Saturday after Ash Wednesday

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

SATURDAY, February 20th   Lk. 5: 27-32   Conversion of Matthew (Levi)   “Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.”

Part 1: Intro Points… Matthew’s Conversion and our Conversion.
Part 2: GROWING IN FAITH THROUGH THE HOLY ROSARY by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

• Matthew (Levi) is sitting there doing his work when Jesus says to him, “Follow me.”  Leaving everything behind, Matthew gets up and follows Jesus. Matthew likely got up that morning without any idea that this day would change his life forever.
• We encountered Jesus in the Spiritual Exercises and our lives changed. We began meditating on the life of Jesus in the Gospels. Seeing Jesus walking through the towns and villages in Palestine, talking to people along the way—teaching them, healing them, casting out demons, multiplying the loaves and fishes to feed them, calling them to follow Him: “If you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.” We see Him taking His Apostles aside to explain the parables and tell them many other things, before sending them out to spread the Good News. “Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation!” (2 Cor 6:2)
• In our holy hours, Jesus speaks to us, teaches us, heals us from many past hurts and secret fears and anxieties. He takes us aside each day to explain the parables in our lives – the Parable of the Prodigal Son/Daughter, the Good Shepherd, the Talents, the Persistent Widow, the Good Samaritan, and others. What are the parables that speak to you?
• A parable is a story with a supernatural meaning. As ordinary as our lives seem, they have a deeper supernatural meaning and purpose! There is a whole spiritual realm that we live in, participate in, and that has a tremendous effect on us, and through us others, though we are only dimly aware of it. 
• Then He sends us out to spread the Good News by becoming the Good News for others, beginning with those in our own family!
• The Holy Rosary best exemplifies the Good News that we are called to experience and then become for others! The Holy Rosary is the Good News in action! The Holy Rosary is giving ourselves to Jesus through the life, the eyes, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The Holy Rosary is meant to be prayed, contemplated, and most important, lived!

PART 2:
GROWING IN FAITH THROUGH THE HOLY ROSARY by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. THE ROSARY AS SPIRITUAL SLINGSHOT TO CONQUER THE DEVIL.
In one of the most important meditations in the Spiritual Exercises, with the title The Two Standards, Saint Ignatius presents our spiritual life in the light of a fierce combat between Satan and his disciples fighting against Jesus and His disciples for dominion in our souls! Given today’s materialism, consumerism, hedonism, agnosticism, moral relativism, and militant atheism, the devil can hide behind each of these erroneous philosophical systems to trap us and finally enslave us! It almost appears as if we are David against Goliath! (I Samuel 17) Today we are surrounded by many Modern Goliaths, as mentioned and named above. Therefore, for us to win this fierce battle, we must place ourselves under the military leadership of the Blessed Virgin Mary, carry proudly our spiritual weapon— the most Holy Rosary, and use it frequently and confidently. We have sure hope with such a weapon and so great a leader that the battle will be won and the victory will be ours!

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

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

Friday after Ash Wednesday

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

FRIDAY, February 19th   Mt. 9: 14-15   “Jesus answered them, ‘Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.’”

FASTING WITH THE TONGUE THIS LENT by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

One of the most powerful weapons that we have at our disposal is between our upper and lower teeth—namely, our tongue. The words that issue forth from our mouth have an incredible power for good or for evil.

Pope Francis constantly is reminding us of the importance of vigilance over our whole being; and this includes our tongue and the words that come forth from our mouth.. Time and time again Pope Francis exhorts us to avoid gossip, back-biting, and speech that damages others.

Saint James reminds us: “We should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” (Jas. 1:19)  In James Chapter Three—a must read with respect to the control of our tongue—Saint James in a clear and challenging fashion outlines the dangers of the tongue and the damage that this small instrument can do. Man can tame the animals, but not his tongue. It is small, but just as a little spark can start a huge fire, so the tongue though small can do irreparable damage. In Southern California there is always the danger of a fire cutting across thousands of acres of land, devastating homes, towns, and killing people. Often this huge fire starts with someone flicking a match or cigarette butt, or some other seemingly insignificant thing that sets off a conflagration.

