Failure of the Natural Man
In order to steer our course clear of moral shipwreck, we must keep in more or less constant and conscious touch with the supernatural world. Our Lord must be permitted to occupy the supreme place in our lives to which He is justly entitled as our Creator. If He is given only a back seat something is bound to go wrong sooner or later.
A purely naturalistic basis of conduct will not stand the wear and tear of everyday life. Thinkers outside the Catholic Church admit what thev describe as the ethical failure of the natural man.
Unless a man sanctifies his instincts and impulses by seeking the transforming and elevating power of Divine Grace, he will not be able to live up to his higher and better natural aspirations, but in his behaviour and conduct will fall below the level of the brute creation.
-Father Degen.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Patience - January 9
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
SYMPATHY
In the Garden of Olives at His agony our Lord said:
First of all, He gave full vent to His pent-up feelings. He allowed the torrent of grief to flow and to find expression in earnest prayer to His heavenly Father.
Not to everyone did He thus act and speak, not even to all His disciples, but only to His Father and to the selected three: Peter, James and John.
He shed tears, and the blood burst through his veins. In the secluded grotto of the garden in private, with His friends, He wept; in public He did not weep. He did not speak of His pain of mind and body. The sick may learn something here.
It is often good and meritorious in public to hide and master one's feelings, and say little or nothing of one's pain; but not always so in private in prayer with God, or in quiet moments with those whom God has sent us as helpers, whose task and joy it is to bear at least a portion of our burden. Then, like our Lord, we do well to let go the flood-gates, and to receive gladly the heaven-sent relief of another's sympathy. Then may our tears flow freely, and we are right to speak of "our chalice" and point out its bitterness, for thus we acquire fresh strength and courage to drink it with joy and resignation.
But more. Our Lord at His Agony looked for and desired sympathy, not from all, but from some.
Rejoice and be glad that in your pain you have some to comfort you; accept their sympathy as a gift from the hand of God, and use it wiseiy and well.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
SYMPATHY
In the Garden of Olives at His agony our Lord said:
"My soul is sorrowful even unto death";and so say those in pain and desolation. Our Blessed Saviour felt what He was undergoing very keenly - the loneliness, the prospect of pain; and how did He act?
First of all, He gave full vent to His pent-up feelings. He allowed the torrent of grief to flow and to find expression in earnest prayer to His heavenly Father.
Not to everyone did He thus act and speak, not even to all His disciples, but only to His Father and to the selected three: Peter, James and John.
He shed tears, and the blood burst through his veins. In the secluded grotto of the garden in private, with His friends, He wept; in public He did not weep. He did not speak of His pain of mind and body. The sick may learn something here.
It is often good and meritorious in public to hide and master one's feelings, and say little or nothing of one's pain; but not always so in private in prayer with God, or in quiet moments with those whom God has sent us as helpers, whose task and joy it is to bear at least a portion of our burden. Then, like our Lord, we do well to let go the flood-gates, and to receive gladly the heaven-sent relief of another's sympathy. Then may our tears flow freely, and we are right to speak of "our chalice" and point out its bitterness, for thus we acquire fresh strength and courage to drink it with joy and resignation.
But more. Our Lord at His Agony looked for and desired sympathy, not from all, but from some.
"Stay with Me; watch with Me.... Could you not watch one hour with Me?"He said, as He found His disciples sleeping. What a beautiful appeal is this from the Sacred Heart, "looking for one to comfort," yet finding none. Had there been but one, how gladly would our Lord have accepted his offering, even as He later listened eagerly to the Angel's words of comfort. "Wherefore with those whom God wills you to lean upon - your confessor, your friends - lay aside all reserve, for "life is a warfare," and we need the help and sympathy of others in times of pain and difficulty. Thus to act is not only a privilege but a duty, an example and proof of which is given us by our Lord in the Garden of Olives.
Rejoice and be glad that in your pain you have some to comfort you; accept their sympathy as a gift from the hand of God, and use it wiseiy and well.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Friday, January 08, 2010
Gospel for Saturday after Epiphany
From: John 3:22-30
John Again Bears Witness
[22] After this Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea; there he remained with them and baptized. [23] John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people came and were baptized. [24] For John had not yet been put in prison.
[25] Now a discussion arose between John's disciples and a Jew over purifying. [26] And they came to John, and said to him, Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, here he is, baptizing, and all are going to him." [27] John answered, "No one can receive anything except what is given him from heaven. [28] You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. [29] He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full. [30] He must increase, but I must decrease.
____________________
Commentary:
22-24. A little later on (Jn 4:2) the evangelist makes it clear that it was not Jesus himself who baptized, but his disciples Our Lord probably wanted them from the very beginning to get practice in exhorting people to conversion. The rite referred to here was not yet Christian Baptism--which only began after the resurrection of Christ (cf. Jn 7:39; 16:7; Mt 28:19)--but "both baptisms, that of St John the Baptist and that of our Lord's disciples [...], had a single purpose--to bring the baptized to Christ [...] and prepare the way for future faith" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on St John", 29, 1).
The Gospel gives the exact time and place of this episode. Aenon is an Aramaic word meaning "wells". Salim was situated to the north-east of Samaria, south of the town of Scythopolis or Beisan, near the western bank of the Jordan, about twenty kilometers (thirteen miles) to the south of the Lake of Gennesaret.
The Gospel notes that "John had not yet been put in prison" (v. 24), thus rounding out the information given by the Synoptics (Mt 4:12; Mk 1:14). We know, therefore, that Jesus' public ministry began when John the Baptist's mission was still going on, and, particularly, that there was no competition of any kind between them; on the contrary, the Baptist, who was preparing the way of the Lord, had the joy of actually seeing his own disciples follow Jesus (cf. Jn 1:37).
27-29. John the Baptist is speaking in a symbolic way here, after the style of the prophets; our Lord himself does the same thing. The bridegroom is Jesus Christ. From other passages in the New Testament we know that the Church is described as the Bride (cf. Eph 5:24-32; Rev 19:7-9). This symbol of the wedding expresses the way Christ unites the Church to himself, and the way the Church is hallowed and shaped in God's own life. The Baptist rejoices to see that the Messiah has already begun his public ministry, and he recognizes the infinite distance between his position and that of Christ: his joy is full because he sees Jesus calling people and them following him.
"The friend of the bridegroom", according to Jewish custom, refers to the man who used to accompany the bridegroom at the start of the wedding and play a formal part in the wedding celebration--the best man. Obviously, as the Baptist says, there is a great difference between him and the bridegroom, who occupies the center of the stage.
30. The Baptist knew his mission was one of preparing the way of the Lord; he was to fade into the background once the Messiah arrived, which he did faithfully and humbly. In the same way, a Christian, when engaged in apostolate, should try to keep out of the limelight and allow Christ to seek men out; he should be always emptying himself, to allow Christ fill his life. "It is necessary for Christ to grow in you, for you to progress in your knowledge and love of him: for, the more you know him and love him, the more he grows in you. [...] Therefore, people who advance in this way need to have less self-esteem, because the more a person discovers God's greatness the less importance he gives to his own human condition" (St Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on St John, in loc.").
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
John Again Bears Witness
[22] After this Jesus and his disciples went into the land of Judea; there he remained with them and baptized. [23] John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people came and were baptized. [24] For John had not yet been put in prison.
[25] Now a discussion arose between John's disciples and a Jew over purifying. [26] And they came to John, and said to him, Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you bore witness, here he is, baptizing, and all are going to him." [27] John answered, "No one can receive anything except what is given him from heaven. [28] You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. [29] He who has the bride is the bridegroom; the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice; therefore this joy of mine is now full. [30] He must increase, but I must decrease.
____________________
Commentary:
22-24. A little later on (Jn 4:2) the evangelist makes it clear that it was not Jesus himself who baptized, but his disciples Our Lord probably wanted them from the very beginning to get practice in exhorting people to conversion. The rite referred to here was not yet Christian Baptism--which only began after the resurrection of Christ (cf. Jn 7:39; 16:7; Mt 28:19)--but "both baptisms, that of St John the Baptist and that of our Lord's disciples [...], had a single purpose--to bring the baptized to Christ [...] and prepare the way for future faith" (St John Chrysostom, "Hom. on St John", 29, 1).
The Gospel gives the exact time and place of this episode. Aenon is an Aramaic word meaning "wells". Salim was situated to the north-east of Samaria, south of the town of Scythopolis or Beisan, near the western bank of the Jordan, about twenty kilometers (thirteen miles) to the south of the Lake of Gennesaret.
The Gospel notes that "John had not yet been put in prison" (v. 24), thus rounding out the information given by the Synoptics (Mt 4:12; Mk 1:14). We know, therefore, that Jesus' public ministry began when John the Baptist's mission was still going on, and, particularly, that there was no competition of any kind between them; on the contrary, the Baptist, who was preparing the way of the Lord, had the joy of actually seeing his own disciples follow Jesus (cf. Jn 1:37).
27-29. John the Baptist is speaking in a symbolic way here, after the style of the prophets; our Lord himself does the same thing. The bridegroom is Jesus Christ. From other passages in the New Testament we know that the Church is described as the Bride (cf. Eph 5:24-32; Rev 19:7-9). This symbol of the wedding expresses the way Christ unites the Church to himself, and the way the Church is hallowed and shaped in God's own life. The Baptist rejoices to see that the Messiah has already begun his public ministry, and he recognizes the infinite distance between his position and that of Christ: his joy is full because he sees Jesus calling people and them following him.
"The friend of the bridegroom", according to Jewish custom, refers to the man who used to accompany the bridegroom at the start of the wedding and play a formal part in the wedding celebration--the best man. Obviously, as the Baptist says, there is a great difference between him and the bridegroom, who occupies the center of the stage.
30. The Baptist knew his mission was one of preparing the way of the Lord; he was to fade into the background once the Messiah arrived, which he did faithfully and humbly. In the same way, a Christian, when engaged in apostolate, should try to keep out of the limelight and allow Christ to seek men out; he should be always emptying himself, to allow Christ fill his life. "It is necessary for Christ to grow in you, for you to progress in your knowledge and love of him: for, the more you know him and love him, the more he grows in you. [...] Therefore, people who advance in this way need to have less self-esteem, because the more a person discovers God's greatness the less importance he gives to his own human condition" (St Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on St John, in loc.").
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Principles and Practices - January 9
Man's Duty
As creature he is bound to acknowledge outwardly the fact of his dependence upon God, and if he finds expression of it in a special way by means of prayer, he will attain to his most solemn recognition of it through what is known as sacrifice.
-Paulin Giloteaux.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
As creature he is bound to acknowledge outwardly the fact of his dependence upon God, and if he finds expression of it in a special way by means of prayer, he will attain to his most solemn recognition of it through what is known as sacrifice.
-Paulin Giloteaux.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 8
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
A REAL PROOF OF LOVE
The whole work of our sanctification consists in and depends on our conformity to the holy will of God.
God's will is the end of life, and in bending and attuning our own will to that of Almighty God, we serve Him truly and give Him real proof of love.
Obedience, self-denial and humility are all included in this attitude.
And we must work on the same lines, though to do so is hard to human nature. We take up a work and get engrossed in it; a grand harvest of good seems assured to us; we do the work well, and it seems "cut out" for us, when of a sudden, by an order of a superior, by a breakdown in health, or from some other cause, we are removed, and the work is abandoned and perchance withers and dies. The fruit was very good, but our Lord did not want it then, and did not want it from us.
He "chooses the better part," and calls us elsewhere, and we leave Christ for Christ. A life of active work, full of zeal and occupation, is changed in a moment for a bed of sickness, for a life of inactivity where, apparently, we influence no one for good.
How strange! Yet our Lord wills it, and His interests are at stake in the change. That is enough. I must "leave Christ for Christ"; "Thy will be done, not mine."
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
A REAL PROOF OF LOVE
The whole work of our sanctification consists in and depends on our conformity to the holy will of God.
God's will is the end of life, and in bending and attuning our own will to that of Almighty God, we serve Him truly and give Him real proof of love.
Obedience, self-denial and humility are all included in this attitude.
"Not my will, but Thine be done";Everyone has his sphere of work marked out for him. We are all parts of the great machine of human life; and when our task is done, and not till then, will our Lord call us home. Thus, while we are still here, our Lord not only seeks fruit at our hands, but seeks a fruit of His own choosing. He Himself was ever leaving one sphere of work for another, as glad to do one task as another, provided He was "about His Father's business" and "doing the will of Him that sent Him."
"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
And we must work on the same lines, though to do so is hard to human nature. We take up a work and get engrossed in it; a grand harvest of good seems assured to us; we do the work well, and it seems "cut out" for us, when of a sudden, by an order of a superior, by a breakdown in health, or from some other cause, we are removed, and the work is abandoned and perchance withers and dies. The fruit was very good, but our Lord did not want it then, and did not want it from us.
He "chooses the better part," and calls us elsewhere, and we leave Christ for Christ. A life of active work, full of zeal and occupation, is changed in a moment for a bed of sickness, for a life of inactivity where, apparently, we influence no one for good.
How strange! Yet our Lord wills it, and His interests are at stake in the change. That is enough. I must "leave Christ for Christ"; "Thy will be done, not mine."
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Gospel for Friday after Epiphany
From: Luke 5:12-16
The Cure of a Leper
[12] While he (Jesus) was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and besought him, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." [13] And he stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him. [14] And he charged him to tell no one; but "go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." [15] But so much the more the report went abroad concerning him; and great multitudes gathered to hear and to be healed of their infirmities. [16] But he withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.
________________
Commentary:
12. The words of the leper are a model prayer. First, they show his faith. "He did not say, 'If you ask God for it...', but 'If you will"' (Chrysostom, "Hom. on St Matthew", 25). He rounds this off by saying, "You can"--an open confession of Christ's omnipotence. The psalmist expressed this same faith: "Whatever the Lord pleases he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in the deep" (Ps 135:6). Along with this faith he shows confidence in God's mercy. "God is merciful; there is no need therefore to ask him; all we have to do is show him our need" (St Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on St Matthew", 8, 1). And St John Chrysostom concludes: "Prayer is perfect when it is joined to faith and confession; the leper showed his faith and confessed his need out loud" ("Hom. on St Matthew", 25).
"'Domine!--Lord--"si vis, potes me mundare"--if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.' What a beautiful prayer for you to say often, with the faith of the poor leper, when there happens to you what God and you and I know! You will not have to wait long to hear the Master's reply: '"Volo, mundare!" I will: be thou made clean!"' ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 142).
13. Jesus listens to the leper's petition and cures him of his disease. All of us suffer from spiritual ailments and our Lord is waiting for us to approach him: "He is our physician, and he heals our selfishness if we let his grace penetrate to the depths of our soul. Jesus has taught us that the worst sickness is hypocrisy, the pride that leads us to hide our own sins. We have to be totally sincere with him. We have to tell the whole truth, and then we have to say, 'Lord, if you will'--and you are always willing--'you can make me clean' (Mt 8:2). You know my weaknesses; I feel these symptoms; I suffer these failings. We show him the wound, with simplicity, and if the wound is festering, we show the pus too. Lord, you have cured so many souls; help me to recognize you as the divine physician when I have you in my heart or when I contemplate your presence in the tabernacle" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 93).
