The final step in our three-part schema for the spiritual life is to take action.  As a reminder, this step happens only after we have become aware and understood the voice speaking to us.  If we fail to do this, there can be some unfortunate consequences.  Let’s take an example.  You wake up one Sunday morning and you are tired after a short night of sleep.  Mass begins in just over an hour, but as you lay in bed you think: “I don’t really get much out of Mass these days.  I find myself distracted and not terribly interested in the homilies.  This bed is nice and warm, and another hour or two would sure be nice.  Maybe I will just go back to bed.  I’ll make it back to Mass next weekend.”

Perhaps our subject is somewhat aware of the voice that is speaking, but there is not much of an effort to understand here.  The person is experiencing some spiritual desolation, not feeling the closeness of God, feeling sort of dry and tired (physically and spiritually).  If this person would understand that this is what is going on, they would realize that the voice they are listening to is not the good spirit.  Instead, they will remember what St. Ignatius teaches in his fifth rule of discernment:

In time of desolation never to make a change; but to be firm and constant in the resolutions and determination in which one was the day preceding such desolation, or in the determination in which he was in the preceding consolation. Because, as in consolation it is rather the good spirit who guides and counsels us, so in desolation it is the bad, with whose counsels we cannot take a course to decide rightly.

Therefore the person who is paying attention, being aware of what is going on, then understanding what is being said, will more easily take the necessary action, rejecting the suggestion from the evil spirit to just stay in bed, and being firm in the commitment to going to Mass.

As I wrote in last week’s article, taking action really boils down to accepting and obeying the voice of the good spirit, and rejecting that of the enemy spirit.  If the first step of being aware is the most necessary step, and understanding is the most complex, perhaps taking action is the most difficult step.  It is hard for us to act contrary to the temptations and desires that often attack us.  Giving in to these temptations if often much easier, and we like to take the path of least resistance.  But choosing to do the right thing will always be a source of blessing to us.

Let us never forget that this whole process is under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  The gifts of the Holy Spirit come to our aid in understanding the truth of what is going on in our minds and hearts.  These gifts also come to our aid to help us to do what the Lord is calling us to do, especially with the gift of fortitude.  Rejecting the bad and choosing the good is not dependent on simple willpower from us.  No, the Holy Spirit generously comes to our assistance to provide the strength we need to act in accordance with God’s will.  

With that in mind, perhaps a good phrase to keep at the ready in our daily life is the simple prayer: ”Come, Holy Spirit!”  As we become aware of the voice that is speaking to us, we call out to the Holy Spirit to come and help us to understand whose voice is speaking.  Then, in becoming aware, we call out again: “Come, Holy Spirit” to strengthen us to reject what needs rejecting and to choose what needs to be chosen.

Prayer with the Holy Spirit, as I have mentioned, is a pathway to freedom.  The more aware we are of what is moving within us, the better we will understand, and that understanding will lead us to making choices that will lead to the freedom the Lord desires for us as His beloved children.

Father Alford     

As we continue to deepen our relationship with Jesus in Holy Eucharistic and meditating on the Eucharistic revival in this year of Eucharist in our Diocese. I would like each one of us to flash back on his/her experience receiving Holy communion for the first time. When I first received the Holy Eucharist, I was overwhelmed and I was excited to receive Jesus in my heart, I felt more closer to Jesus and nourished by His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. I think each one of us have unique experience for the first time receiving Holy Communion. When you receive the Holy Communion for the First time, what a special day for you, your family and for the Church too, and more importantly, you are special because Jesus will be in your heart. You can remember the way you were dressing, girls dressed as brides with veils, and boys dressed as bridegrooms in suits and ties. I am going to share with you three points, and hope that you remember as these points are essential for you not only today but for the journey of living your faith ahead.

Eucharist – Food for the SOULS: you have received the Holy Eucharist, in another word, the Body of Christ. Who is Jesus Christ? You have learned about Him for the last months of your catechists. Jesus Christ is our Savior and King. He offered His life for us. He loves us so much and He wants to be with us forever, therefore before He died, He had a last meal with his disciples, and at that night, He asked his disciples to do what He instructed, that is celebrating the Meal. Eucharist is a Meal. Eucharist is solid spiritual Food. It is important to eat properly every day to avoid hunger pains, weakness, malnutrition, and disease. It is the same with our spiritual life. We need to be spiritual-food conscious if we wish to avoid emptiness, spiritual weakness, vulnerability to temptation, and sickness due to sin. In the Holy Eucharist, we are fed, we are full after mass as we have food. The Food is Jesus Christ body and blood. We go home full, full of spirit, and energy to live out our faith for the whole week. This Food will be your nutrition to live out for the whole week. Also, Eucharist means “Thanks,” attending Mass then receiving the Eucharist is the best WORD of Thanksgiving. Therefore, students/ Children you need to go to Mass every Sunday to receive this special Food, and to thank God. 

