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

THURSDAY, March 18th    Jn. 5: 31-47   “The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me.”

KNOWING, LOVING AND FOLLOWING THE LORD JESUS! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

In the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the very heart of the Exercises is the contemplation of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In a the 30-day month Exercise Program close to 12 days are dedicated to contemplating the Public Life of the Lord Jesus.

THE FRUIT.  The fruit or grace that Ignatius insists that we beg for is this: “Intimate knowledge of Jesus, that we love Him more ardently, and follow Him more closely.” What a beautiful, inspiring and uplifting grace. In a word, the heart of the Spiritual Exercises and the very heart of the life of the Christian is the Person of Jesus Christ. However, we must both beg and strive for greater knowledge of the Lord and greater love for the Lord. And the logical consequence will be ardent desire to follow Him fully, totally and unreservedly!

PUBLIC LIFE OF JESUS.  The Public life of Jesus lasted approximately three years, but these short years would change the face of the earth—changing human history and the world’s condition drastically and radically! Jesus’ Public life can be divided into three fundamental activities: preaching, performing miracles, and exorcisms—that is to say, casting out devils!

MIRACLES OF JESUS.  To give further proof to His Divinity, Jesus performed abundant miracles. To the incredulous Jesus stated clearly: “If you do not believe in my words, then at least believe in my works.” That is to say, in His miracles! With great concision, Jesus’ miracles could be divided into two categories: miracles over nature, and miracles of healing of human ailments or sicknesses. Jesus’ miracles manifested His great love, compassion and mercy for suffering humanity, as well as His power over nature. Meaning out of love for the suffering, Jesus would at times go beyond or transcend the natural laws that He Himself imposed on nature—being God the Creator of all the universe and the laws that govern the universe.

KNOW, LOVE AND FOLLOW JESUS THROUGH A SERIES OF MIRACLES.  The following Biblical passages present a series of Biblical or Gospel contemplations taken from the life of Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Mary, the Divine Physician, and our Best Friend. The Biblical verse will be presented with the title of the miracle and then a brief reflection. The ultimate end or purpose of this Spiritual Exercise is, as stated earlier, that we will really get to know Jesus, so as to love Him all the more ardently, and thereby be ready and willing to follow Him more closely! Let’s dive in!

1. THE WEDDING FEAST OF CANA (Jn. 2: 1-12).  Jesus performs His first Public miracle through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mediatrix of all graces. He turns water into wine. Jesus, through Mary’s prayers, can turn your water into wine too. Meaning? Jesus and Mary can help you with your problems—either resolve them or help you cope with them. Entrust yourself to the loving care of Jesus and Mary; they will never fail you!

2. HEALING OF THE PARALYTIC (Mt. 9: 1-8).  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. A word and a touch from Jesus can heal and strengthen damaged or even ruined limbs. Just as Jesus heals the paralytic so that he can walk, the same Jesus can strengthen your limbs such that you can jump and leap with praise and joy in the Lord. Beg the Lord Jesus to heal you now and help you walk firmly on the straight and narrow path that leads to heaven.

3. HEALING OF THE TEN LEPERS (Lk. 17: 11-19).  Lepers were considered the outcasts of society. Contagious as the disease was, incurable in the sight of all physicians, lepers were marginalized by society and lived an almost hopeless and desperate, as well as precarious existence. People would flee from a leper like the plague! Jesus heals ten lepers at once by His word alone! Sad to say, only one returns to render Jesus thanks, and he is a Samaritan, hated by the Jews. Leprosy symbolizes sin. Therefore, in a real sense we are all lepers. But Good News: there is a Doctor who is always available—Jesus, the Divine Physician. Bring your moral leprosy to Jesus and He will heal you!

4. HEALING OF THE CENTURION’S SERVANT (Lk. 7: 1-10).  Jesus heals a servant who suffers intensely. However, the healing is performed chiefly through the love, concern and compassion of His master, the Centurion. The healing depended on his deep faith imbued with profound humility. “Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof, but your word alone will heal him.” Why not bring to the Heart of Jesus someone you know who needs healing with great trust in Him. JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU!

5. HEALING OF BARTIMEUS—THE BLIND BEGGAR (Mk. 10: 46-52).  Bartimeus, the blind beggar sitting on the road-side cries out to Jesus insistently, even though they try to silence him. As a result of his insistence, Bartimeus is brought to Jesus and healed of his blindness. How true it is that all of us have certain blind-spots in our spiritual journey. However, Jesus is the Light of the World who came to cast out the darkness. Why not beg Jesus to remove the blinders from your spiritual vision so that you can contemplate the Face of Jesus in time and for all eternity. “Blessed are the pure of heart; they will see God.” (Mt. 5: 8)

6. HEALING OF THE DEAF-MUTE (Mk. 8:31-37).  Not only do we suffer from a certain spiritual blindness, but we also suffer often from a certain spiritual deafness. As a consequence, this causes an impediment in our speech. In a word, we do not always say what we should say, when we should say it, as well as use the proper tone of voice in expressing the words and ideas that emanate from our heart. As Jesus said: “From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” (Lk. 6: 45) Why not beg Jesus for the grace of healing so that you can sincerely hear His Word and then and truthfully and charitably communicate it to others!

7. CALMING OF THE STORM (Mt. 8: 23-27). The only time reported in the Gospels of Jesus sleeping in the midst of a violent storm—how ironic, but what a deep message! In the midst of a storm on the lake, the terrified Apostles wake Jesus up. Jesus first rebukes the Apostles for their lack of faith, and then rebukes the violent winds which cease and the storm abates immediately. We all have storms in our lives, some small, some moderate, and others very violent! Why not beg the Lord Jesus to calm these storms? He was omnipotent 2000 years ago, and He still is to this very day, this very moment. Your prayer might be: “Lord, be with me in the storms of my life, and subdue the violent storms that threaten to capsize the boat of my soul.”

8. JESUS (AND PETER) WALK ON WATER (Mt. 14: 22-33).  In the deep darkness of night, in the midst of a stormy sea on Lake Galilee, the Apostles perceive a specter, appearing to be a ghost, walking towards them on the water. Terrified, they panic! Jesus tries to calm them down saying: “Get ahold of yourselves! It is I.” Peter responds: “Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.” Jesus says: Come!!!” Imagine this…Peter stepping out of the boat and walking with Jesus on the water! But then he begins to sink and cries out: “Lord, save me!” Jesus stretches out His hand, grasps the hand of Peter, and saves the Apostle from sinking and drowning! Perhaps we can identify with Peter? Perhaps we have been asked by the Lord to leave our comfort zone, relinquish our security blanket, and walk in the dark on the cold water? Peter’s problem was precisely this: Peter focused more on the problem then on the problem-solver—the Lord Jesus! Why not bring your problems to Jesus, the problem-solver right now? Remember! Our chief problem is that we forget to bring our problems to the One who can solve all problems—Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Let us begin to truly place our trust in Him!

9. MULTIPLICATION OF THE LOAVES AND FISHES (Mk. 8: 1-10).  The crowds were following Jesus the whole day and had no food, no provisions, nor means to acquire the necessary sustenance. Handed a little bread and less fish but given with much love, Jesus performed an extraordinary miracle. He multiplied the loaves and the fishes with such quantity that not hundreds, but thousands ate to their fill and there were even many left-overs that were not to be wasted. What love, tenderness (that of a Mother) and compassion flowed from the Heart of Jesus!  Why not bring to the Heart of Jesus your needs and He will fill you to your heart’s content!

10. HEALING AND EXORCISM OF THE MAN POSSESSED BY MANY DEMONS (Mt. 9: 32-33). Gashing himself with stones, crying out like a lunatic or madman, living in the solitary loneliness of a grave-yard, Legion suffers from diabolical possession. But it is not just one devil, but a large number that have taken up their abode in his soul. Jesus casts out all of the devils into a herd of swine grazing on the hillside, and they rush into the sea and drown. The possessed man is totally healed and wants to follow Jesus, but Jesus tells him to announce the good news to his relatives and friends. Why not talk to Jesus about the demons in your life and beg Jesus to cast them out. At the mere name of Jesus and Mary, a throng of devil’s quake with a dreaded fear!

11. RAISING OF THE SON OF THE WIDOW OF NAIM (Lk. 7: 11-17).  Moved to the very depths of His heart, Jesus touches the bier where the dead body of a widow’s only son lays in the shadow of death. Immediately, the young man rises and Jesus gives him back to his mourning mother. Our Lady is a widow and she will lose her only Son—Jesus crucified for our sins and our salvation. Contemplate these powerful Biblical truths and talk to Jesus and Mary about them! Thank Jesus and Mary for their sacrifice of love for you! How precious you are to them!

12. RAISING OF THE DEAD DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS (Lk. 8: 40-56).  Entering into the room with His three Apostles Peter, James and John, Jesus takes the hand of the 12-year-old dead girl and cries out: “Talitha-cum: young girl arise!” Upon the power of Jesus’ few words, the dead girl returns to life and is given back to her parents. How many of us have children—teens or young adults or even adults—who are dead in sin, who have willingly chosen to walk away from the loving embrace of God the Father, and embrace some false-god instead! Why not turn to Jesus who can bring the dead to life and beg for the spiritual restoration of your son or daughter.

13. THE RAISING OF LAZARUS (Jn. 11:1-44).  One of the most powerful miracles in the life of Jesus! He finds His friend, Lazarus, dead and buried, laid in the tomb for four long days. Weeping copious and profuse tears, the sisters—Mary and Martha, gently complain to Jesus that if He had been present during the sickness of Lazarus, their brother never would have died. And Scripture says: “Jesus wept!” Going to the tomb, He has the stone removed and cries out in a loud voice: “LAZARUS, COME OUT!!!” Wrapped in burial bandages, the dead man rises and walks out of the tomb! Jesus transforms a terrible tragedy into a glorious victory! Why not go to the Sacrament of Confession, especially now before Easter! And bring some other sinner with you. Then, in the teaching of Saint Augustine, you yourself will have a LAZARUS EXPERIENCE—passing from spiritual death to life in the spirit!

14. JESUS HEALS THE MOTHER-IN-LAW OF PETER (Mt. 8: 14-15).  The fever of Peter’s Mother-in-law is intense. Jesus enters the house and takes her by the hand; the fever leaves her immediately and she gets up and begins to wait on Him. May the Lord bless the mothers-in-law of the world! One point: immediately upon receiving healing, this good woman, without losing a moment, begins to serve Jesus. Why not bring your sicknesses to Jesus, and once healed, serve the Lord Jesus all the more!

15. THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS (Lk. 24: 13-35).  After the crucifixion and death of Jesus, two forlorn, desolate, and disoriented disciples leave Jerusalem and head towards Emmaus. A stranger catches up to them, walks with them, listens to them, and talks to them explaining all the Scriptures about the Messiah. Arriving at their destination, they invite the stranger to stay with them, for the day is nearly spent. He enters their home and sits down at table to break bread with them. Only then are their “eyes opened” and they recognize the stranger is Jesus risen from the dead, and He disappears from their sight. They marvel: “Were not our hearts set on fire in His Presence?” Why not beg the Lord Jesus to take the blinders from your eyes and set your heart on fire with love for Him, so that you can set the world on fire with love for God and the desire for His Kingdom! “Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in in heaven.” (The Our Father)

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

WEDNESDAY, March 17th    Jn. 5: 1-16  ^“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life.”

Part 1: The Virtue of Faith… by Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C.

Part 2: STAND FIRM FOR THE FAITH… by Fr. Ed. Broom, OMV

PART 1:  The Virtue of Faith… by Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C. (+2006)

It is easy to say, “I believe in God.” But to say that “I believe that God is in control” can be very hard, really to give Him the evidence of the heart, of the soul bowed down before Him, sometimes in confusion at what He seems to be doing (and not doing) and sometimes in real anguish—and to believe. This is the evidence He is asking of us.  

We tend to think of faith as a lovely thing. Faith is not just a matter of speaking, but it is a matter of believing when it is difficult to believe. Saint Claude de la Colombiere, the apostle of hope, said, “I hope, and I will always hope. And I will never cease hoping. When it is clear that there is no longer any reason to hope, then I will hope all the more!”

But in his determination to give his anxieties over to God, even he had to discover, as we do, that this is very hard to accomplish. We do not really want to let go of them. They are debilitating, they are degenerative of our forward action, and yet it can be very hard to let go of our anxieties. 

We ask: “But how is it going to turn out? It is getting more confused all the time; the skeins are more tangled all the time.”

Faith is such a strong thing, because it is faith in the face of almost everything that does not present human reason for faith!  

PART 2:  STAND FIRM FOR THE FAITH… by Fr. Ed. Broom, OMV

“Be on guard, stand firm for the faith, be courageous, be strong. Your every act should be done with love.” (I Cor. 16:13-14)

What is the virtue of faith? It is a theological virtue that unites us with God in whom we believe—in who He is, in what He says through the Word of God, through the Magisterium and the person of Peter, who is the Pope. A shorter definition, indeed easier to memorize is: “Faith is believing in God without seeing Him.” Faith, together with hope and charity, are infused within our soul in the moment of Baptism. However, like a tiny seed planted in the ground it must be cultivated, otherwise it can wither and die.

BIBLICAL VERSE.  A very graphic Biblical verse, worthy of deep meditation or better yet contemplation, is Saint Peter walking on the water, sinking, and then being lifted up by the hand of Jesus. (Mt. 14: 22-33) One of the principal reasons why Peter sank in the waves was that he lifted his eyes from the eyes of Jesus to look at the waves about to overtake him. This can be applied to all of us! When we fix our gaze on the loving eyes of Jesus then our faith, as well as our hope, remain firmly rooted, if you like anchored! However, once worldly values lure us in the wrong direction and actually seduce us, then we—like Simon Peter—start to falter in our faith and eventually sink in the waves of our own sinfulness.

Therefore, may we make a firm commitment and fight to be strong in the faith by striving to have Jesus always present to us in all times and places. As the Greek poet expressed it, quoted by Saint Paul: “In Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17: 28)

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR OBSTACLES TO FAITH IN THE MODERN WORLD?  

Related to the topic of faith, we should ask and respond to this question, what are the major obstacles to faith in the modern world in which we live? There are many, but we would like to highlight a few.

1. LACK OF FORMATION IN THE FAITH.  Often, many have a very weak faith because their parents never made a concerted effort to teach and live the faith for their children. Parents must be the first teachers of the faith; they promised this on the day of the Baptism of their child. They should teach their children both by word and example.

2. LACK OF PERMANENT FORMATION.  As in the life of any professional, a permanent process of formation is demanded. Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers—all must be constantly updating and upgrading their practice and profession; if not, they could lose their job. Likewise, as followers of Christ, our formation process should be perpetual, up until the day the Lord calls us. We can never get to know and love God enough!

3. DISTRACTIONS AND WORLDLINESS.  Today there are many distractions and worldliness that can pull us off the straight and narrow path that leads to salvation. Jesus says that the path that leads to perdition is wide and spacious and many choose that path; whereas the path that leads to salvation is narrow and there are few who find it and follow it.

4. PRIORITIES.  Also, without a serious cultivation of the faith, other things become our priority over God. However, our God is a jealous God who will take second place to no person, place or thing.

5. SIN.  Finally, one of the major obstacles towards growing in our faith would be SIN. If we give in to sin and allow sin to be our master, then our faith can diminish, wither, dry up and perish!!! Then we actually become slaves to our sinful desires and passions.

Now let us move in the opposite direction and respond to how we can bolster our faith, and be the means by which others will come back to their faith, grow in their faith, and become apostles to bring still others back to the faith!

FOSTERING OUR FAITH!

1. PRAYER.  Every time we pray we are growing in our faith. Actually, prayer is an act of faith because we are praying to a God whom we do not see. Servant of God, Father John Hardon. S.J. made this observation with respect to faith. He noticed that most of those who once had the faith and lost it, did so due to a lack of prayer or the total abandoning of prayer. Therefore, why not make a firm decision and concerted effort to strive to foster prayer in your life every day.

2. SOLID SPIRITUAL READING.  Saints have been converted by reading—as in the case of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who read the lives of the saints after his injury in the battle of Pamplona. Ignatius exclaimed: “If Francis can do it, so can I; if Dominic can do it, then so can I.”  Why not decide to bolster your faith on a daily basis by applying yourself to good spiritual reading; you might even start by reading the lives of the saints! They indeed are the heroes of God, men and women of extraordinary faith!

3. ACCEPT TRIALS, AS SIMON PETER DID.  When God sends you some trial or tribulation, why not accept it and call out like Simon Peter, who was sinking in the waves: Lord, save me! Jesus did save him, and at the same time gently rebuked him with the words: “O man of little faith!” God actually sends us trials to strengthen our faith, like Job in the Old Testament and Peter in the New!

4. EUCHARIST: THE BREAD OF LIFE.  It must be said that the frequent, worthy, and fervent reception of the Eucharist, the Bread of Life, is by far one of the most powerful means to grow in our faith. “As the deer yearns for the running waters, so my soul yearns for you my God.” (Ps. 42: 1) May the words of the Psalmist motivate you to grow in faith by growing in your hunger for the Eucharist!

5. SHARE YOUR FAITH WITH OTHERS.  It is interesting to note that when we share material things, we end up more impoverished. Not so with spiritual gifts and treasures. The contrary is so! The more we give and share our faith with others, the more we enrich our own faith. Therefore, be open to opportunities that God places in your path—people that you can share your faith with. Many do not have faith, and may never have faith, for this simple reason: no one has been ready and willing to share their faith with them. As the Prophet Isaiah expresses it: “Blessed are the feet that bring the good news.” (Is. 52: 7) The last words of Jesus before He ascended into heaven were: “Go out to all nations and teach them all that I have taught you; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Behold I will be with you always until the end of the world.” (Mt. 28: 19-.20)

Indeed, to be a follower of Christ is to be a missionary, always looking for times, places and circumstances to share the Good News of Salvation. May Our Lady, who said YES to God in the Annunciation, then went in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth so as to bring the Good News to her, be your inspiration to know your faith, love your faith, grow in your faith, and be zealous to share your faith with the whole world.

Written by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV · Categorized: Daily Readings

Mar 17 2021 (Edit)

MASS READINGS AND MEDITATION OF THE DAY | MARCH 17, 2021

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Written by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV · Categorized: Daily Readings

Mar 16 2021 (Edit)

MASS READINGS AND MEDITATION OF THE DAY | MARCH 16, 2021

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

TUESDAY, March 16th    Jn. 5: 1-16   “After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, ‘Look, you are well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may happen to you.’”

• Does this say anything to you? After curing the sick man, Jesus says to him: “Sin no more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” So much of what is wrong in our lives is because we sin! Scripture says, the just man falls seven times a day! At the same time, frequent, fervent and well-prepared confessions continually wipe our soul clean. What a blessing to be in a parish where we have confessions three hours a day, five days a week!
• It is necessary to confess mortal sins. But it is a good practice to get in the habit of confessing venial sins using a good Examination of Conscience booklet.
• The more finely formed our conscience, the more mortal sin drops out of out of life, and venial sin becomes our battleground. Thereby all our good thoughts, words, and deeds merit more graces for ourselves and all those we pray for.
• We have one life to live, let’s make it count! Let us determine to go to heaven and take as many sous with us as possible. Lent is boot camp! Training for spiritual combat—prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, for the rest of the year!
• For this purpose, we will do an Ignatian repetition of Father Ed’s Spiritual Combat Manual!

FIVE WAYS TO RESIST THE DEVIL’S ATTACKS by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

The devil is the antithesis of God. The Letter of Saint John describes God as Love. The devil, on the contrary, is the epitome of hatred; the devil hates God, he hates all of humanity and all of us individually, and the devil even hates himself.

Lucifer and the other devils with him are fallen angels. (Rev. 12)  Even though the devils are evil incarnate, their intellects are still very keen, though bent on perversity, evil, and destruction. Plotting and conniving day and night, the devil strives to use all of his astute strategies to drag us into the eternal flames of hell forever.

