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Weeks 691-700
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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 700: Divine Affection : A Reflection on the Book of Revelations (Rev 7:2-4, 9-14)
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​2 Then I saw another angel come up from the East, holding the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were given power to damage the land and the sea, 3“Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

 

 4 I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked from every tribe of the Israelites.

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9 After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried out in a loud voice:

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“Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.”

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11 All the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They prostrated themselves before the throne, worshiped God, 12 and exclaimed:

“Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

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13 Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me, “Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?” 14 I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.” He said to me, “These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

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In the reading from the Book of Revelation St. John presents a picture, a glance into heaven; the great multitude, 144,000 (12x12x1000) - the Scriptural way of stating a number beyond any count. This multitude stands before the Lamb and cries out, “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne and from the Lamb!”

The majestic, eternal splendor of our God envelops this countless number of the blessed forever and comes to us the blessed-in-making in grace, in prayer, in sacrament. This divine splendor is like a river, a river that exceeds, floods its banks, a river of God’s own life, and this is our salvation. The best commentary of the Sacred Scriptures is Scripture itself and the psalmist in Ps 149:4 shares the wisdom he has received on salvation. He presents this with a conviction born of a graced experience. He writes, “For the Lord takes delight in His people. He crowns them with salvation.” In the original the word translated ‘crowns’ also means ‘to beautify, to glorify’. So we can proclaim, “For the Lord takes delight in His people. He crowns, beautifies, glorifies us with salvation.”

This verse alone speaks volumes about our God and His relationship with His people, with us. With all our poverty, sinfulness, imperfections God sees beyond and delights in us with divine affection. With desire that is beyond any comprehension He desires to fill us with His salvation - with His very Self - with mercy, love, compassion, forgiveness, with that peace which the world can never give.

In praying Psalm 35, in verse 3 we implore God in a most personal way: “O Lord, say to my soul, I am your salvation” and given the nature of our God, He cannot not respond. With love infinitely generous He does say, “I am your salvation.” But this is much, much more than a statement, a description. In that response the Lord is always creator, always the divine Sower. He sows into us, if we are receptive, the grace of the Beatitudes, the grace of His word.

It is His desire, His plan to lift us up into being men and women who possess His kingdom, who inherit life, whose hunger and thirst is satisfied, shown mercy, see God, are called the children of God, who in receiving and embracing these graces follow the Lord Jesus Christ to the end, He is the living Beatitudes and our Salvation. In Him our God desires with passionate affection to crown, beautify, glorify us with Himself.

 

Shortly, we will receive the Holy Eucharist; the Lord comes to each one in a most personal, unique way and in this sacred encounter, unlike any other in this life, the Lord says, “I am your Salvation”. My brothers and sisters, what is our response? How do we live with this gift?

 

Fr. John Denburger

 

Prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the example of the Saints. I desire to join in their company, worshiping you forever in Heaven. Please help me follow their footsteps, and yours, Jesus Christ. Please help me to conform myself to Your image, seeking Your will in all things, as the Saints did. Please help me to devote myself, and all that I do, to Your glory, and to the service of my neighbors. Amen.”

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Quote from a Saint: “All of us can attain to Christian virtue and holiness, no matter in what condition of life we live and no matter what our life work may be.”-Saint Francis de Sales

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Questions for reflection:

  1. Have you read the book of Revelation? If so, what was your experience like? If not, what is holding you back? Have you considered getting a Biblical commentary to help you understand it?

  2. Have you considered that we are all called to be saints so that we can be included in the great multitude referred to in Revelation?

  3. Do you follow a rule or plan of life that will act as a path in your quest for sanctity?

  4. Reflect on Psalm 149, “For the Lord takes delight in His people. He crowns, beautifies, glorifies us with salvation.” What does this say to you about God’s relationship to His people? Do you often reflect on the fact that the Lord takes delight in His people? Does your impression of the Lord reflect that or do you see Him as someone waiting for you to slip up?

  5. God knows that we are sinful and imperfect but He loves us anyway with divine affection. What does this say about God? Does that give you confidence that God loves you despite your imperfections?

  6. Do you feel like you can “follow the Lord Jesus Christ to the end” so that you inherit the Kingdom? What help does God give you to aid you on your path?

  7. When you receive the Holy Eucharist does it feel like a personal encounter with the Lord? If it doesn’t, what can you do to make participating in this Sacrament more meaningful?

  8. Are there any Saints that you feel drawn toward so that you imitate their lives? What draws you toward them? What have you learned from them?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 699: Immaculate Mary : A Reflection on the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1: 26 - 38)

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26 In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.

 

28 And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

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30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, 33 and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

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34 But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” 35 And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.

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36 And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; 37 for nothing will be impossible for God.”

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38 Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

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"The Blessed Virgin Mary, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God, and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, was preserved free from every stain of original sin" (Pope Pius IX). In the East, the Blessed Virgin is addressed as Panagia (All-Holy Lady). She is considered the holiest of all creatures. She is the supreme example of the cooperation between God and the human race. She who was the most blessed of all creatures was also the most free. Even though God prepared her virginal womb to be the dwelling place of the Eternal Word and kept her heart pure, He did not force his will upon her but respected her freedom. At the annunciation the angel Gabriel called her by name, “Full of Grace”, Panagia. It was only after she gave her consent that the Eternal Word became flesh.

 

“Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev. 21:5). Just as God had designed the Tabernacle where he intended to speak to Moses, He also prepared a sacred dwelling place for Beloved Son in the womb of the ever-virgin Mary. Unlike Eve, Mary had no desire to be like God. Rather, she took great delight in being the humble handmaid of the Lord. She was a true Daughter of Israel, who surrendered to his every command and wish. By the disobedience of Eve, all men were condemned to death. By the obedience of Mary, the author and giver of life came into the world so that all men might have life and have it abundantly (CF. Jn. 10:10).

