Feast of Saint Bartholomew, Apostle

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

TUESDAY, August 24th   Jn. 1: 45-51  “You will see greater than this…. Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.’”

Jesus is gathering His Apostles. Today, Philip brings Nathanael to Him. Jesus came to call us also, and to bless us with new life in spirit and truth! Today, let us look at the blessings in our lives and how we can share them.

TEN WAYS WE CAN GET & GIVE MORE BLESSINGS by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

“Blessed be God, Blessed be His Holy Name, Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man…” At the conclusion of a Holy Hour, with the Blessed Sacrament exposed and adored, the priest or deacon gives the benediction or blessing upon the people with the most Blessed Sacrament, which is Jesus Himself.

Then, before reposing the Blessed Sacrament in the Tabernacle, the ordained minister invites the people to praise God. St. Ignatius of Loyola, in the Spiritual Exercises, says that our primary purpose of our existence on earth is to praise God and to save our immortal souls.

In this short essay we would like to invite all to get into the habit of receiving blessings, while being a blessing to God, to others, and to the whole creation with our presence. May your life, words, presence, and actions be a constant blessing on the world now, tomorrow and all the way into eternity!

Various Forms of Blessings in Our Lives

1. Wake Up:  Bless God Right Away!

Upon waking, the first thing we should do is to make the Sign of the Cross and bless ourselves: “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Every day, upon awakening, this should be our first gesture and our first words!  

The Cure of Ars points out:  “He who starts out well, will finish well.” Start your day with God’s blessing, live out God’s blessing, and end your day praising and blessing God!

2. Meal Time Blessings

We must recover and establish in our homes and lives those beautiful traditions of our parents and grandparents. Though it be a very simple gesture, it is very significant: bless your meals before eating. By doing this, we are expressing to God great gratitude for all that He has given to us out of His infinite bounty and goodness. Also, by blessing the meal with the family, we invite Jesus to sit down at the meal table to be with our family. What a great presence! What a wonderful Guest!

3. Parents Bless Your Children.

Every night parents should form the habit of blessing their children before they retire for the night. Parents are called to be a blessing for their children as well as to bless them. Better yet, let Mom and Dad bless their children with Holy Water—an added and even more powerful blessing! Even the devils fear the proper use of Holy Water!

4. A Priestly Blessing

The day after my ordination to the priesthood (May 25, 1986), I had the unique privilege of having the Missionaries of Charity of Mother Teresa sing for my first Mass in our Roman Parish, Sant’ Elena. After the Mass, the nuns invited me to their convent which was less than a mile away from our Seminary.

Upon arriving the nuns opened the door and received me and my family with great joy; there were probably close to 70 nuns. From the midst of these nuns a smaller and elderly nun approached me. She knelt down for my blessing. It was Mother Teresa of Calcutta. I wanted to kneel down for her blessing. However, she insisted in kneeling down and begging humbly for my blessing. With fear and trembling, I imparted one of my first priestly blessings to Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta. 

Why did this great woman remain kneeling? Faith! She had great faith in the presence and the blessing of Jesus through the presence of the priest. Indeed, even though we as priests are unworthy of such a sublime and lofty calling, God still calls us. We are, in the words of Saint Augustine, alter christus—another Christ, through the Sacrament of Holy Orders imparted on the day of priestly ordination.

5. Blessings of Mass

This being said, we should bow our heads at the end of the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and implore the blessings of the Holy Trinity—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—with the priest’s blessing to conclude Mass.

Let us always implore God’s blessings, but especially in the context of the greatest prayer—the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass!

6. Benediction of Holy Hour

As mentioned in the introduction of this article, another prime moment to receive the most special of blessings is in the context of the Holy Hour. The Holy Hour concludes with Benediction. The word “Benediction” comes from Latin and actually means blessing! The priest (or Deacon) lifts up the monstrance over the people of God and then imparts the blessing of Jesus. This is the same Jesus who lived 2000 years ago in Galilee. This is the same Jesus who healed the blind, cured the sick, cleansed the lepers, gave strength to the paralytics, and even raised up the dead.  

When the priest is imparting this very special blessing of Jesus Himself, we should be very attentive to praise Jesus, thank Jesus, beg Jesus pardon for our sins, and beg Him for the most abundant graces that flow from the depths of our hearts!

7. Getting Religious Objects Blessed

Once we acquire religious articles we should have them blessed by a priest or a deacon as soon as possible. Rosaries, Scapulars, Holy cards, medals, statues, religious paintings of Jesus, Mary and the saints, crucifixes and water—all of these can be blessed by the priest.

These religious articles, because they have been blessed, should be treated with respect. Carry them on your person—your Scapular, Rosary, religious medal, Holy Cards in your wallet. These religious articles are not good luck charms but reminders of God’s holy presence in your daily walk, in your daily life. We should do all we possibly can in our life to think about God, speak to God, and to love God and these are holy reminders. Take advantage of them.

8. The Holy Eucharist

The greatest gesture you can perform on earth is to assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and receive Holy Communion—the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus, the “Holy of Holies”.  Do this as often as possible to receive the most abundant blessings. The greatest blessing is Jesus Himself!

9. Make Your Life a Blessing for Others

After you have received the Lord Jesus into the very heart of your being, go forth with the heart of a true missionary. Leave with the blessing of God within your heart and bring God’s blessing wherever you go, be a blessing to whomever God places in your path. God is the greatest blessing. God has blessed you most abundantly. Now it is time for you to be a constant blessing on the whole world. Blessed are you! Be a blessing for others!

10. The Blessings of Our Lady

When Our Lady greeted St. Elizabeth in the Visitation, St. John the Baptist leaped for joy within Elizabeth’s womb. Moved by the Holy Spirit, Saint Elizabeth addressed Our Lady in these all-inspiring, sublime and immortal words: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”(Lk. 1:42)  Then Our Lady, in her sublime canticle of praise, (Lk. 1:48) echoed the word “blessing” by saying, “All generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is His name.”  

Therefore, if we truly want to learn the art of living a blessed life and the art of blessing others, let us turn to the “Blessed among women”, Mary most holy, and beg her for her prayers and blessings in this life and for all eternity! May the Blessed Trinity be praised, blessed and worshiped, through the intercession of Mary.

AMEN!

Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

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

MONDAY, August 23rd   Mt. 23: 13-22   Jesus says: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.”

Part 1: Lessons on the Kingdom of God by Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P.

Part 2: Lessons from the Child Jesus: God’s Wisdom by Fr. Ed Broom OMV

PART 1:

1) Jesus condemns the Pharisees.

Relevant to Jesus’ condemnation of the Pharisees, Catholic theologian Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. (+1964) warns us of the dangers of pride.

“It gives us such confidence in our reason and judgment that we are not very willing to consult others, especially our superiors, or to enlighten ourselves by the attentive and benevolent examination of reasons or facts which may be urged against us. It leads also to asperity in discussions, to stubbornness in judgment, to disparagement which excludes in a cutting tone all that does not fit in with our manner of seeing things. This state of mind leads to manifest imprudent acts that will have to be painfully expiated.” 

2)  Jesus reveals the true teaching of the Kingdom of God. “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 18:3)

Garrigou-Lagrange contrasts growth in our natural life with growth in our spiritual life. This is the essence of his teaching.

In our natural life, maturing means leaving the embrace of mother and father and moving from dependence on our parents to independence and autonomy.

Growth in the spiritual life is a contrary movement… In our spiritual life, maturing means moving from a false autonomy of self-sufficiency to throwing ourselves into the arms of our Heavenly Father and Holy Mother Church (Mater Ecclesia), thereby embracing our total dependence on God by means of obedience to the commandments and the teachings of our Holy Church, under the leadership of our Holy Father and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

PART 2:

LESSONS FROM THE CHILD JESUS: GOD’S WISDOM! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Jesus stated it very clearly: “Unless you become like a child you cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Mt. 18: 3) Another time, the Apostles were trying to prevent the children from coming to Jesus and He said forcefully: “Let the children come to me; if you do not become like a little child you cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” (Mt. 19: 14)

OUR LADY OF FATIMA AND CHILDREN.  One of the most famous, modern approved apparitions is that of Our Lady of Fatima. God sent His Mother from heaven to a little town in Portugal, Fatima, in the year 1917, six times from May 13 thru October 13. Who did Our Lady appear to? The brilliant? The scholars? The rich and important? The flashy and ostentatious? To none of these did Our Lady appear. Rather, she appeared to three little children—tenders of sheep with no formal education! God’s ways are not our ways—this is certain!

GOD’S PROVIDENTIAL DESIGN.  God could have chosen any one of limitless scenarios to ransom or save humanity after the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, that we call Original Sin. God could have come as a powerful King, or a rich millionaire, or a brilliant genius, or a plethora of other flashy, fantastic ways! But no! God’s ways are as different from our ways as the heavens are above the earth! In His Providential Design, God willed to save the world by what theologians call The Incarnation—meaning? That God willed to become one of us, to become a man like all of us with one exception—He was born without sin, lived a sinless life, and died on the cross to save us from our sins!

