Map of Holy
Shrines of
For list of all shrines on
the map click: View Larger Map
Red flags are shrines of a saint, blue are
of Mary, yellow are for Eucharistic
miracles, purple are monasteries, and green are for others.
Each tag has a brief description and URL for its web page. If you find
one particular shrine especially interesting I suggest that you Google it, as
information about a shrine may be found on several web pages. Please email me at dick65bain@aol.com if you know of pilgrim sites not found on this map. My hope is that as you read about the
history and dynamics of these shrines you will find your faith and desire for
things spiritual growing – and that you may even find yourself being
healed. Also, if you plan to go to
To contact Father Richard Bain write to him at
To read Father
Bain’s book, God I Choose You,
click the bottom link on the left.
Prayer is not limited by time or space!
9:02
AM, Tuesday, June 29, 2009
Dear Father Bain,
My daughter is in severe pain again since last evening -
just started on a dime again. I know somehow it is spiritual, and it is playing
off the car accident that we were in April 19, 2008. She has been in pain since
then, but now my daughter is really in tremendous pain again?? I, the mother,
am starting to loose hope. I am at
my last straw. I just don't know what God wants of me. It has been 20 years of
a lot of angles and problems, different health problems, chaos, severe poverty-
still going on, constantly counting pennies and dimes and nickels to survive.
9:50
am, Tuesday, June 30th.
I will say mass today for your daughter. The Holy
Water was put in the mail last Friday. Don't give up hope. There is a
reason why the Lord is allowing your family to go thru this suffering. In
time He will turn it will around. Father Bain
Due to circumstances, I was not able to say
Mass on Tuesday as promised. That evening during my Holy Hour it came to me
that it would not be until Thursday that I would be saying mass for the
daughter, but that was OK as prayer is NOT limited to time or space. Thus, it did not matter if the Mass were
said on Tuesday as promised or on Thursday. Sounds crazy, does it not? But, read on!
6:34 AM, Thursday July 2nd.
Dear Father Bain,
Thank You!! My daughter
immediately improved during your mass that you said for her. All of a
sudden her pains greatly stopped and she became peaceful. I also felt the power
of The Holy Spirit and felt great peace in the house. Also the holy water came
a little later that day! Thank you so very much Fr. Bain! Where would we be
without our great and merciful Lord and savior, our heavenly Mother and all of
the angels and saint!
Mass was said for the daughter at
11:30 AM, July 2nd.
Response from a skeptic.
Dear Father
Bain
The power of the
placebo effect and positive thinking I think!
My Response.
Absolutely,
it most certainly could be that. What got me to take a good look at it
was the deep strong feeling I got during prayer that it was OK to say the
mass two days later for the poor girl, in such pain, because the effects of the
prayer would go back in time. But now that you mention the placebo I
think I will write to the mother and ask if the girl knew I was going to say a
mass for her. Father Bain
The mother’ response.
Dear Fr. Bain,
She was totally unaware of absolutely everything.
December 20, 2008, Saturday of the Third Week
of Advent
In my mid to late twenties I was assistant corporate secretary of a utility
company headquarteredi n
A few months
later starting law school, I was offered a job in
It was a
hard decision to make, leaving a secure job, law school, and my friends for a
job for which I did not have the background or education – my degree was
in psychology. Three things helped
me make up my mind to take the job: 1. It paid more money than I would make as
an attorney – at least for many years. 2. A friend of mine who worked for
the company assured me that he would make sure I learned all I needed to do the
job well despite not having experience in construction. 3. It came to me while
praying that the Lord wanted me to take the job.
Two weeks
after I began my new job in
Representing
the company at this meeting were our project manger, the owner of the company,
who was personally worth over 100 millions dollars in 1973 money, and me; and
representing the government was the Navy captain in charge of all military
construction in the Pacific and an Army major in charge of the project for the
government. I was the spokesperson
for the company.
Walking up
the steps to the captain’s office in
There is no doubt in my mind the one simple Hail Mary that I said before the meeting gave me the grace and peace to do what I could not do on my own. Mary is always here for us. As we draw closer to Christmas the Church ask us to turn to Mary our heavenly mother. She can help us be prepared and to open our hearts to all the graces of this holy season. In these next five days before we celebrate the birth of our saviors let us turn to her. Let us pray to her that the peace and joy that was present at her Sons birth be present to us this Christmas.
November 7, 2008, Friday of the 31st week in ordinary time.
My dad belonged
to the Father’s Club when I was in High School. He loved and highly respected the priest
whose full time job was to oversee the club. This priest was a real man’s
man, and not only my father but all the other dads looked up to him. When he was asked why he became a priest
he would answer that it was for one reason and one reason only, “to save
my soul.” My dad thought that
was really great, and he was not shy at all about telling others why Father
O’Gara became a priest.
With the dearth
of vocations to the priesthood today it seems very few young men and woman of
today factor such a reason into their decision as to what to do with their
life. I suspect the lesson in
today’s Gospel was emphasized more back in the 1920s and 30s than it is
today.
The lesson in
today’s Gospel is very simple.
Christ wants the Christian to be as ingenious and give as much attention
to the things which concern the salvation of his soul as the man of the world
does to attaining money and comfort.
This is what
Man
is created to praise, reverence, and serve God our Lord, and by this means to
save his soul.
And the other things
on the face of the earth are created for man and that they may help him in
prosecuting the end for which he is created.
From this it follows
that man is to use them as much as they help him on to his end, and ought to
rid himself of them so far as they hinder him as to it.
For this it is
necessary to make ourselves indifferent to all created things in all that is
allowed to the choice of our free will and is not prohibited to it; so that, on
our part, we want not health rather than sickness, riches rather than poverty,
honor rather than dishonor, long rather than short life, and so in all the
rest; desiring and choosing only what is most conducive for us to the end for
which we are created
November 5, 2008, Wednesday of the 31st week in ordinary time.
Today my tinnitus is especially bad. My psychiatrist
suggested that it might be the excitement of the elections. I told him it is interesting that he
would bring that up. Last night, early on, I felted peaceful watching the
elections returns. A few days
before, with the reports that a third had voted early, and nineteen percent
more had voted for Barack Obama than for John McCain, it became clear to me
that the election to all intents and purpose was over - Obama would win for
sure. At around 7:30 PST, as the
networks were waiting for the polls to close in
Then, at exactly eight PM PST it was announced that
Barrack Obama was the new President-elect of the
In the Gospel today we are told that there is more joy in
heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine who have no need to
repent. We as a nation may not be
fully repentant of our all our racial sins yet – there were sections
of the south that voted more Republican this year than four years ago –
but we sure came a long way last night.
The tears of joy that were shed last night by so many of
us were, I believe, reflecting a similar joy in heaven. Our heavenly Father, who sent Moses to
free the Israelites from the oppression of the pharaoh, must be delighted with
our election results.
A few months ago a pro-life parishioner shared with me
that after her daughter had asked her to listen to one of Barack Obama’s
speeches, she went outside to pray under the stars. As she was praying she thought of Obama
becoming president, and asked the Father if this was right. What she received
may surprise some. A voice came to
her, “I am very please with this
man.” After what my
heart felt last night, I believe God is indeed very pleased with
President-elect Obama.
November
2, 2008, All Souls Day
A little two or three year old boy was playing with a ball as his
uncle and mother sat on a near-by park bench. The uncle was watching the boy play
while the mother was reading a book.
When the boy’s ball rolled under the bench and disappeared in a
gutter below, the boy immediately lost interest in the ball and turned to
something else. The uncle became
concerned that there might be something wrong that he lost interest so easily.
He pointed this out to the mother.
Her reply was, “Not to worry, Billy does not yet appreciate
objective presence.” What she
meant was that for Billy, if you can’t see it, it does not exist.
Do you believe in ghost? Friends of mine lived across the
street from an old abandoned winery they plan to restore. It was haunted by the ghost of the
original owner who was killed there well over a hundred years ago. One night after a nice dinner in their
home and a few glasses of wine the husband took three potential investors to
see the winery. It was dark so they had to use flash lights. The men taunted the ghost. The following
night the wife was home alone asleep when she heard several very loud
explosions coming from her kitchen. She was too scared to go look at what it
might be; she felt it had something to do with the ghost, and she was
right. The next morning she
discovered pieces of exploded flash light batteries - only the ones used the
night before - scattered all over the kitchen floor.
While they were telling me about this I could sense that my friends
had become fearful of the ghost. What they once saw as harmless, and maybe
something that made the winery more interesting, was now seen as a
problem. I told them that I would
offer a mass for the ghost and that I was confident he would disappear for
good. The only thing I asked was
they tell no one about this. After Mass was offered for the proper repose of
the ghost, if it did indeed disappeared and people no longer saw or felt the
ghost when they visited the old winery, I wanted us to know the ghost’s
disappearance was due to the power of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and not
due to some psychological dynamic such as, “if you believe it is gone, it
is gone.”
That was over a year ago. No one since then has seen or felt the
ghost’s presence. It is gone.
This is far from the first time in my twenty-eight years as a priest
that a ghost has disappeared for good after I said a Mass for him or her.
I believe it is very important that we pray for the dead. St. John Vianney was often asked to pray
for love ones who had died. Sometimes he answered that he would, and then
sometimes he would say there is no need to pray for him or her, she is in
heaven praying for you. We do not have the great saint’s gift. We do not
know if our loved ones are in heaven or not. Why take the chance of not remembering
our deceased loved ones in our prayers, Masses, sufferings, and
sacrifices. I have no doubt that
when we ourselves enter eternity, one of the first things that will be revealed
to us will be how are prayers helped our relatives and friends who had been
suffering in Purgatory.
Whatever you do, please, please be sure you arrange for a funeral
mass for your deceased loved one – no matter what he or she may have
requested. And, don’t forget, November is traditionally the month when
Roman Catholics pray for the souls in Purgatory.
November, 1, 2008, The
Feast of All Saints.
The first
reading on the feast of All Saints ends with, “Rejoice and be glad for
your reward in heaven will be great.” My brother, who happens to be a priest
too, suffers from phlebitis. Last week it was causing him a lot of pain. During his Holy Hour he brought his
concerns about this to the Lord and was told, “Have the doctor threat
this. It is not time for you to go to heaven yet; you still have work to
do. Last night a good friend of
mine, a priest from
Many years ago I
invited a priest from
It seems that
when we died we get a reward not for what we have done, but for what Jesus has
done though us. And, so today as we
honor the saints, we are really not honoring them; we are honoring God who
worked in them and though them.
