So, we have always taught our kids to avoid using the phrase “Oh my God” due to the commandment to not take the Lord’s name in vain. But what about sayings that invoke the word “hell” such as “what the hell” or “hell, yeah/yes”? Those don’t necessarily seem to fall as clearly under the commandment but they feel similarly inappropriate? Or am I over analyzing?

Your question is one that I have thought about a lot during different periods in my life. Most recently, I have had several conversations and read some articles about Mark Wahlberg’s movie Father Stu, which depicts the amazing story of an adult convert named Stuart Long who was ordained a priest after a long journey of sin mixed with God’s providence. I saw the movie with one of my seminary classmates this spring, and at the end of it I was tearing up as it showed a clip of the real Father Stu before he died of a muscle disorder. The only problem with the movie was that it was rated R for language. According to one count I saw, there were around 100 cuss words in the movie, fifty of which were sexual in nature. Before his conversion, Father Stu had a foul mouth, but the movie didn’t really depict that his language changed along with the rest of his life, although that was actually a significant part of his life story. 

I share this because it makes me ask the question, “Does it really matter what language we use?” I think the answer seems to be “yes,” although expressing why is not so easy. It seems to come down to the nature of speech and why God gave us this ability. He gave us speech to be used for building others up, to express truth, and to offer praise to God. Surprisingly, the Catechism doesn’t explicitly address the morality of using “cuss words,” although there is a significant section on the Second Commandment, using God’s Name in vain.

You are right to teach your family to avoid the phrase, “O my God,” and other similar phrases that use the name of Jesus, Christ, or Mary. Even if we are not intentionally using these names to curse someone/something, we are using them for a reason that is not worthy of the honor due to them. The Catechism says in paragraphs 2143-2144, 

Among all the words of Revelation, there is one which is unique: the revealed name of God. God confides his name to those who believe in him; he reveals himself to them in his personal mystery. the gift of a name belongs to the order of trust and intimacy. “The Lord’s name is holy.” For this reason man must not abuse it. He must keep it in mind in silent, loving adoration. He will not introduce it into his own speech except to bless, praise, and glorify it.Respect for his name is an expression of the respect owed to the mystery of God himself and to the whole sacred reality it evokes.

But this still doesn’t exactly address the second part of your question about using the word “hell” or similar phrases. I had a high school teacher who would sometimes quip that hell is a place, not a cuss word. There are some words that seem to be appropriate in the barnyard but not at the kitchen table. As human beings, God has made us naturally attracted to goodness, truth, and beauty. Everything in harmony with these three things is worth striving for and loving. It seems that using God’s name in vain, along with all other foul language, does not fit in these categories! Jesus was the most persuasive speaker to ever live, and he never resorted to using bad language to make his point. He appealed to the deepest part of our heart which longs to be known and loved by God. Using cuss words may have gotten attention for a time, but it would have distracted from his message. I think the same is true for our own use of speech. There are better ways to express ideas and feelings that do not include words which refer to hell (a truly horrific place) or various bodily functions. (But, even as I write this, part of me rebels and wants to justify times in which some words really do get the point across. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!) 

Here are a few scriptures for consideration on this topic:

Colossians 3:8 “But put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth.”

Ephesians 4:29 “Let no evil talk come out of your moths, but only such as is good for edifying, as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.”

Matthew 15:11 “It is not what goes into the mouth which defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” 

There are also a lot of fiery quotes from saints on avoiding foul language, that I don’t have space to include today! 

It is good to teach children (and ourselves) to avoid using all sorts of inappropriate words. As they grow up, their vocabulary will undoubtedly expand beyond what we teach them, but practicing purity in speech helps provide a loving, affirming environment in which to raise a family. I hope this answer was helpful. Thank you for your witness to raising your family in a spirit of encouragement in the Lord! 

Several years ago, I came across the story of Father Patrick Peyton, a member of the Congregation of the Holy Cross.  He was ordained to the priesthood in 1940, but his ordination almost did not happen.  He became severely ill with tuberculosis and a priest challenged him to turn to Our Lady, believing that Mary would give him 100 percent of what he asked.  Father Peyton turned to the Rosary and he was miraculously cured.  At that moment, he promised that if he would be ordained, he would dedicate his ministry to Mary, who had interceded for him to save his life.

Father Peyton did indeed dedicate his ministry to Mary, becoming one of the greatest promoters of the praying of the Rosary.  In particular, he promoted the practice of praying the Rosary as a family, and he became known for the phrase: “The family who prays together, stays together.”