Jesus, who is the Logos—the Word of God made flesh, likewise warns us of the importance of the use of our tongue and our speech on the Day of Judgment! The Lord Himself says: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Lk. 6:45) Once again, with respect to our Final Judgment Jesus warns us: “Every word that comes out of our mouth will be judged.” (Mt. 12:36-37) He also encourages us not to waste words, but be quick and to the point whenever possible: “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything else comes from evil one.” (Mt. 5:37)

LENT: THE SEASON OF CONVERSION

The Season of Lent is a time for conversion of life; this also includes conversion of the way we speak. The three traditional ways to attain to true conversion of heart and life are: 1) prayer, 2) almsgiving, 3) fasting.

True, one can and should fast from food, especially on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Nonetheless, this is not exhaustive! Fasting can be done in many other ways. For example, fasting of the eyes from harmful TV programs, fasting from laziness at work, fasting from being overly critical and judgmental of others in our heart.

Still there is another form of fasting: fasting of the tongue, fasting in speech, fasting from offending others with our words. Why not undertake this on your Lenten journey as you head to the Cross on Good Friday, with your hearts joyfully awaiting the Risen Lord Jesus on the day of the Resurrection!

Indeed this practice could result in promoting harmony in your home with your family members, peace in your relations at work, and charity towards all people you meet!

The following are two short but powerful supports to help us carry out successfully a program of fasting in our speech.

FIRST: THE PENTECOST EXPERIENCE AND SPEECH.

The Apostles during the Public life of Jesus made many mistakes in word and deed. However, they experienced one transforming event—Pentecost. The twelve Apostles spent nine days and nine nights in prayer with the Blessed Virgin Mary and boom!!! There was an explosion of grace!!!

The Holy Spirit descended upon them in Tongues of Fire—emphasis on the word tongues! After which they were endowed with the ability—with their tongues—to preach the Word of God powerfully and convert countless souls. The message and its meaning? Simple! If our speech is to be edifying and sanctifying, then like the Apostles we must be converted, purified, and sanctified by the Fire of the Holy Spirit. All of us must have a daily Pentecost experience! We all must invoke and beg the Holy Spirit on a daily basis that He will guide our minds, our hearts, and the words that usher forth from our mouths! “Come Holy Spirit, come, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

SECOND: THE GOLDEN RULE AND SPEECH 

Every person on earth can understand the Golden Rule given to us by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: “Do to others what you would like them to do to you.” (Mt. 7:12) Everybody responds positively towards a kind word, friendly smile, and charitable gesture. Why not apply the Golden Rule of Jesus to how we speak to others. A bitter or sarcastic word can leave an irreparable wound in the soul of another. On the contrary, a kind word motivated by a pure and loving heart can lift somebody out of the pits of desolation!

Saint Bernard in one of his edifying homilies, reminds us of three rules to apply to our speech:

• Speak to accuse ourselves of our own failures. A great way to do this is by making a good confession!
• Speak to praise God. Saint Ignatius of Loyola in the Spiritual Exercises Meditation on Principle and Foundation, reminds us why we are here on earth: “To praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save our soul.” (Spiritual Exercises text # 23)
• Speak to edify our neighbor. The word “edify” technically means “to build up”.  Our words should serve to encourage and build up our neighbor.

Today, the world has been inundated with a Tsunami of gossip, criticism, negativism, sarcasm and irony—not to mention outright lies and slander! We must counteract negative and poisonous speech by using our tongue to lift others closer to God who is in heaven. We should never forget that God’s ear is listening attentively to every word, letter, and syllable that issues forth from our mouth!

The Word of God reminds us that he who does not control his speech is not on the highway to holiness. However, the man who controls his tongue is being led by the Holy Spirit and is following the pathway to heaven—the narrow path that Jesus taught us.

In conclusion, let us turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who spoke only seven times in the Gospels, that with her help we would learn the art of fasting in many ways. However, especially in this Holy Season of Lent, let us fast from all words that could offend others and God, who is offended when we offend others with our speech. Let us learn to praise God like Mary, with our words and with our lives: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” Let us praise God with Our Lady in time and forever in heaven!

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

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

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

THURSDAY, February 18th   Lk. 9: 22-25   ^“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet lose his soul?”