AS A CHILD.  Furthermore, God willed to enter the world by the same means by which we entered the world—through a woman. God chose Mary to be the channel by which He would enter humanity. The Ever Virgin Mary conceived Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit and maintained her virginity even in the moment of giving birth to Jesus.  Indeed, she was ever virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ. 

JESUS THE CHILD—THE SON OF GOD.  Jesus was the baby born of Mary. This Virgin Mother took Him in her tender arms, wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and nestled Him close to her most pure and Immaculate Heart. Then Mary placed Jesus on the hay in the manger. The word manger comes from French and means to eat! It was the feeding trough of the animals. Later on, as a man, Jesus would challenge people to nourish themselves on His Body and Blood if they wanted to live, and live forever. “I am the bread of life. Whoever eats my body and drinks my blood will have everlasting life and I will raise him up on the last day.” (Jn. 6: 22-71—Bread of Life discourse).

BETHLEHEM: HOUSE OF BREAD.  There are no coincidences or unplanned circumstances in God’s providential designs. The word Bethlehem actually means House of Bread. No surprise that Jesus, who was born in the city of the House of Bread, would declare Himself the Bread of life and challenge us that our eternal salvation hinges upon our consuming Him in Mass and Holy Communion as the Bread of Life.

IMPORTANT LESSONS FOR US FROM THE CHILD JESUS.

There are many lessons to learn from God becoming man, being in the womb of Mary for nine months, and finally being born as a little Baby. Let us dig deep into this goldmine of wealth and derive abundant treasures for our meditation, imitation, transformation and sanctification, as well as perseverance! What then are the lessons of the Infant-Child Jesus?

1. DEPENDENCY.  Even though the Baby Jesus was God, the Son of God made man, still He made Himself totally dependent on others, in particular, Mary and Saint Joseph. Moreover, Jesus would live this attitude of dependency on His Heavenly Father during the whole course of His life. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” (Jn. 6: 38) In our spiritual lives we must develop and cultivate a child-like dependency on God in all times, places, and circumstances. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenges us to trust by contemplating nature—the lilies of the field who neither labor nor spin and the birds of the air who neither sow nor reap…yet our Heavenly Father provides for them. (Mt. 6: 25-34). In contrast, in His Public life, Jesus had no permanent home, saying: “The foxes have their holes and the birds of the air their nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to rest His head.” (Lk. 9: 58)

2. HUMILITY.  The littleness of the Child-Jesus is an extraordinary example of humility.   God loves the humble but casts down the mighty from their thrones. (Mary’s Magnificat Lk. 1: 52) He chose the Publican over the Pharisee, humility over overweening pride. (Lk. 18: 9-14) As a man, Jesus described His Sacred Heart using two descriptions: “I am meek and humble of heart.” (Mt. 11: 29) Arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, and self-importance are alien to the person of the child, and most especially the Child-Jesus! May He inspire us to pursue a life of great humility!

3. POVERTY.  Once again, even though Jesus was, is, and always will be God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, He chose to enter the portals of this world not in a palace, castle, or opulent mansion. On the contrary, He entered this world being born in a stable that served as a refuge for animals. A good part of the warmth of that little cave was the heat from the breath of the animals present there! Ven. Archbishop Fulton Sheen penned it so eloquently: The Creator of the universe had no place to be born in His own creation!

We must learn that pursuing money, possessions, power, and esteem will not bring us happiness. Passing pleasure, yes, but true happiness never! The Child Jesus, born in Bethlehem teaches us that we will find our true happiness not in the created world, but in the Creator of the world—Jesus the Lord.

4. INNOCENCE.  In a world where innocence is being lost, even among the children, due to uncontrolled use of modern technology, and the promulgation of false and heretical philosophies, the Infant Jesus teaches us clearly and unequivocally the importance of striving to live lives of innocence—freedom from sin! The Innocent Child Jesus in the arms of Mother Mary challenges us to strive to protect the innocence of our children threatened by so many modern wolves!

5. CHILDLIKE SIMPLICITY: INSPIRING TRUST.  In the overly complicated world that we have created, we should all long for a more simple, humble, frugal, transparent, and detached life-style. Models for us would be Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and the children of Fatima—Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto, and their cousin Lucia De los Santos. May we learn from such saints to strive for the simplicity of Evangelical Poverty – defined as everything that we have and are, our material goods, time, talents, and skills, without being enslaved to these goods, we choose to use for the glory of God and the good His people. May the Infant Jesus resting in the loving and tender arms of His Mother Mary inspire us to greater trust and dependency on our Heavenly Father! Greater humility, greater simplicity, and a life of detachment from things, so that we can be totally anchored and rooted in God our Father! “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn. 3: 16) How intimately and tenderly God loves us: with a love that is defenseless and inexhaustible, a love that shows us mercy and forgiveness while we are yet sinners, a love that gives us a sure path to heaven through the commandments and the teachings of His Holy Church guided by the Holy Spirit, accompanied by the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope.