 

St. Jacob of Sarug wrote, “Our Lord descending to earth beheld all women. He chose one for himself who among them all was pleasing. He examined her and found humility and holiness in her, clear and simple yearnings, and a soul desirous to pour itself out in service. He found in her a pure heart and every reckoning of perfection. Because of this, He chose her, the purest and most fair of women, to be his dwelling place on earth. He descended from his place and dwelt within the glorious one among women because for her there was not a companion comparable to her in the world. She alone was humble, pure, serene, and without blemish so that she was deemed worthy to be his mother” (Hom. I.620 in On the Mother of God).

 

The Church Fathers liked to compare the first Eve with the second. When Eve heard God walking in the garden, she was frightened and hid from him. When Mary heard the Lord walking in the enclosed garden of her heart, she entered to greet him. Today we celebrate the profound union between the Mother of God and the Beloved Son of God. We cannot speak of Mary without alluding to the Incarnate Word whom she bore in her womb. This humble woman listened to and lived in the Word of God. She cherished the words that God addressed to her in her heart. By piecing them together like a mosaic, she came to understand them. We cannot speak of the Word Made Flesh without alluding to the holiness of the woman who was found worthy to bear him in her womb. By a singular wonder of grace, this woman participated in the holiness of her son even before he was conceived within her womb.

 

From all eternity God the Father knew Mary as blessed in Christ, his Son. The Incarnation of the Word was not only the work of the Father, of his Son, and of his Spirit but it was also of the Blessed Virgin. Just as the Son was conceived by his own free choice, Mary became his Mother when she gave her free consent. Mary is the first of all Believers who put herself in God’s hands, abandoning herself completely to his will. While Mary gave birth to Christ, in a very profound sense we can say, that Christ gave birth to his Mother and, through her, to all humanity. As she was united to Christ, the Son of God, she is united to us who have become the children of God. 

 

The victory of the new Adam also includes that of the new Eve, the Mother of the redeemed. The Immaculate Virgin is presented as a sign of hope for all the living who have triumphed over Satan by the blood of the Lamb. In Mary, we see the true Zion, the pure, living dwelling place of God. In her the Lord dwells, in her he finds a place of repose. She is the living temple of God, who does not dwell in buildings of stone but in the human heart. She is the shoot that sprouts from the stump of David in the dark winter night of history.

 

Today we ponder the extraordinary mystery of God's love for the human race: Mary, the most holy Mother of God, who was preserved from any taint of original sin. Christ was the redeemer of his Mother and carried out his redemptive action on her in the most perfect way from the first moment of her existence. Because she entrusted herself totally to God she found true freedom and pondered the great, creative immensity of that freedom in her immaculate heart. Because she turned to God, her heart was expanded to become the dwelling place of the Son and all the members of his Body. Because Mary was consumed by the Fire of Divine Love, she became the compassionate mother of us all. Because she has been drawn close to the heart of the Father, in the heart of the Son she is close to each one of us. In her, God has impressed his image, the image of the One who follows the lost sheep even up into the mountains and among the briars and thornbushes of the sins of this world, letting himself be spiked by a crown of thorns of these sins to take the sheep on his shoulders and bring it home. The fullness of grace can transform the human heart and enable it to do something so great as to change the course of human history. Mary thus stands before us as a sign of comfort, encouragement, and hope.

 

 

Fr. Jerome Machar, OCSO

 

Prayer: “It is truly meet and right to bless you, Ever-blessed and most-pure mother of our God. More honorable than the Cherubim, And beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, Who without corruption gave birth to God the Word, You, truly the Mother of God we magnify you. Amen”

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Quote from a Saint: “Let those who think that the Church pays too much attention to Mary give heed to the fact that Our Blessed Lord Himself gave ten times as much of His life to her as He gave to His Apostles.” — Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

 

Questions for reflection:

  1. Do you have a devotion to the Virgin Mary? If so, is there a specific apparition that you are drawn to (e.g., Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Guadalupe, etc.)?

  2. Have you ever struggled with the Catholic view of Mary? What aspects of the teaching caused you trouble?

  3. What can you learn from the Virgin Mary? How can you use her life and her acceptance of God’s plan as an example for your own life?

  4. Reflect on these sentences: “She cherished the words that God addressed to her in her heart. By piecing them together like a mosaic, she came to understand them.” Have you ever considered how Mary understood God’s plan and how that understanding changed throughout her lifetime?

  5. Have you ever had to piece together what God was saying to you, like a mosaic?

  6. Do you have a devotion to the rosary? How frequently do you pray it? If you do not have a devotion to the rosary, why not? What good can come from praying it frequently?

  7. “When Eve heard God walking in the garden, she was frightened and hid from him. When Mary heard the Lord walking in the enclosed garden of her heart, she entered to greet him.” Have you ever compared Eve to Mary, the new Eve, like the Church Fathers did? What do you think of this comparison?

  8. Have you ever been in a position where you had to defend the Church’s teaching on Mary? What was that like?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 698: Christian Community : A Reflection on the Book of Wisdom and the Gospel of Mark (Wisdom 7 : 7-11 & Mark 10 : 17-27)

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[Wisdom]

7 Therefore I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.

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8 I preferred her to scepter and throne, And deemed riches nothing in comparison with her, 9 nor did I liken any priceless gem to her; Because all gold, in view of her, is a bit of sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.

 

10 Beyond health and beauty I loved her, And I chose to have her rather than the light, because her radiance never ceases.

 

11 Yet all good things together came to me with her, and countless riches at her hands;

 

[Mark]

17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.

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19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’” 20 He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.”

 

21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

 

23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to pass through [the] eye of [a] needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

 

26 They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at

them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”

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Sometime in the 17th century, the poet Richard Baxter described a common experience when he wrote:

They want not friends that have thy love, And may converse and walk with thee,

And with thy saints here and above, With whom forever I must be.

