PathToHoliness

Yesterday was the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi. I chose him as my confirmation saint a long, long time ago. The picture is the statue of St. Francis under the deck to my house. I can look out my office door to see him when I need some inspiration.

Here’s some details about him from Wikipedia:

Francis of Assisi (Giovanni Francesco Bernardone; born 1181/1182 – October 3, 1226) was a friar and the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the Franciscans. He is known as the patron saint of animals, the environment and Italy.

Here’s an excerpt from the homily by Br. José Rodríguez Carballo, OFM, Minister General of the , the order founded by St. Francis. He gave this during Mass yesterday:

This is the path which Francis points out to us, the path which he also travelled, because it was that chosen by the Son of God in order to become man. Christ Jesus, though “His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God, but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are” (Phil 2,6f). This unlimited love of God for humanity, which led Him to strip Himself of His divinity in order to participate in the fate of man, even to die naked on the cross for us, is the love which Francis sought to live throughout his existence, up to the final instant when, right here, he wished to die, like his Lord, naked on the ground. Francis made himself little because he wished to imitate his Lord, who, to love him, had become so little as to be born as a defenceless child from the womb of the Virgin.

You can learn a lot more about St. Francis on this website.

Today we celebrated the feast of the mother of one of the Church’s most celebrated saints. St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine (whose feast day is tomorrow), prayed unceasingly for the conversion of her famous son, and, as we all know, was happily obliged by Our Lord. Not only that, but her husband, Patricius, a pagan with a terrible temper, converted to Christianity and was baptized a year before his death thanks to her prayers as well. She is a wonderful example for married couples and parents who are called to care above all for the spiritual well being of their spouse and children. I believe that it was not only her prayers, but also her example as a pious Christian woman that also won over her husband and son. This passage from 1 Peter makes me think of St. Monica and the example that all married women should give:

Likewise, you wives should be subordinate to your husbands so that, even if some disobey the word, they may be won over without a word by their wives’ conduct when they observe your reverent and chaste behavior. Your adornment should not be an external one: braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or dressing in fine clothes, but rather the hidden character of the heart, expressed in the imperishable beauty of a gentle and calm disposition, which is precious in the sight of God.
1 Peter 3:1-5

She is also an example to all of us of our call to persevere in prayer. The conversion of St. Augustine did not happen overnight. It was a long, turbulent journey (20 years or more) during which the reluctant saint fell in and out of serious sin and his mother deeper and deeper into a conversation with Christ on behalf of her son, storming the gates of heaven with her constant tears and prayer. In the end this great mother witnessed the baptism of one of our greatest saints and spent the last days of her life reflecting with him and longing for the joys of heaven:

“Son, as far as I am concerned, nothing in this life now gives me any pleasure. I do not know why I am still here, since I have no further hopes in this world. I did have one reason for wanting to live a little longer: to see you become a Catholic Christian before I died. God has lavished his gifts on me in that respect, for I know that you have renounced earthly happiness to be his servant. So what am I doing here?”
from St. Augustine’s Confessions

Her final request was that her son, who became a priest and bishop, remember her “at the altar of the Lord wherever you may be.”

Starting today I will be heading to Atlanta, GA for the Catholic New Media Celebration sponsored by SQPN. Other bloggers attending the event include: Mark Shea, The Curt Jester, Amy Welborn, Rebecca Christian of Catholic in Film School, Clayton Emmer of The Weight of Glory, Pat Gohn of Write In Between, Heidi H. Saxton of Mommy Monsters, Sarah Reinhard of Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering, Rachel Balducci of Testosterhome. and I’m sure there are many others, but those were the only ones listed. There are also many many podcasters.

The Celebration is on Sunday so I’m starting my drive down today. I will also be visiting some of my family in GA. First I will drive down on Sunday night to meet them where they will be vacationing at Amelia Island in FL (!) and then drive back up to GA and stay with them for a few more days before heading back home next Friday. Please pray for my safe travel (and for all the other bloggers and podcasters). I’ve been neglecting this blog lately so I hope to have time to get a few posts in here and there while I’m gone.

Dad called this morning to let me know that the website USTREAM TV was featuring the live webcast of Franciscan University’s commencement ceremony on its main page. I only caught the tail end of it, but I thought it was pretty cool, especially when they mentioned upholding the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death a couple of times. I don’t know how they managed that, but good for USTREAM!

As Pope Benedict calls for an end to bloodshed in Iraq, recalling the “tragic loss” of Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul who was kidnapped and killed last month, and tensions between radical Islam and the West continue to escalate there are signs of hope.

Earlier this month Vatican officials and some Muslim leaders met in Rome to lay the groundwork for landmark Catholic-Islamic talks later this year. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has been calling for expanded interfaith talks. The predominently Muslim country of Qatar has seen the opening of the first ever Catholic church. Negotiations are underway to build the first Catholic church in Saudi Arabia. And Pope Benedict baptized an outspoken Muslim convert at this year’s Easter Vigil service in St. Peter’s Basilica.

None of these things will bring immediate or groundbreaking peace, but they are steps in the right direction and signs of hope for the future.

See also:
A Common Word – the official website from Muslim scholars seeking dialogue between religions (h/t Driving Out the Snakes)

Yesterday 70,000 pilgrims celebrated the 150th anniversary of the visions and healings at Lourdes. My mother and I went to Lourdes in 2003 with the Knights of Malta and I gotta tell you, it wasn’t one of my favorite trips. Not only did I get sick and end up in a French hospital for five days, but it was cold and rainy there and I was stuck in this voiture, pictured here, during most of the time we spent away from the hotel. Lourdes is one of my favorite apparitions, but I’m not really into the whole Lourdes/cures thing nor have I ever been concerned with “being cured” myself. What fascinates me more is the entire story of Bernadette and the apparitions. How such an adolescent, illiterate on matters of faith and education, could retain such deep spiritual insights from Our Lady and have the courage to insist on the validity of her claims in the face of strict opposition from her superiors – pressure that didn’t cease behind the convent doors.

Interesting fact: Song of Bernadette was written by a Jewish author who escaped the Nazis by fleeing to Lourdes. There he was so impressed by the happenings there and thankful for his own escape from death, he promised God he would tell the world the story of Lourdes. I never knew that.

The Song of Bernadette
Song of Bernadette, book
Bernadette
The Passion of Bernadette
Bernadette Speaks

Jean, at Catholic Fire, alerted me this week that she will be contributing to the new blog, Catholic Media Review, along with Leticia at causa nostrae laetitiae and Cause of Our Joy , Julie at Happy Catholic, Christine at The World IMHO. It is a response to the recent outrage about the reviews of Harry Forbes of the USCCB Office of Film and Broadcasting for giving positive reviews to Golden Compass and Brokeback Mountain:

We will do our best to examine each film in the light of Catholic teaching and to warn parents about films that will present a danger to our youth. We also want to encourage people to see those films which we believe will have a positive impact on our society…Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we as Catholic Christians could make an major impact on the type of films that come out? We have this power simply by purchasing tickets to those films that are of excellent quality. You can count on us to keep you informed.

It’s hard to find good, Catholic reviews that take into account everything that we should be concerned about. Check them out.

Hello and Happy New Year! While we thank God for our many blessings of the past year, one blessing which should not be forgotten is the blessing of hardship and struggle. The hard times offer the ability to build character, strengthen the will and draw us closer to God (inspiration from yesterday’s homily).

Peace and Blessings this New Year! And thanks for stopping by!

Today we remember all those who have died. While we mourn for the dead, we also have hope for though, “all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.” They are now

“justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as an expiation, through faith, by his blood, to prove his righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed, through the forbearance of God – to prove his righteousness in the present time, that he might be righteous and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.” Rom. 3:23-25

But in order to stand in the presence of God, one must “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48). That is why we believe in the, what I call, “cleansing fire” of purgatory. Though one may be justified by faith on earth, there may still be attachments that one must be purged from in order to see the glory of God, though some souls may have experienced this cleansing here on earth.

