25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Beloved in the Lord,
St. Teresa of Avila always carried a statue of the child Jesus with her when she traveled. Her devotion to the Child Jesus began, when one day, as she was coming down the steps of her convent, she saw a beautiful young boy. The Child spoke to her and said: ‘Who are you?’ She said: ‘I am Teresa of Jesus, who are you?’ He answered: ‘I am Jesus of Teresa!’ and then he disappeared. But she would see him many more times.
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Friends in Christ, Our Lord has appeared to many saints over the years in the form of a child: St. Rose, St. Anthony, St. Gemma, St. Teresa, and others.
There are many ways that we personally relate to Our Lord: in his Passion, in his strength, or in his glory; but we can also relate to Christ as a child, and this can help us in an important way, because we ourselves are children of God.
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Christ has taught us to call God ‘Our Father,’ and in numerous cases he has urged us to be like little children. In today’s Gospel we see that the Apostles are arguing with each other about who is the greatest among them. Our Lord corrects their attitude beginning with one symbolic action: He sets a child in their midst, and puts his arms around him. His message: ‘Be as this child.’
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It has been said that this is really our central vocation: to be a child of God. In theology it is called ‘Divine Filiation.’ ‘Filial’ meaning son (or daughter). According to John Paul II, divine filiation is the deepest mystery of the Christian vocation and ‘the culminating point of our Christian life.’
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Jesus as Son of God, became Man so that we might also become adopted sons of God. St. Irenaus said this back in the 2nd century: He says, ‘There are those who do not accept the gift of adoption,’ and they scorn the Incarnation of the Word. Then he says: ‘The Son of God became the Son of man, in order that Man might become sons of God.’ So this is how we can rightly say that being children of God is our central vocation. It’s how the Lord wants us to be.
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Jesus demonstrated this for us. Although Christ sometimes spoke with sternness, or warned about the judgment or of the fire of hell, in the end, the mothers were won over to him, and the children trusted him. Pharisees stood at a distance, but the children came close to him, and parents knew that with Jesus, their children were safe.
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Fr. Goodier says, all of this was because the heart of Christ had something of a child in it. And this must have been felt by those who were attracted to him; by the simple love he showed his Mother, by the trust he placed in others, his delight in the birds of the air and the flowers of the field; this Son of God watched the laborers in the field and the shepherd with his sheep; and we saw the ease with which he told charming stories about royal banquets and sheep gone astray – only a Man with the imagination of a child could speak in such a way.
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Christ demonstrates for us the child-heart that each of us should have. Our child-heart should have a simple love, not complicated; trusting others, trusting God, and delighting in the world. Children are not worried if they make mistakes. A child-heart knows that holiness doesn’t mean never making mistakes, it means to keep trying. It is not a matter of compiling a spotless record, but of beginning again, and trying to do God’s will. Once forgiven, a child simply tries again.
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Sincerity: here is another virtue called for, by divine sonship. Children make very poor liars and deceivers, you can see right through them, why? Because they do not have the practice of deceiving, of conniving, or scheming. A child-heart is sincere and honest. Trusting, not suspicious.
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‘He came unto his own and his own received him not; but to as many as received him, he gave the power of becoming sons of God.’ – That’s what St. John says: ‘He gave us the power of becoming sons of God.’ If we receive him, live for him, we will have a child-like trust. This abandonment to the will of God should always be part of our interior life; this humble recognition of our littleness.
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Faced with a very difficult task, the child has confidence that with his Father, he can do it. Father Fernandez says that by abandoning ourself into God’s hands, we become confident and are never prey to anxiety.
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When St. Thomas More was facing his execution, he wrote to his daughter: ‘Keep your spirits high, my daughter. Nothing can happen to me that God doesn’t want, and all that he wants is really for the best.’
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Trusting God without any conditions brings an unbreakable peace. St. Augustine said, ‘I am only a small child; but my Father lives forever and is my greatest protector.’ Our Father is one who has created galaxies and makes planets for goodness sakes; he is All Powerful. We can trust him.
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Spiritual childhood does not lead to immaturity or childishness. Some people spend their whole life a slave to their fluctuating desires and emotions, acting only for their self-interest. We’ve seen these people – self-centered and pathetic. St. Josemaria said, each of us has a choice: to be children of God or slaves to pride. The child of God is concerned not with his own self-interest, but with pleasing his Father in heaven, living as Jesus would live.
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To refer to the Christian as a child of God is not a mere figure of speech. It is true in the strictest sense, because we are sharing in his divine nature.
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There is a great scene in the Holy Gospels, in which Christ is speaking about the end of the world, and judgment; he is teaching the elders and his disciples; and in the midst of this serious teaching of the adults, children start flocking around him, climbing on him – his apostles try to stop this, but Jesus says: ‘Let the children come to me, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Whoever does not accept the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter it.’
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At the 2nd Coming of Christ, at the end of the world, it will be the children of the Kingdom who will approach him with confidence. ‘Let the children come to me, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’
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Let us ask Mary to pray for us; Mary help us to live as true children of God, and be worthy to approach him on the Last Day.
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[Entrusted to the prayers of St. Paul]
Good morning young men and women,
today in the Gospel it says that Jesus drove 7 devils out of Mary Magdalene. That happened when he forgave her her many sins. After she was forgiven, and had turned away from her sins, she followed Jesus all the time, and tried to do anything she could to help him.
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The forgiveness of sins changes a person’s life, they become very happy, and they walk with God, we know this from Confession. After we have told our sins in Confession, and received absolution from the priest, we feel SO good, because we are clean and free of our sins.
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I know that the youngest children here have not yet made their 1st Confession, but most of us all go to Confession every month with our school. One thing is, you can go more often than once a month if you wish; I go every week. Some children go every week or every 2 weeks; our church has confessions on Friday and Saturday afternoons, and if you go to a different Catholic church, they have confession times too, you can just ask your parents when are the times.
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People oftentimes ask me if they can go to Confession – even if it is in the afternoon, or on a Tuesday, or somewhere else, like at the Mall or in the store. They say, ‘Father, could you hear my confession?’ It’s because they want to be free of their sins.
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But the important thing is, that we go to Confession on a regular basis. I hope that you went during the summer, when we were out of school. Confession, sometimes called Reconcilliation, or the Sacrament of Penance – it is where Jesus speaks to us through the priest. Yes, it’s the priest’s voice, but when he gives us forgivness, Jesus is doing that – taking away our sins.
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It is a relief to have a big sin taken away, to tell it; once it is told, well, that was the hard part. Sometimes older kids or students in college have some bad mortal sins; they are SO relieved when they go to Confession, so that they can forget being wicked and start to be good again.
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When we confess, we must tell all the mortal sins since our last confession, and we can tell some of the venial sins that are bothering us also. If a boy goes to confession, and he has a bad mortal sin on his soul – if he is afraid to tell the priest and he conceals that sin, is that a true Confession? No way.
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Sometimes we think a sin is SO bad, that we are afraid to tell the priest, he might be shocked. But that is not true, because we priests understand how the devil can trick people, and so we are very understanding.
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Let us make always a good examination of conscience before Confession, and then be very truthful when we confess. This way, our soul will be clean and beautiful, and this will make Jesus – and us – very happy.
Friends in the Lord,
after yesterday celebrating the Triumph of the Cross, we remember today our Sorrowful Mother. The saints tell us, that while everyone must suffer in this life, the suffering would be greater if we could see the pain that is going to come in the future – we would suffer it all, by anticipation. But God shows us mercy and conceals the trials that lay ahead.
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But this was not the case with the Blessed Virgin. For Mary, Simeon foretold that her Son would suffer persecutions and opposition – ‘behold, this child is set for a sign that shall be contradicted, and a sword of sorrow shall pierce thy soul.’ The Blessed Virgin herself told St. Matilda, that when Simeon said this, all her joy was changed into sorrow. Although Mary already knew that Jesus would die for the world, she came to know even more completely the cruel death that awaited her poor Son.
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What grief must she continually have suffered, seeing this dear and good Son always near her, nursing at the breast, running and playing, hearing from him words of eternal life, and seeing his virtuous character.
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Mary revealed to St. Bridget that while on earth, there was not an hour in which this grief did not pierce her heart. ‘As often as I looked at my Son, as often as I saw his perfect hands and feet, so often, I thought of how he would be crucified.
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As often as Mary dressed her son in his little clothes, the more she thought of the day, when they would be torn off in violence. St. Alphonsus says, that as a stag, wounded by an arrow carries the pain wherever he goes, so did the prophecy of Simeon wound the heart of Mary, and stay with her wherever she went.
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And so it was Christ himself, who was the arrow in the heart of Mary.
Why did you go through all of this O Good Mother? Because you knew that by the death of your Son, we, your other children, would be able to live.
24th Sunday in ordinary time
Beloved in the Lord,
back in the 2nd century, there lived a beautiful young girl named Cecilia. In those days, most people were pagans, accepting the false gods of the Empire. But Cecilia was a Catholic, and not only that, she had secretly consecrated her virginity to Christ, desiring to live only for him.
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But through the course of events, she was arrested, and ordered to give up her Catholic Faith. She refused, and was given the sentence of death. Seeing this beautiful girl’s courage, over 400 persons that day, decided to become Catholic.
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So the authorities went to Cecilia’s home, and there they locked her inside of a steam room, and turned up the heat to suffocate her; but she called out to them saying, ‘it’s cool in here!’ They therefore decreed that she would be beheaded.
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So there, in her own home, an executioner three times tried to decapitate her with his sword, but he could not get her head cut all the way off. Cecilia lived for three more days, all the time urging those around her to be faithful to Christ; at the end of three days she fell asleep in the Lord, and the Pope made her house into a Church, which it is to this very day.
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Friends in Christ, The martyrs endured many challenges, yet they remained faithful to the Catholic Faith, faithful to Jesus. In this they possessed great courage.
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Courage is a virtue that everyone of us should seek; we need courage not only if we are one day called to be a martyr, but if we really think about it, we need courage almost every day, because things come up which make us fearful, or nervous, but we need to overcome our fears, with courage.
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There can only be courage where there is fear. Some people say: ‘Oh, he’s very brave, he’s never afraid.’ But if someone is courageous, it is because there is something to be afraid of. St. Theresa said: ‘If we are never afraid, how could we ever show courage?!’
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Many things can cause us fear: we can be afraid of pain, of getting hurt, or from a medical procedure; little children can be afraid of the dark, or of bad dreams, of dogs, or thunderstorms. Some people fear loneliness or being abandoned.
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Young people might fear auditioning for a play, fear of failure, or fear of tests. Others feel afraid to talk to their parents about a personal problem; young couples can be afraid of commitment, afraid of the unknown. There are many things, even in one day, that can cause us fear. But every fear is a signal to us for courage.
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Fear makes us want to push away from some threat, from something difficult. Courage comes from the hope that we can overcome the threat, or that we can endure it.
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Today in the gospel, Jesus predicts for the apostles that he will suffer and be crucified. St. Peter is horrified. ‘No Lord!, he says, this can’t be.’ But Jesus is strong with him, and says that it must be. Then Christ tells them, anyone who wants to be his disciple – and that would mean us – that we must take up our cross – carry our cross too, like him. So the Lord wants us to have courage. But this kind of courage is special, because he will be helping us.
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For Example: We have a very difficult test in school; we feel fear; but we remember to call on the Lord: ‘Jesus, help me, I know that I am not alone in this test. Holy Spirit, enlighten me to do my best, and then what will be will be.’ Then with our courage alive, we begin – one question at a time, not worrying about the outcome, just doing our best. It’s not that the fear is gone, but we haven’t allowed it to overwhelm us; this is courage: going against our fears.
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Roberta Vinci beat Serna Williams in the U.S. Tennis Open; she was a 300:1 odds to lose! She had no chance. They asked her how she felt during the match: ‘As I got closer to the end, she said, I felt enormous pressure, but I just focused on what I had to do, I said, ‘just put the ball on the court and keep going.’
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Our courage only comes alive, when we feel the pressure. But this is how we can accomplish great things, even if the odds are 300:1 against us.
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I need to get a job; a friend tells me they might be hiring at a certain company. I drive there, but I’m nervous about going in. What if I don’t get the job? I might feel like a failure if it doesn’t work out. What if I don’t know what to say? So we pray: ‘Lord, help me in what I will do.’ And then we put our feelings aside, we go against our fears, and go in. And we don’t worry about the result. This is to act with courage.
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St. Paul says, ‘I can do all things in he who strengthens me.’ In other words, if we do things with the Lord, asking him to be with us, we will have the courage we need.
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‘But I am often kind of a coward, I don’t have the courage to do things that I should. How do I get courage.’ Well, two things to remember: First, as we have said, we have to pray for it, asking the Lord to give us the strength to do this thing. His grace is important. And the second is: courage is a virtue that grows with practice.
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Do we think St. Cecilia only acted with courage for the first time, when she was a martyr? No way! During her time growing up, she certainly practiced doing what was kind of difficult, going against her fears in smaller things. In this way, she developed a habit, an instinct for courage. For this reason we should ‘step-up’ to challenging things even though we have some fear. Then little by little, it gets easier!
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Some people are very afraid of being embarrassed or of saying the wrong thing. I had a friend in college who was afraid of public speaking in front of big groups of people, but his career would require it. So, going against his fears, he spoke to small groups at first, then bigger groups. By going against his fears, he got used to it, and now is comfortable speaking, but it took acts of courage.
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If the risk for us is pain, or embarrassment, or failure – so be it. We recall the Lord’s promise: ‘Be strong and courageous, do not be frightened, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.’ Josh 1:9 If it is the right thing to do, then we summon up the courage, and just do it – come what may.
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A woman with great courage was Mary. She agreed to be the Mother of the Savior, having no idea what lay ahead; she just said ‘yes’.
Mary, pray for us, that even in our fears, we will have the courage to do what is best, and act always for the glory of God.
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[Entrusted to the prayers of Venerable Antonietta Meo]
Friends in Christ, it is a fun thing to celebrate birthdays. Little children especially, but everyone should see their birthday as a day for rejoicing. It is very true, that every single person, you and I, are needed, as part of God’s world, as part of God’s plan. Each unique person is foreseen by God to play a particular role in the drama of creation.
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And while this is all true, we celebrate a birthday today for which this is abundantly true. Today is the birthday of Mary. In the case of this dear Blessed Virgin, if she had not been born – well, God’s plan of salvation could not have unfolded as he wished. But God had a plan from all of Eternity.
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We see the genealogy given today, all the way back to Abraham. Scholars believe that St. Matthew’s genealogy is tracing the line of St. Joseph, while St. Luke’s genealogy is tracing the family line of Mary, to show us that Mary also is a descendent of David. In any case, we see that God had this all worked out from day one, that this holy and sinless virgin would become the Mother of God, and therefore, our Mother as well.
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Mary had to endure a lot for us; she gave up her only Son. St. Alphonsus says that if there was a dear son of a mother, and in order to save a young man, he allowed himself to be charged with the crime and imprisoned for 20 years, in that man’s place – how much that mother would value that young man, whose freedom her son had obtained.
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Because we have all been redeemed and saved from our crimes by the Son of Mary, her love for us is immense.
Cornelius Lapide says that Our Mother desires for us better things than we can even desire ourselves. He recommends a practice that some do: they say to the Lord, ‘Lord, grant me those things that the Virgin Mary asks for me.’ In other words, putting all in her hands, let her decide what is best.
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A parishioner told me that her little 4 year old granddaughter placed some flowers carefully at the statue of Mary in their yard, and since she had to leave, she said, ‘Gramma,’ you can’t take them, they’re for Mary!’
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Today for sure, all is for you Mary. Happy birthday!
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Friends in Christ, we see in the gospel today, that people brought to Our Lord this man who had a speech impediment, the Greek word is, μογιλάλος, it means he did not speak correctly. But in an instant, Christ cures him. In a moment he was able to speak correctly.
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Physical healings in scripture can always be seen as signs of the spiritual healing that Christ desires for us. Now we may say that our speech is just fine, we don’t need any healing there. But let us ask if this is really true?
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A common lament by people who come to confession, is that they have put-down or criticized someone, a family member or other, and they feel bad about it. Let us speak today of how we can overcome this ‘critical spirit’ that can so easily poison the goodness of our life.
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Fr. Faber says that there are very many moderately good people who think it is just fine to sit around and criticize others; they regard it as evidence of their own superior wisdom. This attitude comes from pride and conceit. The person acts, as if their great knowledge gives them some kind of special duty to analyze everyone else.
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We find fault in others to prove that we are smarter, or that we are better looking, holier, or wealthier than the other. We often want to feel better about ourselves at someone else’s expense. We can also criticize when our expectations are not being met. If people fail to do what we ask, or are not doing what is right. If our own life is not going the way we desire and we are frustrated, we can hide our sadness by finding fault with others.
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The rationalization is always there: ‘But I must say this for the good of his soul.’ ‘’He has to be taught a lesson, or he just won’t learn.’ ‘Don’t you see, I am working for the good of the Church.’
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Those are great rationalizations, but the question is: Is what is being said REALLY going to help the other person? Everyone can notice the difference between kindly advice, and an attack.
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A number of years ago, Dr. David Fink, a psychiatrist, wrote an article called, “Release from Nervous Tension.” From over 10,000 case studies, he discovered that there was a common trait with all his patients who suffered from severe tension. They were habitual fault-finders, constant critics of people around them. Those who did not have this stress in their life, were the least critical. His conclusions were that the habit of fault-finding is a mark of the nervous or the mentally unbalanced. Those who wish to retain good emotional and mental health, should learn to free themselves from a critical attitude.
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People who have the critical spirit are never happy. The reason is, that while we are looking at so many evils in our neighbor, the source of the rot is inside ourselves. St. Josemaria, in his pithy way says: ‘Your own will; your own judgment: that’s what upsets you!’ The critical heart is obsessed with it’s own will, it’s own way, and that is a very lonely position to be in. Scripture says: What causes quarrels and the fights among the brethren? Is it not this: that your passions are at war inside you?
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St. Francis de Sales tells us that if we have a strong opinion on something, we can be critical of those who do not think like us. If we have a dislike for an employee, he can do nothing right, and we never cease finding fault with him; while on the contrary, if we have taken a liking to someone, there is nothing that we will not excuse.
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Some parents cannot tolerate an ugly child no matter how good he may be, but they spoil a beautiful child even when he is behaving badly. Those who are fault-finders, and notice every mistake of others, cannot themselves tolerate a single smidgeon of criticism. They insist on their own rights or opinion, yet they want to see others humble and deferential. We are prepared to complain about our neighbors, but the neighbor must never complain about us.
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I read that some animals have more than one heart. There are people who seem to be the same: a kind and merciful heart for themselves, and a strict and severe heart for others.
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A man felt very bad that he was always criticizing others, he wanted to change. So I suggested: ‘At the end of the day, when you make your examination of conscience, try writing down how many times you criticize each day, keep a record, to see if you can improve. He said, ‘Father, I don’t have that much paper!’
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The person who has spent most of his life criticizing others has done great injury to God’s glory – an endless fountain of putrid discouragement, there to crush anyone who may have thought of seeking God.
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One spiritual writer says, people love to be ‘popes;’ even the dumbest of persons can carve out a tiny papacy for himself. And if he can mix in a little arrogance, he can reign gloriously, with his own little ecumenical council.
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A person who is not very bright criticizes rashly, without even knowing the facts. If on the other hand, the person is highly intelligent, he DOES see the true faults of others, but even more than the truth. He puts things together that have no real connection in the conduct of his neighbor, thinking the worst. He suspects bad motives in others because he has bad motives himself As it is said, ‘For clever men, charity is almost impossible.
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Although anyone can lapse into a critical spirit, the person who has a morose, brooding temperament is raw material for this. The melancholic person will brood over a small incident for weeks, imagining endless devious motives in the other person, finally erupting one day in a flurry of crushing words.
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So how do we fight this bad spirit of fault-finding? St. Francis says, always put yourself in your neighbor’s place and then your comments will be fair; ‘remember,’ he says, we lose nothing by being generous, noble, and courteous.
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The root of critical thoughts is pride. A great aid to pounding down this pride is to convince ourselves that everyone else is better than us. Yes, there are gifts and talents God has given us that he has not given to others, but if we think of our hard heart and crummy thoughts, it is not hard to see that our neighbor is better.
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Christ wants us to see that we are really in this together, not against one another.
St. Thomas Aquinas wrote about a special virtue that should govern how people relate to each other. He says: ‘It behooves man to maintain a becoming order towards others in both deeds and words. Hence the need of a special virtue, and this virtue is called friendliness. Every man, he says, is naturally every man’s friend by a certain general love; this love is signified by signs of friendship, which we show outwardly, even to those who are strangers.
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Jesus Christ expects us to think well of our neighbor. Let us estimate the amount of evil in the world way too low; let us be naive; naively holy, and presume that even the worst sins are done in ignorance, or with a confused desire for some good; this is the genius of the saints, oblivious to horrors of the world, they were always looking for the good in others.
This is the radiant, energetic faith, that believes that the darkness will always be overcome by the Light.
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The Holy Nun, Mother Maria Kaupas, used to say: ‘Let us leave judging and fault-finding to small minds; be angels of peace, stilling through your gentle words the rancor in another’s heart; what will gain results is only gentleness, so then, why not use it!
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May the Blessed Virgin pray and intercede for us, that our words will always be those worthy of children of God.
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[Entrusted to the prayers of St. Luke]
Friends in Christ, one of the most loved Catholic prayers is the Memorare. I pray it every day, and I know many do the same.
‘Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known, that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided…..’
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The introduction to this prayer reminds us, that it has never been known, that anyone was ever left unaided, who has run to Mary. Today is 1st Saturday; it is an opportunity for us to reflect on this faithful protection of Our heavenly Mother.
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St. Bonaventure says that the Blessed Virgin seems to have no other desire than that of helping those in need. ‘O Lady, he says, ‘you were made Mother of God for the wretched; you are all mercy, and your only wish is to show it.’
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When we think of people in great need, in desperate need, I think first of sinners. People who feel that they either have committed too many sins to ever be forgiven, or those who feel that what they did is too great a sin, or that they are so caught in a habit of sin, that they feel they will never escape from it. But these are the very ones that Mary wants the most.
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In the Old Testament, Rebecca was a sign, and image of Mary. When Abraham’s servant asked her for a little water to drink, Rebecca replied, that not only would she give him plenty for himself, but for all his camels as well.
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On this passage St. Bernard says: ‘O Mary, you are far more generous than Rebecca; for you are not satisfied with distributing the treasures of your mercy only to the Just, signified by Abraham’s servant; but your mercy is poured out generously on sinners, signified by the camels.’
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The generosity of Mary, says Richard of St. Lawrence, ‘is like that of her Son, who always gives more than is asked for.’ The Memorare prayer, as we have said, first states that no one was ever denied help from Mary. This was never known. The 2nd part of the prayer then goes on to ask her help; and notice that we go to her in great humility:
‘Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.
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I have seen some persons on their death bed, who had said this prayer in their life – which I did not know at the time. And when I or a family member prayed it, their face lit up with peace and hope.
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Blessed Raymond Jordano used to say, ‘Mary is God’s treasure; he who finds her finds every good; and everyone can find her, even the most miserable sinner in the world.
Friends in Christ, in the gospel today, Our Lord slips away to a deserted place as was his habit, to pray. In today’s Epistle of St. Paul says: ‘We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.’ 1 Timothy 2:1 – I urge that supplications, prayers, and intercessions be made for all people, St. James says in his Epistle: ‘Pray for one another.’
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So in these and in many other places in the scriptures, we see that it was typical of the early Christians to pray for each other. Praying for others is an essential part of charity, the most important virtue of a Christian life. If we really love our neighbor, if we really are striving to have charity, even toward our enemies, we must pray for them.
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St. Augustine would likely never have even been saved, much less become a great saint, had his mother not prayed for him every day.
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We teach little children to kneel down and say their bedtime prayers, thanking God, asking help from their angel, to Mary; and inevitably they go through a list of each family member asking God to bless and help them.
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Now we find this to be edifying and even charming, but that is exactly what we are still supposed to be doing: praying for our family members, children, parents, grandparents, the sick, those who have died – by name.
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The great tragedy of our time is that many today, I dare say the majority of people, have no one praying for them. Can we imagine? To have no one at all praying for you? So many of our teens and people out there – not a single person praying for them.
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St. Anthony once prayed for a little girl who had died, she returned to life – because of his prayers. But even greater than praying for such things as physical healing, is to pray for the spiritual welfare and the salvation of those we know and love – and even those who are against us. Praying for others is an essential aspect of true Christian charity.
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Friends in Christ, in the year 180 BC, the Greeks heard that a lot of money was stored at the Temple in Jerusalem, and so in their greed, they sent a man named Heliodorus to steal the money that was kept there. Upon his arrival, Heliodorus was told by the priest that the money in the temple was a care-fund for the needy; nevertheless, Heliodorus said that the next day he and his soldiers would go into the Holy Temple to take the money. The high priest was sickened by this, and so all the people and the priests began to pray.
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The next day, Heliodorus marched with his men into the Holy Temple, but as he was approaching the treasury, there suddenly appeared a dazzling horse, ridden by a fearsome rider, whose armor and weapons were of gold, and two other young men at his side. The horse rushed Heliodorus and struck at him with its front hoofs. The two men scourged him until he fell wounded to the ground. His soldiers put him on a stretcher and took the nearly-dead man out. He only was able to recover from his terror only because the priest prayed for him. But he vowed to never take their money again.
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Friends in Christ, greed and the thirst for money has led people to theft, robbery, and to even gamble away their lives. Today we wish to discuss for our lesson, the 7th commandment.
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The 7th commandment is, ‘Thou shall not steal.’ Today in the Gospel, Our Lord says, that it is from the heart that comes bad thoughts, greed, and theft. Stealing therefore, originates in thoughts of greed.
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Stealing is the unjust taking of what belongs to another; and so it goes directly against love of neighbor.
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When I was young, in our town, no one ever locked their doors, even at night. Life was very peaceful. Then I remember one day, when our mother told us, that someone had gone into Mrs. Frank’s house, and taken her purse. She was very sad. We were in shock, that someone would take something from someone who was so nice. Then we had to begin locking our doors. Everything was different.
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Stealing wounds our neighbor, and it is against the law of God. Think of how you feel if you come home, and someone has been in your house, and taken things. It feels very bad. Jesus says, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ And so it is forbidden to ever steal something.
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In the days of St. Francis of Assisi, birds sometimes would gather to hear him teach; one day, during the planting of the corn, a Raven swooped down to pick up a planted seed, and flew to a nearby tree. But Francis scolded him, ‘Raven, did I not teach you not to steal?!’ And in a moment, the Raven replaced the seed in the farmers field. If a bird will even listen to the commandments, then we certainly must!!
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People think that they are being sneaky when they steal from a store, or put a lower price tag on a dress; but God sees it all. God sees that we are being bad. Let us rather follow St. Paul’s advice: ‘Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work, so that he may have something to share with those in need.’
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The 7th Commandment is for the good of everyone, young and old. Children must never take money from their siblings or their mother’s purse, and adults must not falsify expense accounts, pirate software, or cheat on taxes.
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If Joe is walking along and sees a wallet on the ground, what should he do? He could see if anyone nearby may have dropped it. He can look inside to find the person’s ID, and call them. I know a boy who did that, and he got a nice reward!! If we find some money, we have to make the best effort to discover whose it is, and return it. If after our best effort nothing can be done, then may we keep it.