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His experience was that God first loved him, and invited him to deeper friendship with him. When he responded by trying to rid himself of every obstacle to God’s love, he discovered that not only was God his friend, but all the friends of God became his friends, both on earth and in heaven: “thy saints here and above”, he calls them. And as we heard from our retreat master this past week, when the friends of God come together, they form the basis of a community, in which one person can learn from the experience of the community, and the community can learn from the experience of the person.

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The author of the book of Wisdom had an experience like that. I prayed, he wrote, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I deemed riches nothing in comparison with her....Beyond health and comeliness I loved her....All good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at her hands. Because the author set his heart on wisdom and not on riches, he discovered that not only did wisdom come to him, but wisdom came accompanied by all good things, and by all the friends of wisdom. He discovered a spiritual richness that was beyond physical health: spiritual friendship lived in the context of a community.

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In the Gospel, a wealthy man comes up to Jesus, who is Wisdom incarnate, and asks what he has to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus looked at him and loved him, and told him that only his riches stood between him and God. Faced with a choice between his riches and the friendship of God, the wealthy man turned away from the crowd of Jesus and his disciples, and went away sad. We are not told that anyone went with him.

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The focus in this morning’s Gospel is not so much on the man or his wealth, but on the phrase All things are possible for God. God never gives up inviting us to deeper friendship with him. St John Henry Newman said, “All through our life Christ is calling us. He called us first in baptism, but afterwards also; whether we obey his voice or not, he graciously calls us still....But we are slow to master the great truth, that Christ is, as it were, walking among us, and by his hand, or eye, or voice, bidding us to follow him. We do not understand that his call is a thing which takes place now.”

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Newman goes on to speak of the value of living in a community: “They who are living religiously, have from time to time truths they did not know before, or had no need to consider, brought before them forcibly; truths which involve duties, which are in fact precepts, and claim obedience. In this and such-like ways Christ calls us now. There is nothing miraculous or extraordinary in his dealings with us. He works through our natural faculties and circumstances of life”.

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If there is something cold or distant about our relationship with Christ, it may be because no creature is concealed from him, and he sees something in our heart that we love more than him, whether it is riches or family or whatever. We can continue to love that, and then, when we must give an account of ourselves, we will have to turn away sad and lonely, like the man in today’s Gospel.

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Or we can act on our conviction that friendship with God means more to us than anything in the world. We can leave everything that comes between us and God, and make the solitary choice to follow Jesus. The choice is solitary, but the result is not. At once we discover that because Jesus is our best friend, he is not our only friend. He comes accompanied by his saints here and above, who have made the same choice.

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All along our journey with Jesus, we will encounter others who have also given up house or family or lands for his sake and for the sake of the Gospel. and who often form a community. These are people who will love us and whom we may love, who will help us forward and console us on the way. For the love of Jesus is a secret gift which binds together all his friends, and each one can say with the poet:

The heavenly hosts, world without end, Shall be my company above;

And thou, my best and surest Friend, Who shall divide me from thy love?

 

Fr. Justin Sheehan

 

Prayer: “Embracing Father, You grace each of us with equal measure in your love. Let us learn to love our neighbors more deeply, so that we can create peaceful and just communities. Inspire us to use our creative energies to build the structures we need to overcome the obstacles of intolerance and indifference. May Jesus provide us the example needed and send the Spirit to warm our hearts for the journey. Amen”

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Quote from a Saint: “Lord Jesus, Who in the Eucharist make your dwelling among us and become our traveling companion, sustain our Christian communities so that they may be ever more open to listening and accepting your Word. May they draw from the Eucharist a renewed commitment to spreading in society, by the proclamation of your Gospel, the signs and deeds of an attentive and active charity”—Pope Saint John Paul II

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Questions for reflection:

  1. Do you ever feel cold or distant in your relationship with Christ? Do you feel that it is because you love something more than Him?

  2. Are you part of a small group or have a group of friends who share your faith and support each other in the walk of faith?

  3. Have you ever desired wisdom or God to the point of putting aside earthly things?

  4. Have you had to give up anything in order to pursue the spiritual life? Is there something that you need to let go of because it is holding you back?

  5. Have you experienced God calling you? What did that look like?

  6. Would you consider Jesus to be your best friend?

  7. Even though we journey with others in community the journey is considered solitary. Why do you think that is?

  8. Is there a saint who has been your spiritual companion on the journey? If so, how did you get to know them?

  9. Why do you think that God wants us to be part of a Christian community?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 697: Become like Children : A Reflection on the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 18 : 1-5, 10)

 

1 At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

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2 He called a child over, placed it in their midst, 3 and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

 

5 And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

 

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.

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“Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Psychologists say that a common symptom of depression is grandiosity. When we feel downcast, undervalued or diminished, we often develop an inflated persona, one which is proud, magnificent, garbed in flashy colors. And that is how the disciples approach Jesus today. Their question is so blatantly proud – “Lord, who among us is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” – that what lies underneath can only be the disciples huge lack of confidence, self-value and meaning in their lives. Because they felt so poor and empty, they built this self-image where they are worthy of the kingdom of heaven.

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But Jesus’ answer is completely down-to-earth: “If you want to enter the kingdom of heaven, you must become like children”. In Jesus’ time, children were socially meaningless. They had no active or passive voice in anything. Infancy was far from being rosy; it was a marginal period in one’s life. And that is the model that Jesus offers to his disciples: if you want to be great in the kingdom of heaven, do not flee from yourself, but enter into your heart, embrace the roots of your meaninglessness and become your true self – not that gaudy one, which has nothing to do with you. Holiness often seems despicable. May we resist the temptation to despise the Lord’s ways for our salvation, by the intercession of our holy guardian angels.  

