Holy Thursday

 

Today we celebrate Holy Thursday, the day Jesus instituted the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the priesthood during the Last Supper.

As we begin our journey with Jesus from death to life, our first reading reminds us of the Hebrews’s passage from slavery to freedom. Their journey, like ours, begins with a meal. So let’s look at the Hebrew Passover to see if we can come to understand more deeply the new Passover of Jesus, our Messiah.

Both for the Hebrews and for us, it all starts with a lamb. At the first Passover, God told each Jewish family to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and share its roasted meat at their meal. On the Cross, God provided a lamb for us—Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, who offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins so we could receive His flesh and blood at Holy Mass, the re-enactment of the Last Supper.

The Jewish Passover wasn’t just any sacrifice. It had the power to save the people from death. The blood of the lamb, which each family placed on their doorposts, protected them from angel of death. So the blood of Jesus the Lamb of God, was splashed on the wooden posts of the Cross to save us from eternal death.

The Jewish Passover sacrifice wasn’t completed by the death of the lamb but rather by the eating of its flesh. So too, Jesus told His disciples, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” His sacrificial death offered on the altar to the Father, becomes our own salvation as we eat His Body and drink His Blood in faith. The apostles were commanded to do it in remembrance of Him. Jesus gave them the authority to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and transform bread and wine into His Body and Blood to be eaten during Holy Communion. By the laying on of hands bishops ordain priests in every generation, so that Jesus may give us His Body and Blood in Holy Communion to Catholics.

Over the centuries people have made big sacrifices to protect priests during times when they were endangered by anti-Catholic laws, so they could attend Mass and receive Holy Communion. One such person who paid with her life for protecting priests is St. Margaret of York. Margaret Middleton was born in York, England, around 1556. Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558. The vast majority of the English people were Catholic and wished to remain Catholic. When the new queen threatened to destroy the Catholic Church, they eventually realized they would suffer for it.

Soon a law clearly stated the Mass was outlawed and the whole population was ordered to attend the new Protestant services. The Middleton family accepted the new religion and the Queen as the head of the church. At the age of 18, Margaret married a Protestant, John Clitherow, who was 21 years old at the time.

However, when Margaret was married she returned to her Catholic faith and allegiance to the Pope. Throughout their marriage John paid her fines for not attending Protestant church services and allowed Margaret to raise the children Catholic. Although their house became a place where the forbidden Catholic Mass was celebrated, he personally didn’t want to know it was happening.

John made things as easy as he could for his wife. He was careful to ignore that Father Mush was a frequent visitor and obviously celebrating Mass for Margaret and her friends.

Margaret was a loving wife and mother. However, she was disturbed by her husband’s loyalty to the Queen’s religion, but loved him dearly. John said his wife had only two faults, “she fasted too much and would not go to his non-Catholic church with him.” Her home became one of the most important hiding places for Catholic priests in all of England. The house had a secret cupboard where the vestments, wine and the altar breads were kept. It also had a “priest’s hole” where priests could be hidden.

However, on March 10, 1586 the Clitherow’s home was raided. The searchers found everything, where the Mass was celebrated, the vestments, and the altar breads. They carried off the incriminating evidence. By now the Clitherows had three children, the oldest was studying in France to be a priest, and when Margaret was taken away from her home and thrown into prison her two younger children never saw her again. The boy went on to become a priest and one of her daughter’s became a religious Sister.

On March 14^th, Margaret was brought before the judge in Common Hall. Her indictment was read and she was asked how she pleaded. In answer she said, “I know of no offense whereof I should confess myself guilty. Having made no offense, I need no trial.” The next morning she was taken back to Common Hall. The judge sentenced her to be crushed to death for having “harbored and maintained Jesuits and seminary priests, traitors to the Queen’s majesty and her laws.” Under the law of Queen Elizabeth, the accused would lay on the stone floor of an underground cell with a door laid over them and heavy stones piled on the door. Further weights were piled on the door until the person was crushed to death.

Ten days later, on March 25^th, 1586 she was executed by crushing. Before her execution she prayed for the Queen and especially that she would become Catholic! The executioners placed the board upon her and the huge stones on top. Within 15 minutes she was dead. It was Good Friday. She was left from 9 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon under the door and her body was buried in waste ground hoping it wouldn’t be found again. How similar to the death of Jesus. His Passion began at 9am and ended at 3pm. Calvary was a garbage dump. And His body was placed in a grave near the dumpsite.

Pope Paul VI canonized Margaret Clitherow in 1970 and gave her the title “Pearl of York.” Her home has since become a place of pilgrimage visited by thousands each year. She is called a martyr of the Eucharist because she was executed for protecting priests and making it possible for them to celebrate Mass. It is through the faith and courage of people like Margaret we are able to celebrate the Eucharist here today.

After Mass we will have the incensation of the Hosts on the altar and then proceed to take them to a tabernacle at the Parish Hall. You are invited to come and spend an hour with Jesus, because it was on this night-- Jesus asked His disciples to spend an hour with Him as He endured His agony in the garden. He told Peter, “Will you not watch an hour with me?”

