Category Archives: Weekdays

Friends in Christ, today Our Lord gives his clear teaching on the sanctity of Holy Matrimony. ‘He who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery’

Many in the world consider marriage to be a throw-away convenience. But Mother Church has always praised this vocation of marriage. In his book, Introduction to the Devout Life, St. Francis de Sales has advice about marriage: He calls marriage the ‘nursery of Christianity’ because it peoples the earth with faithful souls who will become the elect of heaven.

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Writing in the year 1609, he says that the protection of marriage is of the highest importance to society, because married life is the foundation & source of society itself. (These words are applicable today, 400 years since he wrote that.) He says that he wishes Jesus and Mary would be invited to every marriage as they were at the wedding at Cana, but too many times Adonis and Venus are invited! Too many marriages begin without God.

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If instead of worldly love, God would be the love that binds marriage, it would really be an indissoluble union. When two pieces of wood are joined together with glue, it is easier to break them, than to separate them. But Christ unites husband and wife not with glue, but with his own blood.

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Regarding husbands, he says they should follow the example of St. Louis, who was so austere with himself, denying himself all sorts of comforts, yet he was often accused of being too lavish with the love and affection he showed to his wife.

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St. Francis goes on to give advice to wives: The woman should guard her good reputation jealously, he says. Fear anything which might soil your reputation. Be suspicious of anyone who praises your beauty or charm, because those who praise what is not for sale, are usually tempted to steal it. If anyone criticizes your husband do not stand for it. St. Francis does not have a problem with women wearing earrings; after all, he says Isaac sent earrings to Rebecca. He thinks that earrings are a mystical sign of a husbands love. They signify that her ears are her husband’s possession, and that they are carefully guarded from anything except pure words; just as poison of the body enters through the mouth, poison to the soul enters through the ears.

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Man and woman today must protect their marriage from the secret traps of so many enemies. And if they do, Holy Matrimony is a beautiful vocation on earth.

Friends in Christ, in the first reading from St. James, there is a warning to the greedy: ‘Come now you rich, you have stored up treasures, you withheld wages from the workers, but their cries have reached the Lord of Hosts.’

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We see here the evil of greed in the heart; the one who has this sin, so obsessed with posessions  his own wealth, refuses to pay his workers a fair wage. There is a direct connection between the 10th commandment and the 7th. ‘Thou shall not covet’ warns us, because if we covet, then we need to hear ‘Thou shall not steal.’

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There are many ways that we steal; sometimes outright: a child taking money from the mother’s purse, or a person shoplifting, switching tags on merchandise. Many today are not afraid of going against God, they think only of what they can get away with, and if that means stealing, they do it. They think God does not see.

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If a person cheats on his taxes, (Rom 13:7) or a student cheats on a test, he is guilty of theft – theft from the government and theft from his neighbor. To waste time on company hours is stealing from our employer, and it is also theft to refuse to pay back our debts. St. Paul says, ‘Do not be deceived: thieves will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.’ (1 Cor 6:10) And this is echoed by the psalmist today, who says that such people will not see the Light, and will end in the ‘nether world.’

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This sin CAN be forgiven by God – we must repent and confess our sin; but something more is then needed. We must make restitution – return what was taken. If a person stole something and is not able to return it to the owner, then he should give the money or its equivalent to charity. He may not keep it.  Also, if we find something that has been lost, (Lev 6:2) before we keep it, we must try to find the rightful owner. and of course we also may not buy goods that we suspect are stolen.

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In parts of Europe, whole families are thieves, and work together to pick pocket people on the trains and buses. Around here I know a father and daughter team who go around town robbing. A person who teaches a child to steal, according to Jesus, is in big trouble. Our Lord today warns against leading innocent people into sin; he says it would better for them if a huge stone were tied to their neck and they were thrown into the sea! It is a big sin to lead others into evil.

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When does theft become a mortal sin? In two cases: If the thing taken is of significant value, or, if when taking it, it causes sadness or hardship for the other person. Taking someone’s writing-pen normally would not be a mortal sin; but if it was the treasured pen of a grandfather, it could be a serious sin.

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Let us therefore fight against our greed and covetousness, and especially teach young people never to be cheaters or thieves.

Friends in Christ, today in the Epistle of St. James we read: ‘for those who know the right thing to do, and do not do it – it is a sin.’

Here, the Holy Scriptures refer to what we call ‘sins of omission.’ In the Confiteor at Mass, we say: I confess to Almighty God, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do. ‘What I failed to do’ – these are the sins of omission.

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If a person feels that they are living a good life and can’t think of any sins they might have, this is the place to look: sins of omission. These are sins we commit, not by doing some sinful action, but by failing to act. All things being equal, a sin of omission is usually less serious than a sin of action. So when the cashier wrongly gives you a $5 discount, and you keep quiet, this is a sin. It is not as bad as intentionally stealing $5, but it is a sin.

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Parents commit serious sins of omission in not bringing their child to mass, or by not teaching them their religion. Lies can be told by what is NOT said. Aging parents can be neglected by what one fails to do, and we can sin by being silent when the True Faith must be defended or explained.

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Sometimes we feel prompted to do or say something, and we hesitate, we are afraid, and this leads to a restless conscience. If we pay attention to our conscience, we will start to notice the guilt from things we should have done. Our conscience will be peaceful however, if we always act so as to have no regrets over what we failed to do.

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There’s actually a poem called, THE SIN OF OMISSION (by Margaret Sangster)

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It isn’t the thing you do dear,

It’s the thing you leave undone

That gives you a bit of heartache

At the setting of the sun.    

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The tender word forgotten,

The letter you did not write,

The flowers you did not send, dear,

Are your haunting ghosts at night.

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The stone you might have lifted

Out of a brother’s way;

The bit of heartfelt counsel

You were too hurried to say;

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life is all to short, dear,

And sorrow all too great,

To suffer our slow compassion

That waits ‘till it’s too late.

Friends in Christ, a book that I like to read every few years is called ‘Spiritual Combat.’ If we ourselves are reflecting much on our lives, we know that we each have some sort of spiritual combat going on. Everyone has some ‘Achilles heel’ that presses us, or tempts us.

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Whether it is anger, or lust, or greed, or gossip, or – whatever – it is that ‘thing’ that, if we fail in it, we feel defeated or sad or disgusted with ourselves. Often our particular problem is a passion, and St. James refers to this today in his Epistle: ‘Where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?’

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Passions are different for each person, usually depending on one’s temperament. For the Choleric, anger is usually his challenge. For the Phlegmatic, sensuality, food, lust can be his challenge. Whatever the passion, we must fight, and this is the spiritual combat of our lives.

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St. James gives us a plan for this combat: When a passion arises, call on God in an act of humility, and then turn your attention to something else; in this way we defeat the devil’s temptations. ‘Submit yourselves to God,’ he says. ‘Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.’

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Acknowledging our dependence on God’s help, admitting that we are sinners in need; this brings the Lord’s power to us, that we can conquer any enemy. ‘Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.’ So, if resentment starts to build in our mind, or lust is making it’s way into our heart, pray, fix your mind on something else, get busy, and in this way you will defeat the devil. But it takes humility to admit that we need the Lord.

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Francisca del Valle says, (p. 69-72) in Satan’s battle against us, God often seems to remain silent; he allows the Enemy to attack, even prepares the way for it. As if hiding, God allows us to directly confront the Enemy, especially in our passions; but if we call out for assistance, we find God’s power secretly within, and then when Satan is crushed and defeated in humiliation, our victory is the more glorious. And that is how God wants it. He wants to give his glory to us. So let’s give God some victories this week.

Friends in Christ, C. S. Lewis, the great spiritual writer once said that evil does not only occur with famous criminals; it is also found in clean, carpeted, offices by quiet men in suits. Hell, he says, is probably more like our modern office complexes, where relationships are for personal gain, friendships are pretended alliances, and to be stabbed in the back, is commonplace.

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One of the least confessed, but yet most common sins, is jealousy, or envy. In the Epistle of St. James today, St. Paul says that jealousy and selfish ambition is from the devil, it is ‘demonic.’  

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The jealous person is sad over another person’s good. When someone else enjoys success, jealousy rears its ugly head. When a person is the jealous type, if they fail at something, they pout, and sulk, and are disgruntled that other succeed, like the Grinch who stole Christmas, who is angered every time someone else is happy.

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St. John Chysostom says, that as a moth gnaws at a garment, so does jealousy consume a man from the inside.’ There is an ancient Jewish story which tells how an angel visited a shopkeeper and offered him anything he wished, with one condition: whatever he would wish for, his main rival, the other shop owner, would get twice as much. What to do? In his envy, he finally came to a request: he asked to be blinded in one eye!

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Envy and jealousy detest that someone else should be blessed or succeed. It is not wrong to see a friend own a nice car or a nice dress, and wish to have the same, one day. Or to desire a promotion, or an honor, or a higher salary, for good reasons. But if we desire the downfall of another, or resent someone’s honors, or choose to get ahead by stepping on another – this is jealousy. Jealousy is rooted in pride, and comes to full flower in hatred.

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Today we see Our Lord curing this man who is oppressed by some kind of spirit or psychological malady; such afflictions are emblems for the poison of sin that wreaks havoc on us, and jealousy is one of those, for which we must pray the Lord to free us. We should heed the advice of St. James today: ‘Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice. But the wisdom from above is peaceable, gentle, and full of mercy and good fruits.

Friends in Christ, tonight we conclude this 4 part series on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

This Paraclete, this Consoler, is very much on our minds as we prepare for Pentecost. We have spoken before about how the Gifts of the Holy Spirit work in us, as divine inspirations, movements in the soul, which in a moment give us an idea, or a strength, or the desire that we need, all at once.

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Maybe at times we’ve experienced these passing wisps of grace, an inspiration while on a visit to the Blessed Sacrament or on a retreat, a sudden courage to say or act – or an unexplained burst of fervor and love.

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Today we wish to speak of how to draw more of these Gifts down upon us – how to cultivate the Gifts of the Spirit in our life.[i]

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The Gifts are present in the soul whenever we are in the State of Grace. They exist there as supernatural faculties. It is incredible that there are some people who, during long periods of their life do not access them. In order that we might come to a full supernatural development, we need these Gifts to be actualized in our soul.

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St. Thomas says: ‘The moral virtues precede the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, in order to acquire the docility which the Gifts confer, we must conquer our passions and vices and form habits of prudence, humility, obedience, meekness, chastity – we must be living the moral life. One cannot follow the inspirations of grace, if a person is troubled by anger, or lust, or stubbornness.

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Before being led by the motions of grace, one must be observing the commandments and have triumphed over pride. This is the teaching of St. Teresa and so many others as well. Cajetan says, a person must tame his passions, cultivate meekness, patience and humility in order to rise to the contemplative life.

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So in other words, accessing Gifts of the Spirit in our life, requires first, a good person, to build on. We must be a good – a virtuous person first, in order to bring alive in us the great Gifts of this Holy Spirit.

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[i]  see Tanquerey, pp. 612-614.

Friends in Christ, in preparation for Pentecost, we have spoken recently about the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Gifts are different from the virtues, and this is something we can speak about today.

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Father Tanquery, in his famous book on the spiritual life[i] says that God can act in us in two ways: One way, is to accommodate himself to our human mode of action. This is what he does in the case of the virtues. Here, WE take the initiative in doing good actions, and as we know, if we do a certain good action over and over, it becomes a habit in us, and this is a virtue. So if we act with courage, again and again, we can develop a virtue of being courageous. But in developing such virtues in ourself, God leaves US to take the initiative, although we still act under his grace.

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But in the case of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, God takes the initiative. Before we have had the time to reflect or ponder, he sends us divine intuitions, and inspirations. Unlike the case of the virtues, we do not plan these actions, but instead we suddenly receive promptings, and invitations to act. By consenting to these Gifts of God, these movements in our soul, well, we are being led by the Holy Spirit, just like the saints.

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In the case of the virtues, we reflect and make choices. But under the influence of the Gifts we allow ourselves be led by a divine inspiration which suddenly and without any reflection on our part, urges us and empowers us, to do or know such and such a thing. To practice virtue is like rowing in a boat. To use the Gifts, is to sail along by the wind.

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The spiritual masters say this: ‘A child who walks slowly, with help from his mother is like the practice of virtue helped by grace. But when the child is taken up in the mother’s arms and travels most rapidly, this is to be carried by the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

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The harpist who strikes the strings of the harp is like the work of virtue. But when the Holy Ghost himself touches the strings of the heart, the soul is then under the wonderful influence, of his Gifts.

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[i] Tanquery, p. 610-11

Friends in Christ, again today, in the Acts of the Apostles, we see the Holy Spirit is guiding the early Church. St. Paul says, ‘Compelled by the Holy Spirit, I go to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there I do not know, except that in one city after another the Holy Spirit has been warning me.’

We wish today to continue our study of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Having covered the 3 Intellectual Gifts of Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom – today we wish to discuss Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, and Fear of the Lord.

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The Gift of COUNSEL gives us a certain ‘instinct’ to make the right decision in difficult circumstances. While normally we have to reason out our decisions, by the Gift of Counsel, the Holy Spirit speaks to our heart, and in an instant, makes us understand what we must do. Fr. Tanquery[i] tells us, by the Gift of Counsel, the soul is able to see the way; it goes with confidence up steep and daunting paths, and it knows how to wait for the acceptable time.

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Then we have the Gift of Fortitude. This Gift gives a supernatural impulse to the will, enabling it to do great things joyfully and fearlessly despite obstacles. Unlike the virtue, also called Fortitude, Fortitude as a Gift of the Spirit is not the result of our effort, but rather, the Spirit takes hold of the soul and acts. It also enables us to persevere in difficult activity.

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The Gift of PIETY helps us to love God as our dear Father, to have a child-like trust in his Providence, and to obey him because we love him. Living the Gift of Piety means that our tasks and duties of life, however difficult, are done with the joy of pleasing our Heavenly Father. This Piety leads us also to a trusting, faithful love for holy Mother church, for the Blessed Virgin and the saints, who are all part of the family of God.

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The Gift called FEAR OF THE LORD is not a fear of God’s anger or of hell. Fear of the Lord is a Gift of the Holy Spirit, who does not want us in any way to dread our Dear Father in heaven. Fear of the Lord is the wholesome fear that a child has who loves his Papa very much, and would never dream of disobeying him or displeasing him. If you hear a person say, ‘well, its only a venial sin, go ahead….’ you are hearing a person who does not have this Gift at all. Acting on the Gift of Fear of the Lord means wishing to never displease God in even the smallest way.

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So let’s pray in these coming days, and ask the Holy Spirit to grant us a special grace. 

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[i] see The Spiritual Life, by Tanquery, p. 624-629

Friends in Christ, today in Acts of the Apostles, it says that ‘when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them.’ The readings this week, the prayers in the Missal, are preparing us for the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, 6 days away. Our Lord is preparing the Church to remain one with him, and to come alive by the Spirit.  