This being the case, let us offer a presentation of five of the most common tools the devil has in his armory to tempt us, and then five of the most efficacious weapons that we can utilize so as to win the battle—the salvation of our immortal soul and those entrusted to our care and providence.

Five Destructive Tools in the Devil’s Arsenal

1. Desolation

Saint Ignatius of Loyola reiterates in the Rules for Discernment of Spirits, as well as in the Two Standards meditation, the importance of vigilance. That is to say, we must be constantly aware of the inner state of our emotional life to detect when we are in a state of desolation, for it is then that the enemy of our eternal salvation—the devil and his army—are raising their bows and arrows, their rifles, their machine guns to shoot for the kill! Therefore, with an attentive awareness of being in desolation we can resist the onslaught of the enemy with greater courage and intelligence so as not to succumb to his wily attacks.

2. Kryptonite: Our Major Weak Point                                              

Athletes study their opponents so as to detect their weak point and defeat them. In debate, discovering a loophole or weak point in the opponent’s argument can result in victory. Soldiers use military tactics to uncover the enemy’s vulnerable point and thus defeat the enemy.

So it is with us: we all have our own kryptonite. Why the word kryptonite? Superman was a fortress with one exception—when he was exposed to the alien mineral kryptonite; then he was rendered as weak as any human being.

The desert Fathers coined this pithy adage, which is useful for spiritual combat: Know thyself.

3. Social Environment

We live in a very challenging environment, more challenging than in prior centuries. The political agenda, work world, social environment, social media, entertainment, and often even the family context gives the devil an open door for temptations. For example, with the Internet there is the constant temptation to view noxious and poisonous material; the devil takes advantage of this. Parties can be provocative with immodesty, drinking, and the proliferation of drugs. Even in the workplace, the temptation, behind which is lurking the devil, is to fall into dishonesty in so many different shapes, sizes and forms. And the current political environment is anti-life and anti-family to say the least!

4. Demonic Proliferation of Impurity

More than 100 years ago, Our Lady of Fatima stated sadly that most souls are lost forever due to the sins against the 6th and 9th Commandments—that is to say: sins against the virtue of purity or chastity. In today’s social milieu, nobody with right reason could fail to admit that this situation has been exacerbated and has deteriorated to an all-time low with respect to the virtue of purity. It is true that impurity involves sins of the flesh, but the devil, once again behind the scenes, knows how to stoke the fire.

5. Devil of Despair

Jesus revealed to the modern mystic-saint, Faustina Kowalska, and to us in her Diary “Divine Mercy in My Soul”, that the worst of all sins and offenses against God is the lack of trust in His infinite mercy and the ultimate succumbing to despair. Again, behind the scenes is the nefarious, insidious and malicious presence of the devil and his cohorts. The real and worst sin of Judas Iscariot was his despair—his failure to beg forgiveness and trust in the infinite mercy of the Heart of Jesus. With the devil in the background, but truly present, many in our modern society have given up hope and trust in the love and mercy of Jesus our Savior, and Mary’s maternal power of intercession.

Five Ways to Resist the Devil’s Attacks

We have discussed five of the prominent temptations of the devil, who in the words of Saint Peter, is prowling like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour. (1 Pt. 5: 8) In all truth, the devil never takes a break, takes a sabbatical, or goes on vacation. He works day and night, in the homes, on the streets, in the workplaces, in the Churches and monasteries, in all places to win his prize—the eternal damnation of souls!

Therefore, let us offer the counterattack, our strategy of defense. We will give five tools to win the battle against the devil, whom Ignatius calls the enemy of our salvation.

1. Fervent Prayer

No matter how powerful, insistent, insidious and astute the devil’s temptations might be, if we have recourse to frequent, fervent, humble and persevering prayer, the victory will definitely be ours over the devil and his army. The best example is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as presented in the movie The Passion of the Christ. Jesus is praying with so much fervor that He sweats huge drops of Blood. Then He rises to crush the devil with the heel of His foot! Prayer can conquer all!

2. Practice of Penance

Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert for forty days and forty nights. In His trial and sojourn in the desert, Jesus basically dedicated His efforts to two activities: fervent prayer and intense penance—Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. As a result, when the devil tried to tempt Jesus to turn the stones into bread, Jesus responded: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Mt. 4:3-4)

The attempts of the devil were foiled, frustrated, failed miserably. In another Biblical passage, when the Apostles asked the Lord why they could not cast out the devils, Jesus responded: “Those can be cast out only by prayer and fasting.” (Mt. 17:21) Therefore, if we can imbue and permeate our lives with at least small acts of penance and mortification, we can keep the devil and the temptations at bay!

3. Periodic Spiritual Direction and Transparency

Both Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Saint Teresa of Avila insist upon the dire need for spiritual direction in the pursuit of holiness. We all have blind spots that can only be detected with the help of a trained spiritual director. However, most especially, it is indispensable to open up our troubled soul and conscience to a trained spiritual director when we finds ourselves in turmoil or in the midst of a spiritual storm.

This is the classic Rule in the scheme of the Rules for the Discernment of Spirits of Saint Ignatius Loyola. The devil wants us to keep our temptations hidden; if we do this, the enemy can easily transform a molehill into a mountain, a small cut into a gangrenous infection.

4. Nunc Coepi—Begin Again!

Being weak and exposed to many temptations, it might be that we collapse and capitulate to the insidious and insistent murmurings of the devil. Only God is perfect and we are all sinners, hopefully on the path towards holiness.

A very ugly but ubiquitous attack of the devil is precisely this: after we fall into sin, we give into despair and lose hope.Or it might be the binge-complex! By this we mean the diabolic temptation that might be expressed as such: “Well, you already fell, why not just fall again and again—drinking, porn, drugs, gluttony, promiscuity, etc.” 

The true soldier of Jesus, after a fall will not give into despair, throw in the towel, and succumb to sinking deeper into the quagmire of sin. Quite the contrary! He will humbly admit his fall, have recourse to Sacramental Confession, and begin again.

In the words of the Founder of the Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, Venerable Bruno Lanteri: Nunc Coepi—Begin Again! The arms of the Loving Father of the Prodigal Son are always wide-open to receive us.

5. Mary

Jesus is the King and Mary is the Queen. In Guadalajara, Mexico, there is a noteworthy title given to Mary: “La Generala del Ejercito”—meaning: The General of the Army! In our constant battle against the devil and his army we must have recourse to Mary.

We should be consecrated to Mary, wear the Scapular of Mary, pray the most Holy Rosary to Mary, and most especially, in times of temptation, call upon the Holy Name of Mary. If done, the victory will be ours because of the powerful intercession of Mary! “Maria invoca; Maria cogita!”  Think of Mary; Call on Mary.

Invoke the Holy Name of Mary, think often about Mary, and the victory will surely be ours!

Written by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV · Categorized: Daily Readings

Mar 15 2021 (Edit)

MASS READINGS AND MEDITATION OF THE DAY | MARCH 15, 2021

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

MONDAY, March 15th    Jn. 4: 43-54   “Jesus said to him, ‘You may go; your son will live.’ The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.”

Part 1: Points for Reflection on the Gospel

Part 2: 10 WAYS TO INCREASE FAITH BY IMITATING MARY by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

• The royal official travels a long distance to see Jesus; the distance between Capernaum and Cana is about twenty-five miles! He recognizes power and authority when he sees it. He approaches Jesus and asks Him to come to Capernaum and heal his son who is dying.
• At first Jesus accuses him of seeking signs and wonders. Does the official take offense? Quite the opposite; he insists more urgently! “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
• Jesus performs this cure by His word alone – no laying on of hands as with the leper, no applying mud to the eyes of the blind man, just His word: “You may go; your son will live.”
• What is the official’s response? “The man believed what Jesus said and left.”
• FAITH! Here is a man who has faith in Jesus. How strong is our faith? De we believe that Jesus answers our prayers, but in the way that is best for us, even if we can’t see it? Let us beg for deeper faith in Jesus and the power of prayer! Let us share our faith by telling non-believers we will pray for them in their difficulties. No one has ever refused my offer to pray for them. Suffering softens the most resistant hearts. Every atheist is a potential believer!
• INTENSITY! The intensity of the official’s prayer is revealed in the distance he was willing to travel to save his son – twenty-five miles, at least a day’s ride on horseback! Do we pray intensely and at great cost to ourselves? Do we make the extra effort to go to daily Mass for our intentions? To add 15 minutes to our holy hour for our intentions? To pray an extra Rosary each day for our intentions? Do we fast for our intentions?
• HUMILITY! The official is an important man; people come to him for help! Yet here he is, a humble supplicant before this itinerant preacher! How often does our pride get in the way of asking the Lord for help? Sometimes we prefer to fail than admit our weakness! Sometimes it is only when our heart is broken that we allow Him to enter!
• PERSISTENCE! The official is not put off by Jesus’ rebuff. He asks again! If Jesus had not responded, we can imagine he would have kept begging the Lord for his son’s life!
• TRUST! The official trusts Jesus! “You may go; your son will live,” and on Jesus’ word alone the official returns 25 miles home. Do we have that kind of confident trust in Jesus’ word?
• What is His word to us? “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Mt 7: 7-11)
• We shouldn’t wonder if our prayers will be answered; we should wonder why we still doubt!!! They will always be answered. Not always in the way we want, but always in the way that is most conducive for our salvation and the salvation of those we pray for!
• LOVE! “Whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in them.” (1 Jn 4:16) God is already at work in the official through his sacrificial love for his son! For this reason he is able to accept the recovery of his son for the miracle that it is, and he and his whole household are converted!
• Saint John tells us, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love!

PART 2: Ten Ways to Increase Faith by Imitating Mary…by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Mary is the Masterpiece of Creation, in the words of Saint Louis de Montfort. She is worthy of imitation. Mary is the Daughter of the Eternal Father; she is the Mother of the Eternal Son, and she is the Mystical Spouse of the Holy Spirit. In other words, Mary is intimately united to the Trinity and she can unite us with God. For that reason, Saint Louis de Montfort says: “Mary is the quickest, shortest, and easiest path to Jesus.”

If we get to know Mary, we love her; if we love her, we want to imitate her; and imitation leads to a desire to make her known. Finally, we become like the one we love. Therefore, let us pray for the grace to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary in her most sublime virtues and she will lead us to heaven.

