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

SATURDAY AUGUST 15th Lk. 1:39-56 Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today the Church celebrates the Assumption of Mary into Heaven, body and soul! Father Ed Broom gives us twenty Roses to put into practice and live throughout the year to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary on this great Solemnity!

MARIAN DEVOTION—LIVING IT TO THE FULL!  By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

In his spiritual masterpiece, True Devotion to Mary, Saint Louis de Montfort expresses the exalted, sublime, and glorious role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the plan of Redemption and in the presence of God Himself. Meditate deeply upon these words as we enter into a topic of the greatest importance for our salvation as well as the salvation of the entire world.

“Mary is the supreme masterpiece of Almighty God and He has reserved the knowledge and possession of her to Himself. She is the glorious Mother of God the Son who chose to humble and conceal her during her lifetime in order to foster humility. He called her “Woman” as if she were a stranger, although in His heart He esteemed and loved her above all men and angels. Mary is the sealed fountain and the faithful spouse of the Holy Spirit. She is the sanctuary and resting place of the Blessed Trinity, where God dwells in greater and more divine splendor than anywhere else in the universe, not excluding His dwelling above the cherubim and the seraphim. No creature may enter there without being specially privileged.” (True Devotion to Mary, Saint Louis de Montfort, #5)

 In this essay we would like to offer various practical suggestions on how we can cultivate and live out true devotion to Mary and as a consequence, learn to love more fully and completely the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Indeed, Our Lady is the shortcut to the very heart of God Himself.

FIRST, CONSECRATION TO MARY. 
At the very start of every day, upon hearing the alarm clock in the morning, let your first thoughts and words be those of your consecration to Jesus through Mary. The Cure of Ars, Saint John Marie Vianney points out that in the spiritual life if we start the day well there is a good chance that we will end it well. Start off the day offering yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Great start on the highway to heaven! Saint John Damascene, a Father of the Eastern Church states: “To serve Mary and to be her courtier is the greatest honor we can possibly possess. For to serve the Queen of Heaven is already to reign on high, and to live under her commands is a greater thing than to reign.”

SECOND, BROWN SCAPULAR OF CARMEL. 
The exterior sign of our consecration to Mary is the faithful wearing of the brown scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It is worn over your shoulders and actually rests very close to your heart—very symbolic, to be in the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Church endows the faithful with special blessings and indulgences simply upon wearing the Scapular. Of course, the kissing of the Scapular most clearly manifests our great love for Mary our Mother and her maternal and constant love for us at all times and in all places. Saint Claude de la Colombiere, the renowned Jesuit and spiritual director of Saint Margaret Mary, gives a point which is enlightening.

He said: “Because all the forms of our love for the Blessed Virgin and all its various modes of expression cannot be equally pleasing to her, and therefore do not assist us in the same degree to reach Heaven, I say, without a moment’s hesitation, that the BROWN SCAPULAR IS THE MOST FAVORED OF ALL!” (Excerpt from Garment of Grace, pages 4-5) We strongly encourage you to purchase and read Garment of Grace so as to understand better the origin and purpose of the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as to read the countless miracles that have been attributed to its faithful use!

THIRD, PRAY THE ANGELUS! 
One of the most pleasing prayers that causes Our Lady to rejoice is that of THE ANGELUS. Past Popes have traditionally prayed The Angelus on Sundays at noon. This beautiful prayer consisting of three Hail Marys is a short summary of the two pillars of our Catholic-Christian faith: the Incarnation and the Passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus, as well as the role of Mary in the work of our Redemption. If possible, you might get into the habit of praying The Angelus three times a day: 9 in the morning, 12 noon, and 6 p.m.  This could prove to be an excellent way to sanctify the morning hours, afternoon hours, and evening hours with the sweet and gentle fragrance of the presence of the Mystical Rose—the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pray humbly over the words of the great Franciscan Doctor of the Church, Saint Bonaventure and his great love for Mary: “Entrust your cause to her who is the Mother of mercy, and zealously offer her day by day most special marks of reverence. Endeavor to maintain within both body and soul the spotlessness of her purity, and walk in her footsteps, humbly and gently like her.”

FOURTH, TALK OFTEN TO MARY YOUR MOTHER. 
Friends are constantly thinking about each other, calling each other, texting each other, sending e-mails; friends always find blocks of time to go out and enjoy each other’s presence. Indeed, if we truly love another person, our greatest desire is to share our life and all we have and all we are with that person. The first and greatest of all the commandments is to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. After our love for God should come our great love for Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, and our Mother in the order of grace. In Spanish and Italian there is a well-known song to Mary: Santa Maria del Camino. Its meaning? On the highway of life, in our traveling towards our eternal homeland which is heaven, we earnestly desire Mary to be with us in all moments. Indeed this was one of the favorite Marian titles that Saint Ignatius treasured—in Italian: “La Madonna de la Strada”—Our Lady of the Way. May Our Lady accompany us in the midst of so many perils of body, mind, and soul to our heavenly homeland! The Founder of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary expressed this succinctly in Latin: Maria cogito, Maria invoca—Think of Mary, invoke Mary.”

FIFTH, IMITATE MARY. 
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, in the context of the Spiritual Exercises, directs us to the very center, core or heart of the Spiritual Exercises: THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST. Upon undertaking the all-important task of contemplating the life of Christ, Ignatius insists on begging for this specific grace: Intimate knowledge of Jesus that we love Him more ardently and follow Him more closely. There was never anyone in the world who came to know, love, and follow Jesus better than Mary. So much so, that the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium Chapter 8 highlights that Our Lady was the first disciple of Jesus! Furthermore, no one lived a more virtuous life, aside from Jesus Himself, than Mary most holy. In the classic True Devotion to Mary, Saint Louis de Montfort lists the sublime virtues of Mary that we should be encouraged to imitate and emulate in our daily struggle for perfection. “True devotion to Our Lady is holy, that is, it leads us to avoid sin and to imitate the virtues of Mary. Her ten principal virtues are: deep humility, lively faith, blind obedience, unceasing prayer, constant self-denial, surpassing purity, ardent love, heroic patience, angelic kindness, and heavenly wisdom.” (True Devotion to Mary, Saint Louis de Montfort, #108) We imitate those with whom we associate; if we are constantly walking with Jesus and Mary this is definitely a sure path to holiness of life!