I offer that brief story as a way of introducing a new year of A Family of Faith: Catechesis for the Whole Family.  For those of you who may not already be aware, we have been using this program over the past three years and we have been intentional about making it apply not just to our school-age families, but to all families, for we are all a part of one parish family here at the Cathedral.  This program follows the four sections of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Having completed the first three sections (the Creed, the Sacraments, and the Moral Life in Christ) we are set to focus our attention this year on the final section: Christian Prayer.

The Catechism begins this section by showing how prayer ties all the sections of the Catechism together:

“Great is the mystery of the faith!” The Church professes this mystery in the Apostles’ Creed (Part One) and celebrates it in the sacramental liturgy (Part Two), so that the life of the faithful may be conformed to Christ in the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father (Part Three). This mystery, then, requires that the faithful believe in it, that they celebrate it, and that they live from it in a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God. This relationship is prayer. (CCC 2558)

I am looking forward to what lies ahead for us as we delve more deeply into what prayer is and how to pray.  But as we look forward, I invite you to let that slogan of Father Peyton resonate in your hearts this week and consider how the Lord is inviting you to pray more regularly with your family, whether it be your family at home, or your family here at church – hopefully both!  The strengthening of our relationship with the Lord in prayer over this coming year will undoubtedly strengthen our families and our parish.

Father Alford

This past Monday, the Church around the world celebrated the feast day of St. Januarius. He is not a household name, and he is spoken about more today for a phenomenon relating to a very odd but consistent miracle. Little is known about the life of St. Januarius, but tradition tells us that he was a bishop in Italy during the reign of the Emperor Diocletian. Januarius was killed during one of the persecutions of the Church, and a local woman named Eusebia collected some of his blood to keep as a relic. Now, here is the odd thing: three times a year, Januarius’ blood liquifies inside of the transparent glass holders where it is venerated and displayed. This phenomenon was first recorded in 1389, and it just happened again this past Monday on his feast day. The other days that it traditionally happens is on the first Saturday of May and December 16, the anniversary of the 1631 eruption of Mount Vesuvius. 

Now, to a skeptic, I know that this is a very bizarre and somewhat pointless miracle – not near as useful as Jesus healing a cripple! However, the evidence is pretty clear to me that this miracle does in fact occur. I have never seen it in person, but I have seen videos and images that pretty clearly depict liquid blood inside the display case. It may be surprising to some that the Church is actually the biggest skeptic when it comes to miracles. Some occurrences that may seem to be obvious miracles to many people would be written off by Church investigators because there may be a possible natural explanation. This is the case with any miraculous healing in a canonization investigation or with Eucharistic miracles. The Church has never actually officially approved the miracle of the liquification of blood as being authentic, but this does not mean that it isn’t a truly supernatural phenomenon; the Church simply has not made an official judgment. 

This past Monday, Archbishop Battaglia of Naples celebrated Mass in the presence of the blood of St. Januarius, and it liquified during the Mass. But he offered a reflection on the role of this miracle in our faith. He said, “Today the sign of Bishop Januarius’ blood, shed for the sake of Christ and his brethren, tells us that goodness, beauty, and righteousness are and always will be victorious. Here is the meaning of this blood, which, united with the blood shed by Christ and that of all martyrs of every place and time, is a living testimony that love always wins. It matters little, my brothers and sisters, whether the blood liquefies or not. Let us never reduce this celebration to an oracle to be consulted. Believe me, what really matters to the Lord, what our bishop and martyr Januarius strongly asks of us, is the daily commitment to stake on love.” 

God gives us miracles as reminders that he is still present in our midst. In the gospels, Jesus used miracles as signs of credibility of his message. He raised the dead, forgave sins, and calmed the sea as proofs of his divine nature, and to invite his disciples to believe in him. Of course, Jesus also said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” Many of us have never seen a miracle in person, although we may have read about them online or heard about them. For me personally, accounts of Eucharistic miracles have helped me to believe more strongly in the reality of the Eucharist. But we should not allow accounts of miracles to be the only support for our faith. God has revealed all that we need to know for salvation through Scripture and Tradition, and any supposed revelation from God today needs to be in line with what we already know to be true. This is also true for miracles. God may choose to give us miracles to strengthen our faith, and he will do this as he sees fit. But, if this is the last time that Januarius’ blood ever liquifies, that would be ok too. The important part is that it impels us to greater love of God and each other!  