TEN WAYS WE CAN PREPARE FOR THE LAST THINGS by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

The moment we die and pass from this world to the next, where we’ll be judged by Our Lord, will determine our destiny for all eternity. Really there are only two possibilities: salvation or damnation—rejoicing in the Presence of God or suffering the torments of the damned for all eternity. Even though it’s very sober, very serious, possibly even a bit frightening, this reality should hang before our eyes as the minutes, days, and years evaporate before us.

We should prepare for this encounter with the Lord Jesus with great calmness and peace but also with serious efforts on our part. We should beg the Lord Jesus that He be our Redeemer rather than our Judge.

The following are concrete suggestions to help us one day receive the grace of all graces: to die in the state of grace. May we take these seriously and implement them in our daily walk with the Lord.

1. Live Each Day as if It Were Our Last
How much time do we waste on a daily basis or how much have we wasted up to this point in our lives? Every day we should rise and give ourselves totally to Jesus through Mary and strive to deny the Lord nothing, in imitation of Saint Therese of Lisieux.

 2. Flee From Sin Like the Plague
Many today have a mortal fear of the Coronavirus and this may not be a bad preoccupation. However, should we not fear something worse? How about fear of offending God through sin? How about fear of losing our soul for all eternity by committing and dying in Mortal sin?

A physical virus can be disastrous and catastrophic for the body, so true. However, sin is a moral virus that eats away and corrupts the very fiber of our soul which has infinite and eternal value.

3. Live in the Presence of God
Saint Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church, noted that one of the principal reasons why we sin is because we become oblivious to the Presence of God, we forget that all our actions, thoughts, and even our intentions are seen by God like the sun shining down at midday.

 4. Pray More Every Day
Strive to pray a little more and a little better every day. We should arrive at a point where we cannot live without prayer; it has become a matter of life and death in our spiritual life. What air is to our lungs, prayer is to our soul. If no air is coming in and out of our lungs, our life is over. Likewise, a person without prayer will suffocate and die spiritually.

 5. Be Reconciled
Jesus says that if we are about to offer our gift at the altar and recognize that our brother has something against us, we should leave our gift at the altar, go make amends and reconcile with our brother, then return to offer the gift. In other words, Jesus wants us to at least strive to live out mercy and overcome any form of resentment in our life.

What acid is to the stomach lining, causing ulcers, so is resentment to the soul that is not ready and willing to seek reconciliation and forgiveness. Remember the words of the great Catholic English poet, Alexander Pope: “To err is human; to forgive is divine.”

 6. Never Despair, but Trust in God’s Mercy
When all is said and done, when the curtain goes down and we reach the end of our short earthly sojourn, the last word will be, “Do we really trust in God’s infinite mercy?” Saint Paul reminds us in the Letter to the Romans: “Where sin abounds, the mercy of God abounds all the more.” (Rom. 5:20)

The Diary of Saint Faustina echoes the same theme: “The worst of sinners can be the greatest of all saints!” This all depends on one’s disposition of heart, having an infinite, limitless and unreserved trust in God’s Infinite Mercy.

God’s Infinite Mercy can be compared to all the waters in all the oceans, and more—indeed an infinite abyss. We must launch ourselves, plunge into this infinite abyss of Mercy! Ironically, the first canonized saint was one of the thieves hanging on a cross next to Jesus who cried out: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom!” (Lk. 23:42) The response of Jesus was pure mercy: “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise!” (Lk. 23:43) The triumph of the infinite ocean of God’s mercy!

 7. The Gift of the Church: Plenary Indulgence
The Catholic Church has an infinite reservoir of graces to dispense. These can be understood and applied by means of Indulgences, including the Plenary Indulgence. All flow from the pierced and open Heart of Jesus from which gushed forth Blood and Water. To acquire a Plenary Indulgence, the requirements are the following:

• Confession. A well-prepared Sacramental Confession made to the priest who represents our Merciful and Loving Savior, Jesus the Lord, within one week before or after the indulgenced act.
• Prayer Indulgences. The most Holy Rosary recited in the family or in front of the Blessed Sacrament qualifies to acquire the Plenary Indulgence.
• Prayers for the Vicar of Christ. Following the Rosary, prayers must be offered for the intention of the Holy Father—the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be.
• Mass and Holy Communion on the same day. Then of capital importance is attendance at Mass, with full, active and conscious participation in the Mass, and most important, fervent and loving reception of Holy Communion—the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Lord Jesus.
• Lastly, we must renounce and reject sin in its totality. That is, we must make a firm effort and determination to reject sin, both mortal and venial sin, in all shapes, sizes, circumstances, and conditions. This, of course, also means avoiding the near occasions of sin: any person, place or thing that can lead us into sin.

