Tag: Holy Spirit

Do You Ask for Holiness?

Do you ask for holiness?  Seriously, how many times do you pray and ask God to make you holier?  I don’t know about you, but I don’t ask nearly enough.  My prayers usually revolve around asking God for other things like, “help so-and-so with an illness,” “help so-and-so with his job,” “give me the strength to be a good person,” etc.  But it never really occurs to me to ask for more holiness.  And yet, being holy should be at the top of our list of things to ask from God when we pray since it is the root of all good things.

Mother Teresa
Morther Teresa isn't the only one called to be holy

Holiness isn’t something reserved exclusively for Jesus, the saints, priests and nuns.  And yet we often think that because we don’t receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders, we don’t have a calling to be holy.  We often set a high bar for priests to always do the right thing and never sin.  And yet we don’t apply those same standards to ourselves.  We sometimes rationalize that because we aren’t a priest or nun, it’s ok to commit “little” sins, avoid praying, and not follow Church doctrine.  However, God calls everyone to lead a holy life regardless of vocation.

At its core, holiness is the recognition that God has set us apart from the rest of His creation for a special purpose.  We are called to imitate God for He is good.  Hence, we are meant to be good.  We must understand that holiness is a cause, not an effect.  It is the root from which all good things flow.  For example, someone is not holy because he does works of charity.  He does works of charity because he is holy.  Notice that holiness is the cause and good works are the effect.  Someone is not holy because she prays.  She prays because she is holy.  Think of holiness as the seed God plants in all of us that enables us to live according to His will.  Without that seed, true good cannot flourish since we do not have that recognition of God in our life.

There are many mysteries of the rosary that refer to our call to live holy lives.  Think about the Third Luminous Mystery — The Proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven and Jesus’ Call for Conversion.  Being holy means aligning our souls to be more in line with how God calls us.  And that is exactly what Jesus asks of us in this mystery — convert those aspects of your life that are not aligned with God to become more aligned with Him.  In other words, Jesus calls us to become holier.  This is challenging because how many people like to examine their lives, see what is wrong with it, and then resolve to change it?  Most of us would rather just continue living assuming we are holy enough and being any more holy would just cramp our lifestyle.  Being holy means that you also acknowledge that there is more you can do to imitate God’s ways.  When we pray the rosary, challenge yourself to examine those aspects of your life where you are not as holy as you could be and then ask God for more holiness.  I’m sure God will be more than happy to grant more holiness to those who sincerely ask for it.

If you still think holiness is not important, consider this study.  The Barna Group conducted a survey of church-going Christians.  Of those surveyed, 46% said that their lives were largely unchanged from going to church.  Furthermore, the study showed that Catholics felt less positive effects from Mass than Protestants.  This study points to what I said in a previous article — Mass is becoming more of a social gathering rather than an opportunity to connect with God (aka, become holier).  There is saying about exercise and athletics — You only get as much out of it as you put into it.  The same goes with Mass and prayer.  Do so many people get so little from their Mass experience because they aren’t putting much prayer into it?  Do they come to Mass with the intention of asking God for more holiness and how they can convert to live as God calls them?  Or do people put more thought into what they will eat after Mass is over?

Remember, holiness is the root of a spiritually healthy life.  Without holiness, truly good things cannot flourish.  And it will take more than a handful of holy priests, nuns, and saints for goodness to spread across this world.  It takes each and every one of us trying to be as holy as possible.  So the next time you pray and ask God to hear your intentions, make it a point to ask Him for the will and strength to be holier.

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Do you Pray with Purpose?

The Magi Journeying

Do you have a plan when you pray the rosary and for incorporating what you learn from prayer in your life?  Do you pray with purpose?  I thought about how I  pray the rosary while thinking about the three magi honoring Jesus in the Epiphany.  The three wise men didn’t just set out into the desert without a plan.  They did not wander aimlessly and happen to come across Jesus by chance.  And it wasn’t by chance that they had gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh on their arrival.  They observed, prepared, and followed the guidance of the Holy Spirit by following the star.  And all their hard work paid off as they were among the first to honor Christ our King and Savior.