SIXTH, LEARN MORE ABOUT MARY.
There is a maxim worthy of belief: “You cannot love someone you do not know.”  This is common sense! Therefore, the more we get to know Our Lady, the more we can love her, follow her, imitate her and even bring others to her. Books, articles, magazines, pamphlets, documents, periodicals written on Our Lady are limitless! For the sake of brevity, we should like to suggest one literary classic, most likely the most well-known and published work ever on Our Lady: THE GLORIES OF MARY written by one of the greatest saints and lovers of Mary in the history of the world, Doctor of the Church and Founder of the Redemptorist Order—Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori. This spiritual gem is a sublime but simple commentary on the Marian prayer we say at the end of the most Holy Rosary—the HAIL HOLY QUEEN! Saint Alphonsus insists that we should never fear to approach Our Lady for she is pure Mercy, as we pray: “Hail Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope.” Having talked to several people who have read prayerfully this beautiful Marian masterpiece, the common reaction is an overflowing heart of love and devotion for Mary. Saint Alphonsus was enamored with love for Mary and it overflows to those who prayerfully read this masterpiece! Order it and start reading; you will never regret it!

SEVENTH, TEMPTATIONS? TURN TO MARY.
Our life on earth is a constant battle until we die. We all must encounter, confront and battle against three major enemies: the devil, the flesh, and the world. The devil has a mortal hatred for Mary. The Book of Genesis prophesied his crushing defeat through the woman, the second Eve who is Mary: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers. He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” (Gen 3:15) When the devil is on the prowl tempting us, trying to seduce us, trying to allure us into his net or trap, then we must invoke the holy name of Mary. Indeed, very potent in the battle against Satan and his minions is praying the Hail Mary in time of temptation with great fervor, devotion and trust. “Never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection was left unaided…” (from the Marian prayer Memorare). One of the greatest preachers in the history of the Church and a Doctor of the Church is Saint Anthony. Let his words inspire you to turn to Mary in temptations and struggles: “Seek refuge in Mary because she is the city of refuge. We know that Moses set up three cities of refuge for anyone who inadvertently killed his neighbor. Now the Lord has established a refuge of mercy, Mary, even for those who deliberately commit evil. Mary provides refuge and strength for the sinner.”

EIGHTH, PROBLEMS, RUN TO MARY!
Little children are not afraid to run to their Mother when they have any sort of problem. Likewise, we should never fear running to Mary, our Heavenly Mother, when problems knock at our door. Crosses, contradictions, sufferings, and problems are part and parcel of the life of all, but especially those who decide firmly to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and Mary. A superb example for us is the person of SAINT JUAN DIEGO. This poor, simple, humble, childlike man was afflicted with a very serious problem—the seeming imminent death of his elderly uncle, Juan Bernardino. Early in the morning, while rushing to the city of Mexico to find a priest to give his uncle the Last Rites, Juan Diego encountered Our Lady of Guadalupe. With the most consoling and encouraging words, she resolved his problem and restored health to his apparently dying uncle: “Do not be afraid. I have you in the crossing of my arms, in my shadow, in the folds of my mantle.” Interpretation: Mary wants Juan Diego, as well as you and me, to find refuge in her heart, her shadow, and her very womb—so that she can form us into OTHER CHRISTS!!! Therefore, when we are loaded down with problems and crosses—run and seek refuge in the arms and Immaculate Heart of Mary! She is a loving Mother who will never neglect or forsake you!

NINTH, IMAGES OF MARY. 
When we love somebody who might not be physically present, we carry a photo of that person in our wallet, or have their picture in our home, or keep photos of them on our cell-phone. Therefore, we can look at them at will and this brings the person we love present to us—if not actually in person, at least artistically or by means of photos. Thanks be to God, in the past 2000 years there have been many artistic masterpieces done of the “Masterpiece of Creation”—Mary most holy. All of us in our homes, wallets, cars, and especially in our hearts should have an image or images of Our Lady. Paintings and pictures are countless. Beyond doubt, the most depicted person after Jesus is Mary! Choose the one or the ones that inspire you most: Our Lady of Fatima, Guadalupe, Lourdes, Perpetual Help, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, the Holy Family, Our Lady Help of Christians—just to mention a few. Highly recommended is the enthroning of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary in your home. This practice produces abundant blessings upon the family, as well as those who come to visit the family. The saying is so true: “A picture is worth more than a thousand words.” An attractive picture, painting or statue of Mary is worth more than a billion words! May the great lover of the Immaculate inspire us by his words, Saint Maximilian Kolbe: “When we dedicate ourselves to Mary, we become instruments in her hands. Let us then be guided by her,  for she will provide for the needs of body and soul and overcome all difficulties and anxieties.”

TENTH, DEFEND MARY.
Imagine some mean person with bad will was attacking the good name of your Mother or Father—what an affront, and offense, and insult! Beyond a shadow of a doubt, you would try to defend the good name of the person who helped bring you into existence. Mary is our spiritual Mother and we should love her holy name and her heavenly privileges immensely. Therefore, we should strive to defend her to the max! Our Lady of Fatima revealed the principle offenses that wounded her Immaculate Heart. They are those who attack the following privileges: her Immaculate Conception, her Divine Maternity, and her Perpetual Virginity, as well as her holy images, and the scandalizing of innocent children whom Our Lady loves so much! It is incumbent upon all lovers of Mary to defend her by word, example, and lifestyle. Indeed, sometimes we can sin by our silence! The well-known political statesman, Edmund Burke asserted: “So that evil triumph, it is sufficient that good men do nothing.” This is called the sin of omission! Let us allow the words of the great Saint Alphonsus spur us on to love and defend Mary: “Many will not let devotion to the Blessed Virgin take root in their hearts. But blessed is the person who accepts this grace and keeps it. Such a devotion is in all who are the Lord’s heritage—in all who will praise Him eternally in heaven.”