If these five conditions are carried out to the best of our ability, with purity of heart and intention, then the Plenary Indulgence can be acquired, and not only are all our sins forgiven, but also the temporal punishment that accrued to these sins is forgiven! If you like, a new life, a clean slate, a soul as white as the snow, and if you were to die at that moment, you could have immediate access to God and to heaven! How great is God’s love and mercy to us through Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church, and the Sacramental life!

Final Note: The Plenary Indulgence can be applied to ourselves, but not to any other living person. However, instead of applying the Plenary Indulgence to ourselves, we can choose to apply it to a suffering soul in Purgatory, in which case they will be released to heaven that day.

8.  Our Lady of the Rosary
At Fatima, Our Lady asked the children, Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia, to pray the Rosary in every one of the apparitions—six in total, from May through October. Every time we pray the Rosary, we are preparing ourselves for a holy and happy death fifty times. How and with what words? The last words of the Hail Mary: “Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” We are begging Our Lady to be with us in those last and critical moments so that we can breathe forth our soul into the hands of God!

 9, Beg for the Special Grace to Receive the Last Sacraments before Death
A very worthy and noble prayer that we can make to Jesus through Mary is to have the grace to receive the three Sacraments before we die, as well as the Apostolic Pardon. In the proper sequence and order it follows: Sacramental Confession; followed by the Anointing of the Sick; and finally, the reception of Viaticum—the Last Communion for the Wayfarer or Traveler on their Journey to Heaven. As an added bonus, the priest can offer the Apostolic Pardon which consists of these brief but powerful words: “Through the holy mysteries of our redemption, may Almighty God release you from all punishments in this life and in the life to come. May He open to you the gates of paradise and welcome you to everlasting joy.”  With these three Sacraments received with the best of dispositions, and the final touch of God’s love and mercy in the Apostolic Pardon, there is a good chance that our death will be our birth into Heaven for all eternity! What a glorious day that would be!

10. What Would You Like Your Last Words on Earth to Be?
I have thought of this question with a certain frequency and come to this conclusion. I would like my heart in those last moments to express three sentiments in these words:

• “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a poor sinner.”A humble recognition of my status as a sinner in desperate need of God’s forgiveness.

• “Jesus, I trust in you!” A limitless TRUST in Jesus’ greatest attribute—His Mercy!

• “Jesus, I love you!” The great Doctor, Mystic, poet and saint, Saint John of the  Cross, expressed this perfectly: “In the twilight of our existence, we will be judged on love.”

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

Ash Wednesday

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

WEDNESDAY, February 17th   Mt. 6: 1-6, 16-18  

Part 1: Introductory Points…
Part 2: TEN WAYS WE CAN PRACTICE FASTING by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Lent Begins with Prayer… Sacrifice… Alms-giving.

• Prayer: We pray more… giving more of ourselves and our time to grow deeper in love and friendship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
• Sacrifice: We deny ourselves for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for our sins and the sins of others. It is especially good to deny ourselves in areas where we are most tempted and prone to sin.
• Alms-giving: We give of our time, talents and treasure to bring Jesus to others in works of love and mercy. What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What more can I do for Christ?
• Our prayers, sacrifices, and alms are an acknowledgment that Almighty God is Creator and Master of all that we are and all that we have, except sin. The deepest and absolute truth of our being is that we belong to God. This is true for all creatures. Lucifer denied this truth, and he’ll exist for all eternity separated from God in a world of his own making.
• Jesus is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity become man. As our Lord and Savior, He completes us in a way that no one else can. We will experience Heaven on earth to the extent that we allow Jesus to take possession of our mind, our heart, our soul and our life! Jesus invites us, “Abide in me and I will abide in you!” To say No to self is to say Yes to Jesus and this Divine Invasion!
• Toward this end, let us go deeper in the Lenten practice of fasting.

