Ave Maria!

An ingenious video contest organized by the dioceses of NYC, Brooklyn and Rockville Center to promote confession among youth is offering a first prize of a $25,000 scholarship plus another $25,000 to the Catholic School or Parish of the winner’s choice. The author of the above very well done video has offered to send a portion of the award to the friars. Very generous indeed. But, he is up against some stiff competition at the iConfess YouTube Channel with over 90 submissions! So much very good work. Truly a smash success for the entire program. But please do give this video a view and go to Youtube and vote for him. You never know.

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How Beautiful (song lyrics)

How beautiful the hands that served
the Wine and the Bread
and the sons of the earth.
How beautiful the feet that walked
the long dusty roads
and the hills to the Cross.

How beautiful…
how beautiful…
How beautiful is the Body of Christ.

How beautiful the Heart that bled,
that took all my sin
and bore it instead.
How beautiful the tender eyes
that chose to forgive
and never despise.
How beautiful…
how beautiful…
How beautiful is the Body of Christ.

And as He laid down His life
we offer this sacrifice,
that we will live just as he died:
willing to pay the price
willing to pay the price.

How beautiful the radiant bride
who waits for her Groom
with His light in her eyes.
How beautiful when humble hearts give
the fruit of pure lives
so that others may live.

How beautiful…
how beautiful…
How beautiful is the Body of Christ.

How beautiful the feet that bring
the sound of good news
and the love of the King.
How beautiful the hands that serve
the Wine and the Bread
and the sons of the earth.

How beautiful…
how beautiful…
How beautiful is the Body of Christ.

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Let us be renewed so that we may thus attend the new feast of the new Lamb, for today we shall not be feasting on the flesh and blood of brute animals as the Jews did, but on God himself, on our Lord Jesus Christ who was sacrificed as our Passover. He is our new, completely sufficient, and rich banquet.

This banquet is new because of its nature; it is free from the staleness of sin, which is shown because it imparts its own newness to us if we eat it worthily. It is completely sufficient because Christ was sacrificed as the one true victim offered once for all in place of the many prefigurative and inadequate victims offered over and over in accordance with the Law. For although Christ is sacramentally offered, sacrificed, and broken daily on many altars, he was in fact sacrificed only once as the one true victim, for Christ, having risen from the dead, dies no more. And whereas the many sacrifices of the Jews – their sacrifices for sin, their peace offerings, their votive offerings, their victims – were insufficient, Christ is a sufficient sacrifice for everything and for everyone: to atone for sins, restore peace between God and humankind, win a hearing for human prayers, and overcome enemies.

Finally, this banquet is a rich one because our Lord Jesus Christ is, as it were, “fat” with the fullness of grace, charity, and mercy. He is the fatted calf which the father ordered to be slain when his son returned from the land of unlikeness. So now that we have been invited to this new, bountiful, and rich banquet, let us be careful to do as the wise man says: If you sit at a lavish table, know that you must prepare a sim­ilar one. Since we have been invited to the table of Christ, let us prepare a similar one for him: let us love him as he has loved us, humble ourselves for him as he humbled himself for us, and be ready to die for him as he died for us.

Ralph the Fervent  (+1101) was a priest in the diocese of Poitiers, France.

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Our heart is an altar. The victim placed on this altar is our evil inclinations. The sword destined to slay this victim is the spirit of sacrifice and immolation. The sacred fire, which must burn night and day on the altar of our heart, is the love of Jesus Christ. The fruitful, invigorating breath that inspires and nourishes this sacred ~ is the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is a sacrament of the living. As a sacrament of the living, it bestows supernatural life and sanctifying grace. Apart from this property, which it shares with the other sacraments, the Eucharist has a special virtue of its own, expressed in the words of Christ: “My flesh is real food; and my blood is real drink” – words that the Council of Trent explains thus: “All the effects that food produces materially in our bodies, the Eucharist produces spiritually in ou­r souls.”

Thus, food strengthens our bodies and, up to a given age, makes them grow; the Eucharist gives strength against temptations, and makes the soul grow in virtue and justice. The richer the material food, the more discriminating the palate and the sense of taste, the delicious it is; the purer the heart, and the better prepared the soul, the sweeter the Eucharist. It is through the Eucharist that the God of glory inaugurates His bliss in the midst of our misery; it is the source of all devotion, of all greatness, and of all holiness.

The Eucharist has a double foundation. It is, first of all, one of the seven sacraments of the New Law, in which Jesus Christ, present under the species of bread and wine, is offered for our ado­ration and offers Himself as food. It is, in addition, a sacrifice, in which the spotless Lamb renews the memory of His Passion and death and is truly immolated.

Fr. Charles Arminjon  (The End of the Present World)

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 A meditation from St. Peter Julian Eymard

Jesus loved .. Mary. (Jn.11:5)

SAINT MARY MAGDALEN was the privileged friend of Jesus. She served Him with her wealth and accompanied Him everywhere. She honored His humanity magnificently with her gifts. She loved to pray at His feet in the silence of contempla­tion. For all these reasons she is the patroness and model of a life spent in the adoration and service of Jesus in the Sacrament of His love. Let us study Saint Mary Magdalen; her life is full of the very best lessons.

JESUS loved Martha, her sister Mary, and Lazarus; but especially Mary. Certainly He loved the three of them, but He loved Magdalen with preferential love. Although our Lord loves us all, He nevertheless has His favorite friends, and He allows us also have special friends in God. Friends are a natural and even supernatural need. All the saints had bosom friends, and they themselves were the most affectionate and devoted of friends.

Before her conversion Magdalen was a public sinner. She possessed all the qualities of mind and body and all the gifts of fortune that can lead one to the worst excesses. And she fell into them. The Gospel lowers her to the rank of a public sinner. She was so degraded that Simon the Pharisee felt disgraced when she entered his home. And he even doubted the prophetic power of Jesus because the Master allowed her to remain at His feet.

But after having been forgiven, this poor sinful woman was to take her place among the greatest saints. See her at work. Human respect is, more than anything else, what holds back great sinners and prevents them from being converted. “I will not be able to persevere,” they say. “I dare not start what I cannot finish.” And disheartened, they go no further.

But Magdalen learned that Jesus was in Simon’s house. She did not hesitate, but went straight to Jesus and made her confession in public. She dared enter a house from which she would heave been shamefully expelled had she been recognized at the door. While at the feet of Jesus, she said not a word; her love spoke audibly enough.  Artists have painted her with disheveled hair and disorderly dress; that is all imagination; it would not have been worthy either of Jesus or of her contrition.

She went straight to Jesus without mistaking anyone else for Him. But where had she known Him? Ah! An ailing heart knows well where to find the One that will comfort and cure it!  Mary dared not look upon Jesus. She said nothing: true contrition acts that way. Look at the Prodigal Son and at the Publican. The sinner who looks God full in the face after having offended Him insults Him. But Mary wept: she “washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head.” Her place is at the feet of Jesus. These feet trod the earth, and she knew she was but the dust of a corpse. The world is extremely fond of beautiful hair; she used hers as a rag.

She remained prostrate on the ground, awaiting her sentence. She heard the remarks made by the envious Apostles and Jews who honored only triumphant and crowned virtue. They did not like Magdalen who was teaching everyone of them a lesson; for everyone of them had sinned, but not one had the courage to ask pardon publicly. Simon himself, bloated with pride and hypocrisy, grew indignant. But Jesus avenged Magdalen. What beautiful words of re­habilitation: “More has been forgiven her because she has loved more …. Thy faith hath made thee safe,” said the Savior to her. “Go in peace.” He did not add: “Sin no more.” Jesus had said this to the adulteress, who was more humiliated for having been caught in the act than repentant for having offended God. But Magdalen had no need of that advice; her love assured Jesus’ of her firm purpose of amendment. What a beautiful and touching absolution! Magdalen must have had a very perfect contrition! When you go to confes­sion, unite yourself to Magdalen and let your con­trition, like hers, proceed more from love than from fear.

Magdalen withdrew after having received this baptism of love. By her humility she became more perfect than the Apostles. Ah! Despise sinners now if you dare! One moment is enough to turn them into great saints. How many among the greatest has not Jesus Christ drawn from the mire of sin: Saint Paul, Saint Augustine, and many others! Magdalen opens the way for them; she ascended to the very Heart of God because she started very low and knew how to humble herself. Who then has a right to despair?

MAGDALEN’S love became active after her conversion. That is an important lesson. Many converted sinners do nothing else beyond being converted. They want to remain in the peace of a good conscience through fidelity to the Commandments. They dare not follow Jesus, and they end by relapsing into sin. Man cannot live on tears and regrets. You have destroyed the ob­jects to which your heart was so attached and of which you lived; you must substitute something else and live of the life of God.

You want to re­main at the feet of Jesus? He rises to go; follow Him and walk with Him. And so Magdalen be­gan to follow Jesus; she was never to leave Him. We find her again at His feet, listening to His words and pondering them in her heart. That was the grace of her life. She had no language other than meditation, prayer, and love. She followed Jesus and practiced the virtues proper to His vary­ing conditions of life. A conversion that does not go beyond sentiment is not lasting.

Mary shared the different states of Jesus. During His journeys she procured for Him what He required for His own subsistence and that of His Apostles. Jesus was frequently to come to the home of His hosts in Bethany; by way of exchange’ He gave them a food of grace and love. On each occasion Mary sat at His feet and remained there in prayer. Martha became envious of her once, as do all those who think there is only one good state of life, one good way of living. Every state of life is good. The one you have is good; persevere in it, but do not despise the others. When Martha waited on Jesus, she was doing something good; but she was wrong in being envious of her sister. You know how Jesus answered her and defended Magdalen. It is better to listen to His voice than to wait on Him. It still happens that people en­gaged in active callings complain of contemplative souls: “You are useless! Come along and work for the salvation of your brethren in charitable’ undertakings.” But Jesus defends them. Must not one also practice charity towards Jesus Christ, Who is so poor and abandoned in His sacrament? Magdalen heard that dialogue and her sister’s complaints; but she did not answer them. She was at the Savior’s feet, and she remained there.

Another characteristic trait of Magdalen’s active love is suffering; she suffered with Jesus Christ. No doubt she knew beforehand of her Master’s death; friends have no secrets for each other. And if Jesus revealed His Passion to His Apostles who were so rude, why would He have concealed it from Magdalen?

See Magdalen in her suffering love. She went where men were afraid to go; she ascended Cal­vary; she forsook her dearly loved family; she fol­lowed the suffering Lord to the very end. And we find her with Mary at the foot of the Cross. The Gospel mentions her by name, and she cer­tainly deserves it. What was she doing there? She loved and sympathized. A friend wants to share the condition of his friend. Love fuses two lives, two existences into one Magdalen did not stand; she remembered she had been a sinner, and she remained on her knees. Mary alone stood, im­molating her dearly beloved Son, her Isaac.

Magdalen stayed there until after the death of Jesus. She returned on the morning of the first day of the week. She knew very well that Jesus was buried; but she wanted still to suffer and to weep. The Gospel praises the zeal of the other women and the magnificence of their gifts; it speaks only of the tears of Magdalen. She is the Christian heroine. More than all the saints Mag­dalen shows us the immensity of divine mercy.

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St. Leopoldo is known as an Apostle of the Confessional and also as an Apostle of Unity.  Feast Day is July 30th.

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Confession and the holy fear of God 

When we go to the Sacrament of Penance it will help us very much if we foster the holy fear of God in our souls. To receive the sacrament, attrition (a supernatural but imperfect sorrow, arising from fear of punishment, or ­revulsion from the ugliness of the sin … ) is sufficient. But we will receive much more grace if we impel our soul to a sense of filial fear for having offended an Almighty God who is also Our Father. It will be much easier to pass from this filial attitude to one of genuine contrition, a repentance springing from love, to an attitude of sorrow based on love. Then confession becomes an immense source of grace, a place where love grows constantly stronger. 

Interior life grows in sensitivity and depth if we keep continually before us those truths that reveal to us the foundations of this gift of the Holy Spirit: God’s holiness and our wretchedness, our daily failures, the absolute dependence of the creature on his Creator, the enormity of a single venial sin in the sight of the divine holiness, the ingratitude implied by our lack of generosity in living up to the demands of our vocation . We shall understand better the mystery of sin if above all we develop the habit of considering frequently the Passion of Our Lord. We shall learn to love, and thereby dread committing a single venial sin. When we contemplate the suffering that Christ endured for our sins, the countless sins of all the world, our hope will be strengthened and our contrition intensified, and we shall have a firmer resolve to avoid every deliberate fault.  

The holy fear of God joined to love gives a special strength to the Christian’s life. With it, nothing can make him tremble, for nothing can then separate him from the love of God.The soul is consolidated in the virtue of hope and set free from a false and careless security by maintaining a watchful love against the treacherous lures of temptation.  

Let us ask our Mother Mary, the Refuge of Sinners, to make us understand just how much we lose every time we step aside from the path that leads to her son Jesus, even if our faults are only slight ones.  

Fr. Francis Fernandez

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PRAYER FOR THE SPREAD OF EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

Heavenly Father, increase our faith in the Real Presence of Your Son, Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.  We are obliged to adore Him, to give Him thanks and to make reparation for sins. We need Your peace in our hearts and among nations. We need conversion from our sins and the mercy of Your forgiveness. May we obtain this through prayer and our union with the Eucharistic Lord. Please send down the Holy Spirit upon all peoples to give them love, courage, strength and willingness to respond to the invitation to Eucharistic Adoration. We beseech You to spread exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament in parishes around the world. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.  Amen

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Ave Maria Meditations

John is the voice, but the Lord is the Word who was in the beginning. John is the voice that lasts for a time; from the beginning Christ is the Word who lives forever. Take away the word, the meaning, and what is the voice? Where there is no understanding, there is only a meaningless sound. The voice without the word strikes the ear but does not build up the heart.

However, let us observe what happens when we first seek to build up our hearts. When I think about what I am going to say, the word or message is already in my heart. When I want to speak to you, I look for a way to share with your heart what is already in mine. In my search for a way to let this message reach you, so that the word already in my heart may find place also in yours, I use my voice to speak to you. The sound of my voice brings the meaning of the word to you and then passes away. The word which the sound has brought to you is now in your heart, and yet it is still also in mine.

When the word has been conveyed to you, does not the sound seem to say: The word ought to grow, and I should diminish? The sound of the voice has made itself heard in the service of the word, and has gone away, as though it were saying: My joy is complete. Let us hold on to the word; we must not lose the word conceived inwardly in our hearts.

Do you need proof that the voice passes away but the divine Word remains? Where is John’s baptism today? It served its purpose, and it went away. Now it is Christ’s baptism that we celebrate. It is in Christ that we all believe; we hope for salvation in him. This is the message the voice cried out.

Because it is hard to distinguish word from voice, even John himself was thought to be the Christ. The voice was thought to be the word. But the voice acknowledged what it was, anxious not to give offence to the word. I am not the Christ, he said, nor Elijah, nor the prophet. And the question came: Who are you, then? He replied: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord. The voice of one crying in the wilderness is the voice of one breaking the silence. Prepare the way for the Lord, he says, as though he were saying: “I speak out in order to lead him into your hearts, but he does not choose to come where I lead him unless you prepare the way for him.”

What does prepare the way mean, if not “pray well” What does prepare the way mean, if not “be humble in your thoughts” We should take our lesson from John the Baptist. He is thought to be the Christ; he declares he is not what they think. He does not take advantage of their mistake to further his own glory.

If he had said, “I am the Christ,” you can imagine how readily he would have been believed, since they believed he was the Christ even before he spoke. But he did not say it; he acknowledged what he was. He pointed out clearly who he was; he humbled himself. He saw where his salvation lay. He understood that he was a lamp, and his fear was that it might be blown out by the wind of pride.

St. Augustine

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Almighty and ever-living God, I approach the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son Our Lord Jesus Christ, I come sick to the doctor of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the radiance of eternal light, and poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth.

Lord, in your great generosity, heal my sickness, wash away my defilement, enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I receive the bread of angels, the King of kings and Lord of lords, with humble reverence, with the purity and faith, the repentance and love, and the determined purpose that will help to bring me to salvation. May I receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Body and Blood, and its reality and power.

Kind God, may I receive the Body of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born from the womb of the Virgin Mary, and so be received into His mystical body and numbered among His members.

Loving Father, as on my earthly pilgrimage I now receive Your beloved Son under the veil of a sacrament, may I one day see him face to face in glory, who lives and reigns with You forever.  Amen.

– Saint Thomas Aquinas

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