The Ultimate Lenten Exercise

How much does God love us?  What is the Father's most precious possession?  His Only-Begotten Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Whom He gave to us.  Whom He sacrificed for us.  In a most terrible way.  Not only that.  He keeps sacrificing Him....until the end of time....in the Holy Eucharist.  Christ literally is held within people's hands.  You may or may not agree with Communion in the hand, but the fact is, the Church allows it.....so He allows it.  Complete vulnerability.  His Body, Soul and Divinity.  Its difficult to even comprehend.

So the point is...what is your most precious possession?  Think about it.  Meditate on it.  It may not take you long.....or it may take a few minutes.  Would you be willing to offer this to God?  Would you be willing to appropriately reciprocate His love?  This is the ultimate Lenten exercise, the real proof of your love for God.  Better than giving up some worldly pleasure.  Better than any prayer or devotion.  Better than spending all day on Good Friday in church. 

Will you give Him your most precious, prized possession?

And it doesn't mean He will even ask for it.  That's not the point.  Would you give it if He asked for it?  Can you do this?

Random Thoughts.....

Sometimes, by the time I get around to writing about something, it's already old news.  Its amazing these days, how a big event could take place and literally a week later, no one is talking about it.  So, what's the stupid old news I want to provide a random thought about?  The Oscars.  Yes, stupid and old.  The night they were on, I was sitting in a booth in an Italian restaurant waiting for my veggie pizza and there it was, on the big screen right in front of me.  For a moment, I had a macabre fascination, like rubber-necking when you pass a car accident.  You just can't help yourself, even though you know you might see something you don't want to.  When I finally came to my senses, I moved to the other side of the booth and felt a great sense of relief, like I had just been dangling off the edge of a cliff and someone rescued me.  After all, why would I be interested in watching a bunch of creepy people giving themselves awards?  They don't have the great sacrament of Penance.  All they can do to assuage their guilt is praise themselves.  When we don't worship God anymore, we make men our gods.  Do they know how foolish they look?  Grown women posing in their princess dresses like 4-year-olds, our modern-day clowns and jesters (freak show might be more like it) preaching to us about politics, a collection of drug-addicts and adulterers, people who can't even run their own lives, telling us what we should think.  Theater....of the absurd.....

This is what the world does to us....its like a many-tentacled evil octopus (yes, I just said that-go easy on me-I'm trying to get through this day without Advil)....attacking us from all angles, even when we are innocently waiting for a pizza, reaching around our throats.  We must use our heavenly sword to cut the tentacles, free ourselves....the fact is, we are indeed dangling off a cliff....and below is hellfire.  If it were an actual cliff, would you go right up to the edge?  Or would you stay far from the edge?  We must remind ourselves, in this increasingly pagan, atheistic culture, of the spiritual dangers all around us.  What is the true answer?  I believe the answer is radical:  a new culture.  But that's another post for another day!

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How do I know there is a God?  Coffee.  Its the thing that gets me out of bed in the morning.  When I take those first few sips of that divine liquid, hot and fresh....yes, I know there must be a God.  If you're not a coffee drinker....no idea what you're missing!

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And another morning contemplation:  There is a sparkling white marble staircase that leads straight to Heaven.  Each and every day, we as faithful Roman Catholics, ascend one step higher...now that's exciting!  Better than coffee and better than....the Oscars!

In God's Image and Likeness...

We are fundamentally social creatures.  We are not meant to be alone.  The Father decided that Adam should have a "helper" and that they should bear children.  All sins are considered by the Church to be sins against the community, that is one reason we confess.  We are not even meant to keep our deepest and darkest secrets to ourselves.  This is how much we are woven into the fabric of humanity.  Many of our challenges in this testing ground which determines our eternal fate, called earth, involve how we relate to others, how much we love them....how much we are willing to put our own desires aside.  So why did God make us social creatures?  Because HE is fundamentally "social" in His own nature, three in one, Father, Son and Holy Ghost....because we are made in His Image and Likeness.  Its not a perfect comparison, but it is significant.

Happy Valentine's Day.  Saint Valentine, pray for us.  Lord have mercy on us for our sins against chastity.  May we, in our own small way, console Your Heart on this day by remaining pure in mind and body.  May we continue to be a witness to the virtue of chastity, especially to our young people.  Amen.

Waiting for the Miracle?

Leonard Cohen, may he rest in peace, has a song called "Waiting for the Miracle."  The protagonist asserts that there is "nothing left to do" when things have reached an all-time low.  The only option for him is to "go on waiting for the miracle to come."  I don't envy this person.  He does not know....the miracle has come.  And it is all around him.

Christ did not come and go.  He came and stayed.  The Most Blessed Sacrament lies in every tabernacle.  This is the Miracle.  And the only Miracle that matters.