Do we show that same level of preparation and intent when we pray the rosary?  Often times we pray the rosary without a lot of intent or purpose.  We just think that if we recite all the Our Fathers and Hail Marys that something good will magically happen to us.  That isn’t prayer.  That is more akin to reciting incantations and spells.  We too should follow some sort of guidance and have a purpose to praying the rosary.  That guidance can come from the divine inspiration from the Holy Spirit or we can get ideas from a prayer-book (hint, hint).  We should lay before God our personal concerns, intentions, sorrows, and thanksgivings while praying.  Say the words to the standard prayers, but back them up with your personal thoughts.  That is what makes prayer meaningful and truly a personal conversation between you and God.  The three magi reached their goal by putting in the effort to follow the star God put before them.  We reach our spiritual goals when we intentionally follow the Holy Spirit in prayer, really concentrate and think about what God tells us, and let Him guide our actions.

And what results from our prayers?  Do we glorify God with love, good works, and avoiding sin?  Or do we offer God lip service in our prayers without any intention of truly living as He calls us?  Do we treat prayer as our license to commit sin?  Do we think we are good and holy people because we pray when our actions might paint a different story?  Imagine if the three wise men did not adequately prepare themselves for meeting Jesus and forgot their gifts or did not give any respect to the baby Jesus.  That would make all their hard work look like a waste of time.  And yet we often do this when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist with sins on our soul or our stubborn pride prevents us from admitting our faults and receiving absolution through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Let us not pray in vain by ignoring how God asks us to live.  Rather, take to heart God’s words so that only good will come from your actions.

We should remember to pray the rosary with a purpose.  Prayer is a means of helping us live as one of Jesus’ disciples and isn’t an end in itself.  We should recall the Fifth Luminous Mystery and remember that we should approach Jesus in the Eucharist only when our souls are cleansed of all mortal sin.  We should remember the Second Joyful Mystery and how Mary put God’s grace to work by visiting and helping her cousin Elizabeth.  And we should remember the Fifth Glorious Mystery and how Mary, Queen of Heaven, is there to guide us always closer to Her son, Jesus Christ.  She is our guiding star to God’s heavenly kingdom.  The question is, are we observant, prepared, and have the resolve to follow the path God lays before us like the three magi?

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Is Jesus on Your Gift List?

The weather is turning cold and crisp.  The leaves are falling off the trees.  Houses are lighted up in the evening.  It’s official.  Christmas is here.  And most of us have a “todo” list a mile long.  There are gifts to buy, travel plans to make, decorations to put up, and a ton of other logistics.  But there are many important tasks that we tend to leave off the Christmas chore list.  While we remember the Christmas season, we often forget that it is also the season of Advent.

Advent

Much like how we clean the house for Christmas guests, our souls could use a little house keeping during Advent.  Think about all the time you will spend making everything “just right” for your guests.  But there is one person you should remember on your guest list — Jesus Christ.  As the saying goes, “He’s the reason for the season.”  And Jesus isn’t awed by the size of your outdoor lighting display, how nice the dining room table is set, or any gifts under the tree.  What He would really like to see is a clean soul.  You want to make Jesus’ Christmas?  Think about receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

I’m reminded of the First Luminous Mystery of the rosary — Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan.  We hear the words of John the Baptist to repent and prepare the way for the Lord.  The whole point of Advent is that it is a time of preparation.  We prepare ourselves to fully celebrate Christmas and receive God‘s grace by receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  I know many of you are probably thinking that going to Confession is real downer and that I mixed up Advent with Lent.  Many of us want to think about “happy things” during the holidays, not confess what we’ve done wrong.  But if you were willing to fight the crowds at midnight on Black Friday, battle for that last parking space at the mall, and wander throughout town to find the last Elmo doll, then Confession will a breaze.  And unlike some cheaply made trinket that will occupy closet space in a few weeks, the gifts from the Holy Spirit received during Confession is something you can keep for a long time.  Through Reconciliation, you have a brand new start in the Lord’s grace which might be the foundation for leading a holy life.  To borrow another common expression, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”  So why not start it on the best foot possible?

If you are scared to go to Confession, try picking up a rosary and praying a few decades every day.  Ask the Holy Spirit, Mary, and all the saints for the courage to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  We have a little over three weeks left in Advent.  With a little prayer we can all find that energy to get that one last present on our gift list for Jesus.