16. The Third Gospel frequently draws attention to Jesus going off, alone, to pray (cf. 6:12; 9:18; 11:1). By doing this Jesus teaches us the need for personal prayer in all the various situations in which we find ourselves.
"Forgive me if I insist, but it is very important to note carefully what the Messiah did, because he came to show us the path that leads to the Father. With our Lord we will discover how to give a supernatural dimension to all our actions, even those that seem least important. We will learn to live every moment of our lives with a lively awareness of eternity, and we will understand more deeply man's need for periods of intimate conversation with his God, so as to get to know him, to invoke him, to praise him, to break out into acts of thanksgiving, to listen to him or, quite simply, to be with him" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 239).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
The Cure of a Leper
[12] While he (Jesus) was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and besought him, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean." [13] And he stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him. [14] And he charged him to tell no one; but "go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to the people." [15] But so much the more the report went abroad concerning him; and great multitudes gathered to hear and to be healed of their infirmities. [16] But he withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.
________________
Commentary:
12. The words of the leper are a model prayer. First, they show his faith. "He did not say, 'If you ask God for it...', but 'If you will"' (Chrysostom, "Hom. on St Matthew", 25). He rounds this off by saying, "You can"--an open confession of Christ's omnipotence. The psalmist expressed this same faith: "Whatever the Lord pleases he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in the deep" (Ps 135:6). Along with this faith he shows confidence in God's mercy. "God is merciful; there is no need therefore to ask him; all we have to do is show him our need" (St Thomas Aquinas, "Commentary on St Matthew", 8, 1). And St John Chrysostom concludes: "Prayer is perfect when it is joined to faith and confession; the leper showed his faith and confessed his need out loud" ("Hom. on St Matthew", 25).
"'Domine!--Lord--"si vis, potes me mundare"--if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.' What a beautiful prayer for you to say often, with the faith of the poor leper, when there happens to you what God and you and I know! You will not have to wait long to hear the Master's reply: '"Volo, mundare!" I will: be thou made clean!"' ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 142).
13. Jesus listens to the leper's petition and cures him of his disease. All of us suffer from spiritual ailments and our Lord is waiting for us to approach him: "He is our physician, and he heals our selfishness if we let his grace penetrate to the depths of our soul. Jesus has taught us that the worst sickness is hypocrisy, the pride that leads us to hide our own sins. We have to be totally sincere with him. We have to tell the whole truth, and then we have to say, 'Lord, if you will'--and you are always willing--'you can make me clean' (Mt 8:2). You know my weaknesses; I feel these symptoms; I suffer these failings. We show him the wound, with simplicity, and if the wound is festering, we show the pus too. Lord, you have cured so many souls; help me to recognize you as the divine physician when I have you in my heart or when I contemplate your presence in the tabernacle" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 93).
16. The Third Gospel frequently draws attention to Jesus going off, alone, to pray (cf. 6:12; 9:18; 11:1). By doing this Jesus teaches us the need for personal prayer in all the various situations in which we find ourselves.
"Forgive me if I insist, but it is very important to note carefully what the Messiah did, because he came to show us the path that leads to the Father. With our Lord we will discover how to give a supernatural dimension to all our actions, even those that seem least important. We will learn to live every moment of our lives with a lively awareness of eternity, and we will understand more deeply man's need for periods of intimate conversation with his God, so as to get to know him, to invoke him, to praise him, to break out into acts of thanksgiving, to listen to him or, quite simply, to be with him" ([St] J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 239).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Principles and Practices - January 8
Perfect Obedience
If thou desire to please God offer Him continually the sacrifice of thy heart, will, and liberty, by perfect obedience for His own sake. Our will He chiefly calls for; and whatsoever else we give Him is nothing so long as we refuse to give Him our will by obedience. The sacrifice of our hearts He calls for, and not for that of our flocks, or of anything that we can give Him without obedience.
-Bishop Challoner.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
If thou desire to please God offer Him continually the sacrifice of thy heart, will, and liberty, by perfect obedience for His own sake. Our will He chiefly calls for; and whatsoever else we give Him is nothing so long as we refuse to give Him our will by obedience. The sacrifice of our hearts He calls for, and not for that of our flocks, or of anything that we can give Him without obedience.
-Bishop Challoner.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 7
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
PRAYER
No duty is more insisted on in Holy Scripture than that of prayer. But you say you cannot pray much when weak and in pain. Remember, then, the paths of prayer.
Prayer is an offering to God, rising like clouds of incense before His throne above. And that offering goes by the path of words and thoughts, by the path of toil, and also by the path of pain and weariness. One is as good as another, provided it be pointed out by the finger of God as the path by which He desires your offering to ascend.
The blind fiddler earning coppers by the roadside, the poor patient on a bed of pain - these may be leading lives of continued and beautiful prayer, as truly as the cloistered religious who remains on bended knee for hours day by day. Believe this and act upon it; take it deeply to heart at this time; let it console and encourage you. Qui laborat orat - "he that works also prays" - is an old and true maxim. "He that suffers wi th patience and resignation prays continually and well."
Probably no period of your life has been more full of merit and given more glory to God, or been so full of true prayer and done so much for sinners, as the days of your sickness.
Offer your sufferings to God for the intentions of the Holy Father. Your prayer of pain at every moment brings down graces on this poor world, by which souls are helped and saved, and all the while is registering a hundred-fold reward for you hereafter.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
PRAYERNo duty is more insisted on in Holy Scripture than that of prayer. But you say you cannot pray much when weak and in pain. Remember, then, the paths of prayer.
Prayer is an offering to God, rising like clouds of incense before His throne above. And that offering goes by the path of words and thoughts, by the path of toil, and also by the path of pain and weariness. One is as good as another, provided it be pointed out by the finger of God as the path by which He desires your offering to ascend.
The blind fiddler earning coppers by the roadside, the poor patient on a bed of pain - these may be leading lives of continued and beautiful prayer, as truly as the cloistered religious who remains on bended knee for hours day by day. Believe this and act upon it; take it deeply to heart at this time; let it console and encourage you. Qui laborat orat - "he that works also prays" - is an old and true maxim. "He that suffers wi th patience and resignation prays continually and well."
Probably no period of your life has been more full of merit and given more glory to God, or been so full of true prayer and done so much for sinners, as the days of your sickness.
Offer your sufferings to God for the intentions of the Holy Father. Your prayer of pain at every moment brings down graces on this poor world, by which souls are helped and saved, and all the while is registering a hundred-fold reward for you hereafter.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Gospel for Thursday after Epiphany
From: Luke 4:14-22
Jesus Fasts and is Tempted in the Wilderness (Continuation)
[14] And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and a report concerning Him went out through all the surrounding country. [15] And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Jesus Preaches in Nazareth
[16] And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and He went to the synagogue, as His custom was, on the Sabbath Day. And He stood up to read; [17] and there was given to Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, [18] "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, [19] to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." [20] And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. [21] And He began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. [22] And all spoke well of Him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth; and they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"
___________________
Commentary:
16-30. For the Jews the Sabbath was a day of rest and prayer, as God commanded (Exodus 20:8-11). On that day they would gather together to be instructed in Sacred Scripture. At the beginning of this meeting they all recited the "Shema", a summary of the precepts of the Lord, and the "eighteen blessings". Then a passage was read from the Book of the Law--the Pentateuch--and another from the Prophets. The president invited one of those present who was well versed in the Scriptures to address the gathering. Sometimes someone would volunteer and request the honor of being allowed to give this address--as must have happened on this occasion. Jesus avails Himself of this opportunity to instruct the people (cf. Luke 4:16ff), as will His Apostles later on (cf. Acts 13:5, 14, 42, 44; 14:1; etc.). The Sabbath meeting concluded with the priestly blessing, recited by the president or by a priest if there was one present, to which the people answered "Amen" (cf. Numbers 6:22ff).
