PathToHoliness

I was asked today about how to live a holy life in today’s world. The implication being that it is difficult to do in a society that seems bent on removing religion from our everyday life and being focused on wealth and possessions while finding someone else to blame for everything without accepting personal responsibility.

Yes it does seem difficult. It makes me think of a saying you see printed along with an image of Jesus that goes, “I never said it would be easy. I only said it would be worth it.” I’m not sure where that phrase comes from but I have thought of it often when trying to do something I know is right even when it isn’t easy. Like going to daily Mass when I’m traveling and in a city that I’ve never been to before and have a tight schedule due to the work that I’m doing. It is often not easy to do but after Mass I can truly say it was worth the effort!

As a cooperator of Opus Dei one of the key elements that drew me to it to start with is centered in this concept of “Sanctification in Daily Work.” To sanctify is to make holy and that’s what we are called to do as lay people in “the middle of the world.” So to me, the idea of living a holy life involves doing what is right and I look to my faith to teach me that.

I also think it’s necessary to work at becoming or being holy in the world today and fortunately our faith provides us with a number of tools to help us. Here are the things that I think are necessary:

• Daily prayer done at specific times (first thing in morning and last at night). This can consist of the Rosary, morning offering, thanks before and after meals, etc.
• A short reading from scripture, especially the New Testament.
• A few minutes of mental prayer.
• Daily Mass if possible.
• A visit to Jesus in the Tabernacle.
• Frequent confession.
• Daily spiritual reading.

St. Josemaria says this in his book Friends of God:

You should not let them become rigid rules, or water?tight compartments. They should be flexible, to help you on your journey you who live in the middle of the world, with a life of hard professional work and social ties and obligations which you should not neglect, because in them your conversation with God still continues. Your plan of life ought to be like a rubber glove which fits the hand perfectly.

With our Lord’s permission I took a picture of Him in the Blessed Sacrament in our perpetual adoration chapel at the Cathedral of St. Joseph here in Jefferson City, MO. I highly encourage all parishes to consider beginning perpetual adoration if at all possible. I’m not sure when I started spending one hour a week with our Lord but it is the highlight of my week. There is not a more peaceful place than in the chapel alone with Him. Although perpetual adoration is normally structured so that people sign up for a specific hour each week, you may also make a visit anytime.

If you’re not familiar with perpetual adoration, here’s some explanation from EWTN. A monstrance is the vessel used to hold/display the Blessed Sacrament (consecrated eucharistic host).

Perpetual Adoration is a Eucharistic devotion whereby members of a given parish (or other entity) unite in taking hours of adoration before the Most Blessed Sacrament (in most cases, exposed), both during the day and throughout the night, seven days a week.

To see Jesus visibly present under the appearance of the small white host is much more conducive to intimacy than hidden away in the tabernacle. Moreover, it adds an extra responsibility on the adorers to be sure to be faithful to the hours they are scheduled, since the suggested norm for having Jesus exposed in the monstrance is that there should be at least two adorers present, and He must never be left alone. Could not these words of our Lord be applied today: “Indeed, this is the will of My heavenly Father, that everyone who looks upon the Son, and believes in Him, shall have eternal life. Him I will raise up on the last day.”

So you may wonder what you would do for an hour in perpetual adoration. Here’s some advice.

This hour Jesus wants you to spend with Him is spent any way you want. You may bring your own prayer books, use the books in the chapel, read the Bible, pray the rosary, or just sit and relax and enjoy the sweet peace that comes from simply being in the Presence of God.

A reflection for the feast of the Assumption from the Apostleship of Prayer:

Happy Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, body and soul, into Heaven! What a glorious feast – a reminder of our ultimate destiny! Today is also the day of consecration for those, like me, who have been following the 33 day Preparation for Total Consecration. Words of consecration, from St. Louis de Montfort

O Eternal and incarnate Wisdom! O sweetest and most adorable Jesus! True God and true man, only Son of the Eternal Father, and of Mary, always virgin! I adore Thee profoundly in the bosom and splendors of Thy Father during eternity; and I adore Thee also in the virginal bosom of Mary, Thy most worthy Mother, in the time of Thine incarnation.

