July 24 2024 - St. Sharbel and the peace of holy solitude

 In the parable of the sower, this morning, we heard of the different types of soil which represent different responses that people have to Jesus’ Gospel invitation. 

Like the hard soil—some people have hardened themselves to the Gospel

Some people’s hearts are hardened to the Gospel—they have absolutely closed their minds and hearts to receive the Gospel—they are preoccupied with the matters of the world, and have no time and no desire to pursue spiritual realities. Some people are initially receptive and even enthusiastic about the Gospel, but discipleship is abandoned when it becomes difficult. But in some souls the Gospel flourishes—these souls receive the Gospel with understanding, with the willingness to suffer for it, making it the highest priority of their life.

Today we honor a saint, who did just that. St. Sharbel, cultivated the soil of his soul to allow the Gospel to flourish in his life.

A few months ago, a few priest friends and I took an overnight trip up to New York City. And wanting a few moments break from all the noise and cultural insanity of the city, we stopped in the great St. Patrick’s Cathedral, as they have a beautiful quiet adoration chapel behind the main altar. And after spending time with the Lord, and praying for the conversion of the city, honestly, we started to leave, when low and behold we came across a recently installed shrine to the saint we honor today: St. Charbel. 

The beautiful shrine consists is adorned with a hand-crafted mosaic depicting Saint Sharbel in his hermit’s robes standing amidst the mountains and cedars of Lebanon with his arms outstretched in prayer. And there at the center of the shrine is a niche containing first-class relics of Saint Charbel and a kneeler,  inviting pilgrims to spend time in silent prayer, much like that experienced by this renowned saint in his remote desert hermitage.

In the quiet and solitude of his desert hermitage, St. Sharbel made his soul into soil where the life of God flourished. St. Charbel said, “He who loves solitude loves God, for God is the only refuge where the soul finds true peace.” 

We are not all called to be hermits, though what a blessed life that would be. But we must all go to deserted places, like Jesus, to cultivate that inner peace that only comes by approaching God in quiet prayer. 

Our souls crave quiet contemplation more than our bodies crave food and drink, but we so often deny our souls what they need, and we are unhappier for it. We allow the thorns of worldliness to choke out divine life.

May St. Sharbel help us to clear away the thorns and seek the peace of holy solitude with God, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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That every member of the Church may cultivate minds, hearts, and souls to receive the Word of God more deeply and fruitfully.

That leaders of nations may find guidance in the Word of God for proper governance and the pursuit of justice for all.

That Christian families may be places where the Word of God is studied, understood, obeyed, and cherished.

That the word of God may bring consolation to all those who suffer: for the sick, those affected by inclement weather or political turmoil, the indigent, those who will die today, and those who grieve.

For the deceased members of our families and parishes, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, and for N., for whom this Mass is offered.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all goodness, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain

June 6 2023 - St. Norbert - Church Renewal through Scripture and Eucharistic Adoration

 Yesterday, we celebrated the feast of the Apostle to the Germans: St. Boniface, who around the year 750 is sent by the Pope to evangelize the wild frontier of Europe at the time: the Netherlands, Austria, and Germany—spreading the Gospel among the scattered Germanic tribes and delivering them from their pagan worship and witchcraft. The blood of the martyrs certainly water the fields of Christendom in Europe, for within two hundred years of Boniface’s martyrdom, the Holy Roman Empire was established. 

Today’s saint, was born into the German nobility in the high middle ages. Norbert was ordained a subdeacon and was given a role in the imperial court as chaplain to the emperor and was put in charge of dispensing alms to the poor. But soon, Norbert fell into the trap of worldliness and began to take on a lot of the vices and bad habits of the emperor’s court. The Holy Roman Empire was not always very Holy…or Roman for that matter. Anyway.

During a violent thunderstorm, Norbert had a close brush with death. That glimpse of mortality and the judgment that comes at the end of life, led Norbert to a deeper conversion to Christ. At his ordination to the priesthood in 1115, Norbert gave away all of his possessions and moved to the valley of Premontre in northern France, from which we get the name Premonstratensian, the contemplative religious order he would go on to found. Because Premonstratensians, is a bit of a mouthful, they are typically called, the Norbertines, these days.

