mary
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May is the month of Mary – 5 ways to honor her

Honoring Mary

The month of May has been set aside for honoring Mary for centuries in the Catholic Church. Many of us have fond memories of May crownings and hymns to Mary such as “On This Day, O Beautiful Mother” (my mom’s favorite.) This year is especially important, as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the appearance of Mary in Fatima, Portugal.

We must speak with great care about our devotion to Mary, as it is often misunderstood by other Christians. Catholics do not worship Mary (or anyone else besides God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.) We honor her as the Mother of Jesus – her “yes” to the angel Gabriel changed the world, and is a model for us of complete surrender to the will of God. Just as we may have a photo of our mother in our home, we Catholic put pictures and statues of Mary to remind us of her importance in God’s plan for our salvation. We also know that Mary, conceived without sin, sits very close to  her Son in Heaven, just as a queen sits next to the king. Those in Heaven are closer to God than we could ever be, here on earth (Eph. 2:5) and their intercessory prayers on our behalf can be powerful.

Honoring Mary in our Homes

May is a great time to begin new ways of honoring Mary in our homes. Here are a few ideas.

  1. There is an ancient tradition in the Church of creating Marian Gardens. Many of us have statues of Mary in our yards, but did you know that there are many beautiful plants that are symbolic to the life of Mary? For example, ferns are symbolic of Mary’s hair and pansies (with their three petals) are a reminder of the Trinity and sometimes referred to as “Our Lady’s Delight.” Their are many online sources for such gardens, and it is a fun way to include the entire family.
  2. Have a May crowning. Many parishes of course have a May crowning, but if you have a statue of Mary in your home or yard, have a May crowning. It doesn’t take much talent to create a small crown (I know this from experience!) with small flowers purchased from a craft store. If you have children, include them! Crown Mary, perhaps sing a Marian hymn or pray the Hail Mary of Regina Caeli together.
  3. Pray the Rosary. Many a good intention has has been made to pray the Rosary daily, only to be forgotten in our busy lives. Praying the Rosary is a most powerful prayer  (Give me an army saying the Rosary and I will conquer the world, said Blessed Pope Pius IX), and Mary herself (at Fatima) promised peace if we would only pray the Rosary daily with great devotion.  If you aren’t sure how to pray the Rosary, it is easy to learn. Again, involve your children if you have any. And if an entire Rosary is too much for some children (I know it was for a couple of mine!), pray a decade with them before bedtime, and then finish the Rosary on your own. If you have kids, make sure they have child-friendly Rosaries.
  4. St. John Paul II credited Mary with saving his life when he was shot in St. Peter’s Square. He had a great devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, and wrote a beautiful prayer to her. Perhaps your May devotion to Mary could be praying this daily. You can find it here; it begins with the words, “O Mother of all mean and women, and of all peoples, you who know all their sufferings and hopes…”)
  5. The University of Dayton is home to the International Marian Research Institute, a treasure of Marian art, prayers, research and dogma regarding Mary. There is a lot to explore here! Why not take some time during this month of May to learn a bit more about the Blessed Mother?

“Hail, Mary!”

We owe Mary so much! Christ came into the world, fully human and fully divine, because Mary said “yes” to God’s request. She is witness to all of Jesus’ life, from his conception to his Resurrection. Our devotion to Mary will always and only lead us to a fuller understanding of Christ, our Savior. Enjoy the month of May, as we pray the words of the angel Gabriel, “Hail Mary, full of grace!”

 

EH headshotElise Hilton is an author, blogger and speaker. Her role at Diocesan Publications is Editor & Writer with the Marketing Team. She has worked in parish faith formation and Catholic education for over 30 years. A passionate student of theology, Elise enjoys sharing her thoughts on parish communication, the role of social media in the Church, Franciscan spirituality and Catholic parenting. To enquire about booking her as a speaker, please contact her at ehilton@diocesan.com.