I give Thee thanks for that Thou hast annihilated Thyself, taking the form of a slave in order to rescue me from the cruel slavery of the devil. I praise and glorify Thee for that Thou hast been pleased to submit Thyself to Mary, Thy holy Mother, in all things, in order to make me Thy faithful slave through her. But, alas! Ungrateful and faithless as I have been, I have not kept the promises which I made so solemnly to Thee in my Baptism; I have not fulfilled my obligations; I do not deserve to be called Thy child, nor yet Thy slave; and as there is nothing in me which does not merit Thine anger and Thy repulse, I dare not come by myself before Thy most holy and august Majesty. It is on this account that I have recourse to the intercession of Thy most holy Mother, whom Thou hast given me for a mediatrix with Thee. It is through her that I hope to obtain of Thee contrition, the pardon of my sins, and the acquisition and preservation of wisdom.

Hail, then, O immaculate Mary, living tabernacle of the Divinity, where the Eternal Wisdom willed to be hidden and to be adored by angels and by men! Hail, O Queen of Heaven and earth, to whose empire everything is subject which is under God. Hail, O sure refuge of sinners, whose mercy fails no one. Hear the desires which I have of the Divine Wisdom; and for that end receive the vows and offerings which in my lowliness I present to thee.

I, N_____, a faithless sinner, renew and ratify today in thy hands the vows of my Baptism; I renounce forever Satan, his pomps and works; and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the days of my life, and to be more faithful to Him than I have ever been before. In the presence of all the heavenly court I choose thee this day for my Mother and Mistress. I deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all my good actions, past, present and future; leaving to thee the entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure, for the greater glory of God in time and in eternity.

Receive, O benignant Virgin, this little offering of my slavery, in honor of, and in union with, that subjection which the Eternal Wisdom deigned to have to thy maternity; in homage to the power which both of you have over this poor sinner, and in thanksgiving for the privileges with which the Holy Trinity has favored thee. I declare that I wish henceforth, as thy true slave, to seek thy honor and to obey thee in all things.

O admirable Mother, present me to thy dear Son as His eternal slave, so that as He has redeemed me by thee, by thee He may receive me! O Mother of mercy, grant me the grace to obtain the true Wisdom of God; and for that end receive me among those whom thou lovest and teachest, whom thou leadest, nourishest and protectest as thy children and thy slaves.

O faithful Virgin, make me in all things so perfect a disciple, imitator and slave of the Incarnate Wisdom, Jesus Christ thy Son, that I may attain, by thine intercession and by thine example, to the fullness of His age on earth and of His glory in Heaven. Amen.

Total Consecration is based on de Montfort’s True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, about which John Paul II said:

“St. Louis de Montfort! I have long studied his doctrine and I like it. Besides, it’s from Montfort that I have taken my motto, “Totus Tuus” (I am all thine). Some day I’ll have to tell you Monfortians how I discovered de Montfort’s treatise on TRUE DEVOTION to Mary and how often I had to reread it to understand it.”

Indeed, rereading it has helped me to gain greater insight into the richness of this devotion and how to live it out in my daily life. The next (suggested) Total Consecration preparation begins on Nov. 5 and ends on Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception. Order the Total Consecration book, or use this website which offers a very thorough explanation of how to proceed and includes links to all readings and prayers so that ordering books is not necessary.

Something I never expected to find on my first visit to the Pacific Northwest was a beautiful grotto dedicated to the Blessed Mother.

My friend Pat Morrow promised me a “surprise” when I joined her at the agriculture-related event in Portland, Oregon. The surprise was an afternoon at “The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother” – better known as just “The Grotto.”

This beautiful 62 acre Catholic Shrine and botanical garden was established in 1924 and is administered by the Order of Friar Servants of Mary. The central attraction, Our Lady’s Grotto, was carved from solid basalt in the cliff wall in 1925. Above its natural rock altar is the white marble replica of Michelangelo’s famed masterpiece, the Pieta. High above the grotto’s cliff stands the bronze statue of Our Sorrowful Mother, designed especially for the Sanctuary and blessed in the Vatican by Pope Pius XI in 1934 to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the Servite Order.

