Tag: catholic

Rosary Meditation — The Fifth Joyful Mystery

Today’s rosary meditation focuses on The Fifth Joyful Mystery — The Finding of Jesus in the Temple. When returning from a festival in Jerusalem, Mary and Joseph noticed that Jesus was not in the caravan. They went back to Jerusalem and searched for Jesus for three days before finding Him in the temple talking to the elders. When Mary said that she and Joseph had been searching for Him in sorrow, Jesus responded, “Why did you search for me? Did you not know I had to be in My Father’s house?” (Lk. 2:49).

The twelve-year-old child Jesus in the temple ...
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Today’s rosary meditation focuses on The Fifth Joyful Mystery — The Finding of Jesus in the Temple.  When returning from a festival in Jerusalem, Mary and Joseph noticed that Jesus was not in the caravan.  They went back to Jerusalem and searched for Jesus for three days before finding Him in the temple talking to the elders.  When Mary said that she and Joseph had been searching for Him in sorrow, Jesus responded, “Why did you search for me?  Did you not know I had to be in My Father’s house?” (Lk. 2:49).

Mary and Joseph traveled for a day before noticing that Jesus was missing from the caravan.  They assumed He was somewhere else in the party.  How far do we sometimes travel in life before we notice that Jesus is missing?  How many days do we sometimes go without praying, reflecting on our sins, or thanking God for all the blessings He gives us?  How many people do you know who are moving away from God’s graces by sinning but just assume God is “cool” with everything they are doing?  Like Mary and Joseph assuming that Jesus was still in the caravan, many times we assume that we are much closer to the Lord than we really are.  Many times we willfully go against Church teaching and sin and yet still think we are in God’s graces.  It takes a lot of strength and courage to really examine ourselves, admit when we have moved away from the way God calls us to live, and then turn back and rediscover Jesus.  We reconnect with Jesus through the sacrament of Reconciliation, prayer, reading the Bible and the teachings of the Catholic Church.  Basically, we find Jesus in His “Father’s house” when we act in accordance with His Church’s teachings.

Mary and Joseph searched for Jesus for three days before finding Him.  I think this is an important aspect of this mystery.  It shows us that sometimes, even when we commit ourselves to finding Jesus in our lives, it can still be a long and difficult journey.  We don’t always instantly feel God’s graces when we choose to reject sin and follow Jesus.  I’ve heard many times of people feeling frustrated, depressed, or angry with God because they do not feel His presence although they are constantly looking for Him through prayer, fasting, and not sinning.  But this mystery teaches us that we must not give up.  We must constantly be looking for Jesus like a parent would look for a lost child.  Mary and Joseph did not give up their search and neither should we.  The Gospel describes that Mary and Joseph searched “in sorrow.”  Our path to Jesus might not be easy and there will probably be setbacks, dead ends, relapses, and disappointment.  But this is one search that we must never call off because our very souls are at stake.

Let us meditate and pray for all of those who are moving away from God.  We should pray especially for those whose pride has blinded them to the truth of God’s Word.  We must pray for those who twist the Church’s teachings to try to justify sinful behavior.  And we ask God for the strength to always turn towards Him and return to His Father’s house when we stray.  For it doesn’t matter how far off track we are, either with a single sin or a lifetime of sinful behavior, we can always turn around and find God’s mercy.

Medjugorje Message October 25, 2009

Mary’s message at Medjugorje on October 25, 2009:

Dear children! Also today I bring you my blessing, I bless you all and I call you to grow on this way, which God has begun through me for your salvation. Pray, fast and joyfully witness your faith, little children, and may your heart always be filled with prayer. Thank you for having responded to my call.

Virgin Mary
Image by Dshalock® the Libertarian Emperor of America via Flickr

Mary’s message at Medjugorje on October 25, 2009:

Dear children! Also today I bring you my blessing, I bless you all and I call you to grow on this way, which God has begun through me for your salvation. Pray, fast and joyfully witness your faith, little children, and may your heart always be filled with prayer. Thank you for having responded to my call.