PART 2:  TEN WAYS WE CAN PRACTICE FASTING by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Jesus said: “Unless you do penance you will all perish.” (Lk. 13:3) 

In the first preaching of His Public ministry Jesus exhorts us to conversion: “Be converted for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” (Mk. 1:15) The Mystical Body of Christ generously offers us a season of grace which has, as its purpose, conversion every year. This is the forty days of Lent.

Moses fasted forty days on the Mountain and Jesus spent forty days in the desert fasting. The Church encourages us in the Season of Lent to dig deep into the inner recesses of our heart and beg for Conversion of Heart.

This conversion can become a reality by undertaking three traditional practices: prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. (Mt. 6: 1-18) In prayer, we lift up our mind and heart to God; in almsgiving, we go out to meet the needs of our suffering brothers and sisters; in fasting, we dig deep into our heart and beg the Lord for the grace to relinquish our attachment to sin!

This being the case, what might be some concrete ways that we can practice fasting? An important note is the following: fasting is not merely a diet, with the simple desire to lose a few extra pounds. Rather, the purpose of fasting is to please God, convert our hearts, as well as beg for the conversion of others. In other words, fasting must have a supernatural intention that is both vertical and horizontal!

Ten Ways We Can Fast

 1. Eat less and receive the most Holy Eucharist more.
By this practice, we give more importance to our spiritual life and the salvation of our soul. Jesus said: “Do not work for food that perishes, but for food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of man will give you. For on him the Father, God has set his seal.” (Jn. 6:27—Discourse on the Bread of Life)

 2. Control your tongue.
Saint James says, “We should be slow to speak and quick to listen.” Read James, Chapter Three—one of the best exhortations in the world to work on controlling our tongue!

 3. The Heroic Moment. 
The Founder of Opus Dei coined the phrase, “The Heroic Moment”. By this, Saint Josemaria Escriva asserts that as soon as we hear the alarm clock sound, we should spring from bed, say our morning prayers and start our day. The devil of laziness encourages us to push the snooze-button! I do not believe the snooze-button exists in the vocabulary and practice of the saints. What do you think?

 4. Control those wandering eyes. 
The eyes are the mirror of the soul. The holy King David plunged into sin, then more sin leading to murder for the simple reason that he allowed his eyes to wander. His eyes wandered and gazed upon a married woman—Bathsheba. Adulterous thoughts led to physical adultery, to denial of his sin, and eventually to killing an innocent man—the husband of Bathsheba. (2 Samuel 11-12) Let us strive to live out the Beatitude: “Blessed are the pure of heart, they will see God.” (Mt. 5:8)

 5. Punctuality.
Jesus says, “He who is faithful in the small will be faithful in the larger things.” (Mt. 25:23) Being punctual and on time is a sign of order, respect for others, and a means to accomplish tasks well and on time.

 6. Listen to others. 
It is all too easy to interrupt others when they speak, and try to impose our own ideas even before the person has finished talking. Charity, which means love for God and for others, teaches us to respect others and allow them to speak without interrupting them. Listening to others is an act of humility—putting them before ourselves! Indeed, Jesus describes His Heart as meek and humble. (Mt. 11:28-30) “Jesus meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto yours.” 

7. Be thankful rather than complain. 
Never allow a day to pass without thanking God. In truth, we should constantly be thanking God. All that we have, we received from God, except our sins! “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His mercy endures forever.” (Ps. 118:1). Furthermore, we should make it a habit to frequently give thanks to others. 

 8. Smile, even when you don’t feel like smiling.
This indeed could be a great penance—to smile at somebody even when you are tired, have a headache, or a cold. A smile is something small, but it is contagious. Indeed, a sincere smile can lift those who see it from desolation to a state of consolation. One of the most evident signs of being a follower of Jesus is a smile of joy emanating from your face. “Rejoice in the Lord; I say it again: rejoice in the Lord.” (Phil. 4:4)

 9. Pray always, especially when you don’t feel like it.
Many of us, unfortunately, base our spiritual life on feelings which are ephemeral, transitory, and passing like the dew that evaporates in the morning sun. Our best example for prayer is, of course, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. (Lk. 22:39-46) When Jesus was experiencing a mortal agony and desolation that drew huge drops of Blood from His pores, He did not feel like praying. Nonetheless, Jesus prayed all the more fervently.