Here is a song that I have dedicated to a girl I knew in high school who died in a car accident (just 11 months before my own accident) – she was just 14 years old. I did not know her very well, but had a few classes with her. One of those was a speech class in which she gave a speech on Lynard Skynard. It didn’t hit me until I had a dream about her after my accident and started really thinking about her and praying for her, that she played this song, the lyrics of which sound prophetic to me now, during that presentation (probably a month or so before she died).

O Lord, we beg of you, through your loving kindness, have mercy on the soul of your servant (N…), and now that he/she is set free from the defilements of this mortal flesh, restore him/her to her heritage of everlasting salvation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Today’s readings are beautiful to reflect on when we think about the dead.

Today was the 10th anniversary of the death of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. Though we have known of her darkness for some time now, a new book that has come out, Come Be My Light, detailing her spiritual agony through the many letters she wrote to spiritual directors through the decades. Many report it as some sort of double life she was leading. They cannot fathom the idea of this kind of spiritual struggle from one who acted as if always in union with the Divine. But darkness and faith very often go hand in hand.

Probably the most famous author on spiritual darkness is the 16th century Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross, with his Dark Night of the Soul. But modern saints have written of their experience as well. My favorite, St. Terese of Lisieux (1873-1897), a doctor of the Church for her Little Way of spiritual childhood, suffered what she called “worst temptations of atheism” for the last 18 months of her life. During this time she says God

“permitted my soul to be invaded by the thickest darkness, and that the thought of heaven, up until then so sweet to me, be no longer anything but the cause of struggle and torment.”

For her the veil of faith turned into a wall reaching “right up to the heavens” covering the starry firmament.

When I sing of the happiness of heaven and of the eternal possession of God, I feel no joy in this, for I sing simply what I WANT TO BELIEVE.

I have not yet read the book on Mother Teresa, only the Time magazine article, but from what I have read, the words she speaks in her darkness are very similar, though hers seems considerably more painful:

When I try to raise my thoughts to Heaven – there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives & hurt my very soul. – I am told God loves me – and yet the reality of the darnkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul.

The saints recognize this trial as being permitted by God and taken away only at an “hour set by God Himself” (St. Therese). St. Maria Faustina (1905-1938), who I have just begun to read, offers further insight into these trials and God’s relationship with the chosen souls. Though the soul feels abandoned by God, He is still there, perhaps closer than ever, especially in time of temptation:

“God supports the soul in secret, so to speak. The soul is not aware of this, but otherwise it would be impossible to stand firm; and God knows very well how much he can allow to befall the soul.”

It is quite difficult to put such spiritual suffering into words, and one must “travel through this dark tunnel to understand its darkness” (St. Therese). What we can tell, however, from the example of the saints is that God brings such darkness to a soul because it has been “admitted to a deeper intimacy with Him” and “He wants to try it as pure gold is tried” (St. Faustina) We may not all be called to experience the Trial of Trials, that of complete abandonment and despair, but we will inevitably face some challenges to our faith. For those challenges we can now look to another great example of love and perseverance. Though we don’t always have the joy of faith, we should “carry out its works at least” (St. Therese).

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet 1:6-7)

Suggested reading:
Come Be My Light
Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux
St. Therese of Lisieux: Her Last Conversations
Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

What a wonderful feast day! This is always a very special one for me because it is the day I renew my Total Consecration to Mary. It is a private devotion based on St. Louis DeMontfort’s True Devotion that I like to encourage others to practice because, as DeMontfort and many of the Saints have testified to over the years, devotion to the Blessed Virgin is the most perfect and easy way to grow closer to Christ. As a priest in our Diocese puts it (I have mentioned this before) “2,000 years ago Mary brought Jesus into the world, now she desires to bring him into our hearts.” For anyone interested in Total Consecration, this website offers a very thorough explanation of how to proceed. It includes links to all readings and prayers so that ordering books is not necessary. The next “consecration day” is the feast of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8, with preparation beginning on Nov. 5.