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

GLORIOUS FEAST OF THE QUEENSHIP OF MARY!!!

SUNDAY, August 22nd   Jn. 6: 60-69   “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

PART 1: Jesus has the words of Eternal Life. What do these words mean to you? Talk to Jesus about them… What have they meant in the past? What do they mean to you now?

1. Words of Eternal Life – Healing

“God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit.”

2. Words of Eternal Life – Nourishment

“Take this, all of you, and eat of it. For this is my Body, Which will be given up for you.”

“Take this all of you, and drink from it. For this is the Chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the New and Eternal Covenant which will be poured out for you and for many.”

PART 2: JESUS OUR HEALER by Fr. Ed broom, OMV

One of the principal activities that Jesus exercised in His Public Life was that of Healer! Jesus, the Healer, the Divine Physician of our lives came into a wounded, suffering, broken world.

Recognition…

There is no way any one us can be healed unless we first recognize that we are wounded and in dire need of healing. The Spanish have a saying: “No hay peor ciego que no que ver; no hay peor sordo, que aquel que no quiere oir.” Translation: “There is no worse blind man than the one who does not want to see; no worse deaf man than the one who does not want to hear.”  Sad to say, many of us are willfully blind and deaf, and we fail to admit this reality!

Jesus Healed the Wounded Who Trusted in Him…

Time and time again in the Gospels, we witness Jesus healing the sick, the diseased, and the wounded. However, there were conditions! They were especially two: recognition of their wounded state, accompanied with unlimited trust that Jesus the Divine Physician could heal them.

For our meditation, let’s look at a few examples.

The Blind Bartimeus—to whom Jesus gave sight to his eyes when he implored the Lord in humility and trust: Lord, I want to see!

Then, there is the woman with the bleeding or hemorrhage. Her desire for healing and her faith in Jesus was so great that she believed if she could only touch the hem of His garment, she would be healed. Her healing was immediate corresponding to her faith.

The Centurion’s servant was healed due to one thing: the faith of the Centurion. This healing was spectacular. The faith of the Centurion was so great that he felt himself unworthy for Jesus to enter his home. However, if Jesus would only utter a word, a mere word, the Centurion trusted that his servant would indeed be healed. And so it happened! Jesus healed the servant from a distance by His word alone. Of course this healing depended on the limitless faith of the Centurion, who was not even a man of the Jewish faith.

There are so many examples of Jesus healing, but one more:

The paralytic carried on the mat. This case is interesting because the healing came about by team effort. Obviously the paralytic could not move by himself and thus had to be moved by his friends. We do not have the number, but maybe four. In any case, all five trusted that Jesus, the Divine Physician, could heal this paralytic. The house where Jesus was engaged in preaching was packed to the gills. Unable to enter through the front door, with incredible ingenuity, the friends decided to cut an opening through the roof (we can only imagine the reaction of the owner of the house!) and lower him through the roof towards Jesus. Rejoicing immensely at the creativity, persistence, and perseverance of these men, Jesus said the man’s sins were forgiven, and then Jesus healed him of his physical condition of paralysis. Once again, healing came about through faith, confidence, and in this case perseverance.

What about us? Do we recognize that we’re wounded? 

Jesus earnestly desires to heal all of us, not in a crowd, but individually. However, this all depends on our willingness to admit that we are wounded, as well as having total confidence in Jesus the Healer, Jesus the Divine Physician.

Spiritual Wounds

Among all of the wounds that we experience, spiritual or moral wounds are the most serious; these are the wounds that are present in the very depths of our souls. The very origin of these wounds goes back to the first fall that we call Original Sin. Due to Original Sin all of us are wounded in mind, in soul, and even in body due to sicknesses. Only Jesus and Mary did not have this original wound. Jesus because He was God; He was the “Holy of holies”. Mary was preserved due to a unique privilege that we call The Immaculate Conception.

Jesus Awaits Us, To Heal Us of Our Moral Wounds, Our Moral Sicknesses.

The arms of Jesus are open, we see this from the cross, to heal us of our moral wounds. The Father of the Prodigal Son (Lk. 15:11-32), is waiting with his arms wide open to receive us home, irrespective of the many times we might have failed him. Saint Paul reminds us: “Where sin abounds, the mercy of God abounds all the more.”(Rom 5:20)

When is the Time?

