Deny yourself
Friends in the Lord, we begin Lent this week, and Mother Church gives us today this gospel, in which Our Savior says: ‘If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’
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Here, he is speaking to each of us. What does it mean to ‘deny ourself.’ It means first of all, that we do God’s will, not our own. Frequently, doing what we know God wants of us is harder than what WE want. To indulge in the gossip is fun, but to do God’s will is not so easy. To stare at the pretty girl is easy, to turn the eyes away and be pure is not as easy. To deny ourself, means to choose the good path instead of the easy path.
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To deny ourself also means to deny ourself some legitimate things from time to time. St. Alphonsus says that if we never deny ourself legitimate things, we will not have the strength to turn away from evil things. The children in the school are all giving up something for lent, legitimate things. We all should do some mortification this Lent, this is also to deny ourself.
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‘You must deny yourself and take up your cross.’ What is ‘to take up your cross?’ When Jesus was only a boy, about 11, he would have heard about a Jew who was near by Nazareth who led a rebellion against the Romans; he had raided the royal armory at Sepphoris which was only 4 miles from Nazareth. The Romans were angry; so Sepphoris was burned to the ground, and two thousand rebels were crucified on crosses which were set in lines along the roadside for all to see. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph would have known about that.
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To take up our cross means to be prepared to endure even such things as that, but for loyalty to Christ and his Church. But we won’t be able to do any great thing for the Lord, unless we practice in the little things, and that means denying ourself.
Repent
Friends in Christ, Lent begins today.
The holy Gospel calls us to repent, do penance, and turn away from our sins. We all must do it, and we all have plenty of sins to atone for.
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St. Catherine of Genoa had once lived a rather worldly life; but at age 27 she had a conversion, and resolved to change her ways. As she was preparing for Confession, God gave her a vision of her own wretchedness and faults. Seeing the truth of herself, she fell to the ground and cried out: ‘No more sins! No more sins!’
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Friends, we can’t hold onto even a little bit of our sin, we can’t have both God and evil in us. Lent is the time to kill the evil in us. We must kill our sins to please God, to find peace, and above all, to avoid hell.
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I was on a priest-retreat recently, and you know, every good retreat includes a meditation on hell; St. Josemaria says, at least once a day we should consider the real possibility of hell for ourselves. It keeps us sane, it reminds us of what is at stake, because in the end, if we would turn away from the path of Christ, we will be separated from God forever.
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St. Teresa of Avila was one day given by God a brief experience of hell. She says, I understood that the Lord wanted me to see the place the devils had prepared for me and which I merited because of my sins. This experience she says, took place within the shortest space of time, but even were I to live for many years I think it would be impossible for me to forget it.
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She saw a place of horrors. A foul stench – dirty – and she was placed into a small hole, crammed in. ‘I experienced an interior fire that I don’t know how I could describe,’ she said. There was a suffocating unhappiness, but the worst was that interior fire and despair.
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Friends, we must avoid hell at all costs; to end there would be the final disaster of our life, but it is always a real possibility. Lent is a time for us to kill our sins, and turn back to Jesus Christ. It is the time to choose again the path of heaven instead of hell.
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St. Bernard says, sometimes we think we have cut down the evils in our life, but they will always bud new shoots;[i] ‘Remember, he says, you have within yourself an enemy whom you may overcome, but whom you cannot exterminate.’
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So, we begin this penitential season;
Holy Mother Church loves and guards her children so much, that she insists that we all go to Confession once a year, it is required. It’s for salvation. And Mother Church gives us Lent as a time to repent, confess, and begin again.
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[i] Mirror of Priests, p. 13.
Don’t worry
Friends in the Lord, in the gospel today we find the apostles so very concerned, because they were going across the lake in the boat, and in their haste they had forgotten to bring enough bread to eat. Jesus sees them fretting over this, and he warns them to ‘guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.’
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For the Jewish people, leaven was a symbol for human weakness toward sin and corruption; leaven was fermented dough left over from before, and it could easily become moldy and corrupt So in their complaining about forgetting the bread, Our Lord is poking at them, to not have the faults of the Pharisees and Herod.
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The great fault of both the Pharisees and Herod, was that they trusted only in themselves, not in God. They had to be in control of others and call all the shots, and lord it over others, there was no trust in God’s providence at all.
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But Jesus says to his disciples, ‘You are worried about not having enough bread to eat? Don’t you remember what I just did? We fed 5000 people with a few loaves, don’t you think I can take care of you?
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We worry about so many things that we wish to control, instead of just handing them over to God, and accepting his plan of how it will turn out. If we look back on our life, we see those times of darkness when we didn’t know how we would do it, but it worked out.
– that problem that seemed insoluble, but somehow it was solved
– that broken heart that we thought would never heal
.The Lord has so many times brought us through troubled times, but still, today, we don’t trust him – we fret and worry.
