Keep
your eyes open!...
January 30, 2024
(2Ti 3:12-14) And
all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But
evil men and seducers shall grow worse and worse: erring, and driving
into error, But continue thou in those things which thou hast learned
and which have been committed to thee. Knowing of whom thou hast
learned them:
X:
The nation with the highest percentage of Mass attendance is Nigeria.
94 percent Catholics attend Sunday Mass in the country despite severe
persecution in the hands of extremists.
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CATHOLIC DAILY REFLECTIONS: Fear Transformed by Faith
While
he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house
arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any
longer?” Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the
synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” Mark 5:35–36
This short line is one worth
pondering every day. “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” This
statement can apply to many situations we experience throughout our
lives. It is a command of love from our Lord and is a command that we
all need to hear, especially when hardships come our way.
First, it should be noted that this
was a grave situation in which extreme emotion and temptations to fear
would be understandable. The father in this story had a young daughter
at the point of death, and he came to beg Jesus to heal her. Jesus
agreed. But while they were on their way, Jesus and the father received
the heartbreaking news that the daughter had just died. As any parent
would know, this news must have been incredibly difficult to hear. So
begin by trying to understand the grief that this father was
experiencing. Try to especially understand his grief at that moment as
he heard this devastating news.
As you ponder his grief, try to
also ponder the heart, thinking, emotions and words of Jesus. Jesus had
no fear. He knew that this would end very well. But because He also had
deep empathy and love for this grieving father, Jesus turned to him to
give him hope. Hope in the midst of a very difficult and painful
experience in life is hard to come by. When faced with grief, it is
very tempting to give in to despair. Despair is a complete loss of
hope. Despair keeps us from God and strips us of faith. But despair is
always avoidable if we follow Jesus’ command of love. “Do not be
afraid; just have faith.”
What is it that tempts you to fear
in life? What is it that tempts you to lose your hope? Perhaps you
struggle with the death of a loved one, and you find it very difficult.
Perhaps your grief comes from small sources and is only minor right
now. The truth is that all of us will experience small temptations to
lose hope every day. And most will also experience grave temptations at
one time or another. For these reasons, we must all constantly listen
to Jesus’ words and work to dispel every fear in life as we invite God
to bestow upon us the gift of hope that comes from unwavering faith in
His plan for our lives.
Reflect, today, upon any struggles
you have with despair, fear or anxiety in life. As you do, know that
all things are possible when you turn to God with faith. Faith does not
necessarily remove the hardships of life; it does something even
better. It transforms hardships so that you can endure them with grace,
joy and supernatural hope. When this happens, everything in life has
the potential to be used by God for our good. All we need to do is
continually reject fear and “just have faith.”
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
86. One of the monks said, 'If a labourer remains where there are no
other labourers, he can make no progress. The true labourer struglles
that the work may not deteriorate. If an idle man works with a labourer
the idle man becomes less idle; and if he does not make progress, at
least he does not get idler by seeing someone else working.'
January 26, 2024
(Joh 6:51-56) I
am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this
bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my
flesh, for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among
themselves, saying: How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then
Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say unto you: except you eat the
flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in
you. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath everlasting
life: and I will raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is meat
indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and
drinketh my blood abideth in me: and I in him.
CATHOLIC EXCHANGE: Gratitude for the Eucharist
CATHOLIC CULTURE: What sacrament means the most to you?
BLOG EXCERPT: Ten Ways to Get More Out of Mass
God is the supreme Lord of heaven
and earth, the Creator of all things, including your soul and mine by
an act of immediate creation. That means He knows and wills and loves
each one of us into being at the moment of our conception; He has known
and loved us from eternity and calls us to eternal life after this
short mortal life has run its course.
Because of the cosmic tragedy of
Adam and Eve, the human race is plunged in darkness, misery, and guilt;
each one of us suffers from that tragedy, and we cannot rescue
ourselves. This is why we need a Savior. Jesus Christ delivered us from
the abyss of sin and death by His teaching, by the mysteries of His
life, and above all by His death on the Cross, when He offered Himself
to the Father as an infinitely pleasing sacrifice of love. He offers us
this deliverance, this victory, in the sacraments of the Church He
founded on the apostles.
- In Baptism, the Father claims us as a son in the image of His Son, driving away Satan and filling us with grace and virtues.
- In Confirmation, Our Lord makes us His footsoldiers to carry the banner of His victory into battle.