Therefore, let us have a set time and place to pray every day, even when we do not feel like it. This is penance and true love for God! This is also a sign of true maturity in the faith!

10. Encouragement.
Barnabas, whose name means “son of encouragement”, accompanied Saint Paul in his missionary work. (Acts 4:36). Are we sons and daughters of encouragement? If not, let us get out of our egotistic shell and focus more on God and on seeing Jesus in others, imitating the Good Samaritan. (Lk. 10:25-37). Let us learn to be a Simon of Cyrene (Mt. 27:30) and help our brothers and sisters burdened by the weight of a heavy cross. Let us lighten it by encouraging words and a heart filled with love and compassion. Remember the Golden Rule: “Do to others what you would like them to do to you.” (Mt. 7:12) In the storms of life, may our words of compassion and encouragement be a powerful wind in the sails of our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ!

IN CONCLUSION: Prayerfully read through these ten suggestions on how to fast by denying yourself, and choose at least one or two that you can start to practice right away. May Our Lady, Mother of Good Counsel, help us to deny ourselves and echo Mary’s Yes by serving our brothers and sisters with a generous heart!

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

Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

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

TUESDAY, February 16th   Mk. 8: 14-21   “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

Introductory Points…

• Christ makes it clear that there is good leaven and bad leaven. The bad leaven is of two kinds. The bad leaven of the Pharisees can be likened to “cafeteria Catholics” who pick and choose which teachings of the church to accept and which to reject according to their spiritual palate. The bad leaven of Herod is those who make worldly gain and pleasure their gods.
• We are called to be good leaven in the world. We may be small and insignificant in the world’s eyes, and even in our own eyes. But Christ’s presence within us can transform the world… like the tiny bit of leaven that makes the bread rise and expand.
• But first there is a battle to be waged and won! Simply put, the good leaven and bad leaven represent the battle between good and evil, and in today’s world, the battleground where the battle is being waged is The Family!

FAMILIES FORTIFIED AND FAITHFUL by Father Ed Broom, OMV

It is the basic cell of society; it is the oldest and one of the most important institutions; it is the Domestic-Church—the family, the society and community in which children enter the world and are formed and trained to be citizens of this world and the world to come! Yes! This is the HUMAN-FAMILY!

The health, wholesomeness, and duration of the society as a whole depends on the moral and spiritual state and quality of the family! History has proven with catastrophic, disastrous, and undeniable facts the following: when the family disintegrates and comes unraveled, the whole society crumbles and evaporates. The Greek civilization declined. The great Roman Empire that dominated the world declined, withered, and died due to the decline of the moral quality of the family.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church expresses with great clarity, transparency, and depth the true nature that the family must aspire to. It is an ideal that all families should strive to attain with strenuous effort, but especially by relying on the super-abundant graces of God! No doubt God’s grace overflows in abundance, but it is incumbent upon us to open our hearts to receive this free gift of the family. The Catechism of the Catholic Church comments on the indispensable and primary importance of the family for the child, for their development, the formation of their character, as well as their insertion into the entire fabric of society.

“The family is the original cell of social life. It is the natural society in which the husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority, stability, and a life of relationships within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within the society. The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 2207)

Now let us present an acrostic consisting of TEN-M’S to aid and motivate us to strive to form noble and holy families in imitation of the best of all human families: Jesus, Mary, and Saint Joseph—the Holy Family of Nazareth.

THE TEN M’S TO BUILD NOBLE AND HOLY FAMILIES.

1. MORNING PRAYER. Every member of the human family has incalculable importance, dignity and destiny. So from the youngest to the oldest, the day should start with prayer. What prayer? Highly to be recommended would be the Morning-offering in which you start the day by giving all you do, all you are, all you have, and even all of your intentions to Jesus through Mary. Then you end the prayer by kissing your Scapular—this is your eternal sign of consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is a sign that you are in Mary’s family and you belong to her as her beloved son or daughter.

