End of The Month Review

I usually take a look at my journal entries at the end of each month to refresh my aging mind as to what insight I might have received from that month's daily Mass readings but may have already forgotten. Never too profound are these simple notes. But sometimes, they do get my attention again. Thought I would share a few.

May 3, 2011

Jesus is the way, the truth, the life. Would others come to know that by observing the way in which I live my life? Do I really know Jesus? That is to say, have I personally encountered this Jesus? Do I have a personal relationship with Him or do I treat Him as my lucky charm on Whom I can call in times of trials to extricate me from pending harm? How often do I talk to Him and His Father? Do I really listen to what they and the Holy Spirit have to say? The proof that I really believe in You Lord, John tells me (Jn 14:6-14), is if I am doing even greater works than You did!  Oh…Oh…Why do I feel like someone just hit me across the head with 2 by 4?

May 11, 2011 and May 13, 2011
Jesus is the Bread of Life (Jn 6:35-40). He gives Himself to us, Body, Blood Soul and Divinity, every time we approach Him at the altar. Many rejected this teaching when He first proclaimed it (Jn 6:52-59). Why do so few today believe He is really and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist? Why are our Catholic Churches not filled every day? Why do we pass up the food of eternal life for that which lasts just briefly before it is discarded as refuse from our bodies?

It is easy to say we believe that Jesus is really, truly and substantially present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist. But do we really believe it? Does the manner in which we live our lives demonstrate to those around us that Christ resides within we tarnished human ciboriums? Has the reception of Communion and Mass attendance become so routine for us that we no longer really treasure and appreciate this great gift? We can chastise our Christian brethren who reject the clear and unambiguous words of Scripture, but is it possible that their unbelief is based, at least in part, because my actions are not always consistent with one who claims he has eaten the Body and Blood of his Lord and Savior?

May 23, 2011
You can’t love God if you don’t keep His commandments (Jn 14:21-26). Seems pretty obvious doesn’t it? Yet, how often do we offer excuses as to why one or another of His rules (or those promulgated by the Magisterium of His Church) doesn’t really apply to us? We can’t pick and choose from those we like and disregard the others with which we disagree or find too difficult to follow. It is really all or nothing. Have you heard that Truth proclaimed recently?

Nothing profound here - just a few kernels to chew on.

Holy Is His Name

Just came across this moments ago on Following The Truth with Gary Zimak.  I haven't heard John Michael Talbot or this specfic song in some time. I thought sharing it tonight  would be a neat way to end this Lord's Day and, God willing, begin another day tomorrow.

God's blessing be with you and all whom you love.

Imagine

Imagine what we, our families, our priests, our Church, our communities and our world would be like if the Eucharist was, in fact, the source, center and summit of our daily lives.

The following two men have something significant to share with all of us, be we lay men and women, priests or religious, about the value of Eucharistic Adoration. May our spiritual journey and desire for holiness be enriched by reading and reflecting on what they have said.

Father James M. Sullivan, O.P. – “Adoration is not just one more thing to do, like going to the store, the doctor, etc.  It is an encounter with Christ.  His love changes and orders our life.”

Fulton Sheen, Servant of God – “The priest should think of the practice of the daily Holy Hour, as something to continue for his whole life…the daily Holy Hour gives us wisdom…The mind of the priest who lives close to the tabernacle door gains a special illumination.  The priest's mind and heart are best guided when they seek the Eucharistic Lord at dawn…Daily exigencies demand a daily Holy Hour…Vitamins cannot be stored up.  Spiritual energy has to be renewed; today's strength must come from the Lord today.  Thus the monotony of life is broken, and there comes to the priest new power for each day's apostolate.  The Holy Hour each day also destroys in the priest forebodings and worries about the future.  Kneeling before the Eucharistic Lord, he receives the rations for each day's march, worrying not at all about tomorrow...The Holy Hour should be a daily event because our crosses are daily, not weekly…These daily crosses will sour us, sear our souls and make us bitter, unless we turn them into crucifixes; and how can that be done except by seeing them as coming from the Lord?  That we can do only if we are with Him.  The Holy Hour may be a sacrifice, but the Lord does not make the week the unit of sacrifice.  He tells us our cross is daily.”

Yes, let us imagine…

Promoting Reverence and Belief in the Real Presence

Our Church’s teaching on the Eucharist is long standing, clear and includes the following: the Eucharist must be the source and center of our daily lives; whenever possible Catholics Churches are to keep their doors open for some period of time each day to facilitate visits before the Blessed Sacrament; pastors are to encourage such visits; they are also to promote and encourage their parishioners' participation in Eucharistic Adoration, setting an example for their flock by doing so themselves; and they are to support the establishment and continuation of  regional chapels of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration when their own parishes are unable to sustain such a vital devotion solely by themselves.

What a different world this would be if we were to follow these life-changing practices!

As someone who has spent more than ten years coordinating Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in a local parish and encouraging this devotion elsewhere, it has been difficult to understand at times why there is so much reluctance, if not outright opposition, to promoting Adoration - this despite our Lord's invitation for us to do so and the overwhelming evidence of the fruits that flow from such devotions. Is it because so few Catholics still believe that Our Lord is really and substantially present in the Eucharist?

So when others speak up or take concrete action to promote our Eucharistic Lord we must take notice and give thanks!

Bishop Robert Cunningham of the Diocese of Syracuse, New York should be commended for taking "God to the Streets of Syracuse" this Corpus Christi, the first time in recent memory such a significant public worship of our Eucharistic Lord has taken place there. Why not take a moment to thank him (info@syracusediocese.org)?

Kudos also to the Knights of the Holy Eucharist who (Catholic Online informs us) are doing their best to "call us to Eucharistic Faith".

Why not think about passing up one of your favorite half hour TVs shows (it won't kill you), listen to what this young man has to say about our Eucharistic Lord and the response He deserves and then share his video with your pastor, family and friends? Thanks to Anne Costa of Charismata for having brought this to my attention.

This leads me to one final suggestion. Father Z is fond of saying "brick by brick" with respect to the need for liturgical reform. Maybe we who love and seek to promote Eucharistic Adoration might adopt "two knees at a time" as our rallying cry. What do you think?

Eucharistic Reflection For The Day

Does not God who remains in the world

 under the species of bread,

who empties Himself to such a degree,

 merit a limitless love in return?

St.Maximilian Kolbe

A Little Change of Pace

I am new at this "blogging" thing but have already come to appreciate that an occasional break from the normal fare might be appreciated by those who may be visiting this site.

Like doing jigsaw puzzles? Ever done any on-line? How about puzzles with a Catholic flare?  Then you will probably enjoy this. I know the amazing woman who set this up, an inspiring author, would appreciate your visit.


We Dominicans should be joyful folk. Truth be told we are not always so. So for all the sourpusses, Dominican or otherwise, that may happen upon this blog it's time to be joyful and to laugh. So check this out.

Don't thank me, thank God from whom all good things come!

God's blessings this day upon all of His creatures.

Eucharistic Reflection for the Day

We believe
in the love of God for us.
To believe in love is everything.
Love is our Lord
in the Blessed Sacrament.
You have the Eucharist.
What more do you want?

Saint Peter Julian Eymard

Musings of an Aging Sibling

I have wondered occasionally what you must have thought when you first saw two little bodies squirming around in their cribs, squawking and demanding so much attention from others.  Joseph, you were certainly old enough to understand who these two little runts were and why they required so much attention.  But John, you were still in diapers and barely able to walk.  You must have had some difficulty sizing up your new brother and sister and accepting your sudden relegation from king of the roost to third in line. 

Jane and I certainly had no idea who you were or what kind of future we would all have together. I am sure my primary and sole focus at the time was to get fed and to be the center of attention.  From family stories that I have heard, Jane had the same idea and the upper hand. 

Knowing Mom and Dad, I doubt you guys ever felt neglected after our arrival. I suspect you both knew we were just two more creatures God sent for everyone to love.  Thank God our parents were open to new life! You were probably just as eager as everyone else that we grow up and be able to do fun things together. Our little sister Pat had more than enough love to “mother” us all. No doubt our brother Pete was prepared to lend a helping hand.

As one day rapidly turned into another, I am certain that Jane and I never tired of looking at you guys while we tried to figure out why you were on the other side of the crib and we were confined.  On those occasions when we were momentarily set free, what havoc we probably wrought to your toys and special things. I am sure you couldn’t wait until we were old enough where you could retaliate. I suspect John didn’t wait.

But just as suddenly as we appeared in your lives, you disappeared from ours.  Neither Jane nor I had any idea where you guys had gone or why joyful eyes were suddenly so red, swollen and sad.  How quickly all our lives were changed. You never got to meet your little sister Flo.

God wanted the both of you with Him! Things like that happened back then before the arrival of penicillin or the polio vaccine.  How quickly pneumonia snatched the life out of John and polio briefly imprisoned Joseph in an iron lung before he joined his brother and their heavenly Creator. Every now and then I think of you guys and wonder what might have been.  I need to do that more often.  Thanks for letting us into your brief lives and for looking down all these years from above.   

Without presuming upon God’s mercy, I pray that one day our entire family will be united eternally in His Presence. Would you put a good word in for us?   Give Mom and Dad our love.

In the meanwhile, let’s keep in touch.

Praying With Your Eyes

Sometimes as you drive around, you simply have to get out of your car and allow the beauty of God's creation stir your imagination and capture your heart  On those occasions, let your eyes prayerfully process the images God has placed before you. Be still! Gaze upon the work of His Hands! Be filled with awe, amazement and gratitude!

Or

Or

As magnficient as these images may be, they are nothing in comparison to He Who awaits your visit:

Our Abandoned, Ignored and Forgotten Lord

Thinking of Your Heavenly Mother Today?

May the following song and reflection from St. Bernard lead to your frutiful contemplation of our Blessed Mother this day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRI5F54kc_g&feature=related

"When in danger, anguish, or in doubt, think about Mary, invoke Mary.  Let Mary always be on your lips, may she never be absent from your heart.  To obtain her help and intercession, always follow the example of her virtues.  You will not go astray, if you follow her.  You will not despair if you call to her.  You will not get lost if you think about her.  If she is holding you by the hand, you will not fall.  If she is protecting you, you have nothing to fear.  You will not grow weary if she is your guide.  You will reach port safely if she is looking after you."

One other suggestion: Don't forget to participate in the worldwide Rosary Crusade this Friday, May 13! http://www.savior.org/wwrc/

"O Mary conceived without sin pray for us who have recourse to thee!"

The Elephant in Our Midst!

More than a century and half ago, St. Peter Eymard made the following observations:

 “Alas, it is but too true: Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is not loved! He is not loved by millions of pagans, by millions of infidels, by the millions of schismatics and heretics who either do not know anything of the Eucharist or have no notions about it. Among so many thousands of creatures in whom God has placed a heart capable of loving, how many would love the Blessed Sacrament if only they knew it as I do! Must I not at least try to love it for them in their stead? Even among Catholics, few, very few love Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament.  How many think of Him frequently, speak of Him, come to adore Him? What is the reason for this forgetfulness and coldness? People have never experienced the Eucharist, its sweetness, the delights of His Love. They have never known the goodness of Jesus! They have no idea of the extent of His love in the Most Blessed Sacrament.  Some of them have faith in Jesus Christ, but a faith so lifeless and superficial that it does not reach the heart, that it contents itself with what is strictly required by conscience for their salvation.  Moreover, these last are but a handful among so many other Catholics who live like moral Pagans as if they had never heard of the Eucharist.”

Things have not improved much since this lover of the Eucharist uttered these words.

When will we stop ignoring the elephant that sits so prominently in our Churches – the rampant disbelief in and lack of reverence for the Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? Polls indicate that fewer and fewer Catholics believe this fundamental and essential truth of their faith. Some polls conclude that as little as 30 percent of Catholics who attend Sunday Mass actually believe that Jesus is really and substantially present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Sacred Eucharist.

This is the greatest crisis confronting our Church today. Yet when was the last time you heard this issue addressed from the pulpit?  

Which topic would you think is more deserving of being the subject of three successive weeks of preaching: the lack of belief in and reverence for the Holy Eucharist or the need to increase weekly collections?

You might be surprised at the choices some Dioceses have made in determining the relative importance of these two matters. For some, more money in the weekly collection baskets rather than an all out effort to catechize and foster reverence and belief in the Eucharistic Christ is the preferred solution to the crisis of unbelief infecting Christ’s Church. What a tragic choice.  

We have permitted this destructive elephant of irreverence and disbelief to feel far too comfortable and welcome in our Churches. Evicting this faith destroying monster from our midst must be priority number one.