So next time you feel completely lost, completely emptied, completely bereft.  Remember despair has no place in the Catholic soul.  It may feel like your last shred of sanity...appeal to this Miracle which you have received in Holy Communion.  And He will do the rest.

The 12 Days of Christmas / Epiphany of Our Lord

Happy New Year and I hope all of you, wherever you are in the world, have had a wonderful Christmas!  I have been having computer problems, so I am behind on my posts.  I was going to write about the 12 Days of Christmas in a more timely manner, but now they are over, and we have arrived today at the Epiphany of Our Lord in the traditional calendar.  The Epiphany is celebrated this Sunday in the new calendar.  I have several other posts in the works, including the Month of January-will get that up as soon as possible!

About the 12 Days of Christmas, I wanted to share an idea I have been doing with my family for a number of years now.  I think I came up with this idea on my own and have written about it previously.  You may be aware of the theory that the song "The 12 Days of Christmas" originated as a covert teaching tool in England, during the persecution of Catholics.  I am not concerned about the theory itself, nor even the song.  What does concern me is the re-creation of authentic Catholic culture for our times.  What is wrong with creating new traditions?  I think we are at such an hour in history, when we must take the bull by the horns and move things forward aggressively (moving forward may at times require that we look back-if you have taken the wrong fork, you must go back before you can truly go forward). 

It is sad that the 12 Days of Christmas have largely been forgotten and no one seems to know how to celebrate them anyway.  One idea is to discuss points of the Faith on each of the 12 Days, that correspond to the particular number of the day.  You can be creative with it.  For instance, Day 3 could be about the Holy Trinity or the Three Theological Virtues.  Day 7, you could discuss the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost or the Seven Deadly Sins.  In addition, you can say prayers and sing songs that also correspond to the topic of the day....the song "Holy Holy Holy" for the Holy Trinity....or a Litany to the Holy Ghost for the Seven Gifts.  The possibilities are endless and you can have a lot of fun with it!  So, now that the 12 Days of Christmas are over, just thought I'd share that idea:)

As for the Epiphany, there is a beautiful traditional Blessing of the Home that you can find online, which includes writing above your doorway with blessed chalk.  We must give our children something to love about the Faith....real, concrete ways to BE Catholic that they in turn will continue with their own children.  And these practices enrich life so much and add a dimension to life that simply cannot be fulfilled through any secular pursuit.  This is what the world does not understand:  that all things pale in comparison to the Holy Faith, the Body of Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.  This is what we must show them.  Love demands it!

More on Father Alfred Delp.....

[Originally published December 11, 2015.]

I gave a brief introduction to Fr. Alfred Delp and the book Advent of the Heart in [a previous post]. Advent was a topic that concerned Fr. Delp throughout his life (1907-1945). It became a metaphor for his own experience "waiting" for the end of the terrifying Nazi regime. In his case, Christmas became his own martyrdom, when he encountered, not a porcelain baby in a creche, but Christ Himself as the Second Person of the Beatific Vision. Almost in anticipation of this extraordinary journey, his preaching and writings on the subject were gripping theological genius...and very appropriate for our own times. It is ironic that the United States of America, rolling into Germany in 1945 with her tanks of salvation, would one day need so desperately this martyr's words of warning and instruction.

The book divides into the 4 weeks of Advent, with appropriate selections of Fr. Delp's writings. It is a wonderful way to celebrate the Season of Advent, but not at all for the faint-hearted. If you take these writings to heart, they will challenge and change you in the most fundamental, deep ways. So....consider yourself warned. As it states in the introduction to Saint Louis de Montfort's The Secret of Mary, these words will exact a responsibility from you:

"...beware, then, of remaining inactive...it would turn into a poison and be your condemnation."

To proceed, I'd like to offer a few brief excerpts from the various introductions to Advent of the Heart, which I feel are essential to the understanding of Fr. Delp:

"Delp wrote the 1944 meditations in Tegel Prison, usually while his hands were in handcuffs. These meditations were smuggled out of the prison as seret messages...

This book presents Advent sermons from Father Delp's parish work in Munich, alongside the powerful messages from his prison Advent experience of 1944...

Their roughness evokes a powerful sense of immediacy rooted in the suffering and danger of the times."

Fr. Delp was originally arrested for suspicion of having knowledge of the attempt on Hitler's life which took place on July 20, 1944.....

"Although all charges related to the assassination attempt were dropped, the irreconcilable opposition of Christianity to Nazism became the focus of the proceedings...Delp was convicted of high treason and sentenced to death by hanging."

Dear Father Alfred Delp, pray for us!

Advent of the Heart, Writings of Fr. Alfred Delp, Martyr under Hitler

I'm very busy for the next few weeks, so I will re-publish some posts from last advent, dealing with the amazing writings of Fr. Alfred Delp....here goes....

