Memorial of Saint Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr

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

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23rd    Mk 9: 38-40   “Whoever is not against us is for us.”

At the end of the Spiritual Exercises, Saint Ignatius of Loyola wrote: “This is to ask for what I desire.  Here it will be to ask for an intimate knowledge of the many blessings received, that filled with gratitude for all, I may in all things love and serve the Divine Majesty.”

Certainly we have all been blessed with the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola! Today, Fr. Ed gives us 10 concrete reasons to offer thanks to our loving Savior!

1. A NEW DAY: A NEW SUNRISE.  Every day that we rise from sleep after a good night’s rest, we should thank God for His protection during the night and the gift of another day.

2. A NOURISHING MEAL.  Many will go to bed hungry this night; some will even die from malnutrition and starvation. We should always bless the meal that God provides for us through the hands and hard work of others. A child said this prayer during the Thanksgiving holiday: “God, I thank you that I can choose the food I eat!” How many people throughout the world have never seen a Refrigerator? Or a sumptuous meal with multiple, delicious foods to choose from?

3. FRIENDLY AND SMALL WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT.  Desolation is part and parcel of human existence and we all know of it from personal experience. How often has it happened that the Good Lord has rescued us from a state of desolation by sending some Good Samaritan along our path to give us a shining smile of friendship, and some encouraging and kind words? For these uplifting experiences let us express our gratitude to God, but also show our gratitude by becoming that Good Samaritan for others!

4. SUFFICIENT HEALTH TO MOVE ON.  As the years transpire our health declines, but God intervenes with His powerful Presence to lift us up and help us move on despite our weakening frame and creaking structure. Never forget the words of the poet: “I complained because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet!” We will always bump into people who are worse off than us. Count your blessings!

5. TIME, TALENT, AND TREASURE.  Render a heartfelt Thank You to God for the time, talent, and treasure that God has given to you. Show your gratitude in a concrete way by imitating the two servants in the Parable of the Talents who doubled their talents and returned them with interest to their Master. (Mt 25: 14-28) May we never show ingratitude to God by our laziness; rather, let us show our gratitude by hard work and diligent effort!

6. JOY! We must be constantly grateful for the many times that God has filled our hearts and minds with joy! This is a fruit of the Holy Spirit that becomes manifest when we correspond to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Remember the acronym J.O.Y. = Jesus, Others, You! Want Joy? Put Jesus first, others second, and yourself last!

7. HEAVEN.  The thought of Heaven that awaits God’s faithful followers should fill us with overflowing joy and gratitude. Jesus expressed these most consoling words: “I am going to prepare a place for you now, so that where I am, you also might be. In my Father’s house there are many mansions.” (Jn 14:1-3) Constantly we should thank Jesus that He has a place already prepared for us in Heaven! Let us live in such a way that when we die, we are ready to go to Heaven to be with Jesus!

8. ANGELS AND SAINTS.  Today in many parts of the world, many people suffer a constant, crushing loneliness. They have an overriding feeling that nobody cares for them, nobody loves them. For followers of Jesus, this is never the case because we belong to a warm and loving family—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and our Blessed Mother! Other important members of our family are the angels and the saints. They are the best of friends to us. We should form a habit of talking to them every day and thanking them for their friendship and assistance, for they are eager to help us whenever we ask them! Hopefully you pray to your Guardian Angel every day! Who are other favorite angels and saints that you pray to for help along the way?

9. GOD’S MERCY AND PROVIDENCE.  How can we ever go through a day without thanking God for His Divine Providence and His Infinite Mercy? By Providence we mean the simple fact that God provides for us, defends us, protects us, nourishes us, and simply cares for us as a loving Father—let us render thanks for His Divine Providence! Even though we are weak, fragile, and prone to fall many times a day, our God is a loving and merciful Father who, when we ask for mercy, forgives us in a heartbeat. “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever.” (Ps 107:1)

10. MARY MOST HOLY: OUR LIFE, OUR SWEETNESS, AND OUR HOPE.  Finally, let us never let a day go by in which we fail to talk to Mary as our loving Mother, as “our life, our sweetness, and our hope.” (Hail Holy Queen) How grateful we really should be that Mary is our Mother—she loves us, she prays for us, she cares for us, she protects us, and she will help us to pass from this life to the next in the state of grace. Then with our Mother Mary, we will love God, thank God, and praise God—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for all eternity!

Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle

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

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd    Mt 16: 13-19   Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle   “I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”

CCC 881. The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the “rock” of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock. “The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of apostles united to its head.” This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church’s very foundation and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the Pope.

That being said, our Catechetical Formation and reception of the Sacraments as lay people comes largely from the priests who serve us. Let us try to understand and appreciate the priesthood and our priests all the more with this meditation and PRAY FOR THEM!  

POTENTIAL POWER IN PRIESTLY PATERNITY by Father Ed Broom, OMV

“Man of God”,  “Man for others”,  “Alter-Christus”,“Jesus Christ on earth”, “The Victim who offers the VICTIM” (Ven. Archbishop Fulton Sheen), “Ambassador of Christ” (Saint Paul), these are just some of the definitions for the person of the priest. In these tempestuous, revolutionary, tumultuous, and critical times, it is indispensable that we do all that we can to bolster the Church by supporting priests to the very maximum of our capacity. True, priests have failed and scandalized men; still, there are many hard-working, humble, prayerful, zealous, fervent, and holy priests. We should do all that we can to support priests in their pursuit of holiness and in their daily pursuit of attaining perfection in charity—a more noble love for God manifested in zeal and love for the salvation of the sheep entrusted to their care.

What then are the means or tools that priests must take in their hands to live out their priesthood, their spiritual paternity, to the greatest potential they have at their disposition? We would like to offer these suggestions, advice, and counsel for priests, seminarians, Deacons, as well as the future priests that God already has in His Heart from all eternity. You might call these the BIG FIFTEEN that a priest should strive to understand and to live out so that he can respond to the most noble calling or vocation that has been assigned to him by Jesus, the Model for all priests!

THE BIG FIFTEEN FOR LIVING OUT HOLINESS AS THE PRIEST—THE MAN OF GOD AND THE MAN FOR OTHERS

1. FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS: THEIR BEST OF ALL FRIENDS. At the Last Supper where Jesus instituted both the most Holy Eucharist as well as Holy Orders, the Priesthood, in the long and most inspiring Last Supper Discourse (Jn. 13-17), Jesus called the Apostles FRIENDS, YES, FRIENDS!!! Today more than ever, a priest must be firmly convinced that Jesus has called him to friendship with Him. Moreover, this Friendship with Jesus must be dynamic—that is to say, it must be constantly growing, on the upswing, ascending on high. There is a basic principle in spirituality: there is no static state; either there is growth or stagnation. Therefore, a priest must strive on a daily basis to do all that is within his power to grow in Friendship with Jesus.

2. MERCY. Some lay people, being simple and possibly naïve, believe that the priest confesses others in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but the priest himself does not need to go to confession. Nothing could be further from the truth! The Letter to the Hebrews expresses this with great concision and truth: “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 well as for the people.” (Heb. 5: 1-3) Being part of sinful humanity due to Original Sin and personal sin, a priest must make a habit of frequent, fervent, and well-prepared confessions to another priest. By the way, even the Pope has to go to confession to another priest who of course represents Christ. In fact, one of the secrets of a priest being a good Confessor is that he must first of all be a good penitent himself and experience the Infinite Mercy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus! The priest must experience the loving and merciful embrace of God the Father (the Parable of the Prodigal Son) before he can administer God’s love and mercy to his own penitents. Having experienced the Infinite Mercy of Jesus by himself being pardoned and forgiven, the priest can administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation with greater mercy, love, and efficaciousness!

