"The Veil Removed"

As we continue into our third full week without public celebration of Holy Mass, I found something worth watching on Youtube.  It's 7 minutes you'll be glad you gave up for  diving deeper into the single most important moment in our week.  Enjoy!

"The Veil Removed"

Later today I'll be including the first installment for a 33 day series on "Consecration to St. