(The shrine of St. Lazarus in the Cathedral of St. Mary Major in Marseilles, containing his skull)

"Lazarus was sick...His sisters therefore sent to him saying: Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. And Jesus hearing it, said to them: This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus."

~ John 11:2-5

This is my favorite gospel passage...the raising of Lazarus. Or if not, it's certainly in the top five. :) Our Lord shows His kindness and human affection so clearly in this passage, and it encourages and comforts us. Take a few moments to read chapter 11 from verses 1-45 of St. John...you can even read it online here: The Holy Bible.

The three siblings of Bethany were so close to Our Lord, and so comfortable with Him, that they send word, that "he whom Thou lovest" is sick. They didn't say "Thy servant" or "one of Thy followers". They trust in His Love. He whom Thou lovest has need of Thee, Lord.

Martha and Mary are suffering: their beloved younger brother is sick and dying. It is breaking their hearts, so they pray for help with great confidence. But the help doesn't come. The Lord knowingly delays. He leaves them weeping by the side of their dead brother. Why? "For the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it." He has a much greater plan, than just healing Lazarus from his fever or disease. He is turning it into something wonderful, something truly "awesome". 

Thus it is with our crosses....He allows us to suffer, but for a much greater reason. He will turn our sufferings into something glorious. 

Then He comes. He asks Martha for a profession of faith, and she firmly and bravely gives it through her tears, "Yea Lord, I have believed that Thou art Christ, the Son of the Living God, Who art come into this world." Then He sees poor Mary, who is sobbing at His Feet. 

Does He say, "Get up woman!"? Does He say, "What are you crying about? Don't you know that I've got this under control?" No, He "groans in the spirit", and is troubled. He feels our pain and suffering. He sympathizes with us and His Heart aches for us, even when He knows that our misery will turn into something wonderful hereafter. 

I love that verse, #35: And Jesus wept. He didn't weep for Himself: He didn't miss Lazarus, He knew He could bring him back to life in the blink of an eye. He didn't weep for Lazarus: Lazarus was feeling no pain. He wept for all those who were suffering from the loss of a friend and a brother. When we lose someone, or life becomes a heavy burden in other ways, His Heart aches for us too, even though He knows that certain things have to happen for our greater good. In verse 38, He groans again. And in the end, He performs the miracle that will publicly, in front of a crowd, prove His Divinity.... and will also sign His death warrant with the Pharisees. And He did it for His friends.

In reference to the story of the widow of Naim and her son, in St. Luke chapter 7:

"Our senses and passions, like pallbearers, would carry our souls to the eternal grave. The Church, a good Mother, would mourn without hope, did not Jesus, 'have compassion on her', and call a halt to the funeral march of the human race. 'Do not weep!' Our plight is too much for His human, His Divine Heart! 'Take up thy son'; 'He gave him to his mother'. This mother is the Church who now urges us to prepare for our spiritual resurrection with His glorious Resurrection on Easter Day."

~Fr. Joseph F. Stedman, My Lenten Missal, imprimatur 1941.

"Take this, therefore, for a general rule: to desire nothing but in conformity with the Will of God; to direct all your wishes there, as the only scope to which they ought to tend. Thus, they will be ever equitable and holy. Whatever happens you will remain undisturbed in the enjoyment of a perfect tranquility."

~ Dom Lawrence Scupoli, 

The Spiritual Combat

Oh how I long for this! That my thoughts will ever be equitable and holy, and that I may always enjoy perfect tranquility! Father Scupoli gives us the secret of how to attain it!

(The rocky path up Croagh Patrick, Co. Mayo, Ireland)

Yesterday, we compared the spiritual life to exercise and physical exertion. Today, I offer you the comparison of an earthly journey to our pilgrimage Heavenward.

Dom Lawrence Scupoli, in his 16th-century classic, The Spiritual Combat, tells us that there is one major difference.

"Such is the difference of a journey on earth and that which tends to Heaven. In the former we may frequently stop, without going back, and rest is moreover necessary to enable us to hold out to the journey's end. But in the latter, which leads to perfection, the more we advance, the more our strength increases."

If we pause on a physical journey, it is to gain strength. But if we pause in our striving after virtue and our pulling for Heaven, we actually lose ground and lose energy. This saintly priest recommends "a steady application to our spiritual advancement." Just keep moving. Just keep trying. Just keep making small acts of virtue, and it will become easier!

"Embrace, therefore, with great affection every opportunity of advancing towards perfection and sanctity, especially such as are attended with any difficulty. Every effort of that nature is of singular efficacy for forming, in a short time, virtuous habits in the soul."

~ Dom Lawrence Scupoli, The Spiritual Combat

For some reason, this quote reminds me of working out and exercising! Isn't it true that exercise gurus encourage us to take every opportunity to get up and move, especially when it's hard? And don't they tell us that if we keep making small efforts consistently, that we will become stronger, healthier, and even thinner? :)

Let us use these same principles in the spiritual life, because St. Paul says: "Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize? So run that you may obtain."

1 Corinthians, 9:24

On a personal note, could you please remember my grandfather, Stephen F. Boucher, Jr. in your prayers today? He would have turned 100 today. Here is a picture of him about 99 years ago with his siblings (he's the baby).

"Happiness is good but unstable, being dependent on a variety of things more or less outside our power. Peace is the greater gift of the two, and one we can acquire, and hold when we have acquired it. Peace is a loving trust in God that what He does is best for us and for those dear to us; it is a childlike nestling in the protecting arms of the Father -- and who shall say that this is not happiness also?"

~ Maol Iosa, At the Master's Feet, imprimatur 1936.

Let us trust God like a child trusts his or her parent...with love and cheerful abandon!

(This picture was taken at Lourdes, France)

Happy Feast
of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary!

(This is one of the many beautiful mosaics to be found at Lourdes, where Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette.)
159 years ago today, she told Bernadette who she was:

“On March 25^th, the Lady was waiting for me. I told her how much I loved her and said my rosary. I much wished to ask her name, but I was afraid of annoying her. At last I asked her to tell me who she was. She smiled. Three times, out of obedience to the parish priest, I put the question to her. The Lady was standing beside the rose-tree, with her hands stretched out towards me. When I asked her for the third time she took on a serious look, she seemed to humble herself. Then she joined her hands, lifted them to the full height of her chest, and looked towards Heaven; after that she slowly separated her hands, leant down towards me, and in a very gentle, quavering voice, said to me: - ‘I am the Immaculate Conception.’ There were many pious people surrounding me because of the feast day, asking me if the Lady had given her name. I told them of these words which I was unable to understand….It was the anniversary of the day when the Archangel Gabriel had greeted Mary with the words: - ‘Full of Grace,’ words which referred to the Immaculate Conception. The crowd, knowing this, began to sing – ‘O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.’”

~ St. Bernadette Speaks, by Fr. Albert Bessieres, SJ, 1956.

Today is the feast of St. Gabriel the Archangel, 

who brought the joyous tidings of the expected birth of 

John the Baptist and Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

"And the angel answering, said to him: I am Gabriel, who stand before God: and am sent to speak to thee, and to bring thee these good tidings."

~ Luke 1:19

"And in the sixth month [of Elizabeth's pregnancy], the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin' s name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus."

~ Luke 1:26-31

What a mission with which St. Gabriel was entrusted! It's most interesting that when Zachary doubted that his elderly wife will conceive a child, the mighty angel punished him by depriving him of his power of speech. But when Our Lady said to the angel, "How shall this be done?" referring to the miracle of the Incarnation, he answered respectfully and gently.

This brings to our attention how deeply he respected and honored the Virgin Mother of God. It also shows how gentle and mild she was, while being very astute. She doesn't doubt that God *can* do it, but merely asks how He is going to do it. Saint Gabriel finishes with the beautiful words:

"Because no word shall be impossible with God."

(An altar in Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence, Italy)

"I tell you plainly, as a true friend in the adorable Heart of Jesus, that every time I entreat it for you this thought occurs to me. If you desire to live entirely for Him, and to reach the perfection which He wishes you to reach, you must make an unreserved sacrifice to His Sacred Heart of yourself, and of everything dependent upon you. To desire henceforth nothing but what He desires, to love only what He loves; acting only by His inspirations and illumination; never undertaking anything without first seeking His advice and help; giving to Him all the glory in everything, and even thanking Him for bad results as well as good; resting always humbly contented without troubling yourself about anything. For, if that Divine Heart is satisfied, loved, and glorified, we ought to seek nothing farther."

~ St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, in a letter to a friend

"Humility is to keep within the bounds of truth. 

The truth is magnificent: 

we are nothing, 

but God dwells in us 

and God is everything."

~ St. Teresa of Avila

There is something very comforting in the knowledge that we don't have to make everything come out all right. God will. We don't have to worry about the future; God has it all in His Mighty Hands. When our weakness shows and we fail at something we undertake, it's okay, because in all truth, we are nothing and God is everything. As long as we are resigned to His Holy Will, and try not to obstruct that Will, we have nothing to worry about. God's Will be done!

"This is certain, that as long as our minds are resigned to His Will, the severest trials can never disturb our peace."

~ Dom Lawrence Scupoli, The Spiritual Combat 

This picture, filled with bucolic peace, was taken in Les Baux, France. It's fun to imagine that if one lived here, looking at that view every day, one would automatically be filled with peace. But Father Scupoli says otherwise. He says that our peace is really only disturbed by our self-love and anxiety. People who live in a place like this still have to wage those inner battles with themselves. So, whether we live on a serene lavender farm in Provence or in a basement apartment in New York City, let us work to find the inner peace that will only come from being resigned to God's Holy Will.

Happy Feast of St. Joseph! Usually it is celebrated on March 19th, but it was bumped to today by the importance of the Third Sunday of Lent.

This statue stands in the Cathedral of St. Mary Magdalen in Saint-Maximin, France.

Saint Joseph, as you probably know, is considered the patron saint of a happy death - a good death - a comforting and holy death. Sometimes we may wonder why our loved ones are snatched from us suddenly and unexpectedly, and sometimes in the flower of their youth. This story about today's saint offers a possible explanation:

"A nobleman, who loved and venerated St. Joseph, was in the habit of celebrating his feast-day annually as devoutly as he could. He had three children; one of them died on St. Joseph's feast, and, strange to say, a second died the following year on the same day. This double affliction was so keenly felt by this fond father, that he resolved not to celebrate the saint's festival the following year, fearing that he might also lose his third and last child. Accordingly, being unwilling to encounter that memorable day at home again, and in order to dissipate his grief and anxiety, he determined to travel. As he was walking one day in a pensive mood, he happened to raise his eyes, and saw two young men hanging from a tree; at the same moment an angel appeared to him, and spoke as follows: 'See those two young men? Know, then, that if your sons had lived, they would have met with a similar fate; but, owing to your devotion to St. Joseph, that saint has obtained from God the favor of an early death for them, that your house may not be dishonored, but more especially to secure for them by a premature death, the blessing of a happy eternity. Go, celebrate St. Joseph's feast, and fear not for the child that remains to you; he will be a holy bishop, and enjoy a long life.' All this happened exactly as the angel had predicted."

~ Very Rev. M. Kavanagh, SJ, St. Joseph; or, The Month of March imprimatur 1881.

(The Shrine of Montserrat in the mountains of Spain)

"A religious in the monastery of Montserrat in Spain was remarkable for a great devotion to St. Joseph, and amongst the inexhaustible subjects of meditation which he gathered from the life of the holy patriarch, there was not one that served to animate his fervor more, or afforded him greater consolation, than his flight into Egypt with Mary and the Divine Infant. One day, when this good religious was returning to his convent, he lost his way and wandered into the mountains; night was stealing on, and he became seriously alarmed at the danger to which he was exposed of being devoured by wild beasts, or else of falling into the hands of the brigands who dwelt in those wild and unfrequented districts. In this painful situation, he had just recommended himself into the hands of Providence, when he suddenly perceived a stranger leading a donkey, upon which rode a lady with a child in her arms. The religious having inquired of the stranger the direction of the road which he had missed, the latter kindly invited him to follow them, saying, that though the way was perilous, and the darkness momentarily increasing, yet he was intimately acquainted with the place, and would safely conduct him to his destination. They continued their journey together, and so saintly was the conversation of the lady and her guide, that the religious felt his heart inflamed with a great love of heavenly things, and experienced an inward peace and consolation somewhat similar to that formerly felt by the disciples of Emmaus, when Jesus, in the disguise of a traveler, joined them on their journey. At length the little party reached the direct road to the monastery, upon which the strangers took leave of the monk, and instantly disappeared; the latter felt convinced that these mysterious fellow-travelers were no other than the Holy Family, to which he had such a devotion; and their heavenly words made so deep an impression upon his heart, that ever after he found in them a source of the greatest comfort and joy."

