The Message of Jesus is Mercy

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Matthew 5:7

I think even we are sometimes like these people, who on the one hand want to listen to Jesus, but on the other hand, sometimes we like to stone others and condemn others. The message of Jesus is this: mercy. ~Pope Francis, 3/17/13 Homily, Santa Anna's Church, Rome

Dear Lord, I'm guilty as charged. When my hands itch to pick up stones, let me instead stretch them toward You, begging for Your mercy. Amen.

Silent Blessing = Loud Proclamation

Ave Maria!  He did it again.  Pope Francis behaved in a nontraditional manner.  Rather than conform to papal protocol, he conformed to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the gospel of truth, humility and simplicity, the Gospel of love.  How marvelously refreshing!

By now, most of us have heard of our Holy Father's latest break with papal tradition, which delighted some while rattling others.  This was at the conclusion of his first meeting with the media.  One of the 6000 plus attendees, Dr. Robert Moynihan of The Moynihan Letters reports on this meeting in his "Letter #49: Black Shoes" (FYI, at the moment, Letter #49 hasn't been posted to Moynihan's Web site, but it will undoubtedly appear later today).  Here's Moynihan's account of how Pope Francis wrapped things up in his now becoming increasingly familiar "un-pope-like-but oh-so-Christ-like" fashion.

And then Francis did something which surprised everyone, pleased many, and shocked a few. 

The moment had come for him to impart to all of us his Apostolic Blessing, but he did not do this in the usual way. 

In fact, he made no exterior gesture at all. He did not lift his hand, he did not move it in the form of a blessing, and he did not speak "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" out loud. 

He said, in Italian: "I cordially impart to all of you my blessing. Thank you." And then, in Spanish, he explained as follows: "I told you I was cordially imparting my blessing. Since many of you are not members of the Catholic Church, and others are not believers, I cordially give this blessing silently, to each of you, respecting the conscience of each, but in the knowledge that each of you is a child of God. May God bless you!"  

And with that, he turned and left. 

One of my colleagues turned to me and said, "Where was the papal blessing?" 

"He gave it silently," I said. "He blessed us silently, without presupposing anything. He was trying to be respectful of individual consciences. This is not a purely religious gathering." 

"But it still seems like something is missing," my friend said. "No blessing!" 

"But there was a blessing," I said. "We just could not see it. It is like what Ratzinger used to say, that in heaven, in the presence of God, there will no longer be any external rites or rituals to signify our worship, all those things will pass away, because the perfect will have come..." 

"But are we already in heaven?" my friend replied. 

"No," I said. "But can't we believe we are on the way?" 

But my friend still was not satisfied. "I would have liked to have received a blessing from him," he said. 

"You did," I said. 

There will be more time in the future to reflect more deeply on these questions, which of course also have a relation to the liturgy. For the moment, it is enough to say that Pope Francis, also in this matter of giving a silent, not a public blessing to the journalists, did something without recent precedent, which is providing all of us with cause for meditation and inward conversion. 

And that is what should be our thought at this time, just as Cardinal Hummes told Pope Francis as the vote total rose: "never forget the poor." We should never forget our own need for conversion. We should be converted to Christ. We are ever in need of deeper conversion.  

This is what Pope Francis is calling us to, if we can but hear him...

Dear friends, let us remember the words of Our Savior:  "He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." (Luke 10:16)

And let us pray for each other ... that through the grace of dear Our Lord and Savior, we may open our ears to hear Pope Francis and open our hearts to let Jesus convert us.

"For what we preach is not ourselves,

but Jesus Christ as Lord,

with ourselves as your servants

for Jesus sake."

~ 2 Cor 4:5

Miserando atque eligendo

Ave Maria! As many of us have heard, the episcopal motto of Pope Francis as a bishop, archbishop and cardinal was "miserando atque eligendo," which means "lowly but chosen." Catholic News Service reported here yesterday that this phrase comes from a homily on the call of St. Matthew by St. Bede, an English eighth-century Christian writer and doctor of the church:

"He saw the tax collector and, because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him, he said to him: 'Follow me.' This following meant imitating the pattern of his life -- not just walking after him. St. John tells us: 'Whoever says he abides in Christ ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.'"

