intentions

Pope’s November Intention: Use the Language of Love

Pope Francis’ November intention is “In the Service of Peace: That the language of love and dialogue may always prevail over the language of conflict.” Here’s a snippet of Deacon Ted Penton’s reflection on the pope’s message (the full article is found on Zenit).

Jesus didn’t allow Peter to defend him from an arrest by use of the sword. Nor did he call down legions of angels to save him from the Romans who tortured and executed him. Instead, he submitted to death on the cross. In some mysterious way, the Father used the death and resurrection of his Son for far greater purposes than any of his followers could have imagined. As Pope Francis eloquently stated, “In the silence of the cross, the uproar of weapons ceases and the language of reconciliation, forgiveness, dialogue, and peace is spoken.”

This reflection ties in nicely with my previous post about the sin of pride and the virtue of humility. I also called out Jesus’ Passion as a time of peaceful and humble acceptance of God’s plan for us. Jesus showed us that humility is the language of love that Pope Francis refers to in his November intention. Because when we are humble we let God speak through us. His words are not filtered and drowned out by our pride. They aren’t muddled by our limited human minds. Even when our intentions are good, we still don’t possess the ability to see the “big picture” and construct the same language of love and dialogue that is as effective as God’s Word.

There’s another aspect of the November intention I want to discuss. We can’t confuse peaceful dialogue with weakness. All too often, we have this notion that love means letting others roll over us and do as they like. But look at Jesus’ example. He was all loving but He was certainly no pushover. He was unrelenting in preaching God’s truth and never backed down. He never told sinners that their actions were okay. But He did teach them what God desired for them and forgave them. He did this in a loving way that drew people closer, not further away. We too should imitate Jesus. We don’t shy away from preaching God’s truth but we must do it in a way that also shows God’s love.

When we pray the Third Luminous Mystery of the Rosary, Jesus’ Proclamation of the Kingdom and Heaven and His Call to Conversion, let’s keep the pope’s November intention in our hearts. Let’s remember to make an effort to convert any of our ways that create conflict into ways that create and foster God’s love. It’s not an easy journey letting go of our almost instinctive nature to fight hostility with hostility. But think about Jesus being scourged and how difficult it must have been for Him not to fight back in a hostile way. Ultimately, Jesus “won” because humiliation, torture, and death was not the end. He found the strength to endure all of that out of His love for us. We pray the Rosary this month asking God for that same strength to see that it is love, not hate, that will ultimately win and convert souls.

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The Pope’s August 2018 Intention — The Treasure of Families

Take a look at the news and ask yourself, do politicians generally support laws that promote or limit family freedoms? What importance do current laws and legal rulings place on traditional family structures? Think about rulings trying to redefine marriage, the limiting of rights parents have over how to best raise their kids, and just the overall societal devaluing of marriage’s role in promoting a stable, peaceful, and strong society.

In that light, here is Pope Francis’ intention for August 2018:

Universal – The Treasure of Families

That any far-reaching decisions of economists and politicians may protect the family as one of the treasures of humanity.

I think it’s obvious that governments in general, and individual politicians specifically, are acting increasingly more hostile to the traditional family ideal. Much of it comes from politicians knowing that people need to be part of a close-knit unit. But unfortunately for politicians, the original close-knit unit, the family, acts as a political ideological wall. It acts like a wall because parents can act as a political filter and are usually a much closer role model for their kids. But if politicians can chip away or tear down that wall, they know that people will seek the guidance from another community, one where the politicians wield more control — the government.

Politicians are human and have human weaknesses. Many are greedy and seek increases in political power. When they obtain that power, they want to keep it and grow it. That endeavor becomes easier when they have more control over the population. One such lever to increase control is to reduce the influence of a mom and dad. In other words, as the independence of the family goes down, the influence of the government increases because it fills that decision-making, rule-enforcing vacuum.

Once again, we have the Catholic faith taking the now counter-cultural view of promoting the value of the traditional family. In a world where there is a separation of church and state or an open hostility towards religion, then where else but the family will people learn and love God? When Pope Francis asks us to pray for the protection of the family, he does so to our benefit and ultimate happiness. It’s through the family that parents pass their love of God and the importance of faith to their children. It’s that love of God and reliance on Him and His grace that people find strength and motivation to not only endure life’s challenges but prosper and find a meaningful peace.

The Rosary Connection

The Fourth Joyful Mystery, The Presentation in the Temple, is a wonderful Rosary mystery to reflect on the value of family. In this mystery, Mary and Joseph impress the importance and value of living their faith and passing on those traditions to Jesus. I find it interesting that of all the events in the Gospel, this one made the cut of being worthy of a Rosary mystery. Our Mother Mary obviously wants us to understand the importance of family and sharing in God’s love with one another. Following the pope’s intention, let’s remember to pray for politicians, economists, and employers as well in respecting the importance of family.

Remember, the pope is asking us to pray for a group of people (politicians) that are currently skewing in an anti-family direction. We are essentially praying for a change of hardened hearts. Pray for the people in power when you pray the Third Luminous Mystery of the Rosary, Jesus’ Proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Call to Conversion. Remember that Jesus’ message wasn’t always well received, especially by the authorities in the Sanhedrin because it challenged their power. So too, does a free and independent family challenge modern politicians’ power. After Jesus’ resurrection, the apostles also encountered a lot of hostility establishing the early Christian Church. Saint Stephen was even martyred on the order of Jewish officials (Saul, later Saint Paul, being one of them). We too are called to the same mission as the apostles — spreading Jesus’ teachings to everyone, especially the powerful who may be hostile towards them.

The Pope’s June Intention: RESPECT

My wife and I spend a lot of time teaching our boys about respect; respecting adults as well as respecting each other. That usually means lessons about listening, responding, and following directions. When we don’t follow directions and do what is expected of us, we aren’t respecting others. We need to listen and acknowledge what people are saying and can’t ignore them. We need to understand that sometimes people have deadlines and multiple priorities and so we need to show respect by providing our full cooperation.

Pope Francis’ June intention is, “That social networks may work towards that inclusiveness which respects other for their differences.” The key word in the pope’s intention is respect. The easiest way to think about respect is to remember the Golden Rule — treat others as you want to be treated. Or, as Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Respect isn’t only about loving those we see and interact with. We also need to respect Jesus and His Church. We need to listen to Him, talk to Him, and follow His instructions. We can’t say we follow and respect Jesus if we do the opposite of how He asks us to live. By sinning, we are showing disrespect. We are like little kids ignoring our father’s directions.

Even if we’re not committing confessable sins, we still may be disrespecting Jesus by ignoring Him and not responding to His call. Are we talking to Him in prayer? Are we listening to Him? Is our relationship with Jesus something important to us and something we work on maintaining? Respect implies that we acknowledge the importance and authority someone has. How can we call ourselves one of Jesus’ disciples if we don’t routinely and honestly acknowledge His importance to us?

Social Media

In the modern world, much of our communication is online whether it be Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, email, or even just the comments section of web pages. Now ask yourself, what if Jesus was one of your “friends” or “followers” on your social networks and He read your posts? Would you be proud of them? Are you fostering a respectful environment? Note that respectful doesn’t mean always being agreeable or a pushover. It doesn’t mean compromising your values and the values of the Church. But it does mean recognizing that how you treat others is also how you treat Jesus. So if you’re not respecting others online, you’re not respecting our Lord.

The Rosary

There are many rosary mysteries to consider and meditate on when it comes to respect. For example, think about the Descent of the Holy on Pentecost (Third Glorious Mystery) and the role the Holy Spirit plays in our lives. Are you showing God the proper respect by listening to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to guide you in life? Or are you ignoring Him like a disrespectful child? The same can be said about our Mother Mary who reigns as Queen of Heaven which we pray in the Fifth Glorious Mystery. Are we listening to the guidance of our Heavenly Mother and respecting Her authority?

What about respect for Jesus in the Eucharist which we meditate on in the Fifth Luminous Mystery? Are we receiving Him in a worthy state or are we showing him disrespect by receiving Him in a state of mortal sin? And are we truly appreciating the gift which is the Eucharist and thanking God for how lucky we are to receive Him? While we may not have any mortal sins on our soul, receiving the Eucharist without much thought of its preciousness is another sign of disrespect.

Of course, we all falter and sin. We all disrespect Jesus at some point in our lives. But the good news is that Jesus is willing to forgive us and start anew through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Think of Jesus on the cross in the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery. He said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Our Lord was willing to forgive those who killed Him. He will surely forgive us for the times we haven’t respected Him.

In this month of June, let the idea of respect, particularly how you conduct yourself online, be at the forefront of your mind. Show Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and your Heavenly Mother Mary the proper respect they deserve by listening to their guidance and following Jesus’ teachings. You may not always succeed in living how Jesus directs you, but He will be proud of you when you put in the effort.

Speak Up! — What Rosary Prayer Teaches Us About Stating Intentions

Do you remember one of the early scenes in Million Dollar Baby where Client Eastwood’s character kneels in prayer next to his bed? He says something to the extent, “Lord, you know what I want, there’s no use in me repeating myself.” Boy, how often can I relate to that sentiment! I sometimes think to myself that God knows everything and definitely knows my intentions and my needs better than myself so why go through the exercise of formulating them in prayer? The Gospel reading from 10/6/16 addresses this dilemma.

Last Thursday’s Gospel reading included this popular verse from Luke:

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

The Regnum Christi website’s meditation on this Gospel reading talks about how we fall into the sin of pride when we don’t explicitly ask God for help through prayer. From their website:

When I Don’t Ask for What I Need, I Treat God as My Servant: When we expect God to give us all we need without asking, are we not placing the whole burden of our salvation on him and nothing on ourselves? Are we not in a sense being lazy? “You know what I need, Lord. Just give it to me, take care of it, while I focus on my own interests.” Not only is this laziness, it is pride, treating God like a servant whose role is to provide whatever I need. We forget he is God. Certainly God is generous and loving, willing to give us everything that is good for us; but he is still God, and he deserves our respect, adoration, and especially our gratitude.

The rosary connection to this Gospel reading is the Fifth Glorious Mystery — Mary’s Coronation as Queen of Heaven. Traditionally, the mother of a king held tremendous prestige because while a king may have multiple wives, he only has one mother. The king’s mother was referred to as the gebira. It makes sense then that Christ, being King of Heaven, would coronate his mother Mary as Queen of Heaven.

The chief responsibility of the gebira was to act as a mediator and speak on behalf of the king. When we pray the rosary, we acknowledge Mary as our mediator of our needs and intentions to her son, Jesus Christ. But she can better mediate on our behalf when we consciously and humbly come to her and ask for her help in prayer.

Crowned Madonna, Rokitno, Poland, 1671 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Think of Mary like a doctor and you are the patient. Mary is here to help you and she will do whatever she can to cure the illness of sin and bring you into God’s grace. However, she will be better able to help you if you are forthright and honest with her by humbly stating your needs in prayer. The better the patient you are, the more effective Mary can be in her role as your Queen of Heaven. When you can formulate your intentions in prayer then you will be able to understand how God responds to your request.

If you know what ails you spiritually, speak up! Because if can’t form the request in your head, how will you recognize the heavenly response?

Doing Right When Wrong is Acceptable

A while back ago I was out grocery shopping with my wife. We went to a small produce store that had a lot of its fruits and vegetables just outside the main doors along the sidewalk. As I was shopping, I noticed a man walk by who started riffling through a pile of plums before finding one that he liked. But instead of putting it in a bag or walking inside to pay for it he just continued walking along his way eating it as if he had just grabbed something from his home refrigerator.

I usually give people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he owned the store. Maybe he was a close friend of the owners. Maybe he had previously bought a bad plum and the store said he could pick a different one. But the most likely answer was that he just felt like eating a plum and they were right there on the sidewalk for the taking. The chances of getting caught were slim so why not right?

Today I read this article titled There is such a thing as a free lunch in the San Francisco Chronicle about how stores are looking the other way when it comes to shoplifting. They don’t want to confront a shoplifter because the liability and legal costs of a confrontation usually outweighs the cost of whatever is being stolen. I can’t really fault the businesses for wanting to protect themselves from thousands of dollars in legal fees or lawsuits over a $5 sandwich.

But what about the people doing the shoplifting? I don’t think these are cases like some modern-day John Valjean where someone is stealing to feed their family. As I saw at the produce store, that plum was stolen by someone who looked like they had the means to pay for it. The same goes for the people observed in the Chronicle article. If you have designer clothing or a smartphone I’m sure you can pay for a sandwich.

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The Chronicle article reminded me of an article I wrote about a while ago about the declining influence of religion in the United States. A growing segment of the society doesn’t practice any religion nor does religion and spirituality play a role in their lives (referred to as the Nones). When we have people openly shoplifting we are seeing the result of the grow influence of the Nones. By stamping out religion, governments create a moral void that can only be filled by rules, laws, and punishments. While people used to self regulate their behaviors according to an upbringing of learning what is right and wrong, we now have a population that believes something is okay if there are no immediate consequences. Because without religion, what else is there to worry about except the here and now?

But this also raises an interesting question about personal ethics. It’s becoming increasingly challenging to live morally when there are no consequences for living immorally. The problem is that the idea that there are no consequences is actually a lie. There are consequences both in this life and the next. We so often forget that God sees all and that we will one day have to account for our actions. Even if we receive mercy and forgiveness we will still need to atone for our sins in Purgatory. But there are also consequences in this world. When we don’t get in trouble for doing wrong, we tend to do more wrong. And this becomes a slippery slope that can have dire consequences if we go too far down the wrong path. When we pray the rosary, let’s ask God for the wisdom to understand the temporal and eternal consequences of our actions and the strength to always do the right thing.

Rosary Intentions

Let’s now look at the rosary, particularly the Glorious Mysteries. I’m going to try something a little different. Instead of diving deep into a particular mystery, I’m going to give you some ideas for rosary prayer intentions that you can meditate on. My goal is that you’ll be able to better integrate what you read on RosaryMeds into your rosary prayer routine.

The Resurrection: Jesus rose to new life proving that there is more to our existence than this world. We pray for the changing of heart and behavior of those who live only for the here and now.
The Ascension: Jesus ascended into Heaven and sits at the right of God as our final judge. We pray for mercy on those who live in sin that they may change their ways and seek forgiveness before standing before Jesus Christ.
Pentecost: The Holy Spirit infused the apostles with strength to preach the truth in a world that didn’t want to hear it. We pray that we let the Holy Spirit guide us in living morally and according to the truth regardless of the norms of society.
The Assumption: God assumed Mary into Heaven because He had a special plan for her — to act as our guide and bring us closer to her son Jesus Christ. May we listen to Mary’s messages that call us to pray, fast, and receive the sacraments because they will lead us to true happiness.
Mary’s Coronation: Mary sits as Queen of Heaven. We ask for her intercession, especially for those in most need of God’s mercy.

Need more rosary prayer ideas? Download my free ebook.

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