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Stealing is a mortal sin if it involves something that is of significant value, or if it’s theft hurts the person a great deal. If Thomas steals $50 from Andrew, that would be a mortal sin, because it’s a big amount of money. If he steals gum from his brother, it’s venial sin; but if he steals a writing pen from his neighbor, and it is a cherished pen from his grandfather, it is serious, because the pen has important sentimental value.
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Now theft requires us to try to make up for what was done, returning what was stolen if we can. Sometimes that is not possible, but we may never keep what we stole, we can give to charity. Scripture says that those who steal and do not repent, will not enter the kingdom of heaven. So it is important to repent, and go to Confession.
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Bribery, vandalism, and excessive gambling are all sins against the 7th commandment. Sure, a little gambling is ok; it can make a game more exciting; but it becomes a sin if we waste money that is needed for our family, or if we violate the law, or waste a lot of time on it, or especially, if we become addicted. Gambling addiction has ruined many families.
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As Christ has said, stealing money or things, always has it’s origin with bad desires in the heart. A person feels that he is lacking something, and must take it from his neighbor – instead we must teach ourselves to be satisfied with what we have, and to respect the possessions of others.
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Regarding use of money, it is good to teach children to manage their money. If a child has an allowance of a dollar, show them that they must set aside 40 cents for savings, 10 cents to give to the church or the poor, and the rest they can spend. Kids who learn how to save their money for something are learning how to obtain something in an honest way, and so are not prone to crave other people’s things.
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Instead of wanting what others have, we should thank God for what we DO have. Jesus says, do not be anxious for your life, or worried about what you don’t have. Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap, yet their heavenly Father feeds them. Be not worried about other things, for your Father in heaven knows what you need.
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I told our school children that when I was young we never had to lock our doors, no one stole things. A little boy asked: ‘How can we get it to be like that again?’ I said, we have to start following Jesus, then it will be like that again.
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O Lord, help us – Mary, pray for us. That by our own uprightness and honesty, the world will become more like the Kingdom of God.
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Entrusted to the prayers of Venerable Mother Maria Kaupas
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine.
She was born in 332 in North Africa and raised in a Catholic home. An incident happened once when she was a little girl: she was often sent down to the cellar to draw wine for the family; but she fell into the habit of taking sips of wine. One day a servant told everyone about this – well, little Monica was so embarrassed that she gave up this habit, and from that day she became determined to live only a virtuous life.
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Her parents arranged for her to marry a man named Patricius, who was a pagan. But in their marriage, he had a terrible temper and often treated her badly. Many today would say, ‘leave him,’ but no. She prayed for him and sought to quiet his anger. She suffered a great deal in that home. Other women would comment on the poor character of her husband; but she not once ever made a negative comment about him. Her example led many other women to have patience toward their husbands, and because of her kind way, Patricius was converted to the faith.
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Her son Augustine was the ‘problem child.’ She prayed very hard for him, going often to Church. By age 29 he had joined a religion called Manichaeism, he was living with a woman, and had a child out of wedlock. But she patiently continued her prayers. A holy bishop once told her, ‘God’s time will come; a son of such tears, will certainly not be lost.’
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Augustine wanted to go to Rome to become a professor. Monica begged him not to go, and so he said he would not. But he lied, and slipped away by night, on a boat for Rome.
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Augustine would later write: ‘While she was weeping and praying for me, I deceived her with a lie. And what did she ask of you, my God, only that you would not let me sail away. But you Lord in your mercy, granted that I would set out on a path that would lead me to You, to grant her what she always wanted.’
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Arriving in Rome, and then to Milan, Augustine met St. Ambrose. Ambrose began the conversion of his mind – – and God would complete the conversion of his heart.
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Monica died in Ostia near Rome in the arms of her son. As she lay dying she said: ‘Son, all my hopes are complete. I only desired to see you become a Catholic, and a child of heaven. But God has done much more than even that. Lay my body anywhere, the only thing I ask is that you remember me at the altar of the Lord wherever you are.
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Tomorrow we will celebrate the feast of St. Augustine, this wayward son, who became a priest and a bishop and a great saint –
all because of the patient prayers – of a mother.