Now is the time, now is the hour of salvation. The wounds of your soul can be healed as soon as you desire! This can happen today. God calls you now; better not put it off until tomorrow because, to be honest, tomorrow may not come. Who knows if we will have a tomorrow? That depends upon God’s providential will!

But how may we be healed? 

Jesus heals in many ways. However, morally and spiritually Jesus heals through the Church which is His Mystical Body. To be more specific, Jesus heals through the Sacraments, and most specifically through the Sacrament of Confession, sometimes called Penance, other times called Reconciliation, in which we experience His Infinite Mercy, a mercy that cannot even be described by words, a mercy that is limitless and boundless!

Why not head off to the Church that is nearest to you and seek out that little booth that we call the Confessional. Seek out a priest and ask him if he can hear your confession. Even if you do not remember the Act of Contrition, even though you do not remember the protocol or exact method, still go and simply ask the priest to lead you through the process, and he will be more than willing to help you through it all. Then after you have finished confessing your sins, you will hear these words of Jesus speaking through the priest, the wonderful and all-consoling words of Absolution: And I absolve you of your sins; go in peace!

In that moment, once again, as in the Gospels, Jesus is healing, and it all depends upon your trust and your faith that the Divine Physician can heal you. As Jesus healed 2000 years ago, He still can heal today, if we place our trust, our faith, our confidence in His might and His words.

Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope

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

SATURDAY, August 21st   Mt. 23: 1-12   “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

FOR THE FEAST OF THE QUEENSHIP OF MARY … AUGUST 22nd

“In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let not her name depart from your lips, never suffer it to leave your heart. And that you may obtain the assistance of her prayer, neglect not to walk in her footsteps. With her for guide, you shall never go astray; while invoking her, you shall never lose heart; so long as she is in your mind, you are safe from deception; while she holds your hand, you cannot fall; under her protection you have nothing to fear; if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary; if she shows you favor, you shall reach the goal.”

–Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Father and Doctor of the Church

MARY AS QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH BY Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

When Christopher Columbus went to Queen Isabela about travel to the New World, the powerful Queen endowed him with three gifts, three powerful means of transport, huge ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.

The Queen had power, prestige, and almost limitless economic resources, and she willingly decided to give the sailor and his crew three enormous vessels to facilitate the long voyage to what was considered the “New World”.

The last of the Ships was actually named to honor the person that we would like to honor in a special way in our exposition—Santa Maria—Holy Mary—that is to say, Mary, the Mother of God.

The titles given to Mary, the Mother of God, are many. Like a diamond exposed to the sun and through the process of refraction, various colors emanate and radiate from the diamond, so it is with respect to Marian titles. Each title reflects some resplendent glory of Mary. In the words of Saint Louis de Montfort: Mary is the Daughter of God the Father; she is the Mother of God the Son, and she is the Mystical Spouse of the Holy Spirit. Also, Mary is the Masterpiece of God’s creation.

One of the most exalted and sublime titles given to Mary is that of MARY AS QUEEN. Now, if an earthly Queen, like that of Queen Isabel, could enrich Columbus with three majestic and powerful ships to cross over to the New World, how much more powerful is Mary, who is the Queen of Heaven and earth, the Queen of the entire universe.

In the traditional Litany of the Blessed Virgin, among the many Biblical, Mystical, and Poetic titles attributed to Mary are those related to her Queenship. And there are many, manifesting the diversity, multiplicity and richness of Mary’s relationship to the angels as their Queen. In the traditional Litany there are twelve in total… They are the following:

1. Queen of angels; 2. Queen of Patriarchs; 3. Queen of prophets; 4. Queen of Apostles; 5. Queen of martyrs; 6. Queen of Confessors; 7. Queen of virgins; 8. Queen of all saints; 9. Queen conceived without Original Sin; 10. Queen assumed into Heaven; 11. Queen of the most Holy Rosary; 12. Queen of peace.  Two others could be added:  Queen, beauty of Carmel, and Queen of all of our hearts.

No doubt Mary’s Queenship is universal, all-embracing, extensive and indeed sublime. Let us meditate briefly on these Marian titles related to Mary as QUEEN. Be keenly aware of the immense power that Mary has in heaven, on earth, in the wide expanse of the world, in time and extending into eternity.

1. QUEEN OF ANGELS. Contemplate Heaven and all of the angels, from the simple angels, the choirs of angels, to the highest rank of angels, the Seraphim honoring Mary as their Queen for all eternity!

2. QUEEN OF THE PATRIARCHS.  By the word Patriarch is meant our spiritual Fathers…. Mary is Queen even of our spiritual Fathers. In the Old Testament they would be Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Saint Joseph is indeed a spiritual Father. Also, in Patristics, we have the Fathers of the Church among which a few would be: St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, and St. Gregory the Great. These great men of God lift up their gaze to Mary and honor her as their Queen.