- In Penance, He washes us clean of our sins and restores us to friendship with Him if we have fallen away.
- In the Holy Eucharist, He gives Himself to us as our food and
drink for the arduous journey, so that we can live for God and for
heaven.
- In Extreme Unction (or Anointing of the Infirm), He offers
physical and spiritual healing to those in danger of death, and
prepares them to meet Him.
- In Marriage, He elevates human love between a man and a woman,
empowering it to be permanent and fruitful for the kingdom of God.
- In Holy Orders, Christ sets a man apart as His special servant,
re-made in His very own image as High Priest, to bring to the world
forgiveness, healing, and nourishment.
All that the Church does is, in a way, a preparation for or an extension of the effects of these sacraments.
Because God is our Creator, our
Redeemer, and our Sanctifier, we owe everything to Him. We truly owe
Him a debt of justice and of love that we can never repay in a manner
that would be worthy of His great goodness and of His immeasurable
gifts to us. We cannot adore Him or thank Him enough; we are also
incapable of asking Him perfectly for all that we need. Most of all, we
need to be united with our Redeemer in His sacrifice on the Cross, so
that the victory He won for the human race in general may be applied to
each one of us in particular. His victory over sin and death becomes
our victory when—and only when—we are made one with Christ.
This is why the Mass is such a
masterpiece of God’s wisdom, such a source of wonder and amazement. In
it, Our Lord makes present His sacrifice of the Cross, by the offering
of the very same Body and Blood that were offered up to the Father for
our salvation. In this way He collapses the 2,000 years that separate
us from Calvary, and brings us right to His Cross, His holy wounds, His
precious Blood, His pierced Heart. All that we could never do
adequately on our own, Our Lord now does in us and for us as His
members. Through the Mass, we—as members of the Mystical Body of
Christ—really and truly give God all the glory that is His due, and all
that we owe Him in justice and in love.
Moreover, when we receive Holy
Communion, we then unite ourselves as perfectly as we can in this life
to that all-pleasing Lamb of God and are drawn mystically into His own
acts of love, adoration, sorrow, petition, thanksgiving. The infinite
acts of His divinized soul pass into ours and, if we are receptive,
become ours by participation.
Most Rev. Mark L. Bartchak, Bishop of Altoona-Johnstown:
"When you receive that love of Jesus and His Most Sacred Heart in the
Holy Eucharist, take a moment to reflect on the words of Christ that he
says to you and about you, 'I have told you this so that My joy may be
in you and your joy may be complete.' Even when you experience dryness
that we sometimes experience in our spiritual life, remember that the
love of Jesus which is poured out through His Most Sacred Heart never
stops flowing over you and into your heart as long as you keep the door
open to that fountain of love."
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
85. A hermit said, "As the order of monks is more honourable than that
of men of the world, so the travelling monk ought to be in every way a
mirror for the monks of the places where he stays.'
January 24, 2024
(Luk 6:22-23) Blessed
shall you be when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you
and shall reproach you and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of
man's sake. Be glad in that day and rejoice: for behold, your reward is
great in heaven, For according to these things did their fathers to the
prophets.
ACN: Grim tally of clergy arrested, kidnapped, and murdered in 2023
ZENIT.ORG: The 50 Countries Where Christians Are Most Persecuted at Present: Communism and Islamism Head the Persecutions
The Christian NGO Puertas Abiertas has been registering, year after
year, the persecution of Christians in the world, classifying 50
countries where the situation is very serious. On Wednesday, January
17, Puertas Abiertas published its 2024 classification, including a map
highlighting in orange the countries with very high levels of
persecution and, in red, the countries with extreme levels of this
scourge. Alarming is the fact that for some years now, the list of
high-level persecutions has been growing.
Puertas Abiertas points out that in these 50 countries alone, some 317
million Christians suffer very high or extreme levels of persecution.
The NGO also points out that one out of every seven Christians suffers
persecution in the world, a proportion that rises to one out of every
five Christians in Africa and two out of every five in Asia. In 2023,
4,998 Christians were killed for their faith; 4,125 were arrested and
14,766 Christian churches and properties were attacked for religious
motives. Moreover, 295,120 Christians have had to flee from their
places of residence. “In 2023, the number of believers obliged to flee
from their homes more than doubled. In the most dangerous countries for
believers in Sub-Saharan Africa, some 3% of all Christians are
displaced.”