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Allow Yourself To Be Changed This Lent

[During Lent, Diocesan Publications offers daily Lenten reflections from a variety of guest bloggers. To receive these in your mailbox, please fill out the “Subscribe” box below the post. May you have a blessed Lent! – Editor]

 

Here we are one day into Lent! Some of us really know how to conquer Lent and don’t have a problem with it, while the rest of us lowly individuals probably forgot yesterday that bacon does in fact count as meat. I place myself in that final category.

I have always struggled with Lent, but I think that’s because I grew up with a misunderstanding about what Lent really is. I grew up thinking that Lent was a time to suffer, to give up the things we love, and to be miserable for the sake of being miserable. I think anyone with a brain would detest this idea of Lent and while Lent may include suffering and sacrifice, it is really about change.

Just as we have seasons throughout the year we also have seasons in the Church. I know that every year I get excited for fall. The leaves change, it gets a little colder, there are more bonfires, and I love Halloween and Thanksgiving. But the thing I love most is the changing color of the leaves. Every season brings with it some sort of change and whether we like that change or not, it helps bring us to the next season.

For example, I am not a huge fan of winter, but winter has to come in order for us to get to spring. It has to freeze so that eventually it can thaw and allow the trees to bud and bring about beautiful fruit. Sometimes we have to go through something that may not be ideal in order to get to the things that really make us joyful.

It is the same with Lent. Some of us may not be particularly fond of the sacrifice and struggle that comes with Lent, but the more we allow ourselves to change throughout this season, the more fruitful we will be in our daily lives.

Although sacrifice may sometimes hurt, it ultimately makes us stronger and brings us to greater joy. Instead of going into Lent with a negative attitude about sacrifice, let’s all look to the sacrifice of the cross and be thankful that Christ was willing to give the ultimate sacrifice in order that we might be changed.

“Jesus Christ has taken the lead on the way of the cross. He has suffered first. He does not drive us toward suffering but shares it with us, wanting us to have life and to have it in abundance.” ~St. John Paul II

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” ~Luke 9:23

 

 

Change LentTommy Schultz is a full time speaker who was most recently the Director of youth and young adult ministries for the Diocese of Baker, OR. As an experienced speaker on all things Catholic, he has addressed thousands of teens and young adults on topics such as the Sacraments, chastity, and boldly living the Catholic faith. He has given many talks and hosted retreats across the nation. Driven by his passion for Theology of the Body, Tommy studied at the Theology of the Body Institute and has spoken at numerous Theology of the Body conferences. From 2012-2013, he served as a missionary of purity, speaking to over 20 thousand youth about the message of purity across the state of Pennsylvania. He is also a founder of the Corpus Christi Theology of the Body campus organization at Franciscan University. To book Tommy for an event or for further information please visit www.tommy-shultz.com.

lamb of God
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Behold, the Lamb of God!

One of the first people to recognize Jesus as the Messiah was His cousin, John. When Mary journeyed to visit her cousin Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s baby leapt in her womb for joy, in recognition of the Messiah, quietly residing in Mary’s womb.

We have no record in Sacred Scripture of the relationship between Jesus and His cousin John as they grew up. Their relationship picks up as John begins his public ministry, calling people to repentance in order to prepare for the Messiah. However, it would not be hard to imagine that these two spent time together as boys, doing what boys do: exploring and hiking, finding creepy crawly things, helping their parents.

John’s role in salvation history is quite important, as author Jimmy Akin points out:

He served as the forerunner or herald of the Messiah and was to prepare for him by fulfilling an Elijah-like role by calling the nation to repentance.

In keeping with that, he baptized people as a sign of their repentance.

He also came to identify and announce the Messiah. According to John the Baptist: “I myself did not know him; but for this I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel” (John 1:31).

In the Gospel reading yesterday, John the Baptist makes a bold proclamation to his followers. He points out Jesus and cries out: “Behold, the Lamb of God!” Jesus, he tells those gathered, will take away the sins of the world, and that the Spirit of God has made known to John that Jesus is the Son of God. John’s boyhood friend and cousin is the Messiah, the one who will save us all from sin and death.

To our ears, “Lamb of God” may seem like an unusual phrase. To Jews however, this phrase is quite familiar, and very important. This image is at the heart of the Jewish covenant story, as God brought them out of Egypt and slavery. Fr. Aaron Kuhn:

The original lamb was sacrificed during the time of Moses (1393-1273 B.C.), and its blood marked the doorposts of the Israelites and saved them from the last plague, the angel of death passing over the city and killing every firstborn child and animal (Exodus 12). The body of the lamb was eaten as a sacrificial rite. The blood of the lamb saved the people from death.

The gospel of John the Evangelist—the Beloved Disciple—which we heard today is a Passover message.  At the beginning of the gospel, Jesus is presented as the new Passover lamb, taking the place of the traditional lamb during the celebration of the Passover meal and instead offering his body as food and his blood to save us from death. “I am the living bread come down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world … unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you … my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (John 6:51, 53, 55).

In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul’s words seem to fit this scene of John’s declaration quite well:

For we know partially and we prophesy partially, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. (1 Cor. 13: 9-11)

John the Baptist knew that his role in salvation was “partial:” his job was to point the way to the “perfect,” Jesus Himself. These boyhood friends now had to step into the roles God had created for them: prophet and Messiah. Just as they had to put away childish things, so must we. Our faith in the Lamb of God must always be growing, always deepening. “Behold! The Lamb of God!” Our own hearts must cry out for Him, our souls’ greatest desire. Our lives must always point the way to Him, our salvation, so that others may also come to know and believe.

“Behold! The Lamb of God!”

Our Lady of Guadalupe
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Advent: ‘How Can This Be?’

TODAY’S ADVENT REFLECTION FOR THE 3rd MONDAY OF ADVENT, 2016

Today is especially joyful. We are celebrating the Third Week of Advent, which begins with Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday. We celebrate that we are drawing closer and closer to the momentous celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Church is especially joyful today, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

In today’s Gospel, we recall the Annunciation: the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that God has found favor with her, and asks that she bear a son, Jesus. Her response is very human: “How can this be?!” She is a virgin. How can she possibly be pregnant, let alone with the Son of God, the Messiah?

In 1531, Mary appeared to a poor Aztec Indian, Juan Diego. Her message to him? That she wished for a church to be built on the hill where she appeared. Certainly, St. Juan Diego must have thought, “How can this be? How is it that my Mother appears to me? How can I, a poor man, build a church?”

When Juan Diego, ever obedient, went to the bishop and described what he had seen and what Mary asked, the bishop’s reaction was, “How can this be? How can the Mother of God appear to such a one as this?”

All three had legitimate questions. Mary was willing to accept what the angel told her – even though it was beyond human understanding. Over 1500 years later, Mary received the same question from Juan Diego. His obedience reflected hers however; Juan Diego believed his Heavenly Mother, despite the unbelievable task she set before him. And while we might scoff at the bishop for not believing Juan Diego, no bishop can lead his people astray by giving credence to what could possibly be the delusions or imaginings of a person, no matter how pious that person may seem to be. He truly needed his question answered.

In this season of Advent, we do well to reflect on the question, “How can this be?” How can it be that God – the Alpha and Omega, He Who was, Who is and is yet to come, the Creator of the Universe – can come to us in the beautiful but quite ordinary form of a baby? How can it be that this infant, as an adult,  could give us His very body and blood as food for our spiritual journey? We can even ask ourselves, how can it be that God has brought me to this spot, this place of belief, this place of darkness and light, this Advent?

How can this be?

How can a young unwed Jewish girl bring forth from her womb the Son of God? How can a poor Aztec man, who owned little more than the tilma on his back, see the Blessed Mother and obediently do as she asks? How can a learned bishop be brought to his knees by the mysterious image of the Blessed Mother on this poor man’s tilma? How can this be? These things can only be with faith, hope and love.