18-21. Jesus read the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 where the prophet announces the coming of the Lord, who will free His people of their afflictions. In Christ this prophecy finds its fulfillment, for He is the Anointed, the Messiah whom God has sent to His people in their tribulation. Jesus has been anointed by the Holy Spirit for the mission the Father has entrusted to Him. "These phrases, according to Luke (verses 18-19), are His first messianic declaration. They are followed by the actions and words known through the Gospel. By these actions and words Christ makes the Father present among men" (John Paul II, "Dives In Misericordia", 3).
The promises proclaimed in verses 18 and 19 are the blessings God will send His people through the Messiah. According to Old Testament tradition and Jesus' own preaching (cf. note on Matthew 5:3), "the poor" refers not so much to a particular social condition as to a very religious attitude of indigence and humility towards God, which is to be found in those who, instead of relying on their possessions and merits, trust in God's goodness and mercy. Thus, preaching good news to the poor means bringing them the "good news" that God has taken pity on them. Similarly, the Redemption, the release, which the text mentions, is to be understood mainly in a spiritual, transcendental sense: Christ has come to free us from the blindness and oppression of sin, which, in the last analysis, is slavery imposed on us by the devil. "Captivity can be felt", St. John Chrysostom teaches in a commentary on Psalm 126, "when it proceeds from physical enemies, but the spiritual captivity referred to here is worse; sin exerts a more severe tyranny, evil takes control and blinds those who lend it obedience; from this spiritual prison Jesus Christ rescued us" ("Catena Aurea"). However, this passage is also in line with Jesus' special concern for those most in need. "Similarly, the Church encompasses with her love all those who are afflicted by human misery and she recognizes in those who are poor and who suffer the image of her poor and suffering Founder. She does all in her power to relieve their need and in them she strives to serve Christ" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 8).
18-19. The words of Isaiah which Christ read out on this occasion describe very graphically the reason why God has sent His Son into the world--to redeem men from sin, to liberate them from slavery to the devil and from eternal death. It is true that in the course of His public ministry Christ, in His mercy, worked many cures, cast out devils, etc. But He did not cure all the sick people in the world, nor did He eliminate all forms of distress in this life, because pain, which entered the world through sin, has a permanent redemptive value when associated with the sufferings of Christ. Therefore, Christ worked miracles not so much to release the people concerned from suffering, as to demonstrate that He had a God-given mission to bring everyone to eternal salvation.
The Church carries on this mission of Christ: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20). These simple and sublime words, which conclude the Gospel of St. Matthew, point out "the obligation to preach the truths of faith, the need for sacramental life, the promise of Christ's continual assistance to His Church. You cannot be faithful to our Lord if you neglect these supernatural demands--to receive instruction in Christian faith and morality and to frequent the Sacraments. It is with this mandate that Christ founded His Church [...]. And the Church can bring salvation to souls only if she remains faithful to Christ in her constitution and teaching, both dogmatic and moral.
"Let us reject, therefore, the suggestion that the Church, ignoring the Sermon on the Mount, seeks a purely human happiness on earth, since we know that her only task is to bring men to eternal glory in Heaven. Let us reject any purely naturalistic view that fails to value the supernatural role of divine grace. Let us reject materialistic opinions that exclude spiritual values from human life. Let us equally reject any secularizing theory which attempts to equate the aims of the Church with those of earthly states, distorting its essence, institutions and activities into something similar to those of temporal society" ([St] J. Escriva, "In Love with the Church", 23 and 31).
18. The Fathers of the Church see in this verse a reference to the three persons of the Holy Trinity: the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) of the Lord (the Father) is upon Me (the Son); cf. Origen, "Homily 32". The Holy Spirit dwelt in Christ's soul from the very moment of the Incarnation and descended visibly upon Him in the form of a dove when He was baptized by John (cf. Luke 3:21-22).
"Because He has anointed Me": this is a reference to the anointing Jesus received at the moment of His Incarnation, principally through the grace of the hypostatic union. "This anointing of Jesus Christ was not an anointing of the body as in the case of the ancient kings, priests and prophets; rather it was entirely spiritual and divine, because the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him substantially" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 77). From this hypostatic union the fullness of all graces derives. To show this, Jesus Christ is said to have been anointed by the Holy Spirit Himself--not just to have received the graces and gifts of the Spirit, like the saints.
19. "The acceptable year": this is a reference to the jubilee year of the Jews, which the Law of God (Leviticus 25:8) lays down as occurring every fifty years, symbolizing the era of redemption and liberation which the Messiah would usher in. The era inaugurated by Christ, the era of the New Law extending to the end of the world, is "the acceptable year", the time of mercy and redemption, which will be obtained definitively in Heaven.
The Catholic Church's custom of the "Holy Year" is also designed to proclaim and remind people of the redemption brought by Christ, and of the full form it will take in the future life.
20-22. Christ's words in verse 21 show us the authenticity with which He preached and explained the Scriptures: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Jesus teaches that this prophecy, like the other main prophecies in the Old Testament, refers to Him and finds its fulfillment in Him (cf. Luke 24:44ff). Thus, the Old Testament can be rightly understood only in the light of the New - as the risen Christ showed the Apostles when He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures (cf. Luke 24:45), an understanding which the Holy Spirit perfected on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:4).
22-29. At first the people of Nazareth listened readily to the wisdom of Jesus' words. But they were very superficial; in their narrow-minded pride they felt hurt that Jesus, their fellow-townsman, had not worked in Nazareth the wonders He had worked elsewhere. They presume they have a special entitlement and they insolently demand that He perform miracles to satisfy their vanity, not to change their hearts. In view of their attitude, Jesus performs no miracle (His normal response to lack of faith: cf., for example, His meeting with Herod in Luke 23:7-11); He actually reproaches them, using two examples taken from the Old Testament (cf. 1 Kings 17:9 and 2 Kings 5:14), which show that one needs to be well-disposed if miracles are to lead to faith. His attitude so wounds their pride that they are ready to kill Him. This whole episode is a good lesson about understanding Jesus. We can understand Him only if we are humble and are genuinely resolved to make ourselves available to Him.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Jesus Fasts and is Tempted in the Wilderness (Continuation)
[14] And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and a report concerning Him went out through all the surrounding country. [15] And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
Jesus Preaches in Nazareth
[16] And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and He went to the synagogue, as His custom was, on the Sabbath Day. And He stood up to read; [17] and there was given to Him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, [18] "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, [19] to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." [20] And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. [21] And He began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. [22] And all spoke well of Him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth; and they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?"
___________________
Commentary:
16-30. For the Jews the Sabbath was a day of rest and prayer, as God commanded (Exodus 20:8-11). On that day they would gather together to be instructed in Sacred Scripture. At the beginning of this meeting they all recited the "Shema", a summary of the precepts of the Lord, and the "eighteen blessings". Then a passage was read from the Book of the Law--the Pentateuch--and another from the Prophets. The president invited one of those present who was well versed in the Scriptures to address the gathering. Sometimes someone would volunteer and request the honor of being allowed to give this address--as must have happened on this occasion. Jesus avails Himself of this opportunity to instruct the people (cf. Luke 4:16ff), as will His Apostles later on (cf. Acts 13:5, 14, 42, 44; 14:1; etc.). The Sabbath meeting concluded with the priestly blessing, recited by the president or by a priest if there was one present, to which the people answered "Amen" (cf. Numbers 6:22ff).
