Quick Bytes #81: Recognize

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One of the questions I hear most often this time of year is, "How is it possible that Jesus' followers did not recognize Him after the Resurrection?"

My response is usually another question:  "How is it possible that, even today, we do not see Him in our neighbors or the poor?"
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Is Our Camino Really Over? 12 Ways to Continue Your Walk with Our King

Yes, Lent has ended.  Jesus, our brother and Savior, has risen from the grave.  He defeated satan and death.  He came that we might be saved.  We now look forward to Pentecost.

Is our Camino finished?

If the goal of walking a camino is to grow closer to God, then, our camino will never be over. So, what must we do next?  Here are 12 easy ways to continue our walk.

1) Let us strive to be saints, not sinners.


2)  Although grateful for the gift of Purgatory, let our goal be heaven not purgatory.

3) Let us set the example and preach the Gospel daily, and, if necessary, "use words."


Read More at:  His Unending Love.

The LIES about the Resurrection

READ ALL ABOUT IT

THE LIES ABOUT THE RESURRECTION

CLICK HERE

Tantum Ergo

Tantum ergo Sacramentum
Veneremur cernui:
Et antiquum documentum
Novo cedat ritui:
Praestet fides supplementum
Sensuum defectui.

Genitori, Genitoque
Laus et iubilatio,
Salus, honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benedictio:
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudatio.
Amen.

V. Panem de caelo praestitisti eis.
R. Omne delectamentum in se habentem.

Oremus: Deus, qui nobis sub sacramento mirabili, passionis tuae memoriam reliquisti: tribue, quaesumus, ita nos corporis et sanguinis tui sacra mysteria venerari, ut redemptionis tuae fructum in nobis iugiter sentiamus. Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.

English Translation
Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail,
Lo! oe'r ancient forms departing
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith for all defects supplying,
Where the feeble senses fail.

To the everlasting Father,
And the Son Who reigns on high
With the Holy Spirit proceeding
Forth from each eternally,
Be salvation, honor, blessing,
Might and endless majesty.
Amen.

R. Thou hast given them bread from heaven.
V. Having within it all sweetness.
Let us pray: O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament left us a memorial of Thy Passion: grant, we implore Thee, that we may so venerate the sacred mysteries of Thy Body and Blood, as always to be conscious of the fruit of Thy Redemption. Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever.
R. Amen.

What is the meaning of feet washing?

This week, many churches re-enact the story of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet before the Last Supper. The priest washes the feet of 12 people representing the disciples. You can bet that the chosen 12 have ensured that their feet, (or foot, because usually one foot is washed to speed the whole procedure), are/is as clean as could be, to avoid embarrassment during the re-enactment.

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Quick Bytes #80: Pain

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As we enter Holy Week, we'll spend a lot of time talking about the pain that Jesus suffered.

The whippings.

The crown of thorns.

The nails.

The carrying of the cross.

But I wonder if the most painful part of our Lord's sacrifice was being abandoned by those closest to Him.

If so, my heart is saddened even more.

Because it continues today.
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Homage to Christ

Saints Peter and Paul Church, Honolulu

"In paying homage to Christ I would rather go too far than not far enough to give Him

the praise that is due to Him."

- Blessed John Duns Scotus

Who is this Man?

Who is this Man?

Consider the evidence in this short recording and make up your own mind.

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De Profundis

Today's homily was the third in our parish retreat. After Divine Liturgy the priest blessed us with blessed oil from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.  This church also plays prominently in the conversion of today's saint, Saint Mary of Egypt.  The scent of the oil was exquisite.  I imagine it is similar to the aroma that was said to have been given off by St. Teresa of Avila.  I think I am saying that wrong, "given off", but forgive me.  It smelled like a mix between the Balsam of Holy Chrism mixed with the delicate fragrance of roses.

The De Profundis takes its name from the first two words of the psalm in Latin. It is a penitential psalm that is sung as part of vespers (evening prayer) and in commemorations of the dead. It is also a good psalm to express our sorrow as we prepare for the Sacrament of Confession.

Every time you recite the De Profundis, you can receive a partial indulgence (the remission of a portion of punishment for sin). 

Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice.  Let Your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication.  If You, O Lord, mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?  But with You is forgiveness, that You may be revered.I trust in the Lord; my soul trusts in His word.  My soul waits for the Lord more than sentinels wait for the dawn.  More than sentinels wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the Lord.  For with the Lord is kindness and with Him is plenteous redemption; And He will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.