It is faith that allowed Mary to assent to the unbelievable request of God. It is faith that spurred Juan Diego to relay the Blessed Mother’s request to the bishop. And it was faith that brought the bishop to his knees. Mary’s hope was that God – regardless of the circumstances – was going to lead her. The Lady that appeared to Juan Diego and called him “dear son” filled him with hope that he could indeed deliver this Heavenly message. And it was hope that moved the bishop to preserve the tilma, with its image of the Blessed Mother, and begin the task of building the church she asked for. It was love that allowed Mary to say, “Be it done unto me according to Your will,” for she knew that God loved her first. Love of his Mother gave Juan Diego courage to return to the bishop’s residence again and again with his task. And love it was that allowed the bishop, with the evidence of Juan Diego’s message in front of him, to embrace His Mother, the same Mother as Juan Diego’s, and to follow her request.

How can this be? That is the question of the season of Advent, a season of anticipation and wonder, of questioning and of delight. How can this be? It all can be, because God gives us faith, stirs up in us hope, and loves us beyond all measure.

[Throughout the 2016 Advent season, we will be bringing you posts from a variety of writers. Our hope is that each of these will be a meaningful way for you to slow down, pray well, and prepare for the coming of our Lord. Today’s blogger is Elise Hilton, who regularly writes the“Living the Good News” blog for Diocesan Trinity Publications. Hilton is a writer, speaker and former educator, who now serves in the Marketing & Communications Department for Diocesan Trinity Publications. She is also an avid reader, wife, mom of five and passionate about music.]

Highway
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Advent: Get On The Holy Way Highway

Today’s Advent reflection for the 2nd Monday of Advent, 2016

Doesn’t it seem like that one time you really need to get someplace (say, a job interview or a hospital), traffic is completely jammed up? Bumper-to-bumper. Taillights as far as you can see. Your heart is pounding and your thoughts are racing.

Today’s readings are for just this occasion. (Not that you should pull this up on your smartphone while you’re stuck in traffic.) In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah stands in a dry and parched desert. There might not be a traffic jam here, but there is no water either; this place is dead. But Isaiah sees with the eyes of faith: The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. “Fear not!” Isaiah proclaims: God will make a way for you in the desert: A highway will be there, called the holy way.”

In the Gospel today, a group of men have a problem. Their friend is ill; paralyzed in fact. They know that Jesus is in their village and they know He has the power to cure. But these men cannot get anywhere near Jesus; the crowd is too large. They are stuck, essentially, in a traffic jam.  But these guys were not going to give up. They hauled their friend, who was on a stretcher, up onto the roof of the house where Jesus was, tore a hole in the roof, and lowered their friend down. Jesus forgave the man’s sins, and then cured him. Clearly, these men knew about the Holy Way Highway.

In our spiritual lives, we often get stuck. We are in a dry, deserted place. God feels a long way from us. We cry out, “Help! God: where are You? I need you!” Or, like the men in the Gospel today, there are such huge obstacles in front of us it seems as if it would be easier to just turn around and go back home. We don’t see a way to get to where we need to go.

We need to get on the Holy Way Highway. It’s there – it’s always a choice. However, God will not force us onto it; we have to get on ourselves. And there are a few “tolls” that have to be paid:

No one unclean may pass over it,
nor fools go astray on it.
No lion will be there,
nor beast of prey go up to be met upon it.
It is for those with a journey to make,
and on it the redeemed will walk. 

We have to be prepared to do the work that God asks. We have to acknowledge our sinfulness and ask for forgiveness. We have to seek out wisdom and counsel. If we are striving to be closer and closer to God, then the highway is open to us.

This Advent, if you’re in a dry and deserted place, if you do not see a way to get closer to God, read the Mass readings for today. Pray over them. Ask God to help you see what you need to do during this holy season to prepare for the Coming of the Lord. Ask God to lead you onto the Holy Way Highway.

[Throughout the 2016 Advent season, we will be bringing you posts from a variety of writers. Our hope is that each of these will be a meaningful way for you to slow down, pray well, and prepare for the coming of our Lord. Today’s blogger is Elise Hilton, who regularly writes the“Living the Good News” blog for Diocesan Trinity Publications. Hilton is a writer, speaker and former educator, who now serves in the Marketing & Communications Department for Diocesan Trinity Publications. She is also an avid reader, mom of five and passionate about music. Today’s Mass readings may be found here.]

hopes, dreams, desires
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Advent: Time Of Hope, Dreams, Desires

Today’s Advent reflection for the 1st Tuesday of Advent, 2016

[Throughout the 2016 Advent season, we will be bringing you guest posts from a variety of writers. Our hope is that each of these will be a meaningful way for you to slow down, pray well, and prepare for the coming of our Lord. Today’s guest blogger is Fr. Aaron Ferris, reflecting on the Mass readings for Tuesday, Nov. 29.]

The Season of Advent is an opportunity to reflect on and purify our desires, hopes, and dreams. Our desires are many and varied, ranging from food to satisfy our hunger to friendship to satisfy our need for love. Our hopes and dreams press on even further. The Prophet Isaiah offers a beautiful reflection on many of our desires, hopes, and dreams: our desire for justice, our hope for the vindication of the downtrodden, our dream of peace and security.

Jesus in the Gospel offers Himself as our satisfaction and fulfillment: “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.” What do those eyes see? They see Jesus, the One who is the fulfillment of all our hopes and dreams, the One who is the satisfaction of all our desires. Blessed are those who see Jesus and find in Him their All.

In and through Jesus we are given a share in the Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord promised to us through Isaiah. In and through Jesus we are brought into intimate communion with God who is our Father. In and through Jesus we are given a share in the very life of God.

Amid our many competing desires, hopes, and dreams, we can easily lose sight of the fact that Jesus is the satisfaction and fulfillment of everything. This Advent Season we are invited again to make Jesus the fulfillment of our hopes and dreams and the satisfaction of our desires.

Fr. Aaron Ferris is currently the pastor of St. Mary Great Mother of God Catholic Church in Lowell, MI, and St. Anthony in Saranac, MI. He was ordained in 2009.

joy to the world
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Advent: Joy To The World!

Today’s Advent reflection for the 1st Sunday of Advent, 2016

[Throughout the 2016 Advent season, we will be bringing you guest posts from a variety of writers. Our hope is that each of these will be a meaningful way for you to slow down, pray well, and prepare for the coming of our Lord.]

Today’s reflection is from author and speaker Chris Stefanick.

 

There is no better news:

Your deepest hopes aren’t answered by the void, but by the Word.

The story of human existence is a love story.

Death doesn’t get the final word.

Love wins.

You were created for glory.

That “something more” you’re looking for is within reach

and it’s free for the taking.

 

Nothing comes close.

There is no message taught by any philosopher,

no dream dreamt by any child

no book penned by any author

no pleasure offered by the world,

that’s as stunningly beautiful

or able to fill our souls with purpose and peace.

 

And the best part is:

It’s not for someone else.

It’s for you.

Now.

The first Christians summed up the central message of Christianity with a funny word: Kerygma. It’s a word taken up from the ancient Greek world. It means “announcement.” It’s what a keryx (a herald) did.

Before print, the way you got news out to the world was to entrust it to a herald, who spread it from town to town. He’d show up in the city center, unroll a scroll on behalf of a king, and shout, “Hear ye! Hear ye!”

The reason the first Christians used that word to describe the core message of the Gospel is simple: They didn’t see Christianity as an intellectual endeavor reserved for the greatest minds. They didn’t see Christianity as a secret spiritual path only for the most enlightened souls. They didn’t see Christianity as a moral code for the perfect. They saw Christianity as the best news ever.

“I bring you good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10).

News so big that the whole story of the universe fits under the headline. News so powerful it rewrites the story of our lives. News so personal it reads like a love letter.

Every Christmas we’re invited to remember what that news is, and what it has to do with our own quest for something more . . .