3. FRIENDSHIP THROUGH PRAYER. At the end of his life, after he retired from his Episcopal exercise of being Bishop of Rochester, New York, Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, this great man of God and model for priests and Bishops, decided to dedicate his last years and last days to the mission of greatest importance—that of giving retreats to both priests and Bishops. In these retreats, which can be listened to on-line, this holy man of God made one concrete proposal that he insisted that all priests and Bishops carry out with faithfulness—THE DAILY HOLY HOUR. In his long years of the priesthood and years as a Bishop, Fulton Sheen asserted that he never missed making his daily Holy Hour in over 55 years!

4. PLACE OF HONOR AND PRIVILEGE FOR HIS HOLY HOUR. Fulton Sheen strongly recommended that this Holy Hour, that he called The Hour of Power should be made in front of the most Blessed Sacrament, that is to say, before the Real Presence of Jesus in the Consecrated Host. How true is the maxim: “You become like those with whom you associate!” Indeed, if the priest spends time daily in front of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, he will start to imitate and become more and more like Jesus, the High-Priest.

5. CONVERSION OF THE PRIEST. Like all, the priest must labor strenuously at his own personal conversion. As a follow up to the Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament, Sheen asserted that if a priest is faithful to the daily Holy Hour, Jesus will help him grow in holiness. If a priest is faithful to the Holy Hour, but he is living in sin, Jesus will help him to conquer sin. Moreover, if a priest is mediocre, tepid, lukewarm, then Jesus will set his heart on fire. If a priest is good, then he will go from good to better. Finally, if a priest is fervent, the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus whom he meets as Friend and Model will inspire this priest to arrive at the heights of holiness; in other words, to ardently desire to become a real saint!

6. THE PRIEST AND HOLY MASS. As a follow up or even extension of the commitment that the priest makes to carry out the daily Holy Hour is the primary importance of the priest carrying out the greatest action under the sun—the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! Not the Prophets of old, not the Archangels, not the Cherubim and Seraphim, not even the Blessed Virgin Mary have the power to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass! Only the man who has been ordained to the priesthood has the capacity, through Holy Orders, to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Only the priest can bring Jesus from Heaven to earth. Only the priest can introduce Jesus into the hearts of the faithful as a result of the consecration in Mass and Holy Communion. How sublime is the priest who in the Holy Mass acts like a bridge, like a rainbow, uniting Heaven to earth! Priests should be encouraged to view a brief YouTube of Saint Padre Pio celebrating the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. What faith, love, devotion, and awe were demonstrated by this saintly priest when carrying out his most important mission—the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!

7. SAINT ALPHONSUS’ ADVICE. It is not always possible to carry out to the letter of the law this advice of the saintly priest, Bishop, prolific writer, and Founder, Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori with respect to the Mass. His advice is sublime, but challenging! Saint Alphonsus suggests that the priest spend at least half an hour in preparation for Holy Mass and then half an hour in thanksgiving after Holy Mass!!! The contemplative Maronite priest, canonized by Pope Saint Paul VI, Saint Charbel Maklouf asked permission of his local Superior to celebrate Mass at 12 noon. The reason for this specific noonday choice was for this simple reason, related to the suggestion of Saint Alphonsus. Saint Charbel wanted to spend the whole morning in preparation for Holy Mass; then he wanted to spend the whole afternoon and evening in thanksgiving for the Mass that he celebrated. In a word, this holy, saintly, contemplative priest-monk wanted the whole of his life to be centered and focused on Jesus in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. As the sun pours forth rays of light and heat over the earth at midday, so Jesus, the Light of the world desires through the priest celebrating Holy Mass, to pour light into our minds and the fire of love into our souls. May the words and advice of these two canonized saints motivate priests at least to spend some time in preparation for the Holy Mass, and sometime after rendering thanks to Jesus for the greatest of all Gifts—Himself in Holy Mass! It is not an exaggeration to say that all of eternity would not be sufficient to prepare for one Holy Mass, nor all of eternity sufficient to give thanks for one Mass! The word EUCHARIST actually means THANKSGIVING. May the prayers of the Psalmist echo in the depths of our hearts: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.” (Ps. 136: 1)

8. PERMANENT FORMATION. Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers and Professors, Engineers, Professional Athletes, Architects—all have this in common: the dire and urgent need for an ongoing process of formation. If you like, the indispensable need for PERMANENT FORMATION!!! A baseball player who does not perform drops down to Minor League ball until he improves his act and performance. In a parallel but very real sense, a priest, as well as a Bishop, must make a concerted effort to work on his own PERMANENT FORMATION. The saying rings true universally: WORK IN PROGRESS! All of us are a work in progress; this also applies to the personal growth and development of the priest. Ongoing formation can be carried out through conferences, seminars, Biblical studies, and at times even Sabbatical years to recharge one’s spiritual, intellectual, cultural, and physical batteries!