 

Fr. Gabriel Vecchi

 

 

Prayer: “Dear Lord, thank you for being such a loving, caring Heavenly Father. I am grateful that I can trust you with every aspect of my life. I pray that you will help me to grow in my trust and faith in you and that my faith will become more child-like as I pursue you more. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

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Quote from a Saint: “It is to recognize our nothingness, to expect everything from God as a little child expects everything from its father … to be disquieted about nothing, and not to be set on gaining our living,” that is, “the eternal life of heaven.” -Saint Therese of Lisieux

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Questions for reflection:

  1. Do you ever find that you put on a façade to make yourself seem better than you feel yourself to be?

  2. Do you struggle with spiritual pride, where you feel that you are superior to others because of all of the religious things that you do?

  3. What does it mean to you to become like a child? How can this help to lead you to the Kingdom of Heaven?

  4. Reflect on this statement: “Holiness often seems despicable.” In what ways might holiness be seen as despicable in the eyes of the world? What values do we as Christians have that the world does not like?

  5. Are you ever tempted to despise the Lord’s way to salvation? What about God’s plan is difficult for you? What have you done to try to understand why God’s plan is the way it is?

  6. Have you ever felt jealousy for someone else’s spiritual achievements? Do you compare yourself with the spiritual practices of others on social media?

  7. Do you ever ask for your guardian angel to intercede for you?

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--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 696: Fear of the Lord : A Reflection on the Book of Numbers and the Gospel of Mark (Numbers 11 : 25-29 & Mark 9 : 38-43, 45, 47-48)

 

[Numbers]

25 The LORD then came down in the cloud and spoke to him. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, he bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied but did not continue.

26 Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, had remained in the camp, yet the spirit came to rest on them also. They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent; and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 So, when a young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp,” 28 Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses’ aide, said, “My lord, Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses answered him, “Are you jealous for my sake? If only all the people of the LORD were prophets! If only the LORD would bestow his spirit on them!”

 

[Mark]

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” 39 Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe [in me] to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.

45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.

47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, 48 where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’

 

Ps 128 begins: “O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in His ways.” This ‘fear of the Lord’ is proclaimed frequently in the Scriptures, especially in the Old Testament, and it has nothing to do with terror or fright. Fear of the Lord is a profound reverence, and encompassing grace of regard for our God; in a word, a love for God which marks the life of one who ‘walks in His ways’ a believer - us - fearers and walkers.

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In the reading from Numbers, Joshua had a problem with this fear. Of the 70 men designated to assist Moses, 2 men, Eldad and Medad, received the Spirit apart from the others, outside the camp. Joshua, a good man, wanted to control what God did and in that, he lacked an understanding of Fear of the Lord, the reverence for God’s ways. Moses set him right “...would that they all had received this gift.” So, Joshua learned something about his own relationship with God - one does not control God. Rather, one surrenders in faith and trust and this is true fear, genuine reverence and regard for God, most positive and most life-giving.

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Peter had a similar experience when he tried to correct Jesus. Jesus had spoken of His suffering, of being killed and then rising so Peter took Him aside, rebuked Him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall happen to You!” Jesus’ response was immediate and strong, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an obstacle to Me. You are thinking not as God does but as human beings do.” In today’s Gospel John had a similar issue about someone driving out demons in Jesus’ name.

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Hopefully, our lives are graced with this Fear of the Lord and we try to walk in His ways - this is the ideal, of course. For most of us, if not all, the ideal escapes us not all the time but surely now and then. We cannot actively control God, like pulling the strings on a puppet; we may try but it is futile.

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We might say, “Jump, God!” God will never reply, “How high?”

 

However, we can control God in a rather passive way - in a way that is sometimes subtle and sometimes not. We hear the Word of the Lord in each Mass. Perhaps we spend time reading that Word on our own and we can control what we hear - in one ear and out the other. We can water down the Word and make it convenient or easy or less demanding. We can find excuses to ignore it; we can be very creative, very complacent, very “unfearful” and in reality, having poor regard for God who is being treated cheaply.

 

In the Book of Proverbs we read, “The beginning of wisdom is Fear of the Lord’ and so when we choose a lesser degree of fidelity to our vocation, of honesty in our dealings, a lesser degree of truth, charity, chastity, forgiveness, courtesy then these personal choices are not of wisdom- rather of foolishness. This foolishness, the opposite of wisdom, limits the work of God in us, limits His grace - it is a kind of refusal of God’s love. We are saying, “God, come no farther!”

 

At the end of today’s Gospel Jesus proposes a radical way - if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off - same with your foot - if your eye, pluck it out - of course, this is hyperbole, never to be taken literally. However, as Jesus’ word, it is not to be ignored. Jesus speaks of fighting temptation and sometimes it takes great effort. Temptations can be very enticing, very blinding; the Lord is telling us, in no uncertain terms, make every effort to render temptation powerless. Jesus Himself did this in the desert when Satan tempted Him. Recall that Jesus fought him off with the Sacred Word of Scripture.

 

“O blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in His ways.” A call to us to seek sincerely the grace of the Fear of the Lord, this deep, profound reverence which is wisdom and flee from foolishness, the foolishness of walking in our own way. If, for whatever reason, we choose our own way, a question arises: “Where will that way lead?”

 

Fr. John Denburger

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Prayer: “God, we pray that our hearts would learn how to rightfully fear you. We bow before you, acknowledging you as Lord and Savior of lives, praising you for your might, your sovereignty, your power, your strength, your mercy, and your justice. We thank you for your unending love even when we are undeserving. We stand in awe of you. We surrender our hearts to you. We put you first, Lord. Amen..”

 

Quote from a Saint: “We must fear God out of love, not love Him out of fear.” -Saint Francis de Sales

 

Questions for reflection:

  1. Do you ever try to control what God does? Do you try to shape God’s work into what you think it should look like?

  2. Have you ever started to follow what you thought was God’s plan, but then you were thrown off course and the way things worked out was better than your original plan? How does this show the wisdom of abandoning yourself to God’s provenance?

  3. Where in society can you see the effects of the lack of the fear of the Lord? How can we teach others the wisdom of fearing God?