Praise God!
September 25, 2008,
Thursday the 25th week in ordinary times
At the VA
Hospital in
This
morning’s first reading from Ecclesiastes
we hear Qoheleth saying, “All things are vanity” -
in other words, “All things are useless.” He said this because he did not believe
in an afterlife. For him
there was nothing is new under the sun.
Why would this
passage from Ecclesiastes be in the Bible, and why would the Catholic Church
use it in the Mass? I can only
guess. Perhaps it is to help us see
how differently things look when we believe in an afterlife. St. Ignatius felt that things have value
in so far as they aid us on our path to salvation. If they do not, then they are
useless. The things that are of
value we need to keep, and the things that are vanity we need to avoid.
Think of it this
way. You are swimming down a
stream. You come to a vortex in the
middle of the river that can pull you under and so you swim around it. In the same way, we need to use
– and certainly not laugh at - the things in our life that lead us to
salvation, and to avoid the things that do not, for they are vanity.
May 26, 2008, The Feast of
The feast of
For centuries
after, the feast was also celebrated with a Eucharistic procession, in which
the Sacred Host was carried throughout the town, accompanied by hymns and
litanies. The faithful would venerate the Body of Christ as the procession
passed by. I remember in the 1940s going to my grandmother’s parish with
my family and joining in the procession of the Blessed Sacrament around the
streets of
Today the
celebration of
About fifteen
years ago I was preparing our second graders to receive their First Holy
Communion. At one point I asked the
class of thirty seven year olds if the next day they would actually be
receiving Jesus when for the first time they received Communion. Six or seven of the children did not think
so. I was startled.
I asked the
young children why they did not believe they would be receiving Jesus. Most of them had been instructed by
their parents, or an aunt or uncle, not to believe. Some were told it was good
to believe it was really Jesus, but actually it is just a piece of bread.
As you know,
the definition of theology is faith seeking understanding. I decide to turn these second graders
into theologians. I suggest that
the next day immediately after receiving the consecrated host they return to
their pews, kneel down, place their hands over their eyes, go into their
hearts, and try very hard to tell if what they had just received was a piece of
bread or Jesus Christ.
On Monday when
I asked how many felt it was just a piece of bread they received on Saturday,
not one hand went up. When I
asked how many felt it was Jesus whom they received on Saturday, all thirty
hands shot up without any hesitation, high and strong. Each and every one of
them had no doubt whatsoever it was not a piece of bread but Jesus they
received. A price of bread simply
cannot make you feel like that inside.
If you read the
description of the early Christians long before a Eucharistic theology was
developed or the word transubstantiation was used, you will see they had the
exact same faith in the Eucharist as those second graders at St. Anselm’s
Church.
St. Ignatius of
St. Justin
Martyr: "This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake
except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the
washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed
down to us. For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink;
but as Jesus Christ our Savior being incarnate by God's Word took flesh and
blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated
by the Word of prayer which comes from him, from which our flesh and blood are
nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate
Jesus." 150 A.D.
St. Irenaeus of
Lyon: [Christ] has declared the cup, a part of creation, to be his own Blood,
from which he causes our blood to flow; and the bread, a part of creation, he
has established as his own Body, from which he gives increase to our bodies.
180 A.D.
St Ephraim: And
extending His hand, He gave them the Bread which His right hand had made holy:
'Take, all of you eat of this; which My word has made holy. Do not now regard
as bread that which I have given you; but take, eat this Bread, and do not
scatter the crumbs; for what I have called My Body, that it is indeed. One
particle from its crumbs is able to sanctify thousands and thousands, and is
sufficient to afford life to those who eat of it. Take, eat, entertaining no
doubt of faith, because this is My Body, and whoever eats it in belief eats in
it Fire and Spirit. But if any doubter eat of it, for him it will be only
bread. And whoever eats in belief the Bread made holy in My name, if he be pure,
he will be preserved in his purity; and if he be a sinner, he will be
forgiven.' But if anyone despise it or reject it or treat it with ignominy, it
may be taken as certainty that he treats with ignominy the Son, who called it
and actually made it to be His Body.", 350 A.D.
St. Athanasius:
This bread and this wine, so long as the prayers and supplications have not
taken place, remain simply what they are. But after the great prayers and holy
supplications have been sent forth, the Word comes down into the bread and wine
- and thus His Body is confected." 373 A.D.
Unfortunately, other
Christian denominations do not share in this same rich Eucharistic
tradition. A few years ago I
went to
The first
morning at seven o’clock I celebrated Mass alone in the Marywood
chapel. It felt very strange
saying, “The Lord be with you” and having no one respond. All
during the mass I keep wondering, “Is this a valid Mass?” After Communion I sat down and silently
went into my heart, just as I had instructed the second graders at St.
Anselm’s. I can tell you without a doubt the pope was right in allowing
priests to say Mass alone. I found
my heart was filled with the same loving presence of Jesus that it is every
time I receive Holy Communion - a presence that cannot be given by bread, but a
Real Presence. Yes, yes, it was a
valid
Later in the
morning at the healing center we were invited to celebrate the Lord’s
Supper together. The celebrant was an Episcopalian priest. Before Mass he shared that he understood
that Catholics were not allowed by their Church to receive Communion in a
non-Catholic churches, but that many Catholic priests had been to these mass
and received, and once even a Roman Catholic bishop received. He wanted the Catholics present to know
they were welcomed to receive at this mass. Earlier I had introduced myself as a
priest and I felt that after what this man had just shared, love demanded that
I accept his invitation to receive at his
Suddenly, I
become the great Eucharistic theologian.
The Catholic Church believes that in the Eucharist the bread and wine
are actually transformed objectively, and become in a real sense the body and
blood of Christ. The consecrated elements retain the forms of bread and wine,
but are in reality the actual body and blood of Christ. At my private Mass in Marywood that is
exactly what I felt. The Protestant
Churches has traditionally seen the Eucharist as being only a symbolic or spiritual
presence of Jesus. And, that is exactly what I felt receiving in the
When I was
pastor of a small parish in western Marin and at the same involved in a very
powerful healing ministry, a famous Buddhist monk from
Right now, at
this very moment, and at every moment, the Person who loves us more than anyone
else in the world is waiting to touch the depths of our hearts with His
love. He can be found, literally
found, in each and every Catholic church in the world. Yes, he is waiting for us in our own
parish church. On this feast of
March
27, 2008, Thursday in the Octave of Easter
In
today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostle we hear that the people,
gathered at the Beautiful Gate, in response to Peter and John’s healing
of the crippled man “hurried in amazement toward them.” Peter immediately set the record
straight. It was not by his own
power that the man was healed, but by Jesus’. “And
by faith in his name, this man, whom you see and know, his name has made
strong, and the faith that comes through it has given him this perfect health,
in the presence of all of you.” A few years ago my physician told me that
I should not pray over others for healing because it was my energy alone, being
transferred to the person by my touch, that healed them. This surprised me as I
have always felt the way that Peter did, that if anyone was healed by my touch
and prayers it come not from me but from Jesus. After I challenged his belief that
these healings by touch were not coming from God, he decided to do a little
experiment to prove that he was right.
He asked if the following week I would
bring someone from my parish that I had been praying over for healing and he
would measure the amount of energy coming from me as I laid hands on the
person. This doctor had an
unusual gift. He was able to
measure his patient’s energy by slowly moving his hand towards the
patient’s body. Where his
hands felt the energy he would stop.
If his hands were far from the body when this happened the person energy
was high that day and if his hand got close to the body it meant the
patient’s energy was low that day.
The following week I brought a woman from
my parish with me who had cancer.
The doctor first spent two or three minutes measuring my energy in
various parts of my body. He used a
ruler for this and then wrote the measurement down. Next he asked me to lay my hands on the
parishioner and pray for healing.
During this time he measured my energy again. Lastly he told me to stop praying and he
measured my energy a third time.
After, with a look of amazement, he studied his findings, suggested I
sit down, and then he said, “This
is not what I expected at all.
Before you prayed your energy was about fifty percent. As you began to pray your energy dropped
to twenty-five percent just as I had expected. But then suddenly it increased to
seventy-five percent and stayed like that all the while you were praying. When you stopped praying it returned to
exactly where it was before you began praying.”
I believe that when we lay hands on the
sick and ask Jesus to heal them, His healing love begins to flow through us
into the other person. And it is
His love that heals. This gift is
available to every baptized Christian.
Why are you not using your healing gift for the good of your sisters or
brothers? It is so beautiful, so
simple, so easy, so loving, so Christ-like.
March 8, 2008, Saturday of
the fourth week of Lent
A few years ago at a healing workshop in
One
change he is proposing may not be wise though. He wants to ban Communion in the hands
and only allow Communion on the tongue.
Today too many Catholics receive Communion too infrequently to know how
to receive it properly on the tongue.
Some have become what I call “snatchers”; they move their
mouths forward as the priest attempts to place the host on their tongue and
then they sort of snatch the host out of the priest's hands. The poor priest is left with saliva on
his fingers and, unless he wipes it off on his vestments, the saliva can
be transferred onto the next host and into the mouth of the next
communicant.
Unfortunately,
even some daily communicants are “snatcher”. But, at least the priest usually knows
who they are and he knows to quickly move his hands back at the moment they
move their mouths forward, thus landing the host squarely on the tongue without
his fingers touching it. Let's pray
that Archbishop Ranjith finds a more creative way of solving the
problem of lack of respect for the Real Presence than bringing
back mandatory reception of Holy Communion on the tongue. And please, if you do receive on the
tongue, close your eyes for a second, keep your head still, and trust that the
priest will place the host on your tongue without your help.
February 17, 2008, Sunday
of the second week of Lent
Born to nobility in
Once,
the local duchess came to Catherine and asked for prayers for her husband the
duke. He had a mistress and was not
a nice man. The duchess loved him
nonetheless and wanted him to be saved and not to suffer too much in
purgatory. When the man died
Catherine asked the Lord to let her suffer the pains of Purgatory in his
place. Her sisters, loving her so
much, knowing how holy she was, and how much good she had done, could not stand
seeing her suffer such extreme pain.
One of the sisters begged her to ask for the pain to be taken away. Catherine replied to the sister, “Pardon me my sisters if I answer you.
Jesus has so much love for souls that all we do for them is infinitely
agreeable to him. That is why I
endure any pain whatsoever it may be for the conversion of sinners as well as
the deliverance of the souls detained in purgatory.”