9. SPIRITUAL DIRECTION. All of us, even though we do not like to admit it, have blind spots in our lives. Others see certain areas for growth, certain defects or even virtues that we have, while we can easily become blind to them. Lay people who are sincerely pursuing a life of perfection in the pursuit of holiness urgently need a well-trained spiritual director. Even more does this apply to the person of the priest! As a priest, blind spots can be many. However, the essence of spiritual direction is not simply to point out or highlight blind spots, but rather to help the priest grow in his spiritual life. To be blunt and to the point, one of the essential hallmarks of good spiritual direction is to help the person who is being directed to grow deeper in their prayer life, to grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus who must be their BEST FRIEND! (We have circled around to the first point or number of this essay!) Saint John of the Cross, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint Frances de Sales, Saint Faustina, Saint Margaret Mary Alaqoque, and many other saints trumpeted the importance of spiritual direction. May all priests of the world have recourse to periodic spiritual direction as a step on the Highway to Holiness and perfection!

10. IN DEFENSE OF THE VIRTUE OF PURITY/CHASTITY.  In the Sermon on the Mount, one of the Beatitudes that Jesus taught highlights the importance of purity: “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God.” (Mt. 5: 8) Due to the immoral climate or milieu of the modern world, all people, but in a special way, the priest who is consecrated to God in mind, spirit, and body must make a concerted effort to guard his mind, his eyes, his heart, his body, and his whole being. Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary and her purest and Immaculate Heart is without doubt one of the most powerful and efficacious means to attain protection of the virtue of purity and perseverance in such a challenging but important virtue! May all priests be consecrated to the purest Immaculate Heart of Mary!

11. PRAYER AND PENANCE, POWER IN PRIESTLY PERFORMANCE!  Jesus asserted: “Some devils can be cast out only by prayer and penance.” (Mt. 17: 21) As has been stated, a priest must be a man of prayer. The Daily Holy Hour is a prime example. However, that is not enough. To conquer the devil, the flesh, and the world in his own life, a priest must apply himself to a life of penance, to an ascetical life, to a life of mortification, to a life of self-denial. In the year of the Priesthood in the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, this holy Pontiff took and named as a model for priests, Saint John Marie Vianney, known as the Saint Cure of Ars. It is very difficult to find a more holy, zealous, prayerful, but also penitential priest than this true man of God, this saint!

12. ZEAL FOR SOULS.  Another characteristic note or virtue of the priest. The true man of God should have an ardent zeal and passion for the salvation of Immortal Souls. Saint Thomas Aquinas stated that one soul is worth more than the whole created universe. The motto of the holy and zealous priest, Saint John Bosco, was: “GIVE ME SOULS AND TAKE ALL THE REST AWAY!” It stands to reason that if the priest has a deep and dynamic relationship with Jesus as his Best Friend, then the priest should love what Jesus loves and that is the salvation of Immortal Souls. In fact, the reason for Jesus’s Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection was precisely this: SAVIOR—TO SAVE SOULS FOR ALL ETERNITY!

13. DAILY EXAMEN.  Saint Ignatius of Loyola, in bequeathing to the world so many spiritual gems, so many spiritual practices, left us what is called THE DAILY EXAMEN. There are five steps: 1) Thanksgiving to God for His abundant blessings; 2) Beg for the grace to review the day objectively; 3) See where your heart has been during the course of the day; 4) Humbly admit failures; 5) Renewal/Proposal for the following day as a result of self-knowledge so as to avoid falling into the failures of the past. If a priest can carry out this practice every day for ten minutes, this will be of immense value for him to be aware of the Presence of God, as well as of the enemy. He will be training himself to recognize and reject the temptations of the enemy, and open his heart to the inspirations of the Good Spirit.