CNS noted that Pope Francis may change, alter or keep this motto, "but the choice he made as a bishop still sheds some light on the person and ministry of the man who became pope March 13."  Everything we are hearing about our Holy father indicates that he has indeed been "imitating the pattern" of Christ's life, walking "in the same way in which he walked."  It appears that he has done and is doing precisely what St. Paul instructs us to do:

"Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience..."  (Colossians: 3:12)

This is the way of Our Lord.  It is also the way of Our Lady, who joyfully magnified the Lord with her entire being because "He has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid" (Luke 1:48).  In his first public words, Pope Francis called upon "the Madonna" from the balcony of St. Peter's.  In his first public venture, the next morning he went to St. Mary Major Basilica where he prayed to Our Lady for 30 minutes and honored her with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  "Lowly but chosen."  Going to Jesus through Mary.  And rejoicing in God our Savior who has done such great things for us!

Thank you, dear Lord, for Pope Francis!

My soul, give praise to the Lord;

I will praise the Lord all my life,

sing praise to my God while I live.

~Psalm 146:1-2

Being Disciples of the Lord

"When we walk without the Cross,

when we build without the Cross,

and when we profess Christ without the Cross,

we are not disciples of the Lord."

~First Homily of Pope Francis, 3/14/13

"Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."  ~Matthew 16:24

Dear Jesus, my crucified Lord and Savior, I beg for the grace to be Your disciple, today and always.  Amen.

What Pope Francis Did This Morning

Ave Maria! What a glorious day! Habemus papam!  I woke up this morning crying tears of joy and gratitude for new Holy Father, Pope Francis.

Apparently he's already left his new home at St. Peter's for the first time as he goes about his Father's business.

According to the Vatican, as published on the Web here, the Holy Father "made his first and officially unscheduled visit to the Rome Basilica of Saint Mary Major early Thursday, surprising residents and children on their way to a nearby school.... Pope Francis remained about half an hour in prayer at the basilica’s altar of the Virgin Mary. The Basilica is one of Rome’s most important Marian shrines."

Ah, this son loves his Mother!

The headline for this article states: "Pope Francis makes surprise visit to Marian Basilica in Rome."

I suspect that our new Holy Father has a few more surprises in store for us.

I can hardly wait!

Deo gratias! Thanks be to God!

 

And I will raise me up a faithful priest,

who shall do according to my heart, and my soul,

and I will build him a faithful house,

and he shall walk all days before my anointed.

~1 Samuel 2:35

HABEMUS PAPAM!!!

THANK YOU, DEAR LORD,

FOR OUR NEW HOLY FATHER!

 

POPE FRANCIS

266th Successor of Peter

Elected by the College of Cardinals

on March 13, 2013

 

Episcopal Motto:

“miserando atque eligendo”

(lowly and yet chosen)

  

 

 

O God, who chose your servant Francis

in succession to the Apostle Peter

as shepherd of the whole flock,

look favorably on the supplications of your people

and grant that, as Vicar of Christ on earth,

he may confirm his brethren

and that the whole Church

may be in communion with him

in the bond of unity, love and peace,

so that in you, the shepherd of souls,

all may know the truth and attain life eternal.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

 

~Collect, Mass for the Pope

"no other guide..."

"We have no other guide to eternal life, divine life, beatitude, than the Life of Christ, the Teaching of Christ, the Passion of Christ, and the Prayer of Christ. The imitation of Christ is the way of love and of holiness."  ~Raïssa Maritain, 1883–1960

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me."  ~John 14:6

Dear Jesus, lead me to the Father.  Amen.

Tell Him!

Trust him at all times, O people.  Pour out your hearts before him, for God is our refuge.  ~Psalm 62(61):9

 

"Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one's heart, its pleasures and its pains, to a dear friend. Tell Him your troubles, that He may comfort you; tell Him your joys, that He may sober them; tell Him your longings, that He may purify them; tell Him your dislikes, that He may help you conquer them; talk to Him of your temptations, that He may shield you from them: show Him the wounds of your heart, that He may heal them; lay bare your indifference to good, your depraved tastes for evil, your instability, your leanings to a corrupt world.  Tell Him how self-love makes you unjust to others, how vanity tempts you to be insincere, how pride disguises you to yourself and others. If you thus pour out all your weaknesses, needs, troubles, there will be no lack of what to say. You will never exhaust the subject. It is continually being renewed. People who have no secrets from each other never want for subjects of conversation. They do not weigh their words, for there is nothing to be held back; neither do they seek for something to say. They talk out of the abundance of the heart, without consideration they say just what they think. Blessed are they who attain to such familiar, unreserved intercourse with God!"  