Her
brother Andrew lived a wild life and on his death bed refused the last
rites. In a vision after his death
Catherine saw that her brother had been condemned to Hell. But, then Jesus said to her, “I do not condemn anyone to Hell, I came to
save the sinner. I did not condemn
your brother to Hell. Your brother
freely chose to go to there.”
Catherine said that God honors our free will to the point that He
even allows us to choose Hell.
The
convent she lived in was built in the sharp of a cross, but the right wing of
the horizontal portion was much longer than the vertical wing. Our Lord told her that the shorter wing
was like his justice and the longer wing like his mercy.
In
one ecstasy she received a wedding ring from Jesus when He made her his
bride. He said to Catherine, “Take this ring as a pledge and
proof that you will now and forever belong to me.” She described it
as having small diamonds and a beautiful red stone. Some of her sisters saw what looked like
a red ring under her skin – today some claim the sisters were only seeing
an infection on Catherine’s ring finger. St. Catherine of Ricci practice of
attending on the sick was usually performed on her knees and she tenderly cared
for the poor over the whole country.
Something
like what St. Austin related in the life of St. John of Egypt happened to St.
Catherine of Ricci and her spiritual friend St. Philip Neri. After having for some time
exchanged letters, and to satisfy their mutual desire of seeing each other,
while he was detained at
Catherine
prayed often to St Thecla, a first century martyr from Iconium who had received
the faith directly from
After
a long illness St. Catherine died on the feast of the Purification of our Lady,
on the 2nd of February, in 1589 at the age of 76. She was canonized by Pope Benedict XIV
in 1746. Her feast day is February
13th.
Anneli
Rufus, a prize-winning journalist and poet, in her very interesting and
worthwhile book Magnificent Corpses,
writes this about Catherine di Ricci,
“With her lifelong commitment
to self-mutilation, begun when she was a young girl, Catherine exemplifies a
whole genre of saints – most of them female. They share a penchant for childhood
prayer, childhood penances such as sleeping on cold castle floors. She trains herself to withstand yet more
pain, hair shirts, the whip, and no food.
As she grows, the saint cares for the
sick. Often this means
proselytizing individuals who are too weak to protest, too ill to ignore
intimations of Heaven and Hell. It
was not nursing as we know it. Part
of the appeal lay in performing nauseous chores: swabbing the patients’
running sores, scrubbing their fetid lines. While kindness is to be commended, these
saints found in such tasks a way to punish their own senses, perhaps even die.
Catherine lived in time when convents
were the only outlet for a girl who felt and acted oddly. And she flourished in a structure that
not only praised her odd behaviors but rewarded them with names. Starving is ‘fasting.’ Whips are ‘disciplines.’
Self-mutilation is ‘penitence.’ Suicidal tendencies are channeled into
longings for martyrdom, such as those that inspirited Therese of Lisieux. Erotic daydreams, as in the story of
Gemma Galgani, are “demonic temptations.” Altered states and what you might call
hallucinations are ‘visions’ and ecstasies’.”
So,
we have the modern speculations of a Rufus and the ancient straight-forward
accounts of Catherine’s hagiographers. Which one is closer to the
truth? Perhaps we can get a little
help in finding the answer by looking at the Transfiguration (Mt. 17:1-9). I have never heard or read of anyone
speaking of this event in the life of Jesus in these terms, but I believe the
Transfiguration was a mystical prayer experience of Jesus in which three of his
apostles, Peter, James, and John, were drawn in. And, if this is correct, then the
Transfiguration may help us determine legitimate mystical experiences from
neurotic desires and psychotic behavior, and so, whether Catherine was, so to
speak, a true nut case or a saint.
- And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light. Sometimes our perception of
reality can change during prayer.
We can see and hear things that are not ordinarily available to our
senses or see a distorted view of reality. A mystical theologian would call
the perception of the clothes becoming “white as light” a classical prayer experience; a
psychologist would call it an illusion. Catherine’s visions and
locutions would indicate some
kind of pathology to the psychologist, but being that she was a cloistered
nun whose very profession was to pray and to seek the numinous, her
visions and locutions would indicated some kind of holiness to the
mystical theologian.
- And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with
him. Anneli
Rufus does not comment on Catherine’s friendship with a dead person,
St Thecla, but I suspect that this only gave her more reason to question
Catherine’s sanity. Many Protestants would have difficulty with
Catherine praying to a dead person too. In
fact, most Protestant churches strongly reject all saintly
intercession. The Thirty-Nine
Articles of the Church of England condemned the invocation of saints as
"a fond thing, vainly invented,
and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the
Word of God.” Yet,
in the Transfiguration, which comes from the Word of God, we see Jesus
conversing with Moses and Elijah – two dead people - not unlike
Catherine conversing with Thecla, or you and I asking for intercessions
from our favorite saint.
Again, we have one interpretation from a secular point of view and
another from a spiritual/Scriptural point of view.
- “Then from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is
my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” This gives us the best clue as to
whether a devotee’s numinous experiences in prayer are real or
not. Does her prayer help her
believe that Jesus is the only Son of God? And, even more important, is the
person listening to Jesus? In
other words, is she living the Gospels by loving her neighbor? We know that Catherine loved Jesus
as her Lord and Savior and from this love came a tremendous desire to
comfort the sick and work with the poor. Perhaps Ms. Rufus thinks this
enthusiasm is only more proof that Catherine was neurotic, but the
spiritual person would see this as proof that Catherine’s visions
and locutions were real and from God.
Someone once said there is a very fine line
between sanctity and insanity.
Those of you with rich spiritual lives, perhaps you should take it as a
compliment when other think of you are as a little strange – or as an
indication that you need therapy.
February 11, 2008, Feast of
Our Lady of
Today is the 150th
anniversary of the apparitions of Mary to St. Bernadette at
A Marian apparition is an event in which
the Virgin Mary is supposed to have supernaturally appeared to one or more
persons, typically Catholics, in various settings. There have been more than eighty
thousands reported apparitions of Mary worldwide, yet only nine have been
officially approved by the Catholic Church. They are La Salette,
There is very good reason for this
caution. Seventeen years ago
thousands of people from around the world flocked to St. Dominic’s
Catholic Church in
On December 11, 1990, after the first cloudy day in northern California
in months, the San Francisco Chronicle
reported, “A mysterious light on a
church wall that many believed was a divinely inspired image of the Virgin Mary
did not appear yesterday amid heavy clouds, seeming to confirm the theory it
was merely sunlight shining through a stained-glass window ... When the image
failed to appear at its customary time, however, the worshipers trooped out,
some in dismay.”
Perhaps the most controversial apparition in the history of the Church
has been taking place in
Here is an eye-witness account of one of
the more commonly reported miracles at Medjugorje. "I had just come out of
After three years of study, the former Bishops' Conference of
I have been to Fatima and
Fatima was quite a bit different from
February 8, 2008, Friday
after Ash Wednesday
Several years ago I was the Catholic chaplain
on a cruise ship from Puerto Rico to
There
are times when the bridegroom seems to be in our lives and times that he does
not. I think of Mother Teresa.
Throughout 1946 and 1947, she experienced a profound union with Christ. On September 10, 1946 on a train to
It
is important that we develop good strong spiritual lives when we experience the
Bridegroom in our lives, for there will come a time when He seems to be taken
away. It may not last as long as
fifty years, as it did for Mother Teresa, but no matter the length it will seem
long and difficult. Without the graces obtained when the Bridegroom is with us,
we can lose our resolve. In
other words, it is easy to practice and believe when we are enjoying spiritual
fervor and the light, it can be very difficult when the well seems to be dry
and darkness has come upon us. Be prepared you do not know when this is
going to happen.
February 7, 2008, Thursday
after Ash Wednesday
The other day a parishioner asked me why she
was always getting her feelings hurt by friends, relatives, and even
priests. Normally if someone were
to ask me that question I would think the person had a problem, for few of us
are getting our feelings hurt all the time. But, I had known this woman for many
years, and knew her to be very well balance, spiritual, holy, and close to
God. She has a big heart, and much
to give, but it seemed that many people who did not want her love or gifts were
always coming into her life and rejecting her. So, I told her, “It is because
Jesus wants you to share in his sufferings and in this way have you draw even
closer to him. You are a very
special person in the Kingdom.”
In today’s Gospel Jesus
said to his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be
rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and
on the third day be raised.” (Luke 9:25) We can read this over very quickly and
not get the connection between the words “suffering” and
“rejected”. We
associate Jesus’ physical pain, such as the scourging at the pillar, the
crowing of thrones, and the crucifixion with his suffering, but we sometimes fail
to associate the emotional pain, such as being reject by the very people he
wanted to save, with his suffering.
When
our love is rejected, especially by someone we care about and want to make
happy, we are suffering just what Jesus did. Our hurt it is an opportunity for us to
appreciate what Jesus experienced, to associate our suffering with his, and to
offer it up for the salvation of the world
March 21, 2007, Wednesday
of the Fourth Week of Lent
A good, holy woman was asked to leave her
sister’s home, where she had been staying for a few months while work was
being done on her home. It seems
that her sister and brother-in-law were upset because she questioned the fact
that their twenty-four year old daughter was having sex with her boy friend in
her basement bedroom. Her sister
held that this is perfectly accepted behavior today.
What confused the woman most was that this
was not the way their parents had raised them. Her sister and her husband didn’t
have sex until they were married.
But that was 35 years ago.
Who was right, the woman or the sister? The answer should be obvious. Would the sister get on a 747 flying
from
Would the sister want her grandchild
aborted? Would she want her
grandchild raised without the love of both a mother and father in an intact
family? Would she want her
grandchild put up for adoption and never be able to see her grow up? If there is any love in her, the answers
are no, no, and no. Yet, she has no
problem with her daughter having sex with her boy friend. She even provides the bed for them to do
it in. And, when her loving sister
questions this she asks her to move out.
How can the sister’s behavior possibly be defended?
There
is probably not too much worse in the eyes of the Creator that you can do than
engage in the act that creates human life (having sex) when you and your
partner have neither the ability nor the intention of nurturing to the fullest
the sacred, precious, human life that may come form it. In today’s Gospel Jesus said, “I cannot do anything
on my own; I judge as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my
own will but the will of the one who sent me.” I think if we were more aware that at
the judgment we will have to account for our actions before the Almighty, unmarried
couples would think twice about having sex outside of marriage, and adults
would insist that their children, no matter what age, live by traditional
values, at least in their own home.