When you come up here to receive the Eucharist, the Body of Christ, children, you may be surprised because you cannot see the difference by tasting this little white Host with a round shape. You may think that is only a host, but Faith tells us that is the Body of Christ, because if we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we will believe whatever He tells us is true. At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted His apostles to do what He just did in “remembrance of Me.” This is my Body. This is my Blood. At Mass, With the power of the Holy Spirit, through priest, the little white Host and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, that sounds magic to you, and hard to believe because you cannot see it with you own eyes, right?

But there are things that we cannot use our senses to see, or touch or smell, but it does not mean those things do not exist. For example, can you see or touch, or punch the air? (Wait for a few answers, you can ask a volunteer to come up where you are, and facing the congregation, and ask this question). No, you cannot see, touch, or smell the air but the air does exist. How do you know the air exist? (Wait for a few answers). You know the air exists because you can breathe, thanks to the air we can breathe, otherwise, no life on earth, and we are not here but somewhere else in a cemetery, right? So, we believe and know for sure that the air exists, even though we cannot see or touch or smell, so the Holy Eucharist too, you only see the little Host, but our Faith tells us that, after the consecration the host becomes the Body of Christ, and the wine becomes the Blood of Christ. In Holy Eucharist, Christ present and a little white, round Host is truly Body of Christ. At the consecration, the bread and wine through the power of the Holy Spirit, Transform and become the Body and Blood of Christ. This is not a symbol but Jesus’ real flesh and blood, under the appearance of the bread and wine. When we receive Holy Communion, we receive Christ Himself. The Bread and Wine are no longer Bread and Wine but, Jesus Himself. He is real food for our souls.

Remember that when you receive the Host, the taste and appearance may be the same as Bread, but that is the Body of Christ, the true presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. When you receive the Eucharist, you receive Christ Himself, so be respectful. After receiving it, you pray with Him and thank Him for being in your soul. Talking with him about what is in your heart and telling Him what your desires are and asking Him to fulfill it. Christ is King and our Savior, when you welcome an important guest into your house, your parents and you normally prepare the house very well, cleaning up, set up a nice table, good food….to show your hospitality and love to that person, and you want to impress that person too. So, Jesus is the King, the most important guest that enters your house, the soul today, so we need to prepare our souls too, your soul must be free from sins. It is important to eat good food in order to be healthy and fit. If you eat good food, you will be healthy; if you eat bad food, you will be unhealthy. Eucharist is Food for our souls, we receive the Holy Eucharist, means we receive Jesus Christ, WE BECOME CHRIST. Students/children. Receiving the Body of Christ means you act, behave like Christ. Always remember that from today on, Jesus Christ is in YOU, He lives in your hearts therefore your life must reflect the life of Christ. Jesus Christ loves us and everyone, so you are supposed to do the same things, that is loving others, love your parents, brothers, sisters, and neighbors, behave well in the family, listening and obey your parents and teachers. When you go to Mass on Sunday, you need to stay focus, and behave during Mass, every day, you need to pray, morning and evening before you go to Mass.

Therefore, student/Children, may I ask you a favor? Your mom and dad work so hard for you and for themselves, during the week, sometimes they forget today is Sunday, the Day you go to Mass to receive the Holy Food.  My favor is to please remind your parents to take you to Mass. On Saturday, you tell mom and dad, please take me to Mass tomorrow so that I may have food to eat, to nourish my soul. I want to receive the Eucharist at Mass, so mom, please take me there to fulfil my desire, my hunger.  I am sure that when you request that your mom and dad are so happy and glad to take you to Mass. Am I right, Parents? AND please remember that the mass is not entertainment. The purpose of the Mass is similar to the purposes for which Jesus offered Himself on the Cross. We spend time at Mass to worship God who made us and saves us. So please do come to Mass on Sunday to thank Him and ask Him to give you strength, grace to live the life of Christian, and to pray for favor to fulfill your intentions.  I would like to Invite you all to say this prayer after communion silently. 

Prayer after communion: Anima Christ.

Soul of Christ, sanctify me. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ,
inebriate me. Water from the side of Christ, wash me. Passion of Christ,
strengthen me. O Good Jesus, hear me. Within your Wounds hide me.

Permit me not to be separated from you. From the wicked foe, defend me.

At the hour of my death, call me and bid me come to you That with your
Saints, I may praise you for ever and ever. Amen.

St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Feast Day: February 20th | Youngest Non-martyred Canonized Saints | Patronage: Children (especially in Portugal), those Captive, Ridiculed, and Ill | Attributes: Children, Holding Rosary, Lantern, Wearing Peasant Garb, Shepherding Sheep; Francisco Carrying Valise, Leaning on Crutch; Jacinta: Hand on Hip, Wearing Veil.

Francisco and Jacinta were the youngest siblings of 7 in a poor Portuguese family. As World War I tore the continent apart and as countless men never returned to their families, they cared for the family’s flock of sheep and played with their friends. Francisco was a calm and quiet boy, who, if not particularly pious, did share easily, and loved animals, even lizards and snakes (his mom, it should be noted, didn’t appreciate this last trait as much as the others!) Jacinta was full of affection and admiration for her older cousin Lucia and loved to dance, entertain, and collect flowers for those she loved. But, her more fiesty temperament could also lead her to pout and mope if not allowed to play with the bigger kids or take care of the sheep (for which she had carefully named each one!)

On one ordinary day, before these ordinary children, an ordinary angel appeared. The world needed a message from God and these were His chosen messengers. The Angel of Peace he called himself, and he was entrusted with God’s solution to the hatred and violence that plagued the world. It was a simple one, the same one that Jesus had shown us: “Make of everything you can a sacrifice, and offer it to God as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and in supplication for the conversion of sinners.” Perhaps more concretely, the angel offered these children an easy prayer that would help them to do this: “My God, I believe, adore, hope and love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love You.”

This simple request would be the seed of sanctity for these young people. They began to make sacrifices every day: kneeling for their prayers, sacrificing some of their food, enduring the incomprehension of their family as well as ridicule and persecution from authorities who had long since forgotten God and considered the ruckus these kids were fomenting to be a distraction from the real problems of the world. Word had gotten out now that Mary was appearing to them each month and many were flocking to try and see what was happening. 

But sanctity is not all about sacrifice, it is mostly about receiving God’s love and gifts. In 1910 Pope Leo XIII had moved the age to receive Holy Communion earlier, from 12 down to 7 or so, but the Church – as sadly sometimes is the case – was lethargic in letting God’s love pour into the world. It was 1916 and Francisco and Jacinta had yet to receive their first Holy Communion. God was going to change that. In August of 1916 the Angel came again, holding a chalice and the bleeding Eucharist. He taught them another prayer: “Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, I adore You profoundly, and I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference with which He Himself is offended. And, through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners.” And then He gave them each Holy Communion. 

Each child would continue to make sacrifices in their own unique way. Francisco and Jacinta would both fall victim to the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, enduring, and offering up, terrible sufferings for sinners as the doctors struggled to treat them. Francisco prayed many rosaries and examined his conscience carefully, knowing his lackluster piety as a little boy. He was given the Last Rites before he died, receiving the Eucharist for the second time. Jacinta offered up in particular the times she was all alone, a particular sadness for someone as lively and loving as her. She loved it when Lucia visited her after receiving Holy Communion for she knew she was close to Jesus who dwelt in her cousin but when she asked the priest for Holy Communion for herself he demurred. She died having only ever received the Blessed Sacrament from the hand of an angel.

– Fr. Dominic Rankin can only delight in the way that God’s grace was given to these little kids. Each of their temperaments, with their strengths and weaknesses, were exactly where God worked to ask their self-offering, and to offer Himself to them in turn. God wants the same for me! And, He can bring His Kingdom of Peace to the world through a child. He can only bring His Kingdom of Peace through a child!

Last Sunday, I introduced a brief three-week treatment of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Rules for Discernment.  The first step, though not necessarily the most important, is necessary, for if we are not even aware of the thoughts, feelings, and desires that are moving within us, we will not make much progress in the spiritual life.  I hope you have been more attentive to these movements as they come up throughout the day.

The second step is to understand.  This is by far the most complicated, and it is really at the heart of the teaching of the Rules of Discernment.  The 14 rules that St. Ignatius proposes are ways of coming to understand which voice is speaking – that of the Good Spirit, or that of the Enemy.  By understanding whose voice is speaking, we are then better able to take action, by accepting or rejecting that voice (more on that next week).

We do not have the time or space to address all of the rules, so I will just make a few remarks that are, in my mind, the key takeaways from the rules.  Let’s begin by quoting the first rule, just so you can see what the rules look like, but also to point out an important qualification that St. Ignatius makes regarding these rules:

The first Rule: In the persons who go from mortal sin to mortal sin, the enemy is commonly used to propose to them apparent pleasures, making them imagine sensual delights and pleasures in order to hold them more and make them grow in their vices and sins. In these persons the good spirit uses the opposite method, pricking them and biting their consciences through the process of reason.

The important summary here is that the rules for discernment really only benefit those who are striving to grow in holiness.  If we are unconcerned about making progress, unconcerned about sins, then the voice of the enemy will leave us with words of pleasure that what we are doing is no problem.  The Good Spirit tries to break us from our complacency, stinging us with words that try to make us aware of the peril of continuing down this path.  But if we do not really care and we are not convinced that what we are doing is wrong, we will happily ignore the uncomfortable suggestion to repent and remain set in our sinful ways.  

On the other hand, the second rule says that when we are striving for holiness, these two spirits act opposite.  The evil spirit tries to sting us, telling us we’re wasting our time with prayer, following the teachings of the Church, etc.  He might say something like: “You’re missing out on so much!”, or “You can think for yourself, you don’t need the Church to tell you what you can and can’t do.”  I think you get the idea.  The good spirit, though, continues to offer encouragement, and even if we are stumbling, and the enemy is trying to distract us, our hearts are fundamentally fixed on the Lord, wanting to do His will, wanting to grow in holiness, and so we keep moving forward.

The next two rules treat the topic of spiritual consolation and spiritual desolation.  These are the ups and downs of the spiritual life that we are all subject to, no matter how holy we are.  There are times when God feels very close (consolation) and times when He feels distant and unresponsive (desolation).  We must understand that the evil spirit tries to use those moments of desolation to discourage us, but the good spirit will always be working to sustain us, always offering us the grace necessary to persevere through the darkness, to lead us back to a place of consolation in the future, and to eternal life at the end.

Perhaps a simple thing to remember is this: when we are earnestly striving to grow in holiness, we can be at peace knowing that the Lord always speaks with encouragement.  The enemy, on the other hand is, always trying to discourage us.  That may be a bit simplistic, but I think it’s a good place to start.

So as we go through this week, and as you continue to be aware of the thoughts, feelings, and desires, in other words the voices speaking into our lives – ask the question: Whose voice is speaking?  Understanding this is a key skill in the spiritual life and a means to being set free by the Holy Spirit.

Father Alford     

Feast Day: February 18^th | Religious Brother, Artist, Dominican| Patronage: Artists

Now we know him as Blessed Fra Angelico. “Blessed” because he has been beatified, though not yet canonized. “Fra”, a shortened version of “frater”, Latin for “brother”, the title for a mendicant friar. “Angelico”, a nickname given him for his devotion to God and attentiveness to his brothers in the order. But he had been baptized just Guido.

We know little about his family, but Guido was born in 1395 not too far from Florence Italy. He must have expressed an artistic bent from a young age because by the time he was 17 he had already joined an artistic guild in his hometown and was soon hired for a few projects at the Church of St. Stefano del Ponte. We don’t know what twists and turns led him from his paintbrushes in that Church to his joining the Dominican order, but 1423 he has taken the religious name Fra Giovanni (often surnamed “de Fiesole” distinguishing him from all the other Friar John’s throughout the order.)

Following the Lord always asks us to sacrifice our own will for God’s will. Did Guido struggle to make that sacrifice? Florence was booming with artists and painters – it was the epicenter of the budding renaissance movement! What would it cost him to become a religious? Would he lose himself, lose his joy, lose his gift? Yet didn’t Jesus speak directly to everyone wrestling with such questions: “what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9:25) Jesus knows a key truth about us: freedom is not found in blindly following our desires! Were we to acquire for ourselves the entire world, were we to unrestrainedly follow our urges and instincts, were we to do whatever we wanted … we would not find ourselves free, but enslaved. 