You are invited to console the Heart of Jesus by being there with Him and to adore, thank, and praise Him for the gift of the Holy Mass, of being able to receive Him in Holy Communion, and for the gift of the sacred priesthood.

Holy Wednesday

 

 Today is “Spy Wednesday”. It is the day Judas, the apostle, sells Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. We seldom have the opportunity to hear a homily written by saint. The following is a homily written by St. Anthony of Padua concerning the betrayal of Judas. He begins by quoting Judas. He says:

What will you give me, to betray him? [Mt 26.15]

“The shame of it! To set a price on that which is beyond price! Alas! As the verse says, "He is shown forth; God is sold for a worthless coin." O Judas, will you sell God, the Son of God, as if He were a lowly slave, or a dead dog? And will you not even set the price yourself, but leave it to your customers? What will you give me? What can they give you? If they gave you Jerusalem, Galilee and Samaria, could they buy Jesus? If they gave you the heavens and all the angels in them, earth and all mankind, the sea and all that is in it: could they pay a price worth the Son of God, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge lie hid? [Col 2.3] No! Never!

Can the Creator be bought or sold by a creature? And yet you say, “What will you give me, to betray him to you?” Tell me: how has He injured you, what harm has He done you, for you to say, I will betray him to you? What of the humility and voluntary poverty of the incomparable Son of God? What of his kindness and affection? What of his sweet preaching and working of miracles? His tears, so loving, shed over Jerusalem and for the death of Lazarus? What of the privilege that he chose you as an Apostle and familiar friend? Let the remembrance of these things, and others like them, soften your heart and inspire you to mercy, so that you do not say, I will betray him to you. Yet how many Judas Iscariots there are today, ‘hirelings’ according to the meaning of his name, who sell the Truth for the reward of some small temporal advantage, who sell their neighbor with the kiss of flattery, and in the end hang themselves in the pit of eternal damnation.”

St. Anthony of Padua, pray for us, that we may be faithful to Jesus. When we make our final journey, may be made worthy of eternal life with Mary, and all the angels and saints in heaven, to adore Our Blessed Lord in His Kingdom!

Holy Tuesday

 

 Judas’ Betrayal Announced; Peter’s Denial Predicted

Today’s gospel passage presents to us two kinds of betrayals: Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denial. But what is the difference between the two betrayals? Judas’ betrayal was deliberate, cold and calculated. His is seen as the worst one. It is because when Jesus makes His appeal by showing special affection to him at the Last Supper through a gesture of offering him a morsel of food, very sadly, Judas rejects this act of our Lord’s reaching to him in love and compassion. In the Jewish society, a gesture of offering a morsel of food is an act done by one who considers the other person a genuine and intimate friend.

While Peter, in a moment of weakness, denies Him with an oath and a curse. He never meant to do what he did. Jesus knows both the strength of Peter’s loyalty and the weakness of his resolution. He has a habit of speaking with his heart without thinking through the implications of what he was saying. He acts impulsively out of weakness and cowardice.

All of us have weaknesses. But God loves to use weak people. In fact, we have a bundle of imperfections be it: physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual. But what is more important is what we do with regards to these. Sad to say, many times we deny our weaknesses, defend them, excuse them, justify them, hide them, resent them and this prevents God from using these weaknesses the way He desires.

God has a different outlook when it comes to our weaknesses. He says: “My ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts,” (Is. 55:9). Through these words, we can say that He often acts in ways that are the exact opposite of what we expect. The Bible gives us so many examples by which God loves to use imperfect, ordinary people to do extraordinary things in spite of their weaknesses and one of them is St. Paul, who use to proclaim his weaknesses and glory in them. He said, “I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

We need to admit our weaknesses. Let us own our imperfections, stop pretending that we have it all together and be honest with ourselves. Instead of living in denial or making excuses, let us take the time to identify our personal weaknesses. We might make a list of them.

Do I limit God’s power in my life by trying to hide my weaknesses?

Let us always remember that God works best when we admit our weaknesses and allow Him to use our weaknesses for His glory and honor.

Holy Monday

 

 Side Altar in the Church of Ars 

In today’s gospel passage, Jesus says: “You always have the poor with you but you do not always have me.” He said this to Judas Iscariot because Judas gets angry at the sight of Mary pouring a jar of expensive ointment over His feet and dried them with her hair to show her passionate love for Jesus. And it was also her gratitude for God’s mercy in raising Lazarus back to life again. We admire this expression of Mary’s love, because it is so generous and humbling. Jesus appreciates this. He even adds that the whole world will always remember what she has done for Him. But Judas is “scandalized.” For him, this is a terrible waste! The money spends for the perfumed oil can be used for the poor. But in reality Judas was a thief, selfish and greedy. He is the treasurer of the group but he used to steal the contributions.

What does Jesus mean with these words, ‘You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me’? Yes it is a fact that there are always poor around us. But Jesus wants to tell His disciples and us-- that Christianity is not exclusively only for the poor people and needy. Rather, “it is also a personal love exclusively to Jesus, a love that justifies many sacrifices.”

