A commentary on United We Stand

I happen to live in the New World's oldest diocese. My bishop turns 75 this year. In the March issue of the monthly magazine our fair diocese puts out His Excellency has a column... and this is what he writes.

"...As some of you already know, this September I will celebrate my 75 birthday, which according to church law is the canonical age for a bishop to submit his letter of resignation...
As the end to my tenure draws near, I do have one desire that I long to see realized in our diocese- harmonious union."
He cites St. Paul. "...so that there should be no division among the members... If one part suffers, every part suffers... if one part is honored, every part rejoices."

I can think of a little chapel that is suffering now. If it would only but be honored, the whole Church universal would rejoice!

My Bishop goes on to quote St. Paul and St. Augustine (and I'll italicize what he italicizes) "no division among the members... union, but not uniformity," and "in all things charity."

His Excelency remembers Christs prayer before the Agony in the Garden. Is his wish Christ's wish? "May they be one in us."

I will leave you with the bishop's warning. "How can we expect to achieve the unity Jesus desired among the split divisions of Christianity if the parishes continue to harbor an 'us versus them' mentality?... Without the parishes, there is no diocese; and without the diocese there are no parishes- just a mass of congregational assemblies... There is no finer gift you could give me than for all the parishes to work in harmony with the diocese so that together we may make the unity that Jesus prayed for."

hmmm....

St. Paul, pray for us
St. Agustine, pray for us
St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

Lent

We have been given a gift. It is the squandered gift of time. Hours, minutes, seconds. Time leading up to the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord so that we may have life everlasting.

My priest is ill. He started his Lent in the hospital. I'm jealous! Something good has come of this. I already miss going to the Holy Sacrifice daily, and realize I have been taking things for granted. How could I forget the dryness when we were in between priests. I'm so sorry dear Lord for taking Your priest for granted. I thank you for my health, and beg you to restore to the Reverend Father his.

I will now begin fashioning my habit Rosary (the kit just came in the mail.) My heart yearns for the Feast of St. Catherine of Sienna when I can wear it on my left hip as she did.

Yours in Christ Jesus

HOM retreat. Notes IV

The following are the last notes I took on the retreat.

Sin is not the breaking of a rule, but the breaking of a heart. The heart we break is The Heart. The Father's heart, the Son's heart, and the Holy Ghost's Charitable heart. Some would think, "Oh well, I've already sinned once. I might as well do it again before I go to confession." NO! We are not just breaking a rule! It is really like, "Oh well, I have already struck Him across the BACK with a cat-of-nine-tails. Might as well strike Him again." It would do us well to to picture the Roman overseer in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. When we mortally sin it is like saying "Satis..." He then makes the sad gesture to flip the Body that has gone through so much. We say Enough, roll Him over and begin again on His FRONT.
Without sincere purpose of amendment we turn over Our Lord and begin again flailing His fresh skin. We do not just break a law again.

Like an adulterous spouse, we are like an adulterous people to our Bridegroom. All our actions are frivolous and dangerous if they are not derived from the Passion.
Agon is a Greek word that means a contest, a struggle, to combat. Christ was a spiritual athlete from the Agony in the Garden. He teaches us how to live, how to win by suffering. Jesus Christ was reduced to a wreck. He was racked with anguish in the Shadow of the Cross. Sts. Peter, James, and John fell asleep on him. THREE TIMES. How many times have we fallen asleep on Him? The translation in the Gospels does not do it justice. He had extreme fear and anguish. The savior was troubled unto death.
"Father, if thou wilt, remove this chalice from me" writes St. Luke.
The Soul begins to conform...
"Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." records St. Matthew
Then, the final time acceptance...
"And he cometh the third time, and saith to them...It is enough: the hour is come...Rise up, let us go." St. Mark tells us.

His aloneness would keep us awake. We should keep Him company in the Garden when so many will not. Christ sweats blood. He must have been a scared wreck. Be there for Him. The phenomenon has been noted to happen with gladiators, while they wait their turn to go into the arena.
God's pack with his people is fulfilled. The vail is no longer necessary, Christ's death breaks the shroud. There are no more secrets. He will trade His heart of flesh for our hearts of stone. We just have to ask for it. (And again be cautious, for if you beg for Jesus's Sacred Heart, you will get it.)
In the Garden, there were two cups some say. There was the cup that Jesus asked for God to let pass. The cup of bitterness. Full to the brim with scourging, crucifixion, the knowledge that his sacrifice would be useless for most souls. But there was also a cup of consolation, that many would lie down our lives with Him. Be a part of that cup. Use the gift of your imagination. Stretch it and implore God to allow you to know what it was like to prostrate in the Garden of Gethsemani. If His disciples were asleep, you will be there awake with Our Lord, suffering with Him. Ask the Holy Ghost to take you to just one point of the Passion. Meditate on that thought in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Ask for a heart of flesh.