And so Guido entered the Dominicans. He chose to trust God’s will above even his own. And soon he discovered that in following God, though we must entrust our freedom and future to Him, He does not leave out of His plan anything that is authentically ours, authentically good. There, in the Dominican convent, Fra Giovanni was asked to assist in illuminating manuscripts. Of the few pages we have of his, filled first with the words of scripture and prayer, the images that he weaves around and among those sacred letters leap from the page. We see not only his skill, but his love in carefully imagining the scene. The color, the lightness, the joy, the balance that pervades so many of his frescoes is visible in the tiny scene of the Annunciation crafted within the first “R”. 

He would go on to paint that scene – the Annunciation – many more times. Every single one is different. Each shows that he had returned again in his prayer and heart to the place where Mary said “yes” and God was conceived. He also took up anew the person for whom he was painting. When illustrating that manuscript, he uses exquisitely small brushstrokes to give features to Mary, Gabriel, and God, to let the reader come face to face with them. When painting for the altarpiece for a church in his hometown, the scene is vivid, exquisite, colorful, and tender. He uses perspective and light to captivate anyone who would look upon it, and places to the side Adam and Eve in their rejection of God’s plan. And when painting for a simple lay brother in his own monastery, the scene is reminiscent of the choir where that friar lived and prayed and welcomed the Lord into his own heart. 

Our talents, gifts, joys, and desires are also places to encounter the Lord, and help others to encounter Him. The question is whether we will entrust those parts of ourselves to God’s will?

–  Fr. Dominic Rankin routinely looks for freedom and fulfillment in the wrong places. Once again, the saints remind us that it is found only in God.

As I have mentioned in a previous bulletin article, I have been involved for the past two years in a Spiritual Direction Training Program offered by the Institute for Priestly Formation.  At the heart of the teaching is understanding and applying the 14 Rules of Discernment proposed by St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises.  These rules have their origin in an experience the saint had while recovering from an injury.  As he thought about different directions he might follow in life upon his recovery, he became aware of an important truth, described in his autobiography:

From experience he knew that some thoughts left him sad while others made him happy, and little by little he came to perceive the different spirits that were moving him; one coming from the devil, the other coming from God. (Autobiography, no. 8)

The fact that we have two opposing voices speaking to us is something we as Catholics generally acknowledge, but perhaps our best image of this is those cartoons which depict a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, leaving the person to try to figure out which voice to follow.  While this image may capture the reality generally, it is far more complex than that, thus the several rules of discernment proposed by St. Ignatius.  All the rules of discernment can fall under a basic formula that we as Catholics can follow.  The formula involves three steps:  1) Be aware  2) Understand  3) Take action.  

For the next three weeks, before we begin Lent, I would like to reflect briefly on these three steps, one each week.  While there is so much more that can be said, I am hopeful this introduction will open us all to a more attentive experience of prayer, such that we are able to discern when the Holy Spirit is speaking, and when another voice, not of God is speaking.  In knowing which voice is speaking, we can choose how to act based on that understanding.

The first step is being aware.  Whether we know it or not, there is always a voice that is speaking into our lives.  That is the first thing to acknowledge.  By knowing that, we can pay closer attention to what has our attention.  In other words, we are invited to notice our thoughts, feelings, and desires as they come up throughout the day.  This is the raw data for the discernment of spirits.  Having thoughts, feelings, and desires are not inherently sinful.  It is rather what we choose to do with them that determines their moral value (more on that in a later article).  

Living a life of spiritual maturity is more than just taking time to pray each day at specific times, necessary as that is.  A truly spiritual soul is one who is always aware of God’s presence, and the moment-by-moment opportunity that we have to consciously choose to love Him and follow Him as He communicates to us.  But we will never make those decisions to follow Him and reject the voice of the enemy if we are not aware of what is going on in our hearts and minds throughout the day.

Perhaps an exercise you could try this week is set an alarm or a reminder at some fixed intervals throughout the day – perhaps every hour, or a few times a day.  Then pause and just notice what your thoughts, feelings, and desires are.  Don’t think too much about them, or try to figure them out.  Just notice them, perhaps jotting them down.  This does not take much time or effort at all, but it is an important start to realizing what St. Paul encourages us to do, that we should “pray at every opportunity in the Spirit.” (Eph 6:18)

Father Alford     

Feast Day: February 5^th | Virgin and Martyr| Patronage: Sicily, Malta, & Gallipoli; Nursers, Jewelers, Rape Victims, Sufferers of Breast Cancer,  Sterility, Natural Disasters, and Torture | Attributes: Maiden mistreated, imprisoned, visited by St. Peter; tortured by pincers, amputated breasts.