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Why Catholicism is not a Democracy

Vote

I listened to Ave Maria radio on my drive home from work the other day and had a chance to listen to a replay of a talk given by Al Kresta, host of “Kresta in the Afternoon.”  His talk is titled “The History of Dissent in the Catholic Church” and he takes a very high level view of progressive groups like the American Catholic Council and their misguided attempts to change the Church by making it behave more like democratic government.  I’m going to dive in with some of the highlights I took from his talk as well as show its relevance to the rosary.

Kresta talks about various “constitutions” and “bill of rights” that the American Catholic Council has drafted over the years.  Their demands range from changing dogma on social issues such as abortion, contraception, and homosexuality to how they believe the Church should govern itself.  In summary, they basically want the Church to function like a democracy where the faithful elect Church leaders and can vote for changes to the Church’s moral dogma.  At face value this seems like a great idea.  After all, who doesn’t like democracy?  Democratic nations are usually the freest, happiest, safest, and most prosperous places on the planet.  So wouldn’t a more democratic Catholic Church be a better one?

The answer is no, it would not.  Jesus’ teachings, God’s will, and the basis for all morality cannot be subject to opinion polls, campaign slogans, and popular elections.  For example, something like abortion cannot go from an intrinsic evil to morally acceptable because it wins a vote.  Imagine a faith where your morality and state of grace could flip-flop with every election?  One day you’re in a state of grace and the next day you’re in a state of mortal sin.  Does that sound reasonable to you?  This is moral relativism at its worst.  You just can’t take Jesus Christ and reduce Him to just someone who came up with a bunch of well-meaning ideas that are now outdated and need changing.  Nor can a group of popularly elected “scholars” take it upon themselves to improve on God’s will because they feel it really doesn’t reflect the modern Catholic.  To put it another way, the Church makes “laws” based on moral truths.  You cannot reverse the process and change moral truths because you pass a law.

c. 1459

When we pray the rosary, we should remember the Fourth Luminous Mystery — The Transfiguration.  Here we see the power and majesty of Jesus Christ as God Made Man.  Jesus was not just a man who was trying to interpret God’s Word, but was the Word Made Flesh.  What Jesus taught was not opinion, but Truth.  And that truth remains the same and isn’t something that huamans can change to fit with societal norms.  We also recall the Third Joyful Mystery — The Nativity of Christ.  We meditate that God does not interact in this world on our terms, but His.  While many would have liked Jesus to be a political leader of high stature, He was not.  Jesus was born in a stable and grew up to become a simple carpenter because that was God’s plan.  We should pray that we accept Jesus and His Church for what it is and not try to shape it to our human whims.

Finally, we should pray for those who do find the Catholic Church and God’s will so difficult to live up to that they instead want to change it to suit their desires.  We pray that they allow the Holy Spirit into their hearts, as the apostles did on Pentecost, and go out and face life’s moral challenges instead of fruitlessly trying to redefine morality.  Our Mother Mary has said many times and in many ways that the sooner you stop fighting God, the sooner you can embrace the joy and happiness of His grace.

I highly recommend listening to Al Kresta’s “History of Dissent.”  You can listen to it online (link below) or download it do any portable device.  Do what I did and listen to it in your car.  It makes for a good commute.

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Crisis of Faith

You have to love our German Shepherd, Pope Benedict XVI.  Last week he traveled to Germany and delivered some great speeches and homilies.  What I like about the Pope is that he tells things as it is and teaches the Catholic faith even if it runs contrary to the norms of modern society.  And unlike many politicians, he doesn’t take on the victim mentality but instead challenges the faithful to really live as Jesus calls them regardless of the obstacles imposed by the outside world.  Like the manager of a sports team, he discusses our weaknesses so that we are aware of them and can aim to be better Catholics and better people.  In this day and age, that level of honesty mixed with compassion and motivation are rare.