Seven Communist Dictatorships on a List Headed by North Korea
Yet another year, the list of persecutions is headed by the Communist
dictatorship of North Korea, an anti-democratic and extremely
oppressive regime, in which Christians have suffered all sort of
atrocities for decades. Puertas Abiertas highlights that it is “the
most dangerous place for Christians in the world. To be discovered as a
follower of Jesus is, effectively, a death sentence. In 2023, the
country reinforced its border with China, making it more difficult now
for Christians to flee and more difficult for them to receive support.
“
Six other Communist dictatorships appear on the list: Eritrea (4th
place), the Peoples’ Republic of China (19th ), Laos (21st) Cuba (22nd
), Nicaragua (30th) and Vietnam (35th). In regard to Communist China,
Puertas Abiertas states: “At least 10,000 churches closed in China in
2023. The majority were churches in homes, but official churches are
also under pressure. The new regulations mean that churches must
display posters saying: “Love the Communist Party, Love the Country,
Love Religion.” Digital vigilance is growing. And Christians of one
province must register on an app controlled by the State before
attending religious services.”
In 33 Countries Islamic Oppression Is the Cause of Persecution
Moreover, as in previous years, Islamism is the main cause of the
persecution of Christians on the 2024 list, with 33 countries where
Islamic oppression is the cause: Somalia (2), Libya (3), Yemen (5),
Nigeria (6), Pakistan (7), Sudan (8), Iran (9), Afghanistan (10), Saudi
Arabia (13), Mali (14), Uzbekistan (25), Niger (27), the Central
African Republic (28), Turkmenistan (29), Oman (31), Tunisia (33),
Egypt (38), Mozambique (39), Qatar (40), the Democratic Republic of
Congo (41), Indonesia (42), Cameroon (43), Brunei (44), Comoros (45),
Jordan (48), Malaysia (49) and Turkey (50). The list also includes an
additional four Islamic countries where Christians suffer persecution,
such as Syria (12), Bangladesh (26), Tajikistan (46), and Kazakhstan
(47), although in this case the NGO attributes it to a “dictatorial
paranoia” of their respective regimes.
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The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
84. A hermit was asked, 'What is meant by the text "Narrow and straight
is the way" (Matt. 7:14)?' He answered, 'Narrow and stait is the way by
which a man does violence to his thoughts and for God's sake breaks
down his self-will. That is what was written about the apostles, "Lo,
we have left all, and followed thee" (Matt. 19:27).'
January 22, 2024
(1Ti 2:1-2) I
desire therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers,
intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all men: For kings and for
all that are in high station: that we may lead a quiet and a peaceable
life in all piety and chastity.
ACN: Ten countries in need of prayers for peace
VATICAN NEWS: Cardinal Parolin: Holy See concerned about general war in Middle East
The Vatican Secretary of State,
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, views “with great concern” the recent Houthi
rebel attacks in the Red Sea, the escalation of violence in Gaza, and
the Iranian missile assault on Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan.
He expressed the fear that, "if
contrary measures are not taken," there could be "an expansion, an
escalation" of the conflict, saying this is "exactly what we want to
avoid."
“The danger is there,” said the
Cardinal. “Passions are running so high, and the situation is
delicate... We must ensure that everyone tries to control their
reactions so that there is not a general outbreak of conflict.”
1440 NEWS EXCERPT: Middle East on Edge
The fallout from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war continued to roil the
Middle East over the weekend. Israeli airstrikes near a Lebanese army
checkpoint in south Lebanon killed a Hezbollah member Sunday, while
five senior members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps were
killed Saturday in Syria. Iran vowed to retaliate against Israel, which
it claims was behind the attack in Syria; Israel hasn't confirmed or
denied involvement. In western Iraq, US and Iraqi troops were wounded
after Iranian-backed militants known as the Islamic Resistance fired at
an air base.
In Gaza, fighting continued in the southern city of Khan Younis, with
the total death toll surpassing 25,000 people, according to the
Hamas-run Health Ministry. Israel has reportedly killed 20% to 30% of
Hamas' militants, US intelligence officials said. Hamas was estimated
to have about 25,000 to 30,000 total fighters before the war.
Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he rejected
a hostage-release plan from Hamas that included Israel fully
withdrawing from Gaza and leaving Hamas in power. At least 136 hostages
remain in Hamas captivity. Hostage talks with the US, Qatar, and Egypt
are expected to continue this week.
