The Gospel for March 20, 2011 is from Matthew 17:1-9. It is about The Transfiguration which is also the Fourth Luminous Mystery. There is not much more I can add beyond what I already wrote about this mystery of the rosary. I want to point out that this Gospel not only connects to this mystery, but it also connects to the Gospel for January 9, 1979 on Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan. In both cases, God reminds us through a booming voice in the sky that Jesus is His son and that we should listen to Him. In this time of Lent, may we focus on listening to Jesus’ message, not because He is a prophet with some good ideas, but because Jesus is God made man. May we hear Him in prayer and find the strength to always do His will.
Sometimes showing strength to to God’s will is more than avoiding sin. For many of us, it might take just as much strength and courage to open our wallets to those who are in desperate need of help as it is to not avoid the temptation to do evil. This Lent, we have much opportunity to be a Good Samaritan to those who are in need and I urge you to help however you can. I am fond of Catholic Relief Services who are always responding to the major disasters around this world.
The Gospel for Sunday, March 6, 2011 is from Matthew 4:1-11. In this Gospel, Jesus fasted and prayed in the desert for 40 days before rejecting Satan’s temptations. Tired, hungry, and physically weak Jesus had the strength to reject evil. Jesus shows this same spiritual endurance during His Passion, especially in the scourging at the pillar which we remember when we pray the Second Sorrowful Mystery of the rosary. May we learn that we too have the strength to endure life’s challenges and that we will find comfort in Heaven after we reject evil in this life.
“Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to Him” (Matthew 4:11) To me, this is the most interesting verse in this Gospel reading. The fact that angels needed to minster to Jesus after the 40 days in the desert shows just how difficult that ordeal really was. I think many of us have this idea that because Jesus is God made man and performed many miracles that spending 40 fasting must not have been very hard for Him. With that mindset we cannot relate with how Jesus faced life’s challenges and think it is unfair that He asks so much of us. After all, how are we to imitate Jesus without the advantage of being superhuman? But since angels needed to comfort Him shows us that certain aspects of life were no easier for Jesus than they are for the rest of us.
Like the challenges Jesus faced in His 40 days in the desert, the Second Sorrowful Mystery shows us the great hardship Jesus endured during The Passion. Jesus felt pain and suffering when scourged at the pillar as any of us would. But His faith in God gave Him the strength to persevere that torment. Likewise, our faith tells us that we have the same strength to endure hardship in this life. We have every opportunity to imitate Jesus by remaining faithful despite life’s challenges. As much as we would like to be spared hardship in this life, chances are that our physical and spiritual limits will be tested at some point whether that be illness, a tragic accident, or a crisis of faith. But this rosary mystery shows us that we all have the God-given ability to overcome any challenge and endure any hardship as Jesus did during His scourging.
May we remember that, like Jesus after His 40 days in the desert and all the pain and suffering He encountered in The Sorrowful Mysteries, we too will find joy and comfort in Heaven. In fact, the comfort that Jesus offers us will so dwarf our earthly suffering that it will make the worst times in our life feel like a momentary itch. But we also must remember that this consolation only comes to those who live according to God’s will. Remember, the angels ministered to Jesus only after He rejected the temptations of the devil. Likewise, we will find true joy and happiness once we reject Satan’s false promises and evils in this world. Especially in this season of Lent, as we prepare for Easter through fasting and prayer, may we remember that God gave us the gift to overcome any challenge this world has to offer. Let us remember to use this gift when we face difficult challenges in our lives.
As Fat Tuesday winds down we now turn our focus towards Lent. If you are looking to do something special this Lenten Season, you might want to try praying a novena. This is a prayer for a specific devotion you say for nine days. You pray novenas for specific causes or intentions.
One of my readers sent me a link to the Pray More Novenas website. It is a really good catalogue of novenas and you can sign up to receive email reminders. I know that novenas only last nine days but it’s amazing how hard it can be to follow through praying them. Reminders are helpful.
The Gospel for Sunday, March 6, 2011 is from Matthew 7:21-27. Jesus tells His disciples that those who hear His message but do not act on it will not enter His kingdom of Heaven. He calls on all of us to think beyond our earthly existence and realize that we have eternal souls that will live forever in either Heaven or in Hell. Whenever we pray the First Glorious Mystery of the rosary, we recall that Jesus rose to new life and desires all of us to join Him in Heaven. But we must make the conscious decision to live for Heaven in this life by staying in a state of grace lest we hear these words from the Gospel, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.”
