Archive for January, 2010
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This rosary meditation focuses on The Second Glorious Mystery — The Ascension. After rising from the dead in the First Glorious Mystery, Jesus physically ascended into Heaven. We profess this every time we recite the Apostle’s Creed — “On the third day He rose again; He ascended into Heaven, He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and He will come again to judge the living and the dead.” We must remember that ultimately we will have to account for our thoughts, words, and actions in front of Jesus who reigns in Heaven. However, the Church gives us tools that allow us to remain close to God and correct our faults before facing our final judgment.
“He will come again to judge the living and the dead.” Like many people, I find the idea of judgment scary. The word “judgment” conveys a trial, assessing guilt, and handing out punishment; none of which are very pleasant. In life, judging has a very negative connotation. We hear how we shouldn’t be so judgmental. Even when we are guilty (either legally or morally) many of us try to avoid admitting our faults and accepting the consequences. Instead we hide, we lie, or play the “blame game.” Deep down we want to be innocent, sinless, and virtuous but we often miss that mark. But in professing our inevitable judgment in the Apostle’s Creed we remind ourselves that we need to work at becoming more Christ-like. Understanding that our actions have consequences motivates us to avoid sin. And we avoid sin, not just to avoid punishment, but also realizing that sin separates us from Jesus Christ whom we love.
The purpose of knowing of our coming judgment is not to scare or depress us. In fact, God does not want to punish any of us. He desires all of us to one day enter into His kingdom. And He provides tools to help us avoid a harsh judgment. The most obvious tool He gives us is the Sacrament of Confession. This is our opportunity to set things straight with the Lord and remain in His grace. It’s our way of doing small course corrections so that we can remain on the path that ultimately leads us into His kingdom of Heaven. To put it another way, by routinely confessing our sins we confront our shortcomings while they are still small and manageable. Without acknowledging our sins those small shortcomings can turn into major problems and separate us from God’s grace not to mention make our lives miserable.
Another tool at our disposal to live in God’s graces is prayer. When we center our lives around God through prayer, that means we are not centering it around sin. In other words, earnest prayer can never be sinful so when we live a life of prayer we live without sin (unfortunately, no one has been able to obtain this lofty goal 100% of the time). The fact that we pray means that we acknowledge that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father and hears our prayers. After all, what would be the point of praying if we did not believe that Jesus hears us and guides us? When we pray we focus, even if only for a short time, on the Lord and ask for His help, thank Him, and listen to how He calls us to live. In short, we ask for the strength to live for His kingdom and earn our place that He has prepared for us when he ascended into Heaven.
When we meditate on this mystery, may we remember that our ultimate destination is Heaven. May we show our love for the Lord by not delaying our arrival in Heaven with a detour in Purgatory. And may we avoid mortal sin and risk loosing His kingdom entirely. Remembering our final judgment is not a terrible thing. Like remembering the consequences of breaking civil laws, we must always be mindful of the natural law that God imprints on our hearts and minds. Doing so will not only have its benefits in the afterlife, but will also manifest itself as an inner happiness in this life. Let us also remember to pray for those who are far from God’s graces. Let us pray for those who do not want to confront their eventual judgment but instead choose to hide, lie, and redirect blame. Because, as the old saying goes, “You can run, but you can’t hide.”
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January 31 2010 | rosary and rosary meditation | No Comments »
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This rosary meditation focuses on The Fourth Joyful Mystery — The Presentation of our Lord. In this mystery we see Mary and Joseph present Jesus at the temple as was the Jewish tradition. They encountered a man named Simeon whom the Holy Spirit said would not experience death until he had seen the Anointed One. Upon seeing Jesus, Simeon said “Now Master, You can dismiss Your servant in peace; You have fulfilled Your word” (Luke 2:29). Simeon is an example on how our faith requires patience, endurance, and moral fortitude. While there are times when we may not feel God’s presence in our lives our faith tells us that He is always near and always hears our prayers.