Love is not about feeling. Love is about knowledge. Love is about being there for your lover. 95% of sin originates from loneliness, for self consolation is futile. No one knows loneliness better than the Christ. He did not say we wouldn't suffer, but we that we would not be alone.

Let us unite ourselves to Christ on the Cross as Our Lady has, and may the peace of the Lord be with you.

St. Peter, pray for us.
St. James, pray for us.
St. John the beloved, pray for us.

HOM retreat. Notes III

Seven Deadly Sins. A lesson given by Sister Zenka (sp?)

The Devil is strategic, he studies us first. Then he attacks our predominate vice...

Pride- An untrue opinion of ourselves. To be humble is to see yourself as God sees you. Those guilty of pride will lower themselves to get others to praise/ raise them. "oh i look fat in this" "oh, no you don't." Correcting a proud person leads them to anger or depression. Obedience is a virtue. Religious sisters have been called "pure as angels...proud as devils."
the virtue of Humility~ Christ stays under the appearance of bread, even when He knows He will be mistreated.
Sloth- To neglect duties. Basically cowardliness. Idleness is the mother of all vices. There is spiritual Sloth and physical Sloth. Are we not good Christians because a Christian life is "too intense?" Don't be lukewarm. We all knows what happens to those who are lukewarm. Right now, souls are being loss because we are not doing anything.
Greed-is being in the middle of water and dying of thirst. You are never satisfied with what you have. It is an inordinate love of a good. Anything can be an attachment. A three corded heavy-duty rope and a piece of fishing line can keep a bird from flying. My friend Brian says it doesn't matter if you have 10,000 dollars that you're attached to, or a single dollar bill that you wont let go of, it is greed.
Give! The combating virtue is generosity. "Many will give things. Some will give time, few will give themselves. A handful will live radically for Christ." What group are we in?
Lust- Pleasures contrary to Purity. Trying to deal with this vice on your own is like walking in a swamp... the more you try to free yourself, the deeper you sink. Impurity is the first sin you fall into when you stop attending Holy Mass routinely. (I can agree 100%.) And to lead another into sin is Scandal. This is so much worse. If a guy tries to get a girl to notice him in an impure way he has committed sin! We are supposed to help girls. If our goal isn't to lead a girl to salvation by our actions then we are in trouble. And vice versa. (Girls, please stop doing what you do best. Thanks.) We must do penance. We may not like it, but it is the only thing that can chastise our defected senses.
What does a Christian "I love you" mean? It means "I want you to never die. You will never die. I want you to have eternal life, because I care about your soul. Heaven is your end." When we have sex, there is a union of Body and Soul. You cannot separate the two! You surrender your whole being to your partner, be faithful to your future spouse. If marriage is your calling, then they are out there now, imagine that!
Envy- Follows Pride. It makes you hate your equals because they are your equals, it makes you hate your inferiors because the may one day surpass you, and you hate your superiors, because they are greater than you. Give thanks to God for the gifts in others. Pray these words..."God, thank you for so and so's virtue of _________, talents of _______, strength in _________."
Gluttony- The inordinate love of eating and drinking. This makes us lower than animals, because animals will only eat until they are satisfied. (Maybe not Franklin, my dad's cat, those are not mini hedge loppers.) We become poor slaves of our body. We give in at the most minimal urge in your body. Satisfy me, satisfy me, satisfy me! NO! Have order. (I would recommend 2 small meatless meals and a third regular meal a day for Lent coming up soon. And nothing in between. Think that is hard, try St. Rose of Lima's diet.)
Anger-We become a puppet in the Devils hands. Let Christ become the Master of the heart. Anger is the violence to despise whatever displeases us. Get over it, invoke mildness. (Think about being in the stable on the first Christmas night, and then try being angry.)

Sister Zenka then filled in what brother David could not get to in the Discerning the Spirits.
The Devil acts like a false lover. He doesn't want you to share your dirty little secrets with your confessor. He is weak if you are strong, but he is strong if you are weak. CUT HIM OFF. Do not even flirt with dialogue with Lucifer.

Yours in Christ,

St. Rose of Lima, Pray for us.
St. Blaise, pray for us.

up next... closing thoughts...

HOM retreat. Notes II

I would like to continue by adding my notes on the Discernment of Spirits.
This is supposed to be preached over a month long silent retreat, but the brother gave it to us in a little over a half hour.
MARC
Mass, Adoration, Rosary, and Confession.
The Cure d'Ars says a union with God is not deserved. Only His kindness allows it. In a perfect Union there is NO DISTANCE between God and ourselves. Silent Adoration! "Whispers in the breeze." Order your life so when you're praying, you are praying in inner silence. (Think about what that means.) We are fighting a war. Are we fighting back?

Rules of Discernment of Spirits of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
If we are living mortal sin to mortal sin, we know what sin is. The Cure d'Ars says you are choosing the pleasure of the moment OVER YOUR GOD. You defile the temple of the Holy Ghost when you give into impure acts and thoughts. It destroys the soul. God looks at your soul and it looks like a shattered mirror. Where is God in your mirror. He can no longer seen His image and likeness in it.
When we seek good looks in our mates, be careful what you wish for. (Is it worth having a girlfriend that is intoxicatingly pretty if the only thing in her mirror is makeup, shoes, handbags and oversize designer label sunglasses? Is God squeezed somewhere in the looking glass? Is it worth having a boyfriend who has a fast car if he'd rather wax and it than go spend an hour with our Lord in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Bulky muscles cranking the thousand dollar upgraded speakers to drown out the golden silence?) You might get it.
Lover of God cannot be separated from love of neighbor. Guys want to be king, but without God. We must participate in Christ. Submit our selves. We want to groom ourselves to appear attractive to the opposite sex, no? Shower, put on cologne or perfume to smell good, right? Well, how does your soul smell? Do you take care of it like you take care of your body? Are you saying your daily Rosary? (A friend blogged about this, its not an option.) "Mr Owl, how many licks to get to the center of a tootsie pop?" One, two, three.... three. Mr (you're name here) how many clicks does it take to get to PORN. (probably less.) Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons. We are guilty, but we have Hope. God forgive and forgets, Satan remembers and reminds. Everyone in Heaven had a rigorous prayer life. No one in Hell had a rigorous prayer life. (Think about that!) Take a second. What is going through your mind when you go to sleep?
Anything you do wrong is your fault. Don't try to blame it on God. Are senses are gates for the Devil. When we feel Godless we tend to push God away. I'll go back to my old life at least there was pleasure there. Keep going like you would in times of consolation. God shows his love in consolation! In desolation, He pulls back and wants us to show our love for Him.

YOU CANT FAKE SANCTITY.

Being good is NOT not being bad. You love a thing in proportion to what you would be willing to pat for it. (I guess that means I love my car too much.) Its true! Many times I have loved my alcohol enough to drop 50 on a bartab. I didn't even spend that on my moms birthday present! You might love the Internet on your iPhone to have a 100 dollar phone bill. Love has a price. Well God paid a price. He humbled himself to become for all practical purpose an ant (man.) Shed His Precious Blood. Walked a deathmarch, and was asphyxiated to death two pieces of wood with our sins through His hands and feet. How much does He love...

Radicallity of the Gospel. Until you can claim you are perfect, you should change. When will you be perfect? (Not new and improved but dead to this world.) Its never to late to change, but is it too early? To die well, you must live well.

We know how this ends. We are going to win. Read Apocalypse.

To Him, through her...

St. John Vianney, Pray for us
St Ignatius of Loyola, Pray for us!

next time... Seven Deadly Sins...

HOM retreat. Notes I

I just got back from my first retreat. It was hosted by Home of the Mother. A religious order with HQ in Spain, and a outpost in FL. I met some very nice people, new friends, and saw old friends in new light. These are the first fraction of my notes. (I am working from my short-hand)

The four types of Prayer...
First. Oratio- oration. prayer of invoking the Holy Ghost. Without the Holy Ghost, we cannot even say that Christ is Lord.
Second. Lectio- Reading of Divine Word... is prayer! Must approach with intellect and whole being.
Third. Meditatio- Application of the will, memory, imagination. Application to your own life. Time of drawing conclusions.
Forth. Contemplatio- Passive, we cannot actively achieve. Sometimes given to us, sometimes not. Prayer of wonder and discovery. Undiscovered revelations or a deeper way than prayer before. Its like before and after.