Her message, as always, is a simple one — pray and embrace your faith.  She asks us to make our lives a living prayer.  This means living a life dedicated to God.  Living a life of prayer is not something reserved for priests or nuns, but is the way God desires us all to live.  I always chuckle when people justify sin when they say, “I’m not a priest!  You can’t expect me to live like one!”  And you know what, they are right.  God doesn’t ask us to live a life of prayer like a priest.  In reality, God calls us to be more spiritual than any priest, nun, bishop, cardinal, or pope.  Because everyone, even the Pope, usually fall short of how God wants us to live.  All of us, from the daily-churchgoer to the non-churchgoer, can always improve our spiritual life in little and big ways.  Mary’s message, asking us to have a heart filled with prayer, is simple to understand but takes a lifetime to implement.  As She stresses in Her many messages, there is no time like the present to live a holy life.

I know that many times I focus on the rules of the Catholic Church in my articles.  I mention using Church doctrine as a guide for discerning between right and wrong.  I talk about praying the rosary every day and finding ways to integrate prayer into your life.  To some, all of these rules just seems too rigid, too strict, and requiring too much effort or a giant leap of faith.  This causes many people to become resentful of the Church and all its “rules” and abandon Her.  I’m sure all of us can think of a handful of people who are feeling detached from God’s graces and are lost in life (it might even be you).  Unfortunately, we forget about these lost souls as we go about managing our lives.  We often don’t want to deal with the added burden of dealing with others’ misery.  However, we must always pray for those who are lost and sacrifice for their conversion.  After all, when compared to God and the majesty of Heaven, we are all lowly sinners in need of each others’ prayers.  The next time you pray or fast offer it up to those who are in most need of God’s mercy.

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Rosary Meditation — The Fourth Glorious Mystery

In the Fourth Glorious Mystery of the holy rosary we meditate and pray on Mary’s Assumption into Heaven. Having accepted God’s plan in the Annunciation, Mary was honored by being assumed, body and soul, into God’s kingdom. However, Her work was far from over as She now takes the role of our guide and spiritual mentor. She is always trying to bring us closer to Her son, Jesus Christ.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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In the Fourth Glorious Mystery of the holy rosary we meditate and pray on Mary’s Assumption into Heaven.  Having accepted God’s plan in the Annunciation, Mary was honored by being assumed, body and soul, into God’s kingdom.  However, Her work was far from over as She now takes the role of our guide and spiritual mentor.  She is always trying to bring us closer to Her son, Jesus Christ.  She has a difficult challenge since She needs to not only fight the forces of evil, but also fight against our own weaknesses to live as one of God’s children.

Mary has appeared to many different people over the centuries and reiterated the ways we can live in God’s grace and ultimately live in His kingdom of Heaven.  Her messages can be narrowed down to five simple behaviors that She wants all of us to do:

  • Pray:  How can you have a meaningful relationship with God unless you talk to Him?  It doesn’t matter whether you recite prayers, meditate, or just have a free-form prayer session.  You need to talk to God and more importantly, listen to what He tells you.
  • Bible: Again, how can you love God if you do not know Him or His Church?  Read the Bible, the Catechism, and the writings of saints and scholars.  Know your faith so that you can live it with every thought, word, and action.
  • Fast: The key is to detach yourself from the bonds of this world and leave room in your soul for God’s grace.  Mary’s messages at Medjugorje always talk about leaving room for Jesus’ love and mercy and fasting makes you more receptive to God’s truth.
  • Confession: You need to free yourself from the bonds of sin by receiving absolution.  Like a shower for your soul, the Sacrament of Confession cleans away the damage sin inflicts on you and strengthens your resolve to remain in a state of grace.
  • Eucharist: You need to receive Jesus’ Body and Blood regularly because it is your spiritual fuel that will give you the strength and resolve to do God’s will.

Mary wants only the best for us.  She wants us to be close to Her son, Jesus Christ.  That is why She was assumed into Heaven so that She can be our guide and protector from evil.  What She asks of us is not terribly difficult.  She asks us to recognize God in our lives through prayer and act according to His Word.  Taking the time to listen to Mary and following Her guidance will lead to something far greater than anything in this world — God’s kingdom.  So, when we pray this mystery we should ask ourselves, “Are we listening to our Heavenly Mother?”

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Medjugorje Message — October 2, 2009

This is Mary’s message from Medjugorje on October 2, 2009. Unlike the messages on the 25th, these messages focus on those who are have drifted far from God’s love. The tone is a little harsher, almost like a mother scolding a misbehaving child. However, even if you do try to live a life free of sin, you should listen to these messages since we all have moments of sin which separate us from God’s grace.

Virgin taken from a mural in the Iglesia de Je...
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This is Mary’s message from Medjugorje on October 2, 2009.  Unlike the messages on the 25th, these messages focus on those who have drifted far from God’s love.  The tone is a little harsher, almost like one of a mother scolding a misbehaving child.  However, even if you do try to live a life free of sin, you should listen to these messages since we all have moments of sin which separate us from God’s grace.  Furthermore, even if your soul is as clean as one fresh out of the sacrament of Confession, you probably know someone who is separated from God’s love.  You need to read them to understand the danger people are in when they sin and pray extra hard for their conversion towards our Lord, Jesus Christ.

I also want to reiterate that even if you do not believe in the events at Medjugorje this is still an important message.  Mary offers nothing different or contrary to what the Catholic Church already teaches so this message could easily have come from a priest’s Sunday homily, the commentary from a Bible study, or the teachings of a saint.

Dear Children, As I look at you, my heart seizes with pain. Where are you going my children? Have you sunk so deeply into sin that you do not know how to stop yourselves? You justify yourselves with sin and live according to it. Kneel down beneath the Cross and look at my Son. He conquered sin and died so that you, my children, may live. Permit me to help you not to die but to live with my Son forever. Thank you!

Mary’s message sounds very much like a mother who sees all the ignorant and dangerous things her children do and wonders what could possibly be going through their young minds.  She has the benefit of seeing the splendor and glory of God’s kingdom and she tells us that all the sins that we commit are not worth losing the gift of Heaven for all eternity.  She wants us to take a hard look at our lives and ask ourselves why we sin.  Sure, certain sins may make us a little happier temporarily, make our lives a little easier, make us a little more popular, or richer.  But all those small gains in this world will cost us much more in the next.  In the best case we will serve more time in Purgatory for those sins.  At worst, we lose the gift of Heaven forever.  Mary does not want any of us to miss out on what awaits us in Heaven and that is why it pains her so much to see people living only for this world without regard for the next.

We should listen to Mary and turn away from sin.  Jesus taught that all are welcome into His kingdom as long as we have the courage and strength to turn away from sin.  We should lay all our worries and weaknesses before the Cross and ask for greater faith in God’s loving mercy.

Medjugorje Message, September 25, 2009

Mary’s message at Medjugorje calls on us to persistently work on conversion and to offer all our joys and sorrows to her Immaculate Heart so that we may find joy in her son, Jesus Christ.

St. James Church in Međugorje.
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Mary’s September 25 message at Medjugorje:

Dear children, with joy, persistently work on your conversion.  Offer all your joys and sorrows to my Immaculate Heart that I may lead you all to my most beloved Son, so that you may find joy in His Heart.  I am with you to instruct you and to lead you towards eternity. Thank you for having responded to my call.

Mary wants us to “persistently work” on our conversion towards Jesus Christ.  This theme of conversion is echoed repeatedly throughout the mysteries of the rosary.  We see it most clearly in the Third Luminous Mystery.  We are called to live for Jesus’ kingdom of Heaven by converting our earthly ways to His heavenly ways.  I like how Mary calls conversion “persistent work” in that our conversion towards Christ isn’t something done in an instant.  Everyone, from the normal person on the street to the Pope has to work constantly on their conversion towards Christ.  Mary adds that not only should we work towards conversion, but we should work with joy since there is no higher goal than living in God’s grace and one day living in His kingdom of Heaven.

