Author Archives: Father L
St. Joseph, our guardian
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Joseph. It is a solemnity, the highest rank of feast in the Church.
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St. Bernadine of Siena says, that when God gives a person a certain vocation: to be a husband, or mother, or priest, or a nun, or a father – when God gives a certain vocation, he also gives that person all the graces needed to fulfill the task.
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Now St. Joseph was chosen to be the guardian and protector of the greatest treasures in the universe: Jesus Christ, and the Blessed Virgin – the Savior of the world, and the Queen of the world, and he carried out his vocation with complete fidelity.
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For example: When he heard that Herod would kill the Child Jesus, he flew immediately into action: ‘We must flee the city, he thought – ‘now! During the night’ And in his calm, quiet way, he reassured Mary: ‘It will be ok. You are safe.’
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Working quickly and with hardly a word, he loaded the mule, and made all the preparations in one night, for a journey of over 300 miles. Always prudent and wise, he took a few tools, to support his family in Egypt. Mary put together a bundle of clothes for the Child and she looked to her protector: O Joseph! O Joseph.[i]
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Here is just one hint of the courage of St. Joseph. Joseph is the silent one in scripture. He says not one word. He does not impose himself on anyone, yet to call on him, one will find his immediate, fatherly care to keep us safe and secure.
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St. Joseph protected and guarded the Child of the Blessed Virgin, but we too are the children of Mary. Joseph protects us. When we are afraid, Mary seems to say to us: go to Joseph! When we are sad, and don’t know the way, she says, go to Joseph!
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St. Joseph is not only the Patron of the Universal church, he is also the patron of a happy death. A happy death is not to die without suffering or trial – the great saints suffered much. A happy death is to die in the friendship of God, with our sins forgiven, and St. Joseph is the Patron of a happy death because he died in the arms of Jesus and Mary.
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So when we are anxious or worried, let us go to Joseph, this protector. And if we fear death, let us simply place our concern in the care of St. Joseph and then think nothing more of it.
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[i] Incarnation, Birth, and Infancy of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Liguori, p. 272.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
Friends in Christ,
Today is the Feast of St. Cyril of Jerusalem. St. Cyril was ordained bishop of Jerusalem in 348AD, and he was a great defender of the Faith. Twice he was exiled because of his faithfulness to Christ. Of the 35 years he was a bishop, 16 were spent in exile.
St. Cyril is perhaps best known for his Catechetical Instructions. Shortly after he was ordained a priest, his bishop thought so highly of him, that he put him in charge of teaching the catechumens. These are the people who are preparing for baptism. This is basically what we know today as RCIA. Cyril’s catechetical talks were delivered for several years to these candidates – in those days, one prepared for years to be baptized (if you were an adult).
This series of 19 talks on the faith are the only ones that we still have from that period; they are very valuable because they contain a full exposition of the teaching and ritual of the Church in the middle of the 4th century. His explanations of theology and doctrines is so clear, that he not only addressed challenges to the faith in his day, but anticipated questions that would arise later.
When he was ordained bishop, a remarkable phenomenon happened which made an impression on the entire city. A letter written, tells us what happened: ‘On the 7th of May, about 9 o’clock, a great luminous cross appeared in the sky, just over Golgotha; it was seen not by one or two persons, but by the whole city. It continued for several hours, visible to our eyes and brighter than the sun. The whole city, filled with awe, ran to the church giving praise to Jesus Christ.’
This was a sign which occurred at the beginning of his episcopate. But a more interesting event also occurred during St. Cyril’s life.
The Emperor Julian, who had turned against the Faith – he wished to prove the falsehood of Christ’s words. Jesus had foretold the complete and utter destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, which had come to pass in 70AD; Julian therefore, in order to contradict Christ, ordered that the Temple be rebuilt.
As the vast preparations were being made by the workers to rebuild the temple, Bishop Cyril stood by calmly and predicted that instead of rebuilding, they would actually demonstrate the prophecy of Christ that they would not be able to do it. No sooner did the workman begin, than terrible fireballs bursted forth from the earth at the foundation; fire appeared on all of the workmen’s tools, and images of crosses appeared on their garments. With the onset of earthquakes, the whole project had to be abandoned, just as Cyril had foretold.
In those days, the kingdom of God was growing, and a great light of that period was St. Cyril of Jerusalem.
Showing our Faith
Friends in Christ, we see today in the Gospel, this Royal Official who seeks out the help of Christ to heal his son. This is a man who is very important, in Greek, he is a basilikos, which could even be a petty king. But he is a royal official of great standing for sure.
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Christ Jesus was then known as the son of Joseph the carpenter, and Jesus surely did work that trade. Also, in the scene today, Christ is at Cana, which is nearly 20 miles away from where that royal official lived. So this important official travels 20 miles to beg the help of a poor carpenter in Cana!
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It would have been a scandal to those who saw this – this aristocrat swallowing his pride and humbly seeking such a poor man’s help. But he did not care what others thought; he wanted the help of Christ for his son, and he believe in Jesus.
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There are sometimes today, very well-known, popular and powerful people in this world, who are Catholics, and who nevertheless humble themselves and go to Mass on Sundays, and go to Confession to kneel and confess their sins. There are not many, but there are some such people These people, like this royal official who seeks out Christ who are undeterred by what others might say – this is an inspiration. We should imitate this.
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God has lowered himself from his Infinite Power of heaven to descend to – to unite himself to – our lowly, sweaty, dirty, sinful humanity. If God has done this for us, we must never be embarrassed to let others see our unwavering faith in Jesus Christ.
Holy Purity
4th Sunday of Lent
‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.’
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Beloved in Christ, Our Lord Jesus, has come into the world for one reason: to save us from our sins. This great event we will soon re-live during Holy Week.
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But we are pained in our soul, because even though we see the love of Christ, on that cross – we nevertheless frequently prefer sin. ‘The light came into the world, but men preferred the darkness.’
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The Devil tries to bring us into the darkness in many ways, but one of the ways he deceives many, is by taking away our Holy Purity, and that is our subject for today.
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Many people these days find it difficult to keep a pure mind and heart.
Holy Purity is the greatest gift that a man and woman can give to each other in marriage; without pure, wholesome love, marriage becomes corrupt.
Holy Purity is also the great gift of joy and peace for single people living in the world. Keeping a courtship pure and good, is the difference between a restless, manipulative relationship, and a rewarding friendship.
Living as a single person, or married, or widowed in the freedom of Holy Purity, leads to an inner harmony and contentment of soul – all of this, because of God’s life in us, his holy grace.
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Everyone has weaknesses, temptations to turn from the Light and be drawn into the darkness. For those whose struggles are temptations of the flesh, Holy Purity is the Pearl of Great Price that Jesus describes in the Gospels; it is that prize for which we would sell all that we have to get.
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The Catholic psychologist Dr. Allers was speaking to an 18 year old young woman who was plagued by a habit of sexual sins. Dr. Allers[i] mentioned the saints as a model to help her; the girl said, ‘Doctor, if I were to be a saint, I would want to be a great saint!.’
So he asked her: ‘If you could give up your sexual sins, would you be able to become a great saint?’ She immediately answered, ‘yes!’
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Holy Purity is the Pearl of Great Price – it is worth striving for, and it IS achievable, even in this world, because God never allows us to be tempted beyond our strength.
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The devil tries to take away our purity in 3 cases.
He tries to pollute married love by bringing lust between man and woman.
He tries to corrupt friendship between boys and girls, because he wants to ruin their hearts.
And he also wants to infect the daydreams and thoughts of single people, in order to lead them by the hand into the sewer.
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Dr. Kevin Majeres,[ii] who studies the psychology of addiction says, ‘Purity is always a victory – but if it is a victory, that means it usually follows a battle.’
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But the saints teach us how to win this battle: For St. Benedict, the devil once put into his imagination a woman whom he had seen before; he felt so tempted to sin, that he threw himself into a thorn bush. His bodily wounds cured the wounds of his soul immediately.
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St. Bernard once looking into a girl’s beautiful face, felt such a strong temptation that he ran and plunged into the icy water of a nearby pond – no more temptation!
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Well if we ourselves wish to be victorious when the devil tempts us, we can’t be lazy – we must use some weapons.
3 things we must do. The first, is that we must avoid dangerous situations. A boy and a girl should enjoy each other’s company in public places, with groups of friends, and avoid being alone, until they are married or at least engaged. It is good for the boy or girl to speak to the other and say, ‘I want us to be pure and good, so that our friendship is happy. So let’s be careful.’
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We should block out bad websites with software on our computer or iphone. Avoid bad magazines or songs or bad friends.
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The 2nd thing we must do, is immediately ask God’s help when we feel we are in danger.[iii] This takes practice, we must train ourselves to immediately say: ‘Jesus help me, Mary rescue me.’
Now we don’t pray that the temptation goes away; we pray that we will accept the suffering and endure it for God’s glory.
If we fall, we ask God’s pardon with the plan to go to Confession soon. After all, that’s why Jesus died on the cross, to save us from our sins.
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And the 3rd thing we must do, is to avoid idle time; avoid daydreams, focus our attention on our work and duties. Those who treat addictions tell us that we must keep our mind on the real world, and not slip into the false world of daydreams. This is a strong help for people struggling with impurity or depression.
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We should remember that the Devil is like a coward, a bully. If we stand up to him, he will back down. Even terrible thoughts, are not sins if we resist – they are only temptations, which all the saints had.
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If a person has habitually given into impure sins, he has become an addict. Experts say that in this case, the chemical, Dopamine, in the brain has been stimulated too much, causing the addiction. In this case, the person must pass through a time of enduring more intense cravings, but these eventually fatigue and fall away.[iv] They will weaken, provided we don’t act on them.
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In the first weeks there are symptoms of withdrawal such as sadness, anxiety, or impatience, but this is a sign of progress. Surges in desire can’t last if we don’t act on them. If we weather the storm it will dissipate, and our passions will be reshaped in a healthy way.
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The key to victory is to outlast the temptation: 5 minutes, 10 minutes, an hour – soon it is weakened. The more desperate a desire seems, the closer it is to collapsing.
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We all have temptations. For those who are tempted by sins of the Flesh, Holy Purity is a state of peace; it is the Pearl of Great price, and it is possible for everyone.
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So let us give the Lord many victories over our temptations in these days leading to Easter. And let us never fail to call on the Blessed Virgin in our needs, because Mary will always help us be victorious, and to be beautiful and pure disciples, of Jesus Christ.
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[Entrusted to the prayers of St. John of God.]
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[i] The Psychology of Character, p. 315.
[ii] Some information used in this homily is from his website: Purityispossible.com
[iii] When a strong passion is formed, it is easy for an ‘automated script’ to begin to play, taking a person down the path of impurity, forgetting all of the consequences and even forgetting God. Experts call this ‘tunnel vision,’ and it must be broken off at once by directing our mind to prayer and other concrete activities.
Holy Purity
Latin Mass: 4th Sunday of Lent
Beloved in Jesus Christ,
today St. Paul speaks of the two sons of Abraham allegorically; one represents the person who is in the bondage of sin; the other signifies the one living in the freedom of Christ.
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The struggle between this bondage and freedom comes in many different ways, but one way, which is a struggle for many people, is in the struggle for Holy Purity.
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Holy Purity is the greatest gift that a man and woman can give to each other in marriage; without pure, wholesome love, marriage becomes corrupt.
Holy Purity is also the great gift of joy for single people living in the world. Keeping a courtship pure and good, is the difference between a restless, manipulative relationship, and a rewarding friendship.
Living as a single person, or married, or widowed in the freedom of Holy Purity, leads to an inner harmony and contentment of soul – all this, because of God’s life in us, his holy grace.
.
Everyone has weaknesses; for those whose struggles are temptations of the flesh, Holy Purity is the Pearl of Great Price that Jesus describes in the Gospels; it is that prize for which we would sell all that we have to get.
.
The Catholic psychologist Dr. Allers was speaking to an 18 year old young woman, who was plagued by a habit of sexual sins. Dr. Allers[i] mentioned the saints as a model to help her; the girl said, ‘if I were to be a saint, I would want to be a great saint!.’ So he asked her: ‘If you could give up your sexual sins, would you be able to become a great saint?’ She immediately answered, ‘yes!’
.
Holy Purity is the Pearl of Great Price – it is worth striving for, and it IS achievable, even in this world.
.
The devil tries to take away our purity in 3 cases. He tries to pollute married love by bringing lust between man and woman.
He tries to corrupt friendship between boys and girls, because he wants to ruin their hearts.
And he also wants to infect the daydreams and thoughts of single people, in order to lead them by the hand into the sewer.
.
Dr. Kevin Majeres,[ii] who studies the psychology of addiction says, ‘Purity is always a victory – but if it is a victory, that means it usually follows a battle.’
.
But the saints teach us how to win this battle: For St. Benedict, the devil once put in his imagination a woman whom he had seen before; he felt so tempted to sin, that he threw himself into a thorn bush. His bodily wounds cured the wounds of his soul immediately.
.
St. Bernard, once looking into a girl’s beautiful face, felt such a strong temptation that he ran and plunged into the icy water of a nearby pond.
.
Well if we ourselves wish to be victorious when the devil tempts us, we can’t be lazy – we must use some weapons.
.
3 things we must do.
The first, is that we must avoid dangerous situations. A boy and a girl should enjoy each other’s company in public places, with groups of friends, and avoid being alone, until they are married or at least engaged. It is good for the boy or girl to speak to the other and say, ‘I want us to be pure and good, so that our friendship is happy. So let’s be careful.’
.
We should block out bad websites with software on our computer or iphone. Avoid bad magazines or songs or bad friends.
.
The 2nd thing we must do, is immediately ask God’s help when we feel we are in danger.[iii] This takes practice, we must train ourselves to immediately say: ‘Jesus help me, Mary rescue me.’
Now we don’t pray that the temptation goes away; we pray that we will accept the suffering and endure it for God’s glory.
If we fall, we ask God’s pardon with the plan to go to Confession. After all, that’s why Jesus died on the cross, to save us from our sins.
.
And the 3rd thing we must do, is to avoid idle time; avoid daydreams, focus our attention on our work and duties. Those who treat addictions tell us that we must keep our mind on the real world, and not slip into the false world of daydreams. This is a strong help for people struggling with impurity or depression.
.
We should remember that the Devil is like a coward, a bully. If we stand up to him, he will back down. Even terrible thoughts, are not sins if we resist – they are only temptations – which all the saints had.
.
If a person has habitually given into impure sins, he has become an addict. Experts say that in this case, the chemical, Dopamine, in the brain has been stimulated too much, causing the addiction. In this case, the person must pass through a time of enduring more intense cravings, but these eventually fatigue and fall away.[iv] They will weaken, provided we don’t act on them.
.
In the first weeks there are symptoms of withdrawal such as sadness, anxiety, or impatience, but this is a sign of progress. Surges in desire can’t last if we don’t act on them. If we weather the storm it will dissipate, and our passions will be reshaped in a healthy way.
.
The key to victory is to outlast the temptation: 5 minutes, 10 minutes, an hour – soon it is weakened. The more desperate a desire seems, the closer it is to collapsing.
.
Holy Purity is a state of peace; it is the Pearl of Great price, and it is possible for everyone.
.
So let us give the Lord many victories over our temptations in these days leading to Easter. And let us never fail to call on the Blessed Virgin in our needs, because Mary will always help us be victorious, and to be beautiful and pure disciples, of Jesus Christ.
.
[Entrusted to the prayers of St. John of God]
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[i] The Psychology of Character, p. 315.
[ii] Some information used in this homily is from his website: Purityispossible.com
[iii] When a strong passion is formed, it is easy for an ‘automated script’ to begin to play, taking a person down the path of impurity, forgetting all of the consequences and even forgetting God. Experts call this ‘tunnel vision,’ and it must be broken off at once by directing our mind to prayer and other concrete activities.