Let us learn the ten virtues of Mary and beg Our Lady for the grace to put them into practice!

1. Great Faith

Mary was truly a woman of great faith. At the death of Jesus, the faith of the Apostles was deeply shaken, shaken to its very foundation. Our Lady suffered intensely, but her faith never wavered. So let us turn to Mary in the midst of the storms, tempests, and intense trials of life to have faith. Mary, strengthen my faith! Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, specifies that Mary was the first disciple of Jesus — indeed the most faithful disciple!

Dearest Mother Mary, I believe, increase my faith!

2. Unwavering Hope

Not only did Mary have a deep and solid faith, but she had unwavering hope. In Mary alone, hope was alive from Good Friday to Easter Sunday morning! Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and Catholic tradition, have pointed out that Jesus first appeared to His Mother Mary after He rose from the dead. Our Lady helps us to lift our mind, our heart, our soul, our total being with unwavering hope in God and heaven.

More than anything else Mary wants to help us get to heaven. This is hope — trusting that through Mary’s prayers, we will safety arrive at heaven.

Dearest Mother Mary, help me to pray daily: Jesus and Mary I trust in you!

3. Charity & Supernatural Love

Mary possessed charity and supernatural love. The greatest of all virtues is charity — and supernatural love is to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. No one ever loved God and neighbor more than Mary. Her love for God is a blazing fire, and her zeal for the salvation of souls has no limits, and will never have limits! Mary sparks love in our hearts, and due to her powerful intercession, an ardent love for God and neighbor.

Dearest Mother Mary, teach me how to love like you, and like you, to die of love!

4. Model of Patience

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the virtues that we need most is that of patience, better yet, heroic patience! Our Lady patiently waited upon the Lord. She patiently accepted all of the contradictions and sufferings that God allowed her to undergo. She patiently accompanied Jesus on the Way of the Cross. But most especially, Mary patiently stood beneath the cross, suffering with Jesus for our salvation and the salvation of the world. 

Dearest Mother Mary, help me to grow in heroic patience.

5. Model of purity

Our Lady of Fatima said that most souls are lost for all eternity due to the sins of the flesh—that is to say, due to the sins against the sixth and ninth commandments related to purity. Consecration to Mary and to her most pure and Immaculate Heart, is a most powerful means to attain purity, be an example of purity, live modesty, and die with a pure heart. 

Mary most holy, Mary most pure, attain for me purity of heart, mind, body, and soul. Help me to live out the Beatitude: “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God.” (Mt. 5: 8)

6. Obedience of Mary

Jesus was “obedient to death, even to death on a cross.” (Phil. 2) Like Jesus, Mary treasured and lived out that most demanding virtue of obedience. By pronouncing her Fiat (Yes), Mary was expressing her desire to be totally submissive to the will of God in obedience.

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.” (Lk. 1: 38)

Dearest Mother Mary, in a world marked by so much rebellion and disobedience, help me to treasure and live out obedience.

7. Deep and Constant Prayer

Our Lady had a constant, dynamic, and profound union with God at all times and in all places—this is prayer! One of the primary messages of Our Lady is to pray, and to pray constantly.

Mary’s prayers for us are all-powerful! The first Public Miracle of Jesus, at the Wedding Feast of Cana, came about through the powerful intercession of Mary. 

Dearest Mother Mary, I beg you, teach me how to pray and grant me a great desire to pray. Mary, pray and intercede for me always!

8. Mortification and penance

At both Lourdes and Fatima, Our Lady mentioned the dire need for prayer, but also for the practice of penance — or, if you like, the importance of offering sacrifices, especially for the conversion and salvation of sinners. At Fatima, Our Lady said that many souls are lost because not enough people offer prayers and sacrifices for them. Our Lady told the children at Fatima that they could offer everything as a sacrifice to God, especially for the conversion of sinners.

It is not so much the greatness of the act, but the love that accompanies the act that gives power and merit to the action.

Dearest Mother Mary, I offer my penances to God through your Immaculate Heart!

9. Angelic sweetness and meekness

Another sublime virtue of Mary is that of her angelic sweetness or sublime meekness. By this we mean that Mary was very kind, loving, meek, affable, attractive, and appealing, and always pointing to God. In our dealings with others, may Our Lady inspire in us great sentiments of kindness, compassion, gentleness and meekness.

As Our Lady greeted Saint Elizabeth with exquisite charm, may we do the same in our social meetings and encounters. Pope Francis expressed this in his document, Joy of the Gospel.

Dearest Mother Mary, help me to love others with your gentleness and meekness, never seeking my own gain.

10. Strength of Spirit

Mary most holy embodied a gentle and meek spirit, this is so true. However, she was also a strong woman. This is exemplified most clearly as she stood at the foot of the cross, called the Stabat Mater (the Mother Standing). In the last moments of our life, when we are about to breathe forth our spirit, let us turn to Mary and beg her for courage and strength, and for the grace of all graces, to die in the state of grace, so that we will be united with her forever in heaven praising the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

Dearest Mother Mary, assist me in my last agony, with your courage and strength to sustain me.

Written by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV · Categorized: Daily Readings

Mar 14 2021 (Edit)

MASS READINGS AND MEDITATION OF THE DAY | MARCH 14, 2021

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

SUNDAY, March 14th    Jn. 3: 14-21   “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”

Part 1: “God so loved the world…” by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

Part 2: GOD’S GOODNESS HAS NO LIMITS: LENT, A TRUE GIFT! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

• Dear Friends in Christ, we are halfway through Lent. Let us stop and reflect on how faithfully we are carrying out our Lenten Proposals. If our efforts have lagged, or perhaps never got off the ground, it is not too late to start up or begin again.
• On the other hand, if we have made a good start and been faithful to our Lenten proposals, perhaps we could kick it up a notch, pour it on in the last half of the race, by adding one or more proposals.
• As Saint Paul says: “And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Rom. 13: 11-12)
• For this purpose, we present for our meditation two articles. The first to recall the fathomless love of God for each and every one of us, created in His image and likeness, marred by sin, bought back and washed clean in the Blood of Christ.
• The second is an Ignatian repetition, Lent, a True Gift, with an abundance of ideas to practice or upgrade our Lenten penitential acts of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

PART 1: “God so loved the world…” by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

The anguish of the Passion of the Lord Jesus cannot fail to move to pity even the most hardened hearts, as it constitutes the climax of the revelation of God’s love for each of us. Saint John observes: God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life (Jn 3:16).It is for love of us that Christ dies on the cross!

Throughout the course of the millennia, a great multitude of men and women have been drawn deeply into this mystery and they have followed Him, making in their turn, like Him with His help, a gift to others of their own lives.

They are the saints and the martyrs, many of whom remain unknown to us. Even in our own time, how many people, in the silence of their daily lives, unite their sufferings with those of the Crucified One and become apostles of a true spiritual and social renewal!

What would man be without Christ? Saint Augustine observes: “You would still be in a state of wretchedness, had He not shown you mercy. You would not have returned to life, had He not shared your death. You would have passed away had He not come to your aid. You would be lost, had He not come.” So why not welcome Him into our lives?

Let us pause to contemplate His disfigured face, it is the face of the Man of Sorrows, who took upon Himself the burden of all our mortal anguish. His face is reflected in that of every person who is humiliated and offended, sick and suffering, alone, abandoned, and despised. Pouring out His blood, He has rescued us from the slavery of death, He has broken the solitude of our tears, He has entered into our every grief and our every anxiety.

Brothers and Sisters! As the cross rises up on Golgotha, the eyes of our faith are already turned towards the dawning of the new Day, and we begin to taste the joy and splendor of Easter.

PART 2:

GOD’S GOODNESS HAS NO LIMITS: LENT, A TRUE GIFT! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

God’s goodness has no limits. Giving, giving and more generous giving expresses the very nature of our loving and bountiful God. Count your gifts and blessings and then thank and praise our loving God. This should be done daily!

Your body, your mind, your affections, your soul—all gifts from God. Praise the Lord. The Sacraments, the Church, the Eucharist—the Bread of Life, your Guardian angel, your friends the saints, the Blessed Virgin Mary who is your loving Heavenly Mother, and the promise of eternal life in Heaven. Praise and thank the Lord the giver of all sublime gifts. Saint Ignatius reminds us also that the more we thank God for His many gifts, the more He showers us with even more and greater gifts.

LENT AS A GIFT.  Most likely you have never spent much time reflecting upon and thanking God for the Gifts present in the Liturgical Seasons—most specifically, the Annual Gift of the Season of Lent. If that is the case, now is the time to abound in thanking God for the Gift of the Season of Lent. In the words of the Psalmist: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.” (Ps. 136:1)

Every year, usually starting some time in February, Lent commences. The priest dons the Liturgical color of purple. Penance and a call to conversion of life marks the entire season. The first day of Lent is Ash Wednesday which sets the tone of the season. Ashes are imposed with one of two phrases which are Biblical. “Be converted and believe in the Gospel.” (Mk. 1:15)Or “Remember that you are dust and you shall return to dust.” (Gen. 3:19) The Church announces the clarion call to conversion, as well as pointing out our mortality—one day we will all die and go before the Judgment seat of God.

GOSPEL FOR ASH WEDNESDAY: 3 PRACTICES TO ARRIVE AT CONVERSION.

The Gospel in the Mass for Ash Wednesday sets the tone for Lent. Jesus offers us three specific ways in which we can attain the conversion of our lives and finish our lives dying in the state of grace and thereby attain our goal: Heaven!

Expressed in a three-dimensional pattern we might say: we must go up, go in, and go out! Go up—through a more intense prayer life! Go in—conversion through penance or mortification. Go out—through almsgiving or an active life of charity to live out the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. If we can strive to live out these three dimensions in our spiritual life, then undoubtedly we will arrive at a more profound conversion of heart, a real conversion of life, and a deep aversion for sin, and greater love for Jesus Christ!

Therefore, let us strive to realize that Lent is truly a great Gift from the hands and the loving Heart of the Lord Jesus to His Church, and to each and every one of us individually. With open hearts let us recognize the gift, receive the gift, and live the gift.