3. QUEEN OF PROPHETS.  By Prophet is meant the person who preaches the Word of God. In the Old Testament, Elijah would be one of the most prominent. John the Baptist, who was sanctified in his mother’s womb by the word of Mary and the presence of the Incarnate Jesus in her womb, was the greatest of all Prophets. Mary teaches the Prophet to preach by word, but also by the example of her life.

4. QUEEN OF APOSTLES.  Jesus chose the Apostles as His intimate friends and preachers of the Gospel message. Jesus would ascend into heaven but leave His Mother Mary to pray for, assist, accompany, support and strengthen the Apostles in their work of saving souls. Now the Apostles in Heaven contemplate Mary as their Queen, whom they honor with the greatest of reverence and love.

5. QUEEN OF MARTYRS.  Even though Mary did not shed her physical blood as Jesus did on Calvary, Mary suffered intensely in her soul. When the lance pierced the side and Heart of Jesus from which blood and water came gushing forth, that lance spiritually pierced to the very depths, the Heart of Mary. For that reason, according to St. Alphonsus, Mary is given the title of Martyr. What Jesus suffered in His Body; Mary suffered in the depths of her soul.

6. QUEEN OF CONFESSORS.  By confessor is meant, not simply the priest hearing confessions and reconciling sinners, but rather a confessor is the person who valiantly confesses their faith by word and deed. Our Lady as Queen inspires men and women of all ages to be valiant confessors of their faith, even children as we see in the children of Fatima and St. Bernadette of Lourdes.

7. QUEEN OF VIRGINS.  The history of the lives of the saints has pointed out with utmost clarity that to attain a life of great purity the presence of Mary, her powerful prayers and intercession have been a key motivating force. Saint Faustina was endowed with the gift of perfect chastity by Jesus giving her the sash of purity, but only after the saint had been begging Mary for a long time for this gift. Mary, Queen of Virgins, can help us to live out the Beatitude: “Blessed are the pure of heart for they will see God.” (Mt. 5:8)

8. QUEEN OF ALL SAINTS.   Saint Dominic Savio, after he had died and gone to heaven, appeared to Saint John Bosco and said that his greatest joy while on earth was his great and tender love for the Blessed Virgin Mary. The young saint exhorted Bosco to promote love for Mary far and wide.

9. QUEEN CONCEIVED WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN.  Among the many privileges granted to Mary is that of her Immaculate Conception. That is to say: Mary was conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Anne, without the stain of Original Sin. As the English poet Wordsworth penned (even though he was not Catholic), “Mary is our tainted nature’s solitary boast.” Those who approach Mary as Queen, distance themselves from the poison of sin—the one true evil in the world!

10. QUEEN ASSUMED INTO HEAVEN. Another one of the Marian dogmas and privileges is that of Mary’s assumption into Heaven, which the Church celebrates every year on August 15th. The meaning? At the end of Mary’s earthly pilgrimage on earth, Mary was taken up into Heaven by the power of God in body and soul. This title encourages all of those dedicated and consecrated to Mary to respect their bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, and to use their bodies, not for sin, but to glorify and praise God, and to save souls.

11. QUEEN OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY.  When Our Lady appeared to the children of Fatima—Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta—six consecutive times she said to pray the Holy Rosary. She gave us her title in Fatima as OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY!!! Every Rosary prayed is a crown placed on the head of Mary.

12. QUEEN OF PEACE.  Once again, when Our Lady appeared at Fatima it was during the First World War. She said unequivocally that war is a consequence of sin. That to stop wars we would have to strive to stop sinning and pray more, especially the Holy Rosary. In the immortal words of the Rosary-priest, Ven. Father Patrick Peyton: “The family that prays, together stays together” and “A world at prayer is a world at peace.”

In conclusion, an earthly King or Queen has much power. This power extends to the economy, the social milieu, the family, arts and music, literature and poetry, as well as military defense. Queen Isabel bequeathed Columbus with three enormous and majestic ships to sail to the New World.

In the spiritual realm, Mary has many beautiful titles as prayed in her Litany. Her power, her dominion, her presence, her majestic aura, are beyond compare to an earthly King or Queen. Indeed, she is the Daughter of God the Father, the Mother of God the Son, and the Mystical Spouse of the Holy Spirit. She is the living Tabernacle of the Blessed Trinity. God can deny nothing to Mary, Queen and Mother, nothing in the least. Even all the devils in hell tremble simply at the Name of Mary.