Actually, there is no conflict between concern for the poor and generosity in worship.  Many saints including St. John Vianney, said that the physical conditions of the church and of the materials used for worship, especially those which come in contact with the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, must be elegant and noble. They should be dignified.  St. John Vianney lived a very poor life. His clothes were tattered and he scarcely ate much food yet he purchased beautiful statues for the church and very nice vestments—because it was for the Lord. St. Francis of Assisi, who lived a deep life of poverty and loved the poor, always wanted the best for the church. Both of these saints understood, Our Lord’s comments, “You always have the poor with you but you do not always have me.”

But the problem with many of us is that we give so much importance to the one, like our concern for the poor but in the process we neglect something more important which is our personal prayer and meditation of our God. We should not deny or alienate us from our need to have a personal intimacy with Jesus.” which is most important.
During the remainder of this Lent, as we go through Holy Week, let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us to have that personal intimate relationship with Jesus, so we will be generous with our time with Him and be ready to make any sacrifice, He may ask of us.

Palm Sunday - Passion of Jesus & Forgivness

 

Click Here for the Audio Podcast

By listening to the sufferings and death of Jesus, it reminds us of His deep and unimaginable love for us, so that our sins could be forgiven and to teach us to love and forgive one another.

At the Oscars Will Smith became angry at Chris Rock, who made a joke about his wife. In return, he walked up to him and slapped him in the face. It was a hard lesson for both of them. Chris learned any joke that puts down someone is always a bad joke. Will Smith learned it would have been better if he would have calmly asked him to apologize to his wife, rather than allow his emotions to control his behavior or they could have just walked out. The question is, after this happened, did each apologize to each other and forgive one another? Did either of them ask the Lord to forgive them? Later Will Smith wept over his behavior. He certainly regretted it.

The misery of a man who tells bad jokes that hurts others and the misery of one who loses his temper, shows how human we all are. But God meets us in our misery, and is ready to bestow His mercy. He is infinitely merciful. Its an act of mercy to alleviate the misery of a sinner, by forgiving those who hurt God.

Jesus wants us to come to Him to have our sins forgiven and we do that especially in Confession. Sometimes its difficult for us to forgive someone who deeply hurt us. Forgiveness does not mean the bad action was okay. It does not mean we should have warm feelings about the person who hurt us. Rather, forgiveness it is an act of the will-- it a choice to let go of the hurt and to will the good of the other. Demons feed off of unforgiveness and unforgiveness blocks graces God wants to give us. If we don’t forgive the person who hurt us, we allow the other person to control us. Rather, by forgiveness, we let the person go who harmed us by giving them to God, and it opens our heart for God’s healing and we are set free.

Sometimes we can make the act of the will and choose to forgive someone, but then later when we recall the event that hurt us, we have bad thoughts and feelings. And we may wrongly think, we haven’t forgiven. But, we shouldn’t go by our feelings and emotions. Before the fall, Adam and Eve controlled their emotions perfectly. But after the fall, they couldn't, nor can we. We can’t allow our emotions to control us, rather we go by our choice to forgive and once we make the act of forgiveness, we have forgiven. But it takes time for our emotions to be healed and catch up with our choice to forgive. Once we make the choice to forgive, we need to avoid thinking of the event that caused us harm. And if an angry thought comes later, we ignore it, because we have forgiven. We have to remind ourselves, “I have forgiven”.

On the Cross, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” He made an excuse for us, who hurt Him by our sins. And this is what we need to do. To make an excuse for others. We don’t excuse the wrong behavior that harmed us. Rather we excuse why the person did the wrong act.

For example, Chris Rock could say this about Will Smith, “Lord forgive him, for he didn’t mean what he did. Perhaps, he was sick or had a headache or maybe he had too much to drink, or may be his home life-- as a child--- caused him to easily lose his temper.”

St. Francis Paola, said this about forgiveness and the Passion of Jesus. “Fix your minds, then, on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Inflamed with love for us, He came down from heaven to redeem us. For our sake He endured every torment of body and soul and shrank from no bodily pain. He Himself gave us an example of perfect patience and love. We, then, are to be patient in adversity. Put aside your hatred and animosity. Pardon one another so that later on you will not remember the injury. The recollection of an injury is itself wrong. It adds to our anger, nurtures our sin and hates what is good. It is a rusty arrow and poison for the soul. Be peace-loving. Peace is a precious treasure to be sought with great zeal. You must change your life, therefore, so that God in His mercy will pardon you. Be converted, then, with a sincere heart. Live your life that you may receive the blessing of the Lord. Then the peace of God our Father will be with you always.”

In conclusion, I would like to do something a bit unusual. What I ask you to do is recall all those who have hurt you and who you need to forgive. Think of their names. Then we will make an act of forgiveness by repeating the words I give you. So now think for a few minutes about those who have hurt you. Now repeat after me:

In the name of Jesus Christ, I willingly forgive anyone who has hurt or harmed me (including N. N. N). (I forgive them from the bottom of my heart and ask God to bless them.) (3 Times)

PRIEST:

I witness your forgiveness. I ask God to heal any unforgiveness and any inner wounds and trauma. May God heal you and all those who hurt you. May you be released from any dysfunctional attachments, be healed in your heart, and set free in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus may you be healed. In the name of Jesus, be at peace. Thank you Jesus for your suffering and death and for helping us to forgive. Please Lord forgive my unforgiveness. O Mary, Our Mother, who forgave us at the foot of the Cross of your Son, pray for us. Amen.

5th Friday of Lent

 

Our first reading today tells us about Jeremiah who suffers persecution from other people even from his own friends. And for this reason he prays to God. He knows too that God will answer his cry to Him. He expects that God will take revenge against this wicked people.

In a similar manner, Jesus in today’s gospel, faces the same situation. In our first reading, Jeremiah expects God might take revenge against the wicked people. Jesus, on the other hand, prays not for revenge, but He brings redemption and salvation to those who persecute Him. He does good to His people. He humbles Himself even more by telling them even if they don’t believe in Him to at least believe in His works. He asks them to realize the love His Father has for them. But what is their response? In response to what Jesus said to them, they do not listen to Him, and even try to arrest Him in order to kill Him because He makes Himself to be God. This is blasphemy. And blasphemy is one of the three sins or crimes punishable by death. They get angry with Him due to His statements of His intimate association with God. Actually, everything that Jesus is stems from the Father.

Jesus experiences what Jeremiah has experienced, the same rejection, betrayal and persecution. But His response to all these is to press on to His crucifixion, death and finally, His resurrection.

In our modern society, Jesus is still rejected and even persecuted.

When it comes to Jesus Christ, C.S. Lewis said, there is only one, out of four choices, we can choose. We choose to believe--either Jesus is a fool who should be pitied by us---, or a madman who should be shunned by us--, or the devil who should be stoned and denied by us, ---or the Lord who should be adored and worshiped by us.

For us we believe Jesus is Lord of all and our God. Let us always remember that if we see Jesus, we see God; if we listen to Jesus we listen to God; if we love Jesus we love God.

And may the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God pray for us that we listen to and love Jesus with all our heart.

5th Thursday - “Whoever keeps my words will never see death."

 

 There was a man who stepped onto the platform at an American Legion Convention. As he looked over the large crowd, he asked: “Can anybody tell me who I am?” He had lost his memory, with no record of his past or his identity. His desperate appeal was: “Does anybody know who I am?”

Jesus’ identity is one of the themes today’s gospel reading talks about. It is because in this chapter eighth alone of St. John’s gospel, Jesus claims four major things about Himself. First, He claims to be the light of the world. Second, He claims that those who accept His teaching are set free. Third, He promises that anyone who keeps His word will never die. Fourth, He takes on the divine name I AM and states that He is older than Abraham. In this last claim He says: “Before Abraham came to be, I Am.” By saying ‘I Am,’ Jesus refers to the proper name of God as “Yahweh” which in Hebrew it means the same, “I Am who Am” and a pious Jew in His life would not mention this name.  This is the name God identifies Himself to Moses at the burning bush. Jesus is applying the name ‘Yahweh’ to Himself and this shows He clearly saying that He is God. Of course this claim is the supreme and highest claim for by this claim Jesus says that He is of divine origin and that He is equal with God. His listeners understand what He tries to say perfectly well but they do not accept this claim because to them, it is a blasphemy. Its penalty is death by stoning.

But for us it is true that Jesus is God and therefore He has the right to promise to us that whoever keeps His word will never see death. Only God can make such a bold promise and then fulfill it. And so I invite you to reflect on this promise of Jesus and apply this into our lives:

First, He says: “Whoever keeps my words will never see death.”  This is a paradoxical statement but ‘never seeing death’ seems to be very attractive to us because we are doing so much: exercise, eating right, annual checkups and all that is good in order to avoid hastening our physical death. But the Lord is referring death in the spiritual realm. And St. Paul gives a good explanation of what this statement meant to be. St. Paul says that we are ‘always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body…. Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

Lastly, let us keep the words of Jesus and be faithful to Him because Jesus is a God and He cannot tell a lie. Some do not accept that Jesus is God and is the Son of God but consider Him only as a great man or the greatest man who ever lived. If they say such things, we say He is Lord and God because He cannot tell a lie of what He claims. That is why, with all due respect for their opinion, the Muslims as well as Mormons who say Jesus was only a very special man, ----cannot be considered, ‘Christians.’

Every step along the path of spiritual growth is a step towards preserving and enriching the divine life He has given us. Let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us to grow in our faith, so that may help others to come to know who Jesus really is.

5th Wed of Lent - "The Truth Will Set You Free"

 

 Jesus said in today’s gospel: “And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  The truth is-- that all of us know we are created in the image and likeness of God; that we are children of God and can be forever united to Him; that we are capable of knowing the truth and freely ordering our lives towards the good; that we are connected with one another through the mystery of the Body of Christ and this can inspire us to loving service for our neighbor.