2. MEDITATION ON THE WORD OF GOD. Never allow a day to pass in which you have not spent some time immersing yourself in the infinite treasure and riches of the Word of God. The Gospels present the Virgin Mary as an example. Twice in the Gospel of Luke Mary is portrayed as the model contemplative… Mary pondered the word of God. If you like here is a short method for meditating on the Word of God: Eyes, mind and heart, then feet. In concrete: read carefully the Word of God; assimilate it in your mind and heart; then go from mind and heart to feet—like Mary, put it into practice. Allow the Word of God to transform your life and the lives of your family members!

3. MEAL-TIME IS FAMILY TIME!!! Two of the most common stock-phrases or clichés are the following: “I don’t have time or I’m too busy!” Misnomers as these two phrases are, unfortunately, they dominate the modern culture far and wide. Meal-time on a daily basis should be the high-point or apex of family time. Meals should begin with a prayer of blessing, then time to eat and time to share. Everybody at the meal-table has great importance. Every person should learn two key arts that come with practice: learn how to communicate clearly and humbly what is in your heart; then learn the art of listening to the others attentively and non-judgmentally. How many suicides or attempted suicides could have been and still can be avoided—especially among teens—if they could open up their hearts and express themselves freely at the family dinner table, assured of being heard and understood. Other topics? Anything that is honest, pure, enlightening, edifying, spiritual, informative, religious, and never forget: humorous! Everybody should have an arsenal of good jokes! I invite all to listen to the Cat in the Cradle, Harry Chapin. Get your handkerchiefs ready because it is a true tear-jerker! However, it is a splice of reality of the American culture over the last fifty years. Fathers do not have time for their kids and this is perpetuated from one generation to the next. Homes are being transformed into hotels. Families live together today as if they were strangers. As the poet expresses it: like two ships passing each other in the quiet of the night.

4. MATRIMONY: MARRIED IN THE CHURCH. Due to a deluge of materialism, secularism, and hedonism, the modern generation of young people have taken it upon themselves to set up living arrangements in which they live together, at least apparently as husband and wife, having never been married sacramentally. The terminology is vast: co-habitation, free-union, trial-marriage, trying it out for compatibility and chemistry, etc. Call it whatever you like, but until a man and woman, living as husband and wife, have been married in the Catholic Church through a sacramental marriage, they really are not married in the eyes of God. Despite the most noble intellectual qualities, sports prowess, exterior beauty, wit and charm, and material prosperity, this union will eventually fall-apart. Why? Due to the simple reason that this union was built on sand, rather than on the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Rock, the Bastion and Fortress, and Defender of the Marital Commitment. Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen penned a spiritual masterpiece in this regard for couples preparing for marriage with the title: “It Takes Three to Get Married.” The Three are the husband, wife, and the hidden but most important Person of the trio, Jesus Christ, who unites the couple in permanent, faithful and indissoluble love. Now more than ever, Pastors, catechists, spiritual mentors, good Catholic writers should promote the primordial importance of receiving the Sacrament of Matrimony so as to establish a solid rock foundation upon which to build holy and happy families!

5. MASS: GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. The most noble gesture that a human person can carry out on this side of eternity is to participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass—fully, actively, and consciously and receive with faith, fervor, and love the most Holy Eucharist—the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus the Lord. Related to the topic of the family, what an enormous deluge of graces would shower from heaven on the family if family members went to Mass together, received Communion together, and offered their Holy Communions for the purpose of augmenting love among their family members! After receiving Holy Communion, we have truly received a Spiritual-Heart transplant: the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus beats in our heart and overflows to our family members! Why not live out the Our Father, with a sacramental interpretation: “Give us this day our daily bread… the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus!!!”

6. MERCY, MERCY, MERCY! Truly, the family can and should be a school of virtue. That is to say, many domestic, social, theological and moral virtues can be practiced on a daily-basis. Among the most noble of all virtues is that of Mercy. In the Diary of Saint Faustina, Jesus emphasizes mercy as the greatest of all of the virtues in His Sacred Heart.  What then is mercy? Quite simply: Mercy is the love of God forgiving the sinner. However, in our human-divine relationships, for us to receive God’s mercy, we must also practice mercy by giving it to others. No better place in the world to practice mercy, love and forgiveness then in the context of the family! On a daily basis, family members hurt us and we hurt them. The solution to the problem is this: when someone offends you—forgive them right away! And have the humility to ask for forgiveness when you hurt someone! Remember the words of Jesus: “Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful” (Lk. 6:36). Also, “…forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” (Mt. 5:12)

