Consecration to Jesus Through Mary: DAY 4

Today is DAY 4 of the consecration preparation.  The world tells us to make a name for ourselves, to puff ourselves up like a peacock, to make ourselves out to be the source of all our blessings.  We have to work very hard to trample on this false way of thinking to free our hearts of this error.  God alone is the source of all that is good.  Jesus himself said, "God alone is good," to point out that whatever good we see even in Jesus is from his divinity.  The more we realize that God is the source of our goodness the more we make room for authentic faith and conversion.  Let us ask Our Lady's help today asking for the Holy Spirit who helps us to truly humbler ourselves before God.

Reading:

Imitation of Christ, by Thomas A Kempis: Book 3, Chapters 7, 40
That man has no good of himself, and that he cannot glory in anything.
Lord, what is man, that Thou art mindful of him; or the son of man, that Thou visit him? What has man deserved that Thou should give him grace? Lord, what cause have I to complain, it Thou forsakest me, or what can I justly allege, if what I petition Thou shalt not grant? This most assuredly, I may truly think and say: Lord I am nothing, I can do nothing of myself, that is good, but I am in all things defective and ever tend to nothing. And unless I am assisted and interiorly instructed by Thee, I become wholly tepid and relaxed, but though, O Lord, art always the same, and endure unto eternity, ever good, just and holy, doing all things well, justly and holily and disposing them in wisdom.
But I who am more inclined to go back, than to go forward, continue not always in one state, for I am changed, seven different times. But it quickly becomes better when it pleases Thee, and Thou stretchest out Thy helping hand: for Thou alone, without man's aid can assist me and so strengthen me, that my countenance shall be more diversely changed: but my heart be converted and find its rest in Thee alone.
He who would be too secure in time of peace will often be found too much dejected in time of war. If you could always continue to be humble and little in your own eyes, and keep your spirit in due order and subjection, you would not fall so easily into danger and offense. It is good counsel that, when you have conceived the spirit of fervor, you should meditate how it will be when that light shall be withdraw.

Prayers:

Veni Creator

Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,

and in our hearts take up Thy rest;

come with Thy grace and heav'nly aid,

To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.   

O Comforter, to Thee we cry,

Thou heav'nly gift of God most high,

Thou Fount of life, and Fire of love,

and sweet anointing from above.

Finger of the hand divine,

the sevenfold gifts of grace are thine;

true promise of the Father thou,

who dost the tongue with power endow.

Thy light to every sense impart,

and shed thy love in every heart;

thine own unfailing might supply

to strengthen our infirmity.

Drive far away our Spiritly foe,

and thine abiding peace bestow;

if thou be our preventing Guide,

no evil can our steps betide.

Praise we the Father and the Son

and Holy Spirit with them One;

and may the Son on us bestow

the gifts that from the Spirit flow.

Ave Maris Stella Hail, bright star of ocean, God's own Mother blest, Ever sinless Virgin, Gate of heavenly rest. Taking that sweet Ave Which from Gabriel came, Peace confirm within us, Changing Eva's name. Break the captives' fetters, Light on blindness pour, All our ills expelling, Every bliss implore. Show thyself a Mother; May the Word Divine, Born for us thy Infant, Hear our prayers through thine. Virgin all excelling, Mildest of the mild, Freed from guilt, preserve us, Pure and undefiled. Keep our life all spotless, Make our way secure, Till we find in Jesus, Joy forevermore. Through the highest heaven To the Almighty Three, Father, Son and Spirit, One same glory be. Amen.

Magnificat

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Consecration to Jesus Through Mary: DAY 3

Today on DAY 3 of our consecration preparation, we strive to enter into the narrow gate, to follow God's will instead of our own.  The world would have us worship, serve, and follow our own preferences.  Today we are taught to not trust our own rash judgment, to keep and protect what is holy, and to have a prayer life focussed on Jesus Christ as Our Lady is.  In this way we begin to do onto others as we would have them do unto us.

Readings:

St. Matthew Chapter 7: 1-14

Do not judge

Do not judge, and you will not be judged; because the judgments you give are the judgments you will get, and the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother's eye and never notice the splinter in your own? How dare you say to your brother, "Let me take the splinter out of your eye," when all the time there is a plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take the splinter out of your brother's eye.

Do not profane sacred things

Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls in front of pigs, or they may trample them and then turn on you and tear you to pieces.

Effective prayer

Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock adn the door will be opened to you. For the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him. Is there a man among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish: If you, then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

The golden rule

So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.

The two ways

Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to perdition is wide and spacious, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Prayers:

Veni Creator

Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,

and in our hearts take up Thy rest;

come with Thy grace and heav'nly aid,

To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.   

O Comforter, to Thee we cry,

Thou heav'nly gift of God most high,

Thou Fount of life, and Fire of love,

and sweet anointing from above.

Finger of the hand divine,

the sevenfold gifts of grace are thine;

true promise of the Father thou,

who dost the tongue with power endow.

Thy light to every sense impart,

and shed thy love in every heart;

thine own unfailing might supply

to strengthen our infirmity.

Drive far away our Spiritly foe,

and thine abiding peace bestow;

if thou be our preventing Guide,

no evil can our steps betide.

Praise we the Father and the Son

and Holy Spirit with them One;

and may the Son on us bestow

the gifts that from the Spirit flow.

Ave Maris Stella Hail, bright star of ocean, God's own Mother blest, Ever sinless Virgin, Gate of heavenly rest. Taking that sweet Ave Which from Gabriel came, Peace confirm within us, Changing Eva's name. Break the captives' fetters, Light on blindness pour, All our ills expelling, Every bliss implore. Show thyself a Mother; May the Word Divine, Born for us thy Infant, Hear our prayers through thine. Virgin all excelling, Mildest of the mild, Freed from guilt, preserve us, Pure and undefiled. Keep our life all spotless, Make our way secure, Till we find in Jesus, Joy forevermore. Through the highest heaven To the Almighty Three, Father, Son and Spirit, One same glory be. Amen.

Magnificat

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

St Martin of Tours and the Courage to Be Catholic

There are many excuses people make to not respond to Christ who visits them in different disguises, in the poor, in their family relationships, in the holy Sacraments.  The greatest perhaps is fear.  We are simply afraid to do something that would take us beyond ourselves.  In the Gospel for today's Mass (Mt 25:31-46), Jesus describes the measure of our life will be responding to Christ when he visitis us.

Listen to my homily for today:

If you have trouble listening click here.

St Martin saw a beggar suffering from the cold and gave him his own cloak, even when this meant that he would go without sufficient covering.  That night he had a dream.  Jesus was wearing his cloak and thanked him.

He became a bishop of great courage.  He smote down idols and preached the Gospel untiringly to the pagans.  There are a lot of idols and a lot of pagans today.  The don't look the same, but the think secularism that inundates our culture has brought about another moment in history for those who wish to respond to  Christ must exercise great courage and perseverance.

Let us pray to St Martin and ask him and all the saints for the courage to be Catholic in an environment and arena of today's world that is at times openly hostile to our faith.

Consecration to Jesus Through Mary: DAY 2

On DAY 2 of our preparation for Consecration, the Lord wants to teach us to pray, give alms, and forgive as he forgives.  This is very different from the world's way of doing things.  The world and the folly of its egoism tries to teach us to love and forgive only to the degree that we first are loved and forgiven, to give alms only if others can see what we are doing, and to pray so as to acquire greater esteem not from God but from men.  In a word you can see the spirit of SELF in all of these things, a vain insecurity, trying to scratch out a little kingdom, grab for esteem and position among men.

Christ teaches us to be courageous, to be generous, and to base all our activities upon the Father's way of loving, forgiving, and giving alms, thus fueling a prayer life that is hidden, discreet, sincerely, and enkindled with great faith and humility.  Let us pray today to be rid of the world and full of God.

