Tag: Lent

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An Early Lenten Meditation on Spiritual Warfare

2.10blogAs we begin Lent, we do well to recall that we are engaged in a great and dramatic battle for our souls. The opening prayer for Ash Wednesday Mass makes use of the image of a military “campaign” and mentions weapons and battle: Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint. The First Sunday of Lent lays out the tactics of the devil in terms of temptation, and relates how we must be prepared to refute and resist such things.

Every ancient prayer manual and guide to spirituality until about fifty years ago had at least one large section devoted to what was known as Pugna Spiritualis (spiritual battle or spiritual warfare). In more recent decades, many spiritual books have either downplayed or completely deleted references to spiritual battle or spiritual warfare.

Many modern approaches to faith, religion, and spirituality prefer to emphasize consoling themes rooted in self-esteem and affirmation. To be sure, the authentic faith can and does offer great consolation, but the truest and deepest consolation often comes after one has persevered along the sometimes-difficult path, along the “narrow way” of the cross. But too many today, in the name of affirmation and pseudo-self-esteem, are all too ready to excuse or even support grave moral disorders rather than fight them.

It is true that the Holy Father would have us focus on mercy this year. And so we should. But, paradoxically, mercy is a tactic of battle. Satan would “love” nothing more than for us to hold grudges and intensify our divisions through prideful resistance. He would prefer that we despair of God’s mercy or despair that it is even possible for us to live apart from sinful habits. Thus mercy is a tool of tactical genius; it breaks the cycle of negativity and sin and robs Satan of victories and of souls, snatching them back from the downward spiral of anger and despair.

Mercy does not mean saying that God doesn’t mind what you do. Rather, it means that saying that God loves you despite your sins and is extending to you a way out of the misery your sins have caused.

Grace and mercy are marvelously extended to us, but it is repentance that opens the door to these gifts. Repentance, too, is a battle tactic, because it embraces God’s daring move to break the satanic cycle of anger and despair. Repentance (metanoia) most literally means to come to a new mind, to a new way of thinking. Repentance is accepting God as our general and following His battle plans for our life. It is recognizing that sin is awful, but that grace and mercy are still extended to us and that we ought to accept and depend upon them. By unlocking grace and mercy, repentance deals serious blows to satanic plans and powers. To repent is to engage in the battle on the right side of the war.

In our times it is rare to hear spiritual realities being spoken of in warlike terms. Many prefer softer terms and images. Some are even outright offended at concepts such as spiritual warfare. Many hymnals have dropped older hymns that reference being on the battlefield for the Lord, or being soldiers in the army of the Lord.

With spiritual battle having been removed from many people’s spiritual landscape, the idea that the Lord would summon us to battle, or to ask us to choose sides, seems foreign, intolerant, and uncompassionate.

Even more dangerous, these modern conceptions not only distort Jesus, but they downplay the presence and influence of Satan. This is a very, very bad idea. Even if we cease fighting against Satan, he will never cease his sometimes very subtle attacks on us.

Jesus called consistently for prayerful, sober vigilance against the powers of evil and sin. Like it or not, we are in a battle. Either we will undertake the battle soberly and vigilantly, or we will be conquered and led off like sheep to the slaughter.

Contrary to the modern spiritual approaches, Christianity has been a militant religion since its inception. Jesus was exposed to every kind of danger from the beginning. Herod sought His life. Satan tried to tempt Him in the desert. Many enemies plotted on all sides as He worked His public ministry, misrepresenting Him, levying false charges, and conspiring to sentence Him to death (eventually succeeding, though only for a moment).

And as for Jesus, so also for His mystical Body, the Church: Saul, Saul why do you persecute me? (Acts 9:4) Jesus warned that the world would hate us (Luke 21:17, John 15:20), that in this world we would have tribulation (Jn 16:33), and that we should watch and pray lest we give way to temptation (Matt 26:41). He summons us to persevere to the end if we would be saved (Mk 13:13). Jesus rather vividly described the kind of struggle with which we live when He said, From the time of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force (Matthew 11:12). Indeed, no Christian until the time that Jesus returns can consider himself dismissed from this great spiritual battle, this great drama in which we exist, this battle between good and evil.