From the source:

Psalm 130

A Song of Ascents.
¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. 
²   Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
   to the voice of my supplications! 

³ If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
   Lord, who could stand? 
⁴ But there is forgiveness with you,
   so that you may be revered. 

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
   and in his word I hope; 
⁶ my soul waits for the Lord
   more than those who watch for the morning,
   more than those who watch for the morning. 

⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord!
   For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
   and with him is great power to redeem. 
⁸ It is he who will redeem Israel
   from all its iniquities.

Mary of Egypt left a life of sin and lived a life of repentance.  Here is synopsis of her life from a book I recently read, The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris 

Mary of Egypt lived in the fifth century, but her story is all too familiar in the twentieth. Running away from home at the age of twelve, she became a prostitute in Alexandria. At the age of twenty-nine, she grew curious about Jerusalem and joined a boatload of pilgrims by offering the crew her sexual services for the duration of the journey. She continued to work as a prostitute in Jerusalem. On hearing that a relic of the true cross was to be displayed at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, her curiosity was aroused again, and she joined the feast-day crowds. But at the threshold of the church some invisible force held her back. Suddenly ashamed of the life she’d led, she began to weep. Kneeling before an icon of the Virgin Mary, she begged forgiveness and asked for help. A voice said to her, “If you cross over the Jordan, you will find rest.” Mary spent the rest of her life, forty-seven years, as a hermit in the desert. Late in her life, Mary encounters a monk who had come to the desert for a period of fasting, and she tells him her story. . . . The monk is amazed to discover that Mary knows many Bible verses by heart, for in the desert she has had no one but God to teach her. She asks him to bring communion to her, when next he comes to the desert, and this he does. On his third visit, however, he finds that Mary has died. . . . 
Monks have always told the story of Mary of Egypt to remind themselves not to grow complacent in their monastic observances, mistaking them for the salvation that comes from God alone. And in the Eastern Orthodox churches, Mary’s life is read on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, presented, as the scholar Benedicta Ward tells us, “as an icon in words of the theological truths about repentance.” . . . . Repentance is not a popular word these days, but I believe that any of us recognize it when it strikes us in the gut. Repentance is coming to our senses, seeing, suddenly, what we’ve done that we might not have done, or recognizing, as Oscar Wilde says in his great religious meditation De Profundis, that the problem is not in what we do but in what we become. Repentance is valuable because it opens in us the idea of change. I’ve known several young women who’ve worked in the sex trade, and one of the worst problems they encounter is the sense that change isn’t possible. They’re in a business that will discard them as useless once they’re past thirty, but they come to feel that this work is all they can do. Many, in fact, do not like what they become.

The story of Mary of Egypt opens the floodgates of change. . . . The monk who encounters Mary still has a lot to learn; his understanding of the spiritual life is facile in comparison to hers, and he knows it. Mary, for all her trials, is like one of those fortunate souls in the gospels to whom Jesus says , “Your faith has made you whole.” Benedicta Ward has said that these stories are about deliverance from “despair of the soul, from the risk of the tragedy of refusing life, of calling death life,” which may be one function of the slang term for prostitution: it is called “the life.” But the story of Mary of Egypt is one any of us might turn to when we’re frozen up inside, when we’re in need of remorse, in need of the tears that will melt what Ward terms “the ultimate block within [us]; that deep and cold conviction that [we] cannot love or be loved.” In this tradition, Ward says, virginity, defined as being whole, at one in oneself, and with God, can be restored by tears.

from Norris, Kathleen (1997-04-01). The Cloister Walk (pp. 164-166). Penguin Group US. Kindle Edition. 

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The kindly Father Ignatius faces yet another parishioner with a problem we are all familiar with ...

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Quick Bytes #79: Joseph

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St. Joseph sure is a talker in the Bible isn't he?

All that bragging he does about walking miles in the desert,
accepting Mary, protecting the Christ ... right?

Oh, wait.  That's not right.

He is totally silent, letting God shine instead.

(note to self)
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Walking the Camino - Thank You, Sister Mary Claudia

Today, as we walk this Lenten Camino, let us remember those who influenced us, in a particular way, as Catholics.  Then, let us thank God, and if we can, thank them, for their influence in our spiritual development.  Let us also remember to reverence the Holy Name of Jesus.