WAYS THAT WE CAN ACCEPT AND LIVE OUT LENT.

PRAYER…

1. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!! Increase and fortify your personal prayer life. Indeed, what air is to our lungs, prayer is to our soul. Little prayer or a weak prayer life results in the drying up of our spiritual lungs and sure death!!!

2. WAYS TO PRAY? There are countless ways, but we will offer a list that you can choose from and implement, understanding we have to act on these good proposals and not just create castles in the air and follow wishful thinking. The following is a long list of prayers that you can undertake. If you already do some of these, add more for Lent!

1) DAILY BIBLE READING: Using these five classical steps of Lectio Divina: Lectio (Read), Meditatio (Meditate), Contemplatio (Contemplate), Oracio (Pray), Accio (Act).

2) HOLY HOUR. Use your Daily Bible Reading with Lectio Divina to give the Lord a Holy Hour of uninterrupted prayer every day for forty days. Ven. Fulton Sheen coined this “The Hour of Power!” Indeed, it was for Sheen who touched the lives of millions of people!

3) DAILY EXAMEN. Spend ten minutes every day, at any time you prefer, and go through your day thanking the Lord for the gifts of the day and begging pardon for any failures, with firm resolve to reform your life the next day.

4) THE MOST HOLY ROSARY. During the Holy Season of Lent get into the habit of praying the Rosary daily. If possible, pray the Family Rosary.  Remember the 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.” Incidentally, if possible, view the film/documentary PRAY! The Life of Fr. Patrick Peyton.

5) HOLY MASS. By far the greatest prayer is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. If possible, aim for daily Mass and Holy Communion. The Eucharist—Jesus, the Bread of Life, will transform your life and help you to arrive at a deep conversion of heart.

6) WAY OF THE CROSS. Most appropriate in Lent is to make the Way of the Cross. For the fourteen stations move from one to the next contemplating the love that Jesus has for you personally by suffering His Passion and death for love of you and the salvation of your immortal soul!

7) LITURGY OF THE HOURS. Learn to pray the Liturgy of the Hours which is the public worship of the Church. In the Magnificat magazine you have Morning Prayer (Lauds) as well as Evening Prayer (Vespers). Most of these prayers are taken from the Psalms, the Official Prayer Book of the Bible.

8) MEAL PRAYER. If not already in the habit, start your mealtime with a short prayer to thank God for the gift of a hearty and healthy meal. Many cannot do this because they will have no food to eat today or to give to their children.

9) THE ANGELUS PRAYER. In Lent you might intersperse your day with prayer by praying the Angelus three times a day: 9:00 a.m., 12 noon, and 6 p.m. Beg Mary to bless your mornings, afternoons and evenings!

10) VIEW THE MOVIE THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. If age appropriate, watch the movie of Mel Gibson, The Passion of the Christ. However, instead of viewing it as a mere Hollywood rendition, view it as a prayer, as a contemplation, so as to love the Lord Jesus more! He suffered all of His Passion for love of you! Which scenes touched you the most?

3. SACRAMENT OF CONFESSION. During Lent make the best Confession of your life. Indeed, this is truly the Sacrament and encounter with Christ where deep conversion really can take place.

4. READ THE DOLOROUS PASSION. In Lent much fruit can be derived from spiritual reading, most specially the Dolorous Passion by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich.

FASTING / PENANCE / MORTIFICATION…

5. FASTING OF THE TONGUE. For the forty days of Lent avoid any words that could hurt any of your family members. Two rules can be of great help:  First: Think before you speak. Second: Do and say to others what you would like them to do and say to you.

6. FASTING FROM FOOD. Choose at least one thing at the table that you like to eat and give that up for Lent. Do it for love of Jesus, and for the salvation of immortal souls, as well as your own conversion!

7. FORM OF PENANCE: IMPROVE YOUR WORK ETHIC. A most efficacious penance/charity might simply be to upgrade your work ethic. This can be work outside the home or inside the home. Start your work on time and be orderly, systematic and methodical. Avoid cutting corners and doing a sloppy joy. Remember the words of Saint Paul: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31)  Follow in the footsteps of Saint Therese, the Little Flower. “Holiness consists in doing the ordinary things of daily life with extraordinary love.”

ALMSGIVING / CHARITY…

8. ALMSGVING. Pray to the Holy Spirit to enlighten your mind as to how you can help out the poor in one way or another. Never forget the words of Jesus: “I was hungry, thirsty, naked, a foreigner, sick or in prison… whatsoever you did for the least of my brothers, that you did for me.” (Mt. 25: 31-46)

9. CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME. Perhaps the best way to live out almsgiving or charity would be at home. Every day make an effort—for the forty days of Lent—to do an act of charity or an act of kindness—for some member of your family. This gesture is very pleasing to God and can fortify the bonds of love in the family.

A MARIAN LENT…

10. OUR LADY OF SORROWS. May this Lent be a deeply Marian Lent. Let us contemplate the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

1. The prophecy of Simeon.  (Lk. 2: 34-35)
2. Flight into Egypt and massacre of the Holy Innocents.  (Mt. 2: 13-18)
3. Loss of the Child Jesus in the temple.  (Lk. 2: 41-51)
4. Meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross.
5. Crucifixion of Jesus with Mary at the foot of the Cross.  (Jn. 19: 25-30)
6. The Body of Jesus taken from the Cross and laid in the arms of Mary. (The Pieta)
7. The Body of Jesus laid in the tomb. (Jn. 19: 38-42)

In conclusion, friends in Jesus and Mary, let us abound in an overflowing attitude of gratitude of praise and thanksgiving towards our loving God. Indeed, how good God is in His countless gifts that He has bestowed on the world and on each and every one of us individually.

Therefore, let us recognize the Gift of Lent. Let us receive and accept it as an extraordinary gift. But then let us live out this gift! If done, our lives will be converted and our love for God will be growing, blossoming, flourishing and overflowing towards the whole world! May Our Lady attain for us a truly grateful heart!

Written by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV · Categorized: Daily Readings

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

WEDNESDAY, March 17th    Jn. 5: 1-16  ^“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life.”

Part 1: The Virtue of Faith… by Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C.

Part 2: STAND FIRM FOR THE FAITH… by Fr. Ed. Broom, OMV

PART 1:  The Virtue of Faith… by Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C. (+2006)

It is easy to say, “I believe in God.” But to say that “I believe that God is in control” can be very hard, really to give Him the evidence of the heart, of the soul bowed down before Him, sometimes in confusion at what He seems to be doing (and not doing) and sometimes in real anguish—and to believe.This is the evidence He is asking of us.  

We tend to think of faith as a lovely thing. Faith is not just a matter of speaking, but it is a matter of believing when it is difficult to believe.Saint Claude de la Colombiere, the apostle of hope, said, “I hope, and I will always hope. And I will never cease hoping. When it is clear that there is no longer any reason to hope, then I will hope all the more!”

But in his determination to give his anxieties over to God, even he had to discover, as we do, that this is very hard to accomplish. We do not really want to let go of them. They are debilitating, they are degenerative of our forward action, and yet it can be very hard to let go of our anxieties. 

We ask: “But how is it going to turn out? It is getting more confused all the time; the skeins are more tangled all the time.”

Faith is such a strong thing, because it is faith in the face of almost everything that does not present human reason for faith!  

PART 2:  STAND FIRM FOR THE FAITH… by Fr. Ed. Broom, OMV

“Be on guard, stand firm for the faith, be courageous, be strong. Your every act should be done with love.” (I Cor. 16:13-14)

What is the virtue of faith? It is a theological virtue that unites us with God in whom we believe—in who He is, in what He says through the Word of God, through the Magisterium and the person of Peter, who is the Pope. A shorter definition, indeed easier to memorize is: “Faith is believing in God without seeing Him.” Faith, together with hope and charity, are infused within our soul in the moment of Baptism. However, like a tiny seed planted in the ground it must be cultivated, otherwise it can wither and die.

BIBLICAL VERSE.  A very graphic Biblical verse, worthy of deep meditation or better yet contemplation, is Saint Peter walking on the water, sinking, and then being lifted up by the hand of Jesus. (Mt. 14: 22-33) One of the principal reasons why Peter sank in the waves was that he lifted his eyes from the eyes of Jesus to look at the waves about to overtake him. This can be applied to all of us! When we fix our gaze on the loving eyes of Jesus then our faith, as well as our hope, remain firmly rooted, if you like anchored! However, once worldly values lure us in the wrong direction and actually seduce us, then we—like Simon

Peter—start to falter in our faith and eventually sink in the waves of our own sinfulness.

Therefore, may we make a firm commitment and fight to be strong in the faith by striving to have Jesus always present to us in all times and places. As the Greek poet expressed it, quoted by Saint Paul: “In Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17: 28)

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR OBSTACLES TO FAITH IN THE MODERN WORLD?  

Related to the topic of faith, we should ask and respond to this question, what are the major obstacles to faith in the modern world in which we live? There are many, but we would like to highlight a few.

1. LACK OF FORMATION IN THE FAITH.  Often, many have a very weak faith because their parents never made a concerted effort to teach and live the faith for their children. Parents must be the first teachers of the faith; they promised this on the day of the Baptism of their child. They should teach their children both by word and example.

2. LACK OF PERMANENT FORMATION.  As in the life of any professional, a permanent process of formation is demanded. Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers—all must be constantly updating and upgrading their practice and profession; if not, they could lose their job. Likewise, as followers of Christ, our formation process should be perpetual, up until the day the Lord calls us. We can never get to know and love God enough!

3. DISTRACTIONS AND WORLDLINESS.  Today there are many distractions and worldliness that can pull us off the straight and narrow path that leads to salvation. Jesus says that the path that leads to perdition is wide and spacious and many choose that path; whereas the path that leads to salvation is narrow and there are few who find and follow it.

4. PRIORITIES.  Also, without a serious cultivation of the faith, other things become our priority over God. However, our God is a jealous God who will take second place to no person, place or thing.

5. SIN.  Finally, one of the major obstacles towards growing in our faith would be SIN. If we give in to sin and allow sin to be our master, then our faith can diminish, wither, dry up and perish!!! Then we actually become slaves to our sinful desires and passions.