Unpopular theme or not, we do well to remember that we are in the midst of a great cosmic and spiritual battle. And in that battle we must be willing to choose sides and fight with the Lord for the Kingdom of God. Either we will gather with Him or we will be scattered. We are to fight for our own soul and the souls of those whom we love.

In Lent we move toward the awesome battle we call the Paschal Mystery, in which Jesus will conquer Satan’s pride by humility and obedience. We are reminded once again of the great cosmic battle that the Lord waged and that is still being waged today. Though already victorious in His mystical Body the Church, the Lord in His faithful members still suffers violence, rejection, and ridicule. Lent is a time to reclaim territory from the evil one, to take back what the devil stole from us. We are to advance the glory of God’s Kingdom through the fruits of great spiritual struggle, sacrifice, prayer, fasting, preaching, and an extensive missionary campaign to which the Lord has summoned and commissioned us.

The battle is on; the struggle is engaged! To spiritual arms, one and all! Fight the good fight for the Lord.

Still not convinced that we are at war? Let the Lord pull back the veil just a bit and let you look at what’s really going on. The final words of this article will not be mine; they will be the Lord’s. Here is described the cosmic battle that is responsible for most of the suffering and confusion you experience:

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus (Rev 12).

Here’s a great video reminding us that the Church is more a battleship than a cruise ship:

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Making a Quiet Place for Our Lord This Lent – A Meditation on a Teaching from Diadochus of Photice

2.8blogThere is a remarkable passage in the breviary from Diadochus of Photice (pronounced Di-áh-do-cuss of Fóe-tah-chee). Little is known of his life. He lived from around 400 to 485 A.D. He was a mystic and theologian who particularly refuted Christological heresies and upheld the teachings of the Council of Chalcedon. He became bishop of Photice, a region in northwestern Greece. His writings emphasized the stillness, rest, or quiet that is necessary for spiritual insight and growth. The excerpt we shall examine here is surely part of that tradition. It is all the more necessary in today’s loud and hectic times, in which most people struggle to find the time and/or place to reflect and thus fail to live reflective lives.

In Catholic and biblical tradition there is a balanced insight concerning the human person that acknowledges the great and crowning gift of our intellect and the capacity to reason, to know truth, and to have insight. It is, along with our freedom to choose and to love, our most God-like quality. As such, it is esteemed and serves as a basis for our capax Dei (our capacity to know and be addressed by God and to make a personal response to Him).

On the other hand our intellect is wounded by the effects of Original Sin and the accumulated effects of our personal sins, which tend to darken our mind. Thus, while it is possible for the mind unaided by grace to come to knowledge of God’s existence and of His attributes and laws, grace is useful—even necessary—to overcome the difficulties due to sin. The Catechism puts it this way:

In the historical conditions in which he finds himself, however, man experiences many difficulties in coming to know God by the light of reason alone:

Though human reason is, strictly speaking, truly capable by its own natural power and light of attaining to a true and certain knowledge of the one personal God, who watches over and controls the world by his providence, and of the natural law written in our hearts by the Creator; yet there are many obstacles which prevent reason from the effective and fruitful use of this inborn faculty. For the truths that concern the relations between God and man wholly transcend the visible order of things, and, if they are translated into human action and influence it, they call for self-surrender and abnegation. The human mind, in its turn, is hampered in the attaining of such truths, not only by the impact of the senses and the imagination, but also by disordered appetites which are the consequences of original sin. So it happens that men in such matters easily persuade themselves that what they would not like to be true is false or at least doubtful.

This is why man stands in need of being enlightened by God’s revelation, not only about those things that exceed his understanding, but also “about those religious and moral truths which of themselves are not beyond the grasp of human reason, so that even in the present condition of the human race, they can be known by all men with ease, with firm certainty and with no admixture of error (CCC 37-38).

Yes, so much grace is needed to assist our minds in grasping the deeper things of God and of what He has revealed and done. Our minds do have the capacity to grasp the basics, but even the basics sometimes escape us due to the weight our sin, our disordered desires, and the darkness caused by these things. Our minds are like a battleground and though they are wired for truth, the world, the flesh, and the devil sow discordant thoughts in us that compete for our attention and distract us from the higher and better things. It is something like a computer that is capable of processing the finest and most sophisticated mathematical algorithms, but is instead used to play silly, violent, and/or lurid video games.

Along with grace, much effort is needed to purify our intellects and direct them to things that enrich us, and to the One whom we really seek.

That leads us to this teaching of Diadochus of Photice who, out of respect for the glory of our minds, directs us to the healing remedies of God’s grace and revelation. His words are presented below in bold, black italics, with my poor comments following in plain red text.

The light of true knowledge makes it possible to discern without error the difference between good and evil. Then the path of justice, which leads to the Sun of Justice, brings the mind into the limitless light of knowledge, since it never fails to seek the love of God with all confidence.

Note that he speaks of the remedy of true knowledge. True knowledge is what God has revealed in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. These are a sure guide that opens the path of the intellect to God Himself and to all He has revealed to us, in an ever-deepening and more confident understanding.

Therefore, we must maintain great stillness of mind, even in the midst of our struggles. We shall then be able to distinguish between the different types of thoughts that come to us: those that are good, those sent by God, we will treasure in our memory; those that are evil and inspired by the devil we will reject.

A comparison with the sea may help us. A tranquil sea allows the fisherman to gaze right to its depths. No fish can hide there and escape his sight. The stormy sea, however, becomes murky when it is agitated by the winds. The very depths that it revealed in its placidness, the sea now hides. The skills of the fisherman are useless.

These are powerful words for us in this age of almost constant noise. So overstimulated are we that many cannot even fall asleep unless the radio or TV is on in the background. Silence and the slower pace of normal human life comes close to terrifying many today. Silence is deafening, even terrifying, to a world used to such a chaotic pace and loud volume. If I leave a little room for silence after the homily or after communion I can almost feel the tension. I can imagine the thoughts of the congregation: “When will this end? When is he finally going to get up and say, ‘Let us pray’?”

But our author summons us to reacquaint ourselves with holy silence, with being still. And in this stillness reflection can happen.

He uses the image of still waters, which permit us to see into the depths, to carefully discern and slowly ponder what is true, good, and beautiful, and to distinguish it from the things that merely masquerade as such. When the waters are stirred and stormy, nothing can be seen—nothing. Only in silence, in disciplined quiet and reflection, can many things be seen, experienced, and discerned.

Some axioms from Scripture come to mind: Be still and know that I am God (Ps 46:10) and Silence! God stirs from his holy throne! (Zech 2:17).

These Scriptures and our author point to a discipline that is possible to us, but we must cultivate it. Holy silence and peace of mind do not just happen. Even though these gifts can be assisted by the Holy Spirit, there is also a discipline we must learn and acquire by habit.

Have you ever driven to work in silence? Have you ever unplugged from your cell phone? Perhaps this is something to try for Lent, even if only for 15 minutes. Become accustomed to more silence. Is it really necessary to turn on the TV or radio the first thing in the morning?

Everything is hard at first. Try just five minutes of quiet. Ask for the gift from God. See if you can grow it. Silence is essential if we hope to hear the quiet whispers of God, and to reach that place where insight and recollection are possible.

Only the Holy Spirit can purify the mind: unless the strong man enters and robs the thief, the booty will not be recovered. So by every means, but especially by peace of soul, we must try to provide the Holy Spirit with a resting place. Then we shall have the light of knowledge shining within us at all times, and it will show up for what they are all the dark and hateful temptations that come from demons, and not only will it show them up: exposure to this holy and glorious light will also greatly diminish their power.

