Spiritual Life

April is the Month of the Holy Eucharist

[Due to personal circumstances, this month’s post will be brief.]

We continue with Lent, culminating in the amazing spiritual blessings of Holy Week and the Easter Triduum. Let us receive abundant graces and give the Most Holy Trinity our very best this year, so we may be deserving of the glorious celebration of the Resurrection of Our Lord…and in so-doing may experience our own resurrections!

How may we honor the Holy Eucharist this month? A few ideas: try to receive more devoutly and attentively, it is so easy to take the Eucharist for granted…there are countless Eucharistic prayers to learn…Eucharistic reading…and one of the most difficult things is to defend the Holy Eucharist from sacrilege, since this tragically has become so prevalent-if you know someone who is receiving and probably shouldn’t be, pray on how you might address this with this person…you may also know someone who isn’t receiving and should be-scrupulosity is a terrible problem for some people and can deprive them of a lifetime of grace-sometimes these problems require great patience and continued prayer, but don’t give up hope!

Here is the traditional calendar for this month of April: calefactory.org

8th Day of Christmas

The Eight Beatitudes

From Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount

1 ~ Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

2 ~ Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.

3 ~ Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

4 ~ Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.

5 ~ Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

6 ~ Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.

7 ~ Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God.

8 ~ Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

For more on the “Sermon on the Mount,” please see Lesson 4, Part 2B-Prepper Rosary Program.

Partial artwork by Bill Bell-buy here!

7th Day of Christmas

Fortitude ~ Temperance ~ Faith ~ Charity ~ Hope ~ Justice ~ Prudence

The Seven (Traditional) Virtues

The Three Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope & Charity

The Four Cardinal Virtues: Fortitude, Temperance, Justice & Prudence

There are also the Seven Capital Virtues: Chastity, Generosity, Temperance, Brotherly Love, Meekness, Humility & Diligence

Catholic Bible 101: The Virtues

The paintings above, “The Seven Virtues,” were commissioned by a 15th century Italian courthouse. Strangely, the first, “Fortitude,” was painted by Sandro Botticelli (it is considered his first masterpiece) and the rest by Piero and Antonio Pollaiuolo. For a wonderful article, with detailed descriptions and theological discussion, please see portraitofasometimeslady.com.

3rd Day of Christmas

“The Adoration of the Magi,” oil painting by Albrecht Dürer, 1504, the Uffizi, Florence, Italy

The Three Magi: Caspar, Melchior & Balthasar

We three kings of orient are

Hymn by John Henry Hopkins, Jr.-1857, YouTube notes include lyrics

Image from Britannica

2nd Day of Christmas

The Two Testaments

The Old Testament

The New Testament

Image courtesy Mother of Our Savior, Inc, where you can buy it!

Take the 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS Journey with Us!

Each day we will provide links dealing with a theological concept corresponding to that particular day (5th Day of Christmas: 5 Books of the Pentateuch). This can be done with the whole family as a way to nourish your knowledge and appreciation of the Catholic Faith during this time between Christmas and Epiphany. (We will also post the traditional Blessing of the Home on Epiphany.) These activities don't need to be time-consuming. Links will be provided to a variety of media and resources...you take the ball and run with it. So, let’s get started…..

Thankful for the Sacrament of Penance

The Sacrament of Penance, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia:

“Penance is a sacrament of the New Law instituted by Christ in which forgiveness of sins committed after baptism is granted through the priest's absolution to those who with true sorrow, confess their sins and promise to satisfy for the same. It is called a sacrament, not simply a function or ceremony, because it is an outward sign instituted by Christ to impart grace to the soul.”

Click on the link above for a rather exhaustive study of this topic. Contemplating and learning more about this great gift of Holy Church, is an appropriate way to begin the Season of Advent, a new Liturgical Year. In a culture that approaches the Birth of Our Lord with nothing but materialism, never giving sin a second thought, how much more should we do so…not only for our own benefit, but to make reparation to Him.

Having celebrated the American holiday of Thanksgiving last week, and having made a recent confession, my mind has been turned to a sense of gratitude for the Sacrament of Penance…especially after having witnessed the unthinkable last year, its prohibition in many places. In a land where there is still plenty, let us remain grateful for all the Church offers and not lose sight that it is the spiritual riches which are most important.

Several weeks ago, I decided to confess at a local church I had not been to for a while. I knew some churches were still abandoning the confessionals due to Covid, but I hoped for the best. I got a sinking feeling when I saw 2 tables decked out with hand sanitizer and blue tape over the holy water fonts. At least there were no dividers in the pews. I forged on to find there were 2 priests doing face-to-face confessions only. I was disappointed, complained to one of them (he was stunned and not very friendly), and left. I will also tell you, there were no lines for these confessions. The church was almost empty.

The following week, I tried another local church, known for being conservative. Jackpot! There was one priest hearing normal confession and the line was quite long. Give the people what they want and they will come! The more traditional churches will probably thrive in the coming days and the more “modern” will just dry up, like their fonts. I was also very happy to see several young people and children confessing. I felt I was home, where I belong and with my people. I am deeply thankful to God that this can still be found in the New York area.

Some final thoughts: We all have difficulty sometimes in the spiritual life. If you have been away from confession and have a fear of going, please just give it over to Our Blessed Lord, place it in His hands and know that He can do what you cannot. He can overcome all things. With His strength you can face a difficult confession, get through it and come out the other side unbelievably joyful! It’s the best Christmas present you could give yourself…and those you love, because being happy and at peace is the best gift you could give to them. Maybe you are the kind of person who stays away due to scrupulosity. Maybe you feel you must re-confess things or the whole process is too overwhelming for you. Again, please take this to Our Lord and He will fix it. Ask in His Name for help and you WILL receive it!