14. CULTIVATION OF THE SPIRIT OF JOY IN THE PRIESTLY HEART.  Pope Francis time and time again has insisted upon the prime importance of cultivating joy and living out joy in bringing the Joy of the Gospel to a broken and wounded world. Indeed, if the priest is firmly convinced of His friendship with Jesus, if the priest is deeply rooted in his relationship with Jesus, then necessarily in the depths of his heart he will experience the fruits of the Holy Spirit, most especially a profound peace, as well as an overflowing joy. Saint Paul exhorts us: “Rejoice in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice in the Lord.” (Phil. 4: 4)

15. MARY: THE MOTHER OF GOD, THE MOTHER OF THE CHURCH, AND THE MOTHER OF THE PRIESTS.  Underneath the cross on Good Friday stood the two greatest lovers of Jesus on earth—the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist, also known as Saint John the Beloved. This Apostle, who leaned on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, was indeed Jesus’ Best Friend. However, Jesus pronounced these words from the cross to Saint John and to all the priests of the world until the end of time: “Woman, behold thy son; son, behold thy Mother. From that moment the beloved disciple took Mary into his home.” (Jn. 19: 26-27) Taking Mary into the home of John means for the priest that he must take Mary into the very depths of his heart. The priest must frequently talk to Mary on all occasions about all that is going on in his life, his heart, his work, his joys and sorrows, his victories and failures, his fears and shadows, his desires, aspirations, and dreams. Like Saint John, the Blessed Mother who leads the priest to Jesus always, must be for the priest his Mother of Mercy, his life, his sweetness, and his hope!

Monday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

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

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21st    Mk 9: 14-29   Letter of Saint James (3:13-18)   “Beloved: Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show his works by a good life in the humility that comes from wisdom.

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

There is not one person in the world who can say that he does not need the virtue of patience. Jesus said: “By your patient endurance, you will save your soul.” (Lk. 21:19-21) Given that this virtue is universally needed but not easy to attain, this will be our topic for conversation in this brief article!

PATIENCE FOR WHOM?  You might stop and look at your life and ask the question: “For 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. First, 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 in contact, either frequently or less frequently. Second, there is 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, this Person is God!!!

This being said, we must be keenly aware of the hard and cruel fact that people will rub us wrong, 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 and 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—the solution to this problem of patience with the person or persons who seem to be simply intolerable! Let us offer some 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 virtue of love, compassion, mercy and respect reign supreme! Jesus says very clearly that we even have to 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 that 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 the defects in 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, AGERE CONTRA!  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. Smile, say a kind word, make a nice gesture, or even give a gift—all this is difficult but very pleasing to God. This is not hypocrisy, but heroic virtue! This conquering of self, though difficult, is possible, and doing this is a true sign of the victory of God’s grace in your life!

FOURTH, PATIENCE WITH SELF!  What about patience with oneself? Those who are so-called perfectionists will always end up defrauding themselves. Why? For the simple reason that we live in a very imperfect world, better said, a very sinful world! Only God is perfect and all of humanity is composed of sinners, hopefully on the path to 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, which means always! Often as not, it is ourselves that we have to forgive 70 times seven times!

In other words, even though we have to fight constantly to overcome our sinful tendencies, as well as sin itself in our lives, we must strive to never give in to impatience at our many faults and failings. Indeed, the saints teach us that after sin itself, discouragement is mortal enemy number one! For this reason, apply the Ignatian concept Agere Contra, meaning to act intensely against our impatience with ourselves and our temptation to throw in the towel and give up.

FIFTH, NUNC COEPI!  The Founder of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, Venerable Bruno Lanteri, expressed it in two short words, but these two words say it all! NUNC COEPI!—NOW I BEGIN! After we fall or fail in one way or another, we must get up, dust ourselves off, and launch ourselves into the loving arms of God the Father (the image of Saint Therese of Lisieux); then 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) Ven. Bruno Lanteri said, “Even if I fall a thousand times a day, a thousand times I will get up and say, ‘Now I begin.’”