I sometimes come across postings on the Catholic Answers web forums from people who feel discouraged since they do not feel close to Jesus. They talk about how they pray, go to Mass, fast, and read the Bible and yet they do not feel the Lord’s grace. I think we can all look to Simeon as an example that even the most just and pious need to be patient and have faith that the Lord will present Himself in the way that will ultimately lead us to Him. However, while God desires all of us to be in His heavenly kingdom, the road is a long one fraught with temptation and sin. But if we can hold on and remain faithful, even when it seems like God does not hear our prayers or notices our good deeds, we will be rewarded with the eternal happiness of Heaven.
Why must our faith be difficult to live at times? Why don’t we get direct answers to our prayers from a thundering voice in the clouds? Why must we endure such hardship and struggle? I think Mother Teresa can help us find an answer. In her private letters to Rev. Michael Van Der Peet she once said (as reported in this Time article):
Jesus has a very special love for you,” she assured Van der Peet. “[But] as for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great, that I look and do not see, — Listen and do not hear — the tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak … I want you to pray for me — that I let Him have [a] free hand.
Here was a woman who embodied everything great about the Catholic faith and yet at times she felt distant from God’s love. She, like Simeon, was just and pious and yet she endured periods of time when she felt a great emptiness in her heart. Kolodiejchuk, a senior Missionaries of Charity member, explains that perhaps that emptiness is what drove her to do such great work. She never felt like her job was done or that God was prematurely rewarding her when there was still so much for her to do. Perhaps this was God’s way of making sure that pride did not hinder her important work. Mother Teresa still continued to do the Lord’s work and even put up a good face to others (the statements about her spiritual difficulties were not known until after her death). And, like Simeon, her patience paid off as she is now closer to Jesus than any of us ever can be in this world.
When we meditate on the Fourth Joyful Mystery let us remember Simeon and how his faith and patience was ultimately rewarded. We must pray for those who have fallen on the long and difficult road of faith that they get back up and have the strength to live as Jesus calls them. Remember, God has a plan for each of us and that plan will ultimately lead us to His heavenly kingdom. We just need to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, especially in those times when it feels like God is the most distant from us. It is those times of great hardship when Jesus presents Himself to us although it may not be in the way we expect or we may not be listening. Remember in your prayers to not only speak to the Lord, but also allow Him to respond for He will show you the way to Him.
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January 10 2010 | rosary | 1 Comment »
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Last Sunday was the feast of the Holy Family. The Gospel reading was the Fifth Joyful Mystery about finding Jesus in the temple. I wrote a rosary meditation on this mystery earlier, but I had another thought as I was listening to the Gospel at Mass that I wanted to share.
In Luke’s Gospel, after finding Jesus in the temple, Jesus said that He had to be in His Father’s house. The Gospel then says that Mary and Joseph, “did not grasp what He said to them” (Luke 2:50). I have a hard time understanding why Mary and Joseph were so confused by Jesus’ words. After all, He was immaculately conceived. An angel came to Mary saying that she was going to be the mother of God. Choirs of angels sang at His birth. Three wise men sought him out and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Those aren’t events that just happen to any regular human being. So why were Mary and Joseph so confused despite the fact that they understood that Jesus was God made man?
I now realize that Mary and Joseph’s confusion is no different, in some respects, to our confusion of Jesus’ message today. How many times does Jesus speak to us through the Mass, prayer, the Bible, and the teachings of the Church? He may not physically appear to us, but that does not diminish His message of love, peace, and faith. And yet, we still do not understand His teachings and struggle to live according to His will. We still fall into temptation and sin. We still choose to live for this earthly world and not His kingdom. We even have the advantage of knowing of His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven and yet our actions reflect a confusion and sometimes a total lack of understanding of Jesus’ teachings. So when the Gospel writers talk of Mary’s confusion of Jesus’ words, perhaps they are commenting more on our human condition of not understanding Jesus’ nature.
As we enter a new decade may we make a resolution to better understand Jesus’ teachings. Let us also resolve to live and treat each other as Jesus tells us. May we have the courage to let the Holy Spirit lead us through life’s difficult situations. As Mary asks us repeatedly, may we make room in our hearts for Jesus through prayer, meditation, and fasting. Finally, may this be a new decade of decades (rosary decades that is) as we resolve to pray the rosary more than ever. Happy 2010 everyone!
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January 02 2010 | catholic | No Comments »