  4. Do you ever “control” God by only hearing what you want to hear when listening to Scripture? How does that lead to treating God cheaply?

  5. What does it mean to fear the Lord and why is it wise? How does fear of the Lord differ from what we normally consider fear?

  6. How can we live our lives in a way so that we don’t say, “God, come no further!”

  7. What are some ways that you can “cut off” the “hand” that causes you to sin? How can you use Jesus’ example in the desert as a way to render temptation powerless?

  8. How would your life look if you had followed your own way rather than following God’s way? What happens when you follow your plan rather than God’s? How can you tell that you are following God’s way?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

 
Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 695: Stay Awake : A Reflection on the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 25 : 1-13)

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1“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, 4 but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.

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5 Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

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7 Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’

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10 While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked.

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11 Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ 12 But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

 

Today’s Gospel of the wise and foolish virgins is read every day in Coptic monasteries at the Office of Midnight Prayer. It’s a reminder that wearing the habit won’t do us any good unless we prepare for the coming of the Bridegroom by devoting ourselves humbly to a life of prayer and penance. And so the monks continue by singing this Troparion:

“Remember, my soul, that awesome day, awake and light your lamp with the oil of joy for you do not know when the voice will call: ‘Behold, here comes the Bridegroom’. Watch, my soul, that you do not fall asleep lest you should stay outside knocking like the five foolish virgins. But watch with prayers in order to meet the Lord, Christ, with rich oil. He will bestow upon you the joys of His true divine glory”.

History shows that many who lived a celibate monastic life for a long time never really learned what this wisdom of heart is, because instead of studying the teaching of the fathers, they followed their own desires, and so they couldn’t find rest anywhere. They wound up filling their hearts with jealousy, criticism of others, anger, and any number of other passions.

Monks like that are like the five foolish virgins because they spend their time foolishly. They do not control their tongues nor purge their hearts of lust. They think it’s enough for them merely to wear a white cowl symbolizing virginity. As a result, they do not experience the heavenly joy which would trim their lamps, and the Bridegroom does not open the door to them but repeats what he said to the foolish virgins: “Amen, I say to you, I do not know you”.

What the Lord wants of us is to be free and faithful and pure brides of Christ, the Bridegroom of all holy souls. As St Paul says in 2nd Corinthians: “I gave you all in marriage to a single husband, a virgin pure for presentation to Christ” (2 Cor 11:2).

We all have one job, then, while we are still in this body: it is to stay awake and repent of our sins day and night from the bottom of our hearts. We have no business delaying and wasting time, or we may be like the foolish virgins who could find no one willing to sell them oil. Those virgins burst into tears and cried out, “Lord, open the door for us”. But he answered, “Amen, I say to you, I do not know you”. And that happened to them simply because of their laziness.

St Benedict gave the moral of the Gospel in the Prologue of his Rule: “If you desire true and eternal life, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from seeking deceit. Turn aside from evil and do good; seek and strive after peace, and see how the Lord in his love shows us the way of life”.

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Fr. Justin Sheehan

 

Prayer: “O Lord, my God, grant that I may be faithful to You today and every day. Keep my heart vigilant, ready to respond to Your will and your grace. Amen.”

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Quote from a Saint: “Teach us, Good Lord, to give and not count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that we do thy will.”--St. Ignatius of Loyola

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Questions for reflection:

  1. Even if you are not a monk it is wise to live a life of prayer and penance. What is your prayer life like? What acts of penance do you do?

  2. “We all have one job, then, while we are still in this body: it is to stay awake and repent of our sins day and night from the bottom of our hearts.” Do you feel like you do this job well? Have you ever considered that this is your job?

  3. Have you ever felt that you have delayed or wasted time rather than serving the Lord?

  4. When you examine your everyday life, are there times that you could have used more fruitfully to better serve the Lord?

  5. Will the Lord recognize you when He come knocking on the door? Do you know the Lord and does the Lord know you?

  6. What do you do in an effort to “keep your tongue from evil and your lips from seeking deceit”? How may doing this help you on your spiritual journey?

  7. Are you living chastely according to your state in life? What does chastity look like in the different states of life?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 694: The Cross : A Reflection on the Gospel of Luke (John 3 : 13-17)

 

Jesus said to Nicodemus: 13 No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.

14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

 

In all four Gospels the account of Jesus’ passion and death is rather brief; there are few details because it was not written for the sake of curiosity. Rather it is the proclamation of the Good News to bring people to faith in Jesus Christ; the Gospel accounts tell us all we need to know.

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In the Gospel of St. John there is no mention of Simon of Cyrene as there is in Matthew, Mark and Luke. John states: “Jesus was led away and carrying the cross by Himself went out to what is called the Place of the Skull (in Hebrew Golgotha). In His bearing the cross it became much more than a piece of wood, an instrument for execution; through the One sentenced to death and shortly to be nailed to its wood, I believe, it absorbed something of the Lord Jesus. Just as the Father left something of Himself in creation - His majesty seen in a mountain, His beauty in a sunset, His power in a storm, His life in us - so the Lord Jesus, in His redeeming love, left something of His sacred humanity in that cross - His sweat, His blood, His tears and His anguish.

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But exceedingly more than that He left something of His divinity in the wood - His concern for His mother and John, His promise of paradise to the thief, His compassion for the crowd ‘Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing!’, His passionate embrace of the Father’s will and finally, His total trust ‘Father, into Your hands, I commend My spirit’. By all this and more the cross was transformed - this inanimate piece of wood was changed from an instrument of horror and dread into the tree of life, into an ever flowing fountain of mercy, an eternal source of hope, a word, a great word, of forgiveness of love beyond all measure. Jesus’ words to Nicodemus about Himself prophesied all this: “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son...”

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Everyday and especially today [The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross] we praise God for this gift and as people signed with the cross we desire to receive the redeeming love of the Lord Jesus and in receiving this extravagant grace to live it with faith and gratitude.