"If you shall ask Me any thing in My Name, that I will do."

John 14:14

10 Reasons to Purge Your Home

Marie Kondo, famed home organizer, tells you to ask yourself, “Does it spark joy?” Here’s a different question…

C o u l d i t E x i s t i n H e a v e n ?

You may not know I have been blogging since about 2008. The original URL and title was “futurecatholic.net”. This URL still exists and directs to this current site. You also may not know that what you thought was gone from the internet may still be accessible at Wayback Machine. It’s hard to lose your past these days. My writing included more “conspiracy” stuff back then and when I started this site, I decided I should be less controversial. Since Covid, it doesn’t matter anymore. We now must all choose a side. So…I don’t care if you go back and look at it. Have fun with that!

Anyway, the point was, I posed the question above on the old site and got some flack for it. I recall someone saying this was too perfectionistic. Well, my only response to that is…

"Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect."

Matthew 5:48

Gonna argue with Him? For about the past 6 months, I’ve been purging and organizing my house. If you think I must be close to done, you think wrong, my friend! I do hope to step up the productivity in the coming months because it’s going way too slow. So far, I have worked mostly on books, papers, clothing and records (those things you used to spin and they would make music). Each type of item presents its own challenges, both emotionally and spiritually.

First of all, why purge at all? 10 reasons:

1) Your home will be more spacious and much easier to clean.

2) You will be better prepared if you need to suddenly move.

3) You will become more organized in the process, which is key to preparedness.

4) You will be letting go of things, helping you to confront emotional issues.

5) You will probably be ridding your family of sinful influences (and receiving graces for it!).

6) You will be giving to the needy.

7) You will be reducing pests.

8) De-cluttering your main residence can help you stock a remote location.

9) You can teach family members to do the same (and this can be great family-time as well!).*

10) You can bring in some income if you can sell some of it.

11) Bonus Reason: You will have more room for your important prepper supplies.

There are a few above points I’d like to expound upon…

#2: Moving-It is now time to begin creating our holy refuges, prophesied about by the mystics. If you don’t see why, pray on it and look around with a new set of eyes-this has been a long time coming. We can expect anything and everything from this point forward, as the New World Order advances its war on humanity and the Church. For a variety of reasons, you may find yourself needing to move suddenly. Being prepared to show your home and having less to pack will be much to your advantage.

#4: Letting Go-Many people never de-clutter because they do not want to deal with the memories and emotions that will come up. They may not even be consciously aware of this. The result is living in continued dysfunction and unfairly passing it all on to your children. This can create enormous stress and expense for them, on top of having to deal with death issues and selling a house. The fact is, those emotions belong to you. Dealing with them is part of your life journey and there is healing in the process. This summer, I finally went through my son’s baby clothes. It was hard. I cried. Much of it was still in good condition and we gave it to our local Saint Vincent de Paul thrift store. Physically holding the clothes in my hands, washing them, folding them one last time and sending them off to be worn by a new baby…it was a “letting go” ritual. It was something I needed to do and I feel so enriched by it. This is the kind of life experience that makes you are deeper, more sensitive person. And it helps you go on in a healthier state. As you continue to go through things, you will get stronger and come out the other side transformed. (Let me just say, if you super have trouble getting rid of something, that’s okay!-as long as its the exception and not the rule.)

#5: Sinful Influences-This one brings us to our question above, “Could it exist in Heaven?” What really happened on the Cross? When we die, we will see above all, that this life was not a joke. In this “Age of Separation” upon us, we must begin to see with greater clarity, the true corruption of the world. The world is regarding us more and more as enemies. It must go both ways. Let the separation begin. If we wait until these “precious” things are wrenched from our hands, we will have squandered any grace that could have been obtained by voluntarily letting go. We must secure mercy at this hour. We must make ourselves worthy to inherit the new world after all the dust settles. “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph!”

This issue came up heavily when I was going through my records. In my youth, they meant everything to me. I would not have been able to conceive that one day I would be tossing them in the trash. I held myself to about the hardest standard, discarding those with only one offensive song or an immodest image. If the good is tethered to the evil, it must be cast into the fire with it. We can allow nothing corrupt to harm the little ones who will take refuge with us. The new world must be pure before God’s Heavenly Throne. After trashing most of them, I was left with folk, classical, “ambient” and some benign pop music. I was amazed how easy it was. After doing the baby clothes, I feel I can do anything. Another thing-corrupt items must be thrown out, no matter how valuable they are. Passing on the evil does no good. This is the kind of thing that separates the men from the boys in the spiritual realm.

#7: Pests-Didn’t know we had mice in the attic. Now I do.

#8: Remote Location-If you have a summer house or another property, some of the items you find may do well in that location. For a summer house, that extra veggie peeler or old vacuum could be useful and help save money. If you rent another property, you may wish to store some things there in a locked area.

When considering what to do with possessions you no longer need, it can help to think outside the box. For instance, I traded some of my books at a local used bookstore. The 2 books I wound up getting were on traditional woodworking and organic gardening. K-ching! Books I can really use going forward (and they are good hardcover ones). As for my experience purging piles of papers, we actually have a new usable chair in the dining room and it is so refreshing to be able to find something quickly and easily in my files. There are countless resources and systems out there now for de-cluttering. Half the battle is getting started, then you just need to incorporate it into your routine. If you’re really having difficulty, as with everything else, pray on it!

*Unless you’ve got hoarders in your family, in which case it will be “Dysfunctional Family Thanksgiving on steroids.”