abortion, killing of the innocent child in the womb. The Ignatian Two Standards comes into play: “The Gospel of Life against the Culture of Death.”

• Faith and Reason (1998)—Encyclical. God calls us to a deep faith in His presence but we are also to use reason as a means to arrive at God. The two do not contradict each other, but rather they complement each other. Saint Thomas Aquinas can be our model.

• Reconciliation and Penance (1984)—Apostolic Exhortation. The loss of the sense of sin and the call to return to God through the practice of Sacramental Confession.

• Familiaris Consortio (1981)—Apostolic Exhortation. The essential value of the family as the Domestic Church and as the basic cell of society. The future of the world depends on the future of the family.

• On the Dignity and Vocation of Women (1988)—Apostolic Letter. The woman has great dignity and value, and carries out a fundamental role in the world and in evangelization.

• The Salvific Value of Suffering (1984)—Apostolic Letter. Human suffering has infinite value, especially when it is united to the suffering of Jesus. We must learn to sanctify our own suffering.

• The Church and the Eucharist (2003)—Encyclical. The source and summit of the Catholic-Christian life is the Eucharist—the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus. This is found in the context of the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church.

• Mary: Mother of the Redeemer (1987)—Encyclical. Christ is the only Redeemer, but Mary helped Him in the work of Redemption; she collaborated with Him, especially as she stood at the foot of the cross.

10. HIS DEATH: A MODEL FOR ALL OF US AS EARTHLY PILGRIMS. At the end of his life, Pope Saint John Paul II’s health declined and deteriorated, especially in the last five years of his life. However, he taught the world an invaluable lesson: aging, suffering, and offering one’s human limitations has infinite value in the eyes of God! Jesus is our supreme Model in all times and places, but especially as He suffered and died on the cross for the salvation of all of humanity. Pope Saint John Paul II died on April 2^nd, 2005, in the evening at about 9:00 p.m. It was the First Saturday of the month, dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, but most important, it was the Vigil of the Solemnity of Divine Mercy Sunday. He died in the arms of Mary and was received into the Merciful Embrace of the Eternal Father and the Eternal Home of Heaven.

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

Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church

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

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30^TH  Lk. 9:57-62    “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

• Jesus reminds us today that we must follow Him and not look back – those who look back are not fit for the Kingdom of God. How are we to persevere through the trials and troubles of life?

United with Jesus and Mary in life’s travails…   by Pope Francis

If today all of us are gathered here, it is because we are certain that we will not be disappointed in our faith, for Jesus has gone before us. In His Passion He took upon Himself all our sorrows…

I am here to tell you that Jesus is Lord; that Jesus does not disappoint. “Father,” one of you may tell me, “He disappointed me because I lost my house, I lost my family, I lost everything I had, I am sick.” What you say is true and I respect your feelings, but I see Him there nailed to the cross, and from there He does not disappoint us.

He was consecrated Lord on that throne, and there He experienced all the disasters we experience. Jesus is Lord! And He is Lord from the cross, from there He reigned. That is why He can understand us; He became like us in every way, except sin. So we have a Lord who is able to weep with us, who can be at our side through life’s most difficult moments.

Many of you looked to Christ and asked: “Why, Lord? To each of you, the Lord responds from His heart. I have no other words to say to you. Let us look to Christ: He is the Lord, and He understands us, for He experienced all the troubles we experience.

With Him, beneath the cross, is His Mother. We are like that child who stands down there, who, in times of sorrow and pain, times when we understand nothing, times when we want to rebel, can only reach out and cling to her skirts and say to her, “Mother.”

Like a little child who is frightened and says, “Mother.” Perhaps that is the only word which can express all the feelings we have in those dark moments: Mother!

Let us be still for a moment and look to the Lord. He can understand us, for He experienced all these things. And let us look to our Mother, and like that little child, let us reach out, cling to her skirts and say to her in our hearts: “Mother.” Let us make this prayer in silence; let everyone say it whatever way he or she feels.

We are not alone; we have a Mother; we have Jesus, our older brother. We are not alone. Be sure that Jesus does not disappoint us; be sure that the love and tenderness of our Mother does not disappoint us. Clinging to her as sons and daughters with the strength which Jesus our brother gives us, let us now move forward.

Thank you, Lord, for being with us here today. Thank you, Lord, for sharing our sorrows. Thank you, Lord, for your great mercy. Thank you, Lord, because you wanted to be like one of us. Thank you, Lord, because you keep ever close to us, even when we carry our crosses. Thank you, Lord, for giving us hope. Lord, may no one rob us of hope! Thank you, Lord, because in the darkest moment of your own life, on the cross, you thought of us and you left us a Mother, your Mother. Thank you, Lord, for not leaving us orphans!

End of Reflection by Pope Francis

SANCTIFYING SUFFERING IN UNION WITH CHRIST by Fr. Ed Broom,

When confronted with the reality of suffering most of us cringe from it, recoil, even run away from it; we want to flee to some special corner where we believe that we will be exempt from the reality of suffering. However, this is not possible. Whether we like it or not, suffering is an inevitable part of the human condition, our fallen condition as a result of Original Sin.

Confronted with this sober reality of suffering, we should come to terms with the reality that suffering will make us either “better or bitter.” Of all the world religions, Catholicism is the only religion that gives a positive and clear response to the stark reality of suffering. Suffering by its nature is neither good nor bad—it is neutral—rather it depends largely on how the individual interprets it and lives through it.