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 fall (and no doubt we will fall) we must not give in to discouragement, but trust less in ourselves and more in God’s power in our lives. Meaning, 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)

SIXTH, PATIENCE WITH GOD!  The last and most important Person for us to be patient with is God Himself! This may surprise many who might be thinking: “I have never been impatient with God!” O, really! Have you ever prayed to God and not been answered according to your criteria? Have you ever asked God to help you in a sickness and suffering and it seemed as if God was not listening, 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 and saints and the request made was not answered; rather, your situation seemed to get worse? Has it ever happened that you prayed for the conversion of someone and absolutely nothing seemed to happen? 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? 

Faced with these so called unanswered prayers or petitions, these unresolved problems or aggravating circumstances, where it seems as if God does not care, is indifferent, or even uninterested in your sorrowful plight, there is a good chance that you will become impatient with God, to the point of even becoming angry with God. This 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 Now! 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 our 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 will always—in the broad and panoramic perspective and in the light of eternity—be for your good. Therefore, strive never to be impatient with God but trust, trust totally and humbly in His Infinite Love for you and His providential care. Beg Our Lady, who stood beneath the cross watching Jesus suffer and die, to help you have great trust and patience in God’s plan for your life!

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

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

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20TH    Lk 6: 27-38    “Be merciful just as your heavenly Father is merciful.”

Let these meditations serve as an Examination of Conscience as well as a Call to Serve! Where is Jesus calling you to serve?

FIRST MEDITATION:  John 13:1-17   Jesus washes the feet of the Apostles

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

SECOND MEDITATION. Prayer to be Merciful from the Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul by Saint Faustina Kowalska #163

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

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

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19TH    Mk 9: 2-13    “Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.”

TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

For today’s meditation read and pray over very attentively the Biblical passage of the Transfiguration—the forth Luminous Mystery. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you in a very special way. Be docile, open and willing to listen to the Word of God. Our Lady pondered and meditated deeply the Word of God and she can help you to do the same!

Jesus willingly came to earth to share our human condition.  Jesus has two natures: the Divine (He is God), and the Human (He is man). The union of the two natures is the Incarnation. It was through Our Lady’s “Yes” that Jesus came down from heaven to earth, and took on a human body. (Lk. 1:26-38) We’d like to offer some images for reflecting on this great mystery.

The Formation of Jesus’ Body.  It was Our Lady, Mary most holy, who formed the Sacred Body of Jesus within her most pure womb during the course of nine months, giving to Him from her own body and substance—His blood, veins, arteries, lungs, arms and hands, legs and feet, eyes, nose and mouth.

Sacred Heart of Jesus.  It was Our Lady who formed the most Sacred Heart of Jesus within her most pure womb. Turn to Our Lady and beg her to form your heart. Beg her to intercede for you with her most powerful prayers so as to purify and recreate your heart to become more like the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Until you can say with Saint Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Gal. 2:20)

Friendship with Jesus.  One of the many lessons that flows spontaneously from the Transfiguration of Jesus is that of human friendship. Jesus ardently desired to enter into deep friendship with the men whom He chose—especially Peter, James and John. These were the three who accompanied Jesus as He ascended the mount of the Transfiguration. At the Last Supper, Jesus will call all His Apostles friends!

Walk and Talk with Jesus.  Just as Jesus walked and talked with His friends that day, Jesus wants to walk and talk with you right now. He wants to enter into a deep friendship with you. He wants to know the thoughts, desires, and concerns of your heart. Open up to Him, speak to Him.

Mary and Friendship with Jesus.  There is no one on earth, nor even in heaven, aside from the Father and Holy Spirit, who had a deeper friendship with Jesus than did His Mother Mary, most holy.

Mary knew Jesus in the womb.  No greater intimacy exists in this world, on a human level, than that of a baby being formed, nourished and growing in the womb of their mother.