Last Saturday, Pope Benedict met with Central Committee of German Catholics and discussed challenges the Church faces in developed, Western countries.  According to the Catholic News Agency, the Pope told them:

“We must honestly admit that we have more than enough by way of structure but not enough by way of Spirit.  I would add: the real crisis facing the Church in the western world is a crisis of faith.”  This is observed, said the Pope, “in the inconstancy and fragmentation of many people’s lives and in an exaggerated individualism,” such that many people “no longer seem capable of any form of self-denial or of making a sacrifice for others.”

Pope in Fatima
Image by Catholic Church (England and Wales) via Flickr

I understand what the Pope means in terms of the Western Church having structure but lacking faith.  I receive a Church bulletin every Sunday and there is no shortage of club meetings, events, and services.  There is also no shortage of people in the pews at Sunday Mass.  And yet, I do feel that something is missing in terms of spirituality.  Many people treat Sunday Mass as putting in one hour of work before they can socialize and enjoy donuts and coffee.  And yet, where are the large crowds to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, pray the rosary, and attend Adoration?  How many people attend Mass on Sunday almost like they are clocking in and out of work because it is an obligation?  And worse, how many children learn that “in and out” attitude regarding Mass from the adults’ example?

Contrast the modern day American parish with that of a small village in some unknown part of the world.  I’ve seen other parts of the globe where someone’s life and faith are basically one.  They pray regularly for long periods of time, dedicate and offer fasting and abstinence for intentions, attend Mass multiple times a week, and receive the Sacraments.  But there is more to their faith than just these outward acts.  It’s hard to explain, but you just get the sense that their faith is just part of who they are and means so much to them.  When you compare these two groups you realize that Pope Benedict is right when he noted that the Western Church has plenty of structure and not enough of the Holy Spirit.

When praying the rosary, meditate on this crisis of faith on the Fourth Glorious Mystery — The Assumption of Mary.  Remember, God assumed Mary, body and soul, into Heaven.  And she is now our guide in all things spiritual.  We pray for her guidance that we live our faith fully every day, in every word, every action, and every thought.  We pray especially that we can muster the strength to imitate Mary and not take the great gift of faith for granted or reduce the Church to a weekend social club.  Mary begs us to follow her advice because she knows the great joy that awaits us in Heaven and she does not wish for that joy to be delayed (Purgatory) or lost (Hell).

We must remember that we are Catholics, not just for an hour at Mass on Sunday, but 24/7.  And nearly all of us fall short of living our faith in its entirety.  And that is why we pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit, Mary, the saints, and the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.

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Have You Friended Jesus?

True or False?  As Catholics we should abstain from eating meat on Fridays.  I know a lot of people hear this and think this is an older tradition that no one really follows anymore.  Or this is only required during Lent.  However, the Bishops of England and Wales, to reunite people with their faith, are reminding people in their diocese to abstain from meat on Fridays.  From their press release:

The Bishops also wish to remind us that every Friday is set aside as a special day of penitence, as it is the day of the suffering and death of the Lord. They believe it is important that all the faithful again be united in a common, identifiable act of Friday penance because they recognise that the virtue of penitence is best acquired as part of a common resolve and common witness.

Demonstrating outward signs of our faith is something lost in modern society.  Many people go through the entire day without a saying a single prayer or having any thoughts about God.  We tend to live our day in a religious neutral zone of neither separating ourselves completely from God through mortal sin but not really making much effort to further our relationship with Him.  Basically God has become like that Facebook friend we mostly ignore but have not de-friended.  We just aren’t interested in sharing our life with Him.  The bishops remind us that there are many simple things we can do to make our relationship with God a more integral part of our lives.

The bishops’ words remind me of the Second Joyful Mystery of the rosary.  Remember, in the Bible immediately after the Annunciation, Mary travels to visit her cousin Elizabeth.  After receiving such a tremendous gift from God the first thing Mary does is goes out and shares that joy with others.  Mary shows us that when you receive God’s grace the best thing to do is go out and share it with others.  Similarly, the bishops want us to live our faith publicly and share the joy of Jesus’ love with everyone.  When we weave little reminders of our faith into our daily routine, whether it be fasting, abstaining from meat on Fridays, or praying more regularly, we forge a more intimate relationship with God which will burn much brighter for all the world to see.