Now let us move in the opposite direction and respond to how we can bolster our faith, and be the means by which others will come back to their faith, grow in their faith, and become apostles to bring still others back to the faith!

FOSTERING OUR FAITH!

1. PRAYER.  Every time we pray we are growing in our faith. Actually, prayer is an act of faith because we are praying to a God whom we do not see. Servant of God, Father John Hardon. S.J. made this observation with respect to faith. He noticed that most of those who once had the faith and lost it, did so due to a lack of prayer or the total abandoning of prayer. Therefore, why not make a firm decision and concerted effort to strive to foster prayer in your life every day.

2. SOLID SPIRITUAL READING.  Saints have been converted by reading—as in the case of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, who read the lives of the saints after his injury in the battle of Pamplona. Ignatius exclaimed: “If Francis can do it, so can I; if Dominic can do it, then so can I.”  Why not decide to bolster your faith on a daily basis by applying yourself to good spiritual reading; you might even start by reading the lives of the saints! They indeed are

the heroes of God, men and women of extraordinary faith!

3. ACCEPT TRIALS, AS SIMON PETER DID.  When God sends you some trial or tribulation, why not accept it and call out like Simon Peter, who was sinking in the waves: Lord, save me! Jesus did save him, and at the same time gently rebuked him with the words: “O man of little faith!” God actually sends us trials to strengthen our faith, like Job in the Old Testament and Peter in the New!

4. EUCHARIST: THE BREAD OF LIFE.  It must be said that the frequent, worthy, and fervent reception of the Eucharist, the Bread of Life, is by far one of the most powerful means to grow in our faith. “As the deer yearns for the running waters, so my soul yearns for you my God.” (Ps. 42: 1) May the words of the Psalmist motivate you to grow in faith by growing in your hunger for the Eucharist!

5. SHARE YOUR FAITH WITH OTHERS.  It is interesting to note that when we share material things, we end up more impoverished. Not so with spiritual gifts and treasures. The contrary is so! The more we give and share our faith with others, the more we enrich our own faith. Therefore, be open to opportunities that God places in your path—people that you can share your faith with. Many do not have faith, and may never have faith, for this simple reason: no one has been ready and willing to share their faith with them. As the Prophet Isaiah expresses it: “Blessed are the feet that bring the good news.” (Is. 52: 7) The last words of Jesus before He ascended into heaven were: “Go out to all nations and teach them all that I have taught you; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Behold I will be with you always until the end of the world.” (Mt. 28: 19-20)

Indeed, to be a follower of Christ is to be a missionary, always looking for times, places and circumstances to share the Good News of Salvation. May Our Lady, who said YES to God in the Annunciation, then went in haste to visit her cousin Elizabeth so as to bring the Good News to her, be your inspiration to know your faith, love your faith, grow in your faith, and be zealous to share your faith with the whole world.

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

TUESDAY, March 16th    Jn. 5: 1-16   “After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, ‘Look, you are well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse may happen to you.’”

• Does this say anything to you? After curing the sick man, Jesus says to him: “Sin no more, so that nothing worse may happen to you.” So much of what is wrong in our lives is because we sin! Scripture says, the just man falls seven times a day! At the same time, frequent, fervent and well-prepared confessions continually wipe our soul clean. What a blessing to be in a parish where we have confessions three hours a day, five days a week!
• It is necessary to confess mortal sins. But it is a good practice to get in the habit of confessing venial sins using a good Examination of Conscience booklet.
• The more finely formed our conscience, the more mortal sin drops out of out of life, and venial sin becomes our battleground. Thereby all our good thoughts, words, and deeds merit more graces for ourselves and all those we pray for.
• We have one life to live, let’s make it count! Let us determine to go to heaven and take as many sous with us as possible. Lent is boot camp! Training for spiritual combat—prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, for the rest of the year!
• For this purpose, we will do an Ignatian repetition of Father Ed’s Spiritual Combat Manual!

FIVE WAYS TO RESIST THE DEVIL’S ATTACKS by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

The devil is the antithesis of God. The Letter of Saint John describes God as Love. The devil, on the contrary, is the epitome of hatred; the devil hates God, he hates all of humanity and all of us individually, and the devil even hates himself.

Lucifer and the other devils with him are fallen angels. (Rev. 12)  Even though the devils are evil incarnate, their intellects are still very keen, though bent on perversity, evil, and destruction. Plotting and conniving day and night, the devil strives to use all of his astute strategies to drag us into the eternal flames of hell forever.

This being the case, let us offer a presentation of five of the most common tools the devil has in his armory to tempt us, and then five of the most efficacious weapons that we can utilize so as to win the battle—the salvation of our immortal soul and those entrusted to our care and providence.

Five Destructive Tools in the Devil’s Arsenal

1. Desolation

Saint Ignatius of Loyola reiterates in the Rules for Discernment of Spirits, as well as in the Two Standards meditation, the importance of vigilance. That is to say, we must be constantly aware of the inner state of our emotional life to detect when we are in a state of desolation, for it is then that the enemy of our eternal salvation—the devil and his army—are raising their bows and arrows, their rifles, their machine guns to shoot for the kill! Therefore, with an attentive awareness of being in desolation we can resist the onslaught of the enemy with greater courage and intelligence so as not to succumb to his wily attacks.

2. Kryptonite: Our Major Weak Point                                              

Athletes study their opponents so as to detect their weak point and defeat them. In debate, discovering a loophole or weak point in the opponent’s argument can result in victory. Soldiers use military tactics to uncover the enemy’s vulnerable point and thus defeat the enemy.

So it is with us: we all have our own kryptonite. Why the word kryptonite? Superman was a fortress with one exception—when he was exposed to the alien mineral kryptonite; then he was rendered as weak as any human being.

The desert Fathers coined this pithy adage, which is useful for spiritual combat: Know thyself.

3. Social Environment

We live in a very challenging environment, more challenging than in prior centuries. The political agenda, work world, social environment, social media, entertainment, and often even the family context gives the devil an open door for temptations. For example, with the Internet there is the constant temptation to view noxious and poisonous material; the devil takes advantage of this. Parties can be provocative with immodesty, drinking, and the proliferation of drugs. Even in the workplace, the temptation, behind which is lurking the devil, is to fall into dishonesty in so many different shapes, sizes and forms. And the current political environment is anti-life and anti-family to say the least!

4. Demonic Proliferation of Impurity

More than 100 years ago, Our Lady of Fatima stated sadly that most souls are lost forever due to the sins against the 6th and 9th Commandments—that is to say: sins against the virtue of purity or chastity. In today’s social milieu, nobody with right reason could fail to admit that this situation has been exacerbated and has deteriorated to an all-time low with respect to the virtue of purity. It is true that impurity involves sins of the flesh, but the devil, once again behind the scenes, knows how to stoke the fire.

5. Devil of Despair

Jesus revealed to the modern mystic-saint, Faustina Kowalska, and to us in her Diary “Divine Mercy in My Soul”, that the worst of all sins and offenses against God is the lack of trust in His infinite mercy and the ultimate succumbing to despair. Again, behind the scenes is the nefarious, insidious and malicious presence of the devil and his cohorts. The real and worst sin of Judas Iscariot was his despair—his failure to beg forgiveness and trust in the infinite mercy of the Heart of Jesus. With the devil in the background, but truly present, many in our modern society have given up hope and trust in the love and mercy of Jesus our Savior, and Mary’s maternal power of intercession.

Five Ways to Resist the Devil’s Attacks

We have discussed five of the prominent temptations of the devil, who in the words of Saint Peter, is prowling like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour. (1 Pt. 5: 8) In all truth, the devil never takes a break, takes a sabbatical, or goes on vacation. He works day and night, in the homes, on the streets, in the workplaces, in the Churches and monasteries, in all places to win his prize—the eternal damnation of souls!

Therefore, let us offer the counterattack, our strategy of defense. We will give five tools to win the battle against the devil, whom Ignatius calls the enemy of our salvation.

1. Fervent Prayer

No matter how powerful, insistent, insidious and astute the devil’s temptations might be, if we have recourse to frequent, fervent, humble and persevering prayer, the victory will definitely be ours over the devil and his army. The best example is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as presented in the movie The Passion of the Christ. Jesus is praying with so much fervor that He sweats huge drops of Blood. Then He rises to crush the devil with the heel of His foot! Prayer can conquer all!

2. Practice of Penance

Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert for forty days and forty nights. In His trial and sojourn in the desert, Jesus basically dedicated His efforts to two activities: fervent prayer and intense penance—Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights. As a result, when the devil tried to tempt Jesus to turn the stones into bread, Jesus responded: “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Mt. 4:3-4)

The attempts of the devil were foiled, frustrated, failed miserably. In another Biblical passage, when the Apostles asked the Lord why they could not cast out the devils, Jesus responded: “Those can be cast out only by prayer and fasting.” (Mt. 17:21) Therefore, if we can imbue and permeate our lives with at least small acts of penance and mortification, we can keep the devil and the temptations at bay!

3. Periodic Spiritual Direction and Transparency

Both Saint Ignatius of Loyola and Saint Teresa of Avila insist upon the dire need for spiritual direction in the pursuit of holiness. We all have blind spots that can only be detected with the help of a trained spiritual director. However, most especially, it is indispensable to open up our troubled soul and conscience to a trained spiritual director when we finds ourselves in turmoil or in the midst of a spiritual storm.

This is the classic Rule in the scheme of the Rules for the Discernment of Spirits of Saint Ignatius Loyola. The devil wants us to keep our temptations hidden; if we do this, the enemy can easily transform a molehill into a mountain, a small cut into a gangrenous infection.

4. Nunc Coepi—Begin Again!

Being weak and exposed to many temptations, it might be that we collapse and capitulate to the insidious and insistent murmurings of the devil. Only God is perfect and we are all sinners, hopefully on the path towards holiness.

A very ugly but ubiquitous attack of the devil is precisely this: after we fall into sin, we give into despair and lose hope.Or it might be the binge-complex! By this we mean the diabolic temptation that might be expressed as such: “Well, you already fell, why not just fall again and again—drinking, porn, drugs, gluttony, promiscuity, etc.” 