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I end this with a brief prayer that I remember being recited at each Station of the Cross: We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

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Fr. John Denburger

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Prayer: “O Christ! We ask you to teach us never to be ashamed of your Cross, not to exploit it but to honor and worship it, because with it You have shown us the horror of our sins, the greatness of your love, the injustice of our decisions and the power of your mercy. Amen.”

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Quote from a Saint: “The cross is the school of love.” – St. Maximilian Kolbe

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Questions for reflection:

  1. Imagine how Jesus’ words sounded to his followers: “And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” Put yourself in his follower’s place. How would this phrase strike you? Would it have made any sense?

  2. How did the account of Jesus’ crucifixion strike you the first time that you heard it? Did it seem like “good news” to you then? How do you see it now?

  3. How do you feel about crosses and crucifixes? Are you comforted or disturbed by them? Do you wear one every day?

  4. How well do you bear your cross? Does it sometimes bring you to your knees like Jesus’ cross did to him when he fell? What helps you to get back up and continue on?

  5. Has a “Simon of Cyrene” ever helped you to carry your cross or have you ever found yourself in Simon’s role helping someone to bear their cross?

  6. Do you think that the cross absorbed something of Jesus? What was you reaction when you read this in the reflection? Bring this concept with you to prayer.

  7. Are you able to see the fingerprints of God in creation? Have you ever prayed outside? If not, give it a try and meditate up the concept of God leaving something of Himself in His creation.

  8. Do you pray the stations of the cross regularly or is it something that you only do during Lent? If you only do it during Lent give try praying it during another part of the year.

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 693: Finding God in Silence : A Reflection on the Gospel of Luke (Luke 6 : 12-19)

 

12 In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.

13 When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles: 14  Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

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17 And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon 18 came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.

 

19 Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.

 

In the opening verse of today’s Gospel, St Luke says that “Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God”. That shows us that even Jesus needed time to get away for a while, to gain separation from the noise and distractions of the world. That’s good to know, because it means that those who follow Jesus will also need time away to pray to God. And not only monks.

St Basil was following Jesus’ example when he wrote: “It was to avoid the perils which everywhere abound that I withdrew into the mountains, like a bird who escaped the fowler’s net; for this reason I live in the desert, as Jesus Christ lived in it. It was there the patriarch Jacob saw the mysterious ladder, whose top reached the heavens, and on which angels appeared ascending and descending. In solitude the people of God were purified, and received the law; through the desert they were led to the possession of the promised land.
There the redeemer of the world frequently retired to pray, in order to teach us how to perform that holy exercise; there he demonstrated how much he loved solitude”.

So many of us have a fear of solitude and silence. But silence pulls us back into the real. In No Man Is an Island, Thomas Merton wrote, “It is the silence of the world that is real. Our noise, our business, our purposes, and all our fatuous statements about our purposes, our business, and our noise: these are the illusion”. Silence also puts us in touch with our dignity as God’s beloved and the freedom to rejoice in the goodness and blessedness of the created world around us. Again, in the words of Merton, “There is in all things an inexhaustible sweetness and purity, a silence that is a fount of action and joy. It rises up in the wordless gentleness and flows out to me from the unseen roots of all created being, welcoming tenderly, saluting me with indescribable humility. This is at once my own being, my own nature, and the gift of my Creator’s thought and art within me” (The Collected Poems of Thomas Merton).

Silence is also the space in which God reveals himself. Into this silence, he speaks his word. Immersed in silence, we listen to God with “the ears of the heart”, as St Benedict put it. That’s just what Jesus did in this morning’s Gospel: he spent time in solitude and silent prayer to listen to the promptings of the Father and the Spirit. The time that our Lord dedicated to silence and solitude nourished his intimate relationship with the Father and gave birth to his words and actions that followed.

And yet silence is so undervalued and unsought in our culture. The silence of monks is not a burden but the space in which we can know ourselves more deeply and know God better. It’s meant to free us from distractions and noise, and lead us deeper into reality and all that is true. May our silent receiving of the Lord’s Body and Blood lead us deeper into the reality which is God.

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Fr. Justin Sheehan

 

Prayer: “Jesus, teaching the value of solitude, You reserved many moments to reflect. You often departed for solitary places, Withdrawing Yourself into the wilderness, Or going up into a mountain to pray. In loneliness, You spoke to the Father! Teach me how to pray in seclusion, To perceive the Father within myself. Teach me to welcome solitary moments, To enjoy the solitude within myself, While listening to Your inspirations. In solitude, Your mysteries are uncovered!”

 

Quote from a Saint: “It is better to be alone with God. His friendship will not fail me, nor His counsel, nor His love. In His strength I will dare and dare and dare until I die.”-- St. Joan of Arc

 

Questions for reflection:

  1. Does silence and solitude make you uncomfortable? If so, why might that be the case? What could be some benefits of spending time in silence?

  2. Reflect on the fact that even Jesus needed time away from everyone to pray. If Jesus needed that, what does that say about your need for solitude?

  3. Have you had experiences where God revealed himself in the silence?

  4. How can allowing for silence let you hear the promptings of God?

  5. When was the last time you intentionally spent time in silence?

  6. Do you find that you need constant background noise to feel comfortable, such as having the TV or radio on all the time? Why do you think that is? In light of the example of Jesus seeking silence do you think you might need to change?

  7. What does your prayer life look like? Do you feel that you spend enough time in prayer or is this something that you need to work on? Do you incorporate silent prayer into your routine?

  8. Reflect on this statement: “It is the silence of the world that is real. Our noise, our business, our purposes, and all our fatuous statements about our purposes, our business, and our noise: these are the illusion.”What do you think about Merton’s statement that silence is real and the noise of the world is illusion?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 692: Docility to the Lord and His Church’s Teachings (James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27, Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)

 

[James]

17 all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change. 18 He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

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21 Therefore, put away all filth and evil excess and humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls. 22 Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.