As a contemplative, Norbert’s life revolved around Prayer, Scripture, and the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. As a priest and later as an archbishop, Norbert spent many hours in contemplation of the divine mysteries.  Consequently, His preaching and teaching were infused with the fruit of his time in prayer.

He believed that devotion to the Scriptures and to the Blessed Sacrament were essential for the renewal of his diocese and for the religious life of his monks. He encouraged the members of his religious order to read the scriptures often, and to pattern their lives after the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  These days when we are talking more and more about evangelization, that means Catholics must become much more familiar and devoted to the Scriptures, so that we can draw people to Christ through them.

Norbert was also devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, and Norbert attributed the conversion of sinners, the reform of the clergy, and the spread of the Gospel throughout his diocese to time spent in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  Religious art often depicts him holding a monstrance or kneeling in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

As the Church begins this year of Eucharistic Renewal, St. Norbert certainly offers a program for all of us to follow: to turn away from worldly vices and to alternate between time with the scriptures in our laps and time on our knees before the Blessed Sacrament for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

To God the Father Almighty, may every prayer of our heart be directed, for it is His will that all humanity should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of all the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among them, and deepen in them the virtues of justice and religion.

That the Norbertine Order and all those consecrated religious may inspire us to strive for greater holiness.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief, especially for the sick and victims of war and terror and natural disaster.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

Feast of the Holy Family (EF) 2023 - BXVI and the School of the House of Nazareth

 

Happy Feast of the Holy Family. "The house of Nazareth", Pope Benedict wrote, "is a school of prayer where one learns to listen, meditate on and penetrate the profound meaning of the manifestation of the Son of God." And so In light of Pope Emeritus Benedict’s recent passing, let us allow the great Pope Benedict to take us to school. 

He writes, at the school of the Holy Family, we learn that we must develop “spiritual discipline if we wish to follow the teaching of the Gospel and become disciples of Christ”.  Notice, how the holy father connects discipline and discipleship. We cannot have discipleship without discipline. In our prayer lives, that means developing and sticking to a routine, a habit of prayer, no matter how we feel, marking the hours of the day, the household duties, the meals, rising and waking, with prayer, praying perhaps before speaking when a conflict arises, praying in times of great joy—turning as a family, to the holy family for blessings and graces and guidance.

Pope Benedict writes, that we must learn also from the Holy Family’s practice of silence. “Silence”, he says, “is the wonderful and indispensable spiritual atmosphere, in which the Word can be reborn within us! Whereas we are deafened by the noise and discordant voices in the frenetic, turbulent life of our time. O silence of Nazareth! He prays, teach us to be steadfast in good thoughts, attentive to our inner life, ready to hear God’s hidden inspiration clearly and the exhortations of true teachers” 

Our day, like the day of the holy family, should be infused with silence.

It’s in silence, that we like Our Lady are able to cherish and ponder Christ. He writes, “Mary was a peerless model of the contemplation of Christ. The face of the Son belonged to her in a special way because he had been knit together in her womb and had taken a human likeness from her. No one has contemplated Jesus as diligently as Mary. The gaze of her heart was already focused on him at the moment of the Annunciation, when she conceived him through the action of the Holy Spirit; in the following months she gradually became [more deeply] aware of his presence, until, on the day of his birth, her eyes could look with motherly tenderness upon the face of her son as she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in the manger.

Memories of Jesus, imprinted on her mind and on her heart, marked every instant of Mary’s existence. She lived with her eyes fixed on Christ and cherished his every word. St Luke says: “Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart” (as we heard in the Gospel today) and thus describes Mary’s approach to the Mystery of the Incarnation which was to extend throughout her life: keeping these things, pondering on them in her heart. 

St. Joseph too, teaches us. Pope Benedict wrote: Joseph fulfilled every aspect of his paternal role. He must certainly have taught Jesus to pray, together with Mary. In particular Joseph himself must have taken Jesus to the Synagogue for the rites of the Sabbath, as well as to Jerusalem for the great feasts of the people of Israel. Joseph, in accordance with the Jewish tradition, would have led the prayers at home both every day — in the morning, in the evening, at meals — and on the principal religious feasts. In the rhythm of the days he spent at Nazareth, in the simple home and in Joseph’s workshop, Jesus learned to alternate prayer and work, as well as to offer God his labour in earning the bread the family needed.

Pope Benedict draws several lessons in particular from today’s Gospel. He writes, “Jewish families, like Christian families, pray in the intimacy of the home but they also pray together with the community, recognizing that they belong to the People of God, journeying on; and the pilgrimage expresses exactly this state of the People of God on the move (journeying to God together).” So vibrant personal prayer lives, contemplating the face of Christ, cherishing christ in our hearts like our Lady, is important. Ordering our family life, our professional life in a godly way, and infusing them with prayer, like St. Joseph is indispensable. But also the Holy Family models communal prayer. Our corporate worship together as the family of God, the Church, is so powerful and essential to who we are. We join together in prayer at holy Mass, a foretaste of the saint’s communal worship of God in heaven. 

But then, the Holy Father draws our attention to the words of Jesus in the Gospel. They are first words of Our Lord recorded in the Gospels, and Benedict writes, After three days spent looking for him his parents found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions (cf. 2:46). His answer to the question of why he had done this to mary and joseph was that he had only done what the Son should do, that is, to be with his Father. “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Benedict says, “note the resonance that hearing this word “Father” on Jesus’ lips must have had in the hearts of Mary and Joseph…We may imagine that from this time the life of the Holy Family must have been even fuller of prayer since from the heart of Jesus the boy — then an adolescent and a young man — this deep meaning of the relationship with God the Father would not cease to spread and to be echoed in the hearts of Mary and Joseph…The Family of Nazareth became the first model of the Church in which, around the presence of Jesus and through his mediation, everyone experiences the filial relationship with God the Father which also transforms interpersonal, human relationships.”

The dear departed Pope Benedict knew the important of Christians families looking to and modeling their family life after the Holy Family. He wrote, “the Holy Family is the icon of the domestic Church, called to pray together. The family is the domestic Church and must be the first school of prayer. It is in the family that children, from the tenderest age, can learn to perceive the meaning of God, also thanks to the teaching and example of their parents: to live in an atmosphere marked by God’s presence.”

May the Holy Family guide and protect us always, and may the soul of God’s servant, Pope Benedict XVI, through the mercy of God rest in peace, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

A reading from the epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians

Brethren: Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another,  if one has a grievance against another;  as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

A continuation of the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke

Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple,  sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

August 8 2022 - St. Dominic - To contemplate and share the Truth

 

The Opening Prayer calls Dominic “an outstanding preacher of truth.” Truth. Veritas, in latin, is an important aspect of Dominican Life.

One of the mottos of the Dominicans is, “To contemplate the truth and to share with others the fruit of contemplation.”

The contemplation of truth for the Dominic occurs through prayer and study. 

Through prayer we encounter Jesus who said, I am the way, the Truth, and the life. Through prayer, a people who dwell in darkness encounter the light of God. Personal meditation, celebration of Mass, recitation of the liturgy of the hours, and the rosary, make up a significant part of the daily life of the Dominican, so the light of God can infuse their own souls and be shared with others.

Also, study. The Dominican life is also supported by study. The mention of “study” might conjure images of boring classrooms or abstract and impractical discussions. But study is also meant to bring our minds and hearts in contact with Truth. The study of theology, history, liturgy, the writings of the spiritual masters enriches us. St. Dominic knew that the habit of study was important for the preaching mission of his religious order—for study cultivates an attitude of discovery and the discipline—which all Christians need a bit more of, don’t we?

