Feast of Feasts

               It was July, five years ago that God called me back to Him in the most kind and loving way.  And I began to attend mass occasionally between Sundays.  I decided to go, on what I then determined to be “important days”, in other words, days when we celebrated a saint.  As late July approached, I realized that almost every day is the feast of a well known saint.  

                Today is the feast of St. Martha.  Since I am always struggling to be less like Martha and more like Mary, I do love the reading from John.  In it, she greets Jesus after Lazarus has died.  Her love of the Lord and confidence in God’s grace allows her to say to Jesus, “But even now (after Lazarus has died) I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give to you.”

                Last week began with the feast of Mary Magdalene, the first to see the risen Lord and the patroness of the Dominican Order.  We also celebrated the feasts of mystical St. Bridget, St. James the Apostle, and Mary’s parents Saints Joachim and Anne.  And the celebrations continue into August, including the feast of St. Dominic and the Assumption of Mary. 

                So in these lazy days of summer, when life may be a little slower than during other times of the year, I find it a good time to explore some of these men and women who had the courage and faith to follow the Lord, no matter what he asked of them.  They followed His plan for their lives and are forever fabulous examples for others to follow.

                I thoroughly enjoyed Pope Emeritus Benedict’s book, “Holy Men and Women of the Middle Ages and Beyond”.  It is a compilation of his Wednesday audiences in 2009 and 2010.  In the middle of the book, he highlights seventeen women saints who simply follow his will for them each and every day.  The result is a life that is good for all whom they encounter.  They spread the Jesus’ message in their everyday work and deeds.

                It may be summer time, Ordinary according to the Church calendar, but the men and women whom we celebrate are far from ordinary.  It is a time to savor a Feast of Feasts!

What Divine Love Accomplish?

            The lives of St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena are evidence of what Divine Love can accomplish.  As God called them to be who he created them to be, they listened and responded to that Divine Love.  The result was a deep intimacy to Christ that enabled them to bring about results that they could not have imagined in their most hopeful dreams. They entered into the mystery into which we are all called.  Combining their great love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit with a devotion to Mary, the Mother of God, they were able to detaching themselves of the things of this world and focus on the things of heaven.

               In a time before “screens”, yet a time filled with significant temptations and distractions to pull individuals away from God and into sinful living, both St. Dominic and St. Catherine were able to be in touch with the movement of the Holy Spirit within their souls.  Their love for God gave them the courage and fortitude to follow those movements, resulting in a personal relationship with our Triune God.

               The spiritual journey of this ordained priest and lay woman had many things in common of which I would like to focus on two.  They each spent significant time in prayer and contemplation and they each had a devotion to Mary and the rosary.

               St. Dominic reportedly spent many nights on the ground praying for the salvation of souls.  He prayed and fasted and did penance, binding his sufferings to the sufferings of Christ.  It was during a time of praying for the conversion of souls that he was given the Rosary by Mary.  He continued his active apostolate preaching and forming men to become Dominican priests and brothers while advancing the use of the Rosary throughout Europe. 

               St. Catherine, early in her adulthood, spent three years in solitary prayer.   During this time, the Lord must have formed her for the active work he had planned for her.  She knew at an early age that she was made to be devoted to Christ and had the courage to defy her parents.  Once she began her active life of service, it continued to be sustained by frequent daily prayer and contemplation. 

               The lives of both of these saints illustrate the absolute need for an active apostolate to be supported by a vibrant life of prayer.  They also illustrate lives filled with joy as a result of their relationship with Christ.

Light of Faith

               I have spent several hours over the past few days reading the first encyclical by Pope Francis, Lumen Fidei (Light of Faith).  In this year of faith, my family and I are reading through the Year of Faith booklet published by Magnificant.  Hopefully, by November 24^th (the end of the Year of Faith) I’ll be able to have an intelligent discussion on faith for the balance of my life here on Earth!

               I mention this, because we have become very familiar with various aspects of faith while reading the book and I think that helped me to read Lumen Fidei. Someone said that this is a document written by “four hands” as a draft was written by Pope Benedict and then edited, revised, completed by Pope Francis.   In this post, I want to share just a few of the gems that I found in this document.   

               Those who believe, see; they see with a light that illumines their entire journey, for it comes from the risen Christ, the morning star which never sets.  Pope Francis concludes the first paragraph with this sentence.  The Biblical expression that first came to me is the exhortation to “not hide your light under a bushel basket”.   Faith is infused in me, and with Christ’s light, I are to follow His way.

               In paragraph 32, I find, Christian faith, inasmuch as it proclaims the truth of God’s total love and opens us to the power of that love, penetrates to the core of our human experience.  Each of us comes to the light because of love, and each of us is called to love in order to remain in the light.  I can almost feel a warmth in my chest as I think of how faith has penetrated to the core of my heart and soul.  Without God’s persistent invitation to accept His total love, I might still be lost in a haze of depression and materialistic greed.   As I have come to fully understand how precious I am to Him, I have been able to give my life fully to him.

               In paragraph 35 I find, Religious man strives to see signs of God in the daily experiences of life, in the cycle of the seasons, in the fruitfulness of the earth and in the movement of the cosmos.  How I have learned to find God in those daily life experiences, whether it is conversation during family dinner, the full moon on a summer night or the finding of a precious lost object.  Looking for those life experiences allows me to be ever more conscious of God’s love for humanity and for me.  Me, who he made before the world was made. (AMAZING!)

               Those who have opened their hearts to God’s love, heard his voice and received his light, cannot keep this gift to themselves.  I say, “AMEN” to this sentence that begins paragraph 37.  Thus the reason for this blog and the hours I spend learning about God and sharing it with other.

               Pope Francis ends the encyclical with a prayer to Mary.  Read the entire letter at http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20130629_enciclica-lumen-fidei_en.html

True Joy

               This morning I saw true joy on the face of an acquaintance from my parish.  I first met this young man at a party in December for members of the Men’s Group at church along with their spouses or significant others.  He came alone, perhaps desiring to have the Christian companionship.  As I spoke with him, he seemed rather reticent and quiet.  We talked about faith, and I spoke of my vocation as a lay Dominican. He was seeking meaning and direction for his life. In the following weeks, I would see him occasionally around the parish.

               In mid-Winter, I saw him at the Dominican House of Studies.  He was attending a vocation event for men who are considering the priesthood.  I certainly gave him credit for seeking God’s will, but he looked out of place to me.  I was not surprised to see that he was not among the Dominican novice candidates for the coming year, but wondered about his journey.

               I had not seen him in the parish for months and just last week wondered what had happened to him.  The Washington DC area is so transient, many times young men and women are here for a year or three and then they disappear, some going back home and others onto another adventure. 

               I was sitting in the church parking lot this morning after mass, waiting for the torrential rain to end so I could exchange something with a friend.  I saw this young man greet another man outside the church with a hug and then he introduced a young women.  From a distance, I had to look twice to recognize him.  His smile made his face glow, his posture was straighter than I remembered and he had a confidence that was new to me.

               As the rain let up, I ran to the church and exchanged the item with my friend.  On the way out, the young woman was extending her left had to someone.  I didn’t want to interrupt, and just waved and was delighted to see true joy on his face.  My acquaintance is newly engaged.  He and his faithful Catholic fiancé had come to church to meet with the priest to begin preparation for marriage.

               It is my prayer that their preparation will not be for the day they exchange their vows, but for a lifetime relationship lived in communion with our Lord.  I had been married for more than a decade before I truly understood the peace and beauty of a sacramental marriage.  It is my hope that this man and woman have a sacrament marriage from the very beginning.

               It is how it is meant to be from Matthew 19:5, 'That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh'.  May today’s joy be present throughout their life time together!

In an Instant

               My days tend to fly by in a flurry of activity related to my family responsibilities, work, volunteer obligations and recreation. These summer days and weeks seem to run into each other, passing quickly.  Sometimes, something happens that distinguishes a particular day, or hour or instant from the others.

               Last week a friend of a friend’s family experienced tragedy.  A young man, recently graduated from college, was killed in a traffic accident. In an instant, a family was changed.  Death became a reality to his parents, siblings, girlfriend and friends. 

               Also last week, my teenage son was traveling in Italy when he and four companions were approached by a friendly young man.  “Want some?” he said as he opened his hand to show a bag of cocaine.  My son and his friends declined and walked away. This reaction is what I would expect from my son, but how could his life been changed in that instant?

               The tsunami in Thailand and last summer’s deracho in Washington D.C. are also times when lives were changed in an instant.  Without warning, a weather incident caused damage, injury and loss of time.

               I have especially been thinking about a specific instant in my life which occurred nearly five years ago.  The Pastor of our parish had invited himself over for desert.  As he was leaving, I stepped out on our porch to say a final goodbye.  He walked down our stairs, paused and turned around.  When I looked in his eyes, I knew he had something important to say. 

               “I just want to bring more people to Jesus,” were the words that tumbled out of his lips.  Those words broke through the wall that I had built between God and myself.  In an instant, my life was changed, irrevocably.  The past five years have been the most joy-filled, peaceful of my life. 

               So in these days, so filled with activity, I attempt to find some time to take a deep breath and enjoy my family and friends. Finding time to say thanks to God for all the good he has given me is important, because we never know how our lives can be changed, in an instant.

Only 6 More Months of Shopping Before Christmas!

Today is half way between Christmas 2013 and 2014.  Last Saturday evening, as I was coming home on the Metro I began to speak with a number of teens, all wearing the same shirt.  They were from Dallas and here in DC on a "mission" trip.  I thought of one of my favorite poems that is appropriate any time of year.  It is by Howard Thurman and reminds us that the work of Christmas is EVERYDAY!

"The Work of Christmas"

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.

Praying in the shadow of the US Capitol

On a perfect summer evening, in the light of a full “super” moon, with the US Capitol as a background, I joined hundreds of men, women and children to pray for protection of our religious freedom.  At this event, hosted by the Knight s of Columbus, we lifted our hearts and minds to God ask we asked Him to protect the rights of Christians.

               A couple of hundred faithful individuals, coming from Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia gathered to pray Compline, the night prayer of the church, lead by Dominican Brothers studying at the Dominican House of Studies.  Baltimore Archbishop William from Baltimore who leads  the USCCB’s  Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty spoke a few words and led us in the prayer by St. Thomas More and the prayer for Religious Freedom (both found at the bottom of this post).

               The words of both St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More were read and religious and lay people lead the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary.  The hundreds who attended, ranging from infants to septuagenarian, held LED tea light candles.  The Dome of the U.S.  Capitol was a beautiful back drop of the event.  One participant commented, “Who wouldn’t want to pray for religious liberty on the lawn of the Capitol?”

               This is one of hundreds events that will be held during the Fortnight for Freedom.  The final event will be a mass to be held at the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Northeast DC on July 4^th.

 

Prayer by St. Thomas More written while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London

Give me the grace, Good Lord
To set the world at naught. To set the mind firmly on You and not to hang upon the words of men's mouths.
To be content to be solitary. Not to long for worldly pleasures. Little by little utterly to cast off the world and rid my mind of all its business. Not to long to hear of earthly things, but that the hearing of worldly fancies may be displeasing to me. Gladly to be thinking of God, piteously to call for His help. To lean into the comfort of God. Busily to labor to love Him.


To know my own vileness and wretchedness. To humble myself under the mighty hand of God. To bewail my sins and, for the purging of them, patiently to suffer adversity. Gladly to bear my purgatory here. To be joyful in tribulations. To walk the narrow way that leads to life. To have the last thing in remembrance. To have ever before my eyes my death that is ever at hand. To make death no stranger to me. To foresee and consider the everlasting fire of Hell. To pray for pardon before the judge comes. To have continually in mind the passion that Christ suffered for me. For His benefits unceasingly to give Him thanks.


To buy the time again that I have lost. To abstain from vain conversations. To shun foolish mirth and gladness. To cut off unnecessary recreations. Of worldly substance, friends, liberty, life and all, to set the loss at naught, for the winning of Christ. To think my worst enemies my best friends, for the brethren of Joseph could never have done him so much good with their love and favor as they did him with their malice and hatred. These minds are more to be desired of every man than all the treasures of all the princes and kings, Christian and heathen, were it gathered and laid together all in one heap. Amen

Prayer for Religious Liberty

O GOD OUR CREATOR, from your provident hand we have received our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  You have called us as your people and given us the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ.

Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society. We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.

Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;

give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith. Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome—for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,

and all who come after us—this great land will always be “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen