Monday, December 31, 2012

"That's not my spirituality", the Mass and Life Issues.

Written last year (2011) for a class called "Ministry of Social Justice"


Spirituality is the concrete manner of living out one’s faith in Christ. Being ordered to Christ, it draws on - in different ways and to different degrees - the three transcendentals; namely, Goodness, Beauty and Truth. These find expressions through the living of the evangelical counsels of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience.

Each person is drawn in a particular way to serve God and neighbour and, in justice, called to render to both what is due to them. Now, the most fundamental right of God is to be worshiped, and loved above all else. The most fundamental right of the human being is life from conception until natural death. The right of God to be worshiped and loved is ultimately inherent. The right to life is contingent only on conception; that is to say, creation as a human being. The two biggest justice issues facing us today, and always, then, are the right-worship of God and the respect for human life at all its stages. We will look, briefly, at the main injustices that ‘spirituality’ is used to excuse and how an appropriate understanding of spirituality can be used to combat injustice in these two areas. We will therefore discover that, although spirituality may be used to excuse a lack of interest in these justice issues, there are some issues which, as a matter of justice, it is impossible for a Christian not to have participate in.

Although there are many ways of expressing personal devotion to God, the public worship of the Church is something given to us by God, through Her (that is, the Church), to be expressed as laid down in the rubrics of the given Rite. For the Latin Rite of the Church, the Holy Liturgy takes two forms, the forma ordinaria and the forma extraordinaria. Although some are drawn to the beauty or the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite, for the purposes of this reflection, we will look at the Ordinary Form of the Mass because it is by far the most attended form of the Mass in Australia.

It seems that many people interpreted the Liturgy implemented by Pope Paul VI, wittingly or unwittingly, in terms of what some have called the ‘Spirit of Vatican II’, or in a hermeneutic of rupture. In doing so, they come to insist that it is what makes people feel good which ought to guide the liturgy. At the extreme end of this, we see evidence of so-called ‘Clown Masses’, or Masses where the Celebrant is sitting on the floor in front of a coffee table to ‘celebrate Mass.’ In the less extreme, there are parishes in this archdiocese which substitute one of the four (at the time of writing) provided  Acclamations of Faith, or the Sanctus, or other parts of the Mass with other verses or hymns or songs that are - arbitrarily - deemed ‘more appropriate.’ In justice, the rule “Say the Black, Do the Red” ought to be followed.

That is not to say that in all cases, the words to be said by the Priest cannot be changed as a pastoral consideration. However, this ought only be done where the rubrics provide, namely, where it is written “in these or similar words.” In cases where it is pastorally prudent, the expression of the faith of the community is allowed at these time during the Sacrifice of the Mass. Moreover, the Mass itself can have “legitimate variations and adaptations” according to the needs of “different groups... provided that the substantial unity of the Roman rite is preserved.” (Sacrosanctum Concillium 38) This same paragraph, however, continues to assume that the rubrics will be followed, for it says that these adaptations “... should be borne in mind when drawing up the rites and devising rubrics.” (Ibid.)  In short, the expression of a group’s spirituality can be expressed either when the rite which they celebrate is being drawn up, or when the rubrics allow. To change the parts of the Mass, however, where there is no scope in that rite to do so, is a grave injustice against God because correct worship, as expressed by the Church, is due to Him at all times. This, then, is not something a Christian can choose to have an interest in; it is not a matter of interest. Therefore, in the worship of God, it is imperative that every Christian worships God in the way that He has laid down through His Church.

In the same way, interest in what is often called the ‘pro-life issue’ is not something that can be a matter of interest for Christians. As with Liturgy, the various expressions of involvement in the promotion of life may vary between individuals, groups or peoples; nonetheless, there are boundaries to this. No Christian can ever choose to be anti-life because Christ Himself is the Life (Cf Jn 14:6). The difference, however, between acting justly towards God where it is most called for, by His very Nature, and acting justly towards men where it is called for by their very nature is this: the Church has not given us clear, solid manner to act justly in the cause of Life. There are no rubrics for protecting Life from unjust Death.

As an aside, I have chosen to capitalise Life and Death here because I am referring both to the natural and super-natural realities that these terms can be used to refer to. Although it could be said there a rubrics for protecting supernatural life from supernatural death, this is only true in regards to the Sacraments. While these create and sustain supernatural life within us, such life can easily be lost through human actions which are not subject to rubrics.

The way one is involved in protecting Life will depend very much on one’s spirituality. For example, if one is drawn primarily toward the transcendental Truth, one might be called to defend life through writing or speaking out against injustices against Life such as abortion, adultery, the degrading of Holy Matrimony, or euthanasia. If one is drawn to Goodness, one might seek to counsel those in danger of Death or those promoting what Blessed John Paul II called the Culture of Death. This might be done through sidewalk counselling, pastoral care for the aged, disabled or otherwise disadvantaged; it might be done through running retreats like Rachel’s Vineyard or supporting Rachel’s House of Hope. For those drawn to beauty, it might consist activity in for the promotion of Life might take the form of promoting beautiful Liturgy, designing pamphlets containing information about programs such as those mentioned above. It is rare, indeed if it happens at all, that  one is drawn only to one of the transcendentals. Therefore, it is likely that one will be involved in the promotion of the Culture of Life in a number of different ways or, at least, in a way that combines the elements mentioned here above. However, the very nature of the human being demands that Life is respected in both its natural and supernatural forms.

It can be seen that in at least some justice issues, interest therein matters not. In the two areas that are most often subject to unjust behaviours, it can be seen that there is room for expressions of spirituality, but no scope for ignoring the issues. That is to say, God always deserves to be worshiped according to the norms laid down by Holy Mother Church; and Life, both natural and supernatural, is always due to all humans at all times by their nature and the gratuitous gift of God.

Here Where I Stand at the Turning of the Years

Or, the year in review.

