Brethren in Christ, God give you Peace.
Pray with me:
Bless the Lord, my soul. How great You are and infinite Your love! You have spoken to my heart and I now dare to translate it to my head that I may share Your love and show Your glory. Forgive me for I know I cannot do justice to Your message. I fear so terribly displeasing You, for I love You so dearly and know Your love for me is beyond my comprehension. Give me words, Lord, as You gave testimony to my brethren as they faced their detractors and, in the case of so many, suffered martyrdom. I want nothing of myself Lord but to please and love You. Take this sinful, unworthy worm of a man and transform me into an instrument of Your Peace. Amen.
Brethren in Christ, the question occurred to me the other day: How have the most effective military leaders throughout history become so?
Time and again, we see that these people came to excel in their craft by studying those who had gone before them. At the most prestigious military training academies of even today, future military leaders study the tactics and maneuvers of those who lived long ago, in different times, with different equipment and in different places. Why?
Because those people succeeded and excelled at what they did. They maintained some form of common conduct and/or practice essential to achieve their goals. Our future military leaders can look from battle to battle and leader to leader and find applications to their own circumstances. These applications are timeless and placeless. And if our future leaders learn them, embrace them and emulate them, they too can achieve the higher levels of their endeavors. This applies to so many other fields as well: ie. painting, music, architecture, physics... everything!
Why do we, in the most important endeavor in our lives, our personal sanctification in hope of attaining eternal life, not look to those great people who have gone before us with such (apparent) success? I speak, of course, of the Saints.
My brothers and sisters, you can spend your whole life reading Scripture and theological books and learn NOTHING which allows you to progress in your personal spiritual development. We are in a war. The biggest war of all time. We cannot see it with our blinded, physical eyes, but it is no less real and present.
Would a military leader have much success in winning a battle by reading the descriptions of his equipment with no regard for the tactics in using it? Absolutely not. And they do not. They study those who have gone before them. The equipment is irrelevant. It is the application.
Are not the Saints those who have fought the battles before us? Can we learn nothing from them? Quite to the contrary. Theirs are the lives that we should try to imitate. If we seek to learn how to pray, who better to learn from? If we seek to grow closer to God, who better to imitate? If we seek to avoid errors, why not learn from the mistakes of others? They have paved the way for us and shine as examples so that we may see the path more clearly. Why stumble about in the dark?
I feel such deep remorse for our Saints who have been so forgotten by us. They should stand out as beacons of light. Of hope. Of love. Whose example we can learn from and put into practice in our own lives. Without whose example, we have such terrible chances of failure. Their blood cries for justice! Their prayers are for us.
It grieves me so often to see the writings of some Saints held out, often out of context, in an attempt to refute some doctrine or teaching of the Church with absolutely no regard shown to the life of the Saint. Do not the actions of men reveal their person more so than the words? I recall a thread using words of St. Augustine not long ago in such a manner. But do those words, regardless of context, reveal the heart of the man? Did the person who studied those words likewise study the life of him who wrote them? If that person had, no doubt could remain as to exactly what St. Augustine believed. His life reveals his heart.
How terrible to practice a faith which does not make a part of it the regular study and veneration of its greatest warriors!!!! How limited they are in their spiritual development!!!! What chance have they of success?
We are in a fight for our life. The Gospels SHOUT to us of the spiritual reality. The spiritual journey and war that we are on and in. It seems to me so obvious that I beg the Lord forgive me in speaking as a child to an adult of mature things. Can we not see it! Lord open our eyes! Heal us our blindness!
Reflect with me, keeping in mind the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Blessed Rosary.
We men are slaves to sin. The Lord became man. In the garden, during His Agony, He took upon Himself our sin. Bearing our sin, He became like a slave, allowing Himself to be whipped as slaves are whipped. In doing so, he took upon His shoulders our slavery to sin. He then became the King of slaves to sin, being crowned with a crown of thorns to show it. For how can One be King of the slaves if One is not a slave!? What was Moses position and how is it similar?
And as Moses, by the power of God, broke the bond of slavery and led His people on a long journey to the promised land, so too does our King leads us. He leads us on the journey, which like His carrying of the cross, we must take an active role in. Was not one of the crowd called out to help our Lord in carrying His cross? Do you really think He NEEDED help!? Humble yourself. He needs nothing from us. We are but dust, incapable of carrying even ourselves. He invites and empowers us to join Him. We do so knowing that it is to join our suffering with His and knowing that to not do so is to not make the journey. To die as slaves to our sin in the desert. To never reach the promised land of eternal life. How arrogant it is to think that we can simply accept what He did without doing anything but watching it!
As He did for the people led by Moses, God provides. For them it was physical. He gave them the Law (Commandments), guidance in the Law (through Moses and those chosen by him to continue its governing) and sustenance (manna). Does Jesus not likewise provide for our spiritual journey? If He did not, we could not make it! We would rot in our desert, remaining slaves to sin and dying as such.
So for our spiritual journey, our parallel exodus, Jesus gives us the Law (the Golden Rule and re-authorization of the Commandments), guidance in the Law (the Holy Catholic Church) and sustenance (the Sacraments, primarily the Eucharist).