Read more on the Assumption
See what the Father’s had to say about the end of Mary’s life

Preparation for Total Consecration book

With all the cafeteria Catholics in America picking and choosing which teachings acceptably correspond with their lifestyle, showing support for our Holy Father and all of the teachings of Holy Mother Church is imperative! Get your bumper sticker (shown above) at the Papal Shop. I am going to try to see if our Legion of Mary can make a bunch of these available in our parish.

Hat tip: The Catholic Knight

Today is the 10th anniversary of the death of our Carmelite sisters’ beloved “Little Mother,” the founder of the Carmelite monastery in my hometown of Jefferson City Missouri. She died during the celebration of Holy Mass on the last day of the novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, their holy patroness. I never knew who she was, but, after the car accident that left me paralyzed, the good sisters blessed me with Little Mother’s personal scapular (not the big brown habit one) to wear in the hope of obtaining the miracle of my being able to walk again. I wore the scapular for quite a while, but it began to wear down and come apart a little bit, so I decided I should probably take it off for fear of completely ruining it. But I keep it as a reminder of the sisters’ belief in the healing power of God and the holiness of this blessed Little Mother.

May her soul and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. And, if it be in accordance with the will of God, may the holiness of her life be made known to the world.

Monday’s holiday inevitably got me thinking about our men and women in the military today, especially those on active duty in areas like Afghanistan and Iraq. I have a special place in my heart for our combat veterans and try to do what I can to help give them strength and support. Yesterday afternoon I sent in another application to adopt a soldier as a pen-pal. This will be my third time adopting a soldier and I really enjoy it. For anyone interested in doing more to support our troops I highly recommend this option. Anyone who has ever gone away to school knows how exciting it is to receive letters and packages in the mail. Now imagine you are a U.S. soldier stationed thousands of miles away from friends and family in what can only be described has a hostile war zone. That’s why I decided to get involved this way. There are many soldiers who wait for mail every day and never receive anything, even on the holidays. Not only do these men and women endure the extreme condition of living in a kill or be killed situation, but many of them do it with us in mind. The first soldier I adopted (and I have heard other stories like this) signed up for the army right after September 11 because, living near New York City, he heard many personal stories of people who lost loved ones and wanted to do something to help defend our country from another attack. We all have different opinions about the war, our reasons for going and its overall effectiveness but that doesn’t change the fact that we are in a war and there are men and women risking their lives in it – many scared and lonely, needing nothing more than a friendly note from home saying “I remember you, I am thinking about you” and, more importantly “I am praying for you.”
There are many different ways to send love to our troops. One of the other things I like to do is to send rosaries and prayer books to army chaplains stationed overseas. Aquinas and More’s online Catholic store has a gift registry for Catholics serving in the military. There are various care packages. Some can be found at www.mililtarycarepackages.net, and Treats for Troops or you can make your own. I prefer to do the pen-pal adoption, which involves a weekly card and monthly package, because it is a little more personal and is more than just a one time gift, but it’s not for everyone. The organization I use is Adopt a Platoon, founded and operated by the mothers of men and women who are or have been serving overseas. They are very dedicated and offer a wide variety of ways to contribute, including specifically themed campaigns. There is also support for wounded soldiers. For those who cannot spend a lot of time and money sending letters and packages overseas spiritual support is also greatly needed.

It looks like Cardinal Sean O’Malley is joining the blogging ranks. At least he’s going to blog his trip to Rome and depending on how that goes he might make it an on-going project. Let him know what you think! Here’s what the site says:

Cardinal Seán returns to Rome, as a newly elevated Cardinal, to celebrate the noted Padre Pio Mass, attend to Archdiocesan business and to formally accept Boston’s Titular Church, Santa Maria della Vittoria…

“I want to share with you, Catholics of Boston, my experiences as I return to Rome as a Cardinal and more importantly, I want to share with you a sense of what it is that Boston’s Archbishop does on business in Rome representing the people of the Archdiocese.”
– Cardinal Seán