I’ll never forget Sister Mary Claudia. She was my first grade teacher at St. Mary’s.  She was a Sister of Charity from Cincinnati.  Sister Mary Claudia and her fellow sisters wore the full habit.  The sides of her face were encased in her wimple and veil.  How she could see us, I’ll never know, but she knew what we were going to do before we did it!  I remember that she was about 10 feet tall and did not put up with nonsense, at. all.  Once, she made me stay in from play during the lunch break for talking when we were supposed to be doing our arithmetic.  I didn’t dare tell my mother because I knew the kind of trouble I’d be in for disobeying Sister Mary Claudia!  She was amazing! We all knew better than to disobey Sister Mary Claudia!

Read More at:  His Unending Love

Walking the Camino - Invite St. Joseph to Walk with You

Honoring our Saints

Saint Joseph
Patron Saint of Everything!

We know very little about this man who was the earthly father to Jesus of Nazareth and the husband to Mary, the Mother of God.  However, the few things we do know about Joseph, the Patron of the Universal Church, are important. 

Joseph was of the house of David, from which it had been prophesied, that the Messiah would come. 

Matthew 1:19 says that Joseph was “a righteous man.”  Would God have picked any one other than a righteous man to raise His Son on earth?  No, so God the Father chose Joseph to be the father of His Son and the wife of the Mother of God. 

When Joseph found out that Mary was with child, Joseph knowing the child was not his, planned to divorce Mary, but out of the kindness of heart would not expose her to public disgrace.  Then, he had a dream…

Read More at:  His Unending Love

How important are you? Really?

How important are you?

Really?

Who are you exactly?

Find out HERE

Walking the Camino - Gratitutde

When I took this screen shot, I was so grateful.

I walked outside without my coat.
I could feel the warm air flowing on my skin.
I could hear the birds chirping for joy.
I could see the snow melting into puddles.
I could taste the sweet, warm air on my tongue.
I could touch the cold trees and know that soon, they will be green and full of leaves.


Read More at:
His Unending Love
See you there!  

Quick Bytes #78: Poverty

If "extreme poverty" ( < $1.25 a day) were a country, it would be tied for the largest in the world.

If "poverty" ( < $2.50 a day) were a country, it would be #1 by far.  In fact, it would include half of the entire world.

The temptations of Christ

It was Friday once again and Father Ignatius was at school with the youngsters at Catechism class. They had just read the passage in the Bible about Jesus in the desert and the temptations by Satan.


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Ash Wednesday - The Beginning of the Camino Del Rey

The walk of our King to Calvary begins today.   Will you join me in the Camino del Rey?  (Walk of the King.)  Each day as we walk this journey to the Cross, we strive to grow closer to God.  We walk the path that Jesus walked.  We grow closer to Him through prayer, fasting, and alms giving.  We seek Him in our joys, pain, and sorrows.  We strive to keep Him in our sight through each moment in life.  Let us walk the Camino with Jesus.  Let us open our hearts and walk in joy towards the cross.

Meditation:
Let us begin our Camino by holding a crucifix in our hands.  See Our Jesus as he hangs bleeding, naked, and cold on His Cross, held only by nails driven into His Hands and Feet. See the cross which He embraces, this instrument of torture and disgrace, which is the sign of our salvation.  Remember that He, who is the King of Kings, lowered Himself and willingly accepted all sufferings for the redemption of sin.  He, who is Love embodied, loved His His sisters and brothers, so much that He willingly and full of love, accepted His Father’s Will that He be tormented, tortured, and killed by those whom He came to save.  He who was the fulfillment of the covenant the Father made with the chosen people, gave His life that all might live eternally with Him in heaven.

Read more at:  His Unending Love

Quick Bytes #77: Fasting

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Something to think about when you are fasting this Lent:

If "those who go hungry each day" were a country, it would be the third largest in the world.

China:  1.36 Billion people
India:  1.24 Billion people
"Hungry":  870 Million people
United States: 317 Million people

Please pray for them...
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Love thy neighbour

“Jesus answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ”

Father Ignatius stopped reading from the Gospel of St Matthew Chapter 22 and looked up at the congregation sitting there.

“And that’s where the problem lies,” he said, “love your neighbor as you love yourself.

“It’s almost too difficult for some people; and do you know why?"


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In the Midst of a Storm

Life is never without challenges.  It’s easy to be good and choose God when life is calm, and there are no storms to navigate.  Life is much easier if we are not being pelted by rain and dodging the fearful lightning strikes as we walk.  Our fears and anxieties  rage against us, unleashed by the storm.  Where is the peace God promised us?  How can we survive this onslaught of rage and violence?  What can we do?

We can pray.  Prayer is the primary and most effective weapon we have been given to battle any evil, any storm. 

Read More at:  His Unending Love. 

Homily from Father Francis Maple

FATHER FRANCIS MAPLE

"DON'T TALK OF LOVE, SHOW ME!"

                

 JOHN 14:15-21

In my spiritual reading I remember Jesus telling one saint, "Many  receive Me in Holy Communion and very few say to Me the three little  words I love to hear, 'I love you.'"  So to please Jesus it would be  good to remind ourselves to say those three little words to Our Lord every time we receive Him in Holy Communion.

May I suggest that those words should often be on the lips of husbands and wives, parents and children to each other.  Those three little words, when spoken with sincerity, can change the colour of an entire day.  When we do say them they should be backed up with actions, for actions speak louder than words.  It is an insult to tell someone we  love them unless we show that love in the things we do.  This is especially true in matters of religion.  It means absolutely nothing for you and me to speak of our love for the Lord unless we translate those words into deeds.

A husband can show his love for his wife by sending her flowers or giving her a box of chocolates or taking her out for a meal or decorating the kitchen or a number of other thoughtful ways.  Parents can show their love for their children by spending time with them. Children can show their love for their parents by getting along with their brothers and sisters, helping with household chores and keeping their bedrooms tidy.

How can we show our love for the Lord?  Jesus Himself tells us how we can when He says, "Keep my commandments."  We can start with the Ten Commandments, but we mustn't stop there.  The Pharisees took great pride in obeying those ancient laws, yet they made no pretence of loving Jesus.

They, in fact, hated Him and did everything they could to discredit  Him.  So if we show our love for the Lord by obeying His commandments, we must go beyond the moral laws of the Old Testament.

Just as children by loving their brothers and sisters can show their love for their parents we can show our love for Our Lord by loving one another.

What else can we do?  If we had lived in the time of Jesus there were several things we could have done to Him personally to show our love.  If we had been the innkeeper in Bethlehem, we could have made room for His mother and given Him a decent place in which to be born.  If we had been the Samaritan woman by Jacob's well, we could have given Him a drink of water. If we had been the boy with the barley loaves and fish, we could have  given Him the family's lunch so that He could use it to feed the  hungry crowd.  If we had been that landlord in Jerusalem, we could have loaned Him that upper room that He might eat the Passover with His disciples.  If we had been Simon of Cyrene, we could have carried His cross.  If we had been Joseph of Arimathea, we could have given Him our tomb.  These were the things Jesus needed and some of these needs were met by some thoughtful people.

Jesus is no longer with us in His bodily presence.  He needs none of those things now.  So what can we do for Him?  We can give Him our heart by spending quality time with Him in prayer.  This may involve reorganising our lives, getting to bed a little bit earlier so that in the morning we can find time to say morning prayers or attending daily Mass.

We can show our love for Jesus by loving our neighbour and there are many opportunities for doing this.  Jesus said we will always have the poor with us.  We can send money to organisations that feed the hungry.  We can find people who are lonely and befriend them.  It may be an elderly person who can no longer get out and about.  We may come across people in sorrow and let them know that we care.  We may find people who are discouraged, and share with them a little of our courage.

That's what it means to love Jesus, being prayerful, caring and thoughtful people.  Unless we translate our love for Him in down-to-earth, practical things like we have just mentioned, we can be certain that we don't love the Lord.  In the musical 'My Fair Lady' Eliza Dolittle sang, "Words, words, words, I'm just sick of words.  If you're in love, show me."  Perhaps that song can help our protestations of love be backed up with actions of love.

The Joy Thief

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

"We would like to get back to our innocence and joy, but they are cold and sepulchered."          
                                                                             Archbishop Fulton Sheen


The Seven Deadly Sins steal your joy. But perhaps none so much as the deadly sin of sloth, also known as acedia. If you lack joy in your life this may be the deadly sin to look at first, so great are its detrimental effects on the soul. Sloth is the head "joy thief" because, well...that happens to be its job description. It is sadness in the face of joy, sorrow for the things of God. Or as Peter Kreeft, in his book Back to Virtue, so bluntly describes it:

"Sloth is the most depressing thing in the world. It is hell on earth. It finds our very highest joy - God himself - joyless. If Joy himself is joyless, where can we find joy? If salt has lost its saltiness, how can it be restored? If the very light in us is darkness, how great is that darkness?"

This is the best explanation of sloth that I have ever seen. Sloth finds Joy himself...joyless.

Scary, huh? Sloth is like walking around in the bright sunshine with a huge black cloud hanging over your head. You can't see the light for the darkness that surround you.

St. Thomas Aquinas says that sloth is a "sluggishness of the mind which neglects to begin good...its evil is in its effect, if it so oppresses man as to draw him away from good deeds". So, sloth is not only joyless, it is neglectful as well.

Those who are encumbered by this deadly sin walk this world in a half-hearted fashion and I believe it is one of the biggest problems that this century is faced with. Those who are lukewarm almost always have a problem with sloth. Sloth is a spiritual torpor, a listlessness of the spirit that leads most often to sins of omission rather than sins of commission. Rather than confronting this joyless spirit head-on, many try to escape it by frantically rushing around in an attempt to outrun the heaviness in their hearts and the sword of sorrow hanging over their heads. This is where sloth gets ugly, for in trying to escape it we make matters worse. Sloth doesn't like to confront, it likes to avoid. It is a spiritual languor that says, "I still have time...I'll take care of spiritual matters tomorrow. Today I just have too many things to do - I have to get this shopping done, the game is on, these e-mails have to go out, my blog is waiting (hmmm), etc...

Here are a few of the signs (or symptoms, one could say) of sloth:
~ An aversion to prayer - this can be mild or great depending on how deeply rooted this vice is
~ Aridity
~ Lack of zeal
~ Disorganization
~ Confusion (spiritual)
~ Apathy or discouragement
~ Boredom
~ Putting off tasks or leaving them undone without good reason
~ A lack of awe
~ Ingratitude
~ Sadness (melancholy)
~ Excessive activity that hides a spiritual languor - too busy for God

The seven deadly sins tend to be "intertwined" with each other like interlocking pieces of a hellish puzzle. For most of us there tends to be one particular deadly sin that takes precedence over the others. In other words, it is the "kingpin" and hitting the kingpin helps take down the other deadly "pins" that have attached themselves to our souls.

Sloth is sneaky, irresponsible, and apathetic when it comes to God but there are remedies for this vice and one of the ways we tackle it is by practicing the opposing virtue. In the case of sloth/acedia the opposing virtue is diligence. Exercising virtues builds your spiritual muscles. Another virtue which opposes sloth is charity.

It's important to remember that joy isn't a "thing" to be grasped. Joy is alive. Joy is a person.
Set your heart on God and there you will find your Joy.

An Everlasting Love

"I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3b)

Saw this quote Sunday night, and it stopped me in my mental tracts.  It was in fine print, in italics on the back of a little business card stuck in a book given and written by a priest friend of mine.  

I've been dwelling on it ever since, and at the same time noticed that I've been especially happy the past few days.  Living in Chicago we have had snow and cold and I find myself delighting in the snow, and even finding the cold, clear days beautiful.  When I go to work in the morning it is now right around sunrise and I find that I do love sunrises.  When I leave after work I am grateful that it is still light at 5 PM when not just a few weeks ago it was dark.  Even when I am walking through the slush in the non-snowremoved streets and sidewalks I am thankful for my new waterproof boots with Vibram soles and new wool socks.  

I know it is not a permanent state, this happiness, easily thrilled state of being where moments and the beauty of nature and the gifts of my family, children and friends are cherished.  I had been reading Discernment of Spirits and learned more about the states of consolation and desolation and the working of the good and evil spirits on one's thoughts and feelings during each.  But for now all I can do is enjoy being happy, and offer my love, thanks and praise to God for where he has me right now.

That brings me to a great mini-meditation that can be done at any time of the day.  I got it from a "Daily Disconnect" from Carmelites.net  It goes like this:

• Visualize yourself in God's presence . . . in other words recollect yourself . . . become tuned in to God's presence in and around you, and his love for you.
• Using these words of praise, pray slowly

My God, I love you with all my heart, I praise and thank you . . .

• Repeat several times
• Just be with God

At Heaven's Doorstep

I stood at the doorsteps of Heaven in full anticipation. It was not a large Pearly Gate shining brightly as we’ve often been told and is depicted in some pictures; no … this was just a small wooden door. A humble ordinary wooden door with no sign or any distinguishing features foretelling where it led to.

I remembered the quote from the Bible: “Knock and it shall be opened to you …”

 

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