Gentle Reminder:  Persevere in following each day but do not be put off by missing one of the days or more.  You can make it up and get back on track.  What is important is that you persevere in preparing to gift yourself to Jesus through Mary

Reading for today:

St. Matthew: Chapters 5: 48, 6: 1-15
Even the pagans do as much, do they not: You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Almsgiving in secret (6: 1-15) Be careful not to parade your good deeds before men to attract their notice; by doing this you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win men's admiration. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing; your almsgiving must be secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
Prayer in secret
And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites; they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you pray, go to your private room and, when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
How to pray. The Lord's Prayer
In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. So you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be held holy.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us. And do not put us to the test, but save us from the evil one.
Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.

Prayers for today:

Veni Creator

Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,

and in our hearts take up Thy rest;

come with Thy grace and heav'nly aid,

To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.   

O Comforter, to Thee we cry,

Thou heav'nly gift of God most high,

Thou Fount of life, and Fire of love,

and sweet anointing from above.

Finger of the hand divine,

the sevenfold gifts of grace are thine;

true promise of the Father thou,

who dost the tongue with power endow.

Thy light to every sense impart,

and shed thy love in every heart;

thine own unfailing might supply

to strengthen our infirmity.

Drive far away our Spiritly foe,

and thine abiding peace bestow;

if thou be our preventing Guide,

no evil can our steps betide.

Praise we the Father and the Son

and Holy Spirit with them One;

and may the Son on us bestow

the gifts that from the Spirit flow.

Ave Maris Stella Hail, bright star of ocean, God's own Mother blest, Ever sinless Virgin, Gate of heavenly rest. Taking that sweet Ave Which from Gabriel came, Peace confirm within us, Changing Eva's name. Break the captives' fetters, Light on blindness pour, All our ills expelling, Every bliss implore. Show thyself a Mother; May the Word Divine, Born for us thy Infant, Hear our prayers through thine. Virgin all excelling, Mildest of the mild, Freed from guilt, preserve us, Pure and undefiled. Keep our life all spotless, Make our way secure, Till we find in Jesus, Joy forevermore. Through the highest heaven To the Almighty Three, Father, Son and Spirit, One same glory be. Amen.

Magnificat

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Imitating Jesus, True God and True Man, with Pope St Leo the Great

Who do you say that Jesus is?  This is a fundamental question for a Christian.  One that can be answered not just with the lips, but by the way one lives.  Pope St Leo the Great is a monumental figure in explaining the very Person of Jesus Christ.

Listen to my homily for today:

If you have trouble click here.

By our relationship with Jesus and Mary we need to incorporate the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic faith of the Church, and come to know and live deeper the mystery of Jesus Christ in our daily walk of discipleship.

Here is Pope St Leo the Great's Tome, that eventually was incorporated into the Council of Chalcedon:

What was taken from the mother of the Lord was the nature without the guilt [of original sin]. And the fact that the birth was miraculous does not imply that in the lord Jesus Christ, born from the virgin's womb, the nature is different from ours. The same one is true God and true man. There is nothing unreal about this oneness, since both the lowliness of the man and the grandeur of the divinity are in mutual relation. As God is not changed by showing mercy, neither is humanity devoured by the dignity received. The activity of each form is what is proper to it in communion with the other: that is, the Word performs what belongs to the Word, and the flesh accomplishes what belongs to the flesh. One of these performs brilliant miracles; the other sustains acts of violence. As the Word does not lose its glory which is equal to that of the Father, so neither does the flesh leave the nature of its kind behind. We must say this again and again: one and the same is truly Son of God and truly son of man.

Consecration to Jesus Through Mary: DAY 1

Today we enthusiastically begin DAY 1 of the Consecration to Jesus through Mary.  These first 12 days of consecration we attempt to rid ourselves of the spirit of the world and all its enticements, deceit, and allurements.

Examine your conscience, pray, practice renouncement of your own will; mortification, purity of heart. This purity is the indispensable condition for contemplating God in heaven, to see Him on earth and to know Him by the light of faith.

The first part of the preparation should be employed in casting off the spirit of the world which is contrary to that of Jesus Christ. The spirit of the world consists essentially in the denial of the supreme dominion of God; a denial which is manifested in practice by sin and disobedience; thus it is principally opposed to the spirit of Christ, which is also that of Mary.