The only difference between the journey we are on now and that which the Israelites were on with Moses is that ours is spiritual and theirs was physical. Be not like Nicodemus. Be not like the Pharisees and even the disciples who heard the Bread of Life Discourse. These were all blind to the spiritual. They could not see. Worse yet, they could not believe.
At the end of the journey, just like at the end of the path on which Jesus, with us, carried the Cross, is the place of Crucifixion. The place where our King opened the door to the promised land. A door that only He could open. A door that only those who faithfully take the journey with Him can reach.
I implore you, my Catholic brethren, as you meditate upon the Sorrowful Mysteries of the most Blessed Rosary, that you open your heart to the parallels between the physical journey of the Israelites under Moses with the spiritual journey of the new Israelites (Christians) under Jesus. There is so much in this meditation that it nearly overwhelms me. Think too of Reconciliation and the other Sacraments we practice. It is truly our parallel Exodus!
My God, how it makes such sense! How it becomes so complete! It is as though the puzzle comes together and I cannot explain it. What joy Our Lady has brought to me in leading me to know Christ so!!! I have left much out of this message. Some because I am unable to put things in words and others because I wish you to be guided by our Lady, who awaits you with love and patience, ever ready to bring you closer to her Son, our Lord Jesus. You need only turn to her. Thank You Jesus for giving her to us!
Pray with me:
Precious Jesus, how we, your beloved disciples, long to rest our heads against Your breast and recline with You for eternity. Heal our blindness, increase our faith, fill us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Allow us to recognize and truly feel the spiritual journey we are on and the fight that we are in for our lives. Allow us to see how well You have provided for us for that journey so that we may succeed in making it. Thank You, dear King, for Your bread, which nourishes us, heals us and strengthens us. Grant that we too may gather it in with joy as the Israelites gathered in Your manna on their journey. Strengthen us so that we may bear Your cross with you, never abandoning You. Oh Lord how my heart hurts for You. How You give everything and yet people forsake You. How You forgive them even as they mock Your death, reject Your bread and do nothing to ease Your pain, believing that You came to bear it all without them and rejecting the Holy Church which You left in Your protection to guide us on our journey. Did not the Cloud lead Moses? Was it not God who provided the manna? Forgive us Lord our blindness and our vanity. Heal us. Take away our blindness and pull us tightly against Your breast, that we may feel Your warmth and forever rest in Your loving arms. Oh Jesus, how I adore You! Amen.
God Bless,
P12
Pray with me:
Bless the Lord, my soul. How great You are and infinite Your love! You have spoken to my heart and I now dare to translate it to my head that I may share Your love and show Your glory. Forgive me for I know I cannot do justice to Your message. I fear so terribly displeasing You, for I love You so dearly and know Your love for me is beyond my comprehension. Give me words, Lord, as You gave testimony to my brethren as they faced their detractors and, in the case of so many, suffered martyrdom. I want nothing of myself Lord but to please and love You. Take this sinful, unworthy worm of a man and transform me into an instrument of Your Peace. Amen.
Brethren in Christ, the question occurred to me the other day: How have the most effective military leaders throughout history become so?
Time and again, we see that these people came to excel in their craft by studying those who had gone before them. At the most prestigious military training academies of even today, future military leaders study the tactics and maneuvers of those who lived long ago, in different times, with different equipment and in different places. Why?
Because those people succeeded and excelled at what they did. They maintained some form of common conduct and/or practice essential to achieve their goals. Our future military leaders can look from battle to battle and leader to leader and find applications to their own circumstances. These applications are timeless and placeless. And if our future leaders learn them, embrace them and emulate them, they too can achieve the higher levels of their endeavors. This applies to so many other fields as well: ie. painting, music, architecture, physics... everything!
Why do we, in the most important endeavor in our lives, our personal sanctification in hope of attaining eternal life, not look to those great people who have gone before us with such (apparent) success? I speak, of course, of the Saints.
My brothers and sisters, you can spend your whole life reading Scripture and theological books and learn NOTHING which allows you to progress in your personal spiritual development. We are in a war. The biggest war of all time. We cannot see it with our blinded, physical eyes, but it is no less real and present.
Would a military leader have much success in winning a battle by reading the descriptions of his equipment with no regard for the tactics in using it? Absolutely not. And they do not. They study those who have gone before them. The equipment is irrelevant. It is the application.
Are not the Saints those who have fought the battles before us? Can we learn nothing from them? Quite to the contrary. Theirs are the lives that we should try to imitate. If we seek to learn how to pray, who better to learn from? If we seek to grow closer to God, who better to imitate? If we seek to avoid errors, why not learn from the mistakes of others? They have paved the way for us and shine as examples so that we may see the path more clearly. Why stumble about in the dark?
I feel such deep remorse for our Saints who have been so forgotten by us. They should stand out as beacons of light. Of hope. Of love. Whose example we can learn from and put into practice in our own lives. Without whose example, we have such terrible chances of failure. Their blood cries for justice! Their prayers are for us.