~Archbishop François Fénelon, 1651-1715

Lord Jesus, my dearest and truest friend, today I will tell You everything -- the good, the bad and the ugly -- certain of Your enduring love for me.  Amen.

Watching for smoke and being spiritually with our Cardinal Fathers in the Sistine Chapel

When to look for smoke?  Here's the plan, according to NCROnline:  "If you don't want to watch all day, when should you check for smoke?  Until a pope is elected, twice a day there will be black smoke around noon and 7 PM. White smoke could appear at these times or earlier, around 10:30 AM or 4:30 PM if a pope is elected on the first ballot of the morning or afternoon."  That's Rome time, of course.  For CDT, subtract 6 hours.  For EST, subtract 5 hours. 

The Conclave is much more than a voting session, Archbishop Piero Marini noted during a media briefing on March 9 that was organized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops at the Pontifical North American College and that was reported today by Catholic News Service here.  Archbishop Marini, who coordinated the development of the prayers and Masses that will guide the cardinals entering the Conclave tomorrow, pointed out that the Conclave isn't "a small circle of particular people who gather to make their own little decision" but is rather "an ecclesial event at which the cardinals represent the entire College of Bishops."  Catholics are called to enter spiritually into the Sistine Chapel with our Cardinal Fathers, he said, adding that "With our hearts we are all in the Sistine Chapel to await, through the voting, the Lord's indication of who the next pope should be."

Msgr. Kevin W. Irwin, a professor of liturgical studies at The Catholic University of America, explained that the conclave begins with a procession from the Pauline Chapel in the Apostolic Palace to the Sistine Chapel as a reminder that all people are on a pilgrimage from one place to another on this earth as they make their way home to God.  The entire conclave, he noted, "is liturgy. It's prayer from beginning to end."  The conclave handbook, he added, emphasizes that the conclave "is not only a juridical action -- how to do your hanging chads, it's not about that. It's about prayer."

Australian Jesuit Father Richard Leonard, author of the new book "Why Bother Praying," said when Catholics pray for the cardinals, "The thing we're primarily doing is asking God to give them the greatest insight into who the Holy Spirit wants to lead the Catholic Church right now." Praying that the Holy Spirit assist the cardinals, he pointed out, "also changes me, changes us." We may have a favorite candidate, but asking God to guide the conclave makes us recognize that the key value is not so much who walks out on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica as the new pope, but that "the Gospel be most clearly proclaimed to the world."

On this eve of the Conclave, I find, as always, comfort, hope and strength in the Word of God, particularly this passage from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians (4:6-7):

"Have no anxiety about anything,

but in everything

by prayer and supplication

with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God,

which surpasses all understanding,

will keep your hearts and your minds

in Christ Jesus."

 

DEO GRATIAS!  THANKS BE TO GOD!

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Your brother here was dead and has come to life. ~Luke 15:32

All that God looks for from us is the slightest opening and he forgives a multitude of sins. Let me tell you a parable that will confirm this.

There were two brothers: they divided their father’s goods between them and one stayed home, while the other went away to a foreign country, wasted all he had been given, and then could not bear the shame of his poverty.

Now the reason I have told you this parable is so that you will understand that even sins committed after baptism can be forgiven if we face up to them. I do not say this to encourage indolence but to save you from despair, which harms us worse than indolence.

The son who went away represents those who fall after baptism. This is clear from the fact that he is called a son, since no one is called a son unless he is baptized. Also, he lived in his father’s house and took a share of all his father’s goods.

Before baptism no one receives the Father’s goods or enters upon the inheritance. We can therefore take all this as signifying the state of believers. Furthermore, the wastrel was the brother of the good man, and no one is a brother unless he has been born again through the Spirit.

What does he say after falling into the depths of evil? I will return to my father.

The reason the father let him go and did not prevent his departure for a foreign land was so that he might learn well by experience what good things are enjoyed by the one who stays at home.

For when words would not convince us God often leaves us to learn from the things that happen to us.

When the profligate returned after going to a foreign country and finding out by experience what a great sin it is to leave the father’s house, the father did not remember past injuries but welcomed him with open arms.