March 13, 2007, Tuesday of
the Third Week of Lent
If every time someone visits your home he insults your wife
would you have to forgive him seventy times seven if he asked for
forgiveness? Yes you would, but
this does not mean you would have keep inviting him to your home. If you steal my motorcycle I will forgive
you, but that does not necessarily mean you be given the keys once more to take
it for a ride. If someone has hurt
you in a relationship, and asked for forgiveness, you are called to forgive
her. But you are not required to
reestablish the relationship.
Forgiveness has to do with what is in your heart. If the memory of the hurt is fading, no
longer causes you to lose your peace, and you truly wish the person well, you
have most likely forgiven the person.
After that only common sense is required.
March 12, 2007, Monday of
the Third Week of Lent
March 13, 2007, Tuesday of
the Third Week of Lent
If every time someone visits your home he insults your wife
would you have to forgive him seventy times seven if he asked for
forgiveness? Yes you would, but
this does not mean you would have keep inviting him to your home. If you steal my motorcycle I will
forgive you, but that does not necessarily mean you be given the keys once more
to take it for a ride. If someone
has hurt you in a relationship, and asked for forgiveness, you are called to
forgive her. But you are not
required to reestablish the relationship.
Forgiveness has to do with what is in your heart. If the memory of the hurt is fading, no
longer causes you to lose your peace, and you truly wish the person well, you
have most likely forgiven the person.
After that only common sense is required.
March 12, 2007, Monday of
the Third Week of Lent
A famous Buddhist monk from
At Sacred Heart there were no scheduled confessions until I
become pastor. But that did not
last long. Despite a few a few homilies on the need and benefits of the
wonderful sacrament of reconciliation, no one came, and in time I stopped
manning the confessional. While pastor there I would leave Olema once a month
for a different part of the country to give a parish mission. On the second evening of the mission the
theme was penance and healing.
After that mission talk several priests were always needed to hear the
many confessions, and the next day I would be I in the confessional for hours.
How do you explain this? It was the same priest, saying the same
things in both places, but with two different results. Jesus gives us the answer in
today’s Gospel, “No prophet is accepted in his own
county.” He could have said
“In his own parish.”
Pastors, no matter how gifted they are, need from time to time to invite
priests from the outside help minister to their people. It is an excellent policy to
periodically switch pulpits with neighboring pastors, and at least once a year
to have a parish mission.
March 9, 2006, Friday of
the Second Week of Lent
The story of Joseph and his
brothers is my favorite story in the Old Testament. What his brothers did to him was
terrible. He was left in a cistern
and picked up by travelers and taken to another country. While there he was unjustly put in
prison. At the time poor Joseph
must have been thinking his life was over and wondering if there was really a
God. But all along God was working
in his life. As you know the
Pharaoh was not able to find anyone who could interpret his dream of the fat
cows and the thin cows. Finally
because of his gift, Joseph was taken from prison to the Pharaoh to interpret
the dream. He told him that there
would be seven good years and seven bad years. Food needed to be stored during the
seven good years for the seven bad ones.
When the seven bad years
came the Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of distributing the food. This made Joseph the second most
powerful person in
There is a part of
Joseph’s story in all of our lives.
Things sometimes turn for the worse. They don’t go the way we had
hoped, wanted, or imagined. Perhaps
it was because others have not treated us fairly. It does not matter. In those moments we need to not feel
sorry for ourselves, but to trust that God will turn the bad into good.
March 7, 2007, Wednesday of
the Second Week of Lent
In response to their
mother’s request that they sit on the right and left of Jesus in the
kingdom, James and John are asked by Jesus, Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” Jesus was
referring to his suffering. This is
where we get the expression cup of suffering. It is the text that supports the
Christian belief that suffering can have eschatological value.
Pope John Paul II comes to mind. Remember his last public
appearance? It was at the Sunday
angelus with thousands of people below in St. Peter’s Square and him
standing above at his window. He
tried and tried to speak but could not.
In total frustration he pounded both fists on the podium. He had so much to give but his body
wouldn’t let him. He wanted to live; he wanted to serve. The pain of it all must have been
greater than any pain he was experiencing at that moment in his dying body.
Since Pope John Paul’s death there have been reports
all over the world of his appearing to people and prayers being answered though
his intercession. It is very much like
St. Teresa and St. Pio, each of whom also had their cup of suffering while on
earth, and many miracles attributed to their intercessions after their death in
heaven.
Not all suffering is good. But when it comes our way there is the
possibility, if we are so blessed, that it is an invitation to draw closer to
God not only in this life but in the next.
March 6, 2007, Tuesday of
the Second Week of Lent
At a non-denominational Charismatic
prayer meeting someone addressed a Catholic priest as sir and offered that he
himself did not call anyone on earth “father” because Jesus told us
not too. I think the man was wrong. It is true that in today’s
Gospel Jesus tell us not to call others teacher, rabbi, master, or father. But from the rest of the text it is
clear the problem is with those who feel superior because of the title. So yes,
when we perceive that a priest is taking pride in the title we do need top
calling him father. Other then that
it is a very good thing to do.
My doctor asked me to call him Bruce
rather than doctor. He said it bothers him that some doctors insist on
being addressed as doctor while calling everyone else by their first
name. I told him that as long as he is treating me I will address him as
doctor. The title is a powerful message to my unconscious that this
man can heal me. I need him to be a doctor much more than a friend named
Bruce. We cheat ourselves when we
call doctors, priests, ministers, and other people in our service by their
first name. The biggest mistake by far is made by those few who call their
parents by their first name.
March 3, 2007, Saturday of
the First Week of Lent
St. Anselm Church in Ross, where I lived
for nine years, is perhaps the most ideal setting for a church wedding in the
whole world. Some couples chose to be married there only because of
its beauty. During marriage preparations a few would strongly argue
against the need of participating in the life of the church. When it
would get to the point where it was obvious that they did not value organized
religion, I would ask why they wanted a church wedding. The most common
reply was, "Our love is special and deserves more than a civil
ceremony." At
that point I would take my collar off, throw it on the floor, and say, "You have
convinced me, I am quitting the priesthood. All the other priests agree
too and they are leaving. There are no more priests. The laity also
feels the same way as you about the Church. They have stopped attending
mass and financially supporting the Church. So, the ideal church building
you are planning to have you wedding in no longer exist, there are no Catholic
schools for your children to attend, no one to minister the sacraments to your
dying parents and so on."
This "just God and me" mentality is growing at a rapid rate. Large numbers
of American adults are disaffiliating themselves from Christianity and from
other organized religions. 14.1% do not follow any organized religion. This is
almost a doubling -- from only 8% in 1990. There are more Americans who say
they are not affiliated with any organized religion than there are
Episcopalians, Methodists, and Lutherans taken together.
Recently a man wrote a letter to the
editor of our local newspaper attacking organized religion. He claimed
that he stops into a Catholic church on his way to work each morning to enjoy
the peace and quiet. One morning he saw a homeless man ask for help and
be rebuffed. Then a church worker came by and forced the homeless man to
leave. This scene reaffirmed the writer’s negative attitude towards
organized religion.
Reading the letter the first thing that
came to my mind was, "Why was this negative letter about the Catholic Church
selected for publication?" Next I thought, "Does the man realize that if we all
felt about organized religion the way he does, the quiet and peaceful church he
enjoyed each morning, and a myriad of other blessing, would not exist?"
In today first reading from Deuteronomy
God tell Moses, “And today the LORD is making this
agreement with you: you are to be a people peculiarly his own” The Catechism of the Catholic Church states "One becomes a member of this people
not by a physical birth, but by being "born anew," a birth "of
water and the Spirit," that is, by faith in Christ, and
Baptism." Being a part of the people of God is better than
just “me and God.”
March 1, 2007, Thursday of
the First Week of Lent
From 1900 to 1960 Mary was the most popular
name chosen for baby girls; in 1970 it dropped to 15; today it is 73. In
1900 Esther, as in Esther Williams, was number 30; by 1970 it had dropped to
49; today it is 288.
Esther
a beautiful Jewish woman was taken by King Ahasuerus of
Before she did this she prayed the pray we
read in today’s first reading from the Book of Esther. “God of Abraham,
God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, blessed are you. Help me, who am alone and have
no help but you, for I am taking my life in my hand. As a child I used to hear from
the books of my forefathers that you, O LORD, always free those who are
pleasing to you. Now help me, who am alone and have no one but you, O LORD, my
God.”
Esther was a woman of deep faith, courage and
patriotism, ultimately willing to risk her life for her adoptive Jewish people.
She was beautiful inside and outside. Wouldn’t you be proud
to have a daughter named Esther?
February 26, 2007 Monday of
the First Week of Lent
I think it was Plato who felt that the best
way to decide what is moral or not is to ask the
question, “Do
I want to live in a world where everyone does this?” For example, we should know that stealing
is immoral because we don’t want to live in a world where everyone
steals. We should know that
abortion is immoral because we would not still be alive if every mother in the
world took the life of the unborn.
Who would want a world like that? The Golden Rule “Do unto others as you would have them
do unto you.” and what God
told Moses in today’s first reading, “Love you neighbor as yourself.” follow
this same reasoning.
One night a man called a radio talk show and
challenged the host who strongly believed that the government should facilitate
the taking the life of the unborn.
The man shared that he was alive today because back when he was born the
government still protected the unborn.
His mother did know who his father was. She was a prostitute and had
become pregnant by one of her clients.
He went on to tell the sad story of how at fourteen and on his own he
was forced into drugs and crimes.
He had spent several years either in jail or homeless. In his late thirties he decided to
change all that. There was much he
had to learn. He did even know how
to write a check. He told the host
he got help from whomever he could.
He even would call the host and ask for help. He was very thankful to him and the
others who were responsible for his getting on his feet. Now, in his middle forties, he has his
own home, a beautiful wife, and two lovely daughters. He finished by saying that he would not
be enjoying the wonderful gift of life if the law at the time had not protected
him from being aborted by his mother.
The normally glib host began to stammer and could only respond with
something like, “Yes, a, a, a, well a, a, life is always a, a,
a, good.”
None of us would want to have been aborted by
our mothers. If we all followed the
reasoning of Plato, the Golden Rule, or the law of love given to Moses by God,
there would be no abortions.
Sadly, today many Catholics do not understand
this. Only twenty-three percent of the
Obviously not all of our laws follow the
reasoning of the great philosophers or the Golden Rule. We cannot say, at least in the
February 23,
2007, Friday after Ash Wednesday
One
Lent I give up a lot of things. I
gave up drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, reading newspapers, and watching
TV. I fasted completely from food
all day on Wednesdays and until
The
experience taught me a few things:
1.
Contrary to what some may believe, it is positive and healing to give up things
for Lent. There are many things in
our life, like say a glass of wine with dinner, that can become too important
or an attachment. Lent is a season
of grace to help us experience more fully the freedom given to the
baptized.
2.
If we are having difficulty keeping our Lenten resolutions it most likely means
the Holy Spirit is not calling us this year to that particular form of
denial. The grace of the season may
help us grow in holiness, but it is directed by the Holy Spirit not by us.
3.
Some of the things that we give up during Lent are meant not to return. I have not smoked in years and continued
to make a daily Holy Hour.
4.
We need to take Lent seriously.
Some of us may think that doing something special for Lent is a holdover
from Sister Mary Christmas’ third grade class. It is not. It is a mature response to a loving
invitation from Our Savior.
5.
Change is slow but by responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit during
Lent we can become a new creation in six weeks.
February 22,
2007, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle
A good friend of mine in
My dad’s cousin, a Jesuit priest, spent 25 years at the
Last month the mystery of all this was solved when a former
high-ranking officer with the KGB claimed that the Kremlin and the Russian
intelligence agency in the 1960s were set on executing a smear campaign against
the Catholic Church, and the main target was Pope Pius XII.
The KGB used the fact that Archbishop Pacelli had served as the papal
nuncio in
A Romanian spy sent hundreds of archival documents connected in any way with
Pope Pius XII to the KGB. None of the documents were incriminating in
themselves, but they were sent to the KGB in any case. The KGB altered these
documents and used them to produce a powerful play attacking Pope Pius XII, entitled
The Deputy which eventually saw the
stage in
The play ran in
One KBG agent said that people are more ready to believe smut than
holiness. (You don’t think
so? Explain then the millions of people who believe every word in The Da
Vinci Code despite the fact that hundreds of art expects, theologians, and
historians have declared the entire book to be utterly, totally, and completely
false.)
On this feast of the Chair of St. Peter let us pray for our present
pope, Benedict XVI, that The Spirit of Truth will protect him and the Church
from false and malicious attacks.
February 21.
2007, Ash Wednesday
February 20,
2007. Tuesday the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
A
good friend in
Some
Christians answer this by saying that it is God’s will that there be no
sickness or suffering. What is
standing in the way of healing is our lack of faith or a misunderstanding about
suffering. We should believe that
God wanted us to be healed now.
They then point to churches where all sorts of extraordinary healings
and blessing are taking place thanks to this kind of belief.
The
other explanation is that God’s ways are not our ways. Unbelievably He allowed His Son Jesus to
suffer. He allowed those who
followed Jesus to suffer,
What
is the answer?
Today’s
first reading from the Book of Sirach can give us a clue. It speaks about trials, adversity,
sorrows, and crushing misfortune.
It then goes on to explain: “For in fire gold and silver are tested, and worthy
people in the crucible of humiliation.”
It
seems that misfortunes, contrary to what reason may suggest or some Christians
may believe, are a gift from God to test our worthiness.
“On a certain occasion when St. Francis was suffering
extraordinary physical pain, one of his religious brothers, meaning to
sympathize with him, said in his simplicity, “My father, pray to God that
He treat you a little more gently, for His hand seems heavy upon you just
now.” Hearing this, St. Francis strongly resented the unhappy remark of
his well-meaning brother, saying, “My good brother, did I not know that
what you have just said was spoken in all simplicity, without realizing the
implication of your words, I should never see you again because of your
rashness in passing judgment on the dispositions of Divine
February 16,
2007 Friday the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
I came across an interesting article on the
internet today. It cites a very
extensive study which proved, contrary to popular belief, that it can be
dangerous to praise your children.
You can find it at “http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AmericanFamily/story?id=2877896&page=1
G. K. Chesterton, wrote, “If I had only one sermon to preach, it
would be a sermon against pride. The more I see of existence and especially of modern
practical an experimental [experiential] existence, the more I am convinced of
the reality of the old religious thesis: that all evil began with some attempt
at superiority.”
In our first reading today from Genesis
the people are filled with pride, and want to make a name for themselves, and
to guarantee their own security.
This attitude is seen in the project of building that massive tower.
This new sin of mankind is basically the same sort of sin committed by Adam and
Eve. Pride is excessive belief in
one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the
grace of God. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. It was
the sin of the fallen angels.
St.
Teresa the Little Flower knew the surest way to attract God was by becoming
small. Jesus told St.
Catherine of Siena, “I am He that is and you are she who is not.” St. John the Baptist said about Jesus, “He must increase, but I must
decrease.”(John 3:30)
February 15,
2007 Thursday the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
There
are many things that all religions are in agreement. One is that it is good to live in the
present moment. The past is over
and the future is yet to come. What
is real is the “right now’.
Christians take this a step further. They believe it is good to always be
aware of the presence of God. Obviously
these are both very difficult to do.
To remind us to come back into the present moment and into the presence
of God, in Catholic countries church bells are rung every fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, we do not live in a
Catholic country. Here if a church
bell is rung more than once a day it is considered disturbing the peace and the
police are called. (For some
strange reason no one calls the police when those extremely loud motorcycles
come roaring by one after another and make the bombs of WWII seemed like a
silent movie.)
Not
living in a Catholic country, we need to find other things to help us come into
God’s presence. One might be
to have a clock in our home that chimes every fifteen minutes, or to ware one
of those wrist watches that beeps every hour.
In
today’s first reading God tells Noah and his children that he has placed
a rainbow in the sky as a sign of the covenant that He will never again destroy
mankind with a flood. We can use
the rainbow too. When we see one
after the rains we can let it remind us to come into God’s presence, and
that he will always love us, no matter.
Here in
February 14,
2007, Valentine’s Day
The Church celebrated the feast of St.
Valentine every February 14th until 1969 when the feast was removed
from the Roman Catholic calendar, because there is not sufficient historical
evidence that Valentine ever exited. This has not fazed lovers as they have
gone on celebrating the February 14th as always. Nor has it fazed the people of
Among
the many legends surrounding St. Valentine two may explain the desire of lovers
to remember him each year. One is
that on the evening before Valentine was to be martyred for being a Christian,
he passed a love note to his jailer's daughter that read, "From your
Valentine.” And the other is that during a ban on marriages of Roman
soldiers by the Emperor Claudius II, St. Valentine secretly helped arrange
marriages.
One
very tragic event occurred on St. Valentine's Day in 1349. Roughly 2,000 Jews were burned to death
by Christian mobs in
February 13,
2007, Tuesday the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
There are at least ten different Babylonian
versions of the story of the flood that constitute a very close parallel with
the biblical story. The
Mesopotamian stories of the flood do not explain why the gods brought about
such a disaster. The biblical
story does. It conveys a deeply
held religious conviction that evil is requited by a just God who is at the
same time is a God of mercy. The
Bible has turned an amoral myth into a sort of parable of God’s judgment
and grace in response to man’s evil-doing and sin.
There are two other important lessons to be
gleaned form the story. One is we
can’t use the excuse, “Everyone does it.” Sometimes we think that wrong doings are not
so bad because almost everyone else is doing it. God must understand. Well, the story of the flood in the
Bible shows that this type of thinking reflects a misunderstanding of the
nature of God, who said. “My ways are not you ways.”
The other is similar. We can’t claim that it is
impossible to live a fully God-like life in our culture. It is indeed a challenge living in a
culture such as ours. We are bombarded
daily from all different directions with messages that are inconsistent with
the moral laws given to us by God though the Bible and the Church. Noah teaches us that even when the whole
society has deserted God’s way, we can be the exception and live a good
life.
February 12,
2007, Monday the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
When
I lived in
Today’s
first reading is about the sin of Cain.
His was different than the sin of Adam and Eve. Cain’s sin of murder came from
jealousy and hate. His mother and
father’s sin of disobedience came from a desire to acquire special or
esoteric knowledge that would make them equal with God. But the two sins had the same
effect. It separated them from God,
as do all serious sins. Just the
thought of separation or parting from our creator should cause us the greatest
fear.
The
saints understood this:
St.
Ignatius of Loyola said: "I would not for the sake of all creation, or for the purpose
of saving my life, consider committing a single venial sin."
St. Catherine of Genoa wrote: When I had the vision in which I saw how much the shadow of the
smallest act against God matters, I do not know why I did not die. I do not
wonder that hell is so horrible, seeing that it is made for sin. But, horrible
as it is... I think ... that even there God shows mercy, so terrible does even
the shadow of a venial sin seem to me.
St. Francis of
St. Teresa of Avila put it:
Follow the advice to please God until you find you have such
a fixed determination not to offend the Lord that you would rather lose a
thousand lives, and be persecuted by the whole world, than commit one venial
sin.
February 10,
2007, Feast of St. Scholastica
Saint
Scholastica was the abbess of a convent in Plumbariola and the twin sister of
St. Benedict the founder of western monasticism. A
wonderful story about the two comes from St. Gregory the Great. Once a year St. Benedict and two or
three of the Brothers would leave the monastery and spend the day with St. Scholastica at her convent. On this day she was particularly
enjoying the visit when her brother reminded her that it was getting late and
he and the other Brothers needed to leave for the monastery before dark. Scholastica did not want them to go, so she
prayed. Suddenly it began to rain
so hard that the Brothers had to stay.
They spent the night continuing to enjoy their conversation about prayer
and holy things. Three days later
St. Benedict had a dream of his sister being escorted by angels to heaven. Later that day Benedict was informed
that his sister had died during the night.
If
St. Scholastica were
alive today and in a situation similar to the one above, some might advise her not
pray, but rather to visualize her brother not being able to leave. Today for many visualizing what we want
to happen has replaced prayer.
A
man saw a picture in a magazine of a huge mansion in the
Stories like that have moved a lot of
people to try visualization to get what they want. Personally I think
they are fools. Yes, it might get them a beautiful family, a great job, or
the perfect house. But what if these things are not ultimately what is
best for them? And more important, is it God’s
will that they have them? Maybe I am old fashion but when
there is something we want I think it is much safer to simply pray that
God’s will be done. He loves
us and desires nothing but our ultimate good. Besides, “What does it profit a man if he
gains the whole world yet suffers the loss of his soul?”