It grieves me so often to see the writings of some Saints held out, often out of context, in an attempt to refute some doctrine or teaching of the Church with absolutely no regard shown to the life of the Saint. Do not the actions of men reveal their person more so than the words? I recall a thread using words of St. Augustine not long ago in such a manner. But do those words, regardless of context, reveal the heart of the man? Did the person who studied those words likewise study the life of him who wrote them? If that person had, no doubt could remain as to exactly what St. Augustine believed. His life reveals his heart.
How terrible to practice a faith which does not make a part of it the regular study and veneration of its greatest warriors!!!! How limited they are in their spiritual development!!!! What chance have they of success?
We are in a fight for our life. The Gospels SHOUT to us of the spiritual reality. The spiritual journey and war that we are on and in. It seems to me so obvious that I beg the Lord forgive me in speaking as a child to an adult of mature things. Can we not see it! Lord open our eyes! Heal us our blindness!
Reflect with me, keeping in mind the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Blessed Rosary.
We men are slaves to sin. The Lord became man. In the garden, during His Agony, He took upon Himself our sin. Bearing our sin, He became like a slave, allowing Himself to be whipped as slaves are whipped. In doing so, he took upon His shoulders our slavery to sin. He then became the King of slaves to sin, being crowned with a crown of thorns to show it. For how can One be King of the slaves if One is not a slave!? What was Moses position and how is it similar?
And as Moses, by the power of God, broke the bond of slavery and led His people on a long journey to the promised land, so too does our King leads us. He leads us on the journey, which like His carrying of the cross, we must take an active role in. Was not one of the crowd called out to help our Lord in carrying His cross? Do you really think He NEEDED help!? Humble yourself. He needs nothing from us. We are but dust, incapable of carrying even ourselves. He invites and empowers us to join Him. We do so knowing that it is to join our suffering with His and knowing that to not do so is to not make the journey. To die as slaves to our sin in the desert. To never reach the promised land of eternal life. How arrogant it is to think that we can simply accept what He did without doing anything but watching it!
As He did for the people led by Moses, God provides. For them it was physical. He gave them the Law (Commandments), guidance in the Law (through Moses and those chosen by him to continue its governing) and sustenance (manna). Does Jesus not likewise provide for our spiritual journey? If He did not, we could not make it! We would rot in our desert, remaining slaves to sin and dying as such.
So for our spiritual journey, our parallel exodus, Jesus gives us the Law (the Golden Rule and re-authorization of the Commandments), guidance in the Law (the Holy Catholic Church) and sustenance (the Sacraments, primarily the Eucharist).
The only difference between the journey we are on now and that which the Israelites were on with Moses is that ours is spiritual and theirs was physical. Be not like Nicodemus. Be not like the Pharisees and even the disciples who heard the Bread of Life Discourse. These were all blind to the spiritual. They could not see. Worse yet, they could not believe.
At the end of the journey, just like at the end of the path on which Jesus, with us, carried the Cross, is the place of Crucifixion. The place where our King opened the door to the promised land. A door that only He could open. A door that only those who faithfully take the journey with Him can reach.
I implore you, my Catholic brethren, as you meditate upon the Sorrowful Mysteries of the most Blessed Rosary, that you open your heart to the parallels between the physical journey of the Israelites under Moses with the spiritual journey of the new Israelites (Christians) under Jesus. There is so much in this meditation that it nearly overwhelms me. Think too of Reconciliation and the other Sacraments we practice. It is truly our parallel Exodus!
My God, how it makes such sense! How it becomes so complete! It is as though the puzzle comes together and I cannot explain it. What joy Our Lady has brought to me in leading me to know Christ so!!! I have left much out of this message. Some because I am unable to put things in words and others because I wish you to be guided by our Lady, who awaits you with love and patience, ever ready to bring you closer to her Son, our Lord Jesus. You need only turn to her. Thank You Jesus for giving her to us!
Pray with me:
Precious Jesus, how we, your beloved disciples, long to rest our heads against Your breast and recline with You for eternity. Heal our blindness, increase our faith, fill us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Allow us to recognize and truly feel the spiritual journey we are on and the fight that we are in for our lives. Allow us to see how well You have provided for us for that journey so that we may succeed in making it. Thank You, dear King, for Your bread, which nourishes us, heals us and strengthens us. Grant that we too may gather it in with joy as the Israelites gathered in Your manna on their journey. Strengthen us so that we may bear Your cross with you, never abandoning You. Oh Lord how my heart hurts for You. How You give everything and yet people forsake You. How You forgive them even as they mock Your death, reject Your bread and do nothing to ease Your pain, believing that You came to bear it all without them and rejecting the Holy Church which You left in Your protection to guide us on our journey. Did not the Cloud lead Moses? Was it not God who provided the manna? Forgive us Lord our blindness and our vanity. Heal us. Take away our blindness and pull us tightly against Your breast, that we may feel Your warmth and forever rest in Your loving arms. Oh Jesus, how I adore You! Amen.
God Bless,
P12
