Pray for Cardinal Muller

This is from Rorate Caeli

“There  is a front of traditionalist groups, just as there is with the progressivists, that would like to see me as head of a movement against the Pope. But I will never do this. I have served the Church with love for 40 years as a priest, 16 years as a university professor of dogmatic theology and 10 years as a diocesan bishop. I believe in the unity of the Church and I will not allow anyone to exploit my negative experiences of recent months.  Church authorities, on the other hand, need to listen to those who have serious questions or justified complaints; not ignoring them, or worse, humiliating them. Otherwise, unwittingly, the risk of a slow separation that might lead to a schism may increase, from a disorientated and disillusioned part of the Catholic world.  The history of Martin Luther’s Protestant Schism of 500 years ago, should teach us, above all, what errors to avoid.”

“The Pope confided to me: ‘Some have told me anonymously that you are my enemy’ without explaining in what way” he recounts unhappily. “After 40 years at the service of the Church, I had to hear this: an absurdity set up by prattlers who instead of instilling worry in the Pope they would do better visiting a 'shrink'.  A Catholic bishop and cardinal of the Holy Roman Church is by nature with the Holy Father. But, I believe, as Melchoir Cano, the 16th century theologian said, that the true friends are not those who flatter the Pope, but those who help him with the truth and theological, human competence.” In all the organizations of the world, delatores of this type serve only themselves.” 

“The tensions in the Church arise from the contrast between an extremist traditionalist front on some websites, and an equally exaggerated progressive front which today seeks to credit themselves as super-papists”.

Prayer ravished by the divine light

'Two states of pure prayer are exalted above all others. One is to be found in those who have not advanced beyond the practice of the virtues, the other in those leading the contemplative life. The first is engendered in the soul by fear of God and a firm hope in Him, the second by an intense longing for God and by total purification. The sign of the first is that the intellect, abandoning all conceptual images of the world, concentrates itself and prays without distraction or disturbance as if God Himself were present, as indeed He is. The sign of the second is that at the very onset of prayer the intellect is so ravished by the divine and infinite light that it is aware neither of itself nor of any other created thing, but only of Him who through love has activated such radiance in it. It is then that, being made aware of God's qualities, it receives clear and distinct reflections of Him.'

St. Maximos the Confessor

Catholicism and the Dalai Lama

Recently I have had a growing interest in Buddhism from a philosophic point of view, especially in regards to mindfulness, inner peace etc. 

I came across this very well written article that I highly recommend. He makes very good points that Catholics interested in Tibetan Buddhism are not spiritually fed in the Church. There's a lack of authentic catechesis, sense of mystery and emphasis of our amazing  spiritual wisdom from Mystics and Doctors of the Church 

https://info-buddhism.com/Dalai_Lama-Catholic_perspective-Alexander_Norman.html

The Eucharist - foretaste of heaven

THE HOLY EUCHARIST

“Receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord is, in a certain sense, like loosening our ties with earth and time, so as to be already with God in heaven, where Christ himself will wipe the tears from our eyes and where there will be no more death, nor mourning, nor cries of distress, because the old world will have passed away.”

St. Josemaria Escriva

Passionately Loving the World, no. 51

Saints - inserted in Christ

Pope Benedict XVI 

Angelus, Solemnity of All Saints, 1 November 2012

Today we have the joy of meeting on the Solemnity of All Saints. This feast day helps us to reflect on the double horizon of humanity, which we symbolically express with the words “earth” and “heaven”: the earth represents the journey of history, heaven eternity, the fullness of life in God. And so this feast day helps us to think about the Church in its dual dimension: the Church journeying in time and the Church that celebrates the never-ending feast, the heavenly Jerusalem. These two dimensions are united by the reality of the “Communion of Saints”: a reality that begins here on earth and that reaches its fulfillment in heaven.

On earth, the Church is the beginning of this mystery of communion that unites humanity, a mystery totally centred on Jesus Christ: it is he who introduced this new dynamic to mankind, a movement that leads towards God and at the same time towards unity, towards peace in its deepest sense. Jesus Christ — says the Gospel of John (11:52) — died “to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad”, and his work continues in the Church which is inseparably “one”, “holy” and “catholic”. Being a Christian, being part of the Church means being open to this communion, like a seed that dies in the ground, germinates and sprouts upwards, toward heaven.