Christians must never stop learning and studying our faith, after all, we are perpetually disciples. Disciple means student. We are to never study studying the words of our Master, Christ the Teacher. Like a child who studies the faces of his parents, we are never to stop studying the face of Christ. There is always something to discover about our faith, for there is always something to discover about Our Lord. 

Pope Benedict XVI took up the topic of Truth in his second encyclical titled Caritas in Veritate, Charity in Truth.    

He writes: “Only in truth does charity shine forth, only in truth can charity be authentically lived… Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality.  Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way…The word “love” is abused and distorted, to the point where it comes to mean the opposite.  Truth frees charity from the constraints of emotionalism… Truth opens and unites our minds in the lógos of love”

Through study and prayer we seek the contemplation of the One who is Truth, that we may learn to truly love Him, and to love as He loves, to share the contemplation of the truth with others, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That the pope, bishops, and clergy may be filled with constancy in teaching and living out the Gospel, and that our parish may bear witness with great confidence to our life-giving faith in word and deed.

That all Christians may seek to grow in truth and love through study and prayer. 

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, especially for the Dominican Orders. 

For the sick and afflicted, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, for those recovering from surgery, for victims of natural disaster, war, violence, and terrorism, for the mentally ill, those with addictions, and the imprisoned, for the comfort of the dying and the consolation of their families.

For all the souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

Hear Our Prayers, O Lord, and through the intercession of St. Dominic, help us preach the truth of Christ always and everywhere. Through the same Christ Our Lord.

July 16 2021 - Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Contemplating the Eternal Word

 For a number of months I’ve been reading the beautiful book of daily meditations by the Carmelite priest Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, entitled “Divine Intimacy”. Father Gabriel, being a Carmelite has something to say concerning today’s feast.

He writes, “Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a special call to the interior life, which is preeminently a Marian life. Our Lady wants us to resemble her not only in our outward appearance but, far more, in heart and spirit. If we gaze into Mary’s soul, we shall see that grace in her has flowered into a spiritual life of incalculable wealth: a life of recollection, prayer, uninterrupted oblation to God, continual contact, and intimate union with him. Mary’s soul is a sanctuary reserved for God alone, where no human creature has ever left its trace, where love and zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of humankind reign supreme. […] Those who want to live their devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel to the full must follow Mary into the depths of her interior life. Carmel is the symbol of the contemplative life, the life wholly dedicated to the quest for God, wholly orientated towards intimacy with God; and the one who has best realized this highest of ideals is Our Lady herself, ‘Queen and Beauty of Carmel’.” 

The first Carmelite monks looked to our Lady as a model of contemplative prayer. For, Scripture tells us that Mary through contemplation and prayerful listening to God, kept and pondered in her heart the words of God. 

In many paintings of the Annunciation, Mary is depicted with the scriptures open on her lap, to show that she had made her mind, her body, her heart a sanctuary for the Eternal Word to dwell even prior to Him becoming incarnate in her womb. St. Augustine put it this way, he said, "Mary, full of grace, first conceived Jesus in her heart before she conceived him in her womb."

So too every Christian is to follow Our Lady’s example, in making our hearts a sanctuary for God. There needs to be time, every day, where we can be found, like her, with the scriptures upon our lap, pondering the promises of God and the mysteries of God, a point every day where we become quiet enough to hear the tiny whisper of God’s voice in the silence of our hearts for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

That all Christians may grow in prayerfulness and fidelity to the Divine Will through the intercession and example of Our Lady.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, and for blessings upon the Carmelite Order as it works and prays for the good of the Church.

That our young people on summer vacation may be protected from all physical and spiritual harm, shielded from the errors and perversions of the world, and kept in closeness to God through prayer and virtue.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, for all those recovering from or undergoing surgery today, and for the consolation of the dying.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

October 15 2019 - St. Teresa in Ecstasy

One of my favorite works of art is located in the corner chapel of the Church of Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. I remember walking miles through the rain the first time I visited Rome to see this sculpture of St. Teresa in Ecstasy in carved white marble by the famous Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The sculpture depicts Theresa, garbed in her flowing Carmelite habit, reclined on a cloud. Over her, a joy-filled angel holds a golden arrow ready to pierce her heart with Divine Love.