January
  • Moved out of my old house
  • House-sat for mum
  • Volunteer Bunbury Diocese's Summer Camp
  • Moved into my new house
  •  Turned 20
  • Went to Canberra for Pa's 80th Birthday
  • Didn't go to the Pro-life Conference in Albury
February
  • Went to Sydney with the expectation of making a retreat
    • Farewelled Linda
    • Spent 3 nights in King's Cross
    • Caught up with Jess
    •  Met Jinny; stayed two nights at her house
    • Went to a Vigil led by Msgr Reilly
  • Didn't make the retreat
    • Flew home  
  • Actually spent some time at my new house
  • Restarted teaching for the year 
  • 40 Days for Life Started
  • Went to Emily's Math's class
  • Flew back to Sydney
March 
  • Stayed with Paul, Theresa and Magda
  • Stayed with Team Girls (incl Mary-Anne) and helped them move house
  • Made 9 Day Silent Retreat in Pymble
  •  Stayed with Paul, Theresa and Magda
  • Flew Home
  • Sand-Sculpture Competition
April
  • Started spending time at CYM
May
June 
  •  Dr Who party
  • Starting to help organise the Teen's retreat at CYM
July
  • CYM Teen's Retreat: Rise Up
  • Starting to help organise Steve Angrisano in Perth
  •  Basically living at CYM
August
  • Started back at UNDA
    • Luke and Acts
    • Letters of Paul
    • Sacraments of Initiation
  • Steve Angrisano in Perth
September
  • Spending more time at CYM than at Uni, home and work combined
  • Con's Wedding
  • That week
  • Aaron's birthday
  • Helping to organise the CYM Young Adult's Reteat
October
  • CYM Young Adult's Retreat
  • Year of Faith starts
  • Catholic Conversations 
  • Holy Hours and Masses on Mondays at UNDA
  • Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers
  • Mum's Birthday
  • Spending so much time at SBG
    • No longer 'living' at CYM
November
December
  • 'Girls' Retreat' at Mum's
  • Finish teaching for the year
  • Mum & Az come home
    • Police come that night to tell us that dad died
  • Organising dad's funeral
    • ALL the people at EtG
  • Dad's Funeral
  • Spending ALL the time at SBG
  • Christmas
  • Even more time at SBG
  • New Years Eve tonight

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

A Man Whose Name Was Joseph

Mark Shea has recently directed his readers over to Cows in Pick-Up Trucks and a post by Trisha Christ on Saint Joseph.
Please do go over and read it.

And while we're on the topic of this mystical father of all of Mary's children, I would like to recommend a wonderful book by one Fr Andrew Doze:
(The picture is also a link to Book Depository)
Now seems to be a fitting time for me to write about the Foster Father of Jesus. It is an especially fitting time because it's Christmas and soon to be the Feast of the Holy Family; moreover, my own dad recently died.To this end, I am drafting something on him (that is, Joseph) which I hope to post in the new year.



Thursday, December 20, 2012

Facebook


Saturday, December 8, 2012

I Heard There Was A Secret Chord

Or, Feeling Like King Saul

There are a few songs at the moment which, even if I'm not playing all the time, I would like to be.

The first, here, is from the Divine Office. It is the Hymn for Morning Prayer of the Office for the Dead. It will be the Communion Hymn for dad's Requiem Mass.


Remember those, O Lord
Who in Your peace have died
Yet may not gain love's high reward
'Til love is purified.

With You they faced death's night
Sealed with Your victory sign;
Soon may the splendor of Your Light
On them forever shine.

Sweet is their pain yet deep
'TIl perfect love is born;
Their long night watch they gladly keep
Before Your radiant morn.

You love is their great joy;
Your will their one desire;
As finest gold without alloy
Refine them in love's fire;

For them we humbly pray:
Perfect them in Your love.
O, may we share eternal Day
With them in Heav'n above!

This next is one is a sing that I've liked since it was first shown to me (h/t to Conface.) I first liked it because it's the first theologically decent song about the Book of the Appocalypse that I've heard in a long while; I then begun to like it because of a few lines in one of the verses which 'spoke' to me, as it were; I now like it because it is related to the First Reading from dad's funeral, the discussions we've been having at The Presbytery and - even more - because of those same lines.


For all the thirsty in need of the river
For all the sleeping hearts waking from their slumber
For everyone still standing at the shoreline, come

For all the hurting souls running from their healer
For all the skeptics running from an answer
Let everyone who hears these words say come

For the Spirit and the Bride say come
Yeah, the Spirit and the Bride say come

For all the Pharisees, empty on the inside
For all the lovers who spent their love on a lie
For the forgotten, the Father's heart says come

For all the fatherless looking for approval
For all the daughters who've never heard they're beautiful
Let everyone who hears these words say come

For the Spirit and the Bride say come
Yeah, the Spirit and the Bride say come
For the Spirit and the Bride say come
Yeah, the Spirit and the Bride say come

Amen, amen
Come, Lord Jesus, come again
Until then, until then
Grace and peace be ours, amen
Amen, amen
Come, Lord Jesus, come again
Until then, until then
Grace and peace be ours, amen
Till You come again
Peace be ours, amen
Till You come again
Till You come again

For the Spirit and the Bride say come
Yeah, the Spirit and the Bride say come


Thursday, December 6, 2012

Santa is Real!

A video by Fr Nathan

Happy Feast of St Nicholas!

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Teresa of Avila

... keeps following me.

Tonight, while looking on the iterwebs for a cool quote by either Lewis or Chesterton on the topic of Friendship (with which I intended to start a post over at the other blog) I stumbled across this from my Stalker-Saint, which I leave without further comment:
Lord,
Thou knowest better than I myself
that I am growing older and will someday be old.
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking
I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.

Release me from craving to
straighten out everybody’s affairs.

Make me thoughtful but not moody;
helpful but not bossy.

With my vast store of wisdom,
it seems a pity not to use it all;
but Thou knowest, Lord,
that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details;
give me wings to get to the point.

Seal my lips on my aches and pains;
they are increasing, and love of rehearsing them
is becoming sweeter as the years go by.