18-21. Jesus read the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2 where the prophet announces the coming of the Lord, who will free His people of their afflictions. In Christ this prophecy finds its fulfillment, for He is the Anointed, the Messiah whom God has sent to His people in their tribulation. Jesus has been anointed by the Holy Spirit for the mission the Father has entrusted to Him. "These phrases, according to Luke (verses 18-19), are His first messianic declaration. They are followed by the actions and words known through the Gospel. By these actions and words Christ makes the Father present among men" (John Paul II, "Dives In Misericordia", 3).
The promises proclaimed in verses 18 and 19 are the blessings God will send His people through the Messiah. According to Old Testament tradition and Jesus' own preaching (cf. note on Matthew 5:3), "the poor" refers not so much to a particular social condition as to a very religious attitude of indigence and humility towards God, which is to be found in those who, instead of relying on their possessions and merits, trust in God's goodness and mercy. Thus, preaching good news to the poor means bringing them the "good news" that God has taken pity on them. Similarly, the Redemption, the release, which the text mentions, is to be understood mainly in a spiritual, transcendental sense: Christ has come to free us from the blindness and oppression of sin, which, in the last analysis, is slavery imposed on us by the devil. "Captivity can be felt", St. John Chrysostom teaches in a commentary on Psalm 126, "when it proceeds from physical enemies, but the spiritual captivity referred to here is worse; sin exerts a more severe tyranny, evil takes control and blinds those who lend it obedience; from this spiritual prison Jesus Christ rescued us" ("Catena Aurea"). However, this passage is also in line with Jesus' special concern for those most in need. "Similarly, the Church encompasses with her love all those who are afflicted by human misery and she recognizes in those who are poor and who suffer the image of her poor and suffering Founder. She does all in her power to relieve their need and in them she strives to serve Christ" (Vatican II, "Lumen Gentium", 8).
18-19. The words of Isaiah which Christ read out on this occasion describe very graphically the reason why God has sent His Son into the world--to redeem men from sin, to liberate them from slavery to the devil and from eternal death. It is true that in the course of His public ministry Christ, in His mercy, worked many cures, cast out devils, etc. But He did not cure all the sick people in the world, nor did He eliminate all forms of distress in this life, because pain, which entered the world through sin, has a permanent redemptive value when associated with the sufferings of Christ. Therefore, Christ worked miracles not so much to release the people concerned from suffering, as to demonstrate that He had a God-given mission to bring everyone to eternal salvation.
The Church carries on this mission of Christ: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20). These simple and sublime words, which conclude the Gospel of St. Matthew, point out "the obligation to preach the truths of faith, the need for sacramental life, the promise of Christ's continual assistance to His Church. You cannot be faithful to our Lord if you neglect these supernatural demands--to receive instruction in Christian faith and morality and to frequent the Sacraments. It is with this mandate that Christ founded His Church [...]. And the Church can bring salvation to souls only if she remains faithful to Christ in her constitution and teaching, both dogmatic and moral.
"Let us reject, therefore, the suggestion that the Church, ignoring the Sermon on the Mount, seeks a purely human happiness on earth, since we know that her only task is to bring men to eternal glory in Heaven. Let us reject any purely naturalistic view that fails to value the supernatural role of divine grace. Let us reject materialistic opinions that exclude spiritual values from human life. Let us equally reject any secularizing theory which attempts to equate the aims of the Church with those of earthly states, distorting its essence, institutions and activities into something similar to those of temporal society" ([St] J. Escriva, "In Love with the Church", 23 and 31).
18. The Fathers of the Church see in this verse a reference to the three persons of the Holy Trinity: the Spirit (the Holy Spirit) of the Lord (the Father) is upon Me (the Son); cf. Origen, "Homily 32". The Holy Spirit dwelt in Christ's soul from the very moment of the Incarnation and descended visibly upon Him in the form of a dove when He was baptized by John (cf. Luke 3:21-22).
"Because He has anointed Me": this is a reference to the anointing Jesus received at the moment of His Incarnation, principally through the grace of the hypostatic union. "This anointing of Jesus Christ was not an anointing of the body as in the case of the ancient kings, priests and prophets; rather it was entirely spiritual and divine, because the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him substantially" ("St. Pius X Catechism", 77). From this hypostatic union the fullness of all graces derives. To show this, Jesus Christ is said to have been anointed by the Holy Spirit Himself--not just to have received the graces and gifts of the Spirit, like the saints.
19. "The acceptable year": this is a reference to the jubilee year of the Jews, which the Law of God (Leviticus 25:8) lays down as occurring every fifty years, symbolizing the era of redemption and liberation which the Messiah would usher in. The era inaugurated by Christ, the era of the New Law extending to the end of the world, is "the acceptable year", the time of mercy and redemption, which will be obtained definitively in Heaven.
The Catholic Church's custom of the "Holy Year" is also designed to proclaim and remind people of the redemption brought by Christ, and of the full form it will take in the future life.
20-22. Christ's words in verse 21 show us the authenticity with which He preached and explained the Scriptures: "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Jesus teaches that this prophecy, like the other main prophecies in the Old Testament, refers to Him and finds its fulfillment in Him (cf. Luke 24:44ff). Thus, the Old Testament can be rightly understood only in the light of the New - as the risen Christ showed the Apostles when He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures (cf. Luke 24:45), an understanding which the Holy Spirit perfected on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:4).
22-29. At first the people of Nazareth listened readily to the wisdom of Jesus' words. But they were very superficial; in their narrow-minded pride they felt hurt that Jesus, their fellow-townsman, had not worked in Nazareth the wonders He had worked elsewhere. They presume they have a special entitlement and they insolently demand that He perform miracles to satisfy their vanity, not to change their hearts. In view of their attitude, Jesus performs no miracle (His normal response to lack of faith: cf., for example, His meeting with Herod in Luke 23:7-11); He actually reproaches them, using two examples taken from the Old Testament (cf. 1 Kings 17:9 and 2 Kings 5:14), which show that one needs to be well-disposed if miracles are to lead to faith. His attitude so wounds their pride that they are ready to kill Him. This whole episode is a good lesson about understanding Jesus. We can understand Him only if we are humble and are genuinely resolved to make ourselves available to Him.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Principles and Practices - January 7
The Love of God
The heart in love with its God, desiring infinitely to love, sees, notwithstanding, that it can neither love nor desire sufficiently. And this desire which cannot come to effect is as a dart in the side of a noble spirit; yet the pain which proceeds from it is welcome, becaus whosoever desires earnestly to love, loves also earnestly to desire, and would esteem himself the most miserable man in the universe, if he did not continually desire to love that which is so sovereignly worthy of love. Desiring to love, he receives pain; but, loving to desire, he receives sweetness.
-St. Francis de Sales.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
The heart in love with its God, desiring infinitely to love, sees, notwithstanding, that it can neither love nor desire sufficiently. And this desire which cannot come to effect is as a dart in the side of a noble spirit; yet the pain which proceeds from it is welcome, becaus whosoever desires earnestly to love, loves also earnestly to desire, and would esteem himself the most miserable man in the universe, if he did not continually desire to love that which is so sovereignly worthy of love. Desiring to love, he receives pain; but, loving to desire, he receives sweetness.
-St. Francis de Sales.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 6
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
JESUS
"There is no other name under heaven given whereby we are to be saved than the holy name of Jesus; and at the sound of that name every knee shall bow in heaven, on earth and under the earth."
Our Lord intended His name to be a summary of Himself, of His life and aim and spirit.
"His name shall be called Jesus," said the angel to our Lady, "for He shall save His people from their sins."
St. Bernard has sung most beautifully on this theme. "There is no smoother song," he says, "no sound more gladly heard, no thought so sweet as is expressed by the one word 'Jesus.'" It sums up and unfolds the whole mystery of the Incarnation. It tells us of God's unselfish love for men, of His care for them, His readiness to help and bless them.
