THE WAY OF PURIFICATION AFTER CONVERSION... Frequent Communion
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Posted:Aug 24, 2007 2:46 am
Last Updated:Aug 24, 2007 2:47 am 2351 Views
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THE WAY OF PURIFICATION
AFTER CONVERSION
CHAPTER 36
Frequent Communion
CHRIST,
MY , you should come often to Me, the Giver of grace and divine mercy, the Fountain of all goodness and holiness. In this passions, faults, and defects. In Holy Communion I will make you wiser and stronger against the temptations and deceits of the devil.
2. When I come to You in this Holy Sacrament, I offer you interior light and strength. These gifts are known only to my faithful ones. They are not enjoyed by unbelievers, nor by those who love sin. In this Sacrament, the soul receives the grace to regain lost virtues and the beauty which was lost by sin.
3. The blind desires of man tend to evil from his youth. Unless this divine Medicine assists him, he will quickly slip from bad to worse. Holy Communion withdraws you from what is evil and strengthens you in what is good. You need Me. Make full use of the wisdom and strength which I offer you in Holy Communion.
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My
Daily
Bread
CONFRATERNETY
OF THE
PRECIOUS
BLOOD
Book 1 ‒ The Way of Purification
Part 2 ‒ After Conversion
Page 69-71
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The Rich Young Man... reflect
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Posted:Aug 19, 2007 8:56 pm
Last Updated:Aug 19, 2007 8:57 pm 2398 Views
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Matthew 19:16-22... The Rich Young Man... Reflect…
In today’s gospel reading presents a young man who is prevented from following Jesus because of his excessive attachment to money. Perhaps nowadays, a rough equivalent of that young man is the person whose career has become an idol. Author Doug Sherman and William Hendricks explain how this can come about in their book Keeping Your Ethical Edge Sharp:
“When you think of an idol,” they write, “you probably think of a native in a foreign land bowing before a statue. But sociologists define an idol as anything that (1) defines a person’s worth, (2) is the controlling center of a person’s life, and (3) is the last in a series of priorities to be abandoned. The career is sacred today: This is true even for many who claim that their real god is God. For many Christians, Jesus Christ is simply the caboose on a train driven by career success. He is certainly in their life, but not the controlling center of it” (p. 13).
For some other people, their idol will not be their career but something else. It doesn’t really matter what it is. As long as something prevents us from following Jesus with our whole heart and soul, it is an idol and it must be ruthlessly discarded. Christ must be the center of our lives. If he is not that presently, let us ask him to shake us out of our idolatry–by any means he judges necessary. He alone must be our God. Nothing else will ever satisfy our hearts.
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365 Days with the Lord
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Matthew 19:16-22... The Rich Young Man
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Posted:Aug 19, 2007 8:51 pm
Last Updated:Apr 28, 2024 2:0 pm 2372 Views
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Matthew 19:16-22
The Rich Young Man
Someone approach Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “’You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother’ and ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
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365 Days with the Lord
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Jesus: A Cause of Division... Reflect
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Posted:Aug 18, 2007 10:29 pm
Last Updated:Aug 18, 2007 10:30 pm 2390 Views
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Jesus: A Cause of Division... Reflect…
Scott and Kimberly Hahn are an American couple who converted to the Catholic Church and who in 1993 published a moving account of their spiritual odyssey in a book entitled Rome Sweet Home. Our Journey to Catholicism. Before converting , they were both active in the ministry as Evangelicals, which means that both of them had taken academic degrees in theology and were very committed Christians. By slow degrees, they began to question the foundations of the Protestant creed. Scott was the first to convert to Catholicism, with Kimberly following suit some time afterwards. And during that interval when the husband was a Catholic, they suffered tremendously from their division. In this connection, here are few sentences borrowed from their book. Scott is the one speaking here:
“Close friends became distant, Family members grew silent and turned away… I was made to feel like a leper… Meanwhile Limberly and I were sailing through even rougher waters. Days and weeks would pass without us sharing anything spiritual together. She was anything but eager to hear from me about the benefits of daily Mass and meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary. As my spiritual life surged forward, my marriage tumbled backward. What made it especially painful was our having shared such time of ministering together in the recent past. I found myself wondering. Will it ever be the way it was? Will our marriage ever survive this period of trial and agony?… Most attempts to deal forthrightly with our differences would end in grief and frustration” (pp. 97-99, passim).
Fortunately for these two, Scott’s wife eventually converted also after that, their unity as a couple was even deeper than before. However, we can see from their personal testimony that for a while their respective religious options divided them sharply. As for their Evangelicals friends, most of them broke away from them permanently.
Now, the Hahns and their friends were all Christians, deeply committed to Christians, yet their different ways of following Christ divided them. What kind of division , then, occur when a person marries someone of a completely different faith (for instance, a Muslim, or a Hindu or a Buddhist)?
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is referring to precisely such contingency with perfect honesty and realism, when he sadly predicts what his message and his person will inevitably produce, among other things, division between relatives and friends. In a Semitic shortcut which blurs the difference between purpose and unwanted consequence, he tells us:
“Do you think that I have come to establish peace… but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three, a father will be divided against his and a against his father, a mother against her and a against her mother, a mother-in-law against her -in-law, and a -in-law against her mother-in-law.”
Such division about religious differences are extremely regrettable, something we should all deeply deplore. However, they do have bright side. They show that some people are deadly serious about commitment to God and to what they believe to be the truth. Such people are ready to sacrifice any relationship, if necessary, so as to remain faithful to God. While regretting relationship breakups because of religious differences, we cannot help but admire and support those courageous souls who are prepared to sacrifice everything to God, including their own lives and even their greatest loves. Incidentally, Christ expects such dedication from every one of his disciples. For on one occasions he did make that abundantly clear when he said: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves or more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37 ).
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365 Days with the Lord
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Luke 12:49-53... Jesus a Cause of Division
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Posted:Aug 18, 2007 10:25 pm
Last Updated:Apr 28, 2024 2:0 pm 2368 Views
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Luke 12:49-53
Jesus a Cause of Division
[Jesus said to his disciples,] “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three, a father will be divided against his and a against his father, a mother against her and a against her mother, a mother-in-law against her -in-law, and a -in-law against her mother-in-law.
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365 Days with the Lord
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Blessing of the ... reflect
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Posted:Aug 17, 2007 6:50 pm
Last Updated:Aug 17, 2007 6:51 pm 2373 Views
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Matthew 19:13-15
Blessing of the ... Reflect
In today’s gospel reading, we see the disciples trying to protect Jesus from the mothers who want him to bless their . The disciples probably see that Jesus is tired and need a rest. They mean well in trying to secure Jesus’ peace of mind. But they do not understand that it is not a bother for him to they seem to be naturally attracted to him.
The attitude of the mothers is not explained here, but it easy to guess what is going on their mind. They have seen Jesus perform so many marvels with his hands, so many wonderful healings, so many astonishing exorcisms. Surely, they reason, those hands of his are full of God’s power and of God’s goodness. To have those hands rest a moment on the head of their little ones can only result in blessing of all kinds.
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365 Days with the Lord
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Matthew 19:13-15...Blessing of the
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Posted:Aug 17, 2007 6:43 pm
Last Updated:Aug 17, 2007 6:45 pm 2383 Views
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Matthew 19:13-15
Blessing of the
were brought to [Jesus] that the might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, “Let the come tome, and do not prevent them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” After he placed his hands on them, he went away.
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365 Days with the Lord
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Marriage and Divorce... Reflect
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Posted:Aug 16, 2007 10:35 pm
Last Updated:Aug 17, 2007 6:36 pm 3824 Views
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Marriage and Divorce... Reflect…
In today gospel reading, we hear Jesus rejecting divorce in no uncertain terms. But mere condemnation of divorce is not a cure for shaky marriages. One must know how to strengthen one’s marriage so that a breakup never threatens.
A marriage is like a house; it needs regular maintenance. That requires a lot of work, but it is well worth it. A good marriage is more beautiful than any royal place.
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365 Days with the Lord
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Matthew 19:3-12... Marriage and Divorce
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Posted:Aug 16, 2007 10:30 pm
Last Updated:Aug 18, 2007 12:16 am 3124 Views
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Matthew 19:3-12
Marriage and Divorce
Some Pharisees approach [Jesus], and tested him, saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?” He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator “made them male and female’ and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” They said to him, “Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss [her]?” He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.” [His] disciples said to him, “If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” He answered, “Not all can accept [this] word, but only those to whom that is granted. Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made by so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it.”
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365 Days with the Lord
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The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant... reflect
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Posted:Aug 16, 2007 7:40 pm
Last Updated:Aug 16, 2007 7:45 pm 2426 Views
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The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant... Reflect…
Today’s Gospel reading speaks of the need to forgive. In the mind of Jesus, it must be part of a Christian’s nature to forgive, however difficult it might be. Forgiveness is an essential condition to be Christian.
On this topic of forgiveness, the great 18th ‒century French spiritual master Jean-Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751 ) writes the following advice to a contemplative nun:
First he says, “pray constantly for the person who has offended you. Second, keep completely silent, speaking of it to no one in order to lighten your grief. Third, do not voluntarily think of it, but direct your mind to blessed and useful thoughts. Fourth, keep watch over your hearth, lest it surrender it self even in the slightest to bitterness, vexation, murmuring and voluntary rebelliousness. Fifth, cost what it may, seek to speak well of this person, to be favorably disposed towards her, and to behave towards her as tough nothing has happened. I realize, however, that it would be difficult for you to have the trust in her that you once had–at least. Sixth, but at least never fail to help her at every opportunity, and to wish her every possible good” (Self-Abandonment to Divine Providence, p. 367 ).
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365 Days with the Lord
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