A beautiful witness of God's Love and Presence in our Day

Divine Mercy

We celebrate the Divine Mercy Sunday on the eighth day of the Easter Octave.
Our Lord has promised many graces, among them, for those who receive Holy Communion, having confessed their sins (within the time of Lent) the full remission of temporal punishment due to sin and the assistance of His continual Mercy.
This is the First Conference I will be giving tomorrow at St. Rose of Lima Parish, Cadott, WI, for the celebration of Divine Mercy.
Divine Mercy Sunday 2010


Talk I: “O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in Thee”—Living the Sacramental Life (Part 1)


From the Diary of St. Faustina:
In the evening [of February 22, 1931] when I was in my cell, I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand [was] raised in the gesture of blessing, the other was touched the garment at the breast. From beneath the garment, slightly drawn aside a the breast, there were emanating two large rays, one red, the other pale. In silence I kept my gaze fixed on the Lord; my soul was struck with aware, but also with great joy. After a while, Jesus said to me, “Paint an image according to the pattern you see, with the signature: Jesus, I trust in You. I desire that this image be venerated, first in your chapel, and [then] throughout the world.”(47)


Later on in the Diary, she writes:
When, on one occasion, my confessor told me to ask the Lord Jesus the meaning of the two rays in the image, I answered, very well, I will ask the Lord.”

During prayer I heard these words within me: The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls…

These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized heart was opened by a lance on the Cross.

These rays shield souls from the wrath of My Father. Happy is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him. I desire that the first Sunday after Easter be the Feast of Mercy.(299)

It is from these messages of our Lord to St. Faustina, acknowledged as worthy of belief by the Church, that our celebration today finds its origin, in recent times. Through the message of Divine Mercy, faithfully handed on the this beautiful Polish Sister, in the years between World Wars I and II, the world is offered hope in the time of immense darkness, suffering, fear, immorality, and despair. “Jesus, I trust in You,” the inscription that our Lord requested at the base of His Image, is a summary of all that Sister Faustina lived, experienced, received and passed on in her Diary and in her life of holiness.
“Jesus, I trust in You.” The message of the New Testament, the Gospels and Epistles all can be summarized in this phrase. For, Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Promised One Who has come to save us from our sins, the very meaning of His Name, Jesus. Trust in His blessed Resurrection, a true, historical event, not just some kind “religious experience” that could be interpreted as “mass hallucination” or an exaggerated claim based upon “a common experience”…no, as believers, Jesus’ Resurrection from the dead is the source of our hope, our trust.

“O Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in Thee!”

Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his book “Behold the Pierced One”: “Both Jn 7, 37-39 and 19, 34…are concerned with the opened side of Jesus, with the blood and water which flow from it. Both passages are an expression of the Paschal Mystery: from the Lord’s pierced Heart proceeds the life-giving stream of the sacraments; the grain of wheat, dying, becomes the new ear, carrying the fruit of the Church forward through the ages…the water of life which springs from the Lord’s side is the Holy Spirit, the spring of life which makes the desert bloom.”

In the Gospel of Saint John, Chapter 7, verses 37 to 39 we hear:

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out:
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me; let him drink who believes in me. Scripture has it: ‘From within him rivers of living water shall flow.’”
(Here he was referring to the Spirit, whom those that came to believe in him were to receive. There was, of course, no Spirit as yet, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.)

Jesus is quoting a verse from the Prophet Isaiah, “With joy you will draw water at the foundation of salvation, and say on that day: Give thanks to the Lord, acclaim his name; among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name” (12,3).

In the 19th chapter of Saint John, the “glorification” of Jesus takes place; He is hanging upon the Cross, the life-giving Tree, that will offer salvation to all those who believe in Him. The 34th verse reads: “One of the soldiers thrust a lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.”

This is the origin of the red and white rays that issue forth from the Heart of Jesus in the image of Divine Mercy. The significance of this “wounding” and the “flowing of blood and water” is something that goes back into the prophecies of the Old Testament. The Promised One is to be the “Man of Sorrows”, the “wounded One”. Jesus calls His Body the Temple. From the prophet Ezekiel we hear this description of the Temple. It foreshadows the piercing of the Savior’s side, from which the life-giving sacramental graces will be given throughout time in the Church, His Body,

“Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east; the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple, south of the altar. He lead me outside by the north gate facing the east, where I saw water trickling from the southern side….there was noa river through which I could not wade; for the water had risen so high it had become a river that could not be crossed except by swimming…Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides. He said to me, “This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah, and empties into the seas, the salt waters, which makes it fresh. Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,…Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine"(Chpt. 47).