Feast Day: September 30^th | Patron of Archaeologists, Bible Scholars, Librarians, Students

His full name was Eusebius Hieronymus. This precocious child, born to Christian parents at Stridon (modern day Ljubljana, Slovenia) in 347 AD made his way as an adolescent to Rome to complete his schooling, and there found himself moved by the catacombs and stories of the heroism of the martyrs and received baptism. He spent several years traveling throughout the empire: to Germany in the North, to Antioch in the East, and elsewhere. But it was in 375 AD that he began the fight that would make him a saint. It was during Lent, in Antioch, and he came down with a deathly fever. During the health crisis he had a dream:

Many years ago, when for the kingdom of heaven’s sake I had cut myself off from home, parents, sister, relations, and-harder still-from the dainty food to which I had been accustomed; and when I was on my way to Jerusalem to wage my warfare, I still could not bring myself to forego the library which I had formed for myself at Rome with great care and toil. And so, miserable man that I was, I would fast only that I might afterwards read Cicero. After many nights spent in vigil, after floods of tears called from my inmost heart, after the recollection of my past sins, I would once more take up Plautus. And when at times I returned to my right mind, and began to read the prophets, their style seemed rude and repellent. I failed to see the light with my blinded eyes; but I attributed the fault not to them, but to the sun. While the old serpent was thus making me his plaything, about the middle of Lent a deep-seated fever fell upon my weakened body, and while it destroyed my rest completely-the story seems hardly credible-it so wasted my unhappy frame that scarcely anything was left of me but skin and bone. Meantime preparations for my funeral went on; my body grew gradually colder, and the warmth of life lingered only in my throbbing breast.

Suddenly I was caught up in the spirit and dragged before the judgment seat of the Judge; and here the light was so bright, and those who stood around were so radiant, that I cast myself upon the ground and did not dare to look up. Asked who and what I was I replied: “I am a Christian.” But He who presided said: “Thou liest, thou art a follower of Cicero and not of Christ. For `where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also.'” Instantly I became dumb, and amid the strokes of the lash-for He had ordered me to be scourged-I was tortured more severely still by the fire of conscience, considering with myself that verse, “In the grave who shall give thee thanks?” Yet for all that I began to cry and to bewail myself, saying: “Have mercy upon me, O Lord: have mercy upon me.” Amid the sound of the scourges this cry still made itself heard. At last the bystanders, failing down before the knees of Him who presided, prayed that He would have pity on my youth, and that He would give me space to repent of my error. He might still, they urged, inflict torture on me, should I ever again read the works of the Gentiles. Under the stress of that awful moment I should have been ready to make even still larger promises than these.

Accordingly I made oath and called upon His name, saying: “Lord, if ever again I possess worldly books, or if ever again I read such, I have denied Thee.” Dismissed, then, on taking this oath, I returned to the upper world, and, to the surprise of all, I opened upon them eyes so drenched with tears that my distress served to convince even the incredulous. And that this was no sleep nor idle dream, such as those by which we are often mocked, I call to witness the tribunal before which I lay, and the terrible judgment which I feared. May it never, hereafter, be my lot to fall under such an inquisition! I profess that my shoulders were black and blue, that I felt the bruises long after I awoke from my sleep, and that thenceforth I read the books of God with a zeal greater than I had previously given to the books of men. [Letter 22, To Eustochium: The Ciceronian Dream]

It was this dramatic encounter with the Lord that would catapult him into the desert as a hermit (a miserable experience for him as he didn’t know Greek yet, couldn’t tolerate the food, and was continuously tempted towards impurity) but it was from there that he embarked on the studies and translation-work that would make him famous. He was shortly thereafter ordained a priest and became the secretary for Pope Damasus. Many of his letters are for the formation of consecrated widows and virgins in the Eternal City. Eventually some of them would go with him to found religious communities for men and women in the Holy Land, where Jerome would spend the rest of his days and complete his Latin translation of the Bible. 

Often forgotten, Jerome was assailed by temptations to anger, impurity, and worldliness throughout his life. He flung vitriol at heretics, and saints (Ambrose and Augustine both receiving his attack at times), and literally carried a rock with which to knock himself out of his fits of fury or impurity. The Vulgate did not make him a saint; his life-long repentance and turning to Christ’s mercy did!