7. MIRTH: OVERFLOWING JOY IN THE FAMILY. According to the expert in the Art of Spiritual Discernment, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the state of desolation often is an open door to powerful and insistent temptations, catapulting and then cascading us into sin. Of course, one of the manifestations of desolation is a sad and depressed spirit. Rewind the film of your life, and you will find that many times your sin was preceded by a general sadness of being. To recompense for that sadness, you had recourse to some sin, your kryptonite, your basic weakness. Afterward, your conscience reproached you until you returned to God through prayer, penance and Confession. On the other hand, joy, happiness, jubilation, a truly happy spirit is a strong bastion to ward off the devil of sadness and prevent slipping into the mire of sin. Moms and Dads should be happy! They should radiate their joy by a constant smile. They should learn the art of encouragement—words that edify, lift up, sustain, and motivate. Children that experience an exuberant and overflowing joy from their parents will not desire to seek refuge in drink, porn, drugs, or gang activity, all of which are cop-outs, lies, and false-gods presented by the devil as a haven or refuge. Let us learn to live out these words in the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord; I say it again: rejoice in the Lord.” (Phil 4:4)

8. MORTIFICATION. If we run away from our cross, most likely we will run into a cross that is heavier than the one God designed in His Divine Providence to send us! One of the conditions for following Jesus the Lord is the willingness to carry the cross that He sends us. Resounding and powerful are the words of the Master: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” (Mt. 15:24) To fortify families, the cross must be present. +++ It can be a cross living with difficult people. But above and beyond demanding and challenging social conditions, we should all make an effort to practice mortification, to practice self-denial, to learn to say NO to ourselves so that we can say YES to God. To be patient with the tardy, to hold back an unkind word when tempted to speak, to take the last seat and the smaller portion at meals, to smile when you are assaulted with a splitting migraine—all of these are concrete manifestations of practicing self-denial and mortification. In other words, mortification is the antithesis of egotism which corrodes family harmony!

9. MISSIONARY. The last words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of St. Matthew are nothing less than a missionary mandate, an imperious obligation for all Christians, all serious followers of Christ to share the Good News of salvation, far and wide, in fact, to the four corners of the world. The words of the Savior are serious, and as such we should take them to heart and live them out: “Go out to all nations and teach them what I taught you; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And behold I am with you always even until the end of the world. (Mt. 28: 19-20) Families that have discovered the love of Christ should be overflowing with enthusiasm to share the love of Christ with other families where maybe the love of Christ has dried up and extinguished, or perhaps where the love of Christ never existed! Aquinas points out that when we share some material commodity we are poorer after giving it away. But not so in the spiritual realm! By sharing Christ with others, those who receive the Good News are enriched, but those who have shared it are all the more rich for sharing it! The first Encyclical of Pope Francis was precisely this message: The Joy of sharing the Gospel. Why not on a monthly basis bring families together to pray the Rosary, share spiritual insights, and then share a happy meal together. This might be a tool that families can utilize to implement the missionary call of the family!

10. MARY: OUR LIFE, OUR SWEETNESS AND OUR HOPE. Our essay would be far from complete if we did not at least conclude by encouraging all families to cultivate a tender, filial and loving devotion to Mary. As prayed in the Hail Holy Queen Mary is “our life, our sweetness, and our hope.” On their Wedding Day, the couple lays their bouquet of roses at the feet of Mary, expressing by this gesture their consecration to her. Families should enthrone the images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary in their homes! Saint Pope John Paul II, in his inspired and practical writing Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary, strongly exhorts the whole world, but especially families to pray the Rosary for two intentions: for world peace and for the protection of the family. The Rosary priest, Ven. Father Patrick Peyton has coined these two immortal sayings related to the urgency in praying the Rosary: “The family that prays together, stays together” and “A world at prayer is a world at peace.” If this tender, filial, and loving devotion to Mary exists in the family, then positive fruits will eventually take root in the family: love, purity, respect for self and respect for others, peace, harmony, patience and joy. Mary was the perfect wife and the perfect Mother. She can help married women to strive for ever greater perfection in their duties as both wives and mothers and do it with courage, joy and perseverance!

 

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