ELEVENTH, RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION ON MARY’S FEAST DAYS. 
One of the actions that causes Our Lady to rejoice exultantly is when we receive her Son Jesus in Holy Communion, but especially on Marian feast days. Mary always desires our union with Jesus. By far the most intimate union that exists in the whole created world is the union of our body, mind, heart and soul with the Eucharistic Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus in the moment of the reception of Holy Communion! One more step to upgrade your reception of Holy Communion: beg Our Lady to give you her Immaculate Heart so as to receive the Sacred Heart of Jesus with burning love in Holy Communion! Indeed Our Lady’s YES in the Annunciation was in a certain sense her first Holy Communion, because she received Jesus into the very depths of her body, mind, heart, and soul. Then, after receiving Holy Communion, follow the advice of Saint Louis de Montfort and render thanks to Jesus through the Magnificat of Our Lady: “My soul does magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior…” (Lk. 1:46-55)

TWELFTH, ENTRUST YOUR LIFE AND DEATH TO OUR LADY. 
By far the most important moment for us on earth is the moment we die and how we die. This moment will determine for all of eternity our eternal destiny—either salvation or damnation, either heaven or hell! If we stay close to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, thinking of her constantly and loving her fervently, then she indeed will help us in this most critical moment, to breathe forth our soul in the state of grace. The other day, I actually prepared myself for death 200 times in one day! You might ask how??? Very simply: I prayed four Rosaries in one day, in which I prayed 200 times to Our Lady for the grace of a holy death with these words: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” Indeed, if we are in the habit of praying the Rosary every day (better yet, more than one Rosary) then Our Lady will be present at our dying moments to help us to breathe forth our soul in repentance, trust, and love into the hands of our loving Father and heavenly Mother. There is nothing more important in life than this: to die in the state of sanctifying grace! May Our Lady, the FULL OF GRACE, obtain for us the grace of all graces—to die in the state of grace! AMEN.

THIRTEENTH, CONSECRATE YOUR TOTAL BEING TO MARY. 
Consecrate your whole being to Mary and renew this consecration every year. There are various forms of consecration: Saint Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary; Kolbe’s consecration to the Immaculate; Father Michael Gaitley’s 33 Days to Morning Glory, as well as my own Total Consecration to Mary through the Mysteries of the Rosary by Tan Publishers. Once this consecration takes place, in which you no longer belong to yourself but are the property of Our Lady, the fruits are incredible. However, one fruit is worthy of note and a source of great consolation: trust in Our Lady’s constant presence and intercession brings interior peace of heart, mind, and soul, with freedom from anxiety and worries. Why? We belong to Our Lady, the best of Mothers, and she will watch over us and guide us and protect us, as well as our loved ones, all the days of our lives! Saint Vincent Palette spurs us on with these fiery words of love for Mary: “Those who have great devotion to Mary not only will be saved but also will, through her intercession, become great saints. Furthermore, their holiness will grow from day to day.”

FOURTEENTH, FALL INTO SIN – RUN TO MARY AND JESUS. 
Due to Original Sin, which Our Lady never had, we are sinners from conception until death. Moreover, we have a strong tendency toward sin and indeed we do fall into sin! We should never give in to discouragement, much less despair. On the contrary, our love, trust, and confidence in God’s mercy should abound all the more. When we fall into sin, let us run to Mary, and then run to Jesus who is present in a special way in the Sacrament of Confession. Mothers all have experienced a time when their little toddler fell down, possibly into the mud, bruising and sullying himself. The Mother rushed to pick up her crying child, wiped off the mud, and kissed the bruises. It is exactly the same when we fall off our spiritual bike into the grimy mud of our sins: Our Lady, good Mother that she is, rushes to help us get out of the mud and return to Jesus through a good confession. “In his eagerness to show you mercy, God has given His Son as your Advocate. And then to make your confidence even stronger, He has given you another Advocate, who obtains through her prayers whatever she asks. Go to Mary, and you will see salvation.” (Saint Alphonsus Liguori)

FIFTEENTH, NAME YOUR CHILD AFTER MARY.
One of the most important duties of parents is to give their children a noble Christian NAME. Mothers and Fathers will never fail by naming their child after Mary. In concrete, this means that the child named after Mary has a special protection from her who has the most holy and powerful name, only after the holy name of JESUS! All the devils take flight at the simple name of MARY! In the Divine Comedy, Dante depicts a devil ready to drag a soul into hell where the place of torture is already prepared for this specific soul. However, Jesus intervenes, thwarting and frustrating the plans of the devil, for the simple reason that once this soul invoked the HOLY NAME OF MARY! Names for Mary are many: Mary, Maria, Lourdes, Fatima, Guadalupe, Mary Anne, Mary Therese, Conception, Rosa Maria, Maria Rosa, Rosario, etc. As a priest, what a beautiful moment I experience when I baptize a little child with the name MARY! Get into the habit also of praying the DIVINE PRAISES, in which we pray: “Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most Holy. Blessed be her Holy and Immaculate Conception. Blessed be her Glorious Assumption. Blessed be the NAME OF MARY, Virgin and Mother.” By the way, the Liturgical Feast Day of the Holy Name of Mary is September 12th every year, four days after the Feast Day of her Birth on September 8th.

SIXTEENTH, BECOME A MARIAN APOSTLE. 
It is inevitable that if you really love somebody, then you want to make that person known and loved. This most clearly applies to our love for both Jesus and Mary. Proclaim them from the rooftops! A suggestion, following in the footsteps of the saints, in particular SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE! One of the specific manners by which Kolbe would spread devotion to Our Lady, whom he most ardently called THE IMMACULATE, was to give out freely and abundantly medals of the Immaculate Conception commonly known as the Miraculous Medal. Actually, Kolbe called the medals his “Spiritual Bullets”—spiritual ammunition to kill the enemy, the devil and his army. Be practical now! Purchase a bundle of medals—maybe 500!!!  Study the image and its most beautiful symbolism and then give the medals freely and abundantly whenever God opens up a door, and there may be many doors if we have our spiritual eyes open! One of the most famous conversions was that of the Jew, Alphonse Ratisbonne, who to placate his Catholic friend, wore the Miraculous Medal. Our Lady appeared to him in a church in Rome and he was eventually converted, then his brother was converted. Alphonse went on to become a priest and founded an order for Jewish converts to the faith—all as a result of the presence of Mary, mediated through the Miraculous Medal! Let us lift our eyes and heart to Mary, inspired by the words of the Mellifluous Doctor of the Church, Saint Bernard, who wrote one of the most beautiful Marian poems, “Stella Maris”—Our Lady, Star of the Sea. “In danger, anguish or doubt, think of Mary and call upon Mary. Following her, you will never lose your way. Praying to her, you will never sink into despair. Contemplating her, you will never go wrong.”

SEVENTEENTH, SHORT PRAYERS TO MARY!
Get into the habit of offering short but fervent prayers to Mary. The saints call these aspirations: “Fiery darts that pierce the heavens.” There are many, but we will offer a few: “Mary, pray for me.”  “Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation.”  “O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”  “Hail holy Queen!”  “Mary, come to my aid and save me!” Short prayers said often as a fiery dart of love can kindle our love for both Jesus and Mary into a burning flame! Saint Bonaventure will encourage you with this short but powerful ornament to Mary: “Blessed are those who abandon themselves into our Lady’s hands. Their names are written in the Book of Life.”