Let us form the habit of praying fervently the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary; at times let us focus on the various invocations to Mary as QUEEN. Let us pray, may Mary who is the Beauty of Carmel enrapture our hearts, minds and souls by the beauty of her grace. And let us beg for the very special grace that Mary will be the Queen of all hearts, but most especially, the Queen of your heart and my heart!

Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

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

FRIDAY, August 20th   Mt. 22: 34-40   “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

• If we truly love God, we will love what God loves! May this meditation by Fr. Ed convict us and motivate us at the same time!

WELCOME BACK TO THE FAMILY OF GOD by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

“I really get bored when I go to Mass… I don’t’ like the choir and the music… the preaching puts me to sleep… there are so many scandals in the Church …. (Catholics are a bunch of hypocrites) …. I can find my spiritual energy captivated by the beauty of nature… I am so busy that I simply do not have time for Mass… Going to Mass is for the old people; I am young, intelligent, vibrant and energetic… Later on in my life, I may drift back to the Church in better days…

All of the above negative comments are leveled against returning to the Church and receiving the life-saving graces that flow most abundantly through the Sacraments, and most especially through the greatest of all Sacraments: the most Holy Eucharist.

It is a sad, cruel and stark reality: most Catholics throughout the world do not attend Holy Mass. In many predominantly Catholic countries, the largest religious entity or group are Catholics, but underline this fact: NON-PRACTICING CATHOLICS!!! Italy, France, Spain, Mexico, and all of South America, Latin America, as well as the Philippines—all of these countries are predominantly Catholic. However, while the huge majority of the people in these countries would state that they are Catholic, they rarely attend Holy Mass.

There has been a radical change in the past 50-60 years. In the USA in the 50’s and even into the early 60’s, statistically close to 75%-80% of Catholics would quite regularly attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, almost every Sunday. (Personally, I remember missing Holy Mass only once as a child and it was because of a violent snow-storm which stranded our family as home-bound for that Sunday Mass!) Now, the numbers and statistics have done a total U–TURN! Perhaps 20% or less attend Holy Mass every Sunday.

As Catholics and followers of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, we should truly love what He loves. The great love of Jesus, the Savior, is the human-person, created in the image and likeness of God, and the salvation of his immortal soul. Jesus stated this truth unequivocally and with great emphasis: “What would it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul. What can a man exchange for his soul?” (Mt. 16: 26) Jesus hungers and thirsts for the salvation of a multitude of souls! Saint Ignatius of Loyola in his classic Meditation/Contemplation, The call of the Temporal King so as to follow the Eternal King, challenges us not be deaf to the call of the King. The earthly King is bent upon conquering the world and its possessions for himself. The Eternal King, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, has no interest in temporal conquering and dominion, but rather in the conquering and the salvation of immortal souls.

With this knowledge of the desire, the thrust, and the purpose of Jesus’ life—hungering and thirsting for the salvation of souls—let us beg for the grace to collaborate with Jesus in this most noble of all endeavors: the salvation of immortal souls!

Let us set up a game-plan or a strategy on starting right now how we can bring back these lost sheep, Prodigal sons and daughters, straying flocks back to the loving arms of the Good Shepherd, back to the loving and tender embrace of the Father of the Prodigal son.

STRATEGY TO BRING BACK THE STRAY SHEEP HOME!

1. PRAYER AND THE SACRAMENTS:  Without the grace that flows in abundance through prayer and the Sacraments, conversions or reversions to the Catholic faith will come about far and few between. It will be like building an edifice upon sand. Rain and tempest beating and battering against a structure built on sand will necessarily cause collapse and disaster. (Mt 7:24-27). Starting now let us pray, offer our Masses and Holy Communions, and as many Rosaries as we can to bring back the Catholics who have abandoned the practice of the faith.

2. PENANCE.  Jesus stated with utmost clarity: “Some devils can be cast out only by prayer and fasting (penance). (Mt. 17:21) Our Lady of Fatima reiterated the same truth: “Pray and offer sacrifices because many souls are lost because not enough people pray and offer sacrifices for them.” Let us choose and impose upon ourselves some concrete form of penance for the purpose of fostering the return of the forlorn and confused Catholics to the Fold!

3. HOLINESS OF LIFE.  Magnetism emanates from sanctity of life. Why was it that so many people scurried on foot to the Jordan River? Not so much due to the waters in that river, but rather due to the holiness of the man who was baptizing in those waters: Saint John the Baptist. If we can work on our own personal sanctification, then this sanctity will serve as a magnet to attract others back to Christ in His Mystical Body, which is the Church! Saint John Vianney attracted thousands to the remote, out of the way village of Ars. His holiness attracted even the hardest of sinners to conversion and to return to the practice of the faith, in the wake of the devastation wrought by the French Revolution when churches were closed and priests forbidden to preach and teach catechism.

