The holiness of labor and work - authentic Catholic manhood

Today 1st May is the feast of St Joseph the worker, but because today is Sunday we do not celebrate it liturgically. 

We often imagine Jesus & St Joseph as carpenters, but the Greek word in the Gospels is “tektōn”(τέκτων) which can also mean builder or craftsman. So the work they did was more varied than what we imagine today that carpenters do. This is why Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of St Joseph the Worker on 1st May, to counter balance the influence of Socialism and Communism, to recognise the dignity and holiness of manual labor. 

St Joseph is the true model of authentic Catholic manhood. 

“The spirit flows to you and to all men from the heart of the God-man, Savior of the world, but certainly, no worker was ever more completely and profoundly penetrated by it than the foster father of Jesus, who lived with Him in closest intimacy and community of family life and work.” - Pope Pius XII

God works through our wounds

Don’t forget the paradox that in our woundedness, our weakness and worry - that is when Jesus is closest to us in our suffering. Offering us His love, grace and forgiveness. His Presence is what will heal and transform us!

If God can work through people like St Mary Magdalene, St Augustine, St Francis of Assisi, St Charles Foucould - then he can also work through you and I

St Catherine of Siena - Mystic of Fire

Today is the feast day of that wonderful passionate saint, mystic and Doctor of the Church - St Catherine of Siena. 

She is often depicted in a habit and so it’s a common mistake to think she was a nun. However she was a laywoman! She belonged to the Third Order Dominicans and so wore a type of habit as a consecrated lay person. Not only did she have mystical experiences of God which are recorded in her “Dialogues”, she received invisible stigmata, experienced mystical marriage to Jesus and most famously she told off the Pope who was living in Avignon at the time - told him to “man up” and come back to Rome! 

She developed a beautiful concept of having an “inner cell”, the place within your heart where you can always have union with God no matter what your external circumstances. She also used an image of Christ’s humanity as the “bridge” between us and God. 

—- 

O God,

who set Saint Catherine of Siena on fire

with divine love in her contemplation of the Lord’s Passion and her service of your Church, grant, through her intercession,

that your people, participating in the mystery of Christ, may ever exult in the revelation of his glory.

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

— Amen.

Conversion - the meaning of Lent

As we prepare for the beginning of Lent tomorrow and Ash Wednesday. Let us remember that conversion - metanoia is a lifelong process, it is about turning back to God from whom life, goodness and happiness flow. It is not about focusing on our own sins and despair, but turning to God with an open heart with trust and love. 

The opening prayer for tomorrow’s Mass beautifully sums up the spiritual warfare aspect of Lent : 

“Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting

this campaign of Christian service,

so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils,

we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever”

Open a way in the desert

For the first time ever the Vatican has officially published some guidelines regarding the vocation of Diocesan Hermits according to Canon 603. I have not been able to find an official link on the Vatican website and this is a Google translation of the document I have been provided by from a Facebook group I belong to, but it’s mostly intelligible. 

It is a blessing to know that much of this document affirms what I am currently doing, the process I have been following and how I have written my Rule of Life 

A soul in love with the Beloved

St John of the Cross is such a wonderful teacher in the spiritual life. You can see that when you fall in love with God, nothing else will ever be able to satisfy you - only God himself. 

I pray that today you will be able to fall deeper in love with Jesus and grow in Divine Intimacy with the Beloved

Adoring the Bridegroom of your soul

When you love someone you want to spend time with them. How then can I not sit with my Beloved who is mine and I am his (Song of Songs 2:16) who loves me and gave himself up for me? (Galatians 2:20). 

Jesus, I love you 

Friendship with God

Friendship with God is something that is often overlooked in our spiritual life. Yes we believe in God and we follow the teachings of Jesus - but often we keep God at a distance, a formality. But do we see him a a friend? 

Jesus calls us his friends “ I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15 

In the Old Testament the prophets or righteous men were often called the “friends of God” but this was something rare. Jesus call us ALL his friends, because by knowing him, spending time with him and being intimate with him he then brings us into relationship with the Father. 

A friend is someone you trust, want to spend time with, you look forward to seeing them. Is this how you see God in your spiritual life? 

Take some time today to spend with God as your friend and companion because he wants to spend time with you

Catholic spirituality must be based in the sacraments

I cannot stress this enough. Any other form of mysticism that teaches “union with the divine” or your “divine inner self” is not Catholic. As Catholics our union with God must always flow from prayer and the sacraments, this is authentic catholic spirituality and mysticism. Anything else is counterfeit. 

We have been blessed with the Catechism, writings of the saints and more specifically approved Doctors (teachers) of the Church, and of course the Bible itself. Stick with the basics.

Prayer as resting at the feet of Jesus

Prayer can be a struggle, often we over complicate things more than they need to be. We can be scared to pray or not have the time to pray. But ultimately prayer is about relationship - spending time with God and talking to him, as well as listening to him. Saying “I love you” and the sitting in his presence allowing yourself to feel loved by him in return. 

Often throughout the day when I’m struggling with my anxiety or feeling frustrated I try to take a moment, breathe in and say “Lord you know I love you, help me to love you more” and then just relax in his presence. 

Prayer is not about lot of words and saying the right things, it is about purity of heart and having the right intention. Take some time today to tell Jesus you love him and then rest in His healing presence.