I dare not ask for improved memory,
but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-sureness
when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet, for a sour old person
is one of the crowning works of the devil.
Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places
and talents in unexpected people;
and give, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.
Amen.


My Brother

Aaron is a star.

Him:
"Do you know what the worst thing is?"
Me:
"What?"
Him:
"We're going to have to trawl through AC/DC songs."

Seriously, my brother is amazing.




On a related note, x

Thursday, November 29, 2012

plea for reverence

As some of them are still aware, I still check out what the Tumblr Catholics are up to every now and then.
So, a shout out to all of you; you're all, always, in my prayers.

Scrolling down Jess' tumblog, I cam across this post from a convert who is in the RCIA program; her name is Olivia. I've just copy-pasted the Original Post here. Since all my block quotes are italicised, I have changed what Olivia had in italics to this font instead.

Please, please, please heed what she's saying. Please. For the love of God. No, really, for the Love of God Incarnate, under the form of Bread.
I’ve been sitting here for a good 5 minutes trying to think of a good way to lead into what I want to talk about….I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no easy way to say this.
We, as a people, as a Catholic people, are irreverent towards the blessed Sacrament. We are irreverent towards JESUS. I know what you’re thinking. Olivia, you’re not even Catholic yet, what could you possibly know about the Eucharist. 
Well I will tell you what I know. I know that Jesus IS the Eucharist. I know that when I wake up on Sunday morning (or any morning I get to go to Mass) I’m going to a celebration. I’m going to experience the meeting of Heaven and Earth. I’m going to witness the most intimate of all encounters with Christ. I’m going to be in the presence of Jesus Christ, my friend, my savior, my love, my Father, my everything.
What is it that people don’t understand? It is physically painful for me at Mass to watch SO MANY people casually walk through the communion line, casually receive the Eucharist, casually consume it, and casually walk back to their seats. RECEIVING THE EUCHARIST IS NOT SOMETHING TO BE DONE CASUALLY. Do you realize that when you walk in that procession you are walking towards the living God? The creator of you, of the universe? You are walking towards He who suffered for you. He who weeped for your soul. He who gave his life so you could live more abundantly?!
Please, my dear friends, I am begging you, think about that next time you go to Mass. It is not your priest saying to you “body of Christ” it is Jesus offering his body to you just as he offered it to the disciples at the Last Supper.
I fear for the day we answer for our irreverence  Again I beg you, spend time contemplating the Real Presence. I pray that it is your prayer for the Eucharist to become as real to you as your priest standing before you. Realize my brothers and sisters that when you go into a Church you are in the literal presence of Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father, who is an endless font of Mercy, look upon your people with compassion and love. Help all of us to become aware of the reality of the Eucharist and of your REAL PRESENCE. Help each one of us to grow in reverance towards your most Holy body and blood.
[original post, here]

Other Tumblr Catholics you should check out:

Saturday, November 17, 2012

For a War Memorial

The following poem is one I found in a Book of Poems by G K Chesterton in Penny Banister's Bookstore
Two things.
This poem is amazing.
And you should go and visit Penny.

The poem:


For a War Memorial
(Suggested Inscription probably not selected by the Committee.)

The hucksters haggle in the mart
The cars and carts go by;
Senates and schools go droning on;
For dead things cannot die. 


A storm stooped on the place of tombs
With bolts to blast and rive;
But these be names of many men
The lightning found alive. 


If usurers rule and rights decay
And visions view once more
Great Carthage like a golden shell
Gape hollow on the shore, 


Still to the last of crumbling time
Upon this stone be read
How many men of England died
To prove they were not dead.

Just read this over a few times. Slowly.
See how amazing Uncle Gilbert is? This is why he should be studied in classrooms and lecture halls alongside Dickens (Chesterton's biography of whom I have recently started,) Elliot, Pope, Lewis et c.

This has been a post.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Quotes of the Now

We are all called to be faithful mystical spouses of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every sin therefore is an adulteration against our Beloved who is always faithful and always loving; even when abandoned and cheated upon time and time again. O my Beloved, forgive me, embrace me!
Callum Martin
And it is surely unreasonable to attack the doctrine of the Trinity as a piece of bewildering mysticism, and then to ask men to worship a being who is ninety million persons in one God, neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.
-GK Chesterton, Heretics
via
Niko's Nature
 

From America to Perth, via Rome

I like what Cardinal Dolan does. This address to his brother Bishops of the USCCB is all over the 'blogosphere.' Most people are commenting either on his call to return to the Sacrament of Penance or on his mention of the possible return of the US Church to abstinence from meat on all Fridays of the year.

I, however, would like to mention this:
But I stand before you this morning to say simply: first things first. We gather as disciples of, as friends of, as believers in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, "the Way, the Truth and the Life," who exhorted us to "seek first the Kingdom of God."
We cannot engage culture unless we let Him first engage us; we cannot dialogue with others unless we first dialogue with Him; we cannot challenge unless we first let Him challenge us.
The Venerable Servant of God, Fulton J. Sheen, once commented, "The first word of Jesus in the Gospel was 'come'; the last word of Jesus was 'go'."
You can listen to the whole thing here, thanks to Fr Z.

It reminds me a lot of a document - also from the USA - recently released by the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious. An extract here for you, emphases added:
The Eucharist and the New Evangelization are intimately intertwined, since the New Evangelization has Christ at its center and the Eucharist is Christ. Further, the Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life.” Christian life is lived in the Church, and “the Church exists in order to evangelize.” Therefore, the Eucharist is also “the source and the summit of all evangelization…” The truth of this statement is summarized by Blessed John Paul II’s statement, “…the Eucharist is at the center of the process of the Church’s growth.” One sees, then, a reciprocal relationship between the Eucharist and evangelization: the Eucharist nourishes evangelization, while evangelization leads to the Eucharist. Presbyterorum Ordinis accentuates this truth, explaining that “…all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it” and “No Christian community can be built up which does not grow from and hinge on the celebration of the most holy Eucharist.”
                The Eucharist is the source of evangelization, because the encounter with Christ leads one to proclaim Him to others. This is seen in a simple way in the Gospel pericope recounting the journey to Emmaus of the disciples who are unsuspectingly joined by the risen Christ. The two disciples have spent the whole day journeying towards their destination, seeking to unpack the events of the preceding days. Undoubtedly their own fatigue and the unusual attractiveness of their enigmatic companion inspire the compassion with which they invite the hidden Lord Jesus, “stay with us, for it is growing dark.” However, all sentiments of weariness melt away and are supplanted by evangelical zeal when “their eyes were opened and they recognized Him” in the breaking of the bread. They immediately undo the day’s journey, hastening to proclaim their encounter with the risen Christ to the Apostles in Jerusalem.
 My own Archbishop - Arch+ Timothy Costelloe SDB - addressed [also here] the recent Synod on New Evangelisation thus:
In Christifidelis laici Pope John Paul II spoke of the need to "remake the fabric of the ecclesial community" if we are to remake the fabric of the society in which we live. To do this we must recover the ecclesiology of the Church as the Body of Christ, with Christ as its life-giving head.
The first chapter of the Instrumentum laboris stresses this by focusing our attention on Christ and reminding us that the goal of all evangelisation is to foster an encounter between the person and Christ.

The time has come for us as bishops to place Christ at the heart of our preaching and teaching, and encourage our priests and deacons to do the same. We must help people to be captured by the fascination which the Jesus of the gospels exerts on hearts and minds.

To paraphrase the Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco who made a similar remark about contemporary religious life: The greatest challenge facing the Church today is to return the Church to Christ and to return Christ to the Church - not to become other than we are but to become more fully who and what we are.
 Let me paraphrase the paraphrase.
The greatest challenge facing the Church today is to return the Church to the Eucharist and to return the Eucharist to the Church - not to become other than we are, but to become more fully who and what we are.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

All Saints 2012

From our blog Canis Meus Id Comedit, I bring you pictures of this year's All Saint's Party:

Baby Jesus in Anthony's Arm; Bernadette; Dorothy

Baby Jesus in Anthony's Arm; Joan of Arc

Bernadette & Dorothy with  Jean Vianney's Wig

Anthony with Jesus and Joan

Old Man Rasta Baby Jesus

Old Man Rasta Baby Jesus

Monday, November 5, 2012

Exam Study

And The Angel Said Unto Her...
http://www.catholicmemes.com

The Church of the Meek

Hat Tip: The Catholic Breadbox
It will be hard-going for the Church, for the process of crystallization and clarification will cost her much valuable energy. It will make her poor and cause her to become the Church of the meek … The process will be long and wearisome as was the road from the false progressivism on the eve of the French Revolution – when a bishop might be thought smart if he made fun of dogmas and even insinuated that the existence of God was by no means certain … But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church. Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret.


And so it seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times. The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end: not the Church of the political cult, but the Church of faith. She may well no longer be the dominant social power to the extent that she was until recently; but she will enjoy a fresh blossoming and be seen as man’s home, where he will find life and hope beyond death.

--Pope Benedict XVI, predicting our current situation back in 1969 

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Arise, envious sun, and kill the fair moon...

I really need to stop doing this; it happens so often now that I don't even realise until it's too late. Or, rather, too early. What I mean is this. It's now sometime after 3 am and I really only thought that it was almost-midnight. I must say, though, that this is the first time in several years that such has happened for the reason it has tonight; namely, that I got lost on the internet. Usually, it's because I'm in a Chapel somewhere, or at SBG, talking with Fr Martin and Br Gilbert.

I say that I need to stop doing this, but perhaps I just need to adopt a nocturnal lifestyle.
Or a semi-nocturnal one.
I could do "all-nighters" on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (or at least the latter two) and spend Monday recovering, in order to function well on Tuesdays.

It's when my mind is overtired that I stop filtering my thoughts and I believe that such a lack of filter is probably good for me to some extent. I don't know if everyone habitually stops their trains of thought when they get close to any topic that causes them discomfort or pain; I don't even know if anyone else does it. I know that I over do it.

You see, it is common  place for me to chose not to think about a certain topic because my inability to not-feel about it is diminished. Or, not diminished so much as nonexistent. And feeling is dangerous.

And I'm writing in sentence fragments.

Even thinking about that fact that I actively chose to not-feel about certain things is a train of thought I usually halt as soon as I am able. Such thought is too dangerous because it comes much too close to actually feeling.

Related to feelings:
I think a large portion of the reason I make friends with guys so much easier than with girls (have I ever wondered about that 'out loud' on this blog before?) is because guys typically show their feelings less. It is way easier for me to talk about abstract concepts than it is for me to talk about practical ways of doing things. However, the difference between the two types of conversation (in the order of difficulty) is almost minuscule when compared to the difference between practical-type conversations and those which revolve around feelings and emotions. (If such an occasion ever occurs, I tend to emote, rather than feel because emoting is further removed from my self.)

Yeah, so, I'm not comfortable with myself; I ought to be and I'm not. I ought to be because my Holy Guardian Angel is and he is an immediate expression of God's Love [x] and, since God is Love (1 Jn 4:8,) my Angel is an immediate expression of God's Self.

That last sentence is an immediate expression of my ability to write my best theology papers at this time of whichever day it is.

Anyway; if God is comfortable with me - or at the very least, deigns to be with me and provide for my every need, and many of my wants - I ought to be comfortable with myself. Yet, here I go again: I am taking a subject which ought to transform the way I live, act, think and (frankly) feel and turning it into an intellectual exercise.

Back to the being-friends-with-guys thing.
Guys don't typically need to have "How do you feel about that?" conversations all that often, at least when compared to girls. Moreover, when girls aren't like that, they are typically holding a "This is how I felt about it:" conversation. I dislike the first and find the second one draining.
Typically, too, guys seem better at comfortable silences wherein I can allow my mind to wander to not-feeling.

Further, although I don't think that me having a larger number of guy-friends than the other is problematic per se, I do believe that I need to learn to be more comfortable around other women.

There are, of course, a few notable exceptions to both parts of this 'rule,' none of whom I will name but all of whom I hope will both recognise themselves and tell me such.



I am not going to pretend that this post has been entirely coherent, but thus endeth the lesson.

Friday, October 26, 2012

Temptation

Padre Pio - Not Impressed
http://www.catholicmemes.com/not-impressed-2/padre-pio-not-imressed/

Friday, October 12, 2012

PLENARY INDULGENCE FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH

From http://www.annusfidei.va
Vatican City,  (VIS) - According to a decree made public today and signed by Cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro and Bishop Krzysztof Nykiel, respectively penitentiary major and regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary, Benedict XVI will grant faithful Plenary Indulgence for the occasion of the Year of Faith. The indulgence will be valid from the opening of the Year on 11 October 2012 until its end on 24 November 2013.
"The day of the fiftieth anniversary of the solemn opening of Vatican Council II", the text reads, "the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI has decreed the beginning of a Year especially dedicated to the profession of the true faith and its correct interpretation, through the reading of - or better still the pious meditation upon - the Acts of the Council and the articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church".
"Since the primary objective is to develop sanctity of life to the highest degree possible on this earth, and thus to attain the most sublime level of pureness of soul, immense benefit may be derived from the great gift of Indulgences which, by virtue of the power conferred upon her by Christ, the Church offers to everyone who, following the due norms, undertakes the special prescripts to obtain them".
"During the Year of Faith, which will last from 11 October 2012 to 24 November 2013, Plenary Indulgence for the temporal punishment of sins, imparted by the mercy of God and applicable also to the souls of deceased faithful, may be obtained by all faithful who, truly penitent, take Sacramental Confession and the Eucharist and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff.
"(A) Each time they attend at least three sermons during the Holy Missions, or at least three lessons on the Acts of the Council or the articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in church or any other suitable location.
"(B) Each time they visit, in the course of a pilgrimage, a papal basilica, a Christian catacomb, a cathedral church or a holy site designated by the local ordinary for the Year of Faith (for example, minor basilicas and shrines dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Holy Apostles or patron saints), and there participate in a sacred celebration, or at least remain for a congruous period of time in prayer and pious meditation, concluding with the recitation of the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, and invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary and, depending on the circumstances, to the Holy Apostles and patron saints.
"(C) Each time that, on the days designated by the local ordinary for the Year of Faith, ... in any sacred place, they participate in a solemn celebration of the Eucharist or the Liturgy of the Hours, adding thereto the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form.
"(D) On any day they chose, during the Year of Faith, if they make a pious visit to the baptistery, or other place in which they received the Sacrament of Baptism, and there renew their baptismal promises in any legitimate form.
"Diocesan or eparchal bishops, and those who enjoy the same status in law, on the most appropriate day during that period or on the occasion of the main celebrations, ... may impart the papal blessing with the Plenary Indulgence".
The document concludes by recalling how faithful who, due to illness or other legitimate cause, are unable to leave their place of adobe, may still obtain Plenary Indulgence "if, united in spirit and thought with other faithful, and especially at the times when the words of the Supreme Pontiff and diocesan bishops are transmitted by television or radio, they recite ... the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, and other prayers that concord with the objectives of the Year of Faith, offering up the suffering and discomfort of their lives".
So, MAKE USE OF THIS GIFT OF GOD'S MERCY.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Please Pray for Australia

or Deo Gratias!

This article from the Australian says it all.

Imagine

that you know who you want to marry;
that you desire nothing else.

But that you can't marry him just yet.

And then, as part of your waiting, imagine that you're plagued with thoughts as to whether he really wants you to marry him.

Welcome to my life.


Oh Sacred Heart, draw me closer to Yourself.
Purify me; purify my desires.
Allow me to submit myself entirely to You;
To Your Will.

Amen.

Sanguis Christi, inebria me

This past week has been so full of blessings.

Although this actually stretches back further than a week, I will only start last Sunday because I want to do something like justice to what my Lord has been doing for me. I will start by offering a few quotes which sum up my feelings, thoughts and experiences; then, I will outline briefly what's been happening; finally, I will offer some other thoughts on these matters, some questions.

***

Firstly, I must quote Emily who yesterday morning summed up the week in this manner:
When you get retreat knees from spending all week with your frineds; without having been on a retreat!
 From Callum, on his blog Catholic Splash:
O Mother most Pure, hold us in your arms, just as you did hold your dearly beloved Son’s fragile and wounded Body.
O pray for me Our Lady of Sorrows, let me share in your sorrows, the sorrows of your Precious Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (x)
From Bishop Giaquinta, founder of the Pro Sanctity Movement:
Every Apostle, indeed every Christian, must rest on the heart of Christ. The Church, aware of her birth from the heart of Christ, needs to return to His heart in order to be truly faithful. (x) 
 We must correspond with all of our strength, that is, to the maximum, to this love of the Father and of Jesus, accepting and actuating the message received. (Ibid.)
The three dimensions of holiness are personal, fraternal, and societal. As Pro Sanctity, we must be convinced that holiness is the only possible solution to social problems. This, however, does not mean our personal holiness is the only thing we are responsible for, but rather, we are called to be active in the second and third dimensions as well. (Quoted here)

From St John Vianney:
...the more we know of Him, the more we love Him. (Quoted here)

***

Sunday 9th:
Holy Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception; Lunch; Adoration and Holy Conversation at the Parish of St Bernadette; Theology of the Body and St Thomas More's Parish

Monday 10th:
Holy Hour and Holy Mass in the Holy Spirit Chapel at UNDA; Conversations about the Faith afterward

Tuesday 11th:
Adoration at All Saints' Chapel; Work, concluding in a lesson on music history which started with Gregorian Chant and finished with a discussion on the Holy Trinity with year fours

Wednesday 12th:
University; Holy Hour & Holy Mass at St Therese's Chapel with CYM followed by supper and fellowship; Holy Hour at the Parish of St Bernadette 

Thursday 13th:
University; Work; NDSSJ Sleep Out, including Divine Office, the Holy Rosary and other prayers, and fellowship

Friday 14th:
 Waking at UNDA; Divine Office - Lauds & Matins; Angelus & Holy Mass at St Therese's Chapel with CYM; catching up with my Spiritual Director; Eucharistic Adoration at Sacred Heart Parish

Saturday 15th:
Rosary Walk around Lake Monger; Holy Mass at the Parish of St Bernadette; holy Conversations followed by All Night Eucharistic Adoration at the same

Sunday 16th:
Holy conversation and walking prayer; Young Adults Gathering at the Redemptorist Monestary of Our Lady of Perpetual Help; Holy Mass in the Church of Sts Peter and Paul


***


What return can I make to the Lord for the good that He has done to me? What shall a man give in return for his life?

How do I live in a manner worthy of these gifts which he has so generously given me?

How do I become a Saint?




Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Homily on the Queenship of Mary

By Fr Lew OP.

Go read it.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Farewell, Tumblr


Cross or Crucifix?

The following is a post I wrote for the Tumblog Introibo Ad Altari Dei

***   ***   ***


Why do we need a Crucifix in Churches and Chapels, rather than an empty Cross?

Sometimes we see Churches and Chapels without a Crucifix.

Niko, from Niko' s Nature said about a week ago that, “the difference between Protestantism and Catholicism is the difference between a cross and a crucifix.” This is so true. Not only do we - unlike our Protestant brothers and sisters - have the grace to be able t receive the actual Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ because we have the continuity of the Episcopy and the Presbyteriate, we also are the True Church, the Body of Christ; the Catholic Church is the Church founded by Christ who is the Head of the Body, as St Paul tells us. (Col 1:8)

Why then, is it important to have a Crucifix. Well, the Crucifix instead of just the Cross reminds us that our sufferings aren’t just on our own; that when I suffer the Body of Christ suffers and when the Body of Christ suffers, I suffer. An empty Cross implies that I have to take up my own Cross separate of apart from Christ when this is not the case. In fact, when I take up my own cross, in a sense it’s not my cross that I’m taking up but Christ’s. Just as when Christ took up His Cross, He took up mine.

The Eucharist, Sacrosanctum Concilium tells us, is the source and summit of our Christian life. The Eucharist is none other than the Body of Christ; “the Body, Blood together with the Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ,” as the Council of Trent put it. (Session XIII, Canon I)

Sometimes in order to justify why there’s an empty Cross instead of a Crucifix people say, “Well, we believe in the Resurrection, not just the Crucifixion.” Quite frankly, I’m hurt by that. The Church has always believed in the Resurrection; I have believed in it ever since I entered the Church. The Resurrection doesn’t come without the Crucifixion; yet, the Crucifixion doesn’t happen without the Resurrection. To say either would be akin to blasphemy.

This saying, “We believe in the Resurrection and therefore need an empty Cross instead of a Crucifix,” is in a sense saying that we want to ignore the suffering of Jesus Christ. It was by His sacrifice on the Cross, St Paul tells us, that Christ redeemed us. “Dying He destroyed our death.” It is true that, “rising He restored our life,” yet, we know and can see this in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We know that although the Sacrifice of the Mass is the Sacrifice of Our Lord on the Cross, a re-presentation of Calvary to the Father, it does not and cannot exclude the Resurrection. In the same way, the Crucifix reminds us of this: the Crucifixion does not and cannot exclude the resurrection, in the same way that the Mass can’t because they are inextricably linked.

Why, then, can’t we just have a blank Cross? Because the Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross I primary; it is God and Man suffering together in order to bring about Salvation. St Paul says to the Galatians, “Was it not before your eyes that Christ was publicly portrayed, and Him Crucified?” It does not say “and Him Resurrected,” but “Him Crucified.” As Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, “Very simply, what the Mass is, reaching to Calvary and laying hold with your hands the Cross of Christ with Christ on it and you plant it down here, today.” For this reason, the General Instruction for the Roman Missal (GIRM) states that “Also on or close to the altar, there is to be a cross with a figure of Christ crucified.” (117) This is to remind both the Faithful and the Priest what it is that is happening on the Altar, to Whom the Sacrifice is being directed and why; Who it is that’s being offered and Who it is that is doing the offering. It is easy with a blank Cross to forget Whom it is that is doing the offering. It is much easier to think, “Well I’m taking up my Cross and I’m offering it to the Father,” or, “I’m offering Jesus to the Father.” It’s simply not the case.

Jesus Christ is offering Himself - His Whole Self - to the Father. Christ the Head is expressed with Christ the Body; Christ the Priest and Christ the Victim. This must be remembered. For this reason, Holy Church mandates a Crucifix on or near the Altar; not a blank Cross.

Pax Christi vobiscum.
-Kelly (doubleplusgoodful)

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Jesus,

I am so far away right now.
 How can I get back?
Confession.
Yeah, but it's so hard.
"So was the Cross," I hear you say.
And I know that you're right.
Oh, my Lord, be my Lord.
Help me.
 Oh Lord, You are my only joy; give me again the joy of your help.
 In the secret of my heart, teach me wisdom
That I may teach this transgressor Your ways
And that I may return to You.
See: in guilt I was born, a sinner was I conceived.
Yet - oh, my God! - You washed me from my guilt and cleansed me from my sin!
In the saving Water, You cleansed me and gave me to drink from that spring of Eternal Life.
But, my Jesus, I have rejected You.
 I have turned aside to the right and the left.
 Depart from me, Oh Lord, for I am a sinner.
Yet, be gracious and do not hide Your Face.
Give me the Actual Grace to get back, please.
Please, Jesus. I want to;
I desire You.
You are enough for me;
I ask for nothing more.

Metaphor

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/metaphor?s=t&ld=1089
John 6:47-62
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." 
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever." This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caper'na-um. Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before?" 
 Obviously, Jesus is speaking metaphorically. That's why He says "Truly, truly;" twice.
I mean, He was clearly mucking around and everyone knew it. That's why they "disputed among themselves," and said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to is?"

Indeed! Who can listen to this outrageous statement that Jesus is "the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is [Jesus'] flesh?"
Here's the thing, all snark aside: Jesus was serious and not speaking in metaphor when He said that "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you," and everyone around him knew it. When Jesus says that He is the Vine (John 15), no one asks how He could be a plant; when He says that He is the Door by which the sheep enter (John 10), no one asked how He could be made of wood.
No, instead, they wondered how a fellow Jew could command that they drink blood when God, through Noah, commands them the exact opposite (Gen 9:3-6)
"Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning; of every beast I will require it and of man; of every man's brother I will require the life of man.Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image.
 Do you think Christ, who willed all to be saved (cf 2 Pet 3:9; 1 Tim 2:3-4) would let a whole bunch of people just walk away from Him, whose name is the only one "under heaven given among men by which we must be saved?"
It is an utterly outrageous thing to say that we must eat the flesh of a Man in order to live "because of [Him]." What makes this even more outrageous is that this Man is God. Surely no where else in the history of world religions has a a religion's founder and very God (or god) commanded that their followers eat their flesh!
Yet, the earliest theologian of Christianity, Saint Paul, clearly states in 1 Corinthians 11 that
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.
Not only then, did those around Him know that Jesus was not speaking in metaphor, but His earliest followers figured it out, too. Similarly, a host of Church Fathers believed that Jesus was being serious when He said it.

Now, if Jesus wasn't speaking metaphorically and He really does want all men to be saved, then He must have left a way for us to eat His Body and drink His Blood.

There must be some historical link between Sts Paul, Peter, James, John and the other 'apostolic men' (that is to say, men both who were Apostles and who were around at the same time as them) and now. This historical link must be more than superficial and it must contain the  ability to 'confect' Jesus' body and blood.

Where can this be found?



Sources:
Eucharist in Scripture http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/scrip/a6.html
RSV Bible translations http://www.antioch.com.sg/cgi-bin/bible.pl

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Father's Love Letter

My Child,
You may not know me,
but I know everything about you.
Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways.
Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image.
Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived.
Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation.
Ephesians 1:11-12
You were not a mistake,
for all your days are written in my book.
Psalm 139:15-16
I determined the exact time of your birth
and where you would live.
Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother’s womb.
Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented
by those who don’t know me.
John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry,
but am the complete expression of love.
1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child
and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father.
Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless
as the sand on the seashore.
Psalms 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you.
Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you
with all my heart and all my soul.
Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart,
you will find me.
Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you
the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires.
Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you
than you could possibly imagine.
Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you
in all your troubles.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted,
I am close to you.
Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb,
I have carried you close to my heart.
Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away
every tear from your eyes.
Revelation 21:3-4
And I’ll take away all the pain
you have suffered on this earth.
Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you
even as I love my son, Jesus.
John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being.
Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you,
not against you.
Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression
of my love for you.
1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved
that I might gain your love.
Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,
you receive me.
1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you
from my love again.
Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party
heaven has ever seen.
Luke 15:7
I have always been Father,
and will always be Father.
Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is…
Will you be my child?
John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you.
Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad
Almighty God

Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications
©
1999-2011 www.FathersLoveLetter.com

Sunday, June 17, 2012

How to become a Saint. (Desire it!)

Lord, please, please, give me the desire to become a Saint.
Please let me want to desire to be a Saint.

Jesus, who commands me to be holy,
Set me apart for you.
Make me desire to give you all that I have
all that I am
all that I think
and feel
and love.

Be my only love, oh Sweet Jesus!

You, who are my merciful Saviour, it is You that I beg:
Allow me to dwell forever in Your Most Amiable Heart.
Keep me there, close to you, for all eternity.

Sanctify me; live in me so that I can live in You;
Wash me and fill me with your love.
Protect me from Your enemy and mine.

Jesus, hear my prayer! Listen to me, Lord!
Now, oh my Jesus, and forever, my Beloved.

You are my Beloved and I am yours:
be my vision, my stronghold, my strength, my physician.

I love you. Make me love you more.
I want to be a Saint: make me desire You more.
Lord I believe: help my unbelief.


And I pray the prayer of the Dying Thief.

Wish List

You know how some girls have a list of everything they'd like in their ideal husband?
Well, the guy Whom I want to have a spousal relationship with is perfect.

This is my list of things that I think would ideally express my relationship to Him, lived within a Community.


  • Habits
  • Adoration
  • All the Hours of the Church
  • Silence
  • Study
  • Daily Adoration
  • Daily Mass
  • Daily Rosary
  • Strict following of the Rule
  • Saints in that Order
  • Penance
  • Use of Latin
  • Some Active Apostolate

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Flags

I'm really not sure what I think about having the national flag in a Chapel / Church... particularly in the Sanctuary.
Like, to be honest, I'm not entirely comfortable with the Vatican Flag being in the Sanctuary.

Perhaps, as in maybe, have the Vatican flag at the back of the Church.
But your national flag? I really don't know.
It's a good reminder to pray for your country, I guess.

But, like, countries rise and fall.
Only the Body of Christ lives and reigns forever.
Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat!

Then again, maybe it only grates against me because it's not something I often see in li'l Australia.
\

Monday, May 21, 2012

Writing.

I havn't written here in a long time.
The poems I've posted have been written for other purposes.


This, however, is a vain attempt at writing something, different.

Stuff it. That's not going to work.
I can not currently put what I'm thinking or feeling into sentences and paragraphs.
That's why my tumblog has been overused of late.

I want to write something that is at once meaningful and universal.
I want to write something that is at once interesting and personal.
I want to write something that is at once poigniant and popular.

I want to write something at once.

Saturday, May 12, 2012

The Shell: A Mothers' Day Poem

What is the shell?
It is a home.
A place to dwell,
A place to live, and to live well.

What is the shell?
It is protection.
Against the storm,
And when it‘s cold, to keep us warm.

What is the shell?
It is a jewel.
Its beauty shines,
The Sun it reflects, ‘round curvèd lines.

What is the shell?
It is a bard.
It tells its story,
Listen: it whispers, tells of its glory.

What is the shell?
It is like mum.

Her beauty shines, she gives protection,
The stories she tells are home’s reflection.

What is a mum? What is a shell?
Of both, you see, no tongue can tell.

This poem, then, is but a start,
More lies within, within the heart.


Monday, April 23, 2012

Catholic Women! There is something you MUST know.

You are amazing, and beautiful
and Our Lord and God, our Brother and our Spouse
considers you His own beloved
individually and coroprately
He wants nothing other than your happiness
Supreme and Eternal

Give Him what He desires
Give Him yourself
So that He can transform you into Himself
and, thus,
make you infintiely happy
and happy in the finite, too.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Litany to the Holy Family

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Pray for us.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, most worthy of our veneration, Pray for us.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, called “the Holy Family” from all time, Pray for us.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, son, mother, and head of the Holy Family, Pray for us.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, divine child, pure spouse, and chaste spouse, Pray for us.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, restorers of fallen families, Pray for us.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, image of the Blessed Trinity here on earth, Pray for us.
Holy Family, tested by the greatest of difficulties, Pray for us.
Holy Family, with much suffering on the journey to Bethlehem, Pray for us.
Holy Family, without a welcome in Bethlehem, Pray for us.
Holy Family, visited by the poor shepherds, Pray for us.
Holy Family, obliged to live in a stable, Pray for us.
Holy Family, praised by the Angels, Pray for us.
Holy Family, venerated by the wise men from the East, Pray for us.
Holy Family, greeted by the pious Simeon in the temple, Pray for us.
Holy Family, persecuted and exiled to a foreign country, Pray for us.
Holy Family, hidden and unknown in Nazareth, Pray for us.
Holy Family, faithful in the observance of divine laws, Pray for us.
Holy Family, perfect model of the Christian family, Pray for us.
Holy Family, center of peace and concord, Pray for us.
Holy Family, whose protector is a model of paternal care, Pray for us.
Holy Family, whose mother is a model of maternal diligence, Pray for us.
Holy Family, whose Divine Child is a model of filial obedience, Pray for us.
Holy Family, poor in material goods, but rich in divine blessings, Pray for us.
Holy Family, as nothing in the eyes of men, but so great in heaven, Pray for us.
Holy Family, our support in life and our hope in death, Pray for us.
Holy Family, patron and protector of our Congregation, Pray for us.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Pray for us.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Let us pray.
O God of infinite goodness and kindness, who has deigned to call us to this Congregation, give us the grace to venerate Jesus, Mary and Joseph, so that, imitating them in this life, we may enjoy with them the life to come. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Make Me So Aware (Our Union)

My heart, oh Lord, it aches.

But it is a dull ache.

I feel but do not feel.

I yearn to yearn, but do not.



Christ Jesus, you were forsaken

yet not alone. Desolate

but not abandoned. Struck down

but not destroyed.



Consume me, as I consume You...

As I approach You,very You run to meet me.

Make me into Yourself.

As bread becomes part of me,

it becomes Wholly You. This Bread

Come down from Heaven

Enters me, that I mat enter

Him. You.



Jesus, may I be so enthralled

by the mystery of your Body and Blood

by the Passion of Your Sacred Heart

that I will always be

aware

and feel

in my poor heart

the effects of Your Redemption

the affects of York Redemption.



Our union.



Make me a log in the furnace of Your love.



Consume me.

Make me one with You.

Make me burn with the fire of Your love.

Make me the fire of Your love.

Make me.

Remake me.

Create a new heart for me.

Jesus, make my heart like Yours. Make my heart Yours.



The Mass is ended. It Missal Est.

Let me be so aware of our union, Jesus,

that I am, that I become, that I

am

You, Your love, Your Heart

to the world.

Amen

Nil hoc verbo Veritatis verius. Part IV

IV.

And You, Jesus,

You are my beloved.

Nil hoc verbo Veritats verius. Part III

III.


Let Me come, then.

Beloved.

Kelly.

Kelly.

Oh, Kelly, I love you.

Be Mine forever

And I will be yours.



Your head is righ:

You are not worthy of Me.



But I do not care.

I come to give

My self

to

your self.



Let our selves

be one self.



Relax.

Just be

loved

be loved

beloved.

Do not fight.



Float

in the ocean of My love.



Be.

Just be.

Be forever.

I will it.



I love you.

You, Kelly,

You are My Beloved.

Nil hoc verbo Veritatis verius. Part II

II.


You can see in my heart.

You know I love you...



But see! I am not worthy

of You

of Your love.



Besides, love is self-gift.

I cannot give You this.

This self is broken.

I want to give You the best.



Not this.

Not this mess.

this broken

fallen

crumpled

heap.



I love You.

My heart wants to

embrace

melt into

become one with

You

Your Heart.



But me head.

Oh! My head!

It tells me

how little

how much

how far.

My head says,

"Stay away from me, Lord

for I am a sinful soul."



but my heart says, "Come."

Nil hoc verbo Veritatis verius. (Truth Himself speaks truly, or there's nothing true.)


I.

You are my Beloved, Kelly.

Kelly, Kelly. Listen to Me.

I love you. You are my prized possession.

More than that: I love you so very much.

Can't you see?

You look at My Sacred Heart and see

only a refuge.

It is a refuge

but a refuge of love,

for love

for my beloved.

Kelly,

for you.



I love you.

You are My Beloved.

What can I do to show you this?

Listen, oh listen!

Kelly!

I call you My Beloved

and so you are.

You don't know words greater than

Beloved

if you did, I could express myself with them

Oh My Beloved!



Behold! Look! I come!

Running to you,

My Beloved.



Why do you turn from Me?

Do you not love Me?