 

Chris Stefanick - Guest AuthorChris Stefanick  is an internationally acclaimed author and speaker, who has devoted his life to inspiring people to live a bold, contagious faith. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap calls Chris, “one of the most engaging young defenders of the Christian faith on the scene today.”  Chris is also the founder of Real Life Catholic, a Denver-based non-profit which operates as the headquarters for Chris’s various initiatives. Above all, Chris is proud to be the husband to his wife Natalie and father to their six children. To learn more about Chris’s work, please visit: www.RealLifeCatholic.com.

Christ the King
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Christ the King: A Servant-King

[Above image: Ethiopian triptych, Christ the King, artist unknown. Courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum.]

Sunday, November 20 is the final Sunday of the liturgical year for 2016, marked by the Church as the Solemnity of Christ the King.

Christ is indeed King. He rules all: an eternal Kingdom, inhabited by angels and saints. Christ must also be King of our hearts: the Monarch of the Universe, writ small for each human being. He is not a king of earthly riches, but one of poverty, poured out wholly on the cross for our redemption. He is a king of lowly estate, who had no place to rest His head yet one who commanded storms to cease and turned water into wine. His Kingdom embraces the lowliest, the disenfranchised, the tax collector and prostitute, the sinners-who-become-saints. In Christ’s Kingdom, the most costly perfumes and luxurious oils are meant for the all – wealthy and beggar alike. The greatest treasure of his kingdom is His flesh and blood, bread and wine blessed and broken, earthly food that offers eternal life.

Like any king, He issues an edict to His subjects. Yet His commands are like no other ruler’s:

Then the king will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.’

Our King does not demand a tax on His people; He asks for us to see His face reflected in the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the imprisoned. He invites all to His feast, His kingly banquet, His home. The banquet table is now an altar, spread not with rich food and sweet drink, but with His own Body and Blood. No matter how we arrive at this banquet – whether in embroidered robes or tattered cloth – we are welcomed. The price of admission is not coins, but faith. The guests at this feast turn to each other with a kiss of peace and then partake of His most glorious offerings.
[G]race to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever [and ever]. Amen.
Behold, he is coming amid the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him
Yes. Amen.

Your invitation is placed before you. All you need do is come to the feast. Will you join your King?

shortcut to heaven
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Lookin’ For A Shortcut To Heaven?

We hustle through the grocery store and when our carts are full, we scout out the shortest line. Of course, we never make the right choice.

Or we go through the drive-through to grab a quick dinner, and somehow our order gets mangled and we hear those dreaded words: “Could you please pull ahead? We’ll bring that right out.”

We live in a “hurry up” society. We rush to and from work and errands, hustle our kids to appointments and sports. A current car commercial says that adults in our society have an attention span of only 8 seconds, and then touts its car’s safety features: automatic braking and lane correction. Apparently, we just can’t pay attention that long.

In today’s Gospel, from Luke, we recognize this is not a problem in just our culture.

Jesus passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”
He answered them,
“Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.

The passage finishes with one of the most memorable lines in the Gospels: For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first will be last. Suddenly, we feel as if we’ve been standing in the check out line for 15 minutes and another lane opens: the people behind you scurry over before you can get there. How fair is that??

It’s a narrow gate, this passage to Heaven. It’s hard to find and even harder to get through. There are no EZ-Passes, no skip-the-line tickets, no shortcuts. Thus, we are left with the question: “Do I want to go this way? This narrow gate – is it worth it to me? Sure, salvation awaits, but this is tough, and there are no shortcuts. Do I want this?”

Catholic philosopher and teacher Peter Kreeft in his lovely little book How to be Holy, outlines the map to this narrow gate:

God makes us holy in two opposite ways, in the two parts of our lives. First, He makes us holy through our own will, our own free choice of faith and hope and love. (For divine grace does not turn off human free will; it turns it on.) And second, He also sanctifies us against our will, through suffering, because the other way of sanctifying us, through our own will’s choices, is not strong enough, because our faith and hope and love are not strong enough. So He sanctifies us also through what He allows to happen to us against our will, in other word, suffering.