Why? Because he was a father and not a judge. And there were dances and festivities and banquets and the whole house was full of joy and gladness.

Are you asking: “Is this what he gets for his wickedness?”

Not for his wickedness, but for his return home; not for sin, but for repentance; not for evil, but for being converted.

What is more, when the elder son was angry at this the father gently won him over, saying: "You were always with me, but he was lost and has been found; he was dead and has come back to life."

“When someone who was lost has to be saved,” says the father, “it is not the time for passing judgment or making minute inquiries, but only for mercy and forgiveness.”

~St. John Chrysostom, c.347-407

Thank you, Father, that Your goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life.  Today I rejoice anew in the prodigality of Your love!  Amen.

Mary at the Cross of Jesus

There stood by the cross of Jesus His Mother.  ~John 19:25

It is from Mary, as Our Lady of Sorrows, that we learn to be women of strength, standing in faith and love, particularly in times of darkness and suffering, as she did at the foot of the cross. Her maternity, her living faith in the fulfillment of the most profound mysteries of the Redemption, her contemplative silence, her humble, hidden, and constant activity in the simple life in Nazareth and in the early Church, are the basis of our nourishment and spiritual growth. Meditation on her mission and her virtues facilitates our personal encounter with Christ and our docility to the Spirit of God. ~Constitutions of the Congregation, Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows

Mother of Our Crucified Lord, pray for us!

ADOPT A CARDINAL

Cardinal Scherer

Ave Maria!  As most people know by now, our Cardinal Fathers have decided that the Conclave for the election of the Pope will begin on Tuesday, 12 March 2013.

Of course, we are all praying for all of them.  We can even adopt a particular cardinal and pray for him specifically now and in the days ahead.  Just go to ADOPT A CARDINAL on the Web and follow the instructions.  A cardinal will be chosen for you at random. 

You can even adopt a few extra cardinals, which I did for friends of mine who do not have access to the Web.  I simply went back to the "ADOPT" page and submitted a new request with a new name and my email address.  My requests were readily accepted.

Included above is a photo of my adopted Cardinal, Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer from Brazil.  He was born September 21, 1949 (just a year older than me!) and has been a Cardinal since November 11, 2007.  Cardinal Scherer is the Archbishop of São Paulo, Brazil. 

In closing, I share with you my specific arrow prayer for our Cardinal Fathers these days: "Send forth your light and your truth!"  (Psalm 43[42]:2)

Praying for Our Cardinal Fathers

Ave Maria! The Vatican Insider reports here that yesterday in Rome, the Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Angelo Scola, summarized the third day of pre-Conclave meetings.  “We need time to get to know each other, to talk more and to establish what the main needs of today's Church are. And in order to find the right man who can address these needs,” the cardinal noted: “It makes me shudder to think about the task that lies ahead of us next week. I don't think we are ready yet.”

Dear Friends, we must keep praying for our Cardinal Fathers!  Our prayers need not be long and complicated.  Short ones will suffice.  You know, those precious arrow prayers that we shoot straight from our hearts, aiming to pierce the mighty heart of our loving Father.  Here are some we all know.

Lord, hear my prayer.

O God, come to my assistance.

O Lord, make haste to help me.

Father, into your hands...

Jesus, I trust in you.

Holy Spirit, enlighten us.

Then there is the Psalter, chockfull of such zingers. 

Arise, Lord, save me.

I trust in your merciful love.
In you I take refuge.
O my Strength, to you I turn.
Lead me and guide me.
Guide me by your counsel.

Teach me to do your will.

 

These are but a few out of zillions of arrow prayers we can find in the Scriptures.  Pick up your Bible, find an arrow prayer that leaps forth from your heart to God's, and commit yourself to making that your constant prayer for our Cardinal Fathers during these days. 

 

Just as we don't need many words to pray, we don't need much time.  If we have only three seconds (and who doesn't?), we can pray. 

 

The Cardinal Fathers have their God-given task to elect a new pope.  We also, dear friends, have our God-given task:  we must pray!  We must pray often and pray much.  We must pray with love and devotion, certain of the Father's love for us.  And we must pray with confidence and hope, for the Father who gives us the grace to pray through His Son and the Holy Spirit hears our every prayer and answers them all according to His most gracious will.

 

Deo gratias!  Thanks be to God!