~ compiled by Very Rev. M. Kavanaugh, SJ, St. Joseph; or, The Month of March, imprimatur 1881.

"Croagh Patrick is the name of a quartzite mountain in Mayo which rises about twenty-five hundred feet above Clew Bay...According to tradition, St. Patrick and some of his followers climbed this mountain to spend the days of Lent in prayer and fasting within the small chapel they erected on its summit. Through the centuries, devout Irish pilgrims have followed in the footsteps of their Saint in what is known as the Journey to The Reek. The official day of pilgrimage is the last Sunday in July. On that day, as many as 80,000 persons, many of them barefoot, make the difficult ascent along the steep rocky paths to confess their sins and hear Mass at the top."  ~Sister Maryanna Childs, O.P.

I took this picture in 2010. It makes me sigh to be there again...

I took these two pictures on the Hill of Slane, where St. Patrick lit the Easter fire to begin his mission. We had the great privilege of assisting at Mass here, among the ancient ruins on this hallowed site. The view of green rolling countryside in all directions was breathtaking, and the combination of receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion and gazing on that view afterward while making our thanksgiving, was infinitely soothing and comforting to the soul.

I'd like to share this lovely quote:

"On my visit to Ireland in 1961, it was my privilege to attend the Patrician Congress commemorating the 15th centenary of the death of St. Patrick. With ninety thousand other spectators, I knelt in Croke Park at the Pontifical High Mass when a flourish of trumpets announced the 'Sanctus'. That silvery sound, stirring as it was, did not begin to have the poignant beauty of the ancient bell tone which rang out at the Elevation. The large, battered sacring bell which had been borrowed from its jewel-studded shrine in the National Museum was, according to tradition, the very bell with which Patrick had summoned the Gaels centuries ago...."

This picture was borrowed from the National Museum of Dublin website: see it here.

Continuation of the quote: "As the Apostle of Ireland walked the hills and meadows of ancient Hibernia, he set ringing the clear sound of the Faith which still vibrates in the hearts of his people... In spite of long periods of persecution, Ireland has never relinquished the Faith which Patrick brought her. To hear those ninety thousand believers thunder forth, 'Faith of our Fathers, holy Faith, we will be true to thee till death!' was a moving and an unforgettable experience. Many of the ancestors of these same people had literally been true unto death."

~ Sister Maryanna Childs, O.P.

(The view from part way up St. Patrick's Mountain - Croagh Patrick - in County Mayo, Ireland.)

The preamble to the Constitution of the Republic of Ireland reads:

"In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred, We, the people of Eire, Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial, Gratefully remembering their heroic and unremitting struggle to regain the rightful independence of our Nation, And seeking to promote the common good, with due observance of Prudence, Justice and Charity, so that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured, true social order attained, the unity of our country restored, and concord established with other nations, Do hereby adopt, enact, and give to ourselves this Constitution."

Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow! ♣

(This statue of St. Patrick can be seen in the first picture's foreground. This is the view from the other direction, looking up at the pilgrimage mountain.)

Statue of St. Patrick, Athlone, Co.Westmeath, Ireland 


“First of all, what is a saint? You would like to be one, and it is your duty to be one, but what you have read has rather dismayed you. ‘I am a young student,’ [you say], ‘a young father; I am a man of business; I am a working-man, a laborer; I am a mother with children to look after; I am a soldier or a sailor; I am a restless rowdy street boy; can any of us, without changing our skins, become saints?’ Yes, there are saints, and many of them… to be found in all these states of life. You know one or two of them, but the great multitude of them, whose feasts you keep every year on All Saints’ Day, you will only know in Heaven. 

"A saint is someone who, without being perfect (God alone is perfect), took himself in hand, fought against his faults and took as his [motto]: God must be served first, and the will of God above all.”

~ St. Bernadette Speaks, by Fr. Albert Bessieres, SJ, 1956.

"There are, you know, only two classes of people in the world as regards love. Some just want love, and they sit and wait for it. It must come to them. They are the unhappy people. The others do not want to be loved, they want to love, to give themselves to others. This is happiness. And now only when we learn to console others, to almost forget ourselves, then only do we become Christ-like."

~ Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

I can hear his famous voice saying these words... even with the pauses which were his trademark. Don't you just love listening to Fulton Sheen? Thanks to technology, we can hear him on DVD, CD, and even on our smart phones now.

When we study the lives of the saints, we see that each and every one of them wanted to love, wanted to give love, and wanted to give themselves.

Name one.

St. Margaret Mary

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Therese of Lisieux

St. Mary Magdalen

St. Augustine

St. Joseph

St. Francis de Sales

St. Peter the Apostle

Every saint we can think of was burning with love for God and through God, for their fellow man.

Which kind of person do we want to be? 

(This photo was taken in St. Thomas Becket Church in Veneta, Oregon)

All Catholics are required to receive Holy Communion at least once during the Easter season, and to go to Confession once a year at the very least. Those who wish to become more perfect go to Confession often to humble themselves, find forgiveness, and gain strength to amend their lives.

Little Jacinta Marto, one of the children who saw Our Lady of Fatima 100 years ago, said:

"Confession is a sacrament of mercy, 

and we must confess with joy and trust."

 

This humble little church is where St. Jean-Marie Vianney, the Cure d'Ars, heard Confessions for hours on end for the people who came from all over Europe. Years ago, I read somewhere this thought: imagine if there was only one place in the world that a person could go to confess their sins and be forgiven -- wouldn't we all flock there? How blessed we are to have multiple locations at which to receive God's Mercy!

We all, at one time or another, have felt "put upon" or "taken advantage of", or even "persecuted" in one way or another. Maybe it's our family members, or co-workers, or classmates, or neighbors, or fellow parishioners, who are causing us to feel miserable. Maybe a chance remark has crushed us, or maybe we have to deal every day with someone's ongoing criticism and nitpicking until we feel we can't stand it another minute. Maybe our grown children have embarrassed us, or maybe our babies won't give us a full hour of sleep at night without interruption! This life is full of tribulations. 

Dom Lawrence Scupoli, in his The Spiritual Combat, says that we should first examine whether we have in any way brought it upon ourselves. If so, we should bear it patiently. Secondly, he says, that even if we are not at fault in this matter, surely there are other things that we've done wrong that we need to make amends for. And even if we feel that we've done nothing wrong for which we have not atoned, we can think about how Our Lord and all the Saints reached Heaven only by "the thorny path of the Cross."

He finishes with these beautiful, consoling words, that can apply to any tribulation:

"But what you ought to have in view on this and all other occasions, is the Will of God, Who loves you so tenderly as to be delighted with every heroic act of virtue you perform, and the return you make by your fidelity and courage to His immense love. Remember likewise that the more unjustly you suffer, and consequently the more grievous your affliction, the greater your merit is in the sight of God. In the midst of your sufferings, adore His judgments, and submit with resignation to His Divine Providence, which draws good from the greatest evils, and makes the very malice of our enemies subservient to our eternal happiness."

(Here is where the lady lived, for whom St. Francis de Sales wrote his classic spiritual work)

"...the Holy Spirit by the mouths of all the saints, and our Savior by His own, assure us that a devout life is a life above all others the most sweet, happy, and amiable. The world sees devout people fast, pray, suffer injuries, serve the sick, give alms to the poor, watch over themselves, restrain their anger, stifle their passions, deprive themselves of sensual pleasures, and perform other actions in themselves and by their own nature and character painful and rigorous. But the world does not discern the interior and heartfelt devotion that renders all these actions agreeable, sweet, and easy....

"Believe me, devotion is the delight of delights and the queen of virtues, for it is the perfection of charity."

~ St. Francis de Sales, Philothea: or, The Introduction to the Devout Life.

This great book, which has been reprinted over and over for centuries, should be read and reread. We can even obtain it on Kindle or as an audio book.