We can imagine how our Lady loved to repeat that name and to call her Child by it! And we are Mary's children now, and our name must be "Jesus" too, for all her children are called alike, since one and all are the brethren of her divine Son. It is our task so to copy our Lord by lives of yirtue, of prayer and conformity to God's will that, in our measure, we may be like to Him "whose meat was to do the will of Him that sent Him."
And to our neighbour also we must daily exhibit the spirit of the Holy Name, "saving them from their sins," by praying for them, by suffering for them, and by being kind to them; never making their wounds to bleed afresh, never willingly causing them pain, but healing their troubles by the oil of our sympathy and the sweetness of our patience.
In times of pain and of weariness, when beset by any temptation, or when your strength does not admit of many prayers, let the Holy Name of Jesus be constantly on your lips, or at least in your mind and heart.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
JESUS
"There is no other name under heaven given whereby we are to be saved than the holy name of Jesus; and at the sound of that name every knee shall bow in heaven, on earth and under the earth."
Our Lord intended His name to be a summary of Himself, of His life and aim and spirit.
"His name shall be called Jesus," said the angel to our Lady, "for He shall save His people from their sins."
St. Bernard has sung most beautifully on this theme. "There is no smoother song," he says, "no sound more gladly heard, no thought so sweet as is expressed by the one word 'Jesus.'" It sums up and unfolds the whole mystery of the Incarnation. It tells us of God's unselfish love for men, of His care for them, His readiness to help and bless them.
We can imagine how our Lady loved to repeat that name and to call her Child by it! And we are Mary's children now, and our name must be "Jesus" too, for all her children are called alike, since one and all are the brethren of her divine Son. It is our task so to copy our Lord by lives of yirtue, of prayer and conformity to God's will that, in our measure, we may be like to Him "whose meat was to do the will of Him that sent Him."
And to our neighbour also we must daily exhibit the spirit of the Holy Name, "saving them from their sins," by praying for them, by suffering for them, and by being kind to them; never making their wounds to bleed afresh, never willingly causing them pain, but healing their troubles by the oil of our sympathy and the sweetness of our patience.
In times of pain and of weariness, when beset by any temptation, or when your strength does not admit of many prayers, let the Holy Name of Jesus be constantly on your lips, or at least in your mind and heart.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Gospel for Wednesday after Epiphany
From: Mark 6:45-52
Jesus Walks on Water
[45] Immediately he (Jesus) made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. [46] And after he had taken leave of them, he went into the hills to pray. [47] And when evening came the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. [48] And he saw that they were distressed in rowing, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, [49] but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out; [50] for they all saw him, and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." [51] And he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, [52] for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
______________________
Commentary:
48. The Romans divided the night into four parts or watches, whose length varied depending on the season. St Mark (13:35) gives the popular names for these watches: evening, midnight, cockcrow, morning. Therefore, it is towards dawn that Jesus comes to the disciples.
He wishes to teach us that even when we are in very pressurized and difficult situations, he is nearby, ready to help us; but he expects us to make an effort, to strengthen our hope and temper our resolve (cf. note on Mt 14:24-33); as an early Greek commentator puts it: "The Lord allowed his disciples to enter danger to make them suffer, and he did not immediately come to their aid: he left them in peril for the whole night, to teach them to be patient and not to be accustomed to receiving immediate succor in tribulation" (Theophylact, "Enarratio In Evangelium Marci, in loc.").
52. The disciples do not yet see Jesus' miracles as signs of his divinity. They witness the multiplication of the loaves and the fish (Mk 6:33-44) and the second multiplication of the loaves (Mk 8:17), but their hearts and minds are still hardened; they fail to grasp the full import of what Jesus is teaching them through his actions--that he is the Son of God. Jesus is patient and understanding with their defects, even when they fail to grasp what he says when he speaks about his own passion (Lk 18:34). Our Lord will give them further miracles and further teaching to enlighten their minds, and, later, he will send the Holy Spirit to teach them all things and remind them of everything he said (cf. Jn 14:26).
St Bede the Venerable comments on this whole episode (Mk 6:45-52) in this way: "In a mystical sense, the disciples' effort to row against the wind point to the efforts the Holy Church must make against the waves of the enemy world and the outpourings of evil spirits in order to reach the haven of its heavenly home. It is rightly said that the boat was out on the sea and He alone on the land, because the Church has never been so intensely persecuted by the Gentiles that it seemed as if the Redeemer had abandoned it completely. But the Lord sees his disciples struggling, and to sustain them he looks at them compassionately and sometimes frees them from peril by clearly coming to their aid" ("In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Jesus Walks on Water
[45] Immediately he (Jesus) made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. [46] And after he had taken leave of them, he went into the hills to pray. [47] And when evening came the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. [48] And he saw that they were distressed in rowing, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, [49] but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out; [50] for they all saw him, and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." [51] And he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, [52] for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
______________________
Commentary:
48. The Romans divided the night into four parts or watches, whose length varied depending on the season. St Mark (13:35) gives the popular names for these watches: evening, midnight, cockcrow, morning. Therefore, it is towards dawn that Jesus comes to the disciples.
He wishes to teach us that even when we are in very pressurized and difficult situations, he is nearby, ready to help us; but he expects us to make an effort, to strengthen our hope and temper our resolve (cf. note on Mt 14:24-33); as an early Greek commentator puts it: "The Lord allowed his disciples to enter danger to make them suffer, and he did not immediately come to their aid: he left them in peril for the whole night, to teach them to be patient and not to be accustomed to receiving immediate succor in tribulation" (Theophylact, "Enarratio In Evangelium Marci, in loc.").
52. The disciples do not yet see Jesus' miracles as signs of his divinity. They witness the multiplication of the loaves and the fish (Mk 6:33-44) and the second multiplication of the loaves (Mk 8:17), but their hearts and minds are still hardened; they fail to grasp the full import of what Jesus is teaching them through his actions--that he is the Son of God. Jesus is patient and understanding with their defects, even when they fail to grasp what he says when he speaks about his own passion (Lk 18:34). Our Lord will give them further miracles and further teaching to enlighten their minds, and, later, he will send the Holy Spirit to teach them all things and remind them of everything he said (cf. Jn 14:26).
St Bede the Venerable comments on this whole episode (Mk 6:45-52) in this way: "In a mystical sense, the disciples' effort to row against the wind point to the efforts the Holy Church must make against the waves of the enemy world and the outpourings of evil spirits in order to reach the haven of its heavenly home. It is rightly said that the boat was out on the sea and He alone on the land, because the Church has never been so intensely persecuted by the Gentiles that it seemed as if the Redeemer had abandoned it completely. But the Lord sees his disciples struggling, and to sustain them he looks at them compassionately and sometimes frees them from peril by clearly coming to their aid" ("In Marci Evangelium Expositio, in loc.").
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Principles and Practices - January 6
Suffering - For God
Amidst the sufferings which spring from a soul's insatiable desire to give something, even much, to God, He provides her with means of showing herself more equal to her ideals. That self-sacrifice spells suffering, the soul is convinced. She is unhappy precisely because her offering to God has cost too little. Then, God sends great crosses, such as aridity, illness, false friends, persecution, failures, and many other kinds of excruciating suffering. Our Lord is never at a loss for crosses. His workshop is full of them.
-Raoul Plus, S.J.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Amidst the sufferings which spring from a soul's insatiable desire to give something, even much, to God, He provides her with means of showing herself more equal to her ideals. That self-sacrifice spells suffering, the soul is convinced. She is unhappy precisely because her offering to God has cost too little. Then, God sends great crosses, such as aridity, illness, false friends, persecution, failures, and many other kinds of excruciating suffering. Our Lord is never at a loss for crosses. His workshop is full of them.