TWITTER REPORT: Last week in Middle East:
-Iran fires missiles into Iraq, Syria, Pakistan
-Pakistan retaliates with strikes against Iran
-U.S. Navy continues striking Iran’s proxy forces in Yemen
-Attacks on commercial shipping in Red Sea continue
-$32 million U.S. Reaper drone shot down over Iraq
-Ballistic missiles fired at base in Iraq housing U.S. troops, wounding 2
-Israeli forces strike IRGC in Syria
-Turkey strikes Kurds in Iraq & Syria
-Israel’s war against Hamas and Hezbollah continues
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
83. A hermit said, "if you do anything according to self-will, and not
according to God's will, you can afterwards return to the Lord's way,
if you did it in ignorance. But whoever obeys self-will and not God's,
and refuses to listen to warnings, but claims to know best, he will
scarcely be able to come back to the Lord's way.'
January 18, 2024
(1Co 16:13) Watch ye: stand fast in the faith: do manfully and be strengthened.
EXCERPT CRISIS MAGAZINE: Why Martyrdom Matters
What precisely sets Christianity apart
from every competing creed in the cosmos is the fact (not theory, not
any sort of speculative conceit) that human life is based on, anchored
to, the death of Another; rooted, therefore, in God’s own death, which
He freely enacted in the human being Jesus, the Incarnate Word Himself,
pierced and crucified for our sins. “The Christian is indebted to
Another,” says von Balthasar, and giving him the last word, he asks:
And
how else can he seriously acknowledge this debt than by following the
same path as his Lord, since he has been very expressly invited to such
discipleship and been just told in advance that the same thing will
happen to the servant as to his master and to the pupil as to his
teacher? This is the distinctive, special characteristic of the
Christian martyr: he is “crucified with Christ,” and the giving up of
his life is an act of proper response, of self-evident gratitude. He
does not die for an idea, even for the highest—not for human dignity,
freedom or solidarity with the oppressed (although all these may be
included and play a role). He dies with someone who has died for him in
advance.
YOUTUBE: Bishop Athanasius Schneider appeals to Catholics in times of deep crisis of faith
BLOG REVIEW: Cardinal Bacci's "Meditations for Each Day of the Liturgical Year"
FACEBOOK: Antonio Cardinal Bacci: Meditations For Each Day 17th January
The Vicissitudes of Life
1. There are times when life is like a stream which flows peacefully
between two flower-strewn grassbanks. The sun shines brightly overhead
and the whole world seems to smile. The days pass pleasantly and the
future is full of fair promise. Virtue itself seems to flower
effortlessly in our hearts. But God grants these intervals of rest
during our earthly voyage so that we may renew our energy.
Life is a battle. Therefore we have to be armed and ready and always on
the alert. (Job 7:1) "Wait here and watch." (Mt. 26:38) We must resolve
to be prepared from the earliest hour of the morning to face the
difficulties and temptations which can arise at any moment. We must be
armed with the weapons of the spirit which we can easily obtain if we
live all the time in the presence of God. If we fail to acquire this
habit of spiritual watchfulness, the trials and temptations of the day
will catch us off our guard and there is a danger that we may yield.
2. There are three kinds of trials which we have to expect:
(a) Suffering in the guise of illness or accidents.
(b) The insults, lack of understanding, and ingratitude of our fellowmen.
(c) Temptations and the allurements of sin.
We must make a spiritual preparation at the beginning of every day and
surrender ourselves with filial confidence into the hands of God.
Sorrow, illness and misfortune may come. Let us offer ourselves to God
in our morning prayer. Like Jesus and with Jesus, let us bow beneath
the cross which is laid upon us. Perhaps men will insult us and
misunderstand us. Let us accept all this resignation and love for God
and our neighbour, whoever he may be. In this we shall be like our
Divine Redeemer Who, when He was nailed to the cross, not only forgave
but prayed to His Eternal Father for those who had crucified Him. The
enchantment of sin may disturb the peace and purity of the soul. In
this matter especially we must prepare to resist from the very
beginning of the day. We must intercede with God, fervently renew our
resolutions, and turn our attention when necessary to other worthwhile
thoughts and activities. Let us never panic, but place our trust in
God. He will enable us to conquer.
3. Let this be our resolution and the result of our meditation. When we
are tempted to sin, especially against holy purity, let us resist
immediately and take flight. When we encounter misunderstanding on the
part of others, or even coldness or calumny or injustice, let us not be
depressed or annoyed. The only thing which should concern us is the
evidence of our conscience before God. Offer everything else to God --
joy or sorrow, praise or blame, honour or humiliation. Ask only for His
grace. If we have that, we shall have peace of mind as well.