– Fr. Dominic Rankin 

A few weeks ago, when I wrote about the second Precept of the Church on going to confession at least once a year, I set it in the context of the third Precept:  Reception of Holy Communion at least once a year during the Easter season.  I feel like my explanation that week covered this precept well, so let’s address the final remaining Precept which states:  Observance of the days of fast and abstinence.

When we hear these two terms, fasting and abstinence, it is likely that our minds go immediately to the season of Lent.  Perhaps you have seen the Lenten regulations that we publish from the diocese each year.  They are as follows:

1. ABSTINENCE – Everyone 14 years of age and over is bound to abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent.

2. FAST – Everyone 18 years of age and under 59 is required to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

On these two days of fast and abstinence, only one full meatless meal is permitted. Two other meatless meals, sufficient to maintain strength may be taken according to each person’s needs, but together these two should not equal another full meal. Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids (including milk and fruit juices) are allowed.

Sounds pretty straightforward, right?  Well, there is another important point about which many Catholics are unaware.  We turn first to the universal law of the Church found in the Code of Canon Law:

Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. (Can. 1251)

In a statement from 1966, the US Bishops give a nice commentary on the reason for this law when they write:

Friday should be in each week something of what Lent is in the entire year. For this reason we urge all to prepare for that weekly Easter that comes with each Sunday by freely making of every Friday a day of self-denial and mortification in prayerful remembrance of the passion of Jesus Christ.

This means that every Friday, unless it is a Solemnity, is a day to abstain from meat.  But the Code provides the following important stipulation:

The conference of bishops can determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence as well as substitute other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety, in whole or in part, for abstinence and fast. (Can 1253)

Here in the United States, it has been decided that Friday abstinence can be exercised in other ways than not eating meat.  While the US Bishops praise and give first place to the practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays, they leave room to choose an alternative penitential practice, such as abstaining from alcohol.  They also offer a helpful commentary which provides some insight into another way of observing Friday:

It would bring great glory to God and good to souls if Fridays found our people doing volunteer work in hospitals, visiting the sick, serving the needs of the aged and the lonely, instructing the young in the Faith, participating as Christians in community affairs, and meeting our obligations to our families, our friends, our neighbors, and our community, including our parishes, with a special zeal born of the desire to add the merit of penance to the other virtues exercised in good works born of living faith.

So if you are not doing anything penitential, sacrificial, or charitable on Fridays, now is a good time to start!  And if you find it hard to think of something, remember the Church’s recommendation of abstaining from meat as a worthwhile way of remembering the sacrifice that Jesus made for us on Good Friday.

Father Alford

One of the challenges that we all face in the Christian life is staying faithful to prayer even when it becomes “difficult” or when we have little desire to do so. St. Therese of Lisieux is one of the Church’s most beloved saints of the 20^th century and she wrote very simply but beautifully about prayer. Her nickname of the “Little Flower” was one that she gave to herself. She imagined herself in God’s beautiful garden as just a simple little flower, compared to the spiritual masters who are more like bushes or trees! May her simple words on prayer inspire us to “keep at it” this week as we seek to love the Lord with all our heart! 

From Story of a Soul

Sometimes when I am in such a state of spiritual dryness that not a single good thought occurs to me, I say very slowly the “Our Father,” or the “Hail Mary,” and these prayers suffice to take me out of myself.

I take refuge, then, in prayer, and turn to Mary, and our Lord always triumphs.

My strength lies in prayer and sacrifice; they are invincible weapons, and touch hearts more surely than words can do, as I have learned by experience.

We often think we receive graces and are divinely illuminated by means of brilliant candles. But from whence comes their light? From prayers, perhaps, of some humble, hidden soul, whose inward shining is not apparent to human eyes.

In a word, prayer is something noble, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites it to God.

For me, prayer is a burst from my heart, it is a simple glance thrown toward heaven, a cry of thanksgiving and love in times of trial as well as in times of joy.

Frequently, only silence can express my prayer.

Let us not grow tired of prayer: confidence works miracles.

The power of prayer has been understood by all the saints, and especially, perhaps, by those who have illumined the world with the light of Christ’s teaching.

My strength lies in prayer and sacrifice; they are invincible weapons, and touch hearts more surely than words can do, as I have learned by experience.

Our fulcrum is God: our lever, prayer; prayer which burns with love. With that we can lift the world!

