(St. Thomas Beckett Church in Veneta, Oregon)

Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Holy Face of Jesus both revolve around the idea of making reparation. Making up to Our Lord, through our love and sympathy and personal repentance, for all the sins of the world. But did you ever think of the fact that the worse this crazy world of ours gets, the more Our Lord appreciates it personally when we make reparation to Him?

E. Seton, in her 1915 book, Devotion to the Holy Face, tells us that Our Lord said the following words to St. Gertrude:

"A kindness shown to men in the time of adversity is more acceptable than in the time of prosperity; so I the more gratefully accept this fidelity which is shown to Me when the world is especially persecuting Me with sin."

He also told St. Gertrude:

"I, to Whom the Father has committed all judgment, shall faithfully render to every one after his death 'good' measure for all the labors of his pious works, and shall add moreover the measure 'pressed down' of My most salutary Passion and Death, whereby all man's merit is marvelously ennobled, I will take them with this record to the Father, that He also, out of the omnipotence of His paternal kindness, may superadd to them His measure 'shaken together and running over' for these benefits kindly done to Me in this persecution which worldly men during these days harass Me."

So if we offer our meditations, prayers and sacrifices in reparation to Our Lord for all the sins committed against Him, particularly in the form of blasphemy, He will reward us, and recompense us even more because we did it during a time of terrible sin in the world.

When we receive Our dear Lord in Holy Communion, or in a spiritual communion if we can't get to the church, we often picture Him as a visitor to the home of our heart. Maybe we picture Him as a shivering Baby in the stable, or as a beautiful Toddler, or even as the dusty Preacher going up and down the streets of Palestine, needing some lunch at the home in Bethany. But here is what E. Seton says about the tumultous times we live in...

"Yes, our dear Lord comes to us, as [He] once [did] to St. Gertrude at Carnival time, worn, mud-stained and bleeding, begging, 'Open your heart, My daughter, I want to go in and lie down. I am weary of these days of sin.'"

***

Will you let Him come in and lie down in your heart? 

Happy St. Michael's Day,

or in England - Michaelmas!

(Stained-glass window in St. Thomas Beckett Church in Veneta, Oregon)

We read in the Apocalypse chapter 12, verses 7-10:

"And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels: And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world; and he was cast unto the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.  And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth..."

A wonderful Irishwoman named Katherine Tynan (later Katherine Tynan Hickson after marriage) was born in Clondalkin, County Dublin, in 1859. They say that William Butler Yeats proposed to her and was rejected! :) She was also friendly with Father Gerard Manley Hopkins, another great literary man. This Katherine Tynan, mother of three, was the author of my favorite work on today's saint... a short poem entitled simply "Michael the Archangel". I've reproduced it here....

Not woman-faced and sweet, as look <---- definitely not!
The angels in the picture-book;
But terrible in majesty,
More than an army passing by.

His hair floats not upon the wind 
Like theirs, but curled and closely twined;
Wrought with his aureole, so that none
Shall know the gold curls from the crown.

His wings he hath put away in steel, <---- ooh, I love that part!
He goes mail-clad from head to heel;
Never moon-silver hath outshone
His breastplate and his morion.

His brows are like a battlement, <----- isn't this verse great?
Beautiful, brave and innocent;
His eyes with fires of battle burn --
On his strong mouth the smile is stern.

His horse, the horse of Heaven, goes forth,
Bearing him off to South and North,
Neighing far off, as one that sees
The battle over distances.

His fiery sword is never at rest,
His foot is in the stirrup prest;
Through all the world where wrong is done
Michael the Soldier rideth on. <---- oh, yes!

Michael, Commander! Angels are
That sound the trumpet and that bear
The banners by the Throne, where is
The King one nameth on his knees.

Angels there are of peace and prayers,
And they that go with wayfarers,
And they that watch the house of birth,
And they that bring the dead from earth.

And mine own Angel. Yet I see,
Heading God's army gloriously,
Michael Archangel, like a sun,
Splendid beyond comparison!

Oh how we need this mighty angel in our own day, to defend us from the wiles of Satan!
St. Michael, come to our assistance!

Here's the rest of that window...showing the dragon! Happy Michaelmas, everyone!

Going to Confession

(Palais D'Isle, a prison in Annecy, France, where St. Francis de Sales used to hear Confessions)

Have you ever felt afraid of going to Confession? If you are a non-Catholic, have you ever wondered why anybody would want to do such a thing? When a humble and sincere and penitent confession of one's sins is made to an ordained priest of God, especially a general confession of one's whole life, peace, joy and light flood the soul. The priest raises his hand in absolution and uses the power Christ gave him to forgive sins, saying the words in Latin that begin, "Absolvo te" - I absolve you....of your sins...in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Maybe you are a Catholic and you go to Confession regularly, but can't imagine how difficult it would be to make a general confession of your whole life. Doing one during a retreat is one of the most cathartic and extreme experiences you can imagine, especially if it is your first time doing it. I'd like to share with you today this tidbit that Bishop Jean Pierre Camus wrote about his friend St. Francis de Sales:

"A personal friend of the Bishop brought himself at a great cost to make a general confession of his past life, and, deeply touched with its earnestness and sincerity, Francis expressed some such feeling to the penitent."'You speak thus to comfort me,' was the answer, 'but you cannot really feel any esteem for so great a sinner.'"'I should be a very Pharisee,' Francis replied, 'if I held you as such now that you are absolved. You are as white as snow in my eyes, pure as Naaman issuing forth from Jordan, and I love you tenfold...I see you changed by God's Hand from a vessel of impurity to one of sanctification. Our Lord did not alter His intention of building His Church upon St. Peter because of that Apostle's fall, regarding his repentance and his tears rather than his sin. Nor can I refrain from sharing the joy of the angels over the conversion and cleansing of your dear heart. Believe me, your tears have refreshed my soul, and I love you in proportion as you love God.' This penitent left the tribunal so touched that he told a friend no earthly pleasure could be so sweet as such a confession."

(The coastline of Maine)

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini wrote:

"Be faithful to what you have undertaken, try to understand the prodigies of love which God has worked in you, learn the language of the Saints, who, on gazing at the heavens, earth and sea, and the starry firmament, repeated within themselves that holy refrain, 'Love God and serve Him with fidelity.'"

'Try to understand the prodigies of love which God has worked in you'...one could definitely spend some time contemplating that one...especially if one were gazing at the ocean, or the stars, or the mountains, or whatever is the beautiful scenery in your part of the world. Our Lord has said that He will continue the work He has begun in us, if only we cooperate.

Let us think today about the prodigies of love He has worked in us.....and remember to serve Him with joy, gladness, and faithfulness.

(An unusual Paschal candle, depicting Mary Magdalene with Our Lord in the Resurrection Garden)

After the Virgin Mary, St. Mary Magdalene could be said to be one of the first to have a Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus. After her conversion, she wanted only to sit at His Feet, gaze up into His Face, and listen to His every word. Each look, each word, that came from Him was just what she needed for her soul. And so it is with us as well...

Here's another moving excerpt from my interlibrary loan...

"The cultivation of special love and devotion to the human Face of God our Savior must of necessity bring to the soul a very world of grace. It is the gaze of the soul upon God..."

E. Seton, in her 1915 book, "Devotion to the Holy Face" reminds us that looking into His Face and loving Him is what this whole life is about: living our lives so that we may look into His Face for real in the next life. Then she gives this uplifting view of the end of the world for those who have looked into His Face in prayer and meditation and love throughout their lives...

"What a joy, therefore, will the vision of the Face they have loved and served devotedly on earth, to which they have offered treasured reparation, what a joy will It be in Heaven to Its adorers! It shall be their everlasting Inheritance -- for this is the 'Treasure of the elect' - their secure Possession, Mary's part which 'shall not be taken from her.' 'The "many things" of earth that absorbed the troubled attention of Martha will pass away when the earth is folded up as a garment. Medicine ceases with the grave. Astronomy fades with the stars that fall from heaven. Geology melts with the rocks on the last dread day, the naturalist must feel the earth slip through his fingers. Even Moral Theology ceases its inquisition when the hydra-headed monster, Sin, is no more, and Dogma needs not its formula when Truth appears, divinely simple; but the Face of Jesus that held the gaze of Mary is eternal, and It shall not be taken from her.'"

(Stained-glass window in St. Thomas Beckett Church, Veneta, Oregon)

Our dear Lord suffered and died to gain our love and friendship, and it hurts Him when all we give is performance of duty and fear of Hell. We should make acts of love, offering the great works of the day, the little works of the day, and everything in between, until pretty soon, our whole day is one big act of love.

In The Life of Love Towards the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Very Rev. John Leo Dehon writes:

"The strength which comes from love of Our Lord is not passing. It is as lasting as love itself. Why would not His love, having once entered a soul, be enduring and persevering? On what is His love founded? On a passing and inconsistent sentiment? No. Rather it is based on a profound sentiment which floods the heart once it has been touched by all that Our Lord has done to merit this love. The reasons for loving Him remain always, and each day, each instant, brings new reasons for loving Him, because every day is marked by new favors for His faithful."

"Called thee by Name"

(Stained glass window in the church of St. Mary Magdalen, Drogheda, Ireland)

Mary Magdalen's eyes were so swollen and filled with tears, she couldn't see. She had been through such a terrible weekend with her Lord and Master being cruelly tortured and killed, and all she wanted to do now was find His poor Broken Body, so she could give Him a decent burial ritual. That's all she wanted...and now even that was being denied her.

But when Our Lord spoke her NAME....her own name... "Mary"...then she recognized Him, and all her sorrow was turned to joy, "and her joy no man could take care from her."

Have you ever thought about the joy that will be ours when we hear Our Lord speak *our* name for the first time? If we have lived the way He wants us to live, and have died the way He wants us to die, He will speak it with tenderness and love. God forbid that He speak our name in condemnation and contempt! Let us live our lives so as to hear Him say it with triumphant joy as He invites us to join Him in His kingdom!

We read in the Old Testament, the prophet Isaias's beautiful words:

"And now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, and called thee by thy name: thou art mine."

(Wildflowers growing in Oregon)

We've begun a new season, as we near the end of a week and we near the end of a month. Let us reflect today on what the good God has done for us...today, this week, this month, this summer.

In the Old Testament (Psalms 105:2-5), we read:

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; He pardons all your iniquities, He heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction, He crowns you with kindness and compassion, He fills your lifetime with good; your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

I've tried to find this book for years....because I had two other books by this author that I really liked. Her name is listed merely as E. Seton. It makes one wonder if it was written by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, but I think the publisher would have said so if it had been. :)

I finally located it on interlibrary loan. Look at that beautiful cover. One can just stare into those Eyes, swollen by the beatings of His enemies, and in our hearts, offer Him our love and sympathy.

E. Seton writes of how St. Veronica had the enormous privilege of wiping the Face of Our Lord during His Passion with her veil. She says:

"Our Lord's first Veronica has an office which the Angels 'who desire to look into His Face' might envy. It is hers to remove tenderly from that Countenance which is the Light of all the world the dimness with which It has been oppressed. It is the office of reparation to comfort Him tenderly in His desolation Who is the one Sole Consolation, to bring some little happiness to the Uncreated Joy in His woe and disappointment. And the service done to Him is more than rewarded...."

Then she goes on to encourage us to be like Veronica...to meditate on His beautiful Face, His loving Face, that could convert people with a look, and think of all that He suffered for us. Then she says we can be like Veronica by offering our love and sympathy, and being rewarded just as the saint was.

What a grace that we can actually comfort Him by our love, and by uniting our sufferings to His!

Whether you are a man, a woman, or a child, it does not matter. Let us be other Veronicas!

Feast of St. Matthew

(Christ with His 12 Apostles, as depicted on the front of the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat, Spain)

Contemplation of the twelve men Our Lord chose to be His closest associates - His apostles - is consoling to those of us who are imperfect! :) The Apostles certainly had their shortcomings...whether it was Thomas's doubts... or Peter's cockiness...or Matthew's previous job as a Jew who had betrayed his people by becoming a tax collector for the Romans! He was an outcast from his own people because he chose the almighty dollar over his beliefs. But all that changed when Our Lord said to Him simply, "Follow Me."

"What strikes us first in this swiftly-moving scene is the goodness of Jesus, Who, without considering the severe criticism that would be passed upon Him on account of His choice, takes among the number of His disciples and later among His apostles an apparently most unworthy man. Next, we admire the generosity of this Jew, bound to his money by so many ties, yet who unhesitatingly abandons all, sacrifices all, in order to respond to the voice that calls him...He goes to the Master, bringing Him with the repentance over his failings the gift of his heart and life."Manifestly this man was superior to his occupation. Therefore, how we must be on our guard against appearances! We judge by them and we are deceived. We consider our neighbor through the distorting glass of our prejudice and our passions...We ascribe to him animosity and defects which he does not possess, and we refuse to notice his sometimes rare qualities. We pass him by with indifference and hostility, like a field that looks sterile but which conceals a treasure. God sees and receives this wealth, because His eye penetrates the depths."

                                           ~ Rev. A. Galy, S.M., The Friend of Sinners, imprimatur 1930.