Spiritual Retreat - a time to Rest in the mercy of God

Today is the end of my spiritual retreat, it has been an interesting 5 days where nothing went as planned but in Providence it’s all been what I needed. 

The day I arrived here I was still feeling stressed, flustered and trying to wind down. I was planning to join the monks in the oratory to pray all the hours of Divine Office everyday and to have my meals with the monks too. But when I arrived I started having stomach issues and I think I’ve had some sort of gastro for the first 3-4 days, so most of my time has been spent sleeping or on the toilet. So my retreat has not been as “pious” as I was planning it to be. 

I had been meeting with one of the monks every morning for a spiritual retreat and he had given me Conferences 9&10 of St John Cassian to read, as well as the Letter to the Hebrews for my Lectio material. 

In Hebrews 4:9-11 I came across the Rest that we are called into when we are obedient to God. So this was my reminder from God that on retreat I am allowed to rest, relax and recover in His Presence. I don’t need to be getting up at 5am to pray with the monks every morning, so long as I am praying in my room and being close to God, then I can still relax and rest. As a hermit I am not called to live as a Benedictine Monk and this is ok, my vocation is different and I need to learn to be able to Rest in God. 

Then because of the mask mandates being extended to the Wheatbelt Region, the Abbot decided to suspend any visitors being able to eat with the monks in the refractory. So I had to have my meals in the dining room with the other guests here. 

Only I would be able to find myself in a Catholic Monastery in a remote area having dinner with 3 other ladies who all happen to be Evangelicals! So over dinner we ended up passionately discussing spiritual warefare, being prayer warriors and intercessors. Praise God. Wonderful lively chats but I had planned on having silent meals. So after 2 days with them, they have now been invited to come along for my renewal of vows as a hermit. I even managed to get time to discuss with them the importance of silence and contemplative prayer from the perspective of the Desert Fathers and Catholic tradition. 

Last night I met another group of ladies over dinner who initially I wasn’t going to talk with, I was planning to eat alone on my table in silence while they are at theres. But one of the ladies seemed to get offended and they didn’t like that they thought they were leaving me out. So we ended up having a great discussion about many things regarding prayer, personal struggles, and I was able to share my testimony with them. One of them told me that she finds me so fascinating that I should have a podcast or something and give regular talks or interviews, and then tells me she is a social media marketer! 

So of course they have all been invited to my vows too,

The Lord works in mysterious ways. I am sad to be leaving today, but I’m also happy because I feel rested and relaxed finally. Most of all, I have been able to refocus on Jesus - fixing my eyes on Him who I love and who I know loves me back. 

As God spoke to me this morning in the Gospel at Mass :

“Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.””

‭‭Mark‬ ‭5:19‬ ‭

Rejoice in your salvation

Today you may have noticed your priest wore a pink or a “rose” vestment and if your Church has an advent wreath - the third candle would have been pink as well. This is similar to the 4th week of Lent (Laetare Sunday) …. The only two times in the liturgical year that a priest will ever wear pink/“rose”. 

The reason for this is that Lent & Advent are both penitential times of year. This is why the priest wears purple during this time and we don’t sing the Gloria during Mass on Sundays. It is a time to intensify and prepare for the mystery we are going to celebrate. 

Today is know as “Gaudate” Sunday - this comes from the entrance antiphon of the Mass for today, where we are told to Rejoice. This is highlighted by the opening prayer and especially the first reading from the prophet Zephaniah. As we await the Coming of Jesus, we await joyfully because we know that our God comes. 

The birth of Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of God dwelling amongst us and being in our midst. He remains with us hidden in the Sacraments, and will return again in glory to complete the Kingdom he has already started here in earth. 

Let us cry out with rejoicing - come Lord Jesus! 

———

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

Phil 4: 4-5
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.
Indeed, the Lord is near.

COLLECT

O God, who see how your people
faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity,
enable us, we pray,
to attain the joys of so great a salvation
and to celebrate them always
with solemn worship and glad rejoicing.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Share the testimony of the Gospel in your life

In honour of St Francis Xavier today, this is something I have learnt in the past few years… 

Do not be afraid to share your testimony with others. No matter how flawed or broken your spiritual life may be, people still need to hear your story of the Gospel in your life and the grace of God working through you. Not everyone is at the same place in their life, but your example could be the inspiration they are looking for. 

None of us are perfect, those people who pretend to be so are often hiding the biggest secrets. 

Be public with your witness to Christ and His mercy on your life. 🙏

Messianic Prophecy of the Hypostatic Union

During Bible study last night in my parish I had a very interesting insight regarding this passage… 

We were studying the symbolism and person of Melchizedek and this passage was brought up regarding the Messianic prophecy of Jesus’ priesthood and kingship - just as Melchizedek was a Priest & King. 

The interesting thing about this passage is it talks about a king on his throne and a priest next to him with the two of them in harmony or “peaceful understanding”. This can be interpreted allegorically to mean the Hypostatic Union of Jesus, fully human and fully divine. His Divinity represented by the King, and his humanity by the Priest - but their unity of “peaceful understanding” represents the two natures (human & Divine) in one Person. In theology this is called the Hypostatic Union. The temple of Lord that is referenced in this passage is the body of Jesus himself, just as Jesus tells us in John 2:19-22