The Gospel tells us that we must not only “talk the talk,” but also “walk the walk.” Jesus says that it is not enough to hear God’s Word and just proclaim that you love Him. We must back up our words with actions that put into practice Jesus’ teachings. What is interesting about this Gospel is that Jesus says He will deny some people entrance into Heaven although they did good works here on earth. What Jesus means is that those who are cut off from God’s grace by mortal sin will not enter Heaven despite their good deeds. You cannot erase mortal sin through good deeds alone. Jesus does not keep a list of ways sins can be forgiven like this:
Missing church = Give $100+ to charity
adultery = 12x volunteering at a soup kitchen
Cursing = Help a senior citizen cross the street
You could donate a million dollars to charity and that still will not absolve you of sin and bring you back into God’s grace. The only way to come back into God’s grace is through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This sounds harsh, but Jesus wants us to love God first and have good works flow from that grace. Loving God above all else is what matters, not individual acts of charity.
We must remember that Heaven is our goal. When we pray the First Glorious Mystery of the rosary we recall that Jesus’ earthly death was not the end but only the beginning of His eternal reign as King of Heaven. Whether we like it or not, we do have souls that will live forever in either Heaven or Hell. We cannot opt for a third, neutral option. And the option between Heaven or Hell is just too important for anyone to leave it up to chance. I am often scared how relaxed some people are about where they will ultimately end up. Many believe that if they just live a neutral life, a little good and a little bad (but not too bad), Jesus will cut them a break. And while Jesus does show mercy, His teachings do not say that people can just live on auto-pilot and just slide into Heaven without a lot of effort. I’m not saying that we need to constantly stress out about going to Heaven or Hell, but we do need to realize that our actions in this life do determine where we spend all eternity.
Jesus told us that the wise ones will build on solid foundations while the foolish will not. In other words, the ones who live on solid, moral principles and do good works according to His teachings will see His Heavenly kingdom. That isn’t difficult to comprehend but can be hard to put into practice. So when you think about this Gospel or pray the rosary, really question where your focus lies. Are you focused on living for God’s kingdom by striving to be in a state of grace or for Satan’s kingdom by living in sin? Or, if you have not set a goal for where to spend all eternity, do you not think it’s time to start?
The Virgin Mary’s February, 2011 messages focus on perfecting prayer and working towards converting our hearts and minds toward God. Mary offers Her assistance to anyone who asks for it.
Our Lady’s message to Mirjana Soldo on February 2, 2011
Dear children; You are gathering around me, you are seeking your way, you are seeking, you are seeking the truth but are forgetting what is the most important, you are forgetting to pray properly. Your lips pronounce countless words, but your spirit does not feel anything. Wandering in darkness, you even imagine God Himself according to yourselves, and not such as He really is in His love. Dear children, proper prayer comes from the depth of your heart, from your suffering, from your joy, from your seeking the forgiveness of sins. This is the way to come to know the right God and by that also yourselves, because you are created according to Him. Prayer will bring you to the fulfillment of my desire, of my mission here with you, to the unity in God’s family. Thank you.
Mary’s message does not focus on any particular mystery of the rosary, but praying the rosary in general. I know that many of us have a difficult time remaining focused while praying. We tend to go into “auto pilot” where we recite the words of the prayers but think about other things. I know that I often start thinking about scenes from movies, television shows, or something else I saw or heard. Or, thinking about an intention I have may inadvertently sidetrack me. I might begin a decade by praying for all those driving to work; that they remain safe in their travels. I then start thinking about my car. “When did I last take it in for service? What did the mechanic find? How much did he charge me? What’s that squealing noise? I should remember to have that checked out.” And the next thing I know, I’ve blown through the entire decade without even realizing it.
Image via Wikipedia
Mary asks us to really focus on the quality of our prayer. I’ve mentioned this before about trying to find perfect prayer. Here’s a tip when you find yourself mindlessly reciting words — STOP PRAYING! Take a few seconds to clear your mind of those distracting thoughts. Then pick up that rosary and start praying again with renewed focus. Possibly that day just is not a good day for focused prayer. There’s no shame in realizing that you are too distracted to really give God your full attention. Just resolve that you will try again later with renewed vigor. If Mary’s tone in Her message is any indication, I think God prefers one sincere prayer over one hundred mindless recitations.
Our Lady’s message on February 25, 2011
Dear children! Nature is awakening and on the trees the first buds are seen which will bring most beautiful flowers and fruit. I desire that you also, little children, work on your conversion and that you be those who witness with their life, so that your example may be a sign and an incentive for conversion to others. I am with you and before my Son Jesus I intercede for your conversion. Thank you for having responded to my call.