Only the Holy Spirit alone can really purify the mind. But we have to open the door. The Holy Spirit can do His work, but He will not turn off the radio, TV, video games, or cell phone for you; that’s your job. The Holy Spirit will not barge in. He respectfully waits for you to give Him a place in your life. Diadochus emphasizes that cultivating peace of soul, by God’s grace, gives permission to the Holy Spirit to enter and do His work. And once having a place, He will crowd out that which is dark and demonic.

This is why the Apostle says: Do not stifle the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of goodness: do not grieve him by your evil actions and thoughts, and so deprive yourself of the defense his light affords you. In his own being, which is eternal and life-giving, he is not stifled, but when he is grieved he turns away and leaves the mind in darkness, deprived of the light of knowledge.

Wow, it would be bad news if we turned the Spirit away with a stifling no. And thus the darkness and anxiety remain in our minds. And if the light in you is darkness, how deep will the darkness be! (Mat 6:23) And yet this explains exactly the state of many today: in an ever-deepening darkness. The noise of this world is all they know; the quiet light of truth seems both dull and obnoxious.

The mind is capable of tasting and distinguishing accurately whatever is presented to it. Just as when our health is good we can tell the difference between good and bad food by our bodily sense of taste and reach for what is wholesome, so when our mind is strong and free from all anxiety, it is able to taste the riches of divine consolation and to preserve, through love, the memory of this taste. This teaches us what is best with absolute certainty. As Saint Paul says: My prayer is that your love may increase more and more in knowledge and insight, and so enable you to choose what is best (from the treatise On Spiritual Perfection, by Diadochus of Photice, bishop (Cap. 6, 26. 27. 30: PG 65, 1169. 1175-1176)).

Amen, Lord. May it be that when in quiet and trust our minds find peace, we become strong and lightsome and savor the beauty of your truth and the delights of your kingdom! May this Lent find us more quiet and watchful, giving a place to your Holy Spirit.

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Lent is Almost Over. Have you made it to Confession?

I know that most of you who read this blog are good Catholics and don’t need to read this 🙂

But perhaps you know some one who does. If so, print the PDF of this Column and slip it under the door, or over the transom, of a lukewarm or fallen away Catholic. Jesus will be glad you did.

It’s Holy Week and Lent is drawing to a close. Have you made a good confession? It just doesn’t seem possible that any Lent can be complete or even proper without going to confession. In many diocese there is a “Light is On for You” outreach wherein confession is available in all the parishes of that diocese every Wednesday night from 6:30 pm – 8:00pm. That is surely the case here in the Washington Area. I’ll be in the box waiting for people this Wednesday! So will all the other priests in the Washington and Arlington Dioceses. I am aware that Boston and other dioceses are doing something similar. But wherever you are it’s not too late to get to confession.

There are a number of reasons people postpone or even refuse to go to confession. Here are a few, plus a helps and suggestions.

1. I don’t need to go to the priest to confess my sins. Really? I wonder where you might have heard that? Is there some Bible verse that says that? Or is it, perhaps, just an unproven opinion? For scripture nowhere says, that you should only tell your sins privately to God. To the contrary, it says, Declare your sins, one to another (James 5:16). This same text goes on to specify that the priest is the one to do this and declares: The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Hence the Scriptures do not affirm a merely private notion in terms of confession. Quite the opposite. I have written more on the thoroughly Biblical origin of the Sacrament of Confession HERE. Please consider reading it if you have doubts that confession is an integral part of the life of a Christian.

2. I’m anxious because it’s been a long time and I have forgotten the ritual. Be of good cheer, you are not alone. Priests are well aware that many people need a little help with the format and things like the Act of Contrition. And don’t be too quick to think of Confession merely in terms of ritual. Fundamentally, Confession is a discussion. Feel free to ask the priest questions and to request help. If you’d like to review some of the aspects of Confession, how to prepare, and how the rite is celebrated here is a good site: How to Make a Good Confession.

3. I don’t have a lot of time and am not available to go at the usual time. Consider calling your parish or a nearby parish and asking for an appointment with the priest when you ARE available. Most priests are quite willing to make time to hear confessions at other than usual times. This is one of the essential reasons we were ordained. In larger cities there are often monasteries and Religious houses that make confession available all through the week at frequent hours. Here in DC both the Basilica and the Franciscan Monastery are legendary as places to go daily at all the major hours to celebrate Confession.

4. I don’t have to go if I don’t have mortal sin. Well, perhaps a lawyer will agree with you. But two things come to mind. First even little things have a way of piling up. Before long a room can look pretty cluttered, one little thing at a time. Secondly, mortal sin isn’t as rare as some people think. There is not the time to develop a whole theology of sin here, but simply realize that it is possible for all of us to do some pretty harsh and mean-spirited things, to say things that harm the reputation of others, to indulge in highly inappropriate sexual thoughts, to look a pornography, engage in masturbation, skip miss on Sunday, be prideful, thin-skinned and egotistical, misuse God’s name and refuse charity to the poor. And many of these things can become mortal sin, or are, by nature mortal sin. There is an old saying: Nemo judex in sua causa (no one is a judge in his own case). Simply making declarations that “I don’t have mortal sin” might not be a judgment you should be making. Regular confession is a more humble approach, it is less legalistic and also brings forth the grace to avoid sin in the future.

4. I don’t know what to confess. This is a common problem today where moral formation in our culture and even among Catholics is poor and generally vague. But there is help available. The sight already mentioned How to Make a Good Confession has a pretty good examination of conscience. I have also posted before what I consider one of the best helps I have discovered in preparing for confession. It is called the Litany of Penance and Reparation and is available by simply clicking on the title. If you prefer a more biblical preparation trying reading this passage:

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3:5-17)

It’s pretty hard to read a passage like this and come away thinking we have little to confess.

The bottom line is this: Go to Confession. Make the time. We find time for everything else. Remember how Lent began with this plea on Ash Wednesday: We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God!…Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor 5:20, 6:2).

Enjoy this effective video:

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The Key to True Fasting

Required fasting is almost non-existent in the Catholic Church today. Even the two days where fasting is required for those over 18 and under 60, it is really a mitigated fast of two small “snack-like” meals and one regular sized meal (no snacks in between now!). Not really a fast at all. A truer fast (going without food for the whole day) is practiced by some today as a personal discipline and it is laudable if a person is able.

Yet, even the mitigated fast is “hard” for many as are most bodily disciplines in our soft western world. We may think we just have to learn to be “tougher” and, by the power of our own flesh pull it off. I have no doubt that simple will power can in fact pull off a fast, especially the mitigated one. But even a non-believer can diet and fast. What we must seek is true fasting, spiritual fasting that is far richer than merely abstaining from food.

In the Gospel for Friday of this week, Jesus gives an important key to true spiritual fasting. Let’s read:

The disciples of John [the Baptist] approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (Matt 9:14-15)

Notice the pattern. First comes the (wedding) feast, then comes the fast. What does this mean? Well, consider the wedding feasts of Jesus’ time. They often went on for several days, even a week. During this time there was food, feasting, family, fellowship, and did I mention food? Lots of it, with wine too! It was a time of satiation. But eventually this time of feasting ended and by that time, people were filled. They’d had enough food for a while, and now fasting of a sort made sense, it happened naturally without a lot of effort. What does this teach us and why does Jesus use this image regarding fasting?

Simply put, if you want to have the capacity to fast spiritually and truly you have to experience the wedding feast of the Lamb of God. In this great wedding feast which we are to experience through prayer, scripture and especially the Liturgy we are to be filled with Christ. We are to encounter him and feast abundantly on his Word, his Body and Blood and to rejoice with him exceedingly. And when this happens we are authentically equipped to fast.

At some point the “groom is taken” from us. That is to say, the Mass ends and we’re back to dealing with the world and its demands. Or perhaps we enter a penitential season, or perhaps we go through a difficult time where God seems distant, or we struggle with temptation. And times like that, a fast of sorts is before us. But we are able to do so and are spiritually equipped to do it since we have been to the Wedding feast and feasted with the Groom. Having done this the world and its charms mean less. We are filled with Christ now and we simply need less of the world. This is true fasting.

But let me ask you, Have you met Christ and been to the wedding feast with him? One of the sad realities in parish life and in the Church is that there are many people who have never really met Jesus Christ. They have heard about him and know about him, but they’ve never really encountered him powerfully in prayer or the Mass. They are faithful to be sure. They are sacramentalized but unevangelized. They know about Jesus, but they don’t know him. The liturgy to them can be, and often is, lifeless, a ritual to be endured rather than an encounter with Jesus Christ. Instead of being at a wedding feast, the Mass is more like a visit to the doctor’s office. The majority of the Mass for them is a “waiting room” experience. Finally, up to get the medicine (Holy Communion), which is great, because now it means the Mass is almost over!

Personal prayer from many isn’t much better. Another ritual, say some prayers, and be done with it. God is really more of a stranger and fasting is just another rule to follow, more out of obedience to avoid punishment, than out of love which seeks purification.

The disciples of John seem to have been of this sort. They were tough and self-disciplined. They knew how to fast! But it was a fasting of the flesh not the Spirit. The only way to truly fast in a spiritual way is to have been to the wedding feast and feasted with the Jesus the great bridegroom of the Church. Then having been filled with every good and perfect gift true fasting can begin.

And what is true fasting? It is a fasting that no longer needs what the world offers in large amounts. We need less of the world for we have found a better prize: Jesus and his Kingdom. Who needs all that food, booze, power, money, baubles, bangles and beads? In the words of an old song: “I’d rather have Jesus than silver and gold. You may have all this world! Just give me Jesus! “

We can only say this if we have really met the Lord and been satisfied by him. Only then can true fasting ensue. As you my expect, meeting Jesus is more than an event. It is a gradual and deepening awareness of him and his power in my life and in the liturgy. Make sure you don’t miss the wedding feast for it is the key to the truest fasting of all.

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The Time is Near, Have You Gone to Confession?

It’s Holy Week and Lent is drawing to a close. Have you made a good confession? It just doesn’t seem possible that any Lent can be complete or even proper without going to confession. In many diocese there is a “Light is On for You” outreach wherein confession is available in all the parishes of that diocese every Wednesday night from 6:30 pm – 8:00pm. That is surely the case here in the Washington Area. I’ll be in the box waiting for people this Wednesday! So will all the other priests in the Washington and Arlington Dioceses. I am aware that Boston and other dioceses are doing something similar. But wherever you are it’s not too late to get to confession.

There are a number of reasons people postpone or even refuse to go to confession. Here are a few, plus a helps and suggestions.

1. I don’t need to go to the priest to confess my sins. Really? I wonder where you might have heard that? Is there some Bible verse that says that? Or is it perhaps just an unproven opinion? For scripture nowhere says, that you should only tell your sins privately to God. To the contrary, it says, Declare your sins, one to another (James 5:16). This same text goes on to specify that the priest is the one to do this and declares: The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Hence the Scriptures do not affirm a merely private notion in terms of confession. Quite the opposite. I have written more on the thoroughly Biblical origin of the Sacrament of Confession HERE.  Please consider reading it if you have doubts that confession is an integral part of the life of a Christian.

2. I’m anxious because it’s been a long time and I have forgotten the ritual. Be of good cheer,  you are not alone. Priests are well aware that many people need a little help with the format and things like the Act of Contrition. And don’t be too quick to think of Confession merely in terms of ritual. Fundamentally, Confession is a discussion. Feel free to ask the priest questions and to request help. If you’d like to review some of the aspects of Confession, how to prepare, and how the rite is celebrated here is a good site: How to Make a Good Confession.

3. I don’t have a lot of time and am not available to go at the usual time. Consider calling your parish or a nearby parish and asking for an appointment with the priest when you ARE available. Most priests are quite willing to make time to hear confessions at other than usual times. This is one of the essential reasons we were ordained. In larger cities there are often monasteries and Religious houses that make confession available all through the week at frequent hours. Here in DC both the Basilica and the Franciscan Monastery are legendary as places to go daily at all the major hours to celebrate Confession.

4. I don’t have to go if I don’t have mortal sin. Well, perhaps a lawyer will agree with you. But two things come to mind. First even little things have a way of piling up. Before long a room can look pretty cluttered, one little thing at a time. Secondly, mortal sin isn’t as rare as some people think. There is not the time to develop a whole theology of sin here, but simply realize that it is possible for all of us to do some pretty harsh and mean-spirited things, to say things that harm the reputation of others, to indulge in highly inappropriate sexual thoughts, to look a pornography, engage in masturbation, skip miss on Sunday, be prideful, thin-skinned and egotistical, misuse God’s name and refuse charity to the poor. And many of these things can become mortal sin, or are, by nature mortal sin. There is an old saying: Nemo judex in sua causa (no one is a judge in his own case). Simply making declarations that “I don’t have mortal sin” might not be a judgment you should be making. Regular confession is a more humble approach, it is less legalistic and also brings forth the grace to avoid sin in the future.

4. I don’t know what to confess. This is a common problem today where moral formation in our culture and even among Catholics is poor and generally vague. But there is help available. The sight already mentioned How to Make a Good Confession has a pretty good examination of conscience. I have also posted before what I consider one of the best helps I have discovered in preparing for confession. It is called the Litany of Penance and Reparation and is available by simply clicking on the title. If you prefer a more biblical preparation trying reading this passage:

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col 3:5-17)

It’s pretty hard to read a passage like this and come away thinking we have little to confess.

The bottom line is this: Go to Confession. Make the time. We find time for everything else. Remember how Lent began with this plea on Ash Wednesday: We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God!…Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor 5:20, 6:2).

Enjoy this effective video:

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Walking in the Footsteps:With Mary

In honor of Mary, Mother of God

Warm rain joined pilgrims this morning on their way to the oldest church in the West dedicated to Our Lady, St. Mary Major. Miraculous snow on 5 August 353 AD marked the spot where Our Lady desired this church to be erected on the Esquiline Hill. The title Our Lady of the Snow took. After the Council of Ephesus in 431, which named Mary as the Mother of God, Pope Sixtus III began construction. Relics of the original crib that held baby Christ are kept in a reliquary here. The remains of St. Jerome rest in the crypt.

Feeding our love for the Eucharist through Fasting

In today’s readings, Christ continues to call us to purify our desire for authentic conversion through fasting. May our fasting this Lent increase our love for the Eucharistic. We can apply the desire we have for things we are offering up to the Eucharist.  Transform the craving you have for food, into thirst for the Eucharist. May the pangs of hunger we feel, the sacrifice of abstaining from meat on Fridays, or coffee without sugar, or bread without butter, or fries without ketchup, be small but effective ways of increasing our appetite for the Eucharist, intensifying our desire to be united to Christ, to allow him to be more present to us than we are to ourselves, so that our days become either periods of thanksgiving after we have received Holy Communion or anticipation looking forward to the next time we will receive Christ. By converting our longing for material things into devotion for the Eucharist, may we allow Christ to reign in us.

Written by Fr. Charlie Gallagher

Photos by Fr. Justin Huber

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Walking in the footsteps… How to pray

The lifeblood of the church

Today, we continued our Lenten Station Masses at Sant’Anastasia.  On the way to this church, we walked past the Circus Maximus, a great field dedicated to sporting events in Ancient Rome.  Although Roman charioteers would have entertained the crowds in the Circus Maximus, this sight was also the place where many martyrs gave their lives for their faith in Christ.

St. Anastasia was martyred during the Diocletian Persecution in the late third century in what is today Serbia, making the location of this church very appropriate.  The church itself was built in the late fourth century and St. Jerome, who came from the same region as Anastasia, is said to have often celebrated Mass here.

While little is known about St. Anastasia herself, it is moving to know that this martyr’s name means “resurrection” and that her feast day was traditionally celebrated on December 25.  She therefore connects Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection and shows us the true purpose of our Lord’s coming.  It was a nice reminder for us as we entered the church that as we continue through Lent, we do so with the hope of Easter!

 Learning how to pray

During the homily, the priest encouraged us to remember the great gift Jesus has given us in teaching us how to pray.  We do not pray like the pagans do, hoping that the more we shout the better God will hear us.  Rather, we trust in the goodness of our Loving Father who has taken the initiative in meeting us.  As the Catechism so beautifully reminds us, “In prayer, the faithful God’s initiative of love always comes first; our own first step is always a response.”  In sending His own Son to Earth to suffer, die, and rise from the dead, God has taken the first step in our relationship with Him.  Now it’s our turn to accept His invitation and respond with all our hearts.

Written by:

Christopher Seith

Photos: Fr. Justin Huber

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You Are Going to Die

At yesterday’s Ash Wednesday Masses many of you heard the ancient acclamation, as ashes were imposed: Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return. Yesterday’s beginning of the Lenten season puts before us an urgent plea that we should be sober and watchful of our soul and its condition, for the form of this world is passing away (1 Cor 7:31). Simply put, we are going to die and we need to be made ready to meet our God.  Recall some of the urgency present in the readings:

  1. Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart…..
  2. Sound the trumpet in Zion!
  3. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God!
  4. Behold, now is the day of salvation.

Yes, Now, not later. There is an urgency announced that we must hear and heed.

What’s in a picture? The Picture at the upper right was taken April 2, 1967. It was my sister, Mary Anne’s 7th birthday. Ash Wednesday morning the picture appeared on my screen-saver slideshow and I thought, “There it is, a picture of passing things.”  For, as you look at the picture know this, there is absolutely nothing and no one in the picture that is still here in this world today. My sister who is blowing out the candles died in 1991, tragically in a fire. My mother who leans over her died in 2005 (also tragically). My maternal Grandmother, who is seated died of cancer in the late 1970s. But that is not all. This building in which the picture was taken was demolished 8 years ago. My Father who is taking the picture died in 2007. The Polaroid camera with which he took the photo is long gone as well. There is simply nothing in this picture that any longer exists in this world, and there is no one in the photo who still walks this earth. Yes, the form of this world is passing away. Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.

The Church’s reminder to us is a strong rejoinder to most of our priorities. Most of the things we think are so important, are not really that important in the long run. Most of the things that claim our attention are not all that critical either. We like Martha, are anxious about many things. We worry about our money, our house, our car, our physical health, how we look, what people think of us, and so forth. But none of this really matters all that much in the end. All these things pass.

But what about what really does matter? What of our soul and its well being? What of our direction? Is it heavenward? What are we doing with our life? Where are we headed? Do we know God, love and serve him? Are our eyes on the prize of God and heaven? These things get little attention in most people’s lives. The unessential and passing things are our passion, and the most essential and critical things are all but ignored.

In Lent the Church says stop. Be thoughtful and earnest. You are going to die. What are you doing to get ready to meet God? Your body and the things of this world are but dust, a mere passing reality. But what of your soul? Are you caring for your soul? Is it nourished on God’s Word and Holy Communion? Are the medicines of prayer, Scripture, Sacraments and holy fellowship (cf Acts 2:24) being applied so that your soul stands a chance?

Remember…..REMEMBER……you are dust, you are going to die. Get ready. Now is the time, be earnest about it. Be thoughtful and live a reflective life that considers carefully what your decisions amount to, where you are headed, what your life means. Too many people live unreflected lives, never thinking much on these things. But not you. You have heard the trumpet sound in Zion and the Church has implored you. Will you listen? Will I? Where are you going? Where will you be when the last trumpet sounds?