"Touching Christ with the hand of faith"

If you set your heart aright, you will stretch out your hands toward him.  ~Job 11:13

 

Speaking of faith I must always think of that sick woman among the crowd who, gaining access to Jesus, touched him in order to be healed and was healed. The Lord said: “Who touched my garments?” They said to him: “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘who touched me?’” (cf. Mk 5:25-34, 7:27-30). But the Lord knows there is a way of touching him that is superficial, external, that really has nothing to do with a true encounter with him. And there is a way of touching him profoundly. And this woman truly touched him: she did not only touch him with her hand, but with her heart and thus received Christ’s healing power, truly touching him from within, from faith. This is faith: touching Christ with the hand of faith, with our heart, and thus entering into the power of his life, into the healing power of the Lord. And let us pray the Lord that we may touch him more and more, so as to be healed. Let us pray that he will not let us fall, that he too may take us by the hand and thus preserve us for true life.

 

~Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Lectio Divina of 2/8/13

 

I call to You, Lord, all day long;

to You I stretch out my hands.

~Psalm 88(87):10

Confiding in Mary

Mary is wise: let us place everything in her hands. She knows how to dispose of us and all that we have for the greater glory of God.

Mary is charitable: she loves us as her children and servants. Let us offer everything to her and we will lose nothing by it; she will turn everything to our gain.

Mary is liberal: she returns more than we give her. Let us give her unreservedly all that we own without any reservation; she will give us a hundredfold in return.

Mary is powerful: nothing on earth can take from her what we have placed in her keeping. Let us then commit ourselves to her care; she will defend us against our enemies and help us to triumph over them.

Mary is faithful: she will not permit anything we give her to be lost or wasted. She stands alone as the Virgin most faithful to God and to men. She faithfully guarded and kept all that God entrusted to her, never allowing the least bit to be lost; and she still keeps watch every day, with a special care, over all those who have placed themselves entirely under her protection and guidance.

Let us, then, confide everything to the faithful Virgin Mary, binding ourselves to her as to a pillar that cannot be moved, as to an anchor that cannot slip, or, better still, as to Mount Sion which cannot be shaken.

Thus whatever may be our natural blindness, our weakness, and our inconstancy, however numerous and wicked our enemies may be, we shall never go wrong or go astray or have the misfortune to lose the grace of God and that infinite treasure which is Eternal Wisdom.

 

~St. Louis de Montfort, The Love of Eternal Wisdom, #222

 

Mother Most Wonderful,

I confide everything to you!

The Adsumus Prayer

Ave Maria!  Yesterday afternoon, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office, issued a brief report on the proceedings of the first of the General Congregations of the College of Cardinals. The cardinals' meeting took place at 9:30am in the Synod Hall, which is located above the Paul VI Audience Hall in the Vatican building created by the Italian architect Pier Luigi Nervi.  Fr. Lombardi said that the cardinals opened with the “Veni Sancte Spiritus”. They followed with the “Adsumus” prayer, another prayer to the Holy Spirit which is attributed to St. Isidore of Seville and has been historically used at councils, synods and other Church gatherings for hundreds of years.  Let us join our cardinal fathers in begging the Holy Spirit to lead and guide them as they gather together in His name to elect our new Holy Father. 

 

 

THE ADSUMUS PRAYER

 

Here we are, O Lord, Holy Spirit, we stand before you, hampered by our faults, but for a special purpose gathered together in your name. Come to us and be with us and enter our hearts.

Teach us what we are to do and where we ought to tend; show us what we must accomplish, so that, with your help, we may be able to please you in all things.

May you alone be the beginning and catalyst of our judgments, who alone with God the Father and his Son possess a glorious name.

Do not allow us to disturb the order of justice, you who love equity above all things. Let not ignorance draw us to what is wrong. Let not partiality sway our minds or respect of riches or persons pervert our judgment.

But unite us to you effectually by the gift of your grace alone, that we may be one in you and never forsake the truth; inasmuch as we are gathered together in your name, so may we in all things hold fast to justice tempered by mercy, so that in this life our judgment may in no way be at variance with you, and in the life to come we may receive an everlasting rewards for deeds well done.
 
Amen.

I call you friends...

But I have called you friends: because all things whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known to you. ~John 15:15

The Lord addresses these wonderful words to us: "I no longer speak of you as slaves.... Instead, I call you friends" (Jn 15:15). We so often feel, and it is true, that we are only useless servants (cf. Lk 17:10).