The antiphon, “Vidi aquam”, or “I saw water flowing from the temple” is the traditional Easter chant for the sprinkling rite in both the Extraordinary Form (the Traditional Latin Mass) and the Ordinary Form (the Mass of Pope Paul VI). This verse, taken from the prophet Ezekiel, points to the realities mentioned previously. The new sacramental dispensation, promised in sign and symbol in the Old Testament, begins with the piercing of Jesus’ side; the “giving” of the Holy Spirit on Easter night…the Lord says to His disciples, “Peace be with you;”…Then he breathed on them and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound” (20, 21-23). This particular passage begins in this way: “On the evening of that first day of the week, even though the disciples had locked the doors of the place where they were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood before them." The locked door is a part of the Divine Mercy image; Jesus stands before it with His wounds and the rays emanating from His pierced Heart.

The Gospel assigned for today, the eighth day of Easter, is the account of St. Thomas’ encounter with the wounds of Jesus. He insists upon placing his fingers into the pierced Christ. St. Thomas has often been called “the doubter”; and this may be so. But what this Scriptural encounter tells us even more is that Jesus is truly risen; that St. Thomas’ desire, even need, to touch the wounds of the living Lord is a ‘sacramental encounter’, the true encounter that each of us is given in receiving the Lord in Holy Communion, in being absolved of our sins in the Sacrament of Penance; and more fundamentally, of being immersed in the death and rising of the Lord in Baptism, the gateway to all of the sacraments.

Holy Baptism is our initiation into the death of the Lord. We are marked by an indelible character that “christens” us, makes us “other Christs” that can never be altered. Baptism is not merely the taking away of original sin. It is the change from mere natural life to supernatural life; the promise of eternal life, as those who belong to the Lord Jesus forever. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte “a new creature,” an adopted son of God, who has become a “partaker of the divine nature,” member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit” (1265). The water flowing from the side of the Crucified Lord is the means of making Christians; not only do we belong to God, in Christ Jesus, but we are united to all of those “reborn in water and the Spirit”, we are made “living stones” to be “built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood” (CCC 1268). By Baptism we “no longer belong to ourself, but to him who died and rose for us. From now on, [we] are called to be subject to others, to serve them in the communion of the Church, and to ‘obey and submit’ to the Church’s leaders, holding them in respect and affection” (1269).

Our Baptism initiates us into the death and risen life of the Lord and places us within the communion of the Church. From the graces received, we are to live in righteousness and holiness. As the life of grace develops, the Lord calls each one of us to a particular mission. Through out baptismal calling, we grow in the likeness of Christ and open our hearts to His summons: to the priesthood, consecrated life, married life, dedicated single life in the world. The profound love of the Savior for each one of us is manifested in this ray of light, the life=giving waters of Baptism that make us children of God and orient our entire existence to Him, to be fulfilled in eternal life.

The baptismal life requires us to be faithful to God in His Laws and Commandments. But, since we have the effects of original sin, we are still frail in our humanity and require further assistance in growing in His grace and responding to His call. This is where the Sacrament of Penance becomes such an important part of the authentic life of Catholics. We cannot simply depend upon our own efforts. The Sacrament of Penance is not only a means of the forgiveness of mortal sin; it is the “tribunal of mercy” which St. Faustina so faithfully records our Lord’s words and puts it into practice in her own life.
It is sometimes thought that if one is not conscious of mortal sin, confession is not necessary. But this is not the teaching of the Church. It is true that venial sins may be expiated in many ways: reception of Holy Communion, a perfect act of contrition, the devout use of Holy Water, the Lord’s Prayer, and other prayers. But the Sacrament of Penance is not only for those in mortal sin. It is the means of perfection, by which those who desire to grow in union with the Lord, receive many graces, blessing, healing and strengthening to respond to the Lord. It is unfortunate that in the last forty or so years, the Sacrament of Penance has not been encouraged for those who desire to make what is called “devotional confession”. The most important factor in receiving the Sacrament of Penance for those who are not conscious of mortal sin is to make it an opportunity to enkindle within their hearts true sorrow for all sin and a desire to grow in union with our Lord. It is not necessary for one who is conscious of venial sin only, to enumerate each and every venial sin; the importance of this reception of the Sacrament of Penance is to be sorry for each and every venial sin and to confess the particular sins that are in most need of correction. If you are sorry for every sin and do not want to offend the Lord, you receive full absolution and forgiveness; you also receive an increase of grace, healing, and a full or partial remission of temporal punishment due to sin.