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27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

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[Mark]

1 Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2 they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. 3 (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. 4 And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles [and beds].) 5 So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”

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6 He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; 7 In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.’ 8 You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”

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14 He summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. 15 Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.”

21 From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. 23 All these evils come from within and they defile.”

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On the other side of the wall behind me is what we call our Zen garden. It is enclosed by buildings. Over the years it has undergone some pretty significant transformations and upgrades under its various guardians. I’m told Br. Louis cut the roof off our backhoe at the time so it would fit through the double doors on the north side. Fr. Isaac really left his mark during his term of being in charge of it. And now Fr. John Vianney continues to make it look very beautiful and soothing. It’s sort of a fishbowl as many of our windows, like our refectory, look out on it. In the last week or two the members of our novitiate have been spending time tidying it up, pulling weeds, putting down mulch, and other maintenance-type stuff. There’s an oval area at the highest spot where we removed two spruce trees that were sick and planted a magnolia. I was assigned to work with our three guys in formation as we dug out the stump of one of the spruce trees and put the magnolia in the same spot. It was fun as we all worked so well together.

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That same oval space mainly features Periwinkle as a groundcover but it also has some other things poking through, like Hosta plants and ferns. Along with the plants that are supposed to be there are other ones that aren’t supposed to be. The squirrels have planted acorns and black walnuts. Those little seedlings might be good somewhere else, but not here. There’s plenty of dandelions and Morning Glory and lawn grass making their presence felt. The Zen garden is high maintenance and as our community has shrunk, Fr. John Vianney has had much bigger fish to fry. So, getting rid of the plants that shouldn’t be there will most likely fall to one of our new guys. In case he doesn’t have a background in gardening, he’ll probably need some instructions on which plants stay and which ones go. And those instructions are the image I would like to use to demonstrate what I think is a main point in our readings today.

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Some people gripe about all the rules in the Catholic Church. They want to be able to pick and choose. They feel all the rules inhibit their freedom and keep them from becoming mature adults. They see rules and guidelines as something negative. Similarly, monastic life has many further rules and guidelines. For someone who is a free spirit it may feel somewhat smothering, but the rules are a helpful tool for what to leave in and what to leave out.

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Let’s change the image a little bit and say that our monastery had a vegetable garden. At the beginning of the season you plant good seeds. But after some time a lot of other plants appear besides those good seeds you planted. There are the ever-present weeds that do so well in garden soil. But there might also be some volunteer plants from previous years. We can’t have a pumpkin plant growing where we’ve laid out the carrots and Swiss chard. Now, say a novice was assigned to pull weeds in our vegetable garden and he wasn’t very experienced at differentiating one plant from another. He would have to be given some instructions about what was beneficial and what wasn’t. Even some of the good plants, like the beets, would need to be thinned in order to get decent sized produce. Those instructions given to the novice don’t hamper him – they help him. They’re not arbitrary; they come from experience and wisdom gained from making mistakes.

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Sometimes the novices are assigned to assemble furniture Fr. John Vianney ordered from Amazon. The instructions for assembling are there for our benefit. Reading them can save a lot of time. Similarly, others of us are called sometimes to fix an appliance or a piece of machinery or a vehicle. It’s great to have the schematic drawings and diagrams to see how things fit together and operate. When Br. Alberic and Br. James were running the farm, they had shop manuals for all the tractors and other equipment. Those instructions for doing a specific repair are very helpful for someone who doesn’t do it every day.

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I guess you could see our lives as a garden where we cultivate and nurture the virtues and progressively weed out the vices. It’s good to know which is which because sometimes something harmful will masquerade as something helpful. Or, it might be harmless enough in itself, but not a good idea in this particular situation. The Church has many centuries of experience to draw on in advising us what to do and what not to do. We believe, too, that she is being guided by the Holy Spirit when she makes her laws and decrees.

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Our gospel reading this morning had a list of weeds to pull out: “. . . evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.” Like those garden weeds, they can grow so prolifically if we don’t nip them in the bud. Left unchecked, they can crowd out the virtues we were meant to exemplify. We’re reading in our refectory a recent book on generations. Baby Boomers, in general, threw out a lot of the mores of previous generations. There was the sexual revolution of the 60s and 70s. We were anti-authority. Lots of drugs and alcohol were encouraged. All these things were seen as breaking free of repressive rules and developing our freedom. But, in many cases, those very things we saw as desirable ended up enslaving us. Is a life without discipline really free? The book goes on to point out that the rate of depression and suicide among Boomers is way higher than previous generations. Could there be a connection?

 

In [the book of Deuteronomy], Moses, when giving the law to the Israelites said,

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Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live . . . . In your observance of the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I enjoin on you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations.

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And in a similar vein, our [other] reading continues the theme, even using the word “planted” like the image of our vegetable garden: “He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Humbly welcome the word that was planted in you and is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.” Notice how St. James writes, “HUMBLY welcome the word.” And our gospel listed arrogance as one of the things to weed out. Isn’t it arrogant to think we know more than the Church’s rules and put ourselves above her wisdom? Similarly, aren’t our monastic rules and customs there to help us find the most conducive way to grow in the spiritual life? Who am I to think I’m wiser than St. Benedict or St. Basil or St. Pachomius or St. Bernard?

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Brothers and sisters, we all need instructions and guidelines in the decisions we make every day. May the Good Lord help us not to rely only on our own resources.

 

Fr. Stephen Muller

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Prayer: “Almighty, ever-living God, you inspired the Blessed Virgin Mary, when she was carrying your son, to visit Elizabeth. Grant that, always docile to the voice of the Spirit, we may, together with Our Lady, glorify your name. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen”

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Quote from a Saint: “The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility.” – St. Francis de Sales

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Questions for reflection:

  1. Do you see yourself as a free spirit or someone who is comforted by having rules to guide your life and spiritual development?

  2. Have you ever felt that the rules of the Church are smothering? If so, were you able to overcome that feeling?

  3. Have the Church’s rules helped your spiritual garden to flourish? If so, in what ways? If not, bring this to prayer and see what the Lord has to tell you.

  4. Have you found anything growing in your garden that needed to be uprooted even though it was harmless? What helped you discover what was hindering your spiritual growth?

  5. What weeds have you had to pull for your virtues to grow? During your next time of prayer thank the Lord and ask Him to show you if there are anymore weeds that need your attention.

  6. Have you gone through a period of throwing off of the mores (or social conventions) of the previous generation? If so, why what were the fruits? If not, what encouraged you to keep up the previous conventions?

  7. Is arrogance an issue that you deal with? Have you ever tried bringing it up in confession?

  8. How humble are you regarding spiritual things? Are you open to listening to things that do not tickle your ears?

  9. Do you carefully discern when you hear a teaching that does not seem to align with the Church’s teaching?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

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Oratory of Divine Love Reflection 691: Our Marriage with Christ : A Reflection on Ephesians and the Gospel of John (Ephesians 5 : 21-32 & John 6 : 60-69)

 

[Ephesians 5]

21 Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.

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22 Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the church, he himself the savior of the body. 24 As the church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.

 

25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her 26 to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, 27 that he might present to himself the church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

 

28 So [also] husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body.

 

31 “For this reason a man shall leave [his] father and [his] mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

 

32 This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.

 

[John 6]

60 Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” 61 Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you?

62 What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. 65 And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.”

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66 As a result of this, many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. 67 Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

 

“For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church”. According to St Paul – and all the Church ever since – when someone leaves his parents and joins his/ her spouse, he/she becomes another person – a collective person, a joint person, a unity with the one he/ she loves. Love binds, generates and renovates all things. And this is a great mystery, and Paul – and all the Church – applies it to Christ and the Church as well.

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    That is to say, what happens between husband and wife in their individual, private lives reflects what happens between Christ and his Church – between Christ and each one of us. Christ, too, has left his Father (who art in heaven) and his mother (the Blessed Virgin Mary) and joined each one of our lives in order to found the Church.

 

    So, without rupture, without leaving something meaningful behind, without taking a new and risky step in our lives we cannot experience the newness of life which God has meant for us. Is it easy? No. Is it straightforward? Nope. Is it painless? Absolutely not. That is why Jesus’ disciples say in today’s Gospel: “This saying is hard: who can accept it?” Jesus had just multiplied the loaves of bread (a sign of the Eucharistic alliance that he was going to seal with his blood in his Passion) and he had just explained what it all meant: Jesus said quite plainly that the meaning of the multiplication of loaves was not to provide free meals to everybody. His bread was his God’s will, and his vocation was to unite the Church – each one of us – in this new alliance, bringing each one of us inside his mystery in order to make us share his mission, his life and his glory. Jesus wants to marry us, to get united to us – and not simply to solve our physical problems.

 

    But why? If Jesus is God, he could well do that, too. Yes, he could. But salvation is not magic. Salvation is a loving process that engages our responsibility, our will and all our human capacities. Is it a blessing? Yes, it is. Is it positive? Yes, it is? Is it a source of joy in our lives? Yes, it is. But is it easy? Again, not at all. Just as a marriage is not complete and perfect right after the ending of the marriage ceremony, but needs to be incarnated, day after day, in humble and perseverant love in order to grow and bear fruit, the same happens with our salvation and with our relationship with Christ and his Church. Even if the sacraments work on us ex opera operato – that is to say, its efficacy does not depend on our human work, but solely on God’s grace – our work is essential if we want to grow more and bear more fruit. If we do not cooperate with God’s amazing grace, we will certainly lose a considerable portion of the graces that God wants to grant us. So, we must do our part if we want our marriage and our family to grow, and we must do our part if we want our relationship with Christ to grow. Is it demanding? Yes, it is. But the meaning of life, the meaning of a marriage and the meaning of our relationship with God can never be discovered without such loving perseverance, despite any challenges and sufferings it may bring upon us. We should here say as we heard in the first reading. When asked if they wanted to leave the Lord, when faced with the Lord’s demands, the people said: “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD for the service of other gods. For it was the LORD, our God, who protected us along our entire journey. Therefore, we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God”.

 

    “For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother”: to be one with his God. Our human calling is to mirror Jesus’ calling. Our life should imitate his. Because our destiny is to live through him, with him and in him. May this Eucharist seal our marriage with Christ and be a sign of salvation for all our Church.

 

Fr. Gabriel Vecchi

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Prayer: “Precious Blood and Word of God, You are my eternal salvation. Lost in sin, You liberated me. You lifted me from perdition. Treasuring my feeble soul, You excused my constant frailties. Forever, I am indebted to You. Your cost can never be repaid, For You bought my freedom with Blood. I will always seek You out my Lord, You are my beloved Deliverer! You are the Lamb of God!”

 

Quote from a Saint: “We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success; nor on sciences that cloud the intellect. Neither does it depend on arms and human industries, but on Jesus alone.” – St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

 

Questions for reflection:

  1. Do you know a marry couple who has become an image of how Christ is connected to the body of the His church?

  2. What are you willing to go through to experience “the newness of life that God has meant for us.”? Is something holding you back from going all in?

  3. Do you agree with Christ’s disciples that what He says is a hard saying? Why or why not?

  4. How does the concept that Jesus wants to marry you make you feel? Does this make you uncomfortable? If it does, bring this concept to prayer with you.

  5. Was there a point in your life when you thought of salvation as being magical in how it is accomplished?

  6. We are expected to play a role in our salvation? Are you willing to?

  7. Are you willing to put in the effort that you need to cultivate your relationship with Christ in order to experience salvation?

  8. Have you ever thought that your unwillingness to participate in your salvation could cut off some or all of the graces that God is trying to give you?

--Benjamin & Kristen Rinaldo, CfP

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