The idea of joy is repeated throughout Her message.  She says that we should convert with joy, offer up our joys, and we can find joy in His heart.  At times we don’t always think of our faith with a sense of joy and wonder.  Instead we see its rules, laws, and obligations.  We see it as a burden to go to Mass on Sunday.  We see only the hardship of following the Church’s laws and not being able to do whatever we want.  But we miss the joy of working towards something so much greater than what this world has to offer.

May we listen to our mother, Mary, and persistently work on our conversion to be true followers of Christ.  May we keep our eyes on that eternal goal of the joy of Heaven instead of being consumed entirely by shallow, earthly pursuits.  Mary asks us to orient ourselves towards Jesus Christ.  Ask yourself, which way are you pointing?

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Rosary Meditation — The First Luminous Mystery

This rosary meditation focuses on The First Luminous Mystery — Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan. In this mystery we see Jesus transforming Baptism from being a purely symbolic act of renewal to an actual gift of the Holy Spirit that cleanses our soul of original sin. For this mystery I’m going to focus on the central message of John the Baptist — a call to repentance. While John is usually associated with Baptism (hence his title), his ministry really focuses on the Sacrament of Confession. He preached that we prepare ourselves to fully receive God when we approach Him with a repentant heart. These two sacraments really go hand-in-hand in that they both center around the Holy Spirit cleansing our soul of the effects of sin.

Farmer at the dentist, Johann Liss, c. 1616-17.
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This rosary meditation focuses on The First Luminous Mystery — Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan.  In this mystery we see Jesus transforming Baptism from being a purely symbolic act of renewal to an actual gift of the Holy Spirit that cleanses our soul of original sin.  For this mystery I’m going to focus on the central message of John the Baptist — a call to repentance.  While John is usually associated with Baptism (hence his title), his ministry really focuses on the Sacrament of Confession.  He preached that we prepare ourselves to fully receive God when we approach Him with a repentant heart.  These two sacraments really go hand-in-hand in that they both center around the Holy Spirit cleansing our soul of the effects of sin.

Think about how you take care of your teeth.  You brush and floss daily to keep them clean.  However, every six months you also need to go to a dentist to have your mouth thoroughly inspected and cleaned by a professional.  Seeing your dentist is not a sign of bad oral health.  It’s not like the only people who need to see a dentist are those who do not brush regularly.  Rather, everyone needs regular brushing and checkups or else our teeth will not be their strongest.  Skipping the daily brushing routine or the checkups might lead to premature dentures.

What does this have to do with repentance besides the fact that most people would probably consider a trip to the dentist as some sort of penance?  Like brushing your teeth, prayer must be part of your daily routine to keep your soul healthy.  Regular prayer is your time to reflect on all those ways you have lived God’s will and offer Him thanksgiving.  You also ask for strength and guidance to continue living a spiritually healthy life.  Prayer serves as a little check to prevent sin from entering and decaying your soul.  However, every so often you also need to see a professional to give your soul a thorough scrubbing away of sin.  And that scrubbing is the Sacrament of Confession.

Just like how brushing alone isn’t enough to keep your teeth healthy, individual prayer alone is not enough to keep your soul healthy.  You can’t completely fix the effects of sin with only individual prayer.  There are instances where your soul requires the help of a professional in order to fix the spiritual decay that may be attacking and spreading within you.  You may think that my analogy leads to the priest hearing your confession to be that professional who “fixes” your soul.  However, the priest is merely the assistant.  The real professional, the one who actually cleanses your soul of sin, is God.  God works through the priest to clean your soul and restore it back to a clean and healthy state.

This mystery should remind us of John the Baptist’s message that we should “prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths” (Mt 3:3).  Let us remember to be thoroughly repentant not just through our private prayers but also by receiving the sacrament of Confession.  That way we clear out souls of everything that blocks us from fully receiving God’s graces.  Instead of seeing confession as some sort of punishment, let us see it for what it really is — a gift.  It is our chance to set things right, fix what is broken in our life, and build a stronger relationship with our Lord, Jesus Christ.  May we remember that it is through confession that we return to that pure innocence that we had at our Baptism.  We return to that state of grace that God desires for all of us.  So let us make the effort to go to Confession regularly (the Church says at least once a year) and live as true disciples of Jesus Christ.  And you might want to pop in to see your dentist as well!