February 9,
2007, Friday the 5th Week in Ordinary Time
While waiting to enter the seminary back in
1976 I worked in a parking lot near Fishermen’s Wharf in
In today’s first reading our first
parents, Adam and Eve are temped to eat of the fruit that God told them not to
take. The devil put in their minds
that they will become like God if they eat the fruit. So they disregarded God’s
command and took the fruit.
And well, we all know what happened next.
The next time you get temped to sin, whether
it is to miss Mass on Sunday, to engage in a form of illicit sex, to take
something that does not belong to you, look at pornography on the internet, or
whatever, don’t listen to all the rationalizations going on in your mind that
for you it is OK. Rather understand
that it is wrong and that by giving into it you will change the path of your
life for the worse.
Yesterday I learned of a very good man that
just left his wife and children for another woman. This has deeply hurt is wife, his
children, his parents and his friends. Two or three years ago he most likely
would have denied, like Peter, that he would ever hurt these people he loves so
most. I am sure it all
started by giving into a strong temptation to a small venial sin with the
woman. After that, one thing led to
another. What is so sad is that two
or three years from now when the love endorphins in his brain ware off, he most
likely will not be as happy with the new woman as he was with his wife, and his
family will be lost to him for good.
All sin is evil. Never give
into even the slightest temptation to sin.
February 6, 2007, Tuesday the 5th Week in
Ordinary Times
Which
of the following is part of your belief system?
1.
All is one. Everything and everyone is interrelated and interdependent.
Ultimately there is no real difference between humans, animals, rocks, or even
God. Any differences between these entities are merely apparent, not real.
2.
All is god. All of creation partakes of the divine essence. All of life (and
even non-life) has a spark of divinity within.
3.
We are gods." Most of us our ignorant of our divinity, but we are gods in
disguise. Our goal, therefore, should be to discover our own divinity.
4.
We discover our own divinity by experiencing a change in consciousness. The
human race suffers from a collective form of metaphysical amnesia. We have
forgotten that our true identity is divine and thus must undergo a change of
consciousness to achieve our true human potential.
5.
We need to think in terms of gray, rather than black or white. Denying the law
of non- contradiction, we sometimes believe that two conflicting statements can
both be true. Therefore "all religions are true" and "there are
many paths to God."
If
you hold to any of the five you are a resident of the Bay Area - just
kidding! No, it means that you are
not a Christian. Today’s
first reading from the book of Genesis is very clear. We are not gods. God is God and we are His creatures. We do not partake in the divine essence,
but rather we are made in the image and likeness of God. Pope John Paul II wrote in Dominum et Vivificantem, 34, “this means we have the capacity
of having a personal relationship
with God, as “I” and “you’ which will take place in
God’s salvific communication with
February 5,
2007, Monday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Times
Light, as you know, travels
at a speed of 186,000 miles per
second or 700 million miles per hour.
The nearest star is 4.6 light years away from our sun. The diameter of our galaxy, the Milky
Way, is about 100,000 light years and it has over 200 billion stars. The
diameter of the universe is 156 billion light years and it has over 200 billion
galaxies. The first day after the Big Bang the universe was only one light year
across. Therefore it has vastly
expanded since its inception.
Discoveries
over the last forty years about the Big Bang and the formation of the universe,
especially from radio telescopes, have most scientists agreeing that the odds
of our universe existing the way it does are so incredibly small as to be virtually impossible, Ninety percent of these men and woman
are atheist. They have had to
formulate a new theory that would allow for chance. So, most now believe that there are
billions of other universes beyond ours.
A few don’t want to deal with chance or God, and they believe that
there are an infinite number of universes, which would mean there are many
universes out there just like ours.
Right now it is not possible for scientist to
see beyond the other side of the outer shell of our universe or know anything
of what may have existed before the Big Bang. They can only guess, and from the above it
is clear they do. One thing we do
know is 13.7 billion years ago there could not have been anything too close to
us. It there were then our universe
could not have expanded from one light year across to 156 billion light years
across. Maybe the billions of
universes that most scientist hope exist beyond ours are separate by trillions
and trillions miles. If so, then
what is between them? We know why
our universe exist. Why do the
others exist? If they are all
expanding like ours, will they all eventually run over each other? Gee, it seems so much easier to believe
today’s first reading that tells us God created the world, than to
believe there are multiple universes beyond ours.
February 3,
2007, Feast of
Throats are being blessed today in most
Catholic churches in the world.
This is old tradition that goes back many centuries. The
blessing may be given by touching the throat of each person with two candles
blessed on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord (February 2) and which
have been joined together in the form of a cross. As the priest places the candles on the throat of each person, he says: Through the prayers of
St. Blasé bishop and martyr, may God free you from ailments of the throat and from every other evil.
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The blessing of throats is very
popular. When I was a pastor I
would bless throats not only on February 3rd but also after the
Masses on the following weekend. I
can’t remember seeing one person leave without having his or her throat
blessed.
It is hard to say how much good it
does. It is a sacramental and so
graces are received. Once one of
our parishioners got a sore throat after having his throat blessed by me. He was not a regular at Sunday
February 2,
2007, The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
I love the words that came from
Simeon’s mouth when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple forty
days after his birth and offered him to God.
“Now, Master, you may
let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen
your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for
revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”
It is part of the Liturgy of the Hours and is prayed in
monasteries and convents all over the world by monks and nuns as they end their
day.
It
was the Holy Spirit that gave Simeon the knowledge that the baby held by Mary
was the savior of the world. We
often look in the wrong places for our salvation. We may look to a particular person, a
group, an ideology, an occupation, an investment, a philosophy, or
ourselves. But when we are filled
with the Holy Spirit it becomes clear that there is only one source of
salvation, Jesus Christ. All those
other things may be good to one degree or another. They can help us in this life, but none
of them can save us. Jesus must be
first in our lives.
February 1,
2007, Thursday of the 4th Week in Ordinary Time
My family comes from Andermatt in
Unfortunately most churches built in our
country today are far from majestic. They, for the most part, are not much
different than a secular hall.
Upon entering one you might not know if you were in a church or a movie
theater. Why this radical change in
church architecture? I think one
reason is because we have become familiar with God in an unhealthy and
unspiritual way. This change is
reflected in other ways too, from the congregation being dressed like they are
going on a picnic to the ministers in some Churches being dressed like they had
just come from a Hawaiian Laua.
In
the opening verse of our first reading today from Hebrews we hear, “You have not approached that which could be touched and a
blazing fire and gloomy darkness and storm and a trumpet blast and a voice
speaking words such that those who heard begged that no message be further
addressed to them. Indeed, so fearful was the
spectacle that Moses said, “I am terrified and trembling.” The passage reflects the
sentiment of the Old Testament people towards God. For them He was sheer majesty,
absolutely unapproachable, and elicited sheer terror. When the Son of God came into the world
God suddenly was seen as approachable and His presence no longer elicited
terror, but, and this is very important to understand, He remained sheer
majesty. It is important that
God’s majesty be reflected our places of worship and how we dress when
coming together to worship. I once
read that when we finally see God face to face we are going to be horrified at
how causal we acted in His presence while we were on earth.
January 30, 2007,
Tuesday of the 4th Week in Ordinary Time
While greeting parishioners after Mass on
Saturday evening, someone hit me with a difficult question, “If the
consecrated wine is truly the body of Christ then how can one catch a virus by
drinking it?” I can’t remember how I answered
but I do remember walking back to the sacristy not satisfied with my
answer. This is the answer I should
have given.
The virus you acquire when receiving Holy
Communion from the cup comes not from the Sacrament. It is from the lips of those who have
received before you. The minister
or priest wipes the virus off with a pacificator, but it is impossible to do so
perfectly. Also, after the pacificator has been used ten to fifteen times the
minister when wiping the chalice is simply wiping back on to the chalice the
viruses it had just wiped off.
We are most contagious a few days before and
a few days after the symptoms of a virus manifest themselves. In light of this it is probably best
during the winter never to partake from a shared cup.
January 29,
2007, Monday of the 4th Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel the demons know who
Jesus is but they are afraid of him.
The people in the town have seen how powerful Jesus is but they want him
to leave. What is it that makes us
reject what is best for us? When
the first organ transplant was performed at U.C.S.F. many years ago, the
hospital staff was very excited until they discovered that the body had rejected
the new organ. Why did the body
reject the very thing it needed to stay alive?
There are parts of us that are in sin or
selfish or in need of healing love.
Those parts we tend to protect.
Some of us build a shell around it so no one can touch it. We even keep
them from God. Yet they are the parts
of us that need the Fathers touch the most. On Friday I wrote about “the
more”. Overcoming the
urge not to let God get too close is part of going for “the more”. It is interesting, when we don’t
feel like praying is when we may most need to pray.
January 26,
2007, Friday of the 3rd
Week in Ordinary Time
Most
of us when we were children, either at our house or perhaps at our
grandparent’s, had a place on the kitchen wall where every few months our
heights were measured. With
excitement we would look at the scale and see how much we had grown. There was always a great feeling of
satisfaction and pleasure knowing we were taller than before. As adults it is no longer possible to
grow in height. In fact, if people
my age were to periodically mark their heights on the kitchen wall they would
fine themselves to be shrinking.
But, thank God, there are still many other ways that we can grow. One of them is spiritually. In that facet we can be like little
children. We can expect to grow and
be excited when there is some indication that we have. Sadly there are some that do not feel
this way. They are satisfied with
simply being saved. They have no
urge to grow in grace, holiness and compassion. They feel no need to deepen the
life of God within them. They
have no understanding of what St. Ignatius called “the more”. In today’s Gospel Jesus compares
the
December 22,
2006, Friday of the 3rd Week of Advent
Today’s Gospel it taken from the
Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth when Mary declares that all
generations will call her blessed.
Tradition (Jerome’s History
of the Birth of Mary) tells us that Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anna
lived for twenty years without offspring and made a vow to the Lord that if He
granted them a child, they would dedicate it to the service of God. Joachim was alone in a field when an
angel appeared with great brilliance to him. The angel told him not to be afraid and
said, “I am an angel of the Lord, sent to announce
to you that your prayers have been heard and your alms have ascended in the
sight of the Lord. I have seen how
you were put to sham, and heard the reproach of childishness wrongly put upon
you. God punishes not nature but
sin, and therefore, when he closes a woman’s womb, he does this in order
to open it miraculously later on, and to make it known that what is born is not
the fruit of carnal desire but of the divine generosity. Did not the first
mother of your race suffer the shame of childlessness until she was ninety
years old, and yet bore Isaac, to whom was promised the blessing of all
nations? Was not Rachel barren for
a long time and yet bore Joseph, who had power over all
The day of the Mary’s birth was
unknown. Then supposedly there was a holy man, diligent in the practice of
contemplation, who, every year on the eight day of September, heard, as he
prayed, the joyous choirs of angels chanting solemn hymns. In prayer he asked why he heard this
annually on this day and on no other.