4. INVITATION.  Andrew invited Peter to meet Jesus, as well as Philip, and the Greeks, many of whom accepted the invitation. Why not simply invite some wandering Catholic to return home, return to the Church, return to attend and participate in Holy Mass. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain! Every non-practicing Catholic is a potential practicing Catholic. Maybe the catalyst, the bridge is a simple invitation!

5. MAJOR FEASTS.  Take advantage of the Major Solemnities or Liturgical Feast days to invite the lost sheep to return to the fold: Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, Ash Wednesday, All Souls, All Saints, Marian Solemnities, such as the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption. These Glorious Liturgical celebrations offer signal graces for conversion.

6. ANNIVERSARIES.  Using spiritual astuteness, why not invite some relatives to attend Mass for key celebrations. Birthdays, Wedding Anniversaries, Graduation ceremonies, Anniversaries of the death of a relative—all of these can be means and motives to invite the lax-Catholics to return home!

7. CHURCH BULLETINS AND CONFESSION SCHEDULE.   Perhaps many wandering Catholics are ripe fruit, ready for the picking, if they simply knew the when and where of Confessions. Simply point out the day, the hour, the place and the Confessional so that the fish can be caught in the net. Better yet, give them an Examination of Conscience pamphlet or booklet as a guide. Then you can go with your friend at the time and place to the Confessional. You go first to confession and exit with a big smile, then say, “Your turn!” You will feel great and be born anew! This is really imitating Saint John the Baptist and preparing the way to meet Jesus, the Divine Savior and Divine Physician.

8. RETREAT EXPERIENCE.  Many powerful conversions thunder into the lives of mediocre Catholics and even hardened sinners as a result of a powerful Retreat experience. Exposed to dynamic talks and personal witnesses, silence for examination of conscience and deep prayer, and the ability to receive the Sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist result in radical, life-changing experiences! Check around for the next retreat and attend with some of your confused-catholic friends! The net result? Conversion, commitment, and Catholic rebirth! Experience gives eloquent witness to the reality of many reversions to the faith as a result of weekend or even one-day Retreats! Check it out! One good source for weekend retreats that comes immediately to mind is the Sacred Heart Retreat House in Alhambra, run by the Carmelite Sisters.

9. GOOD READING, VIEWING, SOCIAL MEDIA. The eyes, the ears, the mind, the imagination are all captivated by the image. Today the image manifests itself in various forms. Following our theme: God can enter into the heart of the individual in many ways. Why not use these tools, these nets, these bridges to bring the wandering Catholic sheep back to the fold? Suggest and expose these Lax-Catholics to the following: T.V. (EWTN), Catholic Radio (Relevant Radio), Catholic websites including my website fatherbroom.com with good Catholic articles, and of course good books on the saints or other Catholic topics. Many of these sources can serve as a catalyst and bridge to bring the revert back to the practice of the faith.

10. CHURCH MOVEMENTS AND GROUPS. Apostolates and Ministries within the context of the Catholic Church undoubtedly can serve as bait and fishnet to lure the wandering fish into the boat. There are many, but we can name a few: Charismatic groups (Renovation), Legion of Mary, Youth Groups, Focolare, Communion and Liberation, Neo-catechumenate, Spiritual Exercises Group, Marian Consecration, Catechism (children and youth) Nocturnal adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Sodality of Mary, Missionary Groups, Grieving Ministry, Apostolate of the elderly and sick, and many more…. Once a wandering and forlorn Catholic experiences the love, the warmth and the sense of belonging to a specific group within the Church, then they will experience the Church as a warm and loving family and long to come back and belong!

 In conclusion, friends in Jesus, Mary and our Catholic family, many, in fact huge numbers of our family members have wandered from home. Baptized Catholics who made their First Communion and Confirmation, and even were married sacramentally— even with all this support, no longer practice the faith. It is truly incumbent upon all of us, if we truly love Jesus the Good Shepherd, to strive to bring as many lost sheep back to the fold as we possibly can! The harvest is rich, but the laborers are all too few. Right now, you are called to be a Good Shepherd, a spiritual Fisherman or Fisherwoman, a loving brother or sister to become a bridge to cross them back over to the ultimate source of grace and Truth—the Catholic Church. Let us use all the tools, the nets, the instruments at our disposal to bring as many as possible back to the loving arms of the Father and the loving embrace of Jesus, our Savior and true Friend who will never abandon us, neither in time nor for all eternity!

Copyright 2021 Oblates of the Virgin Mary St. Peter Chanel Church, Hawaiian Gardens, CA