There you go. If you choose the path to salvation, it’s going to be tough. It requires super-human strength (we Catholics call this “grace“) and we will suffer. We will need to, first, choose this path of our own free will, and then, turn aside from our will and allow God’s will to permeate us.

No shortcuts. No express lane. No drive-through window. But we have the most Perfect Guide, Christ Himself. “Come, follow me and you will have treasure in Heaven.”

Line forms right here. No pushing, please. If you choose this line, you’ll need to be patient.

Immaculate Heart of Mary
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August: The Month Of The Immaculate Heart Of Mary

Who loves a celebration? Catholics do! We celebrate saints and baptisms, weddings and holy days. We have devotions and special prayers, blessings for food and houses and cars. And in that spirit, the Church sets aside a special devotion for each month. In August, we celebrate the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

For a non-Catholic, seeing a depiction of the Blessed Mother’s Immaculate Heart can be a little … overwhelming. Her heart is on fire with love for God, yet pierced by a sword in sorrow for the suffering Her Son endures for our sins.

Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted, and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

In 1830, the nation of France had been torn asunder by the Revolution. A young woman who’d joined the Daughters of Charity, Catherine Laboure, prayed fervently for her beautiful country. France had once been a Catholic nation, but the Revolution had destroyed not only churches, but faith for so many. Despite the fact that Catherine was a novice (a sister who has not yet taken permanent vows), Christ had plans for her.

Mary appeared to St. Catherine Labouré standing on a globe, rays of light streaming from her fingers, enframed in an oval frame inscribed with the words, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.” The whole vision “turned” showing the back of the oval inscribed with the letter “M” entwined with a Cross, and the hearts of Jesus and Mary, the former surrounded with thorns, the latter pierced with a sword. 12 stars circled this oval frame. Mary told her to strike a medal in this form — a medal now known as the “Miraculous Medal” — and that all who wore it properly after having it blessed would receive graces. The wearing of the Miraculous Medal has become one of the most common devotions to the Immaculate Heart.

Devotion to the Immaculate Heart became even more popularized after Mary’s appearing to the three young shepherd children at Fatima, Portugal in 1917 (before the Russian Revolution), when she asked that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart to prevent the spread of “the errors of Russia.” Eight years later, in 1925, Mary appeared to one of the visionaries — Lucia, who’d since become a nun — and requested reparations for the various ways in which her Immaculate Heart was offended — such as attacks against her Immaculate Conception, virginity and divine maternity, and for those who teach their children contempt of Mary or who insult her by desecrating her images.

Such devotions may seem quaint and old-fashioned in a world of social media, celebrity “worship,” consumerism and materialism. But faith never goes out of style. The message that Mary has had for the world has always been the same: “Do whatever He [Jesus] tells you.” The heart of a mother is always full of love for her child. Her heart aches when her child is hurting. Her heart is a tender garden of love for her child. And since we are – by virtue of our baptisms – daughters and sons of God, then the Mother of God is our dear mother as well. Despite our busy lives, we need Mary’s direction towards Her Son now more than ever.

August can be filled with hazy, hot days, squeezing in the last bits of summer before we must think of schedules and school clothes, backpacks and bus stops. It can also give us a few more long evenings during which we can turn to Mary and her Immaculate Heart and draw nearer to her Son through her great love for Him, and for us.

angel
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Angel Of God, My Guardian Dear: 6 Fast Facts About Angels

Let’s talk about angels. Angels are sort of a big thing in our culture; we even used to have a tv show about them. We buy angel figurines, decked out with wings and soft features. We tell people, “You’ve got an angel looking out for you!” But what do you really know about angels?