The response from God was that on this day the glorious Virgin Mary had
been born to the world, and that he should make this known to the all in the
Church so that they might join the court of heaven in celebrating her
birthday. He passed this knowledge
on to the pope and others, and they, fasting, praying and searching the
Scriptures and ancient documents to ascertain the truth, decreed that this day
should be celebrated throughout the world in honor of the holy Mary’s
birth.
The Church solemnizes only three birthdays,
namely, those of Christ, of holy Mary, and of John the Baptist. These three birthdays mark three
spiritual births, for we are reborn in water with John, in penance with Mary,
and in glory with Christ.
November 12,
2006, Sunday the 31st Week in Ordinary Time
Recently I heard of a very interesting study
conducted in
On Friday we had our first Mass for healing
in well over a year, and even better, I prayed over each member of the congregation
for the first time in over five years.
There were only about 45 people in attendance. But it was something I did not think I
would ever be able to do again.
Thank you so much for your prayers for me. They are definitely being heard.
We will have our second Mass on November 24th
at seven thirty in the evening pacific standard time. I am sure you can enjoy the fruits
of the Mass even if you do not attend by praying with us at that time. The best place to do that would be in the
presence of the Blessed Sacrament.
I realize that your local church will be closed at that time, but maybe
there is a 24 hr. Adoration chapel not far from you. Many times on the road I would look for
the local Catholic hospital to make my Holy Hour. Hospital chapels are usually opened 24
hrs a day.
A young woman, Jeannette, whom I had
been frequently praying with, died last August. She had loved my
healing ministry and wanted to work for me when we both got healed. She
had planned to take me to the Swiss consulate for a party and to help me
get a Swiss passport. She was certain up to a week before she died that
she would be healed.
A few days before she died, with her
family and friends we celebrated Mass in her bedroom. Later I was able to
speak to her alone. I told her how sorry I was that she was going to die
and that I had really been looking forward to her being
part of the healing ministry. She said, “Father I am
still going to help you. I love your ministry and will pray
for it when I am in heaven.”
Today I stopped at
This morning a truck pulled up in front
of me and blocked my way out of the gas station. I put my hands up to indicate my
displeasure. While stuck there I noticed
the name of his company on the back of the truck, “Serrano”.
That was Mary Ann’s last name.
Was that a sign of prayers from heaven too?
As long as we are talking about signs,
here is a very interesting one. My
psychiatrist told me this story today.
He and his wife spent a weekend at a B&B. In the morning at 6:15 he was
woken by a scratching sound on the bedroom door. He opened the door to find a cat. The cat ran in the room and jumped on
the bed. It sat next to him and his
wife, purring, happy as can be, and after fifteen minutes wanted to be let
out. At breakfast his wife made a
comment about the cat. The couple
that owned the B&B looked surprised and said "We don’t have a
cat, in fact we have never seen a cat around here." When my doctor got home on Sunday he
learned that his cat had died the day before at 6:15 in the morning.
November 1, 2006
All Saints Day
Recently I received an email from a woman who
has been making a Holy Hour daily for my full recovery. She wanted me to know that every time
she prays for me she sees two heavenly entities looking over me. One she said is a short old lady who is
very serious and very determined.
She is a real prayer warrior.
I immediately knew she was talking about a lady that for years, until she
died about ten years, prayed for me and the healing ministry. The other woman she said was younger
with a beautiful, very peaceful spirit.
She was warning lipstick and was facing such that only the side of her
face could be seen. I immediately
knew the other woman was my friend Mary Ann who used to help me at the Masses
and was a very close spiritual friend.
The email stated that the two women are continually praying to God for
my complete recovery.
Recently I transferred some old VHS tapes to
DVD. One was a TV program that both
Mary Ann and I were on before we got sick about five years ago. I sent the DVD to the woman who is
praying for me with the hope that she might recognize Mary Ann as one of the
entities in heaven praying for me.
Two days ago she wrote this, “I honestly was dying to ask you if the
lady was Mary Ann that I saw because the second I saw her smile, I knew in my
heart that it was her! She is extremely peaceful in heaven and watching
over you. Interestingly enough, after I shared with you about
their spirits being with me during Eucharistic Adoration, visions of
their faces have ceased.” It seems that the Lord
really wanted me to know that I had two friends in heaven praying for me.
There,
I am sure, are many in heaven praying for you too. Today we celebrate the feast of All
Saints, not just the canonized saints, but all the beautiful souls that are
enjoying for all eternity the Beatific Vision in heaven. Today we honor those loves one who do
not need our prayers, but are praying for us.
October 13, 2006
Friday the 27th. Week in Ordinary Time
In today first
reading
This faith in Christ is both expressed and
increased in worship. When the
Church comes together on Sunday to thank God for sending his Son into the world
salvation is made present. This is why it is so disturbing when we hear that
today only six per cent of Christians in
October 12, 2006
Thursday the 27th. Week in Ordinary Time
In the first
reading today Paul reminds the Galatians that it is the Spirit who is
responsible for their mighty works.
He does not tell us what these works were, but from other New Testament
reading we can assume they involved healings and miracles. In the Gospel Jesus tells us that what
we ask for we will receive and says, “If you
then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much
more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask
him?” So,
both readings point to the Holy Spirit.
Yesterday Cardinal
Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said
it is crucial to be engaged with the diverse global Pentecostal movement, which
numbers 600 million members. He said that we can learn from Pentecostals. He was speaking at
The Second Vatican Council stated in the
Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, Lumen Gentium, “It is not only through the sacraments and the ministration of the
Church that the Holy Spirit makes holy the people, leads them and enriches them
with virtues…He also distributes special graces among the faithful of
every rank. By these gifts he makes them fit and ready to undertake various
tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church.
Bert Ghezzi in his fine book Mystics and Miracles, writes, I have noticed an intriguing thread
running through the lives of several mystics we have observed. God touched them in extraordinary ways
when they prayed the “Veni Creator Spiritus,” the ancient hymn to
the Holy Spirit.
The
hymn is attributed to Rabanus Maurus, a saintly scholar, abbot, and archbishop
who lived in ninth-century
The
“Veni Creator Spirit” marked the moment when Clare of Assisi made
her radical commitment to Christ. St. Francis and his brothers met the lovely
runaway at the door of St. Mary of the Angels. As they escorted her to the
altar, where she would embrace the gospel, they chanted the beautiful hymn to
the Holy Spirit.
If
we can believe St. Teresa of
The
“Veni Creator Spiritus” also occasioned a deepening of St. Lutgarde
mysticism. Biographer Thomas of
Cantimpre reported that one Pentecost, when the hymn was chanted, observers saw
Lutgarde mysteriously transported in prayer. They said she appeared to float off the
floor. Thomas commented that the
saint’s body momentarily seemed to share in the supernatural privileges
of her spirit, which was elevated heavenward.
Scripture
assigns the Holy Spirit the titles of Advocate, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor,
and Teacher. He is the One the
Father sends to intervene in human lives. He is often depicted as dove
descending gently to us. A line in
the “Veni Creator Spiritus” calls him the ‘finger of
God’s right hand’ Thus,
for centuries the church has seen the Spirit as the touch of God in our
lives.”
Here is the full
test of the “Veni Creator Spiritus”
http://www.catholic-forum.com/Saints/pray0638.htm
September 11,
2006 Monday the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
In
today’s Gospel Jesus ask the question, “…is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?” When he said Sabbath, did he mean Saturday or Sunday? He meant Saturday. I remember being in
If Jesus understood the Sabbath to be
Saturday, how did Christians come to celebrate it on Sunday? Well, at first they had two special
days. One was Saturday, the Sabbath,
when they remembered creation and the other was Sunday, the Lord’s Day,
when they remember redemption. Gregory of Nyssa said the two days were
siblings. After awhile it was felt
that there was no compelling reason for dividing the spiritual content shared
by the siblings between two days.
The days were put into one single day. Thus Christians dropped the
Sabbath on Saturday and included it in the Day of the Lord, Sunday. “the
day of Jesus Chris must then necessarily take precedence.”
September 8,
2006, – Feast of the Birth of the Blessed
Virgin Mary
St. Bernard Clairvaux, a Cistercian monk, was the
founder of many monasteries.
Before his death in 1150, the Benedictine Order, to whom he belonged,
had spread to one hundred and sixty monasteries across
Rejoice, Adam, our father, and above all you, Eve, our
mother. You were parents to all of us and at the same time our murderers. You
who doomed us to death even before we were born, be comforted now. One of your
daughters – and what a daughter! – will comfort you… So come,
Eve, run to Mary. May the mother run to the daughter. The daughter will answer
for her mother and will wipe away her fault… For the human race will now
be raised up by a woman.
What did Adam say in times past? “The woman whom you put here with me
– she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.” (Gen 3:12)
Those were nasty words, which increased his fault rather than wiping it away.
But divine Wisdom triumphed over so much malice. After vainly trying to give
birth to the opportunity to forgive by questioning Adam, God now finds that
opportunity in the treasure of his inexhaustible goodness. He gives the first
woman a substitute, a wise woman in the place of the one who was foolish, a
woman who is as humble as the other was proud.
Instead of the fruit of the tree of death, she offers to humankind the bread of
life. She replaces this bitter and poisonous nourishment with the sweetness of
an eternal food. So Adam, change your unjust accusation to an expression of
gratitude and say: “Lord, this woman whom you gave me offered me the
fruit of the tree of life. I ate of it; its flavor was sweeter than honey from
the comb (Ps 19:11), because by means of this fruit, you gave me back
life.” So that is why the angel was sent to a virgin. Oh admirable
Virgin, worthy of all honors! Woman whom we must venerate infinitely among all
women, you repair the fault of our first parents, you give life back to all
their descendants.
St.
Bernard wrote the famous prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary know as The Memorare.
REMEMBER, O most gracious
Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection,
implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with
this confidence, I fly to thee, O Virgin of virgins, my Mother; to thee do I
come; before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word
Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.