On Gen. 3 1-13.
1-3 Serpent is cunning, of angelic intellect. Always will present God as unreasonable. He is your friend, God is Evil. Satan and the first lie. "Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise?" Whoa, God didn't say all trees. The Devil is running with His words. Eve and the first mistake. To enter into conversation with the Devil. When you first feel doubt, anxiety, anger, can you continue on your own power? NO! Pray right then!
4-5 "No, you shall not die... Be as Gods, know Good and Evil."
6. Satan is a murderer from the beginning. Adam was absent. Wasn't doing his duty to be there to defend, wasn't there to be even be tricked by Satan. He ate knowing he shouldn't. He takes and doesn't give. He doesn't know how to be a man.
Rupture with God. Looses state of Grace.
Rupture with Himself. Harmony lost between body and spirit.
Rupture with Neighbor. Blames Woman. Blames God. " The woman that thou has gave me"
Rupture with Nature. Original Sin. St Paul speaks of creation groaning for redemption. That's the root cause of natural disasters. Tragedy in Haiti because of Original Sin.
Man points the finger at his neighbor and his God. But he should point it at the devil and himself.
The fear of God found in Gen is of man seeing a tyrannical and primitive God. Women tend to Implode with self accusation, self hatred, and self destruction. Men focus destruction outward.

The sin of our time is a "nothing" sin. It posses itself as nothing. We might think it has "nothing to do with us." Oh yes it does. I call it indifference. "Live and let live!" We'll be fine, it is nothing, don't worry about it. We will be okay. Will we?? To become a man we must stop caring what others think. Caring in this sense will enslave us. And as social beings we want to belong. We have needs. Well, these needs destroy! they lead to false worship. You think telling dirty jokes and making fun of people is clean fun? Well, Pilate and Herod were enemies. That is until Herod dressed Our Lord as a fool, mocked Him and sent Him back to Pilate. After that they were chums. He who hears the Good News and rejects it has it in worse than Sodom and Gomorrah.
Don't shun people. But don't compromise. Forgiveness does not compromise Truth. Good hearted people do bad things. But being good hearted is not enough.
The sin is not in the tree itself. The sin is in the taking and not receiving. Man is made for communication. Christ said "if you are my friend, obey my commands." Sinners are fanatics. They have a manic glint in their eye. Misdirected action. They let their passions take over and go numb. St. Augustine says "nothing is as sad as the happiness of sinners."
When we smile, is it a smile of true happiness, or of fanaticism? Are we happy inside and out? Do we have peace in suffering? Is it Vanity... Farce?
So many parts of our lifestyles are obscene. It is the nightmare of perpetual return. Its not a vicious circle, its a downward spiral...
A proof of God's divinity and love is that He asks us to obey His commands. If any one of our friends said "if we are going to be friends, you have to do everything I tell you." You would look at him or her like they are insane. But think about it. Only a God who is Love asks you to be His friend. There is a certain equality between Friends. Peers who are friends by default are on the same level. Ex. Hey lets go see a movie. But what if a friend is better than you. ex. Hey, I'll help you with your Latin homework. He or she is not meeting you half way, he is pulling you toward his level. Eventually creating equality. If God asks us to do everything he asks, its because He wasn't us to share in His Eternal Life. St. Thom Aquinas says the sharing of goods is friendship. God has the goods. He wants to share. The Tree of life is now the Cross. "God became man so that man could become God" - St. Augustine.
Confession is where lives are Changed. Confessed sins are like "reeds of straw cast into my burning furnace of love"- Our Lord to St. Faustina
Because of Justice, Mercy, and Forgiveness we can enter into a child-like joy but more intense because we are no longer naive. (more on this later.) God has the power to interrupt the nightmare of perpetual return. The truth is I AM A SINNER. However, after the sacraments I AM A SON!
When we are in front of the Blessed Sacrament give God silence... listen... obey.

Give God your sins, your heart, and your life.

St Augustine, Ora pro nobis.
St. Thomas Aquinas, Ora pro nobis.
St. Faustina, Ora pro nobis.

(up next is Rules of Discernment of Spirits)