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St. Francis de Sales says that sin is the worst thing that can happen to us; but the next worse thing, is worry. The Holy Spirit can’t work in us if we are full of anxiety, trusting in ourselves instead of God. Putting everything in God’s hands doesn’t mean it will work out the way WE want it to; it doesn’t mean we won’t experience the cross – it means that we are ready to accept however God allows it to work out, because he never gives us more than we can handle, and he is with us every step of the way.
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Lent begins tomorrow. Maybe we can work on trusting God more during this Lent.
God surrounds us with signs
Friends in the Lord, at the time of Christ, many believed that when the Messiah would come amazing and unusual things would happen. False Messiah’s were promising that they would one day do things, such as part the Jordan River like Joshua did, or bring down the walls of the Jerusalem by a single word.
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Such a sign, the Pharisees were demanding of Jesus: It says that ‘they were looking for a sign from heaven, to test him.’ These demands were not out of faith, but challenge.
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But this was not the intention of Jesus Christ. To him, the whole world was full of signs of God, we can just look around us. St. Paul says that God has made himself known in the beauty of creation: ‘for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood through the things that are made.’
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Some people are always wishing for signs, to know that God is really listening, that he cares about us. But for heaven sakes, let us look at the miracle of the world around us.
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We love summer days and blue skies and flowers, but these cold and snappy winter days also help us in a different way, in a way that makes us strong.
The daylight is getting longer, and we can’t help but feel that spring is not so far off – we see daily the miracle of the sunrise and sunset, the miracle of life in babies, in children, in others; the Lord is present in every person, or he wishes to be.
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To ponder for just a short while, leads us to recognize what a gift our own existence is, and all of this cries out, that God is alive, he has made everything for us; his creation is a daily sign of his love.
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When St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi held a flower in her hand, she felt God’s presence, and she would say to herself: my Good Father has thought from all eternity, to create this flower for me, that I might love him.
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In Ecclesiastes we read: ‘God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done.’ Eccl 3:11
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The sign of a truly religious person is not that he only comes to Church to find God, but that he finds God everywhere. William Barclay will say: ‘For him who has eyes to see and a heart to understand, the daily miracle of night and day, and the splendor of all common things, is sign enough from God.
The Corporal Works of Mercy
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Friends in Christ, in 1864, a young missionary got his dream of being sent to the South Sea Islands. The ship carrying Father Damien de Veuster[i] arrived at the then-primitive Island of Hawaii. This energetic young man set out to build churches and chapels with his own hands, and taught the natives about Jesus. In 9 years, Father Damien had thriving congregations of converts.
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Then came the day in which he was present at a Mass offered by the bishop. The bishop spoke glowingly of all the efforts at bringing Christ to the people of the islands, but then his voice changed, and he spoke of more that must be done. He spoke of the dreaded island of Molokai. It was the island where everyone was sent who had come down with the horrid disease of leprosy. The bishop’s voice quivered – ‘those lepers need Christ,’ he said. No sooner had he paused in his speech than did 4 young priests, including Damien, spring to their feet and plead to be sent.
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The bishop’s eyes filled with tears as he gazed at those 4 young, earnest faces. The one chosen would never come back, and would certainly contract the dreaded illness. Damien pleaded his case, arguing that the other 3 were less experienced and could easily take over the churches he had already begun. And so he was chosen.
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From the day he stood on the shore, and watched the ship sail away, his life became an embrace of the disfigured, the diseased, and the dying. He was not afraid to touch them and share his meals with them, because he knew that eventually he would have it anyway. He set to work building them huts, bathing their wounds, and sanctifying their souls. Yes, he anointed many who were dying, built many coffins, and buried people every day. But he built a community full of hope; he taught them that suffering was temporary, until heaven; he gave people a reason for living: Eternal Life.
Ultimately he did contract the disease; then he was able to say, ‘I also am one of you!’ St. Damien of Molakai was often called, the happiest missionary in the world.
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Friends in Christ, There are 7 Corporal Works of Mercy: Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, shelter the homeless, bury the dead, and visit the sick. These are ways that we are called to care for the bodily- that is, the ‘corporal’ needs of our neighbor. We cannot claim to be a Christian if we turn our back on those in need.
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There is a movie coming out soon called ‘Little boy;’ it is about a boy whose dad is away at war, he wants him home; he is told to pray that he comes home, to pray with faith, and the priest tells him to do the Corporal works of mercy which he tries to do perfectly, and this shows his faith. St. James says that we have real faith if we do these works of mercy.
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So: To feed the hungry:
Everyone needs food, so we have to help others. We can bring food to our food pantry, or we might know a family on our block that has a hard time making ends meet: ‘I got a great deal on all these eggs, here, we can’t use all of them.’ We can carry a food card in our wallet, to give people who approach us, and give to charities who fight starvation in other countries.
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To clothe the naked.
Everyone needs clothing. Many put clothes in our Vincent de Paul box, or give to other organizations. We could consider tithing 10% of our money; give 5% to the Church, and 5% to a good charity.
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Visit the imprisoned:
If we have a relative or neighbor in jail, we should go visit them, write to them. Our visit shows them that even though they have to pay for a crime, they are still loved by God. We could visit people in drug rehab or send them letters.
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Shelter the homeless:
Homeless shelters need financial support; homes for abused women or pregnancy help centers. But we should think too of the other ‘homeless.’ Neighbor kids who receive no affection in their home – invite them to stay for lunch, have a sleep-over, be one of those homes that the neighbor children love to be at.
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Bury the Dead:
We take off work to attend funerals; we have Masses offered, pray for our beloved dead, and visit their grave.
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Visit the sick:
In the Gospel today, we see this leper who comes to Jesus; no one wanted to ever touch a leper. But Christ stretches out his hand and touches him: “I do will it. Be made clean; and the leprosy left him immediately. But Our Lord did not heal every sick person on earth. Maybe he wants to teach us something, something about charity. Only when someone is sick, is there an opportunity for us to overcome our inconvenience and go visit him.
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Catholics used to be known for our care for the sick; it was our hallmark. Everyone knew that Catholics visited their sick friends in the hospital. But today this is not happening; I see many sick persons who are not visited. It is a scandal. It is a sin. It is a sign that the Christian faith is not in our homes or souls.
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‘And he will say to those on his left, depart from me into the everlasting fire, for I was hungry and you did not give me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink; naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ (Matt 25:41)
To neglect those in need is to neglect Jesus.
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In 1367 Blessed John Colombini[ii] dedicated his life to helping the sick. One day he found a man half dead, covered with sores. Touched to the heart, he carried him home and put him in his own bed. But when he brought his wife to see the man, to their surprise, he was not there, only a heavenly fragrance filled the room. Later, Jesus appeared and thanked him, because he WAS that sick man.
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Works of mercy actually help us as well. In so acting, we become changed. Acts of charity destroy selfishness, and happiness grows in our heart. My mother used to say, ‘When you feel sad, do something nice for someone else;’ but she was only following Jesus words, who tells us ‘give, and you will receive,’ and it will be given back to you in abundance.
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At the cross, Mary gazed on the wounded Jesus, her Son;
‘Who will compassion him?, she asks.
Mary, we will compassion him. We will help those who are hungry, or thirsty, or naked, or in prison, or homeless, or sick.
We will Mary, because when we do it for one of these, we are doing it for Thy Son.
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[Entrusted to the prayers of St. Nicholas]
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[i] He may have been a Brother at this time, and then ordained a priest upon arriving at Hawaii.
[ii] from How to Comfort the Sick and the Dying, p. 21.
St. Valentine
Friends in Christ, today is the feast of St. Cyril and Methodius. St. Cyril and Methodius were brothers, and were born in Greece. They both became bishops, and brought the gospel to the Slavic nations. In fact, they invented the Slavic alphabet, so that they could spread the faith. They are the saints of the liturgical calendar today. But also listed in the Roman Martyrology for saints of today we find – St. Valentine! So who is St. Valentine?
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St. Valentine lived way back in the Roman Empire, when there were laws against being Catholic. Emperor Claudius had also issued an edict forbidding marriage. He needed to increase his army, and he thought that unmarried, single men made better soldiers.
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Now Valentine was a priest, and he therefore secretly met with young couples, and prepared them for the sacrament of marriage. Eventually he was arrested for this. Emperor Claudius demanded that he worship the pagan gods. Valentine answered: ‘If you but knew the grace of God, you would turn your mind from idols and adore the God who is in heaven.’ But the emperor’s heart was hardened, and he condemned him to death.
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Now while he was awaiting his death in jail, Valentine prayed that the Lord would enlighten even the people in that jail. His jail guard, Asterius, had a blind daughter, and the daughter felt sorry for Valentine, and often brought him food in prison. In gratitude, he one day prayed over the girl, and her sight was miraculously restored. This led the whole household of Asterius to convert to the faith.
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Now in prison, Valentine would look out of his cell window, through the cold, iron bars into the blue sky, and doves would sometimes land near the window. He thought about the married couples he had prepared, and about his family. He wanted to send them a message. Well just within reach, grew a cluster of violets. Reaching between the bars, he took some of the leaves, which were shaped like a heart, and he poked holes in them with a thorn, forming words. “Remember your Valentine,” he would write. Attaching them to the doves, he sent them out. The next day, and the next, he sent more messages that simply said, “I love you. – your Valentine” And so this legend would seem to be the origin of sending Valentines.
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After performing many cures, and bringing so many to Christ, even in prison, he was beheaded for the Faith, on Feb. 14th, 273, in Rome.
St. Valentine: priest, and martyr for the Holy Catholic Faith.
A Christian’s outer life
Friends in Christ, in the gospel today, the Lord heals this deaf man – another miracle. The people were seeing these miracles – how Jesus handled himself, his poise, his wisdom, and power – and this lead them to say: ‘He has done all things well.’
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Jesus Christ lived as the perfect man, and therefore to be around him, to see him, was to see a person who had that ideal balance of the virtues, and in this we might say he had perfect ‘decorum.’ In older books on the spiritual life, they would often speak of how one should handle oneself in various situations and encounters. St. Thomas Aquinas devotes some serious ink to this subject which he calls ‘modesty in our outward movements.’
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We are meant to live rightly on the inside for sure, and then to conduct ourselves with decorum on the outside. Sometimes delicate situations arise and they should be handled with sensitivity. In the gospel we see how Our Lord handles the situation with this man who is deaf and dumb. Notice what he does. A deaf person can easily feel embarrassed around crowds; but Jesus shows the most tender consideration for his situation: it says that he took him aside from the crowd in order to help him, privately. In everything our Lord did, he shows the grace and refinement that we should seek.
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Today, it is not uncommon to see people who are boisterous, impolite, or even crude – they display no subtlety or tact. But if we are to imitate Jesus, we must conduct ourselves better.
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In his book ‘tour of the Summa’ Mgsr. Glenn says that this sense of decorum should inform all our outward behavior, even how we dress. Those who dress in a very sloppy way do not have this modesty about themselves, and it conveys a vulgar approach to living. St. Ambrose says, the way we dress should not go strongly against custom, provided the custom is decent. And our clothes should be clean and ourselves clean.
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Thomas Aquinas tells us that we need this decorum even in how we recreate. In leisure activities or sports or games we should have courtesy toward others and really participate, without being addicted to the game.
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This virtue also calls us to avoid ostentation or show; after Christ healed that deaf man, we see how he tells the people to say nothing about the miracle; he knew they would tell, but he wanted to teach the apostles to be reserved, and shun any pretention.
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Having a gracious attitude in how we handle ourselves in all situations will show a real refinement worthy of a disciple of Christ.
Our Lady of Lourdes (Mary’s light)
Friends in Christ, today is the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
In 1858, the Blessed Virgin appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France. Bernadette, having told a number of people that she was seeing a beautiful Lady who prayed the rosary with her and spoke to her – well, many doubted her story at first. Her parents and teachers, and even the parish priest were skeptical of the claims of this young girl.
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Bernadette went each day, for 14 days, to the grotto to see the Blessed Virgin. By the final days, some 20,000 people were there with her, full of Faith. Why did the people have this faith? To see this, we might consider what St. Bonaventure says. Bonaventure says that the sun in the sky is a type of Jesus Christ, shining its light. But the moon is a type of the Blessed Virgin, who shines brightly in the night sky, yet in actuality, it is reflecting the light of the Sun to the earth. So to see the bright light of the moon at night, is to see the light of the Sun. The reflection is there.
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To look upon Mary is to feel the warmth of the love of Christ; she reflects it to us. With this in mind, we ask again, what was it that caused those people of Lourdes to believe that Bernadette was seeing Mary? Was it because of the miraculous spring which came forth to heal many? Did this make them believe? Was it because of Bernadette’s sincerity and persistence? Perhaps something else.
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Those 20,000 people believed Bernadette, because of the effect that Our Blessed Mother had on her. Because Mary, who reflects the light of Christ, reflected her light upon Bernadette, which they could see.
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An unbeliever who was a skeptic, who went to the grotto to see Bernadette, he writes about his experience: ‘She was on her knees, her eyes wide open and fixed on the grotto. She had in her folded hands her Rosary, which she began to pray. At the 3rd Hail Mary she entered into ecstasy. As soon as the Lady appeared, Bernadette’s smile became lovely and her face changed. It was a delight to see her. Tears were streaming from both her eyes. She was smiling and her face was lovely – lovelier than anything I’ve ever seen. To see her face like that brought tears to your eyes.’[i]
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So, it was Bernadette’s face – a face of heavenly joy, seeing Mary reflected in her face, that caused those thousands of people to believe. Another witness wrote this: ‘I was facing her, only about 2 yards away; if you had only seen her eyes! It was enough to bring you to your knees.’[ii] Her smile[iii] was beyond all description – I felt that I was on the threshold of Paradise.[iv]
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That’s where Mary wants to bring us; to the arms of Jesus in Paradise.
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[i] St. Bernadette Soubirous, p. 52, 63
[ii] p. 66
[iii] It was a sight to see – thousands of people, in a profound silence, as if in Church.
[iv] p. 112, 125, 126