EIGHTEENTH, PROMOTE MARIAN-EUCHARISTIC PROCESSIONS.
A very curious fact is the following: Lourdes, France! It is well known that many miracles have occurred in Lourdes where Our Lady appeared to Saint Bernadette Soubirous 18 times in 1858. During these apparitions, Our Lady asked the little girl to dig in the ground and as a consequence the miraculous waters of Lourdes began to flow, and they flow to this very day. With great trust in Our Lady’s intercession, many have been healed. However, of paramount importance is the following: most miracles have occurred at dusk when the priest walks in the courtyard outside the Basilica in procession with the Blessed Sacrament! There in the presence of the Eucharistic Lord Jesus, the Son of Mary, many have been healed. It stands to reason: Jesus is the DIVINE PHYSICIAN. One of the titles for Our Lady is HEALTH OF THE SICK! Therefore, let us promote and attend processions in honor of Our Lady and her Eucharistic Son, and healings will come about in body, but even more important, in the souls of sinners!!! Popes have loved Our Lady. Let us listen to the words of Saint Leo the Great about the power of Mary over the devil: “The devil is always looking for someone to devour. In the same way, Mary is always looking for someone she can help in any way.”

NINETEENTH, MAY AND OCTOBER—MONTHS OF MARY.
In her infinite wisdom, the Church has set apart two special months to honor Mary: May and October. May is the month of Mary; October is the month of the most holy Rosary. In the month of May, let us strive to offer some concrete action, every day of May, to show Mary our great love for her: prayers, sacrifices, acts of charity, readings, etc. In October, let us pray the Rosary every day, or more than one, with great fervor. Let us unite our families to pray the Rosary and sing to Our Lady hymns of great joy. Let us bring the children to the feet and Heart of Mary. “Mary is more prompt than all the saints in coming to our aid. She has a great desire to comfort us. The moment she is invoked, she welcomes our prayers and grants us her assistance.” (Saint Alphonsus Liguori)

TWENTIETH, THE ROSARY, THE ROSARY, THE ROSARY.  
The prayer that Our Lady loves most is the most Holy Rosary. Let us get into the habit of praying it often and with much attention and love, and our Lady will shower us with countless blessings! Every Hail Mary prayed well is a kiss that we send up to heaven. Our Lady of Fatima appeared six times to the children—Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia—and at every appearance she insisted that the Rosary be prayed. Actually the official name of our Lady of Fatima is OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY. Saint Pope John Paul II in his document “The Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary” warmly exhorted the whole world to pray the Rosary and for two specific intentions: for the family and for world peace. The Rosary priest, Ven. Father Patrick Peyton, encourages us with these words: “The family that prays together, stays together.”  “A world at prayer is a world at peace.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church

73 God has revealed himself fully by sending his own Son, in whom he has established his covenant for ever. the Son is his Father’s definitive Word; so there will be no further Revelation after him.

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

FRIDAY, AUGUST 14^TH   Mt. 19:3-12   Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.”

• The Pharisees were testing Jesus about the nature and permanence of marriage. Today, Jesus through His holy Church is still being tested about the nature and permanence of marriage. As faithful Catholics, we need to be clear on the Church’s teaching on marriage and be ready to defend it.
• Catechism of the Catholic Church #1603. “The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life.”89
• Catechism of the Catholic Church #1604. “For man is created in the image and likeness of God who is himself love.90 Since God created him man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man. It is good, very good, in the Creator’s eyes, and this love which God blesses is intended to be fruitful and to be realized in the common work of watching over creation: “and God blessed them, and God said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.'”91
• How blessed we are to know the sacred purpose of marriage in the Divine Plan and Will of God as recorded in Sacred Scripture and preserved in the teachings of His Holy Church! Therefore, we have a responsibility to defend the Sacrament of Matrimony, to help support and strengthen marriages, and to resist society’s attempts to legislate it out of existence!
• Today, let us pray for all married couples that they will be faithful to their vows and rejoice in God’s unitive and procreative purpose of marriage for their salvation and sanctification and that of their children, as well as the society at large! History has shown that when marriage and family life as defined by God fails, the society fails!
• Let us pray for engaged couples that they will receive the Sacrament of Matrimony properly disposed, with hearts set on the permanence, fecundity, and holiness of their vocation.
• Let us pray that young people will keep their minds and hearts open to whatever vocation God may call them to, and choose chastity as the necessary preparation for every vocation!

The necessary corollary to the Sacred Purpose of Marriage in the Divine Plan and Will of God is the necessity and responsibility of good parenting!

PARENTS: THE FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT TEACHERS by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

When a couple celebrates the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony in the Church they promise to each other, to the priest who presides over the Sacrament, to the Community present at the marriage, and most important to God, who witnesses and knows all things, that they will be open to having children and to raising them in the fear and love of the Lord and His Commandments.

BAPTISM.  When the child is baptized once again both godparents and especially the parents make a firm commitment to raise the child to know and love God in the Church. In the Sacrament of Baptism, the seed is planted in the soul of the child; then it is the imperious and serious obligation of the parents to bring that seed to fruition. That means in concrete that the parents must water, weed, cultivate that seed of faith so that it grows, blossoms and flourishes to the fullest extent possible. Another way of expressing this truth is that the parents are responsible for the eternal salvation of their child. On the realm and hierarchy of importance, there is nothing more sublime and important in life than to live in grace, grow in grace, persevere in grace, and die in the state of grace. As the great Moral-theologian and Doctor of the Church, Saint Alphonsus asserts: “The grace of all graces is to die in the state of grace.” It is the imperious obligation incumbent on all parents to strive for this end for themselves, as well as for their children—to get to heaven!

CHURCH DOCUMENTS AND COMMON TEACHING.  The Dogmatic Constitution from the Vatican II teachings Gaudium et Spes #52 (behind which was Karol Woytyla—the future Pope Saint John Paul II) insists on the importance of the parents as the first educators of their children in the faith. Furthermore, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, when commenting on the 4^th Commandment, Honor your father and mother, reiterates this same teaching—parents must be the teachers of their children, especially with regard to faith and morals. “The fecundity of conjugal love cannot be reduced solely to the procreation of children, but must extend to their moral education and their spiritual formation. The role of parents in education is of such importance that it is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute. The right and duty of parents to educate their children are primordial and inalienable.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #2221)

Therefore, in our brief essay we would like to highlight and accentuate practical points that parents can take to live out and to implement their obligation to be the light for their children, so that parents can be a solid bridge or ladder by which their children can cross from this world to eternal life in heaven!

1. SACRAMENT OF HOLY MATRIMONY. Sad to say, from the very outset, couples must be reminded and encouraged to avoid cohabitation, living together, what is sometimes termed trial-marriage, all of these living conditions in the eyes of God are sinful and harmful for the couple, for the children, towards the Church—the Mystical Body of Christ that is wounded, and towards the world at large. The common sense saying rings so true: “You cannot give what you do not have.” The couple living outside the state of grace will not be able to transmit and communicate efficiently and effectively the grace of God to their children. It is a very sad reality that many couples, and I say many couples, have trial-unions, sometimes for many years. What a loss of graces for the parents and their children! Whereas, Holy Matrimony blesses them and their children with many graces and sanctifies the Church, as well as giving good example!

2. LIVING A SACRAMENTAL LIFE.  Then once the couple has been married sacramentally in the Church, they must make a real concerted effort to receive these Sacraments frequently, fervently, and faithfully— the Sacraments of Confession and the most Holy Eucharist. Jesus said: “I am the vine and you are the branches; you are called to bring forth fruit and fruit in abundance.” (Jn. 15:5). The worthy reception of the Sacraments redounds to the blessing of the children. If you like, it is like a downpour of dew, sun, and pure wind upon the saplings in the field of their harvest—their children!

3. THE LIFE-LONG PROCESS OF PERMANENT FORMATION.  It is truly incumbent upon parents, as well as all Catholic-Christians for that matter, to take very seriously what might be termed Permanent Formation. It is interesting to note that in almost all professional fields—Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers and Professors, Architects and even Professional athletes—all must be in a perpetual process of formation. That pans out in participating in talks, seminars, weekend conferences, constant studies through reading. In other words, if the professional is not up to date in his field, he can be dismissed due to negligence. A Doctor-Surgeon who fails in an operation can not only injure the patient but be subject to expensive law-suits and lose huge sums of money. This being the case, should not parents and adults in the faith be so to speak Professional Catholics??? Would any well-educated adult be content to stagnate at a juvenile, elementary school level in the Faith? The law of growth applies to all—professionals, athletes, as well as Parents with respect to their growth in faith.

4. WHAT THEN SHOULD I BE STUDYING, LEARNING, TO ROUND OUT MY PEREMANT FORMATION??? The above is a very important question, but not easy to respond to given the many demands of the modern and complicated life-style that we are immersed in! We have never lived in a society with so much information and actually good literature. However, at the same time, we have never lived in a society with so much mass-confusion!!!

5. WHAT THEN? HOW CAN I DISCERN? The response to these two questions follows from classical Christian-Catholic Theology and Pastoral Formation. And it is this: SPIRITUAL DIRECTION. Baseball players need coaches; entrepreneurs in business need mentors; teachers, principals need guides. Even more important in our pursuit for holiness and salvation do we have a dire need for a capable and competent Spiritual Director. This being said, in the context of spiritual direction, as a parent you should explain the context of your vocation of Holy Matrimony, your work, your children and milieu, and through discernment the Spiritual Director will shed light on your need and the process by which you can arrive at the process of permanent formation. Jesus said it; “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? (Lk. 6:39) Competent Spiritual Direction illuminates the pathway to God and salvation! Take advantage of it!

6. ACTIONS ARE POWERFUL MOTIVATIONAL TOOLS: LOVE BETWEEN THE COUPLE. It must be said with the utmost clarity that the parents will be superb educators when their relationship with God is growing by leaps and bounds. However, it must be that the love the couple has for God flows over like an abundant river into the mutual love that they promised towards each other on their wedding day! Put bluntly, if children are to be educated in the faith, they must be instructed to know and love God, but also they must see the love of God reflected in the way their Mother and Father truly love each other! If the children hear a lot of God-language from their parents but this is coupled with harsh words, cruel and prolonged silences, a constant anger, sarcasm and bitterness between their parents, then the seed of the Word falls on thorns and will quickly be choked out.

7. COME APART FOR A WHILE AND REST WITH ME!!! If parents truly want to be good teachers to their children, then they must heed the words of Jesus to the Apostles and to us: “Come apart and rest for a while…” (Mk. 6:31) As it was, the Apostles were being overwhelmed with work and demands such that they barely had even enough time to eat. Consequently, Jesus told them to pull back and rest with Him for a while, and then back into the battle-ground. Ideally speaking, on an annual basis parents should pull out from the hustle and bustle of the rat-race and find some time for a Spiritual Retreat. If not there is the danger of burn out! In order to recharge the spiritual batteries, it is necessary to have time alone with the Lord, at least a weekend Retreat. In the middle of November 2018, I went off with 123 adults to a Retreat house Friday night, Saturday, and half of Sunday to give them a wonderful weekend Retreat. The graces were many and the adults were able to recharge their spiritual batteries with talks, silent meditations, spiritual reading, quiet and reflective walks, and most important—Confession and Holy Mass and Holy Communion. Jesus Himself would separate from the multitude to spend deep and quality time in communion with His Heavenly Father.

8. SUNDAY: THE DAY OF THE LORD AND FAMILY DAY.  Saint Pope John Paul II penned an all-important short but substantial document, Apostolic Letter Dies Domine —the Day of the Lord (May 31, 1998). The essence of this document is that the modern world is losing the sense of the sacred character of Sunday. In other words, Sunday is becoming like an extension of Saturday: shopping, cleaning, working, eating, enjoying with the end result of forgetting to keep holy the Sabbath and even omitting attendance and participation in Holy Mass—which must be the very heart of Sunday—the Day of the Lord, the Lord’s Day! In addition to being the Lord’s Day with fervent assistance and participation in Holy Mass, Sunday should be Family Day. This is the message of Saint Pope John Paul II. The primary institution in society, the primary building block and basic cell, the domestic church—the family—is under violent attack and in danger of being ripped and rent asunder. An excellent way to carry out and implement the correct formation of children and teens is for them to enjoy Sunday with their parents. Mass, followed by a substantial brunch, then fun time in the park with some physical activity: walking, or biking, or hiking, or if you like, sports. Then rest at the picnic table in the park for some wholesome family sharing—no phones or electronic devices. Let all of the members in the family share what is on his/her mind and the others engage in attentive and charitable listening. Indeed, it must be said that communication is at an all-time low between parents and children, especially with the teens. May Sunday after Mass, be the time to really connect and communicate with your kids! Now is the time, do not say TOMORROW! By the way, tomorrow never comes; it is beyond our grasp and may never arrive at all! We only have today!

9. PARISH ONGOING FORMATION GROUPS. Check out your Parish and the groups that you, your spouse and your children can become involved in. Ongoing catechesis, Bible groups, Marian Consecration programs, Spiritual Exercises opportunities, Youth groups and activities, the Legion of Mary—all of the above, and other groups can serve as a catalyst to motivate parents and their family to get to know, love, and serve the Lord with greater vigor and enthusiasm!

10. LIKE MARY, BE MISSIONARIES!  After the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived Jesus through the Holy Spirit, she went in haste to visit her cousin Saint Elizabeth. The joy of the Good News welled up in the Immaculate Heart of Mary and she could not contain it. The Holy Spirit moved and motivated Mary to bring Jesus to others. May Mary, whom Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta called, “The first Missionary of Charity”, be an example for parents and their children! Indeed, one of the most efficacious ways that one can grow in one’s faith is to share it with others. Saint Thomas Aquinas points out that when we share on a material plane we become impoverished. On the contrary, when we learn the art of giving and sharing our faith with others, the more we give spiritually, the more God, the Author of all good gifts, fills us with His riches and grace. Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, born-again Christians—we meet them all over the town, in every place with their fervent message. As Catholics, we should be even more fervent in our desire in our natural family and as part of the Catholic Church, which is the family of God, to share the Good News, the Gospel, to the whole world.  The last words of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew were: “Go out to the whole world and teach what I taught you; baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And behold I will be with you even until the end of time.” (Mt 28:19-20)

In conclusion it is our most ardent desire and hope that parents will take very seriously their obligation to work on their own personal permanent formation so that they can be sure guides for their children on the highway to heaven. May Our Lady who is the Stella Maris, Star of the Sea, guide as safely to the port of salvation!

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

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

THURSDAY, AUGUST 13^th   Mk. 18:21 – 19:1 “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him, as many as seven times?”

Part 1 – Reflection on Forgiveness
Part 2 – On Forgiveness… by Fr. Jacques Philippe
Part 3 – Patience: The Virtue We All Need… by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Reflection on Forgiveness:

• When we are unable to forgive, we are the one bound in chains, not the person who wounded us!
• No one could ever wound us as much as our sins wounded Jesus in His Passion and death on the Cross. Therefore, let us apply liberal doses as often as needed of the antidote to the bitterness of un-forgiveness.
• These two practices have been tested and tried in the crucible of experience and are guaranteed to bring healing in mind, body, and soul! It is essential that these prayers are supported by a fervent Sacramental life with frequent Confession and participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass weekly, even daily if at all possible!
• Every time you have bitter thoughts about someone who hurt you, 1) Repeat the words of Jesus, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing”, and 2) Pray three fervent Hail Marys for their eternal salvation! If your feelings rebel against doing this, do it twice!!!  Ignatian Agere Contra!
• This is not hypocrisy, this is heroic virtue! In consequence of doing this faithfully, two souls will be saved – their soul and your own! Did not Jesus teach us to pray: “Our Father, who art in heaven… Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us!”
• Remember, in Heaven, the scales will be balanced. They will see and understand how deeply they hurt us. And we will see and understand how deeply we hurt others. And all will be forgiven!

 On Forgiveness… by Fr. Jacques Philippe

Of course there are cases when the suffering other people causes us is due to a real fault on their part. The proper attitude then is not understanding in accepting differences, but something more demanding and difficult: forgiveness.

Modern culture doesn’t rate forgiveness very highly. More often it justifies resentment and revenge. But does that reduce the amount of evil in the world? The only way to diminish the suffering that burdens mankind is by forgiveness.

It bears repeating… that unless we understand the importance of forgiveness and practice it in our relations with others, we will never achieve inner freedom but will always be prisoners of our own bitterness.

When we refuse to forgive someone for harm done to us, we are adding another wrong to the first. That solves nothing at all. We are increasing the quantity of evil in the world, which has quite enough as it is. Let us do not join in the propagation of evil! As Saint Paul tells us, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

• Finally, let us practice and grow in the grace of the Opposite Virtue – Heroic Patience! St. Francis de Sales had a fearful temper and fought hard for this virtue in his life! The story is told that an irate man walked into the room where Francis was talking with a friend, and the man berated, belittled, and insulted Francis, going so far as to insult Francis’ Mother! Meanwhile, Francis said nothing. After the man left, the friend asked Francis, “How could you stand there and take that!” Francis replied, “I was not willing to lose in 2 minutes what it took me 20 years to attain.”

PATIENCE: THE VIRTUE WE ALL NEED!!!  By Father Ed Broom, OMV

There is not one person in the world who could say that he does not need the virtue of patience. Jesus said:  By your patience you will save your soul. Given that this virtue is universal and not easy to attain, that will be our topic for conversation in this brief article!

PATIENCE FOR WHO?  You might stop and look at your life and ask the question: with whom, where, and when do I need the virtue of patience? Not to be overly simplistic, but I believe we can narrow this question down to three distinct categories. We have to be patient with others—those we meet, those we live with, those we work with, those we associate with, those with whom we come into contact either frequently or less frequently. Then, another very important category or person with whom we must exercise constant and infinite patience—and that is with ourselves, yes, with ourselves! Finally, and this last Person with whom we must practice patience may not be as obvious as first thought, it is GOD!!!

Patience with Others…

This being said, we must be keenly aware of the hard and cruel fact that people will rub us the wrong way, get on our nerves, provoke us, exasperate us, and sometimes simply drive us bananas—to put it bluntly! As you read this article, I am sure that you have some person in mind, more likely, some persons in mind! Certain idiosyncrasies of others—their tone of voice, the pace they move at, their facial expression, the words they use or fail to use, drive you up the wall or almost drive you crazy! We all know these people, have had contact with them, and probably do even right now! What then are we going to do to remedy this predicament?!

Easier said than done—finding the solution to this problem of patience with the person or persons who seem to us to be intolerable! Let us offer three simple suggestions that can be invaluable!

First, PRAYER!  Jesus says that we have to pray, and not simply for those people whom we see as charming, attractive, likeable, holy and unblemished—as if these people really do exist anyway!!! No! We must pray for all people because they were created by a loving God, and God wants all of humanity to form a family in which the virtues of love, compassion, mercy, and respect reign supreme! Jesus says very clearly that we have to even pray for our enemies, as He taught us on the cross: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing. (Lk. 23-34)

Second, HUMILITY!  Be humble in the midst of your dislike of this person who drives you up the wall due to the many defects that you observe in them. Remember and call to mind your own many defects, which might be more serious in the eyes of God than those of the person that you really cannot stand! God loves the humble, but rejects the arrogant and proud. When tempted to look down on this person, call to mind one of your most egregious failures or sins and God’s mercy towards you. This will help you to be more compassionate, kind, and PATIENT toward this intolerable person!

Third, put into practice what Saint Ignatius of Loyola teaches in the course of the Spiritual Exercises and it is the concept of AGERE CONTRA!!! This is a short Latin phrase which literally means to go against! Therefore, when you are tempted to be impatient, unkind, cold or downright mean to this person who presses your buttons, do the opposite. Give them a smile, a kind word, a nice gesture, or even give them a gift—all this is difficult but very pleasing to God! This conquering of self through doing what is difficult is possible, and once done a true sign of the victory of God’s grace in your life!

Patience with Self…

 Now what about patience with oneself??? Those who are so-called perfectionists will always end up defrauded, especially with themselves. Why? For the simple reason that we live in a complex and very imperfect world, better yet, a sinful world! Only God is perfect and all of humanity is composed of sinners, hopefully on the pathway of conversion! The Bible teaches us that the just man falls seven times a day. Jesus says that we must forgive those who offend us not seven times, but 70 times seven times. 

In other words, even though we have to be constantly fighting to overcome our sinful tendencies, as well as sin itself in our lives, we should strive never to give in to impatience at our many falls, much less discouragement. Indeed, the saints teach us that after sin itself, discouragement is mortal enemy number one! Patience: name it and claim it!

The Founder of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, Venerable Bruno Lanteri expressed it in two short words, and these two words say it all! NUNC COEPI!!! Meaning: NOW I BEGIN!!! In other words, after we fall or fail in one way or another, we should get up, dust ourselves off, launch ourselves into the loving arms of God the Father (the image of Saint Therese of Lisieux), and simply start anew! We should trust more in God’s grace than in our human weakness, remembering the words of the great Apostle Saint Paul: When I am weak, it is then that I am strong! (2 Cor. 12: 10) The recently canonized saint (2015), the Missionary of California, Saint Junipero Serra coined this immortal phrase: Siempre Adelante, siempre Adelante y nunca atras! Translation: Always forward, always forward and never turn back!!! Therefore, when we do fall (and no doubt we will fall!!!) we should never give in to discouragement, but rather trust less in ourselves and more in God’s power in our lives! In other words, less self-reliance and more God-reliance! With the Psalmist let us exclaim: “Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth!” (Ps 124:8)

 Patience with God…

Finally, the last Person and the most important Person to be patient with is God Himself! This may surprise many who in their hearts might be thinking: I have never been impatient with God! Oh really! Have you ever prayed to God and not been answered according to your criteria? Have you ever asked God to help you in sickness and suffering and it seemed as if God was not listening, absent, or totally indifferent to your situation? Has it ever happened that you made a novena to God, to Mary, or to one of God’s angels or saints and the request made was not answered; instead, your situation seemed to get even worse? Has it ever happened that you prayed for the conversion of somebody and it appeared that absolutely nothing happened? Has it ever happened in your life that you begged God with faith for the mountain to be moved, and when you got up the following morning, the mountain had not moved or budged a millimeter? With these so called unanswered prayers or petitions, these unresolved problems or aggravating circumstances, where it seemed as if God really did not care, was indifferent, or even uninterested in your sorrowful plight, there is a good chance that you became impatient with God to the point of even becoming angry at God. This plight is more common than we are aware of!!!

What then is the response to this predicament? Very simply the following! Our God is a God of infinite Love! Our God is a God of infinite Wisdom! However, the mind of God is not the mind of man. His ways far transcend and supersede ours—in knowledge, wisdom, love, and planning. We can barely see beyond our own nose and we live only in a specific moment of time. Not so with God! He lives in the eternal present. For an infinite and eternal God, the past, present, and future are all one. This being said, for the sake of our conversion, sanctification, perseverance in grace, and eternal salvation, God’s plans and decisions will not always meet with our criteria. However, we must believe in God’s loving and providential design! All God does for you individually, personally, socially, and spiritually is always—in the broad and panoramic perspective and in the light of eternity—for your greatest good! Therefore, strive never to be impatient with God but trust Him, trust totally and humbly in His infinite love for you and providential care. Beg Our Lady, who stood beneath the cross watching Jesus suffer and die, to have great trust and patience in God’s plan for your life! And be at peace!

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

August 12, 2020

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

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12th   Mt. 18:15-20   “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

In the particular situation we are in with Covid-19 and restricted access to our prayer community, we can still “pray together”—either in our own family or on our own, but for the good of all through Prayers of Reparation!

ENRICH YOUR PRAYER LIFE WITH PRAYERS OF REPARATION by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

We should constantly be striving to improve upon our prayer life. What air is to our lungs, so is prayer to our soul. It is essential; it is a matter of life and death! The forms of prayer are multiple. One of the most simple ways to understand the key forms of prayer is by means of this four-letter acronym: A. C. T.  S.

A—stands for Adoration, the highest form of prayer that we can offer to Almighty God. This is the prayer of the highest choir of angels in heaven.

C—stands for “Contrition”—meaning? We are all sinners and we are called to repent firmly for our own personal sins, trusting always in God’s mercy!

T—stands for “Thanksgiving”.  All that we are and all that we have—aside from our own personal sins—are gifts from the infinite bounty and generosity of Almighty God’s love!

S—stands for “Supplication”. Not a word well-known or used in common parlance. It simply means the prayer of petition. Saint Augustine says with great clarity: “We are all beggars before God.” We all need God desperately for everything!

In this short meditation we would like to focus most specifically upon the prayer form of Contrition—which means sorrow for our sins. However, an integral part of Contrition should also be our desire to make many forms of reparation for our sins, as well as for the sins of the world at large. We pray in the Chaplet of Divine Mercy that Jesus gave to the world through Saint Faustina Kowalska: “Have mercy on us and on the whole world.” That is to say, our prayer should take on a universal dimension; actually the word Catholic means “Universal”—all embracing, open to all people who live upon planet earth and also all those who have passed from this world to the next! Without further ado, let us launch into a prayer in which we want to beg pardon and reparation—meaning to make up for and to satisfy God’s justice—for all people, for ourselves and for the whole world!

You might be wondering, then whom should we pray for, in what order of importance, how should we pray and with what disposition of heart? We would like to offer a list of those for whom we should pray, and remember, with true contrition and for the purpose of Reparation!