Excerpt from littleflower.org 

Feast Day: September 23^rd | Patron of Adolescents, Civil Defenders, Pietrelcina, Italy

1887, like most years in human history, had a whole lot of ordinary events, and a few that you would recognize. Gustave Eiffel began work on his eponymous tower in Paris. King Kalākaua of Hawai’i was forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, leading to Hawaii’s annexation to the United States. Yamaha Corporation was founded in Japan, originally a manufacturer of organs. Sherlock Holmes first appeared in print in England.

God’s grace was available in all of these moments, though, as is often the case, it was more visible in the humbler moments that history has long since forgotten. On March 25^th of that year, on the Friday two weeks before Easter, after a day fasting from meat and working with her husband, Grazio, in the fields, Giuseppa “Beppa” Forgione gave birth to their fourth child, though only their second to survive infancy. They were a lovely couple: Neither had received much academic education, but Beppa had a dignity and sincerity that melded marvelously with Grazio’s simplicity and lightheartedness. The townspeople would fondly recall Beppa’s penetrating eyes and Grazio’s wiry tenacity, attributes that marked them through all 47 years of their marriage. 

But that Friday evening when Francisco was born, those personal characteristics, and their own past and future, were far from the couple’s mind. Instead, they endured together the struggle of childbirth, the surreal joy of welcoming a son into their family, the poignant sadness of recalling his deceased brother and sister, and yet the sure hope that held their hearts knowing that they had given each of their children the greatest gift they ever could: baptism into God’s very life.

They owned a simple jumble-of-a-house comprised of a few connected rooms on Vico Storto Valle [hilariously, literally, “Crooked Valley Lane”]. Their whitewashed walls were adorned with little more than two crucifixes and a lithograph of Mary, but their home was filled with the love that cascades around a little Catholic family. They woke when the bells of Castle Church rang out for daybreak, starting the day with some family prayers and daily Mass.  Then Tata [Papa] would saddle the ass and begin the hour trek to his strip of farmland where he grew grapes, wheat, corn, olives, figs, and plums. There were a few sheep and hogs around, and a little cottage there if they had to stay the night, but usually they were back in Pietrelcino for nightfall, eating a dinner of produce from Beppa’s garden – apparently a lot of green beans – and maybe some pasta. If it was a feast day, Mammella [Motherdear] would prepare some of the pork sausage they had saved from last year’s hog. 

Music and stories from the Bible (Grazio was a wonderful storyteller!) and meditation on the life of Christ through their daily rosary filled the last part of the day. Days quickly became years as the life of their family was swept along through the Church’s seasons. One of the children’s favorite stories was that of the great martyred Bishop Januarius, who was buried only 40 miles, but whose blood would sometimes miraculously liquify on his feast day, September 19^th. On the one hand, nothing was notable about the Forgione’s, but on the other hand, their love for God was evident to all, and their fellow townspeople them the “God-is-everything-people”.  

We often hear only the second half of Padre Pio’s story: of his miracles and bilocation; his fervent Masses and the profound encounter with God’s Love that many received going to confession to him; how misunderstood he was by the Church, and the world; his battles with Satan; his love for Mary; his participation in Jesus’ wounds; his prediction that Karol Wojtyla would be called to be the Holy Father… But where did this holy priest come from?: A family, with a farm, and not much more than the simple meals of a loving mother and the saintly stories of a goofy dad, and consistent daily encounters with Jesus, and Mary. They sang and suffered, and loved and labored together, and from that soil grew one of the most captivating lives of all the Church’s saints. It does not take much to become a saint, a mystic, a martyr, or a stigmatist … just saying yes to God’s love into our human lives every single day.

– Fr. Dominic Rankin once visited the tomb of St. Padre Pio. He is enshrined behind glass, beneath a big, modern Church, and thousands meander past every day. Some encounter a saint, some see a celebrity, some scoff at the stories, but a few pilgrims meet there the son of two peasants who loved Jesus with as much of his heart as he could. We can all do that.