Mary asks us to act as a “sign and an incentive for conversion to others” by the example we set. The Gospel from February 6, 2011 echos that same sentiment when Jesus asks us to be a light to the world of His love and goodness. Mary asks us to focus on our conversion by walking the path Jesus lays before us instead of the one the world shows us. I know that Jesus’ path can look difficult and scary at times. He puts down a pretty grand challenge by asking us to be perfect.
The good news is that we do not travel that path alone. Mary, through The Assumption, offers Her assistance. She looks down from Heaven to help us walk that road. She gave us the rosary, one of the strongest prayer tools in our spiritual arsenal. She gives us messages in the form of apparitions to steer us in the right direction. She spends all Her time an energy trying to put as many of us on the right path towards Heaven and She will never be too busy to help those who need it. So take up that challenge of praying and living perfectly as Jesus asks. You will never achieve perfection (after all, we are imperfect beings), but you will be a much better person and deeper in God’s grace than if you never tried at all.
The Gospel for February 27, 2011 is from Matthew 6:24-34. Jesus tells us not to put the riches of this world in front of the majesty of Heaven. He says, “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” He then asks us to put our faith in Him and not worry so much about acquiring earthly possessions. The Third Luminous Mystery of the rosary echos this same theme when Jesus asks us to put living for God’s Kingdom before our earthly one.
Jesus’ statements in this Gospel lead to a lot of confusion. Why is He telling us not to worry about what we will eat, drink, wear, or live? Don’t we have to work and earn a living so that we have a place to live, food to eat, and clothes to wear? After all, I don’t think He wants us to be homeless and dieing of starvation. I don’t think Jesus is calling for a total collapse of society because no one needs to put in a hard day’s work. Or is Jesus telling us we do not have to work at all and God will just give us everything we want on account of our faith in Him?
Any reader of this blog or the Gospel obviously knows that Jesus isn’t literally telling us not to work. Jesus understands that we need to work and provide for ourselves and others. He is not telling us to be slothful and just await for God to “bail us out.” Jesus’ main point is that our earthly pursuits should not be the focal point of our lives. We should work, but not solely for the earthly wealth and power. As in the Third Luminous Mystery of the rosary, Jesus asks us to live for His Heavenly kingdom of Heaven first. He asks us to convert from our native, earthly focus and orient ourselves towards God. We do this by consciously making a clean start with the Sacrament of Reconciliation, praying more, and really letting the Holy Spirit guide us through life.
According to the Gospel, God will provide for us. Note that Jesus does not say that our faith will give us an easy life free of burden and responsibility. This is not what Jesus meant by providing. Just look at many of the saints. Their lives were not easy. Many of them were persecuted, ignored, hated, and even martyred. But in the end they were all blessed with eternal happiness because they chose to live for God’s kingdom first. In the end, God did provide for them with the ultimate gift — Heaven.
We have a choice. Where are we going to put our priorities? Are we going to choose living for all the good things of this world or all the great things in Heaven? We only have so much energy and time in the day so we do have to make a choice. We cannot live for God’s kingdom by accident. If we do not explicitly choose to live for God, we naturally tend to drift towards living only for this world. That means we need to make many small decisions every day to choose God’s love over earthly pursuits. Do we choose to set aside time for prayer? Do we go to Sunday Mass and treat it seriously and with respect? Do we receive the sacraments (particularly Reconciliation)? Do we go out of our way to avoid sin even if it makes our life harder? Do we help our brothers and sisters, particularly our enemies or those in need? Those are just a few of the choices we need to make that will either bring us closer to God or away from Him. This week is a good time to pray the rosary, focus on the Third Luminous Mystery, and ask yourself, “Who will you serve?”
The Gospel for February 20, 2011 is Matthew 5:38-48 which follows on the heals of the previous Sunday’s Gospel. Jesus continues expanding the Mosaic law by challenging people to live to a higher standard. He says we need to “turn the other cheek” when people hurt us and love our enemies. Jesus exemplifies this high standard in The Fifth Sorrowful Mystery of the rosary, His Crucifixion, when he asks God to forgive the people who put Him to death.
Jesus’ extensions to the law were tall orders considering the fact that He preached to people who were under Roman occupation and had strict barriers between social groups (Jew, Gentile, Samaritan, etc.). It was very easy for people at that time to see “the others” as their enemy and seek any retribution when they were harmed. Jesus asking people to love their enemies must have been a very radical idea and probably was not very well received. Even today that idea is often preached, but rarely lived. But Jesus points out that God loves everyone, whether they are Jew or Gentile, and He calls us to do the same. And if loving your enemy is not difficult enough, Jesus raises the bar even further. In what almost seems comical, Jesus tells us to “just be perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Piece of cake right?
There is no better example of Jesus loving those who hated Him and acting perfectly then when He calls on God to forgive the people who crucified Him for “they know not what they do.” But the problem many of us have when we read this passage is that we know that Jesus is already perfect. Many of us may hear Jesus’ teaching of love and forgiveness and probably think, “it’s easy for Him to act perfectly, He’s God!” So how can we relate to the infinite love and forgivness Jesus showed at His crucifixion? How do we even begin to live perfectly?
Perfection starts with prayer. We are aided in our quest for perfection with tools like the Bible, the rosary, priests, nuns, and the entire magistrate of the Catholic Church. Prayer helps us see Jesus as the example of living perfectly that we try to imitate. The word imitate is important since we can never be perfect as Jesus is perfect. We will fall into sin from time to time. We will not always love our enemies. We will have grudges and hatred towards one another at times. But just because we do fall does not give us an excuse never to try at all. We pray the rosary for guidance, we meditate on the Sorrowful Mysteriesfor strength, and we absorb the readings in the Bible all in trying to understand that perfection that God asks of us. When we fail to live as Jesus desires, we can wipe the slate clean through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and try again. And when we think we’ve done just about all we can do, thinking of Jesus nailed on the cross and forgiving the people should motivate us that we can try just a little harder. And even when we do meet some of our moral limitations as human beings, we are at least closer to that perfection than if we had never tried at all. But the key to living perfectly is that we have to actively try to live perfectly. We cannot do it by accident.
Spirituality is a lot like athletics. Coaches ask for perfection from their players. Baseball coaches want every player to get a hit and never strike out. In football, no coach wants to see a dropped pass or his quarterback sacked. But athletes almost never play a perfect game. But they give a 100% effort trying the best they can. Just because they know they won’t play perfectly does not mean they do not try at all. And so, Jesus calls us to be spiritual athletes. Like a coach, He wants to see us giving a 100% effort in living according to His Will and building a loving relationship with Him. It’s time to pick up that rosary or that Bible and give it your all. It’s game time!
I just completed reading C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. The book is divided into several letters from a senior devil, Screwtape, to a junior devil, Wormwood, who is working on bringing a man’s soul under the influence of Satan. Each letter investigates a tactic that Satan’s minions use in order to move us away from God, who is referred to as the Enemy throughout the book. Screwtape instructs his apprentice on how to manipulate human attitudes towards prayer, love, lust, war, politics, the Church, ambitions, etc. in very subtle ways so that someone’s soul will be on the path towards Hell without even realizing it.
The Screwtape Letters does a great job of taking some complex moral and ethical questions and discussing them in simple terms. Because of the “us vs. them” format of the book you almost feel like you are reading Satan’s playbook on how to tempt you into sin. While most of the time we learn about how we should live, it is equally useful to learn how NOT to live. In other words, understanding Satan’s tricks and lies are sometimes just as important as knowing God’s love. And C.S. Lewis makes it so easy to understand the nature of evil due to the casual nature of the book being in the form of personal letters. Screwtape’s candor does not hold back the evil intent behind his various tactics.
This book is not heavy in terms of exploring deep theological arguments in Catholic doctrine. After all, C.S. Lewis was more of “buffet style” Christian where he picked and chose elements from different denominations scattered with some of his own personal beliefs. So he leaves the deep discussion of doctrine and theological arguments to St. Thomas Aquinas and other doctors of the Church. Instead, Lewis provides a good introduction and a more light-hearted discussion on the nature of evil for those of us who do not hold a Ph.D in theology.
Personally, I felt that the book got a little stale towards the end once the novelty of learning about morality from the other side wore off. It sort of felt like Screwtape starts to repeat himself in later letters as he brings up the same themes but uses different examples. Even in the postscript, C.S. Lewis admits that this was one of the least enjoyable books he wrote because the ideas just came so easily to him. He admitted that he feared he would smother the readers if he wrote a longer book. Regardless, it is an interesting read and would suggest that everyone gives it a try. I can also see it making a great gift for those who need a little theological refresher but do not want to dive into more serious texts.
The Gospel for Sunday, February 13, 2011 is from Matthew 5:17-37. In this reading Jesus extends the Mosaic law on topics such as murder, adultery, divorce, and swearing oaths. He challenges people to work even harder to have a loving relationship with God. For example, while the Mosaic law said “thou shalt not kill,” Jesus “raises the bar” saying that you should not even have grudges and be hateful towards others. Jesus desires that we build up a strong faith that can endure through any of life’s challenges. He encapsulates this attitude in the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery of the rosary, The Carrying of the Cross, as He kept moving towards His crucifixion and eventual resurrection despite the pain and suffering.