“And the truth will set you free,” Jesus said. Many people associate freedom with the mere absence of external constraints. Yes, this can be one of the conditions for freedom, but the core of freedom does not lie in an absence of external constraints.  Freedom gives us the ability to make choices, to decide and to determine ourselves. Pope Saint John Paul II had greatly emphasized that: “Although each individual has a right to be respected in his own journey in search of the truth, there exists a prior moral obligation, and a grave one at that, to seek the truth and to adhere to it once it is known,” (The Splendor of Truth, n. 34).

You know what, there are many manifestations or signs that will appear in our body to show we are telling lies and not telling the truth.

There is the cartoon Pinocchio, which illustrates every time Pinocchio lies, his nose grows longer and longer and so it’s obvious he is lying. Jiminy Cricket becomes Pinocchio’s conscience and so he is eventually able to convince him to stop lying.

According to an unknown author here are some of the signs of not telling the truth: the color of the skin on our face may become pale; our eyes may show rapid movement or become watery from the fear of being discovered; we will try to avoid eye contact; the pattern of speech changes; our voice will tremble while our jaw tenses. Under stress, we may have shallow breath; we may try to avoid and change the topic or we may even sing because we are nervous; our comments can be contradictory; we may play with our hair or bite our nails; our hands may begin to move about. We perspire for no obvious reason; we may feel weak in the knees; at night we may not sleep in peace for our morals will bother us. Though we may think our secret is safe, the signs our body can give us away.

There is the story of four high school boys who couldn’t resist the temptation to skip morning classes. Each got a bad case of spring fever. After lunch they showed up at school and reported to the teacher that their car had a flat tire. Much to their relief, she smiled and said, “Well, you missed a quiz this morning, so take your seats and get out a pencil and paper.” Still smiling, she waited as they settled down and got ready for her questions. Then she said: “First question, which tire was flat?” They began to perspire and each had different answers to the question. The wise teacher easily discovered the truth.

God knows all our secrets. Let us ask Him to forgive us and to give us strength. He will lift our burdens of guilt and return our inner peace so the truth can be known. And may we always embrace Jesus Himself who is the Truth that sets us free.

April 5th - St. Vincent Ferrer

 

Vincent Ferrer was the fourth child in his family. His father is reported to have had a dream in which he was told that Vincent would be a world famous Dominican friar. But his father was opposed to his vocation. The boy joined the Dominicans in 1367 and received his doctorate of theology and was ordained a priest. He became a missionary and taught theology. He was an adviser to the King of Aragon. During a severe fever in 1538, Vincent had a vision of Jesus, Saint Dominic and Saint Francis of Assisi. It was a life changing experience – Vincent received supernatural gifts and believed that he was a messenger of penance, an “angel of the apocalypse” sent to prepare mankind for the Judgment of Christ.

As a great preacher, he converted thousands in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands England, Scotland and Ireland.

He was a counselor to Pope Benedict XIII, who at that time was an anti-pope, but Vincent didn’t know it. The Western schism divided Christianity first between two, then three, popes. Clement VII lived at Avignon in France, Urban VI lived in Rome. Vincent was convinced the election of Urban was invalid, though Catherine of Sienna thought Urban was the true pope.

In the service of Cardinal de Luna, Vincent worked to persuade Spaniards to follow Clement. When Clement died, Cardinal de Luna was elected at Avignon, France and became Benedict XIII, who would not be a validly elected pope, but Vincent didn’t know it until later. Vincent worked for him as apostolic penitentiary and Master of the Sacred Palace. All the candidates of the new conclave swore to resign, but Benedict XIII refused. Because he finally concluded that Benedict was not the true pope, Vincent tried unsuccessfully, in 1408 and 1415, to persuade his former friend to resign.

Though very ill, he mounted the pulpit before an assembly over which Benedict himself was presiding, and thundered his denunciation of the man who had ordained him a priest. Benedict fled for his life, abandoned by those who had formerly supported him.

Vincent, traveled through various countries working to end the Western schism. Strangely, Vincent had no part in the Council of Constance, which ended the schism. He lived to behold the end of the great schism and the election of Pope Martin V.

He slept on the floor, had the gift of tongues (he spoke only Spanish, but all listeners understood him)., He fasted continuously, celebrated Mass daily, and known as a miracle worker. He was reported to have brought a murdered man back to life to prove the power of Christianity to the onlookers, and he would heal people in the hospital just by praying in front of it. He worked so hard to build up the Church that he became the patron of people in building trades.

In 1455 when he was canonized, 800 stories of his validated miracles were read out loud; there were more, but the celebrants decided to move on with the recognition.

Today, let us pray to St. Vincent, that he will help us in our time of confusion in the Church and in the papacy.

5th Monday of Lent - Susanna & Blessed Alexandrina

 

 In the first reading today, two men, whose hearts were filled with lust, were so evil, they were willing to have Susanna killed unless they had their way with her. But, due to her loyalty to God and wanting to keep her purity unstained, she would not have relations with them and would not tell a lie, which could have saved her life.

Daniel came to her rescue and revealed the evil plot of the two dirty old men. They ended up being killed because of their lies and intention to have an innocent woman killed, for the sake of their lust.