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
82. A hermit said, 'If someone lives in a place but does not harvest
the crops there, the place will drive that person out for not having
done the work of that place.'
January 15, 2024
(Mat
25:41-46) Then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left
hand: Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, which was
prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me
not to eat: I was thirsty and you gave me not to drink. I was a
stranger and you took me not in: naked and you covered me not: sick and
in prison and you did not visit me. Then they also shall answer him,
saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or
naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to thee? Then he shall
answer them, saying: Amen: I say to you, as long as you did it not to
one of these least, neither did you do it to me. And these shall go
into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting.
CRISIS MAGAZINE EDITORIAL: The Dangerous Hope for an Empty Hell
EXCERPT POPE BENEDICT XVI: Full text of Benedict XVI essay: 'The Church and the scandal of sexual abuse'
What must be done? Perhaps we
should create another Church for things to work out? Well, that
experiment has already been undertaken and has already failed. Only
obedience and love for our Lord Jesus Christ can point the way. So let
us first try to understand anew and from within [ourselves] what the
Lord wants, and has wanted with us.
First, I would suggest the
following: If we really wanted to summarize very briefly the content of
the Faith as laid down in the Bible, we might do so by saying that the
Lord has initiated a narrative of love with us and wants to subsume all
creation in it. The counterforce against evil, which threatens us and
the whole world, can ultimately only consist in our entering into this
love. It is the real counterforce against evil. The power of evil
arises from our refusal to love God. He who entrusts himself to the
love of God is redeemed. Our being not redeemed is a consequence of our
inability to love God. Learning to love God is therefore the path of
human redemption.
Let us now try to unpack this
essential content of God's revelation a little more. We might then say
that the first fundamental gift that Faith offers us is the certainty
that God exists.
A world without God can only be a
world without meaning. For where, then, does everything that is come
from? In any case, it has no spiritual purpose. It is somehow simply
there and has neither any goal nor any sense. Then there are no
standards of good or evil. Then only what is stronger than the other
can assert itself. Power is then the only principle. Truth does not
count, it actually does not exist. Only if things have a spiritual
reason, are intended and conceived - only if there is a Creator God who
is good and wants the good - can the life of man also have meaning.
That there is God as creator and as the measure of all things is first and foremost a primordial need.
But a God who would not express
Himself at all, who would not make Himself known, would remain a
presumption and could thus not determine the form [Gestalt] of our
life. For God to be really God in this deliberate creation, we must
look to Him to express Himself in some way. He has done so in many
ways, but decisively in the call that went to Abraham and gave people
in search of God the orientation that leads beyond all expectation: God
Himself becomes creature, speaks as man with us human beings.
In this way the sentence "God is"
ultimately turns into a truly joyous message, precisely because He is
more than understanding, because He creates - and is - love. To once
more make people aware of this is the first and fundamental task
entrusted to us by the Lord.
A society without God - a society
that does not know Him and treats Him as non-existent - is a society
that loses its measure. In our day, the catchphrase of God's death was
coined. When God does die in a society, it becomes free, we were
assured. In reality, the death of God in a society also means the end
of freedom, because what dies is the purpose that provides orientation.
And because the compass disappears that points us in the right
direction by teaching us to distinguish good from evil. Western society
is a society in which God is absent in the public sphere and has
nothing left to offer it. And that is why it is a society in which the
measure of humanity is increasingly lost. At individual points it
becomes suddenly apparent that what is evil and destroys man has become
a matter of course.
POPE BENEDICT XVI:
“We will soon have priests reduced to the role of social workers and
the message of faith reduced to political vision. Everything will seem
lost, but at the right time, at the most dramatic stage of the crisis,
the Church will be reborn. She will be smaller, poorer, almost
catacombal, but also more holy. Because it will no longer be the Church
of those who seek to please the world, but the Church of the faithful
to God and his eternal law. Rebirth will be the work of a small rest,
seemingly insignificant yet indomitable, passed through a process of
purification. Because that’s how God works. Against evil, a small herd
resists.”
The
Desert Fathers: sayings of the Early Christian Monks: Discretion
80. A hermit said, 'All chatter is unnecessary. Nowadays everyone talks
but what is needed is action. That is what God wants, not useless
talking.'
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