Yet, in spite of this, the Lord calls us friends, he makes us his friends, he gives us his friendship. The Lord gives friendship a dual definition. There are no secrets between friends: Christ tells us all that he hears from the Father; he gives us his full trust and with trust, also knowledge. He reveals his face and his heart to us. He shows us the tenderness he feels for us, his passionate love that goes even as far as the folly of the Cross. He entrusts himself to us, he gives us the power to speak in his name: "this is my body...", "I forgive you..."  He entrusts his Body, the Church, to us.

To our weak minds, to our weak hands, he entrusts his truth -- the mystery of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; the mystery of God who "so loved the world that he gave his only Son" (Jn 3: 16). He made us his friends - and how do we respond?

~Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, 4/18/05 Homily

Thank you, dear Lord, for making me your friend.

Domine non sum dignus...

Third Sunday of Lent

Unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.  ~Luke 13:5

"It is my Father’s glory," Christ said, "that you should bear abundant fruit and become my disciples." But even when we have glorified the Father by bearing much fruit and becoming Christ’s disciples, we still have no right to claim the credit for it as though the work were ours alone.

The grace to carry out the work had first to come to us from God, and so the glory is his, not ours.

That is why Christ is recorded in another place as saying: "Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works"—and here, lest they be tempted to attribute those good works to themselves, he immediately added: "and may give the glory for them to your heavenly Father."

This, then, is the Father’s glory, that we should bear abundant fruit and become Christ’s disciples, since it is only through God’s mercy in the first place that we can become the disciples of Christ. "We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the performance of good works."

"As the Father has loved me, Jesus says, so I have loved you. Abide in my love." There we have the source of every good work of ours. How do they come to be ours? Only because faith is active in love. And how could we ever love, unless we ourselves were loved first?
In his first letter John the evangelist made this quite clear. "Let us love God, he wrote, because he first loved us." The Father does indeed love us, but he does so in his Son; we glorify the Father by bearing fruit as branches of the vine which is his son and becoming his disciples.

"Abide in my love," he says to us. How may we do that? In the words that follow you have your answer. "If you observe what I command you, then you will truly abide in my love."
But is it love that makes us keep the Lord’s commandments, or is it the keeping of them that makes us love him? There can be no doubt that love comes first.

Anyone devoid of love will lack all incentive to keep the commandments. When, therefore, Christ says to us: "If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love," he is telling us that the observance of the commandments is not the source but rather the gauge and touchstone of our love.

It is as though he said to us: Do not suppose you are abiding in my love if you are not keeping my commandments, for it is by observing them that you will abide in my love. That is to say, your observance of my commandments is the proof, the outward manifestation, of the fact that you abide in my love.

Let no one, then, who neglects to keep the divine commandments deceive himself by protesting his love for God. It is only to the extent to which we keep the Lord’s commandments that we abide in his love; insofar as we fail to keep them we fail to love.

Yet even when we do keep God’s commandments, it is not something we do in order to make God love us, for unless he loved us first we should not be able to keep them. It is the gift of his grace, a grace which is accessible to the humble of heart, but beyond the reach of the proud.

~St. Augustine, 354-430

Dear Lord Jesus,

I beg for the grace to repent

that I may abide in Your love

and glorify our Heavenly Father.

Amen.

Mother of Christ, teach me...

"There is no word spoken between Christ and His Mother on the road to Calvary, but quiet stillness amidst the frenzied activities of His enemies. Mary follows to the end, and again she is silent, she does nothing: She stands motionless, and erect at the foot of the Cross giving Christ her support. This is something -- SOMETHING ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL -- that we must learn from her. She is there, she is with Him, but, not to work, not to be active, simply to love and suffer and be still. There is nothing Mary can do or say, but they have no need of words, her Son and she, it is love that heals. When you suffer, think deeply and love deeply. Your sympathy and co-suffering will go straight to the Heart of Christ, indeed, it is already there, as He trod the way of the Cross so many centuries ago. You are His comfort as the silent suffering of Mary was His comfort."

~Rev. Gerald Vann, O.P. in The Pain of Christ and the Sorrow of God

Mother of Christ,

teach me simply to love, suffer and be still.

Amen.

The See of Rome is Vacant

SEDE VACANTE

 Lo, I am with you always,

even unto the end of time.

~Matthew 28:20