A young girl from Portugal, by the name of Alexandrina da Costa, was attacked by a young man, who likewise wanted to have his way with her. On Holy Saturday, in 1918, instead of allowing him to harm her, she jumped out of a second story window, resulting in her being paralyzed the rest of her life. Over 20 years later, on Good Friday, 1942, Alexandrina- was no longer able to eat any food except the Holy Eucharist. This miracle continued for 13 years and seven months until her death. Concerning her living on the Eucharist alone, Jesus told her in an ecstasy: “You will not take food again on earth. Your food will be My Flesh ; your blood will be My Divine Blood, your life will be My Life. You receive it from me when I unite My Heart to your heart. Do not fear, my daughter….”

Today, let us resolve to do everything possible to not sin, trusting in the Lord, that no matter how hard the circumstances of life, we will value our soul, more than our body by being faithful to Jesus.

Miraculous Staircase of St. Joseph

 

The true story of an unknown man, believed to be St. Joseph, created a spiral wooden staircase for the Sisters of Loretto and can still be used today in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (No commercials!)

5th Sunday of Lent - Adulterous Woman- Meaning of Mercy

On this 5th Sunday of Lent, the Gospel gives a glimpse into the mercy of the Heart of Christ. The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery. They made her stand in the middle of everyone and asked Jesus if she should be stoned to death.

They wanted to test Jesus, to see if He would break the Law of Moses, and therefore accuse Him of breaking the law, which would cause the people to turn against Him. The Law of Moses condemning woman to death for adultery can be found in Deuteronomy 22:24. It states about women who commits adultery, “You shall bring them both out to the gate of the city and there stone them to death.”

Our Lord’s responded by bending down and then began to write on the ground. At first it may seem odd, but this was His way of not answering their question. He said nothing. But they kept asking Him--- wanting to know the answer to their question, should she be stoned or not. The law prescribed that whoever witnessed the adulterous act, would be the first to cast a stone, followed by everyone else who had gathered about the one who had committed adultery. This is why Jesus said, “Let the one among you, who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

He once again began to write in the ground, and one by one-- they walked away starting with the elders- because in their hearts, they knew they were sinners. In fact, some may have committed adultery as well. The very act of Our Lord writing on the ground was an act of mercy toward the accusers because it gave them the opportunity to walk away, rather than to be confronted with their own question, used to test Jesus. Our Lord saw the misery of their hearts and helped them to see their own sinfulness giving them an opportunity to change their lives.

After everyone had left, there in the midst of what was a large crowd were two people, Jesus and the adulterous woman. Here mercy meets the sinner. Jesus straightened up, looked at her and said, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” The woman replied, “No one sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on-- do not sin any more.” By these words, Our Lord mercifully inspires her with true sorrow for her sin, and pardons her guilt, without passing any sentence on her and prevents her from getting stoned to death.

We heard today about the mercy of Jesus toward the woman who committed adultery and His mercy towards the scribes and Pharisees. But what is mercy?

Mercy comes from the Latin word, “misercordia”. The word can be broken into two words --"miser" (misery) and "cordia" (heart), like "cardiac". Mercy comes from the opening of one’s heart to relieve a misery. Jesus opened His Heart on the Cross to alleviate the misery of mankind.

The word “misery” is used in a way to describe a bad state or one who lacks or needs mercy. For example, we heard the phrase “misery loves company”. A miserable person attracts or purposely incites more misery to himself. Or when we think of someone who is a “miser”, it is someone who selfishly clings to every cent. At the Garden of Eden grocery store, Dave has a little bowl of change on the counter and often times, the clerk will take change from it to help the patron with his bill. A miser never adds to the bowl of change, as opposed to a merciful person who puts change in the bowl to help someone else who will come after him.

So one who is merciful has an open heart to alleviate the misery of another person. Jesus opened His Heart to alleviate the misery of the adulterous woman by mercifully forgiving her sins and restoring her to the community.

Whereas a miser or a miserable person’s heart is in need of receiving receiving mercy, before he can give mercy.

It is the nature of God’s mercy that His heart extends into our misery and redeems it. This is the answer to the mystery of human suffering as it relates to redemption. Mercy signifies that God draws our misery into His own infinitely loving heart.

At Mass, we pray “Lord have mercy, Christ, have mercy. Lord have mercy. After the Consecration, we pray three times, “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us”. By praying for mercy, we are asking God, to open His Heart to see our misery and to alleviate it, by pardoning our sins, as we come before His divine majesty at Mass.

God wants us to help alleviate the misery of others, by being merciful to them. There are 7 spiritual and 7 corporal works of mercy which are ways we can alleviate the misery of others.

In Matthew Ch. 25, Jesus gives us most of the corporal works of mercy, which we will be judged. He said, “..when I was hungry, you gave me food, thirsty, you gave me drink, in prison and sick, you visited me. When naked you clothed me.” The book of Tobit gives us “to bury the dead”.

The 7 spiritual works of mercy are: to instruct the ignorant (ignorant doesn’t mean stupid, it means one who needs to learn something), to counsel the doubtful, to pray for the living and the dead, to admonish the sinner, to comfort the sorrowful, to forgive the sinner, to bear wrongs patiently.