There is much more to the Grotto and to see it all requires an elevator ride up to the top of the cliff (for a nominal fee) and we spent about four hours on a lovely day exploring the grounds. I highly recommend a visit if you are ever in Portland.

Post update: Here is a video on YouTube that I put together with photos from our visit.

Today is the feast day of St. Dominic and on a visit to Portland, Oregon this week I learned something about Dominicans that I never knew – they have a thing for Dalmatians.

The Holy Rosary Church in Portland features stained-glass window depictions of the mysteries of the Rosary, which is pretty common. What was different about these is that they each had a little Dalmatian worked into the scene. It made me go and look up the connection.

According to the Mythology of Dogs by Loretta Hausman, the association of the Dalmatian and the Dominicans originates from a dream that St. Dominic’s mother had in which she saw a dog holding a flaming torch in its mouth, guiding her son to set a fire of truth to the world.

The Dominicans became associated with Dalmatians specifically because the colors correspond to the order’s colors of black and white for habits and hoods. Pope Honorius is said to have proclaimed Dominicans Domini canes, or the “watchdogs of the Lord.”

A new theme has been developed for Path To Holiness which I hope to have live this week. With it I hope to start posting more frequently.

I mentioned patience in my last post. Ive had to be patient in waiting for a new look for the website since my web developer has been so busy with business related websites. But in todays economy thats been a blessing.

So I hope you enjoy our new look when we get it finished and I welcome comments, ideas and suggestions.

Patience. Trust. Faith. Suffering. Hope. Disappointment. These are just some of the things I’ve felt in the last month of battling a complicated pneumonia infection. After over 2 weeks of an initial treatment that didn’t work I wound up in the hospital for 10 days. During that time I had pretty major surgery to remove the infection from around my left lung. The doctors finally figured out the exact bacteria causing it and now I’m on an extended antibiotic treatment and feeling much better. I’m home and having to carefully work back to a sort of normal routine.

So, I guess I’m writing to say how much this experience has meant to me spiritually. I think I’ve run the gamut of emotions you can have and really don’t know how I would have handled this without my faith. I always have a rosary with me but I’ve prayed it more often and fervently and I believe Mary has been by my side helping me to cope with all the uncertainty and fear of what was happening. Of course God has been with me every step of the way too and my guardian angel. We’re never alone!

One of the things that this whole experience has forced me to look at is the end of my earthly life. I know it’s not something to really worry about since it’s going to happen sometime and if we’re in a state of grace then it will lead to eternal life with our Lord. But I’ve always tried not to think about it and so I guess this experience has been beneficial in making me examine myself more closely to see how I can improve my life and what I need to work on even more, especially after recovering from this setback.

When I had my personal conversion experience years ago I knew my life would never be the same and that there were things in my life I would change permanently. I have been amazed to realize how much more I still need to work on and I am resolved to make more changes now.

So I thank God for this great spiritual opportunity. It’s not easy but it will be well worth it.

The very first book by St. Josemaria Escriva that I read was The Way. That is still my favorite book of his. It contains many inspirational thoughts that anyone would find helpful in their spiritual meditation on a daily basis. The book was first published in 1939.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the 1939 publication of St. Josemaría’s spiritual masterpiece, The Way. It has been and remains a source of inspiration and spiritual growth for millions of people all over the world, having sold over 5 million copies in 50 languages.

I purchase copies from Scepter Publishers and you can also find a copy on Amazon.com as well.

With it I hope you can do as St. Josemaria encouraged, “May you seek Christ, may you find Christ, may you love Christ.”

The latest edition of electronic news from Opus Dei has an article titled, “Work and Rest.” I found it very appropriate for this morning’s reflection since I’ve been on 2 weeks of forced rest due to a case of pneumonia. I’ve never had this before and hope you never do. But as bad as it has been it has allowed me a lot of time to contemplate on what is important in life. My wife and I have a very successful small business which has been a real blessing for going on 6 years now. The most difficult thing we’ve had to contend with is growth and managing our time. I’ve had concerns about us working too hard and traveling too much but haven’t done anything about it, although we have developed a list of free lance writers and photographers to call on. I’ve had to cancel 3 different events I was supposed to work at in this time I’ve been sick and that has cost us a significant amount of revenue while I’m sure we’re going to be getting multiple bills from doctors, etc. So we are concerned about what that will mean. At the same time though I’m taking this as a sign that I should slow down my pace and as we have since starting the business, put it in God’s hands what will happen.