The Saints — those proclaimed by the Church and whom we celebrate today and also those known only to God — have lived this dynamic intensely. In each of them, in a very personal way, Christ made himself present, thanks to his Spirit which acts through Scripture and the Sacraments. In fact, being united to Christ, in the Church, does not negate one's personality, but opens it, transforms it with the power of love, and confers on it, already here on earth, an eternal dimension.

In essence, it means being conformed to the image of the Son of God (cf. Rom 8:29), fulfilling the plan of God who created man in his own image and likeness. But this insertion in Christ also opens us — as I said — to communion with all the other members of his Mystical Body which is the Church, a communion that is perfect in “Heaven”, where there is no isolation, no competition or separation. In today’s feast, we have a foretaste of the beauty of this life fully open to the gaze of love of God and neighbour, in which we are sure to reach God in each other and each other in God. With this faith-filled hope we honour all the Saints, and we prepare to commemorate the faithful departed tomorrow. In the Saints we see the victory of love over selfishness and death: we see that following Christ leads to life, eternal life, and gives meaning to the present, every moment that passes, because it is filled with love and hope. Only faith in eternal life makes us truly love history and the present, but without attachment, with the freedom of the pilgrim, who loves the earth because his heart is set on Heaven.

May the Virgin Mary obtain for us the grace to believe firmly in eternal life and feel ourselves in true communion with our deceased loved ones.

Creative power of love

Christians are not made for boredom

I came across this quote from Pope Francis' General audience  11 October 2017

Christians are not made for boredom; if anything, for patience. We know that hidden in the monotony of certain identical days is a mystery of grace. There are people who with the perseverance of their love become as wells that irrigate the desert. Nothing happens in vain; and no situation in which a Christian finds himself is completely resistant to love. No night is so long as to make us forget the joy of the sunrise. And the darker the night, the closer the dawn. If we remain united with Jesus, the cold of difficult moments does not paralyze us; and if even the whole world preached against hope, if it said that the future would bring only dark clouds, a Christian knows that in that same future there will be Christ’s return. No one knows when this will take place, but the thought that at the end of our history there will be Merciful Jesus suffices in order to have faith and not to curse life. Everything will be saved. Everything. We will suffer; there will be moments that give rise to anger and indignation, but the sweet and powerful memory of Christ will drive away the temptation to think that this life is a mistake

Secret holy whispers of the God who loves you

There is a priest I follow on Facebook and I highly recommend you check out this brief video of his 

https://www.facebook.com/catholiclink1/videos/1426172004142955/

St Lawrence of Brindisi - Marian Doctor of the Church

 

Mary was seen clothed with the sun that we may know that she is like the sun which, although one, illumines and warms each man as if it had been created by God for him alone, for there is no one that can hide himself from his heat. So the Virgin Mother of God is both the mother of all men and the mother of each individual man. To all she is a common mother; to each his own personal mother. As the one sun can be seen in its entirety by each and every man (for every man at the same time sees a complete outline of the sun), so every one of the faithful, who from his heart devotes himself entirely to the Virgin, may enjoy her complete love as if he were her only son. For this reason Christ spoke to Mary in the singular when He said: Woman, behold thy son.


Mary also possessed Christ most perfectly as her only and beloved Son. How was it possible for the Virgin not to shine with sunlike splendor when she carried Christ, the Sun of infinite light, in her virginal womb? If God enclosed the sun in an immense crystal vase, would not that vase seem to be clothed with the very sun? In this way the sun clothes and adorns with its brilliant rays the pure substance of heaven, which it surrounds and engulfs. Just as the sun, glowing within the crystal on every side with its light, so the heavenly Virgin is clothed with Christ, the Sun of justice and glory. This divine vision signifies that, as bride and mother, the most holy Virgin shares in the glory of Christ and God to a high degree, so that no greater sharing or participation can be thought of.

 

 

NT Wright on the Atonement

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qfnV69nIOrw

The Lord has gone up

PSALM 47 

2All you peoples, clap your hands;

shout to God with joyful cries.

3For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared,

the great king over all the earth,

4Who made people subject to us,

nations under our feet,

5^*Who chose our heritage for us,

the glory of Jacob, whom he loves.

6^*God has gone up with a shout;

the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.

7Sing praise to God, sing praise;

sing praise to our king, sing praise.

8For God is king over all the earth;

sing hymns of praise.

9God rules over the nations;

God sits upon his holy throne.

1The princes of the peoples assemble

with the people of the God of Abraham.

For the shields of the earth belong to God,

highly exalted.

 

Humble and solitary soul

Came across this quote, it would be great to use for medication and Lectio Divina for anyone deepening their spiritual life 

A humble man is never rash, hasty or perturbed, never has any hot and volatile thoughts, but at all times remains calm. Even if heaven were to fall and cleave to the earth, the humble man would not be dismayed. Not every quiet man is humble, but every humble man is quiet. There is no humble man who is not self-constrained; but you will find many who are self-constrained without being humble. This is also what the meek humble Lord meant when He said, ‘Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.’ [Matt 11:29]  For the humble man is always at rest, because there is nothing which can agitate or shake his mind. Just as no one can frighten a mountain, so the mind of a humble man cannot be frightened. If it be permissible and not incongruous, I should say that the humble man is not of this world. For he is not troubled and altered by sorrows, nor amazed and enthused by joys, but all his gladness and his real rejoicing are in the things of his Master. Humility is accompanied by modesty and self-collectedness: that is, chastity of the senses; a moderate voice; mean speech; self-belittlement; poor raiment; a gait that is not pompous; a gaze directed towards the earth; superabundant mercy; easily flowing tears; a solitary soul; a contrite heart; imperturbability to anger; undistributed senses; few possessions; moderation in every need; endurance; patience; fearlessness; manliness of heart born of a hatred of this temporal life; patient endurance of trials; deliberations that are ponderous, not light, extinction of thoughts; guarding of the mysteries of chastity; modesty, reverence; and above all, continually to be still and always to claim ignorance.

+ St. Isaac the Syrian,  “Homily 72: On the Vision of the Nature of Incorporeal Beings

 

Image of the Church robed in Paschal light

Here is part of Pope Francis' prayer to Our Lady of Fatima. It would be good to meditate on the meaning of this powerful prayer that is trinitarian, filled with biblical imagery and focused on spiritual warfare : 

Hail, Mother of the Lord,

Virgin Mary, Queen of the Rosary of Fatima!

Blessed among all women,

you are the image of the Church robed in paschal light,

you are the honour of our people,

you are the victory over every assault of evil.

Prophecy of the merciful love of the Father,

Teacher of the Message of Good News of the Son,

Sign of the burning Fire of the Holy Spirit,

teach us, in this valley of joys and sorrows,

the eternal truths that the Father reveals to the little ones.

Show us the strength of your protective mantle.

In your Immaculate Heart,

be the refuge of sinners

and the way that leads to God.

In union with my brothers and sisters,

in faith, in hope and in love,

I entrust myself to you.

In union with my brothers and sisters, through you, I consecrate myself to God,

O Virgin of the Rosary of Fatima.

And at last, enveloped in the Light that comes from your hands,

I will give glory to the Lord for ever and ever. Amen.

 

At the feet of the Virgin Mother

This Saturday 13th May marks the 100th anniversary of Our Lady appearing at Fatima

The Pope has released a video message before he leaves for Portugal and left this beautiful message : 

It is as the universal pastor of the Church that I would like to come before the Madonna and to offer her a bouquet of the most beautiful “blossoms” that Jesus has entrusted to my care (cf. Jn 21:15-17). By this I mean all of our brothers and sisters throughout the world who have been redeemed by Christ’s blood, none excluded. That is why I need to have all of you join me there. I need to feel your closeness, whether physical or spiritual; the important thing is that it come from the heart. In this way, I can arrange my bouquet of flowers, my “golden rose”. With all of us forming “one heart and soul” (cf. Acts 4:32), I will then entrust you to Our Lady, asking her to whisper to each one of you: “My Immaculate Heart will be your refuge and the path that leads you to God” (Apparition of June, 1917).

 

Let us not forget that Jacinta and Francesco will be getting canonised while the pope is there as well. 

 

STS JACINTA AND FRANCESO - PRAY FOR US