-Raoul Plus, S.J.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 5
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
ON THE AFFECTIONS
"A dreary world were this old world of ours -
Cold, cheerless, heartless, void of beauty,dead -
If no redeeming grace were round it shed,
Gemming Earth's rugged way with fairest flowers.
But oh! amid life's bleakest, dreariest hours,
There is allotted to the care-worn mind
A sheltering haven where it rest may find,
Though, scowling dark, the wintry tempest lowers.
When the weak soul beneath affliction smarts,
A soother, strengthener, kind Heaven doth send
The love of sister, mother, brother, friend -
The sympathetic ties of kindred hearts.
I thank my God, that He hath let me know
These sweetest ties that cheer our clouded path below. "
-M. Russell, S.J.
Joyfulness of the heart is the life of a man and a never-failing treasure of holiness.
-Ecclus. xxx. 23.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
ON THE AFFECTIONS
"A dreary world were this old world of ours -
Cold, cheerless, heartless, void of beauty,dead -
If no redeeming grace were round it shed,
Gemming Earth's rugged way with fairest flowers.
But oh! amid life's bleakest, dreariest hours,
There is allotted to the care-worn mind
A sheltering haven where it rest may find,
Though, scowling dark, the wintry tempest lowers.
When the weak soul beneath affliction smarts,
A soother, strengthener, kind Heaven doth send
The love of sister, mother, brother, friend -
The sympathetic ties of kindred hearts.
I thank my God, that He hath let me know
These sweetest ties that cheer our clouded path below. "
-M. Russell, S.J.
Joyfulness of the heart is the life of a man and a never-failing treasure of holiness.
-Ecclus. xxx. 23.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Monday, January 04, 2010
Gospel for Tuesday after Epiphany
From: Mark 6:34-44
First Miracle of the Loaves
[34] As he (Jesus) landed he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. [35] And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late; [36] send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat." [37] But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?" [38] And he said to them, "How many loaves have you? Go and see." And when they had found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." [39] Then he commanded them all to sit down by companies upon the green grass. [40] So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. [41] And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. [42] And they all ate and were satisfied. [43] And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. [44] And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
______________
Commentary:
34. Our Lord had planned a period of rest, for himself and his disciples, from the pressures of the apostolate (Mk 6:31-32). And he has to change his plans because so many people come, eager to hear him speak. Not only is he not annoyed with them: he feels compassion on seeing their spiritual need. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hos 4:6). They need instruction and our Lord wants to meet this need by preaching to them. "Jesus is moved by hunger and sorrow, but what moves him most is ignorance" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 109).
37. A denarius was what an artisan earned for a normal day's work. The disciples must, therefore, have thought it little less than impossible to fulfill the Master's command, because they would not have had this much money.
41. This miracle is a figure of the Holy Eucharist: Christ performed it shortly before promising that sacrament (cf. Jn 6:1ff), and the Fathers have always so interpreted it. In this miracle Jesus shows his supernatural power and his love for men--the same power and love as make it possible for Christ's one and only body to be present in the eucharistic species to nourish the faithful down the centuries. In the words of the sequence composed by St Thomas Aquinas for the Mass of Corpus Christi: "Sumit unus, sumunt mille, quantum isti, tantum ille, nec sumptus consumitur" (Be one or be a thousand fed, they eat alike that living bread which, still received, ne'er wastes away).
This gesture of our Lord--looking up to heaven--is recalled in the Roman canon of the Mass: "Et elevatis oculis in caelum, ad Te Deum Patrem suum omnipotentem" (and looking up to heaven, to you, his almighty Father). At this point in the Mass we are preparing to be present at a miracle greater than that of the multiplication of the loaves--the changing of bread into his own body, offered as food for all men.
42. Christ wanted the left-overs to be collected (cf. Jn 6:12) to teach us not to waste things God gives us, and also to have them as a tangible proof of the miracle.
The collecting of the leftovers is a way of showing us the value of little things done out of love for God--orderliness, cleanliness, finishing things completely. It also reminds the sensitive believer of the extreme care that must be taken of the eucharistic species. Also, the generous scale of the miracle is an _expression of the largesse of the messianic times. The Fathers recall that Moses distributed the manna for each to eat as much as he needed but some left part of it for the next day and it bred worms (Ex 16:16-20). Elijah gave the widow just enough to meet her needs (1 Kings 17:13-16). Jesus, on the other hand, gives generously and abundantly.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
First Miracle of the Loaves
[34] As he (Jesus) landed he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. [35] And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late; [36] send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat." [37] But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." And they said to him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?" [38] And he said to them, "How many loaves have you? Go and see." And when they had found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." [39] Then he commanded them all to sit down by companies upon the green grass. [40] So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. [41] And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. [42] And they all ate and were satisfied. [43] And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. [44] And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
______________
Commentary:
34. Our Lord had planned a period of rest, for himself and his disciples, from the pressures of the apostolate (Mk 6:31-32). And he has to change his plans because so many people come, eager to hear him speak. Not only is he not annoyed with them: he feels compassion on seeing their spiritual need. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hos 4:6). They need instruction and our Lord wants to meet this need by preaching to them. "Jesus is moved by hunger and sorrow, but what moves him most is ignorance" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 109).
37. A denarius was what an artisan earned for a normal day's work. The disciples must, therefore, have thought it little less than impossible to fulfill the Master's command, because they would not have had this much money.
41. This miracle is a figure of the Holy Eucharist: Christ performed it shortly before promising that sacrament (cf. Jn 6:1ff), and the Fathers have always so interpreted it. In this miracle Jesus shows his supernatural power and his love for men--the same power and love as make it possible for Christ's one and only body to be present in the eucharistic species to nourish the faithful down the centuries. In the words of the sequence composed by St Thomas Aquinas for the Mass of Corpus Christi: "Sumit unus, sumunt mille, quantum isti, tantum ille, nec sumptus consumitur" (Be one or be a thousand fed, they eat alike that living bread which, still received, ne'er wastes away).
This gesture of our Lord--looking up to heaven--is recalled in the Roman canon of the Mass: "Et elevatis oculis in caelum, ad Te Deum Patrem suum omnipotentem" (and looking up to heaven, to you, his almighty Father). At this point in the Mass we are preparing to be present at a miracle greater than that of the multiplication of the loaves--the changing of bread into his own body, offered as food for all men.
42. Christ wanted the left-overs to be collected (cf. Jn 6:12) to teach us not to waste things God gives us, and also to have them as a tangible proof of the miracle.
The collecting of the leftovers is a way of showing us the value of little things done out of love for God--orderliness, cleanliness, finishing things completely. It also reminds the sensitive believer of the extreme care that must be taken of the eucharistic species. Also, the generous scale of the miracle is an _expression of the largesse of the messianic times. The Fathers recall that Moses distributed the manna for each to eat as much as he needed but some left part of it for the next day and it bred worms (Ex 16:16-20). Elijah gave the widow just enough to meet her needs (1 Kings 17:13-16). Jesus, on the other hand, gives generously and abundantly.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Principles and Practices - January 5
Denial of Self Will
The spiritual man must learn to leave himself and all other things for the love of God. He must possess nothing with any tenacious affection of heart. He must hold fast to no visible and perishable thing, to no passing and created object. He must not seek the friendship, familiar intercourse, or presence of anyone, however holy, for any mere natural gratification. He must remember that not only bad things, but even those that are good, may become hindrances if they are loved or sought inordinately, just as plates of gold held before the eyes prevent sight as effectually as
plates of iron.