It manifests itself by the concupiscence of the flesh, by the concupiscence of the eyes and by the pride of life, by disobedience to God's laws and the abuse of created things. Its works are: sin in all forms, then all else by which the devil leads to sin; works which bring error and darkness to the mind, and seduction and corruption to the will. Its pomps are the splendor and the charms employed by the devil to render sin alluring in person, places and things.

The text for today comes from:

St. Matthew: Chapter 5: 1-19

The Beatitudes

Seeing the crowds, he went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them: How happy are the poor in spirit: theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage.

Happy those who mourn: they shall be comforted. Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall be satisfied. Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them. Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God. Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you.

Salt of the earth and light of the world

You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, what can make it salty again? It is good for nothing and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men.

You are the light of the world. A city built on a hilltop cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub; they put it on the lamp-stand where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.

The fulfillment of the Law

Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved.

The prayer for the next 12 days are the Veni Creator, Ave Maris Stella, and the Magnificat:

Veni Creator

Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,

and in our hearts take up Thy rest;

come with Thy grace and heav'nly aid,

To fill the hearts which Thou hast made.   

O Comforter, to Thee we cry,

Thou heav'nly gift of God most high,

Thou Fount of life, and Fire of love,

and sweet anointing from above.

Finger of the hand divine,

the sevenfold gifts of grace are thine;

true promise of the Father thou,

who dost the tongue with power endow.

Thy light to every sense impart,

and shed thy love in every heart;

thine own unfailing might supply

to strengthen our infirmity.

Drive far away our Spiritly foe,

and thine abiding peace bestow;

if thou be our preventing Guide,

no evil can our steps betide.

Praise we the Father and the Son

and Holy Spirit with them One;

and may the Son on us bestow

the gifts that from the Spirit flow.

Ave Maris Stella Hail, bright star of ocean, God's own Mother blest, Ever sinless Virgin, Gate of heavenly rest. Taking that sweet Ave Which from Gabriel came, Peace confirm within us, Changing Eva's name. Break the captives' fetters, Light on blindness pour, All our ills expelling, Every bliss implore. Show thyself a Mother; May the Word Divine, Born for us thy Infant, Hear our prayers through thine. Virgin all excelling, Mildest of the mild, Freed from guilt, preserve us, Pure and undefiled. Keep our life all spotless, Make our way secure, Till we find in Jesus, Joy forevermore. Through the highest heaven To the Almighty Three, Father, Son and Spirit, One same glory be. Amen.

Magnificat

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Consecration to Jesus Through Mary: INTRODUCTION

Want to love God more but don't know how?  Do you find yourself falling back into old habits that are not of God?  Can't find that extra kick you need to overcome yourself?

Consecration to Jesus through Mary is a spiritual boost that helps you to rid yourself of the world, the flesh, the devil, sin, and death, and opens your heart to deeper faith, hope, and charity.  It is a way of living your baptism more fervently and consistently.  Pray about this more and see if God is asking you to undertake this radical step in being more conformed to Jesus Christ the Lord.  For more info click here.

It is highly recommended that during the process of preparation that you read the book by St Louis Marie De Montfort, True Devotion to Mary.  Blessed Pope John Paul II said of the book:

I myself, in the years of my youth, found reading this book a great help. “There I found the answers to my questions”, for at one point I had feared that if my devotion to Mary “became too great, it might end up compromising the supremacy of the worship owed to Christ”. Under the wise guidance of St. Louis Marie, I realized that if one lives the mystery of Mary in Christ, this risk does not exist. In fact, this Saint's Mariological thought “is rooted in the mystery of the Trinity and in the truth of the Incarnation of the Word of God”.

Preparation for Total Consecration

Choosing a Date

On what day of the year will you solemnly gift yourself to Jesus through Mary? There are a few things to consider. First, it should be a Marian feast day. There are many in the Churche's calendar to choose from, especially those principle feasts which mark the redemption that Christ wrought for us through his mother. Second, it should be something significant for you, personal, close to the heart. Third, it helps if it be publicly recognized by the community, even celebrated at a time when many are gathered to pray for you and also receive this witness.  Here are some days that people commonly consecrate themselves:

Start Day	Marian Feast	Consecration Day
January 9	Our Lady of Lourdes	Febrary 11
February 20	The Annunciation	March 25
June 13	Our Lady of Mt Carmel	July 16
July 13	The Assumption	August 15
August 6	Nativity of Our Lady	September 8
August 13	Our Lady of Sorrows	September 15
October 19	Presentation of Mary	November 21
November 5	Immaculate Conception	December 8
November 9	Our Lady of Guadalupe	December 12

WARNING: This ain't playing around folks.  This is serious stuff.  The devil will try to thwart you.  Do not make the mistake of thinking if you miss one day that you have failed and can't continue.  Do not let missing one or more of the parts be the obstacle of not completing the final consecration.  Give God your best.  Let him do the rest.  Persevere.  Pray.  Consecrate.

12 preliminary days of ridding yourself of the spirit of the world:
1   2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  2


Week of growing in the knowledge of self:

13  14  15  16  17  18  19


Week of growing in the knowledge of Mary:

20   21  22  23  24  25  26


Week of growing in the knowledge of Jesus:

27  28  29  30  31  32  33

Act of Consecration to Jesus through Mary

Should the Master Thank the Servant for Doing his Job?

Where is Jesus in my life, many ask.  Look down.  Look at your feet, at the part of you that is trampled upon, collecting smell and dirt, the part of you that seems to be unloved, broken, in need of God.  If you look with faith, you will have an amazing discovery.  Jesus is there, washing your feet!  In today's readings for Mass we are reminded that we are servants, and that we ought not look for reward.

Listen to my homily for today:

If you have trouble listening, click here.

It is so easy to get prideful for doing something good.  Jesus reminds us simply that it is our job to begin with.  We aren't doing God any favors.  He is isn't so blessed to have our wonderful selves be in  his service, rather it is the other way around.  He is permitting us to serve him, for serving the one who loves us is itself the greatest possible reward we could hope for.  Many times, our works are very lacking, full of errors, excesses, defects, faults, imperfections - full of self.  God often has to supplement our feeble works with his grace and correction, filling in our valleys and leveling our mountains.

This is true for anything God asks of us - in our marriages, in our workplace, in our families, in our nation. It is so important for us to encounter Christ serving in these places, so that we can follow him, see him serving so that where the master is there the servant shall be.

May Our Lady, whose mother's heart is one who serves, help us to have the beautiful humility and spirit of service necessary to follow Jesus, even to washing other's feet.

Homily: Catechesis on the Four Last Things

The Last Judgment of Michelangelo

The last few weeks of the Church's liturgical year speak about eschatology, or the last things.  Traditionally  we speak about the four last things of death, judgment, heaven, and hell.  The readings for today's Mass, the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, speak a great deal about the eschaton, or the end of the ages.  It is important to remember that Jesus Christ is the Eschatos, the last One, the first and the last, alpha and omega, by whom each person will be judged, by whose life we are all measured.

Listen to my homily for today:

If you have trouble listening, click here.

Because there is such great ignorance and of teachings of Christ on the last things.  I will give in this homily a brief catechesis.

First we have to know from where we get our doctrine of the faith.  Is it from personal revelation, speculation, or good studying habit of the bible.  No, definitely not.  There are over 40,000 different "Christian" denominations based on personal opinion, especially those more obscure passages of Scripture.  Christian faith, whereby we say it is not our teaching but the very teaching of Jesus Christ himself, comes from the unity of presentation of Scripture, the teaching of Christ passed on through the ages we call Sacred Tradition, and the authoritative teaching of the successor of St Peter, the Pope and all those united with him.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the united and authoritative teaching of these sources of the one Christian Faith, the very teaching of Jesus Christ himself.  Anything else is simply not the Church's teaching and not the teaching of Jesus Christ.  And so, what does the Catechism say about the last things?

The human soul
Each human soul is created immediately and directly by God himself out of nothing at the moment of conception when a child's mother and father cooperate in the act of co-creation.  It is immortal and made for God.  Man is a moral being and all of his acts either contribute to the quality of his goodness or lack thereof.


Death
When we die, our soul is separated from our body and we are immediately judged by God based on our acts, upon the measure of charity in the human soul.  This is called "particular judgment."  Or as the Catechism of the Catholic Church says in 1022:

Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven- through a purification or immediately, or immediate and everlasting damnation.  At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love.

Hell

Hell is real.  It is a place or torment for those who have rejected God's grace and love.  We read in the Catechism 1035:

 The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire." The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.

Purgatory

How many people when they die are perfectly kind, unfailingly patient, unwaveringly charitable?  Not many.  Thanks be to God for the gift of purgatory, which is a place for those who still need to be purified before entering eternal life.  Thanks also to God's mercy for the gift of indulgences that can remit all temporal punishment due to sin, i.e. a get out of purgatory free card.  Read about them here.  Also, if we love our dearly departed, we will offer masses for the repose of their souls, something which has been done since the very first Christian century.  The Catechism says in 1030:

All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.

Heaven

Heaven is the reward of the just, the place of eternal enjoyment of the blessedness of union with the Most Holy Trinity.  It is the place where every tear will be wiped away and all will praise and glorify the Lord for ever in holy communion as God's holy family.  CCC 1023

According to the general disposition of God, the souls of all the saints . . . and other faithful who died after receiving Christ's holy Baptism (provided they were not in need of purification when they died, . . . or, if they then did need or will need some purification, when they have been purified after death, . . .) already before they take up their bodies again and before the general judgment - and this since the Ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into heaven - have been, are and will be in heaven, in the heavenly Kingdom and celestial paradise with Christ, joined to the company of the holy angels. Since the Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, these souls have seen and do see the divine essence with an intuitive vision, and even face to face, without the mediation of any creature.

Final Judgment

Jesus shall come again to judge the living and dead.  This is called the Second Coming.  There is not an intermediary coming of Jesus as some might say, calling it a "rapture" where those who are faithful to Christ will be taken up into the air before having to endure the final tribulation that is said to immediately precede the Lord's coming at the end of time.  This teaching has been invented in the past few generations and is not coherent with Scripture and the Church's Tradition of martyrs who won their glorious crown by perseverance through trial.  In the CCC we read in 1038:

The resurrection of all the dead, "of both the just and the unjust," will precede the Last Judgment. This will be "the hour when all who are in the tombs will hear [the Son of man's] voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment." Then Christ will come "in his glory, and all the angels with him .... Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left.... And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."[623] 

The New Heavens and New Earth
After the sheep and the goats, the wheat and the chaff, the good and evil, have been sorted, God will divinize the just and make a new heavens and new earth.  Where God will be all in all, Christ will be all things in all men.  CCC 1043:

Sacred Scripture calls this mysterious renewal, which will transform humanity and the world, "new heavens and a new earth." It will be the definitive realization of God's plan to bring under a single head "all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth."

What does this mean for us?
If you knew you would be dead by the end of the day, how would you live?  Our end in life makes clear what we do now, and how we act.  If we are clearly aware that we may merit either eternal reward or punishment for our actions and that we are responsible for leading others to life, we can be sure that will act differently.


You can make your marriage, your workplace, your parenting, your relationships, your very life here on earth a kind of heaven or hell, and may very really receive either as your eternal destination.  We ought to think about these things frequently to put before our eyes what is truly important in life.

Be Cunning in Forgiveness as Jesus is Cunning

The limit that we can place on the infinite Mercy of God can be quite terrible, quite inhibiting, yes, even quite damning - literally.  For we utter those fated words every day, "Forgive us our trespasses AS we forgive those who trespass against us."  In our Mass readings for today, Jesus praises the dishonest steward for his cunning in forgiving the debtors of the Master.

Listen to my homily for today:

If you have trouble listening, click here.

An example of how Jesus is cunning in getting us to forgive others and thus be forgiven is the Promises of First Fridays, which require us to receive holy communion on the first friday of the month and go to confession.  A person who does this nine months in a row may have a business mindset, even a kind of consumer approach to religion, but the cunning of Christ is that no one can confess their sins nine months in a row and remain the same.  They will be eternally changed.  Their heart will be drawn to mercy, to forgiveness, to God himself.

Another example we have of the holy cunning is today's saint, St Charles Borromeo, who was a major player in the reform of Trent.  He implemented the reform by taking as his own their principles and generously putting them into practice, especially with regard to visiting priests, bishops, and founding seminaries.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary, whose innocence and humility is a the ideal of holy cunning, lead us to bring as many as possible to the fount of God's mercy and holiness.

Special Plenary Indulgence you May Obtain for the Holy Souls

This is from the Archdiocese of Southwark, where I am currently serving:

A plenary indulgence, applicable only to the holy souls, may be gained once in any church either on All Souls' Day, on the preceding or following Sunday, or on the feast of All Saints, on the usual conditions, viz: a visit to a Church where the Our Father and Creed are recited, Sacramental Confession, Holy Communion and prayer for the Holy Father's intention. Those who visit a cemeterybetween 1st and 8th November and pray for the faithful departed, may obtain a plenary indulgence, applicable to the holy souls (and at other times a partial indulgence).

 The conditions to obtain a plenary indulgence are the following:

1.  The faithful must receive the sacrament of confession, either eight days before or after the act is performed.
2.  Receive Holy Communion on that day.
3.  Recite prayers for the intention of the Holy Father (In this case an Our Father and a Creed)
4. Absence of attachment to mortal or venial sin (I find this part incredibly sanctifying for the one attempting to obtain the indulgence)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains about indulgences:

It is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains. While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. He should strive by works of mercy and charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance, to put off completely the "old man" and to put on the "new man." (1472, 1473)

One of Two Days in the Year Where Priests are Encouraged to Offer 3 Masses

There are two days of the year when the Holy Church encourages priests to offer three Masses.  Christmas Day there are three different liturgies.  In my religious community we usually offer all three: Mass at Midnight to commemorate his birth, Mass at Dawn to commemorate the adoration of the shepherds, and Mass of the Day to commemorate the joy of the angels.

The other day is today, the Feast of All Souls.  If you look in the Sacramentary, the book the priest prays Mass from on the altar, you would find three different liturgies for three different intentions:

1.  The intention of the priest himself
2.  For all the faithful departed
3.  For the intentions of the Holy Father

I offered two of these masses privately in a row.  As always, they were very sanctifying and inspiring hopefully to set my heart on the right course this month to be constantly praying for the holy souls.

During one of the Masses I felt a great deal of gratitude from the souls of those I had helped reach the final destination of heaven.  It is a great privilege for a priest to be able to offer a dying person, the apostolic pardon, where he offers that person a plenary indulgence and the blessing of the Holy Father to cleanse them of any remaining temporal punishment due to sin.  This gift is especially joyful when a person has been far away from God and his great mercy is exercised in not only reconciling them to himself, but removing any remaining obstacle in this life or in the next.  A soul that reaches its final reward has a special bond of charity to the person who helped them get there.  When we pray and offer Masses for the dead, do you not think they would like to return the favor by helping us reach heaven with them?

 

Our Friends in Purification - All Souls Day

Were you to see a man suffering bitter pains and hunger, would you not help him?  What if it was your great grandfather, or distant cousin?  It is an act of holy charity to help the souls in purgatory reach their final purification and enter into heavenly peace.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1030-1031)  teaches:

All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire.

This is a dogma of the Church and the teaching of Christ.  There are some who deny this teaching, but this is usually because of a lack of faith and a loss of the sense of sin, but what is easily forgotten are our brothers and sisters, real living persons in purgatory, neglected by our foolish doubt and inattentiveness.

St Gregory the Great says:

“As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.”

Do you know anyone without completely perfect patience, unwavering kindness, and pure-hearted sincerity?  If you are like me you might be able to count such souls on one hand or maybe not at all.  Purgatory is a merciful gift of God for those of us who are not yet perfected in charity when we die.

Yet these holy souls are greatly aided by the Church militant offering the Lord on their behalf works of charity, prayers, alms, and most especially the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  A very good thing in the month of November would be if each Catholic would offer masses for all of their faithful departed relatives, and even for those souls for whom no one prays.

One All Souls Day I was walking in a cemetery praying the Rosary for the holy souls when I asked them sincerely to reveal to me our final end and the purification that awaits those not yet perfected.  As I prayed I felt two very powerful inspirations that have changed my life forever:

1.  Do not underestimate the effects of sin, even of minor faults, or venial sins, for many souls stay in a luke-warm state because they do not develop sufficient hatred for sins, no matter how small we may think they are.
2.  Rely on the strength of charity to acquire the patience necessary to accept each moment as a gift of God to be filled always with the majesty of his Presence, the holiness of his Will, and the power of his divine Love.

This is the cemetery in Subiaco, Italy, in which I walked
and asked for inspiration.

May Our Lady, the refuge of sins, consolation of the afflicted, inspire us to live holy lives, and to grow in holiness by exercising charity toward our brothers and sisters in purgatory.

I Want to Be A Saint

"I want to be a saint"

This is what the 15 year old St Therese of Lisieux said when asked what her intention were in entering the cloistered religious Carmel.  Cooperating with the grace of God, she did just that, she became a living replica of Jesus Christ.

Listen to my homily for today:

If you have trouble listening click here.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints, the day on which we thank God for the the heavenly cohort of men and women who have "washed their garments in the Blood of the Lamb," who passed the test of this life and gained heaven.

The word sanctus, or holy in Latin, means different.  This is what you encounter in someone who is holy, someone who has a unique sincerity about them that can only be the fruit of a pure heart that is set like flint upon the face of Jesus Christ.

How do you become holy, how do you become a saint.  The answer is in the second reading for today:

Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us,
by letting us be called God’s children;

Holiness is living in the realization that you are deeply beloved of the Father.  In Christ the Eucharistic Lord who visits us, we find the immeasurable and unconditional Love of the Father.  Frequent and devout reception of the Holy Eucharist is one of t he surest and quickest roads to holiness.  Our problem is that we approach the Lord without expecting him to be God, with little faith.  So we go away even from God himself without being transformed and without permitting him to act in his divine Power in our lives.

The saints inspire us to, as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, "To give God permission to make us holy as he is holy."  The lived a life in which, as St Teresa of Avila said, they "wholeheartedly trampled upon the spirit of this world."

May the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mother of God, the Queen of Sainst, inspire and pray for us to obtain for us the gift of sanctity.

2 Things to Help Children with the New Translation of the Mass: PowerPoint and No Parents

I am pleasantly gobsmacked and happily flabbergasted at the first attempt to offer Mass in the New Translation at our parish school of St Augustine's Catholic Primary in Hythe, Kent, UK.  For the first time, the children all participated in loud and clear voices.  Their attention was kept the entire time, and they pronounced every word.  Well almost every word, "Con, con, con, con...substantial" I heard lisped out during the Nicene Creed.

There were two reasons why the headteacher, or principal as she would be called in the States, and I could see made all the difference.  The first was the use of a PowerPoint display that had all the words necessary for the fruitful, active, and conscious participation in the Mass.  I first noticed it during the Gloria.  I thought I would be reciting it solo, but a great majority of the school enthusiastically pronounced all the words.

Here is the powerpoint we used:



If you have trouble viewing this click here.

The second was that their parents did not attend.  In the past this has caused them to wave, to follow their parents poor example of chattering while mass is being prepared to start, and to try to show off to them.  Ultimately it turned Mas into a show, where the parents did not go to pray, but to see little johnny and sally do something or read something on the stage.  With their parents not around they were able to focus on praying.

And pray they did.  It was most apparent during communion time.  There wasn't a lot of fidgeting, flustering, or flippity flobbering around by the younger children.  I had asked them to pray very hard for someone who needs their prayers and to ask God to make them holy.  You could see their eyes being clenched tight and you could almost hear their little hearts crying out to the Lord in supplication.

I remember attending a seminar last spring about how to present the new translation to children.  One of the presenter's, a priest, main question was, "What can we get away with?" meaning, what part of the new translation can we avoid or leave out or manipulate.  I would like to ask the question in another way.  What can we get away with in not changing it, but in presenting it well to the kids?  What can we get away with so that they are elevated by the new translation to lift up their hearts and minds to the mind of Christ who loves children and calls them to sanctity through the words and gestures of the Sacred Liturgy?