  • Angels are real. God created them. They are as real as you, me, the sun, water and the rest of the created world.
  • Angels are NOT human beings. We do not die and then become angels. Humans are always human and angels are always angels.
  • Angels are “spiritual, non-corporeal beings.” That means they don’t have bodies, but they do have souls.
  • Angels have intelligence and will. They can choose to serve God or not. (The “fallen angels” are one who chose not to serve God, but rather presumed they were greater than God. These beings now serve evil.)
  • Angels are God’s messengers and servants. They glorify God unceasingly.
  • Each and every person has a guardian angel that is unique to him or her, just as every angel is unique.

Angels are not “magical;” they are not fairies or some kind of good luck charm. Nor are they barely-dressed women touting lingerie. They serve God, and God is not about magic or luck. Nor are they chubby babies floating around our heads. They are warriors.

When God permits, angels can take on a physical form. After all, Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel: she saw an actual being, not a mirage or a ghost. In the Old Testament, Tobiah (son of Tobit) was accompanied by the angel Raphael on his journey to Media. Most of us will never see an angel, but they stand between us and evil. They protect us, body and soul.

Many of us were taught, as young children, to pray daily to our guardian angel for that angel’s protection, as God sees fit. This is a good practice for all of us, child or adult. If you haven’t spoken to your angel in awhile, now would be a good time.

Angel of God, my Guardian dear, to whom His love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

Joyful Mysteries
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The Rosary: The Joyful Mysteries

Yesterday, we began our week-long discussion of the Rosary, the beautiful prayer of the Church that allows us to meditate on the Gospel. Today, we will focus on the Joyful Mysteries, traditionally prayed on Mondays and Saturdays. (Some also pray these on the Sundays of Advent.)

In his apostolic letter, Rosarium Vifginis Mariae (The Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary), St. John Paul II teaches that these mysteries all focus on one incredible event: the Coming of Christ through Mary’s willingness to serve:

The first five decades, the “joyful mysteries”, are marked by the joy radiating from the event of the Incarnation. This is clear from the very first mystery, the Annunciation, where Gabriel’s greeting to the Virgin of Nazareth is linked to an invitation to messianic joy: “Rejoice, Mary”. The whole of salvation history, in some sense the entire history of the world, has led up to this greeting. If it is the Father’s plan to unite all things in Christ (cf. Eph 1:10), then the whole of the universe is in some way touched by the divine favour with which the Father looks upon Mary and makes her the Mother of his Son. The whole of humanity, in turn, is embraced by the fiat with which she readily agrees to the will of God.

The joyful mysteries are:

  • The Annunciation: The angel Gabriel is sent to Mary to ask if she will assent to being the mother of the Savior. Her answer: “Be it done unto me according to the Father’s will.”
  • The Visitation: Mary, upon hearing of her cousin Elizabeth’s unexpected late-in-life pregnancy, rushes to be with her. The baby Elizabeth is carrying is John the Baptist, who will grow up to herald the coming of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. Elizabeth’s baby leaps with joy upon Mary’s arrival.
  • The Nativity of the Lord: In the most humble of settings, our Savior is born. The news is announced to lowly shepherds, who are the first to witness the God-made-Man, a baby who sleeps in a manger.
  • The Presentation at the Temple: Like all Jewish parents, Mary and Joseph bring their first born son to the temple in Jerusalem for consecration. There, Simeon (a man known for his holiness) declares that he may now die as he has seen his Savior – in the arms of these two young parents.
  • The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple: As Mary and Joseph return from Jerusalem to Galilee following the Passover, they realize Jesus is not in the crowd they are traveling with. Rushing back to Jerusalem, they find the 12 year old Jesus teaching in the Temple. Despite how distraught they are, Jesus tells them,  “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Lk. 2:50) Despite their joy upon finding Jesus safe, Mary and Joseph do not understand what this means. However, Jesus returns with them to Galilee where He “was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.” (Lk 2;51)

St. John Paul II said, “To meditate upon the ‘joyful’ mysteries, then, is to enter into the ultimate causes and the deepest meaning of Christian joy.” It is the joy of knowing that our Father in Heaven loved us enough to send His Son to save us from sin, to earthly parents who, despite not wholly understanding, were willing to always obey God’s will.