[The following was originally posted on November 29, 2015.]

There is an INCREDIBLE book by Ignatius Press, compilations of Fr. Alfred Delp, martyr under the Nazis, entitled Advent of the Heart: Seasonal Sermons & Prison Writings, 1941-1944. It takes us week by week through Advent....and believe me, with this book, you will not be the same person when you arrive at the creche on Christmas Day. I will be posting some quotes from this book throughout Advent. No better time than today to begin. Here are excerpts from Fr. Delp's "Homily for the First Sunday of Advent Preached in Munich, November 28, 1943" (remember the words you are about to read, this man was killed for).....

"There is nothing more blessed in life than true waiting."

"Man is truly human only when he transcends himself."

"We should discover life and its fundamental order."

"This should be our first Advent light: to understand everything, all that happens to us and all that threatens us, from the perspective of life's character of waiting."

"God enters only His own rooms, where someone is always keeping watch for Him."

"Other values of secondary importance impose themselves, making life inauthentic and bringing it under an alien law and an alien paradigm."

Image courtesy amazon.com

A Strange Dream About the Blessed Virgin...

First of all, I want to impress upon you, how unusual it is for me to write about something like this.  In 8 years of blogging, I don't think I've ever written about a dream of mine.  But this dream I had recently was so extraordinary, I just felt I had to share it.  I'm going to write this sort of "stream of consciousness."  So here it is, for what it's worth....

Such a community of love we have here, getting ready for her to come, like she said she would.  Such a celebration!  The food, the festivities, the togetherness, comradery.  It is so beautiful and she hasn't even come yet!  But we will be properly prepared for her.  We will give the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of God, the reception she deserves.  We will make it the greatest feast!  But we cannot tell the priests.  They do not know the real reason we are celebrating.  They would laugh at us.  How glorious it will be when we see her!

There is so much to do....we are not ready.  So much still to do!  If things are not right, she may not appear.  I have to try.  I have to get it all right.  We are running so late.  Everyone is gathered around the beautiful area....waiting.  So many people.  But we are not quite ready and suddenly.....

A stillness.  It draws me in.  I stop everything, though I am not ready!  It draws me in.  A great stillness, a great quiet, an extraordinary beauty and peace, such as I have never felt nor comprehended before!  The very air is changed.  It is like...Heaven?  But she is not here.  She does not appear.  Why?  Please come, dear Mother!  She does not come.

Perhaps we have failed.  We were not ready.  We disappointed her.  Why did she not come?  I am saddened.  Such work, such preparation....and for what?  We will make the best of it.  We have all this food!  But she did not come.  I wonder why.

Upon waking from this dream, I still felt the sadness that the Blessed Mother did not appear as she said she would.  I related the dream to my dear husband and do you know what he said?  "She did come. That was the moment of peace and beauty you felt.  But you were so wrapped up in what you thought you had to do, you didn't realize it."

Wow.  Maybe he was right.

Month of the Holy Rosary: Do you have difficulty praying it?

October is the Month of the Most Holy Rosary.  If you have not been praying it, there are still 8 days left!  If you're having difficulty getting around to it, please read this post and see if any of this resonates with you.....

5 Reasons Why We Should Pray the Rosary

1) The Mother of God has Requested it-What better reason could there be?  Our Lady gave the Holy Rosary to Saint Dominic and has continued through history, to request that it be prayed.  At Fatima, she implored, "Pray the Rosary every day."  She has given 15 Promises to those who pray the Rosary.  The following 4 reasons come from her own list!

2)  Protection and Graces-The first Promise Our Lady gives is this:  "To all those who shall recite my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and very great graces."

3)  Armor Against Hell-"The Rosary will be a very powerful armor against Hell.  It will destroy vice, deliver from sin and dispel heresy."

4)  Improves Earthly Life and Obtains Mercy-"The Rosary will make virtue and good works flourish and will obtain for souls the most abundant Divine Mercies.  It will substitute in hearts love of God for love of the world, and elevate them to desire heavenly and eternal good.  O that souls would sanctify themselves by this means!"

5)  Eternal Salvation-"Those who shall recite my Rosary piously, considering its Mysteries, will not be overwhelmed by misfortune nor die a bad death.  The sinner will be converted, the just will grow in grace and become worthy of eternal life."

5 Reasons Why We Don't & the Solutions

1)  Time-In this profoundly inauthentic life that we are living today, we are pulled in many directions and the spiritual life is not made a priority.  Our Lord said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you." (Luke 12:31)  We must place the Kingdom of Heaven first, above all earthly concerns.  We all need to examine our lives and ask God how we can do things differently and re-structure our days.  Praying one of the Mysteries (5 decades) of the Rosary should only take about 15 minutes.  If we really do not have that much time, praying only one decade is an option.  It is understandable, some people (think of a mother with 8 children-or any children for that matter!) may be so busy that they cannot find the time and simply fall into bed at night, completely exhausted.  Chances are, if this is you, you are also pretty wound up mentally at this point!  Meditating on just one Mystery as you fall asleep will be a gift to Our Mother, which she will hold precious to her heart.  And it will probably help you fall asleep!

2)  Difficulty Establishing Habit-Even though the Rosary does not take much time, it may seem daunting before you have established the habit.  If this is the case, starting with only one decade will help break the ice.  Get used to praying one decade and then systematically add a decade until you are praying all 5 Mysteries!  Take a time of day when you have a relaxed space of time to pray...for some, this may be the morning (if you're an early bird!), for some, mid-day or evening.  Just stick with it and know that you've got Heaven on your side!

3)  Difficulty Praying Alone-Admittedly, praying the Rosary alone is an intensely internal experience.  Of course, you are never REALLY alone, for all of Heaven is at your side.  But for some, praying alone is difficult.  Many churches have groups which pray the Rosary after daily Mass.....or, pray it as a family.  Another option is to start your own Rosary group at your church or home.  You can be creative!  Rosary praying can be done with children, focused on a particular intention or combined with other activities, such as crafts, Scripture reading or learning religious songs.

4)  Lack of Comfortable Space-For some, the problem may be as simple as having no place to pray.  If you want to pray during your lunch hour at work, think about finding a quiet spot in another area of the building or perhaps outside.  Don't be embarrassed to be seen praying your Rosary!  You are giving a great witness to others and may even be instrumental in someone's conversion.  At home, there may be constant distractions around you.  Your bedroom may be no help if you are not comfortable sitting up in bed.  Every home should have a quiet place where prayer can take place.  You can devote a small room to this, your basement or part of a room.  It's a great place to display statues and other religious art and objects.  It should also be a comfortable place to be.  Soft chairs and soft light, maybe some floor pillows....an inviting, welcoming, peaceful space.  A place your family will want to be, where the spiritual life can be cultivated.  This prayer space will stand in direct contrast to all the electronics, bells, whistles and distractions, much of which is unholy, that this culture makes us think we need.

5)  Scrupulosity-The reason some of us don't pray the Holy Rosary more often, may be that we feel we don't pray it perfectly.  We expect so much of ourselves that we become discouraged and lose motivation.  The solution is to accept that no human being is perfect and that includes you.  We get distracted, our thoughts wander, we might be sleepy.  THAT'S OKAY!  Who's to say that these even are imperfections?  God uses our humanity to humble us, to break us, to refine us, to learn to trust HIM.  So if scrupulosity is your problem:  Get over yourself!  See "Difficulty Establishing Habit" above.  Starting small may help you to get started....and trust in God, not in yourself.

What a better place the world would be if from pole to pole the Holy Rosary resounded from every home to the Heavens!

Please note, I do allow all my posts to be shared via internet, email or printed, as long as this website is included.  Feel free to distribute this or any of my posts.  CM

Image courtesy http://blogs.nd.edu/oblation/2011/05/06/teaching-catholic-practice-praying-the-rosary-with-middle-school-students/

Categories, etc......

FYI-in case you haven't figured this out, if you click on any of the categories at the top of each post (for instance, this post has two categories:  "General" and "Spiritual Life"), you will get all posts with that category.  I realize a side-bar with a list of all the categories would be AWESOME!  And how about a "Search" button?  And there are a lot of other improvements we need to make.  The problem is, that I have had difficulty finding the time to do these things and when I do have the time, I have difficulty figuring out HOW to do these things.  It should be easy, right?  This isn't my first blog.  Yes, I agree it should be easy but for some reason, it ISN'T.  I don't want to say bad things about Squarespace-maybe I'm just not smart enough or maybe I'm not paying enough $ to get these deluxe features....I don't know!  Anyway, I want to reassure you that I am working on these improvements and you should see something happening in the coming days.......

I hope.

BTW, do you know what this coming Thursday is???

The 99th Anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima! 

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us! 

Dear Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, pray for us!

I also wanted to mention that my husband and I have, in honor of the feast of Saint Faustina this month, been praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet Novena.  Its also quite appropriate during this Respect Life "Moved by Mercy" Month (see previous post) and in these final days of the Jubilee Year of Mercy.  The Chaplet Novena is such a blessing to pray.  The first time we prayed it, guess what we found out on the final day....That I was pregnant with our son (after a number of "negative" tests), our only child!  (We also visited the Divine Mercy Shrine in Massachusetts on our honeymoon, which was only two months earlier.)  If you are a devout Catholic, this is no surprise to you-you already know that God often gives us these little signs!  CM:)