Having paused our reflections on the Precepts of the Church for one week (I hope the clarification on the status of some of our priests was helpful), let us return to the topic at hand – the second Precept of the Church:  Confession of serious sins at least once a year

Although I did not plan it this way, our continued reflection on the sometimes difficult topic of confession falls on a Sunday in which the Church provides us probably the most powerful of Jesus’s teaching on His mercy, the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  I do not want to focus too much on that parable in this article, as that is what the homily is for, just to make note of it and to keep the story in our minds as we consider the Father and the great mercy He offers to us as His beloved children in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

One point that I will highlight from this story is the line where the younger son prepares what he is going to say when he returns to his father’s house.  We can see in this rehearsal a model for us as we prepare to return to the Father’s house in the sacrament.  Preparation is key!  Trust me, we hear a lot of confessions at the Cathedral and it is evident that the best confessions are those when it is clear that somebody has made a good preparation beforehand.  Without preparation, we risk not confessing some of the sins that we should confess.  There is a difference between not being able to recall a sin after a good preparation and simple negligence by not doing any significant preparation.  A good preparation is all the more necessary if it has been some time since our last confession.  A lack of preparation could result in a very vague confession which only speaks in general terms, which is not very beneficial, or we could find ourselves rambling on without much direction – also not very beneficial.

So how should we prepare?  I highly recommend finding a good Examination of Conscience to review.  A quick Internet search will certainly return many options.  Then, ask the Holy Spirit to help you as you examine your conscience.  If you need to, make a list that you can bring into the confessional.  Do not underestimate how unreliable our memory can be, especially when we have our nerves running high once we step into the confessional!  I have heard some people say that making a list is unnecessary, or not advisable out of a fear that somebody might find the list.  But if making a list helps you to make a good confession, by all means, go for it.  Full transparency – I make a list every time I go to confession.  When you are done, destroy the list – shred it or burn it.  When it comes time for making your confession, please stick to your sins.  Please do not confess the sins of another person.  You can only take ownership for your own sins.  Confessing our sins does not need a story, either.  As a priest I know said one time: “if you feel the need to explain it, you might just be making excuses instead of just taking ownership and confessing your sins.”  Plus, we want to be respectful of the time of those who are in line behind us.  Doing a good preparation will enable the flow of the line go much more efficiently.  Not that efficiency is and end in itself, but it is a sign of good courtesy toward your fellow penitents.  

So as you think and pray about your relationship with confession, let me gently encourage you to examine how well you prepare for your confession.  If you truly take the time to do a good preparation, I can guarantee you will benefit greatly from this sacrament the next time you go.  And that experience may well help you to embrace this gift of the Father’s mercy in a new way, such that you are eager to make use of it more frequently as one of the most effective means of truly growing in holiness. 

Father Alford

Last week we reflected on the theological virtue of faith. Today, I would like to reflect on the theological virtue of hope, a virtue by which we desire the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life as our happiness, it is by putting our trust in Christ.  Hope is conceivably the most challenging of the three theological virtues to understand. It can be depicted as an unwavering trust and assurance that the promises of God will be fulfilled. This trust is centered on Christ who through his Death and Resurrection, has brought us the hope of salvation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the true nature and meaning of the theological virtue of hope.  It states that, “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. ‘Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.’ ‘The Holy Spirit … he poured upon us richly through Jesus Christ Savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.’” (CCC, # 1817).

Living in the hope of resurrection is quite instrumental in the healing process during the bereavement. Without the hope of resurrection there is no belief in life after death. There is no immortality. It is the hope of resurrection that gives meaning to the afterlife. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, death is defeated, and eternal life is made sure.  By raising Jesus from the death, God promises all the faithful the same resurrection. In death life is distorted, but in resurrection victory is triumphed. The question St. Paul asks,” O’ death where is your victory? O’ death where is your sting? (I Cor 15: 55). As Christians, sometimes we might ask ourselves same questions especially, when someone close to us, when someone whom we loved so much, when someone who meant so much to us dies, we are deeply hurt, and our heart is troubled, and we begin to question everything. What is life? Why is death? Where is God? 

More than all the avenues, the Church provides wonderful opportunities for healing. This does not mean that all the bereaved families run to Church for comfort and encouragement. On the contrary, most grievers shy away from the Church, feeling at the time that God has betrayed or forsaken them. Where there is hope, there is no despair; where there is despair or hopelessness, there is no hope, but hope in the human life cannot be invaded by despair. Despair can be understood as a momentarily psychological feeling that even affects the spiritual dimension of Christian life. Hope has the last word over despair. With hope, Christians participate to the vision of God, who is eternal life. Stories, such as the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead, for example, make them feel like God has abandoned them, because if He was able to raise Lazarus why can’t He also raise their own. Some of us can think like this. Christ is the only hope of the human person, and he endured the cross, suffered, died, and was raised. This is our Christian hope.  Without hope, our Christian life would become meaningless. What we hope for is everlasting life. Our deceased brothers and sisters have joined whom they have served in their whole life. Now what we cannot see with our corporeal eye, our brothers and sisters are seeing it. This is what Saint John teaches us, “Beloved we are God’s children now, what we shall be has not yet been revealed. we do not know that when it is revealed to us, we shall see him as he is. everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure as he is pure.” (1 Jn 3:2-3).   Finally, I invite you to pray through the intercession of Saint John Paul II never to give up on Hope as he encourages us: “I plead with you, never ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not Afraid” St. John Paul II pray for us.