Love the Sacrament of Penance! Receive it often with faith, hope and love! Have great confidence in the love, mercy and help our Lord gives in this great manifestation of His Peace and forgiveness. We all are in need of it; our spiritual lives cannot grow and be fruitful unless we encounter Jesus often in this wonderful expression of His Love.

Returning to the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah, we hear from the prophet Zechariah:
"I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and petition; and they shall look on him whom they have thrust through and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they shall grieve over him as one grieve over a first-born.(12,10)…On that day there shall be open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a fountain to purify from sin and uncleanness. On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will destroy the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be mentioned no more; I will also take away the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness from the land” (13, 1-2).

What is clear from these prophecies, in both Zechariah and Isaiah, as well as from the prophet Ezekiel, is that the Promised One would be pierced; the waters flowing from the Temple (the Body of Christ) would give everlasting life to those who believe in Him. This foreshadows the piercing of our Lord’s Sacred Heart upon the Cross where the streams of water, the “New Covenant” would be the transformative means of making children of God, heirs of heaven, temples of the Holy Spirit.

St. Faustina received from the Lord Jesus a message of hope that is most certainly the message of the Gospels, of the apostolic preaching, of the promises and foreshadowing of the Old Testament prophets. It is a message that is both a consolation and a challenge; the pierced Heart of the Savior is the very means of our salvation, but we must respond with faith and trust. “Jesus, I trust in You,” is no mere pious phrase. It is the summation of all of salvation history.

Our baptismal consecration has destined us for the life that never ends. Are we being faithful to this grace? Do we take seriously our call to “be in the world, but not of the world”? Do we see beyond the devotional aspects, important as they may be, into the real essence of what it means to be devoted to Divine Mercy? Is the great gift of the Sacrament of Penance, meant to be a means of renewal, restoration, healing and rejuvenation in the life of God something we take for granted?

In the next meditation, I will give some points for reflection upon the Most Holy Eucharist, the very Presence of God-with-us, Jesus Christ, our Savior, in His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. The Eucharistic life, so very central to St. Faustina’s mystical life of love and surrender, is the very source of our own growth in holiness, reparation and intercession.

“May the Heart of Jesus, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, loved and adored at every moment, in all the tabernacles throughout the world, even now and until the end of time.” Amen.

A blessed Easter to all of you from the Nazareth Community of the Institute of Saint Joseph!

Christ is risen! He is truly risen! Alleluia!

May the joy and hope of this day fill your hearts with the PEACE He gives in His Presence in our midst, especially in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar!

Spy Wednesday

The tradition of the liturgical year of the Church assigns Wednesday of Holy Week as the day that Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

Dom Gueranger, the great Benedictine liturgical scholar, offers this hymn from the Greek liturgy that describes the whole incident and is a moving account of this horrible treachery.

On this day, Judas leaves his Master, and takes the devil for his guide. The love of money blinds him. He fell from the light, he became darkened: for how could he be said to see, who sold the Light for thirty pieces of silver? But to us he that suffered for the world has risen: let us thus cry out unto him: Glory be to thee, who didst endure thy Passion, and hadst compassion on mankind.

What was it, O Judas! that lead thee to betray Jesus? Had he cut thee off from the number of his apostles? Had he deprived thee of the gift of healing the sick? When he supped with his apostles did he drive thee from table? When he washed their feet, did he pass thee by? And yet thou wast unmindful of these great favours! Thy ungrateful plot has branded thee with infamy: but his incomparable patience and great mercy are everywhere praised.

Say, O ye unjust ones! what is it ye have heard from our Saviour? Did he not expound unto you the Law and the Prophets? Why therefore, have ye plotted how to deliver up to Pilate the Word that is from God, and that came to redeem our souls?

They that enjoyed thy unceasing gifts cried out: 'Let him be crucified!'These murderers of such as were innocent, sought thee, that they might treat thee, their benefactor, as an evil-doer. But thou, O Christ! didst bear their wickedness with silence; for thou, being the lover of mankind, didst desire to suffer for and save us.

We are prevented from speaking by the multitude of our sins: do thou, O Virgin-Mother of God! pray for us to him that was born of thee, for the Mother's prayer avails much with the mercy of our Lord.
Despise not O most pure Virgin! the prayers of sinners, for he that refused not even to suffer for us, is merciful, and is able to save us.

Today, as always, we have Judas' in our midst; those who, for whatever reason, betray our Lord anew. In these days of false accusations, distortions, and contempt of our dear Holy Father, Pope Benedict, let us pray that the evil one will be prevented from further harm to him, the Vicar of Christ and Successor of Saint Peter, and to Holy Church. The enemies of God, the Truth, and the Church are busy; let's get even busier by our prayer, penance and love.

Image: http://blog.adw.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/spywednesdaypainting.jpg
Text of the Greek hymn: from Dom Gueranger, "The Liturgical Year", vol. 6, Passiontide and Holy Week, Loreto Publications.

Second Passion (Palm) Sunday at "Cor Jesu Oratory"

Our Palm Sunday blessing and procession was very beautiful today. We had sun and a nice congregation who joined us for the commemoration of Jesus' Triumphal Entrance into Jerusalem.

Here are some images of our Oratory for this beginning of Holy Week at Cor Jesu Oratory.

Our prayers and best wishes for a blessed and holy week with Jesus, our Crucified and Risen Lord!

Yesterday, the Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent, we heard these words of St. Gregory Nazianzen, in the Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours:

We are soon going to share in the Passover

We are soon going to share in the Passover, and although we still do so only in a symbolic way, the symbolism already has more clarity than it possessed in former times because, under the law, the Passover was, if I may dare to say so, only a symbol of a symbol. Before long, however, when the Word drinks the new wine with us in the kingdom of his Father, we shall be keeping the Passover in a yet more perfect way, and with deeper understanding. He will then reveal to us and make clear what he has so far only partially disclosed. For this wine, so familiar to us now, is eternally new.
It is for us to learn what this drinking is, and for him to teach us. He has to communicate this knowledge to his disciples, because teaching is food, even for the teacher.
So let us take our part in the Passover prescribed by the law, not in a literal way, but according to the teaching of the Gospel; not in an imperfect way, but perfectly; not only for a time, but eternally. Let us regard as our home the heavenly Jerusalem, not the earthly one; the city glorified by angels, not the one laid waste by armies. We are not required to sacrifice young bulls or rams, beasts with horns and hoofs that are more dead than alive and devoid of feeling; but instead, let us join the choirs of angels in offering God upon his heavenly altar a sacrifice of praise. We must now pass through the first veil and approach the second, turning our eyes toward the Holy of Holies. I will say more: we must sacrifice ourselves to God, each day and in everything we do, accepting all that happens to us for the sake of the Word, imitating his passion by our sufferings, and honouring his blood by shedding our own. We must be ready to be crucified.
If you are a Simon of Cyrene, take up your cross and follow Christ. If you are crucified beside him like one of the thieves, now, like the good thief, acknowledge your God. For your sake, and because of your sin, Christ himself was regarded as a sinner; for his sake, therefore, you must cease to sin. Worship him who was hung on the cross because of you, even if you are hanging there yourself. Derive some benefit from the very shame; purchase salvation with your death. Enter paradise with Jesus, and discover how far you have fallen. Contemplate the glories there, and leave the other scoffing thief to die outside in his blasphemy.
If you are a Joseph of Arimathea, go to the one who ordered his crucifixion, and ask for Christ’s body. Make your own the expiation for the sins of the whole world. If you are a Nicodemus, like the man who worshipped God by night, bring spices and prepare Christ’s body for burial. If you are one of the Marys, or Salome, or Joanna, weep in the early morning. Be the first to see the stone rolled back, and even the angels perhaps, and Jesus himself.

Today, Passion (Palm) Sunday, we celebrated the Triumphant Entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem and then heard the Gospel account of His Passion. It is the beginning of Holy Week, the most blessed and glorious week of the liturgical year. Our honoring of Jesus as the King of Glory is not merely an historical remembrance, but a present and future manifestation of His Kingship over us. The palms, blessed and taken home to be placed in honor of the Lord, the King of Kings, are signs of His Kingdom among us. And, a sign of the future glory that we are called to as His followers, a future that will be the entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven, where He is Lord, He is worshipped and glorified for all eternity. Our palms are signs of the palms we will carry into the New Jerusalem, where there will be no death, no suffering, no tears, no separations.

The palms are also a sacramental that give the prayer of the Church a "place" wherever they are displayed with love and devotion. The Extraordinary Form prayer for the blessing of palms says that the power of the evil one is overcome by the presence of these signs of Jesus' victory over sin and death and wherever they are treated with love and devotion, the reign of Jesus is brought to reality.

Powerful words. May the graces of this day, of this week, come to you all. Make this time a very special remembrance of the Passion of the Lord; go to confession, go to Mass and Holy Communion, if you are able. If you cannot attend Mass, make a spiritual communion and ask Jesus to come to you. Try to attend the Sacred Triduum, the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, the Celebration of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday, the Easter Vigil and Mass on the night of Holy Saturday.

And pray for our dear Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, who is being harassed each day and calumniated by the secular press. He is, as Saint Catherine of Siena called the Pope, "our Sweet Christ on earth," the Vicar of Christ and Successor of Saint Peter.
Pray for his strength, his health, his perseverance in these dark times.

Jesus Drives Out Demons

The Gospel for yesterday's Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, the Third Sunday of Lent, was about the driving out of a demon from a mute man. In this passage, some very important teaching is given to us about the nature of evil, the power of Christ over evil spirits, and the necessity of believing that demons, do, in fact, exist.

Today so much materialism and secularism has made many people believe that what was formerly understood as demonic activity, is rather, psychological or psychiatric problems. While these are definitely an aspect of human life, and thanks be to God, we understand these illnesses to be just that, illness, which can be helped by medical intervention; still, the fact remains that evil is very much alive and active in the lives of so many. This is a spiritual reality that has many ramifications into the psychological, mental, emotional and physical realm.

The Church teaches that evil is not merely human; there are spiritual beings, fallen angels, if you will, that are active and attempt to draw men and women into the web of evil, which separates them from God and leads to destruction, beginning in this life and if not repented, into the next.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "[t]he revelation of divine love in Christ manifested at the same time the extent of evil and the superabundance of grace.We must therefore approach the question of the origin of evil by fixing the eyes of our faith on him who alone is its conqueror"(385). The devil and the evil spirits want nothing more than for us to be frightened of their power or even to think they are stronger than God. We must have a true "fear", in the sense that we avoid evil and any kind of relationship with the evil spirits (the occult, Ouija boards, seances, etc.). But the real fear is the "fear of the Lord"; a true respect for God, an abhorrence of offending Him, acknowledgment of His power which exceeds anything the devil or the evil spirits have. They make a lot of noise; they try to influence, manipulate and scare us. But they are created spirits. Their power is limited and is really only as much as we allow them to have over us.

When Jesus is accused of driving out demons by the "power of Beelzebub", He answers back that if is by the 'finger of God' (an important image here) that He drives out demons, "the kingdom of God is already here among you." The 'finger of God' refers to the "tablets of stone 'by the finger of God' (i.e., the Ten Commandments) so "then the 'letter from Christ' entrusted to the care of the apostles, is written 'with the Spirits of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on the tablets of human hearts'(2 Cor 3:3). The hymn Veni Creator Spiritus invokes the Holy Spirit as the 'finger of the Father's right hand'"(CCC 700). Jesus' Divine authority is ever-greater than any evil, any sin. He is the Lord of all!

During these weeks before the great celebration of the Lord's Suffering, Death and Resurrection, a good confession is in order so that we may avail ourselves to the graces of this blessed season, as well as an "exorcistic" release from the bonds of evil and sin. It is through the Sacraments, most especially the absolution of a priest in confession, that Jesus looses the bonds of evil. In fact, a famous exorcist has written that absolution in the Sacrament of Penance is even more powerful that the Rite of Exorcism; it is the power of Christ Jesus..."I absolve you from your sins"...it is not the priest speaking on his own; it is Jesus speaking through the mediation of the priest, just as he spoke to mute man and released him from his bondage.

What a wonderful grace to know that Jesus frees us from evil by His Word and Sacraments. Don't miss out on the encounter with Jesus in the Sacrament of Penance during these days of repentance and conversion!











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