Oh ,what a comfort to us to know that Our Lord penetrates our depths with His holy glance! He knows what we really are, and does not judge us by our outward mistakes, but by what is truly in our hearts. On the other hand, He also knows when we are outwardly good, but our intentions are full of pride and selfishness. Let us work daily towards greater purity of heart and greater purity of intention in all our thoughts, words and deeds!

The Courage to be Martyrs

(St. Oliver Plunkett, giving the Sacrament of Confirmation to thousands. This Irish Archbishop of Armagh was later imprisoned, sent to England, and martyred for the Faith in the 17th century. This photo was taken in St. Peter's Church in Drogheda, where his head is venerated.)

We live in scary times, but there have been many scary times in the history of the Church before this...beginning with the fears that the Apostles experienced when their Mighty and Miracle-Working Leader, who had just begun to preach the Church, was imprisoned, brutally tortured and executed on a Cross. 

Down through the centuries, the Church has withstood persecutions in almost every country around the world...and the Banner of Christ still waves proudly. We must not fear; we must have faith that God will see us through these perilous times too.

I offer these words from Cardinal John Henry Newman, an English convert. It amazes me how the quotes from the past apply so much to the present...there is no "time" with God...only eternity...

"If it be God's blessed will, not Saints alone, not Preachers only, shall be ours -- but Martyrs, too, shall reconsecrate the soil to God. We know not what is before us, ere we win our own... One thing alone I know -- that according to our need, so will be our strength. One thing I am sure of, that the more the enemy rages against us, so much the more will the Saints in Heaven plead for us."

Have you ever noticed that every saint practiced humility? If they were prideful and full of themselves in the beginning, they learned humility by the time they achieved sanctity. St. John Vianney calls humility the string that holds the beads of our virtues together. A person without humility finds that their string breaks and all their beads of virtue roll away...

In the picture above, taken at the Cave of St. Mary Magdalen in France, we see three shining examples of humility. Our Lord humbled Himself even to the death of the Cross. His Mother humbled herself at every moment too, accepting the greatest honor ever offered by a creature by the simple words, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord." And Mary Magdalen humbled herself into the dust repeatedly, always taking her place at Our Lord's Feet, whether to wash Them, or to cry over Them. And when she got to France, she hid herself away humbly in a cave to weep and pray because of her former sins.

One of the best books I've come across on this invaluable virtue is called The Path to Humility by Leopold Beaudenom. It can be read in small pieces each day, taking time to ponder and meditate on each thought.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini gives us this bit of wisdom:

"Many often complain of not being heard, though they pray much, but, if they become humble, as Jesus desires, and practice humility, then they will be heard quickly, for the key which opens the celestial treasures is humility."

(Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in St. Aloysius Retreat House, Los Gatos, California)

Have you ever seen the movie about today's saint, the Flying Friar, St. Joseph of Cupertino? I'm told that the film takes some liberty with the story, but it still inspires viewers with the gentle humility of the saint, and it brings back childhood memories of seeing this movie many times!  We especially liked his bossy Italian mother. (Not, of course, that there aren't bossy mothers of every ethnic group, but she was a gem!) We also loved his impressive explanation to the bishop of the Most Holy Trinity. You can check it out on youtube here:

The Reluctant Saint: St. Joseph of Cupertino

His simplicity and humility are worth imitating...he always accepted humbly the things that happened to him as coming from the hand of God. Archbishop Goodier says that his absentmindedness was because he was seeing the things of God. He tells a charming story about this saint and the shepherds and the sheep. He used to gather the shepherds every Saturday morning and pray the Litany of Our Lady with them. One day, no one showed up, so he called the sheep together.

"'Sheep of God,' he cried, 'come to me. Come and honor the Mother of God, who is also your Mother.'

"Immediately the sheep all around looked up. They left their pasture, leaped over hedges and ditches, formed themselves into orderly companies, and gathered round Joseph at the chapel door. When all were assembled, Joseph knelt down and began:

"'Kyrie eleison.'

"'Baa,' answered the sheep.

"'Christe eleison.'

"'Baa.'

"'Sancte Maria.'

"'Baa.'

"And so it went on till the litany was finished. Then Joseph stood and blessed his congregation; and the sheep went back to their pastures as if nothing unusual had happened."

In F.J. Sheed,'s Saints are Not Sad, you can read Archbishop Goodier's essay on St. Joseph of Cupertino. He writes this of his death:

"There came constantly to his lips the words of St. Paul: 'I wish to be dissolved and to be with Christ.' Someone at the bedside spoke to him of the love of God; he cried out: 'Say that again, say that again!' He pronounced the Holy Name of Jesus. He added: 'Praised be God! Blessed be God! May the holy will of God be done!' The old laughter seemed to come back to his face; those around could scarcely resist the contagion. And so he died. It was September 18, 1663. He was just sixty years of age."

Accepting God's Will cheerfully throughout our lives, like St. Joseph of Cupertino, will help us to do it at death!

(The peaceful retreat of "St. Patrick's Purgatory" or Lough Derg, in Donegal)

A silent retreat with Our Lord brings marvelous benefits. The Irish have been doing it for centuries at places like the island above...and St. Ignatius of Loyola wrote his incomparable "Spiritual Exercises" so that his priests could preach retreats all over the world.

One Jesuit, in the early part of the last century, fulfilled his vocation by doing just that: traveling the world preaching retreats. His name was Father Browne. In his spare time, however, he did something unique: he took pictures of everything he saw. Many years after his death, 40,000+ photos were found in a trunk belonging to the Jesuits, and now people recognize their artistic and historic value. You can see some of his work at: www.fatherbrowne.com. The prints are pricey, but you can find book collections of his photos on Amazon.

But I digress. The word "retreat" has come to mean a time of rest and relaxation, perhaps a time for "the girls" to get together and chit-chat or for "the guys" to go hunting and fishing. But the original meaning was for a man or woman, lay or clerical, to retreat from the world and its cares, concerns and attachments, to spend time with Jesus. And these retreats are still available in a few places....

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini writes:

"A spiritual retreat now and again is a necessity for our souls which are destined to climb the mountain of perfection...'I will lead my beloved into the solitude, and there I will speak to her, heart to heart.'  Jesus Christ Himself frequently retired alone into the mountains and into the quiet Garden of Olives to converse with His Eternal Father in the silence of the night...It is in Retreat that...one acquires the spirit of interior prayer so sublime and rich with merits, for it is the interior spirit that raises up at every moment and in every work to God."

After a 10-day retreat, Mother Cabrini had these final encouraging words to write back home:

"But I must tell you that besides coming out of the Retreat feeling very well as to personal advancement, I had also the pleasure of seeing the [other retreatants] also much better and much more enriched with precious gifts from [Jesus], Who, pleased with the fragrant odor of their holy resolutions, seemed to surround them with a beautiful white cloud, with a shadow of His Holy Humanity, so much so, that I thought I was with heavenly creatures instead of with poor earthly pilgrims."

(Part of the trail up to the Cave of Mary Magdalene in France)

Here is yesterday's Words of Encouragement.... from the dear St. Frances Xavier Cabrini:

"We may have to suffer a long time on the road to the Mount of Perfection, but we should not be frightened, for, what does she who ignores Christian suffering know of what is grand and wonderful? The science of suffering is the science of the saints."

Grand and wonderful...how often do we think of our sufferings as 'grand and wonderful'?

"Let us rejoice when an unexpected cross visits us, when a sorrow afflicts us, because these are the precious fruits of the mystical vine, destined to produce inestimable merits unto Eternity. Then, when you have suffered...do not go round sighing, as one who knows not the privilege of the Cross, but raise your eyes and smile sweetly at suffering...Learn how to unite your sufferings sweetly with those of Jesus Christ, and, then, your sufferings endured for Jesus and for His Adorable Heart, will be as so many drops immersed in the immense ocean of the Most Holy Passion of Jesus Christ."

Hmmm...when was the last time I rejoiced when an unexpected cross visited me? When was the last time that I thought, "What great news! I have a new suffering or sorrow that I can unite to the Passion of my Jesus!"

"Be wise then, and do not squander your sufferings, but submit to them without murmuring and with supernatural motives, remembering that in every sorrow a wonderfully secret work of grace is revolving within the wheels of our predestination."

~ St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

Ahhh...I think I will paste those words over my desk - "every sorrow a wonderfully secret work of grace"...."a wonderfully secret work of grace"!

Today is the day we remember the sorrows that Our Lady suffered for us...the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. In the statue above, found in the St. Aloysius Retreat House, Los Gatos, California, a sculptor reveals his "Pieta". How much Our Dear Lord suffered for us! And how much she, His mourning mother, suffered too!

Fr. Gerald Vann, O.P., writes:

"The way to Golgotha lies through the narrow, torrid, dusty streets of the city; you think of the jostling, jeering crowd, the noise and the tumult; and then in the midst of it all it is as though a silence falls as He meets His Mother: a private silence for these two alone as everything else is blotted out and they are conscious only of each other. That concentration of gaze, that rapt and exclusive attention, is what our daily prayer ought to be."

Notice her absolute attention to Him in every part of the Scripture...her attention to Him in the best of times, like Christmas, and her attention to Him in the worst of times, like when His terrible sufferings tore at her heart. How can we think that she wouldn't understand our sorrows and anxieties? Of course she does! She pleads our case with her Divine Son. 

Mother Mary, pray for us!

(Statue of St. Mary Magdalene in the crypt of her basilica in St. Maximin-la-Sainte-Baume, France)

Do you ever feel that if you were to become more Christlike, you'd have to lose something? That you'd have to give up "who you really are" and become like the Stoics of ancient times? This myth has been around a long time...probably since Adam and Eve thought that they wouldn't reach their full potential if they obeyed God and resisted the temptation to eat the forbidden fruit. Some people think they'd have to turn to stone like the statue shown above, in order to resist their human passions.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini dispels this myth with this lovely metaphor:

"One day [a man on shipboard] asserted that, in order to become converted to better things, he would have to suffocate and extinguish the whole ardor of his soul and the vehemence of his human passions, and so would have to reduce himself to the condition of a mountain of ice, indifferent to all things, even the most beautiful and great. I pointed out to him that the flames of human passions, which always leave a void  and a sense of dissolution, become changed into celestial flames through grace, and that the supernatural light of Heaven, once let into the soul, grows so wonderfully that the human passions become a volcano of Divine Love, a real fire that nobody can extinguish as long as goodwill remains in the soul. Have we not had the brightest examples in this direction? An Augustine, a Magdalen. Did they become mountains of ice after their conversion? Quite the contrary. We should never have had these prodigies of conversion and marvelous holiness, if they had not changed the flames of human passion into volcanoes of immense love of God."

 
(Events in the life of St. Mary Magdalen depicted in the stained-glass windows of St. Mary Magdalen Church in Drogheda, Ireland)

Oh, let us become volcanoes of Divine Love, bit by bit, more and more, until the Love spills over, lighting and warming everyone around us!

 Another image from Carcassone, France...

How our dear Lord loves us! How His Heart calls to us to love Him, to put all our trust in Him, and to throw ourselves on His Mercy. He's so easy to love; He gives us everything; why do we make it so difficult?

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini wrote:

"'My dear daughter, be quiet, live trustingly, put no limit to your faith...' How good, dear, and amiable is the Sacred Heart! One glance alone, one word only, falls deeply into the heart, revives and reassures."

Let us "be quiet", "live trustingly" and "put no limit to our faith" today...He will not fail us!

This tender image shows Our Lady Mary as a child with her mother St. Anne. It is found in the medieval city of Carcassone, France.

Today is the feast of the Holy Name of Mary. And for this day, I share this comforting thought from Fr. Joseph Lucas, PSM, in his book Hand in Hand with Our Mother:

"Mary is also the 'Refuge of sinners' and 'Mother of mercy'. No one need despair. She will not chide the wounded child who again seeks refuge under her mantle... We often resemble the child who spends the day unmindful of its mother, but returns to her at evening – contrite. If we then rest, repentant, on her heart and promise, 'Mother, I will never do it again,' she will forgive and forget all. With maternal understanding and forgiveness she will bend toward us and whisper consolingly, 'Be at rest, dear child, Mother understands.'"

 
Sweet Mother Mary, hide me under thy mantle, and talk to thy Son for me....

 My heart aches on September 11th. People who lived and worked in other parts of the country didn't feel it quite the way we did on the east coast.
It was real.
It was personal.
It was family.
My family lives one hour away from Manhattan, many of the men in my family were firefighters, and I was a New York-based flight attendant with United Airlines on that fateful day fifteen years ago. I lost flying partners from my airline; we lost people from our little town who were in New York that day; the firefighters lost many of their number that day. I may not have lost anyone from my immediate family, but it was close enough to hurt. Here's one of the firefighters in my family:

And here's a flying partner of mine...

May the victims of the 9/11 attacks, fifteen years ago, rest in peace...

But there is another side to suffering...I have a book from 1924, written between World War I and World War II, called, Be of Good Heart: A Plea for Christian Optimism, by Fr. Joseph McSorley. In it, he writes:

"Nothing could be clearer than Christ's intention to promise His Disciples no freedom from suffering, no protection against bodily pain. He gives them no assurance of temporal reward. Calmly, as if outlining His own plan, He promises them -- persecution. This, then, is something which fits perfectly into His design. And when it comes, there will be no excuse for panic or apprehension...It will be necessary only to recall His word, and to be faithful to the ever-present grace of the Spirit. On this one condition all will come to a happy ending; and the heavier burden of suffering will be but the measure of the greater final joy....To us also the Paraclete was promised, and in our lives, too, the prediction made by Jesus has been verified. The advent of the Spirit has been followed by times of trial and often by great suffering. Is it not consoling to be assured that such affliction is not a sign of God's displeasure, nor an indication that our Savior has abandoned us, but rather a necessary condition of progress toward the state of holiness which is our destiny?"

(Stained glass window in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, Northern Ireland)

Let us always take the opportunity to help someone along the road to Heaven...by encouraging, by supporting, by agreeing when they're doing something good, maybe by gently disagreeing when they're doing something wrong... Just as one harsh word from us could be the "straw that breaks the camel's back" in their spiritual life, so also the smallest kindness shown could be exactly what they needed to pick themselves back up and try again. Show a small kindness to someone today, that encourages them on the road to Heaven!

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini writes:

"How Jesus rejoices in the conversion of one sinful soul! What joy does not the recovery of one sheep give to His Divine Heart? How He clasps it in His loving arms! And can we not multiply these joys of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, by our prayers, works, and the winning over of hearts and souls who will love Him much?... He marks in the book of life all the trials, troubles and crosses that we suffer for the salvation and sanctification of souls. He enumerates the days, hours and moments that we spend in this holy exercise, and all will be fully rewarded by the sovereign goodness of the Most Holy Heart of Jesus. Even a charitable word spoken will be amply remunerated because everything done for Jesus and with Jesus is great."

In the middle of Ireland....

one can see the beautiful, haunting, peaceful ruins of Clonmacnoise. This monastic settlement was founded in the sixth century by St. Ciaran (Kieran), whose feast is today.

It is so quiet that you can hear the River Shannon gently flowing. St. Enda told St. Kieran to go to the middle of Ireland and build a monastery and center of learning. So he did, quite literally!

Mary Ryan D'Arcy, in her 1974 book, The Saints of Ireland, writes:

"For long centuries, Clonmacnoise was a living monument to Kieran. Kings endowed it, scholars taught at it, saints followed in Kieran's footsteps. At Clonmacnoise, says Father Cotter, there are more saints slumbering than ever made illustrious the pavements of the Coliseum."

Even Ireland's last high kings, Turlough and Roderick O'Connor, are buried here.

The Vikings and Anglo-Normans, however, easily accessing it by the Shannon, attacked the monastery repeatedly, and Mrs. D'Arcy writes:

"Finally, a thousand years after its founding the soldiers of Elizabeth I completed the destruction of Kieran's City. [But] the real treasure, the Faith it had nurtured, remained beyond their reach."

(The author of this blog, at Clonmacnoise) (Photo Credit: Nicole Moynihan)

The third rock on the Path to Eternal Life

Father Lucas writes:

"The third and most dangerous rock obstructing the path of life is guilt. The other two we can pass safely; but this one, with God's grace, we must destroy entirely if we wish to reach our eternal home....The rock of unforgiven, unrepented guilt must be removed [by sacramental Confession] while man is yet in full possession of his faculties, so that at the hour of death the soul may walk peacefully and securely into the new life."

The picture above shows the confessional in St. Peter's Cathedral in Annecy, France. St. Francis de Sales served as bishop from this cathedral. I wonder if he heard confessions in this particular confessional box? When we read his writings, we wish that we could go to confession to a saint like that! He would have been kind and understanding, and give great advice, and encourage us not to fall again. What a gift we have in the Sacrament of Penance, or Confession, in which we can have confidence that the huge stone of our guilt has been removed from our path!

Fr. Lucas laments in his book that some people, instead of going to Confession when they are well and strong and can lift that heavy rock out of the way, try to wait to do it with weak, dying hands. No one is guaranteed that chance at the end of life to do so! Let us instead, vigorously remove this final stone from our path, this worst stone of all, fling it aside, never to block our path again, so we may climb with courage and strength.

"Obstacles there will always be, but not one of them can be the cause of our failure unless we ourselves will it. No devious turnings can draw us from our goal, no treacherous footing cast us into the abyss, so long as we walk with our hand in Mary's, our eyes fixed upon her glorious countenance."

 (Lourdes, France)

Today is the feast of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. When all is said and done, the kind Mother of our Savior is watching over our journey up the mountain with loving eyes. Let us ask her to help us remove the rock of mortal guilt, use to our advantage the rock of our crosses, and avoid the rock of inordinate attachment to worldly pleasure.

Father Lucas tells us this story:

"Cardinal Dechamps, former Archbishop of Mechlin, once made a railway trip in the company of an English Protestant. The conversation turned to religious topics. The Englishman criticized Catholic devotion to Mary.

"'I do not expect my salvation from Mary,' he declared, 'and so I see no reason for honoring her.'

"The Cardinal looked thoughtfully out the window. 'Is it not true,' he replied after a minute's reflection, 'you think of yourself what I think of myself: that we are all poor sinners, and have not many merits to bring with us to God's judgment seat?'

"'Yes, not many,' the Englishman agreed.

"'You are right,' the Cardinal continued, 'in expecting salvation from God. I do that, too. But there will be a great difference between the two of us when we appear before God's judgment seat. You will approach God as an orphan, but I will be led by my Mother's hand. And no man has ever trusted his Mother in vain.'"

The second rock in the Path to Heaven

In Fr. Joseph Lucas's book, Hand in Hand with Our Mother, he explains that the second rock that obstructs our path to Heaven is the cross. 

The cross? But isn't the cross our way to Heaven?? Well, it depends entirely on our attitude toward it. We can use it as an excuse for failure, or as a tool for success. The stones in the photo above, in Kilkeel, County Down, Ireland, could be used as a barrier, or as a useful plank to walk, balancing carefully, over the rough spots in our path. Fr. Lucas writes:

The cross is spared no one; we all feel its heavy weight upon our shoulders...Some place it on their shoulders and struggle manfully to bear it to the end. Others balk and kick at the first sign of any burden being laid upon them....And if, generally speaking, they have fulfilled their most essential Christian duties, they believe that God is in gratitude bound to keep everything disagreeable and burdensome far from them. Then when the cross comes, as it must, their first reaction is one of astonishment and fear, which is succeeded by indignant resistance, insolent murmuring, and finally, bitter hatred. Somehow, they have gained a very wrong concept of Christian doctrine...As for the Master, so also for the disciple; as for the Mother, so also for the child. Whoever follows them must taste the sufferings of the way of the cross. Accepted in the right way, the cross is not a rock but a magnificent bridge, spanning the vastness between time and eternity.

Will we use our daily crosses as a stumbling block, and throw ourselves down beside the path in despair? Or will we be bridge-builders?

 

This amazing bridge connects Prince Edward Island to the rest of Canada. Driving over it in 2006, I didn't get a very good photo, but I found this shot at Prince Edward Island Tourism. Let us use the stones of our crosses to build that magnificent bridge over which we go to eternity!

"If you carry the cross willingly, it will carry and lead you to the desired goal."

~ Thomas a Kempis

The first of three Rocks in the Path to Heaven

Father Joseph Lucas, in his excellent book Hand in Hand with Our Mother, identifies three major stones that obstruct our path to salvation. 

The first is too much worldly pleasure. He says that there are actually two kinds of pleasure in this life. 

"There is a pure, crystal-clear, innocent pleasure arising from love of God and neighbor, which you may trust because it fills the soul with supernatural strength to face life's battles. But there is another pleasure which draws its nourishment from the swampy soil of inordinate desire for honors, wealth, and sensual gratification."

We can all think of examples of the two kinds of pleasure in our lives, and which one gives us wings to fly to Heaven, and which one drags us down. Singing in our church choirs, sharing the Faith with our children, taking a pilgrimage: these joys give us wings. Visiting sinful places of amusement, neglecting our duties in favor of "goofing off", associating with friends who pull us away from what is important: these pleasures become leaden weights.

Look at this slope in the photo...this is the beginning of the path of pilgrimage up Croagh Patrick, a mountain in Ireland sacred to the memory of St. Patrick. When climbing it, would we rather have leaden weights or wings?

"God sometimes overthrows empires to save a single soul."

I love this quote for today! It's still God's world, though it may not look like it in our times. If we look at the fall of the Roman Empire, the destruction of Jerusalem and similar historical events, we see that the enemies of God always lose in the end. God always brings good out of evil. 

God could be delaying the punishing of certain sins to save one soul. Or He could be planning the overthrow of certain evil empires because it will save one soul. We have only to look at the crucifix to see what He was willing to suffer to save souls and bring them to eternal joy in Heaven.

Now, taking that one step further...what is He doing today to save my soul? Let me cooperate with Him in His efforts, and do all I can to further the salvation of those around me. As St. Augustine said, "God made us without us, but He will not save us without us."

The above quote is attributed to Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bossuet, in The Expectation of Jesus by L'Abbe Max Caron, imprimatur 1900. I took this photo near the Coliseum in Rome in 2005.