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Becoming a Winner Through Sacrifice

Along with the rewards and benefits that come with membership in the Catholic Church comes duties, obligations, and even sacrifices. This article on the Catholic News Agency discusses how the secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues, says that modern society has lost the ideas of duty and sacrifice. I see the theme of duty represented in the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery and the importance of sacrifice shown in the Third Luminous Mystery. We should meditate on these mysteries for the strength and courage to do all that God asks of us.

Rocky Balboa: The Best of Rocky album cover
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Along with the rewards and benefits that come with membership in the Catholic Church come duties, obligations, and even sacrifices.  This article on the Catholic News Agency discusses how the secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues, says that modern society has lost the ideas of duty and sacrifice.  I see the theme of duty represented in the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery and the importance of sacrifice shown in the Third Luminous Mystery.  We should meditate on these mysteries for the strength and courage to do all that God asks of us.

Through His death, Jesus showed us that we all have a duty to live and defend our faith.  As I said in my Crucifixion meditation, I feel that Jesus’ crucifixion is the ultimate example that we are all called to follow God’s plan even in the face of great difficulty.  It is our duty, as Catholics, to remain faithful no matter the earthly consequences our faith might bring.  I see so many instances where peoples’ duty to the Catholic faith stops as soon as it comes in conflict with their personal views, beliefs, or lifestyle.  However, the Church always reminds us that we have an obligation to put God first in our lives.  And while that can cause great hardship in this life, God rewards our dedication with everlasting life in His kingdom.

The Third Luminous Mystery, The Proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Call to Conversion, outlines the need for sacrifice.  I typically see sacrifice in terms of fasting.  However, I often wonder what difference it makes whether I fast or not.  After all, am I a better person because I skip a dessert or give up drinking soda?  Do my prayers carry any more weight because I didn’t eat meat on a Friday?  When put into the context of the Third Luminous Mystery, sacrifice and fasting make more sense.  In his book, “Fasting,” Fr. Slavko Barbaric explains the sacrifice of fasting as “a call for conversion directed to our body… by which we become free from and independent of all material things.”  Notice how he echos the idea of sacrifice being a tool for conversion.  When we fast and sacrifice, we detach ourselves from the fleeting pleasures of this world and open ourselves to the much greater gift of God’s grace.  In other words, God is no more receptive to us because we fast (after all, He is already infinitely receptive to everyone) but we become more receptive to God.

Our duty as Catholics to live a life of sacrifice will not be easy.  However, Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues is very direct when he says, “God’s plan cannot be fulfilled except through sacrifice.”  In other words, sacrifice is not something optional for Catholics nor is it something we should only think about during holy seasons like Lent.   Yes, our faith can present challenges.  But what challenge can be so great that it is not worth the promise of God’s Heavenly kingdom?

Here’s a little snippet from the movie, “Rocky Balboa” where Rocky explains to his son that winning means being able to make sacrifices and endure life’s challenges.  Think about this philosophy in terms of your faith.  Are you a fighter or are you letting life’s hardships keep you down?  Do you have the conviction to really live for God’s kingdom by always striving to do God’s will even in the face of great difficulty?

PS: “Fasting” is out of print, but it is worth picking up a used copy.  It is only 47 pages (large type), but it is a great introduction on the importance of fasting.

Medjugorje Message: August 25, 2009

The August 25, 2009 message from our Mother Mary at Medjugorje:

Dear children! Today I call you anew to conversion. Little children, you are not holy enough and you do not radiate holiness to others, therefore pray, pray, pray and work on your personal conversion, so that you may be a sign of God’s love to others. I am with you and am leading you towards eternity, for which every heart must yearn. Thank you for having responded to my call.