Bernini drew his inspiration for this sculpture from the amazing life of this saint.

For many years, Teresa had difficulty sitting through her prayers. It was after meditating deeply upon an image of the Passion of Jesus scourged, bound, and crowned with thorns standing before a hostile crowd that she resolved to dedicate herself seriously to the practice of prayer.

As she grew in prayer, her love for the Lord deepened. She would become absorbed in deep contemplation and would become so filled with divine love that her body would spontaneously levitate—hence Bernini depicting Teresa floating on a cloud. She would feel overwhelmed by love and the experience of the illuminating grace of God washing through her soul.

Her profound book, The Interior Castle, describes the Christian souls journey to union with God.

Forty years after her death, she was Canonized by Pope Gregory XV.  And, in 1970, Pope Paul VI bestowed upon her the title “Doctor of the Church” along with Saint Catherine of Siena making them the first women to receive this distinction. She well deserves the title the Doctor of Prayer, as she describes how the Lord invites each of us to abandonment to the Divine Will through prayer.

Fr. Thomas Dubay wrote a wonderful account of Teresa’s contributions to our understanding of prayer, called The Fire Within.  He writes, “Genuine prayer, does not happen without effort.  Depth of communion with the indwelling Trinity occurs only in a person intent on living the Gospel totally, one who is humble and patient, temperate and obedient, pure and kind, free of selfish clinging.  It is not accidental that our very best explanations of contemplative prayer have their origin in men and women of marvelous sanctity.”

Let us allow this great Doctor of the Church to teach us how to pray, how to open ourselves to the love God has for each of us, to contemplate the indwelling presence of the Trinity, that we may be united to God in all of our activities and relationships for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may seek to grow in holiness through prayer and penance.

For an increase in vocations, and for the spiritual welfare of the Carmelite Order.

For those who have fallen into error, for Catholics who have grown lukewarm in their faith, for those who have left the Church, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of October, “that the breath of the Holy Spirit may engender a new missionary ‘spring’ in the Church.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

July 16 2018 - Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - Model of the Interior Life

Today we have the joy of celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel.

Our Lady is venerated under this title by the Carmelite Order who looks to her as their special patroness and protector.

The Scapular of the Carmelite Order, the Brown Scapular, is a devotion that reminds us of Our Lady’s protection of the Church. Today would be a wonderful day to wear your brown scapular if you’ve fallen out of the habit.

Our Lady is venerated by this title not only for her role as protector, but as a model of the interior life, which has a long history on Mt. Carmel.

It is said that after his victory over the false prophets of Baal, the prophet Elijah withdrew to Mt. Carmel to prayerfully await the fulfillment of God’s promises. In that tradition, Mt Carmel became home to hermits and contemplatives who sought to deepen their connection with God through a life of quiet prayer.

The first Carmelite monks looked to our Lady as a model for this life of quiet and prayer. For, Scripture tells us that Mary through contemplation and prayerful listening to God, kept and pondered in her heart the words of God.

In many paintings of the Annunciation, Mary is depicted with the scriptures open on her lap, to show that she had made her mind, her body, her heart a sanctuary for the Eternal Word to dwell, prior to him becoming incarnate in her womb. St. Augustine put it this way, he said, "Mary, full of grace, first conceived Jesus in her heart before she conceived him in her womb."

So too every Christian is to follow Our Lady’s example, in making our hearts a sanctuary for God. There she be a point every day, where we could be found with the scriptures upon our lap, pondering the promises of God and the mysteries of God, a point every day where we become quiet enough to hear the tiny whisper of God’s voice in the silence of our hearts.

Our Lady’s example certainly serves as a remedy to the noise and distractions of our modern era, and protects us from its errors and seductions. As we prayed in the Collect, “fortified by her protection, may we reach the mountain which is Christ” by following her example of prayer, contemplation, purity, and the perfection of charity, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That all Christians may grow in prayerfulness and fidelity to the Divine Will through the intercession and example of Our Lady.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, for blessings upon the Carmelite Order as it works and prays for the good of the Church.