-Blosius.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
The spiritual man must learn to leave himself and all other things for the love of God. He must possess nothing with any tenacious affection of heart. He must hold fast to no visible and perishable thing, to no passing and created object. He must not seek the friendship, familiar intercourse, or presence of anyone, however holy, for any mere natural gratification. He must remember that not only bad things, but even those that are good, may become hindrances if they are loved or sought inordinately, just as plates of gold held before the eyes prevent sight as effectually as
plates of iron.
-Blosius.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 4
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
THE UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD
Our Lord has revealed to us the universal brotherhood of mankind. He has shown by His teaching that in the sight of God all men are equal, possessed of immortal souls, heirs of an et.ernal kingdom and children of God. The poor and the suffering are no longer to be despised, human life is to be held sacred, and we are all bound together by the golden chain of brotherly love. "By this shall all men know that you are IVly disciples if you have love one for another," for "a new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you."
Now love is not sentiment or mere emotion. If it be real, it means action and service and sacrifice. And St. Paul has put this aspect of the law of love very strikingly when he says: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so you shall fulfil the law of Christ."
Life is to be filled with sympathy and mutual help, our Lord looking on the while and giving us His blessing. Now we see at once by these words that we are meant to be helped by one another: we are meant to speak of our burdens and of their weight, we are meant to show our wounds to a physician, not to lock up the chamber of our hearts and stow all our burdens within, there to lie badly packed, uncomfortable, and finaIly to break down the spirit of the sufferer. Not to all should we speak of our burdens: not perpetually should we ask from others: we must always help ourselves to the best of our ability; but from some, in due season, to ask for such an alms is a duty.
Of course we must not flinch from some burden, nor give all to others to bear; but resolutely to say "I will keep all to myself, I will trouble no one, I will keep my heart firmly locked," is a danger and a delusion. Is there anything of this in you? Do you make a point of bearing all in silence, or do you allow St. Paul's fair words to be illustrated in your conduct?
O my God, from my heart I thank Thee for this light; from my heart I thank Thee for the gift of friends whom I can and ought to trust, and who are willing and able to help me.
But I love Thee, O, Lord, with my whole heart and above all things, Sacred Heart of Jesus, I put my trust in Thee.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
THE UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD
Our Lord has revealed to us the universal brotherhood of mankind. He has shown by His teaching that in the sight of God all men are equal, possessed of immortal souls, heirs of an et.ernal kingdom and children of God. The poor and the suffering are no longer to be despised, human life is to be held sacred, and we are all bound together by the golden chain of brotherly love. "By this shall all men know that you are IVly disciples if you have love one for another," for "a new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you."
Now love is not sentiment or mere emotion. If it be real, it means action and service and sacrifice. And St. Paul has put this aspect of the law of love very strikingly when he says: "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so you shall fulfil the law of Christ."
Life is to be filled with sympathy and mutual help, our Lord looking on the while and giving us His blessing. Now we see at once by these words that we are meant to be helped by one another: we are meant to speak of our burdens and of their weight, we are meant to show our wounds to a physician, not to lock up the chamber of our hearts and stow all our burdens within, there to lie badly packed, uncomfortable, and finaIly to break down the spirit of the sufferer. Not to all should we speak of our burdens: not perpetually should we ask from others: we must always help ourselves to the best of our ability; but from some, in due season, to ask for such an alms is a duty.
Of course we must not flinch from some burden, nor give all to others to bear; but resolutely to say "I will keep all to myself, I will trouble no one, I will keep my heart firmly locked," is a danger and a delusion. Is there anything of this in you? Do you make a point of bearing all in silence, or do you allow St. Paul's fair words to be illustrated in your conduct?
O my God, from my heart I thank Thee for this light; from my heart I thank Thee for the gift of friends whom I can and ought to trust, and who are willing and able to help me.
But I love Thee, O, Lord, with my whole heart and above all things, Sacred Heart of Jesus, I put my trust in Thee.
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Principles and Practices - January 4
Grace and Nature
To give ourselves up to the spiritual life is to put ourselves out of harmony with the world around us. We make a discord even with much that is amiable and affectionate, and with which, as natural virtue, we cannot be altogether without sympathy. We live in a different world, have different interests and speak a different language, and the two worlds will not mingle. Grace holds us in one world; nature draws us down again into the other.
-Faber.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
To give ourselves up to the spiritual life is to put ourselves out of harmony with the world around us. We make a discord even with much that is amiable and affectionate, and with which, as natural virtue, we cannot be altogether without sympathy. We live in a different world, have different interests and speak a different language, and the two worlds will not mingle. Grace holds us in one world; nature draws us down again into the other.
-Faber.
_________________
From Principles and Practices
Compiled by Rev. J. Hogan of The Catholic Missionary Society
Published by Burns Oates & Washbourne Ltd., Publishers To The Holy See
Nihil Obstat; Eduardus J. Mahoney, S.T.D. Censor deputatus.
Imprimatur; Edm. Can. Surmont, Vicarius generalis.
First printed in 1930
Patience - January 3
Patience
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
DESOLATION
As long as we live, we shall be liable to alternating periods of joy and gloom. "The days come of which we say: They please me not." They are a searching trial, and a keen test of our love for our Lord; yet on those days He seeks fruit at our hands as much as on the sunny days, and we must not "send Him empty away."
When these dark days come, while we are ill, in bed all day, in pain, more or less, all day, unable to read or work and disinclined for prayer, to face and profit by them is far from easy, yet noble and possible.
To fight against feelings of desolation and to act as though their pressure were not felt, especially before those who would be distressed did they know our trial, is good and meritorious. But only up to a point. In our own quiet moments, when alone, or with a friend who understands and whose business it is to be "acquainted with grief," a few warm tears, a few words about ourselves an opening of the heart and mind so that the oil of sympathy may find its entrance: - these are lawful and good, and should not be neglected as though they were weak or cowardly. They are the avenues blest by our Lord, who comforted the widow wi th the words "weep not," who Himself "sought for one to comfort Him," and who "heals the broken of heart."
On our dark days we should pray: not long or heavy prayers, but short prayers without strain.
We should look at the crucifix, uniting our sufferings with the sufferings of our Saviour, for all the interests and intentions of His Sacred Heart, and make fervent ejaculations, e.g., "My God and my All!" "All for Thee, most Sacred Heart of Jesus!" "My Jesus, Mercy!"
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
Thoughts on the Patient Endurance of Sorrows and Sufferings
DESOLATION
As long as we live, we shall be liable to alternating periods of joy and gloom. "The days come of which we say: They please me not." They are a searching trial, and a keen test of our love for our Lord; yet on those days He seeks fruit at our hands as much as on the sunny days, and we must not "send Him empty away."
When these dark days come, while we are ill, in bed all day, in pain, more or less, all day, unable to read or work and disinclined for prayer, to face and profit by them is far from easy, yet noble and possible.
To fight against feelings of desolation and to act as though their pressure were not felt, especially before those who would be distressed did they know our trial, is good and meritorious. But only up to a point. In our own quiet moments, when alone, or with a friend who understands and whose business it is to be "acquainted with grief," a few warm tears, a few words about ourselves an opening of the heart and mind so that the oil of sympathy may find its entrance: - these are lawful and good, and should not be neglected as though they were weak or cowardly. They are the avenues blest by our Lord, who comforted the widow wi th the words "weep not," who Himself "sought for one to comfort Him," and who "heals the broken of heart."
On our dark days we should pray: not long or heavy prayers, but short prayers without strain.
We should look at the crucifix, uniting our sufferings with the sufferings of our Saviour, for all the interests and intentions of His Sacred Heart, and make fervent ejaculations, e.g., "My God and my All!" "All for Thee, most Sacred Heart of Jesus!" "My Jesus, Mercy!"
____________________
Compiled and Edited by Rev. F. X. Lasance
Author of "My Prayerbook," etc.
1937, Benziger Brothers
Printers to the Holy Apostolic See
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