Mary knew Jesus as a child.  Jesus spent most of His life on earth with Saint Joseph and Mary in their home in Nazareth. Mary watched Jesus grow, she talked to Jesus, listened to Jesus, contemplated Jesus—His face and His eyes. This happened for thirty long years. Turn to Mary as you strive to enter into deeper friendship with Jesus and beg her to help you to know Jesus better. Stop and talk to Our Lady right now with total confidence in her desire to help you. She is your mother and you are her child.

Santa María del Camino (Our Lady of the Way).  There is a very well-known song in both Italian and Spanish with the title: “Santa Maria del Camino”—Our Lady of the Way! As Jesus climbed the Mount of the Transfiguration and made His way to the top, to the summit, His Apostles Peter, James and John walked with Him. In your travels in life, beg Our Lady to accompany you, to be with you and to never abandon you, for Mary will always lead you to Jesus. Mary will help you to climb the summits with Jesus and enter into deep conversation and union with Him.

Calvary and Mary.  Soon Jesus will climb not a mountain, but a hill—the hill of Calvary. Each of us has our own Calvary hill to climb. We should never presume to have the strength to carry our cross by ourselves. We want to call on Jesus and Mary to help us carry the cross every step of the way! Life without Jesus and Mary can leave us sad, depressed, and even bitter. That is why we cry out to Mary… “Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope!”

Pilgrim People.  We are pilgrim people heading towards our eternal destiny. As we climb the mountain towards our eternal destiny—heaven, Mary can guide us, help us, encourage us, and comfort us. Spend some time now and talk to Mary about your past journey in life—the smooth and the rocky paths. Talk to Mary about your present journey in life, what has changed. Now talk to Mary about your future journey, your future pilgrimage in life towards your eternal home—your hopes, your desires, possibly your fears.

Mary, Star of the Sea. The great Marian Doctor of the Church, Saint Bernard, depicts this powerful image. A ship at sea is being assaulted by constant waves, the wind is beating mercilessly against its rudder, and the waters are starting to enter the ship. There is a real danger of losing the ship, of the ship capsizing and eventually sinking. All of a sudden a beautiful star breaks through the night clouds and glimmers forth. This star seems to be pointing towards the shore. The captain, with great confidence, looks intently and deeply at the star and decides to follow it. The waves subside, the storm calms down, the winds abate. With unspeakable peace and swiftness the ship arrives safely at the shore. The ship with its captain and crew are saved. Thanks to our Lady, the Star of the Sea!

In the midst of the tempests, storms, afflictions, trials, and temptations that are constantly present in our lives, we must lift our gaze to Our Lady, Star of the Sea. She will safely direct us to the port of salvation, to our eternal home which is heaven.

Mountain Top and the Shore.  Both the mountain top of the Transfiguration, as well as the shore, are symbolic of heavenly rest at the end of our journey. Jesus wants to walk with us, talk with us, be with us and accompany us the whole way. Our Lady also wants to keep us close to her on this perilous journey.

Distractions and Temptations.  It is all too easy to give up climbing a high and challenging mountain. It is all too easy to sink in the waves of our own sensuality and selfishness and give up the fight. For that reason, we want to call out to Mary, who will always lead us to Jesus. The devil has a mortal fear of Mary, even of her Holy Name. Why not in moments of temptation call upon the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary—they are our sure salvation!

The Transfiguration’s Many Messages. The mystery of the Transfiguration has many powerful and deeply spiritual messages. The one that we have chosen is friendship with Jesus and His mother, Mary to arrive at our eternal destination, Heaven!

Ignatian Note. The Virgin that Saint Ignatius of Loyola had special devotion to was “La Madonna de la Strada”—literally translated: “Our Lady of the street”, loosely translated: “Our Lady of the way.” In the Jesuit Mother House in Rome this beautiful image can be found.

In concluding your climb and your sea-journey with Jesus and Mary, spend some closing moments opening up your heart to its very depths and talk to Mary. Tell her all that is going on right now in your life. Ask her to be with you always, every step along the way until your reach heaven. Always remembering that the quickest path to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Copyright 2022 Oblates of the Virgin Mary / St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA

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