The true soldier of Jesus, after a fall will not give into despair, throw in the towel, and succumb to sinking deeper into the quagmire of sin. Quite the contrary! He will humbly admit his fall, have recourse to Sacramental Confession, and begin again.

In the words of the Founder of the Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, Venerable Bruno Lanteri: Nunc Coepi—Begin Again! The arms of the Loving Father of the Prodigal Son are always wide-open to receive us.

5. Mary

Jesus is the King and Mary is the Queen. In Guadalajara, Mexico, there is a noteworthy title given to Mary: “La Generala del Ejercito”—meaning: The General of the Army! In our constant battle against the devil and his army we must have recourse to Mary.

We should be consecrated to Mary, wear the Scapular of Mary, pray the most Holy Rosary to Mary, and most especially, in times of temptation, call upon the Holy Name of Mary. If done, the victory will be ours because of the powerful intercession of Mary! “Maria invoca; Maria cogita!”  Think of Mary; Call on Mary.

Invoke the Holy Name of Mary, think often about Mary, and the victory will surely be ours!

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

MONDAY, March 15th    Jn. 4: 43-54   “Jesus said to him, ‘You may go; your son will live.’ The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.”

Part 1: Points for Reflection on the Gospel

Part 2: 10 WAYS TO INCREASE FAITH BY IMITATING MARY by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

• The royal official travels a long distance to see Jesus; the distance between Capernaum and Cana is about twenty-five miles! He recognizes power and authority when he sees it. He approaches Jesus and asks Him to come to Capernaum and heal his son who is dying.
• At first Jesus accuses him of seeking signs and wonders. Does the official take offense? Quite the opposite; he insists more urgently! “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
• Jesus performs this cure by His word alone – no laying on of hands as with the leper, no applying mud to the eyes of the blind man, just His word: “You may go; your son will live.”
• What is the official’s response? “The man believed what Jesus said and left.”
• FAITH! Here is a man who has faith in Jesus. How strong is our faith? De we believe that Jesus answers our prayers, but in the way that is best for us, even if we can’t see it? Let us beg for deeper faith in Jesus and the power of prayer! Let us share our faith by telling non-believers we will pray for them in their difficulties. No one has ever refused my offer to pray for them. Suffering softens the most resistant hearts. Every atheist is a potential believer!
• INTENSITY! The intensity of the official’s prayer is revealed in the distance he was willing to travel to save his son – twenty-five miles, at least a day’s ride on horseback! Do we pray intensely and at great cost to ourselves? Do we make the extra effort to go to daily Mass for our intentions? To add 15 minutes to our holy hour for our intentions? To pray an extra Rosary each day for our intentions? Do we fast for our intentions?
• HUMILITY! The official is an important man; people come to him for help! Yet here he is, a humble supplicant before this itinerant preacher! How often does our pride get in the way of asking the Lord for help? Sometimes we prefer to fail than admit our weakness! Sometimes it is only when our heart is broken that we allow Him to enter!
• PERSISTENCE! The official is not put off by Jesus’ rebuff. He asks again! If Jesus had not responded, we can imagine he would have kept begging the Lord for his son’s life!
• TRUST! The official trusts Jesus! “You may go; your son will live,” and on Jesus’ word alone the official returns 25 miles home. Do we have that kind of confident trust in Jesus’ word?
• What is His word to us? “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Mt 7: 7-11)
• We shouldn’t wonder if our prayers will be answered; we should wonder why we still doubt!!! They will always be answered. Not always in the way we want, but always in the way that is most conducive for our salvation and the salvation of those we pray for!
• LOVE! “Whoever abides in love abides in God, and God in them.” (1 Jn 4:16) God is already at work in the official through his sacrificial love for his son! For this reason he is able to accept the recovery of his son for the miracle that it is, and he and his whole household are converted!
• Saint John tells us, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love!

PART 2: Ten Ways to Increase Faith by Imitating Mary…by Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Mary is the Masterpiece of Creation, in the words of Saint Louis de Montfort. She is worthy of imitation. Mary is the Daughter of the Eternal Father; she is the Mother of the Eternal Son, and she is the Mystical Spouse of the Holy Spirit. In other words, Mary is intimately united to the Trinity and she can unite us with God. For that reason, Saint Louis de Montfort says: “Mary is the quickest, shortest, and easiest path to Jesus.”

If we get to know Mary, we love her; if we love her, we want to imitate her; and imitation leads to a desire to make her known. Finally, we become like the one we love. Therefore, let us pray for the grace to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary in her most sublime virtues and she will lead us to heaven.

Let us learn the ten virtues of Mary and beg Our Lady for the grace to put them into practice!

1. Great Faith

Mary was truly a woman of great faith. At the death of Jesus, the faith of the Apostles was deeply shaken, shaken to its very foundation. Our Lady suffered intensely, but her faith never wavered. So let us turn to Mary in the midst of the storms, tempests, and intense trials of life to have faith. Mary, strengthen my faith! Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, specifies that Mary was the first disciple of Jesus — indeed the most faithful disciple!

Dearest Mother Mary, I believe, increase my faith!

2. Unwavering Hope

Not only did Mary have a deep and solid faith, but she had unwavering hope. In Mary alone, hope was alive from Good Friday to Easter Sunday morning! Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and Catholic tradition, have pointed out that Jesus first appeared to His Mother Mary after He rose from the dead. Our Lady helps us to lift our mind, our heart, our soul, our total being with unwavering hope in God and heaven.

More than anything else Mary wants to help us get to heaven. This is hope — trusting that through Mary’s prayers, we will safety arrive at heaven.

Dearest Mother Mary, help me to pray daily: Jesus and Mary I trust in you!

3. Charity & Supernatural Love

Mary possessed charity and supernatural love. The greatest of all virtues is charity — and supernatural love is to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. No one ever loved God and neighbor more than Mary. Her love for God is a blazing fire, and her zeal for the salvation of souls has no limits, and will never have limits! Mary sparks love in our hearts, and due to her powerful intercession, an ardent love for God and neighbor.

Dearest Mother Mary, teach me how to love like you, and like you, to die of love!

4. Model of Patience

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, one of the virtues that we need most is that of patience, better yet, heroic patience! Our Lady patiently waited upon the Lord. She patiently accepted all of the contradictions and sufferings that God allowed her to undergo. She patiently accompanied Jesus on the Way of the Cross. But most especially, Mary patiently stood beneath the cross, suffering with Jesus for our salvation and the salvation of the world. 

Dearest Mother Mary, help me to grow in heroic patience.

5. Model of purity

Our Lady of Fatima said that most souls are lost for all eternity due to the sins of the flesh—that is to say, due to the sins against the sixth and ninth commandments related to purity. Consecration to Mary and to her most pure and Immaculate Heart, is a most powerful means to attain purity, be an example of purity, live modesty, and die with a pure heart. 

Mary most holy, Mary most pure, attain for me purity of heart, mind, body, and soul. Help me to live out the Beatitude: “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God.” (Mt. 5: 8)

6. Obedience of Mary

Jesus was “obedient to death, even to death on a cross.” (Phil. 2) Like Jesus, Mary treasured and lived out that most demanding virtue of obedience. By pronouncing her Fiat (Yes), Mary was expressing her desire to be totally submissive to the will of God in obedience.

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word.” (Lk. 1: 38)

Dearest Mother Mary, in a world marked by so much rebellion and disobedience, help me to treasure and live out obedience.

7. Deep and Constant Prayer

Our Lady had a constant, dynamic, and profound union with God at all times and in all places—this is prayer! One of the primary messages of Our Lady is to pray, and to pray constantly.

Mary’s prayers for us are all-powerful! The first Public Miracle of Jesus, at the Wedding Feast of Cana, came about through the powerful intercession of Mary. 

Dearest Mother Mary, I beg you, teach me how to pray and grant me a great desire to pray. Mary, pray and intercede for me always!

8. Mortification and penance

At both Lourdes and Fatima, Our Lady mentioned the dire need for prayer, but also for the practice of penance — or, if you like, the importance of offering sacrifices, especially for the conversion and salvation of sinners. At Fatima, Our Lady said that many souls are lost because not enough people offer prayers and sacrifices for them. Our Lady told the children at Fatima that they could offer everything as a sacrifice to God, especially for the conversion of sinners.

It is not so much the greatness of the act, but the love that accompanies the act that gives power and merit to the action.

Dearest Mother Mary, I offer my penances to God through your Immaculate Heart!

9. Angelic sweetness and meekness

Another sublime virtue of Mary is that of her angelic sweetness or sublime meekness. By this we mean that Mary was very kind, loving, meek, affable, attractive, and appealing, and always pointing to God. In our dealings with others, may Our Lady inspire in us great sentiments of kindness, compassion, gentleness and meekness.

As Our Lady greeted Saint Elizabeth with exquisite charm, may we do the same in our social meetings and encounters. Pope Francis expressed this in his document, Joy of the Gospel.

Dearest Mother Mary, help me to love others with your gentleness and meekness, never seeking my own gain.

10. Strength of Spirit

Mary most holy embodied a gentle and meek spirit, this is so true. However, she was also a strong woman. This is exemplified most clearly as she stood at the foot of the cross, called the Stabat Mater (the Mother Standing). In the last moments of our life, when we are about to breathe forth our spirit, let us turn to Mary and beg her for courage and strength, and for the grace of all graces, to die in the state of grace, so that we will be united with her forever in heaven praising the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

Dearest Mother Mary, assist me in my last agony, with your courage and strength to sustain me.

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

SUNDAY, March 14th    Jn. 3: 14-21   “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”

Part 1: “God so loved the world…” by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

Part 2: GOD’S GOODNESS HAS NO LIMITS: LENT, A TRUE GIFT! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

• Dear Friends in Christ, we are halfway through Lent. Let us stop and reflect on how faithfully we are carrying out our Lenten Proposals. If our efforts have lagged, or perhaps never got off the ground, it is not too late to start up or begin again.
• On the other hand, if we have made a good start and been faithful to our Lenten proposals, perhaps we could kick it up a notch, pour it on in the last half of the race, by adding one or more proposals.
• As Saint Paul says: “And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Rom. 13: 11-12)
• For this purpose, we present for our meditation two articles. The first to recall the fathomless love of God for each and every one of us, created in His image and likeness, marred by sin, bought back and washed clean in the Blood of Christ.
• The second is an Ignatian repetition, Lent, a True Gift, with an abundance of ideas to practice or upgrade our Lenten penitential acts of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

PART 1: “God so loved the world…” by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

The anguish of the Passion of the Lord Jesus cannot fail to move to pity even the most hardened hearts, as it constitutes the climax of the revelation of God’s love for each of us. Saint John observes: God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life (Jn 3:16).It is for love of us that Christ dies on the cross!

Throughout the course of the millennia, a great multitude of men and women have been drawn deeply into this mystery and they have followed Him, making in their turn, like Him with His help, a gift to others of their own lives.

They are the saints and the martyrs, many of whom remain unknown to us. Even in our own time, how many people, in the silence of their daily lives, unite their sufferings with those of the Crucified One and become apostles of a true spiritual and social renewal!

What would man be without Christ? Saint Augustine observes: “You would still be in a state of wretchedness, had He not shown you mercy. You would not have returned to life, had He not shared your death. You would have passed away had He not come to your aid. You would be lost, had He not come.” So why not welcome Him into our lives?

Let us pause to contemplate His disfigured face, it is the face of the Man of Sorrows, who took upon Himself the burden of all our mortal anguish. His face is reflected in that of every person who is humiliated and offended, sick and suffering, alone, abandoned, and despised. Pouring out His blood, He has rescued us from the slavery of death, He has broken the solitude of our tears, He has entered into our every grief and our every anxiety.

Brothers and Sisters! As the cross rises up on Golgotha, the eyes of our faith are already turned towards the dawning of the new Day, and we begin to taste the joy and splendor of Easter.

PART 2:

GOD’S GOODNESS HAS NO LIMITS: LENT, A TRUE GIFT! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

God’s goodness has no limits. Giving, giving and more generous giving expresses the very nature of our loving and bountiful God. Count your gifts and blessings and then thank and praise our loving God. This should be done daily!

Your body, your mind, your affections, your soul—all gifts from God. Praise the Lord. The Sacraments, the Church, the Eucharist—the Bread of Life, your Guardian angel, your friends the saints, the Blessed Virgin Mary who is your loving Heavenly Mother, and the promise of eternal life in Heaven. Praise and thank the Lord the giver of all sublime gifts. Saint Ignatius reminds us also that the more we thank God for His many gifts, the more He showers us with even more and greater gifts.

LENT AS A GIFT.  Most likely you have never spent much time reflecting upon and thanking God for the Gifts present in the Liturgical Seasons—most specifically, the Annual Gift of the Season of Lent. If that is the case, now is the time to abound in thanking God for the Gift of the Season of Lent. In the words of the Psalmist: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.” (Ps. 136:1)

Every year, usually starting some time in February, Lent commences. The priest dons the Liturgical color of purple. Penance and a call to conversion of life marks the entire season. The first day of Lent is Ash Wednesday which sets the tone of the season. Ashes are imposed with one of two phrases which are Biblical. “Be converted and believe in the Gospel.” (Mk. 1:15)  Or “Remember that you are dust and you shall return to dust.” (Gen. 3:19) The Church announces the clarion call to conversion, as well as pointing out our mortality—one day we will all die and go before the Judgment seat of God.

GOSPEL FOR ASH WEDNESDAY: 3 PRACTICES TO ARRIVE AT CONVERSION.

The Gospel in the Mass for Ash Wednesday sets the tone for Lent. Jesus offers us three specific ways in which we can attain the conversion of our lives and finish our lives dying in the state of grace and thereby attain our goal: Heaven!

Expressed in a three-dimensional pattern we might say: we must go up, go in, and go out! Go up—through a more intense prayer life! Go in—conversion through penance or mortification. Go out—through almsgiving or an active life of charity to live out the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. If we can strive to live out these three dimensions in our spiritual life, then undoubtedly we will arrive at a more profound conversion of heart, a real conversion of life, and a deep aversion for sin, and greater love for Jesus Christ!

Therefore, let us strive to realize that Lent is truly a great Gift from the hands and the loving Heart of the Lord Jesus to His Church, and to each and every one of us individually. With open hearts let us recognize the gift, receive the gift, and live the gift.

WAYS THAT WE CAN ACCEPT AND LIVE OUT LENT.

PRAYER…

1. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!! Increase and fortify your personal prayer life. Indeed, what air is to our lungs, prayer is to our soul. Little prayer or a weak prayer life results in the drying up of our spiritual lungs and sure death!!!

2. WAYS TO PRAY? There are countless ways, but we will offer a list that you can choose from and implement, understanding we have to act on these good proposals and not just create castles in the air and follow wishful thinking. The following is a long list of prayers that you can undertake. If you already do some of these, add more for Lent!

1) DAILY BIBLE READING: Using these five classical steps of Lectio Divina: Lectio (Read), Meditatio (Meditate), Contemplatio (Contemplate), Oracio (Pray), Accio (Act).

2) HOLY HOUR. Use your Daily Bible Reading with Lectio Divina to give the Lord a Holy Hour of uninterrupted prayer every day for forty days. Ven. Fulton Sheen coined this “The Hour of Power!” Indeed, it was for Sheen who touched the lives of millions of people!

3) DAILY EXAMEN. Spend ten minutes every day, at any time you prefer, and go through your day thanking the Lord for the gifts of the day and begging pardon for any failures, with firm resolve to reform your life the next day.

4) THE MOST HOLY ROSARY. During the Holy Season of Lent get into the habit of praying the Rosary daily. If possible, pray the Family Rosary.  Remember the 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.” Incidentally, if possible, view the film/documentary PRAY! The Life of Fr. Patrick Peyton.

5) HOLY MASS. By far the greatest prayer is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. If possible, aim for daily Mass and Holy Communion. The Eucharist—Jesus, the Bread of Life, will transform your life and help you to arrive at a deep conversion of heart.

6) WAY OF THE CROSS. Most appropriate in Lent is to make the Way of the Cross. For the fourteen stations move from one to the next contemplating the love that Jesus has for you personally by suffering His Passion and death for love of you and the salvation of your immortal soul!

7) LITURGY OF THE HOURS. Learn to pray the Liturgy of the Hours which is the public worship of the Church. In the Magnificat magazine you have Morning Prayer (Lauds) as well as Evening Prayer (Vespers). Most of these prayers are taken from the Psalms, the Official Prayer Book of the Bible.

8) MEAL PRAYER. If not already in the habit, start your mealtime with a short prayer to thank God for the gift of a hearty and healthy meal. Many cannot do this because they will have no food to eat today or to give to their children.

9) THE ANGELUS PRAYER. In Lent you might intersperse your day with prayer by praying the Angelus three times a day: 9:00 a.m., 12 noon, and 6 p.m. Beg Mary to bless your mornings, afternoons and evenings!

10) VIEW THE MOVIE THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. If age appropriate, watch the movie of Mel Gibson, The Passion of the Christ. However, instead of viewing it as a mere Hollywood rendition, view it as a prayer, as a contemplation, so as to love the Lord Jesus more! He suffered all of His Passion for love of you! Which scenes touched you the most?

3. SACRAMENT OF CONFESSION. During Lent make the best Confession of your life. Indeed, this is truly the Sacrament and encounter with Christ where deep conversion really can take place.

4. READ THE DOLOROUS PASSION. In Lent much fruit can be derived from spiritual reading, most specially the Dolorous Passion by Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich.

FASTING / PENANCE / MORTIFICATION…

5. FASTING OF THE TONGUE. For the forty days of Lent avoid any words that could hurt any of your family members. Two rules can be of great help:  First: Think before you speak. Second: Do and say to others what you would like them to do and say to you.

6. FASTING FROM FOOD. Choose at least one thing at the table that you like to eat and give that up for Lent. Do it for love of Jesus, and for the salvation of immortal souls, as well as your own conversion!

7. FORM OF PENANCE: IMPROVE YOUR WORK ETHIC. A most efficacious penance/charity might simply be to upgrade your work ethic. This can be work outside the home or inside the home. Start your work on time and be orderly, systematic and methodical. Avoid cutting corners and doing a sloppy joy. Remember the words of Saint Paul: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31)  Follow in the footsteps of Saint Therese, the Little Flower. “Holiness consists in doing the ordinary things of daily life with extraordinary love.”

ALMSGIVING / CHARITY…

8. ALMSGVING. Pray to the Holy Spirit to enlighten your mind as to how you can help out the poor in one way or another. Never forget the words of Jesus: “I was hungry, thirsty, naked, a foreigner, sick or in prison… whatsoever you did for the least of my brothers, that you did for me.” (Mt. 25: 31-46)

9. CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME. Perhaps the best way to live out almsgiving or charity would be at home. Every day make an effort—for the forty days of Lent—to do an act of charity or an act of kindness—for some member of your family. This gesture is very pleasing to God and can fortify the bonds of love in the family.

A MARIAN LENT…

10. OUR LADY OF SORROWS. May this Lent be a deeply Marian Lent. Let us contemplate the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

1. The prophecy of Simeon.  (Lk. 2: 34-35)
2. Flight into Egypt and massacre of the Holy Innocents.  (Mt. 2: 13-18)
3. Loss of the Child Jesus in the temple.  (Lk. 2: 41-51)
4. Meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross.
5. Crucifixion of Jesus with Mary at the foot of the Cross.  (Jn. 19: 25-30)
6. The Body of Jesus taken from the Cross and laid in the arms of Mary. (The Pieta)
7. The Body of Jesus laid in the tomb. (Jn. 19: 38-42)

In conclusion, friends in Jesus and Mary, let us abound in an overflowing attitude of gratitude of praise and thanksgiving towards our loving God. Indeed, how good God is in His countless gifts that He has bestowed on the world and on each and every one of us individually.

Therefore, let us recognize the Gift of Lent. Let us receive and accept it as an extraordinary gift. But then let us live out this gift! If done, our lives will be converted and our love for God will be growing, blossoming, flourishing and overflowing towards the whole world! May Our Lady attain for us a truly grateful heart!