That our young people on summer vacation may be protected from all physical and spiritual harm, shielded from the errors and perversions of the world, and kept in closeness to God through prayer and virtue.

For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of July: That priests, who experience fatigue and loneliness in their pastoral work, may find help and comfort in their intimacy with the Lord and in their friendship with their brother priests.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, for all those recovering from or undergoing surgery today, and for the consolation of the dying.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

4th Sunday of Advent 2017 - 4 Marian Lessons

All four candles of the Advent wreath are lit, for we are on the threshold of Christmas. In just a few hours, we will begin our Christmas festivities. So, how can we use the few hours we have left to the best of our ability--to our greatest spiritual benefit?

Well, our Scripture readings focus us on the Blessed Virgin Mary, particularly the moment of her response of faith to become the Mother of the Son of God. I submit that the best way to prepare for Christmas is to do just what our Scripture readings have done: to focus on Mary: so we can emulate her attitude, her faith, her response to God. And so I propose four short Marian Lessons to keep in mind—lessons from Mary’s own Advent journey.

The first lesson is from Mary’s Annunciation. From the angel’s lips, Mary heard that she was to conceive and bear a child, who would reign on the throne of David as the Son of the Most High. Gabriel had spoken of high and glorious things, and how does Mary respond? Her attitude here is so striking: her calm reserve and her humility; without pretension, without apparent anxiety, in plain ordinary words, Mary calls herself the handmaiden of the Lord—she identifies as a humble servant who trusts God.
The key to Mary’s calmness, her peacefulness, was not doubt her humility. For humility trusts the Lord in all things and seeks to serve the Lord in all things. Instead of placing the ego, at the center, humility places God’s Will at the center. If your family is anything like mine, Christmas can be a time of high drama, even some anxiety. So before Christmas dinner, before facing the in-laws, before the kids rip open the presents, pray, that you might follow Mary’s example of surrendering every moment to God’s will.

The second lesson is from Mary’s Visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. Soon after the Annunciation, Mary “went in haste to the hill country of Judea”. Here is Mary, chosen by God for this monumental task, in a unique position in all of human history, facing many unknown realities. What is she going to tell her parents? What is she going to tell her husband Joseph? What are her neighbors going to think of her pregnancy, since she has not yet moved in with her husband? And what does the Blessed Mother do? She makes haste to take care of her cousin. If she was at all anxious, she doesn’t show it; she puts her questions aside and goes to help another.

Be like Mary: Be quick to help and serve each other this Christmas. I remember, at Christmas Eve dinner at my grandparents, nearly every year, there was all this drama about setting the dinner table, and again, when it was time to clear the table after dinner. Cousins would complain, aunts would argue. It seemed like everyone was keeping track of what everyone else was doing. Christmas isn’t about serving those who serve us, but charity without measure, making haste, like Mary, to help in any way you can. It’s not about keeping track, but simply giving what you can when you can, even seeking out opportunities to serve and to give.

The third lesson is from Mary’s Journey with Joseph to Bethlehem. The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem was about 65 miles and took four or five days: 65 miles, probably on the back of a donkey, through rocky terrain, while nine months pregnant. Mary also had to face that her Son, the Son of God, would not be born in the comfort of her own home, surrounded by her close family. Rather, he would be born in a foreign town, hopefully in the comfort of an inn, but you never know.

The need to travel to Bethlehem for the Census was beyond her control, here we see Mary’s trust and also her willingness to suffer: her willingness to trust God amidst suffering without complaint. As you gather with family, there will likely be some things which are beyond your control—some annoyances you will likely have to suffer quietly and patiently. It may be the unnerving way your in-laws comment on your life choices; it may also be the sad revelation that family members aren’t living the Catholic faith as they should. Like Mary, bear the small annoyances quietly and patiently, and set good Christian example for those who need it.

The fourth Advent lesson is lesson from the Nativity. Having humbly surrendered to God’s will, having made haste to help others, having quietly and patiently suffered months of pregnancy and miles of difficult travel, Mary was able to behold the Christ child in her arms and behold his face in peaceful joy. We too must take time, amidst the busy-ness of the holiday, and hold the holy infant, so tender and mild, in our hearts and souls. “Cum Maria contemplemur Christi vultum”: with Mary, let us contemplate the face of Christ. Beholding the face of the infant Christ Child is a special type of prayer unique to this time of year as the image of Mother and Child is presented so vividly to us. Take time with your family to kneel in prayer before the nativity scene, to put yourself, to kneel down with shepherds and wise men, and simply behold him.

To keep Christ in Christmas, and to experience true Christmas peace and joy, requires active cooperation with the will of God. Humility isn’t easy, charity isn’t easy, bearing difficulty and suffering isn’t easy, and prayer isn’t easy. But with the help of Our Lady, Mary Most Holy, we are able to cooperate with God, like her, most generously, and experience the closeness and splendor of the Christ child, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

August 8, 2017 - St. Dominic - Prayer and Contemplative Study

Listen again to the entrance antiphon for today, the memorial of St. Dominic: “In the midst of the Church he opened his mouth, and the Lord filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding and clothed him in a robe of glory”.  These words, taken from the book of Sirach, wonderfully describe today’s great Saint.

Dominic certainly “opened his mouth” and spoke words of wisdom. He is the founder of the Order of Preachers. The Collect even called Dominic “an outstanding preacher” of the Lord’s Truth. It is said the primary work of the Dominican Order is “to preach the gospel for the salvation of souls.”

This is certainly the task of all Christians: to preach the Gospel for the salvation of souls. What can we learn from St. Dominic and the Order of Preachers to help us in our task?

Dominican preaching is fueled and nurtured particularly by prayer and contemplative study.

By prayer, the Dominican immerses himself in the life of God through personal meditation, celebration of Mass, recitation of the liturgy of the hours, and of course, the rosary. An early Dominican document even details St. Dominic’s private prayer. When Dominic prayed, he would incline profoundly, prostrate his body upon the ground, genuflect, beat his breast, raise his arms to heaven. He would pray standing, sitting, kneeling, prostrating, walking, Dominic employed all these as postures when praying. For Dominic, prayer was not just a mental activity or exercise, but an intimate, personal conversation with God in which he would engage his whole person—body, spirit, mind, and soul. For the preaching of the Gospel, God wants to use all of us, our whole life, our whole self, our creativity, our past memories, our present struggles. And so we should seek the sort of prayer life, that truly nurtures us in the Christian life.

The Dominican life is also supported by study. When we think of study, images of boring classrooms or abstract discussions may naturally come to mind. But in the context of Dominican life, study leads to prayer, which inspires the preaching of the gospel. Dominic exhorted his brothers to be fervent in cultivating both the attitude of discovery and the discipline of inquiry. The Dominican father, St. Thomas Aquinas puts it well when he writes that the Dominican life is characterized as contemplation of divine things and the divine One and then sharing these fruits of contemplation with others.

As Christians, we should never stop learning and studying our faith, never stop seeking and studying the face of Christ in the Sacred Scriptures. There is always something to discover about our faith, for there is always something to discover about Our Lord. And there should be an element of discipline, that we simply don’t jump from one novelty to the next, but truly enter into the mysteries we contemplate.

Through prayer, and study, may we, like St. Dominic, we filled with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and come to be, like him, robed in glory, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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For a deeper devotion among all Christians to prayer and contemplative study of the Sacred Mysteries.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, for Order of Preachers, and that we may all be dedicated to preaching the gospel for the salvation of souls.

For Pope Francis’ prayer intention for the month of August: “That artists of our time, through their ingenuity, may help everyone discover the beauty of creation.” We pray to the Lord.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering. We pray.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests, religious, especially for all deceased Dominicans who have served our local Church, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom. We pray.

O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.