Let us pray for the resolve to live our faith publicly by consciously performing outward signs that remind us of God’s presence.  We should also pray for those who are persecuted for living their faith.  May they draw strength from the Holy Spirit to continue living as God calls them.  And finally, we should remember when we pray the Second Joyful Mystery all of those who have left the faith for whatever reason.  May our outward signs of the greatness of God’s loving grace bring them back to the Church’s welcoming arms.

Do you have any simple things people can add to their daily routine to remind them of their faith?  Please leave a comment below.

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Did the Shepherd Leave His Flock?

While I’m still taking a summer sabbatical to finish my book I thought I should write an article on an important topic.  This past week we learned that a popular Catholic theologian, Father John Corapi, decided to leave the priesthood after being accused of misconduct three months ago.  When the accusations became public he was placed on administrative leave while Church officials investigated the validity of the claims.  However, although the claims have not been verified or dismissed, Father Corapi decided to leave the priesthood so he could serve a wider audience instead of being stuck in priestly limbo.  His decision did not sit well with many people including myself.  I think about all my posts on the Catholic Answers Forums where I referred to one of his talks.  I think about the hours I spent listening to him on EWTN radio.  Was all that time wasted on a false messenger?

Someone leaving the priesthood, while rare, is not unprecedented.  But Father Corapi leaving the priesthood leaves me with mixed feelings.  If you ever listened to his lectures you probably heard him talk about sacrifice, redemptive suffering, and how we just can’t quit when fighting the good fight.  He talked about the power of God’s grace and the sacraments.  And yet, what are we to conclude when Father Corapi decided to leave the priesthood after three months of administrative leave?  How much did the priesthood mean to him if he could leave it so easily?  It seems like he should have listened to some of his own lectures on perseverance.  Compare him to priests that keep their vows despite persecution or the ones that became martyrs because they would not abandon their calling when times became tough.  So when Father Corapi threw in the towel while the Church was in the early stages of its investigation it makes me wonder how much weight I should give to his teachings.

When I start to have doubts about the validity of Father Corapi’s teachings given recent events I recall one of the more important tenants of the Catholic faith.  God’s truth does not rely on the faithfulness or the state of grace of His messengers. While we are flawed and can fall into sin that does not impact that validity of God’s Word.  Although John Corapi decided to leave the priesthood we must remember that many of his teachings about the Catholic faith remain true because they come directly from Church doctrine.  You cannot deny Church doctrine or history regardless of how you feel about the person making the statements.  This division is what makes the Catholic Church so special in that while the Church, as an institution run by humans may fail at times, God’s truth that underlies that institution remains solid and unchanged.

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And so, while I do not agree with Father Corapi’s decision to leave the priesthood, I will not disregard or ignore what he taught about the Catholic faith.  God has always chosen imperfect messengers to spread His word.  I hope that one day I will still be able to hear one of Father Corapi’s lectures on EWTN after the dust settles from the events of these past few months.  It’s a shame that future generations may miss Father Corapi’s strong voice and unambiguous stance on Church doctrine.  We should pray, not only for him, but for all priests who face difficult challenges in their vocation.  The Third Glorious Mystery of the rosary is perfect for priestly intentions since priests are powered by the same Holy Spirit that gave the apostles strength to do God’s will at Pentecost.  May priests everywhere have the strength to continue doing God’s work and fight the good fight.

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Gospel for April 10, 2011 — Eternity

Raising of Lazarus by Jesus
Image via Wikipedia

The Gospel for April 10, 2011 is John 11:1-45. In this Gospel, Jesus performs the miracle of raising His friend, Lazarus, from the dead.  This Gospel foreshadows Jesus’ resurrection which we pray in the First Glorious Mystery of the rosary.  Both this rosary mystery and the Gospel remind us that there is more to our existence than this earthly life.  God’s divine plan for all of us does not end with the death of our physical bodies.  His plan also includes our souls living for all eternity in His heavenly kingdom.

News flash, we all have a terminal illness.  I do not want to be a downer, but we all had this illness from the we were conceived.  Our terminal condition is our earthly existence.  No one will physically live forever.  But we should not despair as Jesus said this in the Gospel:

This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.

While Jesus was referring to Lazarus, He might as well have spoken about the human condition and our mortality.  None of our lives will end in death if we define death to be a transition to nothingness.  Instead our souls will live for all eternity.  We should recognize that reality and adjust our lives by avoiding sin and doing good works.

In addition to our final, physical death we also encounter little deaths throughout our lives.  I refer to the death of our relationship with God when we commit mortal sin.  When we sever ourselves from God’s grace our soul experiences a type of spiritual death.  However, like how Jesus physically raised Lazarus from the dead, the Holy Spirit raises our soul from its death through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Our return to God’s grace is just as miraculous, and I would say vastly more important, as if Jesus raised us physically from the dead as He did with Lazarus.  Especially in this period of Lent, it is so critically important to do a little spiritual spring cleaning of our souls and go to confession.  We all should experience the miracle of God rising our souls from their spiritual sleep.  And we must pray for all those in this world who are spiritually dead through sin that they have the courage and humility to return to God’s grace.

In this Gospel reading Lazarus’ rise from the dead foreshadows Jesus’ resurrection.  We remember Jesus’ resurrection in the First Glorious Mystery of the rosary.  One of the central themes of this mystery is that our physical death is not the end of us.  Rather, it is just the beginning of a new life either in Heaven or in Hell.  I believe that our spiritual life is actually our real life as it is eternal.  Our life here on earth, even if we live one hundred or more years, is nothing compared to eternity.  So which existence is really the one where we live as our true self?  Our current, temporary, and imperfect life or the eternal existence in the afterlife?  When we pray the rosary, think about this Gospel, and meditate on Jesus’ resurrection may we remember to make the most of this short time we have in this life by being a testament to the glory of God.  God desires all of us to be with Him in Heaven.  Through Jesus’ resurrection, He showed us that there is so much more to our existence than what we experience in this world.  Let us not become so obsessed and consumed by all the material wants of this life as they will all one day disappear.  Instead, we  should pray that we can endure and reject the temptations of this world and live for the greater goal of an eternity of joy and happiness in Heaven.

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Our Lady’s Messages: February 2011

The Virgin Mary’s February, 2011 messages focus on perfecting prayer and working towards converting our hearts and minds toward God.  Mary offers Her assistance to anyone who asks for it.

Our Lady’s message to Mirjana Soldo on February 2, 2011

Dear children; You are gathering around me, you are seeking your way, you are seeking, you are seeking the truth but are forgetting what is the most important, you are forgetting to pray properly. Your lips pronounce countless words, but your spirit does not feel anything. Wandering in darkness, you even imagine God Himself according to yourselves, and not such as He really is in His love. Dear children, proper prayer comes from the depth of your heart, from your suffering, from your joy, from your seeking the forgiveness of sins. This is the way to come to know the right God and by that also yourselves, because you are created according to Him. Prayer will bring you to the fulfillment of my desire, of my mission here with you, to the unity in God’s family. Thank you.

Mary’s message does not focus on any particular mystery of the rosary, but praying the rosary in general.  I know that many of us have a difficult time remaining focused while praying.  We tend to go into “auto pilot” where we recite the words of the prayers but think about other things.  I know that I often start thinking about scenes from movies, television shows, or something else I saw or heard.  Or, thinking about an intention I have may inadvertently sidetrack me.  I might begin a decade by praying for all those driving to work; that they remain safe in their travels.  I then start thinking about my car.  “When did I last take it in for service?  What did the mechanic find?  How much did he charge me?  What’s that squealing noise?  I should remember to have that checked out.”  And the next thing I know, I’ve blown through the entire decade without even realizing it.

Mary Magdalene, in a dramatic 19th-century pop...
Image via Wikipedia

Mary asks us to really focus on the quality of our prayer.  I’ve mentioned this before about trying to find perfect prayer.  Here’s a tip when you find yourself mindlessly reciting words — STOP PRAYING! Take a few seconds to clear your mind of those distracting thoughts.  Then pick up that rosary and start praying again with renewed focus.  Possibly that day just is not a good day for focused prayer.  There’s no shame in realizing that you are too distracted to really give God your full attention.  Just resolve that you will try again later with renewed vigor.  If Mary’s tone in Her message is any indication, I think God prefers one sincere prayer over one hundred mindless recitations.

Our Lady’s message on February 25, 2011

Dear children! Nature is awakening and on the trees the first buds are seen which will bring most beautiful flowers and fruit. I desire that you also, little children, work on your conversion and that you be those who witness with their life, so that your example may be a sign and an incentive for conversion to others. I am with you and before my Son Jesus I intercede for your conversion. Thank you for having responded to my call.

Mary asks us to act as a “sign and an incentive for conversion to others” by the example we set.  The Gospel from February 6, 2011 echos that same sentiment when Jesus asks us to be a light to the world of His love and goodness.  Mary asks us to focus on our conversion by walking the path Jesus lays before us instead of the one the world shows us.  I know that Jesus’ path can look difficult and scary at times.  He puts down a pretty grand challenge by asking us to be perfect.

The good news is that we do not travel that path alone.  Mary, through The Assumption, offers Her assistance.  She looks down from Heaven to help us walk that road.  She gave us the rosary, one of the strongest prayer tools in our spiritual arsenal.  She gives us messages in the form of apparitions to steer us in the right direction.  She spends all Her time an energy trying to put as many of us on the right path towards Heaven and She will never be too busy to help those who need it.  So take up that challenge of praying and living perfectly as Jesus asks.  You will never achieve perfection (after all, we are imperfect beings), but you will be a much better person and deeper in God’s grace than if you never tried at all.

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Gospel for February 27, 2011 — Choices

A three-dimensional question mark. For anyone ...
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The Gospel for February 27, 2011 is from Matthew 6:24-34.  Jesus tells us not to put the riches of this world in front of the majesty of Heaven.  He says, “No one can serve two masters.  He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”  He then asks us to put our faith in Him and not worry so much about acquiring earthly possessions.  The Third Luminous Mystery of the rosary echos this same theme when Jesus asks us to put living for God’s Kingdom before our earthly one.

Jesus’ statements in this Gospel lead to a lot of confusion.  Why is He telling us not to worry about what we will eat, drink, wear, or live?  Don’t we have to work and earn a living so that we have a place to live, food to eat, and clothes to wear?  After all, I don’t think He wants us to be homeless and dieing of starvation.  I don’t think Jesus is calling for a total collapse of society because no one needs to put in a hard day’s work.  Or is Jesus telling us we do not have to work at all and God will just give us everything we want on account of our faith in Him?

Any reader of this blog or the Gospel obviously knows that Jesus isn’t literally telling us not to work.  Jesus understands that we need to work and provide for ourselves and others.  He is not telling us to be slothful and just await for God to “bail us out.”  Jesus’ main point is that our earthly pursuits should not be the focal point of our lives.  We should work, but not solely for the earthly wealth and power.  As in the Third Luminous Mystery of the rosary, Jesus asks us to live for His Heavenly kingdom of Heaven first.  He asks us to convert from our native, earthly focus and orient ourselves towards God.  We do this by consciously making a clean start with the Sacrament of Reconciliation, praying more, and really letting the Holy Spirit guide us through life.

According to the Gospel, God will provide for us.  Note that Jesus does not say that our faith will give us an easy life free of burden and responsibility.  This is not what Jesus meant by providing.  Just look at many of the saints.  Their lives were not easy.  Many of them were persecuted, ignored, hated, and even martyred.  But in the end they were all blessed with eternal happiness because they chose to live for God’s kingdom first.  In the end, God did provide for them with the ultimate gift — Heaven.

We have a choice.  Where are we going to put our priorities?  Are we going to choose living for all the good things of this world or all the great things in Heaven?  We only have so much energy and time in the day so we do have to make a choice.  We cannot live for God’s kingdom by accident.  If we do not explicitly choose to live for God, we naturally tend to drift towards living only for this world.  That means we need to make many small decisions every day to choose God’s love over earthly pursuits.  Do we choose to set aside time for prayer?  Do we go to Sunday Mass and treat it seriously and with respect?  Do we receive the sacraments (particularly Reconciliation)?  Do we go out of our way to avoid sin even if it makes our life harder?  Do we help our brothers and sisters, particularly our enemies or those in need?  Those are just a few  of the choices we need to make that will either bring us closer to God or away from Him.  This week is a good time to pray the rosary, focus on the Third Luminous Mystery, and ask yourself, “Who will you serve?”

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