MEANS BY WHICH WE CAN SANCTIFY OUR PERSONAL SUFFERING…

Truly the only positive means by which we can sanctify our suffering is by uniting our suffering with the life and sufferings of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Jesus could have saved the world in many ways, but He chose to save the world through His Incarnation—His life, teaching, words, and miracles, but especially through the suffering that He willed to endure for all of us. This suffering of Jesus became most clearly manifest on Good Friday, when He was condemned to death, scourged and crowned with thorns, then made to carry His cross up Calvary where He was crucified, hanging for three long hours on the cross before breathing His last, for our salvation. Jesus taught us the meaning of suffering, and the way to suffer, by His own suffering.

UNION WITH CHRIST.  When we are suffering, it is up to us not to waste it by complaining and trying to run away from the suffering. Rather, we are called to unite our suffering to the sufferings of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, especially in His most cruel and sorrowful Passion.

RECOGNIZE OUR SUFFERING IN ITS VARIOUS SHAPES AND FORMS!  It is incumbent upon us to recognize the various shapes and forms of suffering that God may send us. Also, it is key to recognize that the sufferings we undergo are sent by God, as we read in the Book of Job who was afflicted by many kinds of suffering as part of God’s permissive will. What might be the different forms of suffering? Indeed, there are many! The most obvious is physical suffering—our own or that of our loved ones. Our body suffers in one form or another: headache, toothache, back pain, or perhaps something more serious, even life-threatening, like cancer. Social suffering—the society and its environs cause us to suffer. We are especially aware of this in the current Covid Pandemic with safety precautions that are restrictive and isolating. Moreover, the society and culture seem to be distancing themselves from God and all morality; due to this we suffer. Family suffering—a family member, possibly very close to us, has made bad decisions and is following a wrong path. We would like to direct them on the right path but they refuse to listen. We suffer! Emotional suffering—fears, worries, anxieties, uncertainties about the future. Perhaps a pervading sadness due to many circumstances. Mental suffering of all kinds that people may suffer for years. Loss of economic stability that threatens our family stability. These exterior and interior states cause great suffering! Then there is spiritual suffering—despite our good efforts, God seems distant, as if He no longer recognizes us, listens to us, or for that matter, even cares about us. This is called desolation. Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta spent more than 40 years in an extreme state of spiritual darkness; the mystics call this the Dark Night of the Soul.  

All of the above are various ways in which we are prone to suffer. We may suffer in one of these ways, or even more than one of these ways. The key element is to be aware of our sufferings and to unite our sufferings to the Lord Jesus Christ in His sufferings on the cross. By means of this union with Christ, we sanctify ourselves, we sanctify our family, we sanctify the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, and we sanctify the world at large. For this reason, Saint Therese of Lisieux, known as The Little Flower asserted: “When we do evil the whole world is lowered; when we do good we lift the whole world closer to heaven.”

 UNION WITH CHRIST’S PASSION, DEATH AND RESURRECTION IN HOLY MASS

Let us take another huge step in understanding our union with the Passion, suffering, and death of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

When Jesus died more than 2000 years ago, He promised us: “I will be with you always even until the end of time.” (Mt. 28:20) Where is He now? In His Church, which has as one of its most glorious titles—The Mystical Body of Christ. Most especially, Jesus is present in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Every time an ordained priest celebrates and offers Holy Mass, in the moment of consecration, under the appearance of bread and wine, Jesus becomes really and truly present. Jesus becomes the spotless Victim, the Lamb of God, the Savior of the world in Holy Mass. What happened on Mount Calvary more than 2000 years ago, becomes present once again: In the Mass, Jesus offers Himself—His Body, Blood Soul and Divinity—to the eternal Father for our salvation.

THE KEY THAT OPENS UP THE RESERVOIR OF GRACES IN OUR SUFFERING!

Now the key to raining down a deluge of graces on us in our suffering is the following: uniting our personal sufferings to Jesus, the Victim in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In other words, place your health problems, your emotional suffering, your mental anguish, your family problems, your own dark night of the soul on the paten in the Mass. Then when the priest, who represents Christ, consecrates the host and the wine that is in the Chalice, into the Body and Blood of Christ, your sufferings are elevated on high to the Father in heaven for your sanctification, as well as the sanctification of the whole world!

ONE MORE STEP TO MAKE OUR SUFFERINGS MORE EFFICACIOUS!

Still another step is essential to making our suffering all the more efficacious. It is this: reception of Holy Communion. It is important to participate in Mass and the consecration; however, it is much more complete if we receive the fruit of consecration which is Holy Communion —the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus, our Lord and Savior! Upon receiving Jesus with faith, fervor, love, and devotion our sufferings are sanctified to the maximum, and even more, Jesus gives us the grace, the peace, and the strength to carry our cross, and He will even help alleviate the pain. Listen to His most consoling words: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mt. 11:28-30)

START NOW: SANCTIFY YOUR DAILY CROSSES AND SUFFERINGS!

Why not start now. Remember these key words: OFFER IT UP!!! Pray your morning offering and give all to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Then when visited by suffering—be it physical, social, emotional, mental or spiritual—unite it to Jesus’ suffering on the cross, and to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In this way, your suffering will take on infinite value because Jesus is both man and God! Many graces will flow from your sufferings for your good and the good of all those for whom you pray—for help in this life, and most important, for our eternal salvation.

May Our Lady who suffered beneath the cross, Our Lady of Sorrows, attain for us the grace not to waste our sufferings, but to sanctify them by uniting all our sufferings with the Passion, death and Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, especially in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! 

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