Medjugorje Mary Statue

The August 25, 2009 message from our Mother Mary at Medjugorje:

Dear children! Today I call you anew to conversion.  Little children, you are not holy enough and you do not radiate holiness to others, therefore pray, pray, pray and work on your personal conversion, so that you may be a sign of God’s love to others. I am with you and am leading you towards eternity, for which every heart must yearn. Thank you for having responded to my call.

Mary isn’t pulling any punches in this message.  She basically tells all of us that we need to step up our game and become holier.  She even has tough words for those who do try to live a good and holy life of prayer and avoiding sin.  Mary says that it is not good enough to be holy in private, but we must “radiate holiness to others.”  All too often I think we have a tendency to erect a wall between our spiritual lives and our “normal” lives.  Mary challenges us to make our spiritual life our normal life for all to see.

Her message has many connections to the mysteries of the rosary.  She tells us that we must orient ourselves towards eternity which means we must orient ourselves towards God.  This is the message of the Transfiguration that we become oriented towards God whenever we listen to His son and follow Jesus’ teachings.  Mary calls us to go out and spread Jesus’ message by living  holy life.  We do this with the help of the Holy Spirit as seen in the Pentecost.  We are also called to lead a holy life through the Institution of the Eucharist where we act as holy vessels of Jesus Christ by being His hands, legs, and voice in this world.

This message reminds me of a story I heard from Father Corapi.  He talked about one day when St. Francis asked one of his fellow friars to go and preach throughout the village.  They walked around all day in their robes and conversed casually with the townspeople.  They never got up and gave a formal sermon.  At the end of the day the friar asked St. Francis when they were going to preach God’s word.  St. Francis replied that they had been doing that all day.   They were “radiating” holiness by making others aware of God’s presence in the world by the simple act of making themselves, and hence, the Catholic Church, available to others in the community.  It is as true today as it was back in the time of St. Francis that small acts of holiness can go a long way in bringing people closer to God.

So, how will you radiate holiness today?

Rosary Meditation: The Fourth Luminous Mystery

This rosary meditation is on the Fourth Luminous Mystery — The Transfiguration. In this mystery, Jesus took his apostles, Peter, John, and James up to a mountain to pray. There His clothes turned dazzling white and Moses and Elijah appeared with Him. Then a voice came from the clouds saying, “This is my chosen Son; listen to Him.”

The upper part of the Transfiguration (1520) b...
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This rosary meditation is on the Fourth Luminous Mystery — The Transfiguration.  In this mystery, Jesus took his apostles, Peter, John, and James up to a mountain to pray.  There His clothes turned dazzling white and Moses and Elijah appeared with Him.  Then a voice came from the clouds saying, “This is my chosen Son; listen to Him.”

In this mystery, Jesus reveals himself as being God made man.  This instance separates Jesus from the prophets of the Old Testament.  Yes, He performed miracles and preached God’s word, but so did the prophets.  The Old Testament is full of stories of people using the grace of God to perform miracles such as Moses parting the Red Sea.  But in the Transfiguration, Jesus shows that He is no mere prophet following God’s will, but He IS God’s will, God’s word, and God’s truth in human form.  I think this is why Moses and Elijah appeared next to Jesus; as if God was contrasting Himself with the prophets that came before Him.

God, Creator of all that exists and ever will exist, the ultimate truth, our final judge, the alpha and the omega, humbled Himself and came down to earth in a human form so that we may know Him personally.  God desires all of us to live in His grace and love and so He became man through Jesus Christ so that we may better understand His ways.  Our human minds cannot possibly understand God’s infinite complexity and He knows that.  So like an adult trying to explain a complex idea to a child, God revealed Himself in a very simple and direct way — by taking a form which people could see, hear, and touch.