Feast Day: September 14^th 

This week I draw our reflection directly from St. John Chrysostom (whom I wrote on last year, and who we celebrate on September 13^th, AND being nicknamed golden-tongues, can do a far better job than I on preaching on the Cross of Christ!). Here is one of his homilies, from the 300s, simply entitled “On the Holy Cross”. 

The Cross of the Lord is unpleasant and sorrowful to the ear, but it consists of joy and gladness. It is the originator not so much of suffering as much as of passionlessness. For Jews the Cross is temptation, for pagans it is madness, but for us believers it reminds us of our salvation. When in church one reads about the Cross and one is reminded of the sufferings on the Cross, the faithful are indignant at the Cross and let out a plaintive wail and murmur not at the Cross but at the crucifiers and unbelievers. For the Cross is the salvation of the Church, the Cross is the praise of those who hope on it. The Cross has released us from the evil that possessed us and is the beginning of the blessings received by us. The Cross is the reconcilement of His enemies with God, the promise of sinners to Christ. For by the Cross we were freed from enmity and through the Cross we have become amiable to God. The Cross delivered us from the authority of the devil, the Cross saved us from death and destruction. The Cross changed human nature to the angelic, having released it from all that is corruptible, and have found lives worthy of immortality.

How great is the power of the Cross! How great is the change made by it in the human race! How from the deep darkness it has led us to the boundless light, from death it has restored us to eternal life, from corruption it has transferred us to incorruption. What good is not accomplished for us by means of the Cross? Through the Cross we learned piety and learned the properties of the Divine essence. Through the Cross we learn the truth about God, through the Cross we who were far from Him are united to Christ, and we become worthy of the grace of the Holy Spirit. Through the Cross we learn the power of love and we are taught to die for others. Through the Cross we are scorned and all what we do is not temporal, we search the blessings of the future and we accept the invisible as if seen. The Cross is preached, and the faith in God is confessed, His truth is spread throughout the universe. The Cross is preached, and the faith in the resurrection, the life and the kingdom of heaven is made without a doubt. What is more precious than the Cross and what is more saving for the soul? The Cross is the triumph over demons, the armor against sin and the sword with which the Lord has struck the snake. The Cross is the will of the Father, the glory of the Only-begotten, the joy of the Holy Spirit, the ornament of angels, the protection of the Church, the praise of St. Paul, the protection of the Saints, the lamp of all the world.

See, however desired and deservedly amiable the Cross is made today, it was the most terrible and shameful sign of the cruelest execution in antiquity! And the Cross makes the best ornament on the imperial crown, the most precious in all the world. The image of the Cross is now found on you, both masters and servants, both wives and husbands, both maidens and married, both slaves and free. All place the sign of the Cross on the noblest part of their body, daily carrying this sign on their forehead, as on a depicted pillar. It shines on a sacred meal, on the clothes of the priest and together with the Lord’s body at the mystical supper. You see it lifted everywhere: on houses, in market-places, in the deserts, on the paths, on mountains and hills, on the sea, on ships, on islands, on boxes, on clothes, on armor, in the halls, on golden and silver vessels, in pictures, on the bodies of sick animals, on the bodies of the demon-possessed, in war, in the world, in the afternoon, at night, in festal assemblies and in the cells of the ascetics. Already no one is ashamed and does not blush at the thought that the Cross is a sign of a shameful death. To the contrary, all of us honor this as an adornment for ourselves, which has surpassed crowns and diadems and precious stones. Let us not run, let us not be frightened, but let us kiss and honor it as an invaluable treasure.

– Fr. Dominic Rankin has been reminded, by this feast and homily, and many other recent moments, that he really needs to get the chain fixed for the cross he wore around his neck. It seems a little thing, but we are either marked with Christ’s cross, or something else, and if it’s anything else, it’s not going to carry us to God.