August 26,
2006 Saturday the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
A disturbing article appeared
in today’s San Francisco Chronicle
concerning a possible indictment of criminal charges against the bishop of
The extremely high level of
anger at the hierarchy for the totally incompetent and even outrageous way it
has handled the priest-child molestation crises has greatly hurt the
Church. There has been a drop in
contributions, Mass attendance and, maybe worse of all, in acceptance of the
teaching authority of Church.
Sadly, in
This type of unfortunate
response to scandals by the clergy, although quite understandable, does not
come from the Holy Spirit. In today’s Gospel Jesus’ tells us
exactly how we ought to respond to religious leaders who failed miserably, “Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell
you, but do not follow their example.
The Protestant Reformation is perhaps
the best example of why Jesus would command something so counter
intuitive. The recent mistakes made
by the hierarchy are nothing compared to the corruption of the popes, bishops
and priests during the sixteenth century.
Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Luther, John Calvin and Ignatius of Loyola each clearly
saw this. Zwingli, Calvin and Luther left the Catholic Church. But, Ignatius traveled to
When we are angered and
confused by the scandals of our clergy, let us pray though these difficult
words of Our Lord, “Therefore, do and
observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For bishops and priests are human and will always
disappoint us. And, Our Dear Lord’s final prayer was that we may be one
as He and the Father are one.
August 22,
2006 Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
This is
from http://campus.udayton.edu/mary//questions/yq/yq73.html
Q: Why do we call Mary Queen?
A: Assumption and Coronation must be sharply
distinguished. Whereas the assumption has been the object of dogmatic
definition (1950), the coronation of Mary has never been more than a pious
advocation (rosary), an iconographical motif (since the 12th century) and a
devotional custom (coronation of Mary statues known already in the early middle
ages). However, the coronation points to a Marian title known in Christian
tradition since from the beginning of the 4th century. Meant is the title of
Queen. This title was given to Mary as an indication of her preeminence or
excellence based primarily on her role as Mother of Jesus Christ, Theotokos and
Panagia (all holy one). The title found its way into the liturgy of the hours
(Hail Holy Queen...) and popular piety (Litany of Loreto). Over time the attribution
of this title to Mary became generally accepted so that Pius XII in 1954
instituted the liturgical feast of the Queenship of Mary. At the same time, the
pope issued a major document about the queenship of Mary, the Encyclical Ad
Caeli Reginam (Oct. 11, 1954).
Testimonies of the Church fathers on
this title are almost innumerable, but there exists also a biblical foundation
for it: Lk 1:32/33 making reference of Christ's everlasting reign, and
Elisabeth's greeting to Mary as the "Mother of my Lord." These texts
show that because of the Son's royal dignity, Mary possessed a greatness and
excellence that set her apart. This is what we call her Queenship. Pius XII was
well aware that this title should not be used in the manner of modern political
life.
Mary's Queenship is one of love and
service, not pomp and power, as is said about her son (Jn 18,36; Mt 20,20). It
is thus pointed out that the roots of Mary's Queenship are to be found in the
Paschal Mystery of Christ, which is a mystery of self-giving, death, and
resurrection-ascension, the reaching of glory through humility
(abasement-exaltation). Along these lines of theological reflection we see four
reasons why Mary deserves to be Queen:
1) She is Queen because she is the
Mother of the Lord, also called the Messianic King (see:
2) She is Queen because she is
wholeheartedly associated with her Son's salvific work (Rv 12,5).
3) She is Queen because she is the
perfect disciple of Christ (Rv 2,10; 3,21).
4) She is the most excellent member of
the Church, because of her mission and holiness.
All of these reasons show that Mary's
Queenship can only be understood as a gift of her son to participate in his
excellence of love. They also show that it is within the kingly status of the
People of God that Mary-Queen fulfills her true vocation.
For biblical foundation of the dogma of
the Assumption, see:
· What is the
origin and meaning of the liturgical celebration of Mary as Queen?
August 18,
2006 – Friday the 19th Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel Jesus says, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator
'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his
father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one
flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh.”
Dr. Tom Ellis, chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention's Council on the Family said that
for "...born-again Christian couples who
marry...in the church after having received premarital counseling...and attend
church regularly and pray daily together..."
experience only 1 divorce out of nearly 39,000 marriages -- or 0.00256 percent
A recent study by the Barna
Research Group throws extreme doubt on these estimates. Barna released
the results of their poll about divorce in 1999. They had
interviewed 3,854 adults from the 48 contiguous states. The margin of error is
within 2 percentage points. The survey found divorce rates among conservative Christians were significantly higher
than for other faith groups, and for atheists and agnostics.
George Barna, president and founder of Barna Research Group,
commented: "While it may be alarming to discover that
born again Christians are more likely than others to experience a divorce, that
pattern has been in place for quite some time.”
Barna Project
Director Meg Flammang said: "We would love to be able to report that
Christians are living very distinct lives and impacting the community, but ...
in the area of divorce rates they continue to be the same."
Group
Percent Divorced
Non-denominational Christians
34%
Baptists
29%
General Population
25%
Mainline Protestants
25%
Mormons
25%
Catholics
21%
Lutherans 21%
The state
with the lowest divorce rate in the nation is
In a talk to the Synod on Family Life in 1980, Pope John Paul II
said, “Before his death, on the
very threshold of the paschal mystery, Christ prayed, saying: ‘Father most holy,
protect them with your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even
as we are one.” (Jn 17:11) In so doing, he also asked, maybe in a very
special way, for the unity of spouses and of families. He prayed for the unity
of his disciples, for the unity of the Church. And
Marriage is a sacrament. Those who were baptized in the name of the Lord are
also married in his name. Their love is a participation in God’s love. He
is its source. The marriage of Christian couples is like the image here on
earth of the marvel of God’s life, a life, which is the loving and
fruitful communion of the three persons in one single God, and of God’s
covenant with the Church in Christ. Christian marriage is a sacrament of
salvation; for each member of the family, it is the path to sanctity.”
For an excellent analysis of divorce in
the Catholic Church go to: http://www.godspy.com/life/Breaking-Vows-When-Faithful-Catholics-Divorce-Tom-Hoopes.cfm
Father Patrick Paton the founder of the
Family Rosary Crusades believed deeply that the answer to divorce was prayer, “The family that prays together stays together.”
He preached this to
millions of people for fifty years.
In the 1960s his world wide ministry began to fade. Since then the divorce rate in the
August 17, 2006
– Thursday the 19th Week in Ordinary Time
Several
years ago a friend of mine suffered a severe stroke. He lost almost half of his brain and was
not able to walk or speak. After
two or three years of therapy he regained completely his ability to walk and
most of his ability to speak. But
emotionally he still was not healed.
He was a very angry person and had a difficult time trusting in people. Most of all he harbored in his heart
hate for those whom he felt were responsible for his stroke and long
recovery. This was two of his
former supervisors who hand put a great deal of pressure on him at work, and
some of the nurses at the rehabilitation hospital where he did not get good
care. From time to time he would
say to me, “I will never forgive them. They will burn in hell for all eternity
for what they have done to me.”
Recently
someone, by the grace of God, was able to convey to my friend that his stroke
was a gift from God. Now all his
anger is gone. He seems like a new
person, happy and full of life.
In
today’s Gospel we are given a very strong message to forgive. This is often difficult or
impossible. Perhaps if we see
everything that happen in our lives as ultimately being a gift from God we will
find ourselves not needing to forgive, but only being grateful. “..give
thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ
Jesus.” 1Th 5:18
August 14,
2006 - Memorial of
Saint Maximillian Kolbe, priest and martyr
Is it very sad but before we can write about St. Maximillan, false
accusations made over the last twenty-five years that Kolbe was anti-Semitic
must first be addressed. Sigmund Gorson knew Father Kolbe well in
On 16 October 1917, with six companions, Kolbe founded the Crusade
of Mary Immaculate, with the aim of "converting sinners, heretics and
schismatics, particularly freemasons, and bringing all men to love Mary
Immaculate". In January 1922, he began to publish a monthly review, the Knight
of the Immaculate, in
In
Although Maximilian Kolbe had been a brilliant scientist,
mathematician, and religious journalist, he is remembered for this last act of
charity. Kolbe was epitomized the Polish religious and the many unsung heroes
of the concentration camps. Pope John Paul II, previously archbishop of Cracow,
canonized Father Kolbe in the presence of the sergeant whose life had been
saved.
Finally, this is taken from Pope Paul
VI Discourse at Maximilian Kolbe's Beatification: “Maximilian Kolbe was an apostle of the formal
veneration of Mary seen in all her pristine splendor, in the original and privileged
character of the definition she gave of herself at Lourdes: the Immaculate
Conception. It is impossible to separate the name of Father Kolbe, his activity
or his mission, from the name of Mary Immaculate. He founded the Militia
Immaculate here in
August 11,
2006 - Memorial of Saint Clare, virgin
St. Clare would compare herself to Jesus as
though looking in a mirror. She tried to conform her behavior to his image, and
she taught others to do the same.
This is part of what she wrote to Queen Agnes of
Many of us today are impressed by people or
groups that report healings, care for the poor or drawing large numbers to
Christ. These are all wonderful, but Clare was impressed by
poverty. After hearing St. Francis of
St. Clare and her sisters wore no shoes, ate no meat, lived in a
poor house, and kept silent most of the time. Yet they were very happy, because
Our Lord was close to them all the time. She was humble, merciful, charming, optimistic, and
chivalrous. She would get up late at night to tuck in her sisters who'd kicked
off their covers. Daily she meditated on the Passion.
August 10,
2006 – Thursday the 19th Week of Ordinary Time
A young man in his late
twenties or early thirties called me to his bed while I was visiting one of our
parishioners in the hospital. He
was very good looking and sitting at the edge of his bed was an equally good
looking young woman. He had a
question for me. “Father I have
acquired everything in my life that I thought I needed to be happy. Please tell me why I am not only not
happy, but why do I have this empty feeling inside?” I said, “You know what you
need.” He said, “No, Father I do
not.” I said, “Yes you do, just
say it.” He said, “Jesus?” I said “Yes Jesus and you
need to go back to church.” He said, “Father I know
you are right, but I cannot because for too long I have told too many people
that the Catholic Church has nothing to offer.” I gave him my card and asked him to call me if he
needed to talk more. He never
called me.
In
today’s Gospel Jesus says, “Whoever loves his
life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for
eternal life.”
August 9,
2006 – Wednesday the 18th Week of Ordinary Time
Sixty-one years ago today we dropped an atomic bomb on
On
August 9, 1945, at 10:30 A.M. a
meeting of the Supreme Council of War was held at the Imperial Headquarters to decide
whether