God gave the apostles a very direct command to listen to Jesus.  And yet, after all they had seen and heard, they abandoned Jesus at His crucifixion.  Unfortunately, we continue to imitate the apostles’ behavior whenever we disobey God’s will and sin.  Imagine our arrogance to have received the word of God directly from Jesus and then deliberately disregard it because it conflicts with how we want to live or it seem too difficult.  We say we are followers of Christ, but when it comes time to humble ourselves to God’s will and accept Jesus’ teachings we often tell Him, “thanks, but no thanks.”  In the Transfiguration, God gave us very simple and direct order on how we are to obtain grace and that is to listen to His son, Jesus Christ.  And yet, each one of us can probably think of an instance where we refuse God’s grace through our words, thoughts, or actions.

So let us take a moment to remember the awesome gift God gave us through His son, Jesus Christ.  We should remember the gift of the Catholic Church starting with the first pope, St. Peter, who was there at the Transfiguration and later personally appointed by Jesus to lead His people.  God told us to listen to Jesus which means we should learn what the Church teaches so that we may know Him, follow Him, and love Him.  God gave us a tremendous gift by making Himself more accessible through Jesus.  We should pray for all of those who are wasting this precious gift by not following God’s will.  We must pray for a world that seems to have gone out of its way NOT to listen to God’s message.

God made Himself available to all of us through Jesus Christ.  The question is, do we make ourselves available to God by listening to Him?

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Imitate Mary and Say “Yes” to God

On Sunday, August 16, Pope Benedict XVI dedicated his Angelus reflections to Our Lady. Speaking to 4,000 people gathered in the courtyard of Castel Gandolfo’s apostolic palace, he explained that, like Mary, Catholics are called to say yes to God. His reflection touches on themes found in various rosary mysteries such as the Annunciation, the Assumption, and the Institution of the Eucharist. We should ask ourselves, do we have the faith to say yes to God as Mary did and the strength to carry out His will?

The icon of Annunciation from the Church of St...
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On Sunday, August 16, Pope Benedict XVI dedicated his Angelus reflections to Our Lady. Speaking to 4,000 people gathered in the courtyard of Castel Gandolfo’s apostolic palace, he explained that, like Mary, Catholics are called to say yes to God.  His reflection touches on themes found in various rosary mysteries such as the Annunciation, the Assumption, and the Institution of the Eucharist.  We should ask ourselves, do we have the faith to say yes to God as Mary did and the strength to carry out His will?

Here is what Pope Benedict said as reported on the Catholic News Agency:

“What happened to Mary is also valid for every man and woman,” he expounded. “God asks each of us to welcome him, to make available to him our hearts, our bodies, our entire existence, so that he can dwell in the world. He calls us to join ourselves to him in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, to form the Church together…by the very nature of our yes, that mysterious exchange also happens to and in us. We are assumed in the divinity of he who assumed our humanity.”

I like this idea that Mary not only said yes to God’s will, but also welcomed Him and made Him available to her heart.  I think often, even when we do God’s will, we do it begrudgingly and without a lot of joy.  We tend to think of God’s will as a burden, not a gift.  Of course going to Mass, receiving the sacraments, and following God’ laws are good things and something we should always strive to do.  But we should also remember than when we do say yes to God we receive a gift of grace which should fill our hearts with joy.  Who doesn’t find it even a little bit exciting that God lives within us when we accept His will?  With that prospect of God working through us, we should not only say yes to Him, but we should also jump at the opportunity with passion and vigor.

I think Mary had a very good understanding of the benefits and joy that come out of saying yes to God.  Did following God’s will make her life easier?  Of course not.  She was burdened with the scandle of an unwed pregnancy and then the sorrow of seeing her son crucified.  But I think she understood that these earthly burdens were minimal when compared to the eternal rewards of living in God’s grace.  I think we often forget about the infinite treasures of heaven amongst our daily struggles.  Because this heavenly reward is something beyond our understanding, we tend to lose sight of it and settle for meager substitutes.  We fall into sin doing things that make us temporarily happy now instead of taking that harder road that will ultimately lead to eternal happiness.  So let us listen to Pope Benedict and be like Mary.  Let us not only say yes to God, but say yes with the joy of knowing that following His plan for us will lead to a happiness greater than anything we can imagine.  And let us pray for everyone who has lost sight of that goal and have said no to God either through their words, thoughts, or actions.

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