1. ME, MYSELF AND I! Well, you might be thinking, that is somewhat egotistical, self-centered or even narcissistic! Not true! God created each and every one of us with a specific purpose in mind: to praise Him and to save our own individual soul. It is not egoistical to pray for our conversion, sanctification, growth in holiness and final perseverance. Rather, it is a matter of life and death. We all must individually, in the words of the Apostle Saint Paul, “work out our salvation in fear and in trembling.”

2. OUR FAMILY MEMBERS. Our prayers should extend to our family members, first and foremost! Spouses should pray for each other, then their children, their parents, and finally other blood-relatives. God brought you together in a family; you should pray fervently prayers of reparation for the many sins of all of your family members. May your prayers serve to make up for the damage that they have done through their many sins.

3. CATHOLIC CHURCH AT LARGE IN ITS ENTIRETY! The Catholic Church is the church that has the most members in the entire world—more than one billion members presently! To be dead honest, not all are ready to be canonized right now! We all are sinners, and to make things worse, most Catholics do not even practice their faith—that is to say, they do not even attend Sunday Mass. Just this one comment merits a huge dose of prayers of reparation from many fervent souls!

4. YOUR SPECIFIC LOCAL CHURCH. Now the specific local Catholic church that you attend consists of many sinners. Many of these Catholics do not attend Mass. Most likely, many question certain Church teachings and practices. Many have gaping wounds that they are not striving to heal. Many have never begged pardon for their own sins, much less the sins of the members of their families. For these in our local church, our local parish to which we belong, let us offer fervent prayers of reparation: “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

5. SOCIAL SINS THAT HAVE BECOME EMBEDDED IN THE FIBER OF THE SOCIETY. Pope Saint John Paul II has coined this long theological term. What it means is simply this: there are some serious sins that are not only individual and personal, but have actually embedded themselves into the very fiber, marrow, or if you like, the heart of society. These structural sins would be the following: legalization of abortion, legalization of same-sex unions and transgenderism, the legalization in some States of euthanasia—killing the elderly and infirm. For these social sins embedded in and encrusted onto the very fabric and heart of society, we beg pardon and willingly offer fervent and continuous prayers of reparation. About every 20 seconds an innocent baby is being murdered through the abominable crime and heinous sin of abortion. “O Lord, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

6. SINNERS WHO DENY THEY “ARE SINNERS”. There is a class of individuals—indeed very prevalent and widespread in society today—and they are those individuals who claim stridently that they have no sins whatsoever. Pope Pius XII of blessed memory, stated: “The sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin.” Many Catholics have not approached the Sacrament of Confession for years; we might even say DECADES!!! They blurt out, with an air of pride and arrogance: “Well, I have no sins!” We all know they have many sins, but unfortunately they have suppressed, anesthetized or even killed their conscience! For this large mass of individuals who claim to be great saints, we must beg pardon, and offer prayers of reparation for their sins and for their eternal salvation!

7. DEATHBED SINNERS. A very important class of people that we must pray for most urgently, as Jesus constantly reminded Saint Faustina, are those individuals who are about to die and most unfortunately they are in the state of mortal sin and their eternal salvation is in grave jeopardy. For this reason, the great woman Doctor of the Church, Saint Catherine of Siena asserted: “The two most important moments of our life are the following: now and at the hour of our death.” Why? We only have this precise moment, “the now”. However, of prime and eternal importance is the precise moment we die. If we die in the state of grace our soul will be saved for all eternity; but if we die in the state of mortal sin our soul will be lost for all eternity! Through our urgent prayers, let us beg mercy, pardon, conversion and reparation for those who are dying right now in this precise moment. “Lord, have mercy on deathbed sinners, and on the whole world.”

8. PRIESTS, RELIGIOUS, AND BISHOPS. Of prime importance, all should offer fervent and constant prayers for those who have consecrated their lives to God and the Church—namely, priests, Bishops, and men and women Religious. These individuals who are called to a very lofty mission within the Church are also sinners. The letter to the Hebrews explains this with utmost clarity: “Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset with weakness, and so for this reason must make sin offerings for himself as for his people.” (Heb. 5:1-3). The devil will often tempt priests, Bishops, and Religious all the more because if they fall they cause a greater scandal to the people and enormous damage to the Church at large. For their sins, we beg the Lord Jesus, the Supreme High Priest, to have mercy, and we beg through our earnest prayers, reparation for the damage they have caused in the Church and the world at large!

9. LOCAL AND SPECIFIC INTENTIONS. We all have within our hearts and our personal lives many intentions that we would like to present to the Lord. In this we should beg the Holy Spirit for light to see the areas in our personal life where we must beg pardon, mercy and reparation. Every time we go to Confession, we are called to confess our sins with humility, sincerity, and a firm purpose of amendment, meaning we really want to transform our lives! However, there is another important element that is part and parcel of making a good Sacramental Confession and that is the aspect of “Penance”. We must carry out the penance the priest imposes upon us. This too is Reparation. We willingly accept the penance the priest gives us, and possibly accept to do more, to repair for our past sins. A priest, who helped to form us as future priests, suggested that we should always do double the penance that the priest imposes on us in confession. Great advice so as to live out reparation!

10. SOULS IN PURGATORY.  Our essay would be incomplete if we failed to mention a special group of souls that we should intercede for frequently and with great fervor: the poor and abandoned souls in Purgatory. This is a group of individuals who have passed from this life to the next and are saved, but are in need of purification for the sins that they committed in life. They are totally dependent on the mercy of Almighty God. However, a channel through which the mercy of God is actualized is through us, through our prayers and offering sacrifices for these abandoned souls in Purgatory. Apply the Golden Rule in this circumstance, which is: “Do to others what you want them to do to you.” If you were an abandoned soul in Purgatory, beyond a shadow of doubt, you would desire many of the living to offer fervent prayers for your eventual entrance into heaven. In other words, with respect to Reparation, the souls of those who have passed from this life to the next must be purified and their sins repaired for, and we the living are called to this very lofty and noble mission!

In conclusion, let us enrich our personal prayer life by learning a prayer intention that possibly we have never done or have never done well and completely: that is the prayer of Reparation. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are wounded, with thorns embedded in them. These are the sins of humanity. It is our spiritual duty and privilege, by means of our prayers of reparation, to take out the thorns and gently place roses in the Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Indeed, they will rejoice because of our acts of reparation and they will have a special place for us in their Hearts in time and for all eternity. Amen.

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

August 11, 2020