Jesus extends the Mosaic law partly because the Jews had grown too complacent following the rules. They were following each law just for the sake of following them and not so much out of a love of God or to improve themselves. Like someone who had grown too accustomed to a particular exercise routine, the old laws no longer sufficed for building a strong relationship with God. As Jesus said later in Matthew 19:8, the laws that Moses gave to the Israelites were necessary because they were not ready to accept the full law as God intended. In technical terms, the original Mosaic law can be thought of as the “beta” version of the law. It contained many of the essential features but was not completely finished. And so Jesus’ extensions completed the law as God always intended.
Whenever we feel like God has put a huge burden on our shoulders, let us remember the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery where Jesus took up His cross. He suffered greatly and fell repeatedly under the crushing weight of the cross. And yet, God gave Him the strength to get up and keep moving forward. And although Jesus prayed that God would spare Him such an ordeal, God did not remove that challenge but instead gave Jesus the strength to endure it. This rosary mystery should show us that we too can endure and ultimately triumph even when it seems like the challenge is too much. Moses and Jesus did not give us these moral laws with the intent that we will ultimately fail to follow them. Quite the opposite. God gave us these laws because He knew we could handle them and that they would ultimately make us stronger in our faith.
Is living according to God’s laws challenging at times? You bet! But progress is never made when the road is easy. Our relationship with God and each other are strengthened when we take up the challenge to live according to His laws. Only when we take up our crosses and really make the conscious decision to live for Jesus can we truly say that we have a strong relationship with Him. This idea of challenging ourselves reminds me of JFK’s famous speech about going to the moon. We didn’t do it because it was easy, but because it was hard. The same can be said about forging a relationship with Jesus Christ. View this short video and replace “go to the moon” with “build a relationship with God” to see what I mean
Dear children; Today I call you to unity (communion) in Jesus, my Son. My motherly heart prays that you may comprehend that you are God’s family. Through the spiritual freedom of will, which the Heavenly Father has given you, you are called to become cognizant (to come to the knowledge) of the truth, the good or the evil. May prayer and fasting open your hearts and help you to discover the Heavenly Father through my Son. In discovering the Father, your life will be directed to carrying out of God’s will and the realization of God’s family, in the way that my Son desires (wishes). I will not leave you alone on this path. Thank you.
Mary brings up the very important concept of family. She wants us to understand that none of us exists solely as individuals, but that we are all connected through God. We are all each other’s brothers and sisters and Jesus calls us to take care of each other. But much like siblings in a family, we often find it difficult to get along with each other. One only has to watch the evening news to catch a glimpse of how we treat our brothers and sisters. But we don’t mistreat each other only through outright crimes. I’m sure all of us can think of times when we have treated others badly or unfairly. If we are all part of God’s family then we must look like a very dysfunctional one to say the least.
However, God assumed Mary into Heaven so that She could be our Heavenly mother. And one thing moms do is keep peace and order amongst quarreling siblings. As She says in Her message, She will not leave us alone on our journey through life. She is a very patient mother in that no matter how far we may stray She will always help us get back on the right path towards family unity. But just because She guides us doesn’t mean She will do all the work for us. We have a choice. We can either follow the path God lays before us or not. Mary asks that we pray, fast, and try to discover God in our lives. Praying and fasting for guidance are important. I find it amazing how much more time someone spends deciding and evaluating what clothes, cars, homes, and other possessions to buy. And yet, it seems like we so quickly dismiss our relationship with God without ever really meditating and contemplating what that relationship means. All Mary wants us to do is stop and think seriously about it through praying, fasting, reading the Bible, and attending Mass.
January 25, 2011 Message
Dear children! Also today I am with you and I am looking at you and blessing you, and I am not losing hope that this world will change for the good and that peace will reign in the hearts of men. Joy will begin to reign in the world because you have opened yourselves to my call and to God’s love. The Holy Spirit is changing a multitude of those who have said ‘yes’. Therefore I desire to say to you: thank you for having responded to my call.
Mary says that She still has hope that all of us will turn towards what is good. Again, She shows great patience with us since it seems like the world is anything but good and peaceful. And while it is easy to feel defeated when you look around and see so much pain, suffering, and evil, Mary asks us just to simply say yes to God. All it takes is that little spark of motivation to live for God’s kingdom and Mary, the Holy Spirit, and the saints in Heaven will multiply that spark one hundred times. The apostles were only twelve men and yet when the Holy Spirit came to them in the Pentecost they went out and spread Jesus’ message and built the Catholic Church. Indeed, the Holy Spirit can do wondrous things when we let it lead us. All we have to do is make the conscious choice to say “yes” to God.