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The Holy Spirit works in us primarily by his 7 Gifts. The 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit are: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord. Tonight I thought we could consider the 3 intellectual gifts of Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge. [i]

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These 3 intellectual Gifts obtain for us the equivalent of experiential knowledge. They acquaint us with things much higher than us, not through a process of reasoning, but by means of a higher light. We are thereby able to grasp things, almost as if we had experiential knowledge of them. This illumination gives us a sort of “intuition” or instinct about things.

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Francisca del Valle was only a poor dress-maker in the 1800’s. Yet this is what they say about her writings: ‘The intimate life in the Spirit is treated in her writings with such intelligence and subtlety, that they can be admired by the most learned theologians.’ (p. 9, About the Holy Spirit, del Valle.) This is said, yet she had no training in theology whatsoever. She was taught directly by the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

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KNOWLEDGE is the Gift which helps us to see the events of our lives according to the plan of God, to know the right-use of created things in the spiritual life. This Gift of Knowledge allowed St. Francis to see every flower and insect as a testimony to God’s love. Knowledge allows us in a moment, to recognize what things will help us to find holiness;

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The Gift of UNDERSTANDING differs from that of Knowledge in that it is not limited to created things. Understanding allows us to penetrate the inner meaning of revealed truths. It does not give us an understanding of the mysteries, but it gives us confidence in their truth. The Gift of Understanding allows us a sudden insight into a scripture passage, or gives us those ‘Aha!’ moments, and we grasp a spiritual truth.

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The Gift of WISDOM makes us love what God loves, and want what God wants. The influence of Wisdom directs our life only to God’s honor and glory. St. Bernard calls Wisdom, the knowledge that relishes the things of God. ‘We love what God loves, and want what God wants.’ We might know persons who are always trying to do God’s will, what He wants – they are basking in the Gift of Wisdom.

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As we wait for Pentecost, let us speak very much to this Good Holy Spirit, and ask him to increase his Gifts in us.

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[i] (see The Spiritual Life, by Tanquery, p. 624-629)

Friends in Christ, in the first reading today, it says that one night Christ appeared to St. Paul who was evidently worried. Jesus said to him, ‘Do not be afraid.’ Many times, Jesus will say this, ‘Do not be afraid.’

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Fear, is a part of human life. Fear, is a shrinking back from evil, from a threat, from danger. If we think of an event that we once feared in our past, we will see that we don’t feel fear it now, because it is past and done. Only if events of our past can harm us today do we fear, but then it has become a present fear.

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There can be natural fears in our senses; for example the fear of being hurt. Or it could be a rationalized fear if it is an evil in the mind, for example fear of failing a test or fear of embarrassment.

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Because fear always is over a future evil that might happen, the evil that might befall us is in the imagination, which makes the threat seem present to us. The imagination might make the fear seem even closer or larger than it really is; that is called ‘inordinate fear.’ We have enlarged it. Or, the imagination can downplay a threat. An old person who is actually approaching death, may imagine death to be far off, and may have no fear of it, since distant evils are not really feared.

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Now fear can only come about, if we love something or someone because we fear losing something we love, whether it be our life, our health, our soul, or a person close to us. Love is the cause of fear, because the threat of its loss causes us to fear. People who do not love or who have nothing to lose can be fearless.

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Fear can lead us to pray, because when we fear harm that could come, either to our body or soul, we instinctively seek the help of another, especially God.

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Anxiety is a unique kind of fear; it is the fear of possible evils that are not clearly foreseen. Anxiety is difficult to overcome, because its object is ill-defined. It can be psychological or physiological. It can be due to something in our subconscious or something we do not understand.

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When Jesus tells us not to be afraid, he does not mean that all fears can be avoided. For example, we naturally fear death: he did. But St. Therese says, if we are never afraid, how can we exercise courage or patience? In order to become virtuous, there must be obstacles to overcome.

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So we are not cowards if, despite fear, we trust God and push on forward because it is the right thing to do. If we are doing it for the Lord and with him – then let there be fear, but let there be courage as well.