We have the best PSR teachers. I am so proud of them. They are fantastic. They are special. They are patient, kind and loving toward our children. They teach the children about God and the Church and what we believe. They are doing the spiritual works of mercy of instructing our children in the faith and helping them to overcome doubts about the faith. The teachers’ hearts are open to help the children obtain eternal salvation. They help the children to make good moral choices, to live a life of virtue, to practice their faith through the sacraments. To help them grow in their faith and their knowledge and love of Jesus has eternal consequences. The children in PSR learn to know and love Jesus, which is more important than learning to read and write or learn an occupation. St. Bernadette Soubiroux, St. Catherine of Sienna and St. Faustina as adults for years didn’t know how to read or write. But they learned about God and the Church by watching their parents practice their faith, by their Catechism classes, through homilies at Mass and through their personal prayer.

In every work of mercy there is a misery, no matter how small the mercy, a misery is alleviated by the love that comes deep within the heart, and so we give mercy. God wants us to practice mercy. He wants us to open our hearts to the misery of others.

Here are some examples of mercy. Parents feed the hungry, clothe the naked, provide a home and give drink to the thirsty to their children. So just by being a parent they are doing works of mercy.

Its a work of mercy to cook, to clean the house, to help children to learn to pray and to teach them right and wrong to be sure they attend PSR classes.

But there are many things that seem to be insignificant works of mercy that present themselves to us everyday, but any work of mercy is not insignificant. If a child sees the misery of their brother or sister struggling with their homework and then helps them with their homework, this is an act of mercy. If during a sporting event, a fellow team member or a player from another team is accidentally knocked down, to go and help them get up is an act of mercy. We see their misery and alleviate it.

Or to pray for the sick or to pray for a person who is a fallen away Catholic, this is seeing the misery of another person (who needs God) and by our prayers we can help alleviate their misery so they can return to God.

As we come closer to divine Mercy Sunday, try to open your eyes and heart to the misery of others and to alleviate their misery by your act of mercy. Whether its giving a few coins at the grocery store to help someone else or taking care of your children, its alleviating a need.

And prepare for Easter, by going to Confession to allow God to redeem the misery in your heart caused by sin, and trust in His infinite mercy. That no matter how great the sin, God will always forgive. And may the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Mercy, help us to become fonts of mercy. Amen.

4th Saturday of Lent - The Eternal Judge

  

 In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah speaks of those, who plot against one, who is trusting like a lamb led to the slaughter. These words vividly recall Jesus, the Lamb of God, who many plotted against in order to kill Him. Our Lord was like an innocent lamb, led to the slaughter of the Cross.

However, the responsorial psalm states, “O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge, save me from all my pursuers and rescue me.” Jesus was not rescued from His pursuers, who plotted against Him. Rather, He was nailed to the wood of the tree. He was rescued after death, when He rose from the dead, on the day of His resurrection that first Easter morning.

We see in the Gospel, the time of Jesus for His passion comes closer and closer. The chief priests and the Pharisees had sent the temple guards to arrest Jesus and some even in the crowd wanted to arrest Our Lord, but no one laid hands on Him.

The guards could not bring themselves to arrest Jesus because they were enamored by His words. His words touched their hearts. The guards told the chief priests and Pharisees, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.” The Pharisees in their blind rage and viciousness accused the guards of being deceived. However, one of the Pharisees, who was a secret disciple and would come to Jesus only by night, would say, “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?”

At this point, we can see the spiritual battle unfolding. Those whose hearts were touched by the words of Jesus see the intention to arrest Him is wrong. While those who are intent on their desire to kill Him and do away with Him, their hearts are hardened to His message of love.

Jesus is like an innocent and trusting lamb being led to the slaughter. There are those who are hatching plots to slaughter the Lamb of God and want to destroy Him. And there are those whose hearts are moved by grace by His words and His actions.

Today, the battle continues. All the more urgent is it for us to pray for people of our time whose hearts are closed to God’s grace. That they may see the love and compassion of Jesus and will embrace and love Him, rather than turn away from Him.

Always in the end, the good are rewarded in heaven and the wicked will perish unto eternal fire. In the end--- those who are judging Jesus, are judging the eternal judge, who they will judge them at the moment their soul departs their body.

May we turn to Mary, the Queen of All Hearts and ask Her to touch hardened hearts and make their hearts like unto the Heart of Jesus. For truly Her Immaculate Heart intercedes and makes new the hearts of all Her children.

4th Friday of Lent (Wisdom Forsees Passion of Jesus)

 

 In the Gospel today, we can clearly see there is a plot to kill Jesus. Our Lord did not want to travel through Judah because He knew the Jews were trying to kill Him. When Jesus went to the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, He went in secret.

It must have been wide spread that people wanted to kill Jesus because when Jewish people of Jerusalem saw Him, they said, “Is He not the one they are trying to kill?” Jesus said openly, “You know me and know where I am from. Yet I did not come to my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know Him, because I am from Him, and He sent me.” By these words Jesus wanted them to know He was with the Father, knows the Father and was sent by the Father, and therefore He is declaring Himself to be God. This caused the Jews to try to arrest Him, but because it was not yet His time to go through His Passion (the hour had not come), they were unable to lay their hands upon Him.

The first reading today from the book of Wisdom refers to prophecies about the upcoming passion and death of Jesus.

The book of Wisdom states, “Let us beset the just one”- Jesus is the just one, the innocent one, whom they attempt to kill.

The book of Wisdom predicts what will happen to Jesus. It states: He “reproaches us for our transgressions of the law.” Jesus reproaches them by His silent merciful love to sinners and healing on the Sabbath.

The book of Wisdom says: “He professes to have knowledge of God.” Jesus in the Gospel of John said, “I know the Father and the Father knows me.”

It states, “To us, He is the censure of our thoughts.” Often times, the gospels relate that Jesus knew their thoughts and what they were thinking.

The book of Wisdom also says: “He boasts that God is His Father”. Jesus declared Himself, the Son of the Father.

It says: “If the just one will be the Son of God, He will defend Him.” These words would be uttered at the foot of the Cross, by those who hated Jesus. They said, “He relied on God; let God rescue Him now, if He wants to. After all, He claimed, “I am the God’s Son.”

The book of Wisdom says: “With revilement and torture, let us put Him to the test.” Did not the soldiers and chief priests revile Jesus and torture Him by having Pilate judge Him, have Him scourged, mocked, crowned with thorns, carry a cross, and be crucified?

It also said: “Let us condemn Him to a shameful death.”- Is not being stripped of your clothes and hung on a Cross, as a criminal, a shameful death?

Today’ psalm also speaks of Our Lord’s Passion: “He watches over all of His bones; not one of them shall be broken.” Those who were crucified often had their bones broken, so they would die quicker, but the bones of Jesus were not broken, because He died quickly from all His intense torture.

Today, as we reflect upon the prophesies of Jesus from the book of the Wisdom, let us pray the Eucharist, we are about to receive, will give us the grace to pass from death to life, keep us from our old and sinful ways, and help us to be ready for the life to come in the heavenly kingdom with Mary our Mother, and all the angels and saints.

4th Thursday of Lent - Golden Calf

 

 In the Book of Exodus, the people made a calf out of gold, 

worshiped and sacrificed to it.

 The Lord threatens to punish them. But through the intercession of

 Moses, God relented.

Today, what is our molten image, which we worship in the place of God? Do we elevate sports above God, such that games and tournaments take priority over Sunday Mass or the religious education of our children?

Is money, elevated above God- whereby luxury and material objects—are desired more out of prestige than necessity? Our does our work take precedent over God?

Perhaps, some worship the image of power, used to control others, forgetting a leader is a servant- in imitation of Jesus, who came to serve, rather than be served.

Do not the golden images of power, money, and prestige all have in common the desire for glory, which is why the Jews rejected Jesus in the Gospel? They wanted a glorious Messiah, rather than a poor suffering servant, who carried a rugged old cross, and gave His life for the ransom of many. They wanted a king to rule, rather than a servant.

Religious life, whereby one takes vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience is in stark contrast to society, which encourages desire for power, money, and prestige. In religious life, one seeks a hidden life—consecrated to God, rather than worldly glamour. In religious life, human praise is seen as a temptation to pride, as one would prefer to be rejected, and despised. In religious life, power is found in service, by doing God’s will, laying down one’s life, for Jesus, and for His people. Therefore, religious life contradicts a society--- imbued with the idols of power, money, and human praise. It bears witness to everyone’s call to radically follow Jesus and worship Him.

May Mary, our Mother, obtain for us a heart of charity, a life of service, and humility, so as to worship Her Son, as the one true God in Spirit and in Truth!

4th Wednesday of Lent "Mother Forget Her Child?"

 

The reading from the prophet Isaiah today, sheds light on God’s love for each individual person, and he speaks of how God never forgets the covenant He made with His people.

The people of God suffer from their own sins and sins of others, but God is with them through it all. But it was through Our Lord’s suffering, death and resurrection, that He established a new and everlasting covenant. Because of His new covenant, He forgives sins, and says to the prisoners held bound by the bondage of sin, “Come out!” To those in the darkness of evil, “Show yourselves”.

Because God is with us in the person of Jesus, He states, no longer shall the people neither hunger and thirst, nor shall the scorching wind strike them---due to their sins. “For the Lord comforts His people and shows mercy to His afflicted.” by forgiving them.

The depths in which God loves and cares for each individual person, is also revealed by the prophet Isaiah’s words, “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”

With these words, Our Lord is comparing His infinite love for an individual person, to the natural love of a mother toward her unborn child. A mother’s love is so tender and so intense that is would seem inconceivable, she would forget her very own child within her womb. But God says that even if it were possible, that a mother could forget her unborn child, He would not forget, because He loves each person infinitely, no matter how small.

And if it were possible, that no one in the whole world, would remember or love the unborn child, not even the child’s mother--- God in His compassion, and love would not forget the child created in His own image and likeness.

Today, we can’t help, but think, about the millions of mothers, who have forgotten to love their unborn child. But God does not forget, God cannot not forget, God will not forget, because He infinitely loves each child and holds it-- in the palm of His hand.