The Opus Dei article focuses mostly on keeping Sunday a day of rest but makes it clear that rest is an integral part of our existence and important to our path to holiness.

God knows his creatures well. While inviting us to collaborate with him, he knows that our nature is fragile and vulnerable. The divine calling to work includes the need to rest. As we see in the creation account, “the alternation between work and rest, built into human nature, is willed by God himself.”[9]

So I guess in my reflection I would have to add that besides resting from work I also need to become more patient. I think part of why we don’t allow ourselves to rest properly is an impatient attitude that says “I have to get everything done now.” A lot of times that’s just not possible anyway. So, as this illness clears up it’s my resolution to take more time to rest from work. I don’t mean sit in the recliner in front of the tv either. I mean take time away from work to spend with family or on a project that will benefit others.

I have to add my thanks to my family, especially my wife and daughter Chelsea, who have helped me out so much during this last 2 weeks. I am a very blessed husband and father!

For those who wish to make/renew their Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary on a Marian feast day, the next one coming up is the feast of the Assumption on August 15, which means the 33-day preparation begins today! This is the date of my own first Total Consecration (11 years ago) and when I try to renew it every year.

Total Consecration to Our Lady is, as St. Louis de Montfort says in his book True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, the “easy, short, perfect and secure way of attaining union with our Lord.” This is the devotion consists in making oneself a slave of Mary, doing all our actions by Mary, with Mary, in Mary and for Mary. We offer to the Blessed Mother every thought, word, deed and desire so that she might purify them and present them to our Lord to be distributed where they are most needed. It is a total abandonment to the Blessed Virgin Mary who will in turn lead us into a perfect union with Christ, her Son.

By Jesus Christ, with Jesus Christ, in Jesus Christ we can do all things; we can render all honor and glory to the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost; we can make ourselves perfect and be for our neighbor a fragrance of eternal life.

If, then, we are establishing sound devotion to our Blessed Lady, it is only in order to establish devotion to our Lord more perfectly, by providing a smooth but certain way of reaching Jesus Christ. (True Devotion, n. 60-61)

If you don’t have the Preparation for Total Consecration book, this website offers a very thorough explanation of how to proceed. It includes links to all readings and prayers for every day so that ordering books is not necessary.

My prayers have been answered! Last month I did a post about the image in the sidebar of Mary that I have looked for but never found. There is one in our adoration chapel at the Cathedral. The print is signed by Charles Bosseron Chambers and titled, “Most Gracious Advocate.” It’s one of my favorite images of our Blessed Lady.

Lo and behold, we got an email and phone call from North Carolina that John and Renee had seen my post and they had a print for sale. So I bought it and now the print is on the wall in our home.

Holy Mary, our hope and seat of wisdom, please pray for us.

See video here.

As soon as he reflected seriously and was struck by the conviction that immortality and God exist, he naturally said at once to himself: “I want to live for immortality, and I reject any halfway compromise.” In just the same way, if he had decided that immortality and God do not exist, he would immediately have joined the atheists and socialists (for socialism is not only the labor question or the question of the so-called fourth estate, but first of all the question of atheism, the question of the modern embodiment of atheism, the question of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) built precisely without God, not to go from earth to heaven but to bring heaven down to earth).

~Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Do you?

Several months ago dad listed some of the Catholic applications available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Here SQPN highlights some Catholic apps in a spoof of the iPhone tv ads (h/t American Papist):

My favorite (since inheriting dad’s iPhone after he upgraded to the 3Gs) has been iBreviary which also includes the daily Mass readings. It’s nice, when traveling, not to have to carry my big Liturgy of the Hours book. Although, I’ve noticed that the app has been having some problems loading lately 🙁

Here’s another iPhone spoof from SQPN: