Mercy's Novena Once More

We are all in need of mercy. Some of us are more aware of this fact than others (cf. Luke 18:9-14). If you are a saint who knows what a sinner looks like by your reflection in the mirror or a sinner who is absolutely sure your sainthood is guaranteed, this devotion is for you.

Once again the Divine Mercy Novena begins today. Details about it can be found here. I know of a nearby parish who will be praying this devotion this year. As a reminder, a plenary indulgence is granted.

"The law entered in so that transgression might increase but, where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more,..." (Romans 5:20).

And what greater grace than mercy?

The Not-So-Routine Routine

It is a familiar routine. At least it should be. But it will never be.

Tonight marks the beginning of Christianity's "High Holy Days", the Pascal Triduum. The echoes of the "Hosannas" heard on Palm Sunday no longer reverberate. For the next three days we commemorate the events leading to the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:  His Last Supper, agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, betrayal, two trials, Via Dolorosa, crucifixion, death, and burial.

We know about them, but do we really know them? How has the central mystery of our Faith formed us? How have we grown in our belief over the past Lenten season? We can and should spend our lifetimes meditating on these wonderous deeds, integrating them into our being. We are called to be holy, to be more as we were created, in the image and likeness of God; to be more Christ-like, more like the Father Who is perfect, Who we have seen because we have seen Jesus and he is one with the Father; to be more like the Trinity Who is love. All of this is encapsulated in the Pascal Mystery.

The Church's liturgy reflects this. There are not three separate celebrations but one continuous act of worship. Notice if you attend Holy Thursday's Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper and/or Good Friday's Liturgy of the Lord's Passion there are no words of dismissal. As His disciples, we are to follow Him in His final hours and keep vigil as He lays in the tomb to see if after three days the Temple has been rebuilt, that He has freely laid down His life and freely has taken it up again, either at the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter and/or Easter Sunday:  The Resurrection of the Lord.

The Upper Room is ready. So will be the Cross. So will be the Tomb. Are we?

The invitation awaits.

"Come and see."

Everlasting "Last Words"

Once again, Holy Week is upon us. We are reminded of our own fickleness and indifference toward our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the Mass of Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion, where the joyous cries of 
"Hosanna" during the procession do an abrupt 180 degree turn with the tone of the proclamation of the Liturgy of the Word, culminating with our gleeful screams of "Crucify Him" during the proclamation of the Passion narrative. Isn't our consistent inconsistency amazing?

So we now spend the next seven days contemplating what we have done to Him by "my fault, my fault, my most grievous fault". To hopefully aid in that meditation, I offer my very humble thoughts on the "Seven Last Words", the final sentences uttered upon the Cross by the Word made flesh. May they be a source of inspiration to you, either on their own or as a departure to other more eloquent reflections.

His hour has come.

Later today.

Take the time to ponder and wonder.

PM: Special Edition--Solemnity Of St. Joseph

Foster Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Patron Saint of the Universal Church. Terror of demons. The true strong, silent type. Invoked to avoid a sudden and unprovided death. (And my middle name.) What's not to like about the husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary? We now interrupt our regularly scheduled Lenten penances to bring you these brief reflections:

The righteous man shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow up like the cedar of Lebanon; for he is planted in the house of the Lord, in the courts of our God.

V. It is good to give praise to the Lord; and to sing in honor of your name.

Ps. 91:13-14; V. 2

Here the word "righteous" is synonymous with the word "just", an adjective commonly associated with St. Joseph (cf. Matt. 1:19). The introit also uses the cedar tree to indicate how strong he, and we, are if our being is rooted in God.

O Lord, you have gone ahead to meet him with goodly blessings; you have placed a crown of precious stones on his head.

V. He asked you for life, and you granted him length of days for ever and ever.

Ps. 20:4; V. 5

In the Gradual, we note what goodly blessings were bestowed on him in being the head of the Holy Family, staring with Jesus and Mary. Tradition holds his length of days ended just before the start of Jesus' public mission. And how great is his reward in Heaven because of this vocation.

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord; he shall delight exceedingly in his commandments.

V. His seed shall be mighty upon earth; the descendants of the righteous will be blessed.

V. Glory and wealth are in his house; and his righteousness endures for ever.

Ps. 111:1-3

The Tract acknowledges, "The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." (Wisdom 9:10) Joseph's knowledge of the Law through the Word and his just application of it brought him many graces. Those who emulate him as well as Jesus are the mighty; their glory, wealth, and justness will far outlive them on earth, but not in Heaven.

My fidelity and my mercy are with him; and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

Ps. 88:25

The Psalm from which this Offertory was taken (88:2-38) speak of Jesus directly. Since He had to come from the House of David, Joseph was chosen to graph the True Vine to this branch. It is through Christ that Joseph's name is exalted.

Joseph, son of David, fear not to receive Mary as your wife; for that which is conceived in her comes from the Holy Spirit.

Matt. 1:20

One of two options of Communion Antiphons, connected with the same Gospel proclamation. Happy are those who obey God, when the Father with the Spirit sends the Son. Joseph clearly received all the messages from the angel and, with all the trust attributive to Abraham, was blessed by doing the will of God.

My son, why have you treated us so? Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you. How is it that your were seeking me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business?

Lk. 2:48-50

The other option is associated with the finding of the Christ Child in the Temple (the other Gospel proclamation), just as it is with the Feast of the Holy Family. Jesus, as son of Joseph, was obedient to him on earth just as He was obedient to His Heavenly Father. Christ was about His Father's business in both His human and Divine natures. With the help of St. Joseph, may we be as well.

Most chaste heart of St. Joseph, intercede for us.

Question For The Month

Since Easter falls on the last Sunday of the month this year, does that mean March enters like the Lion of Judah and exits like the Lamb of God? 

March 2024 Morning Offering Prayer Intention

Here is the intention for this month when prayer the Morning Offering:

For the Martyrs of Our Day, Witnesses to Christ. We pray that those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world inflame the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm.

A reflection for this intention can be found here.

An Early Call To Repentence

Ready or not, Lent is here.

Yes, it seems to have come unannounced (because it is rare to hear the Proclamation of Easter and the Moveable Feasts at Epiphany). Yes, it seems we just celebrated the Christmas Season (because there were only five Sundays between Epiphany and Ash Wednesday this year). Yes, because it "conflicts" with Valentine's Day (and the Feast of Ss. Cyril and Methodius). Yes, because we are only in the middle of February.

Remember how long a thousand years is in God's eye (cf. Psalm 90:4).

Now is the acceptable time to rend your hearts and remove the speck from your eye. The Church has graciously set aside the next forty days for us to draw closer to God. With prayer, fasting, and almsgiving we have the opportunity to be refined like gold in fire

How can we, the People of God, become holier during this time so as to fulfill our baptismal promises better? This is the focus of Lent. From the tried and true to something we wanted to try, our spiritual disciplines now have more direction and purpose.

The challenge is once again before us.

Accept the grace of God and use it to become more of  “'a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises' of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." (cf. 1 Peter 2:9)

Time's a wasting.

February 2024 Morning Offering Prayer Intention

Here is the intention for this month when prayer the Morning Offering:

For the Terminally Ill. We pray that those with a terminal illness, and their families, receive the necessary physical and spiritual care and accompaniment.

(UPDATE:  2/9/2024).  A reflection for this intention can be found here.

State (Battle) Lines

The weekend nearest January 22 is a bittersweet time for those in the pro-life movement. On the negative side, it is the remembrance of the anniversary of the 1972 Supreme Court decisions of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, rulings that allowed for unrestricted abortions in this country. For over 50 years it has been a time of peaceful protest as well as the herculean effort to change hearts and minds. And while there have been incremental steps forward (as well as backward), the giant leap for humanity was the ruling June 24, 2022 of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe's (as well as Casey v. Planned Parenthood) "settled precedent" on this most controversial subject.

The pro-life events last year had many celebratory moments. But in the back of everybody's mind was the stark reality this SCOTUS decision, while a major victory, now made the pro-life challenge even more daunting. In fact it became at least 50 times difficult. All this did was now return the legal question to the states. (Nor has it entirely stopped the federal government's attempts to enshrine this so-called right into law on a national level.)

In the over 18 months since Dobbs took effect, the battles have increased and intensified in individual state legislatures, courts, and ballot boxes. And it is easier to keep score. Progress or regression has more measurables now--the passing of laws, rulings, or constitutional amendments at the state level. But the color representing those achievements still remains the same. Unfortunately, depending on your political persuasion, the country can still be colored red or blue regarding this. It is just becoming more clearer which hue goes where.

What does this mean for the pro-life movement? In a sense, it is still more of the same. The changing of hearts and minds continues. Limited resources are more stretched. There are more threats of violence to those whose voices are raised loud enough to be effectively heard. And there is still the bully pulpit that is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, where the current occupant has perhaps staked his entire political career (some of a religious nature would opine at the cost of his soul) on cementing his legacy with this issue.

The response is still the same. More prayer and fasting (for this is a spiritual battle as well); more speaking the truth in love (for the opposition is still winning the war of words); more grassroots efforts (for this is where the pro-life movement is most effective); more visible signs of support for not only mother (and father?) and child but those who have been scarred by this act (for true compassion is shown in loving deeds). This is what we do best:  offer authentic hope and love.

We are 366 days from inaugurating the next President of the United States. But we can't be assured of that person's support; we have seen what the political tides do to this issue. We still have to pray as if it were up to God and work as if it were up to us.

And both are right to do.

January 2024 Morning Offering Prayer Intention

Here is the intention for this month when prayer the Morning Offering:

For the Gift of Diversity in the Church. We pray that the Holy Spirit may help us to recognize the gift of different charisms within the Christian community and to discover the richness of different traditions and rituals in the Catholic Church.

A reflection for this intention can be found here.