St. Agatha is one of those saints that we know desperately little about except that where she was from (Sicily) and when she was killed (under the Decian persecution, around 251 AD). We have legends of her beauty and purity, accounts of her choice to remain a virgin and the angry reprisals inflicted upon her by the powerful (spurned) Quintianus. It seems she was miraculously cured, for she survived for a time the horrible injuries and indignities before dying imprisoned.

When writing or speaking about martyrs, we often run out of details, or simply cannot fathom their endurance, and conclude our account with the simple truth that “they died for the faith.” But when I look to try and then apply the example of their lives to mine, or seek to incorporate something of the grace they were given, I come up short. How does one “die for the faith”? What could possible carry me from an ordinary Morning Offering to standing steadfast before the worst tortures and still saying “yes”? Would I have their same endurance? Did it hurt as much as I imagined it did? ‘

To unravel this conundrum, I want to turn to the Church’s wisdom as regards martyrs. We start as always from Our Lord: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account” Jesus calls out in His most famous sermon (no jokes to be found here!)  Later, before His own passion: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” These were realities that the Early Church endured: its members encouraging those hauled into the arena, praying for those who abandoned the faith, and honoring those who had been killed. Quickly it was these, the highest of witnesses to Christ [martyron in Greek] who were hailed as the greatest of saints.

St. Augustine sharpened this definition, clarifying that martyrdom is not based on the punishment you endure, but the reason for the punishment. (Plenty of Donatists were going around claiming to be martyrs because the government was being hard on them … Heads up: unfair taxes don’t bump you to the highest ranks of heaven, and neither does being penalized for heresy…) St. Thomas Aquinas further hones the Church’s definition of martyrdom to being killed for a truth of the faith. (In this way, John the Baptist is a martyr, not because he was killed for faith in Christ per se, but because he was killed for his denunciation of adultery). This logic has been applied more recently to saints like Maximilian Kolbe (a “martyr for charity”) and Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (technically killed for her Jewish ancestry, but who remained imbued by Christian love until the end). Neither were killed specifically for their faith. They could not have apostatized and saved their lives. But because they did hold onto Truth and Love to the last, and by God’s grace had both the fortitude and charity to do so, we acclaim them not only saints, but martyrs.

What do we discover amid all these developments over the centuries, and all these examples of martyrdom? I take away one simple truth this week: every martyr died for Christ, but never generically, never ambiguously. Agatha died because she chose to live as a perpetual virgin. John the Baptist died because he had the chutzpah to call Herod (and Herodias) out for their fornication. Maximilian Kolbe because he offered his life in place of a doomed father. Teresa Benedicta because she refused to evade the Nazi’s, saying instead “come, we are going for our people.” 

Each died for a particular way that they chose Jesus and followed Jesus – perpetual virginity, the truth of marriage, self-sacrifice, accepting the cross – our discipleship must be similarly particular! We cannot be generic saints! The Lord is calling us to a particular way of following after Him, and only a “yes” to that specific emulation of our can carry us through whatever persecutions may come our way. 

– Fr. Dominic Rankin has only slowly realized that the particular way he is called behind Jesus is often found in his inbox or on his desk (or floor!). I would love more precision (or maybe what I’m really hoping for is greater glory…), but it seems that fortitude and charity, and truth and love, currently intersect there.  

A few years ago, there was quite a dustup in the Catholic world when headlines started coming out that Pope Francis was thinking about changing the Lord’s Prayer!  In fact, a quick Google search resulted in the following headline: “Pope Francis made this big change to the Lord’s Prayer.”  I even remember somebody telling me how upset they were that the Pope was changing the most familiar prayer that we as Catholics know.

The rumor of the Holy Father’s change came from an interview that he did in which he was asked about a new French translation to be used in the liturgy.  The new translation addressed the petition: “lead us not into temptation”, and it would now take the form (in French) to be more like: “do not let us fall into temptation.”  When asked about this change, the Holy Father was supportive of the decision the French bishops had made, reportedly saying: “It’s me who falls. It’s not Him who pushes me into temptation, as if I fell. A father doesn’t do that. A father helps you to get up right away. The one who leads into temptation is Satan.”

The Holy Father’s comment was in no way a suggestion that the Lord’s Prayer should be changed for everybody, but it did give an opportunity for us to better appreciate this sometimes confusing petition in this prayer we love so well.  So how are we to understand it?  As is often the case, we can find a more than adequate answer from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

This petition goes to the root of the preceding one, for our sins result from our consenting to temptation; we therefore ask our Father not to “lead” us into temptation. It is difficult to translate the Greek verb used by a single English word: the Greek means both “do not allow us to enter into temptation” and “do not let us yield to temptation.” “God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one”; on the contrary, he wants to set us free from evil. We ask him not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We are engaged in the battle “between flesh and spirit”; this petition implores the Spirit of discernment and strength. (CCC 2846)

This petition, along with “thy will be done” upon which we reflected last week, is a very helpful one to invoke each day.  As human beings, we are constantly subjected to temptations, both from within and without.  In those moments when we come to understand that we are being tempted (not by God), we should not try to rely on our own willpower.  Rather, we cry out to the Father who loves us: “lead us not into temptation”, which is a cry for His protection and strength, for as He reminds us: “without me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) We make this prayer with the confidence that St. Paul had in the Lord when he wrote: “I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me.” (Phil 4:13)

Speaking of temptations, it strikes me that all of this confusion is a subtle tactic of the deceiver, Satan, trying to distract us, even to the point of distrusting this petition, for he knows how powerful these words proposed by Jesus are in thwarting his attempts to lead us off course in doing God’s will.

Father Alford     

Feast Day: February 1^st | Bishop, Martyr, Apostolic Father| Patronage: Church in Northern Africa, in Middle East, in Eastern Mediterranean | Attributes: Attired as a Bishop, in chains, surrounded by lions

I have written on St. Ignatius of Antioch twice before, so I will not attempt another variation on his biography, but I direct your eyes to our stained glass window depicting his martyrdom in the Roman arena, and I direct your mind and heart to his words written the Christians in Smyrna around the year 110 AD, probably shortly before his martyrdom.

Let no one be deceived; even things in heaven and the glory of the angels, and the rulers visible and invisible, even for them there is a judgment if they do not believe on the blood of Christ. “He that receiveth let him receive.” Let not office exalt anyone, for faith and love is everything, and nothing has been preferred to them. But mark those who have strange opinions concerning the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary they are to the mind of God. For love they have no care, none for the widow, none for the orphan, none for the distressed, none for the afflicted, none for the prisoner, or for him released from prison, none for the hungry or thirsty.

St. Ignatius, just one generation after the Apostles, here upholds the true identity of Christ as both fully and fully divine. He writes in warning against Docetism (a variation on Gnosticism, both of those heresies scorning the God-given dignity and purpose of our bodies, and thus the reality of Christ’s Body). Ignatius knows the ramifications of such a doctrine do not just tinker with our understanding of Christ (and whether He actually saves us, body and soul!), but enter deeply into our own lives, and bodies. If our bodies have not been washed with Christ’s Blood, we will be incapable of authentic Christian charity. If charity is absent, Christ is absent.

They abstain from Eucharist and prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ who suffered for our sins, which the Father raised up by his goodness. They then who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes; but it were better for them to have love, that they also may attain to the Resurrection. It is right to refrain from such men and not even to speak about them in private or in public, but to give heed to the prophets and especially to the Gospel, in which the Passion has been revealed to us and the Resurrection has been accomplished. But flee from divisions as the beginning of evils.

Recall that the Church invokes St. Ignatius during the Nobis Quoque prayer of the Roman Canon. The priest had just beaten his breast, declaring his own sinfulness before God (and by extension the sins of all the Church) and begging His mercy that we might be brought into fellowship with the Apostles and Martyrs including St. Ignatius. Sin is only a block to unity if it is not forgiven! That prayer concludes with those tremendous words, spoken with Christ’s Flesh and Blood resting before us on the altar: “admit us, we beseech you, into their company, not weighing our merits, but granting us your pardon.”The fact is that God has admitted us to the company of the saints – in Christ – and pardons us that we might be brought into even greater Holy Communion just moments later.

See that you all follow the bishop, as Jesus Christ follows the Father, and the presbytery as if it were the Apostles. And reverence the deacons as the command of God. Let no one do any of the things appertaining to the Church without the bishop. Let that be considered a valid Eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop, or by one whom he appoints. Wherever the bishop appears let the congregation be present; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful either to baptize or to hold an “agapé” [early Christian reference to the Eucharistic meal] without the bishop; but whatever he approve, this is also pleasing to God, that everything which you do may be secure and valid. [St. Ignatius, “Letter to Smyrnians”, paragraphs 6-8.]

Finally – after charity, and sanctity – Ignatius emphasizes a third necessity that comes from Christ’s real presence among us: unity. I think we all want these things! Charity, Sanctity, Unity … they are pithy, church-ey, words for sure, but ones that relate directly to our innate desires for kindness, respect, and peace … and perhaps our culture’s desire for tolerance, transparency, and harmony. What Ignatius is getting at is the bedrock truth that we will only find superficial versions of these graces without Christ. And though Our Lord’s grace is not cheap, it is worth seeking and finding. 

– Fr. Dominic Rankin does not sign his name with a cross (+) before it, as that practice has for centuries been the mark of a bishop. But early in the Church many priests would place a cross next to their name. This mark certainly was meant to show their union with Christ’s bodily sacrifice on the cross, but surprisingly this was also the first letter of the Greek word “tapeinós”[ταπεινός], meaning “humble” or “sinner”, that key word from the nobis quoque when the priest publicly proclaims his sinfulness to Christ. (Sometimes, especially in Latin documents, a priest would write out the entire word “peccator” before his name.)

Before jumping back into our reflections on the Lord’s Prayer, I have a quick correction to make to last week’s bulletin article.  I attributed a quote to St. Augustine about the Lord’s Prayer being the “most perfect of prayers” and that the petitions proposed by Jesus in this prayer express “all the things we can rightly desire, but also in the sequence that they should be desired.” (CCC 2763)  In fact, this quote came from another theological giant – St. Thomas Aquinas!  As I went to where St. Thomas wrote this in his Summa Theologiae, he actually references St. Augustine!  Nevertheless, my apologies to St. Thomas, though I have no doubt he would be flattered to be confused with St. Augustine!

The point made by St. Thomas, rooted in the thought of St. Augustine, that the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer express all we should rightly (as opposed to inordinate desires) is key to our appreciating the Lord’s Prayer.  Spending time reflecting on each of the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer can be a very fruitful spiritual exercise.  But in the interest of space and time, I will only make a few comments in my articles for the next two weeks.

The first point I would like to reflect on comes from another teaching that Jesus offers on prayer, found later in the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 7 where Jesus says: “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” (Mt 7:7–8) With this teaching, the Lord is inviting us to be persistent in our petitions to Him.  We do not simply ask Him for something just once, we keep on asking.  That continual knocking in prayer is not to be understood as a way of convincing God to give us what we want.  Rather, our persistence in prayer helps to strengthen our desire for what the Lord already, in His loving Providence, desires to give us.  Sometimes He seems to remain inattentive to our petitions when we pray, but that silence is a preparation that our hearts need so that we can receive His gifts in the way that is best suited to our well-being, and ultimately, our salvation.

Now, as this relates to the Lord’s Prayer, since the petitions proposed by Jesus are the perfect set of petitions, this prayer should be one of the go-to ways by which we approach the Lord.  For sure, this means praying the entire prayer with faith, but we can also take individual petitions from the Lord’s Prayer and use them as a prayer in themselves, repeating them over and over, like a person knocking on the door.

Let me give you an example of what this might look like.  Perhaps we are praying that the Lord will bring an end to a difficulty we have been having.  Let’s say it is a bodily pain we have.  Our prayer might sound something like: “Please, heal me of this affliction.  Take this pain away from me.”  Knowing that the Lord’ Prayer offers us those perfect petitions, we can add: “but thy will be done!”  We ask, seek, and knock, but in the end, we trust in God’s will for us, which is always better than what our will desires.  Perhaps being freed from our suffering is the Lord’s will.  Great!  But even if it is not, we know that the Lord, in permitting our suffering, has something even greater in store for us through His Providence.  How do we know this?  Listen to a few verses later in Matthew 7: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Mt 7:11)  Remember that we always begin the Lord’s Prayer with the words: “Our Father.”  We are His beloved children, upon whom He delights to give us good things when we ask Him, good things according to His most perfect and loving will for us.  So ask, seek, and knock in prayer with confidence, always concluding with that great petition of trust in the Father: “thy will be done!”

Father Alford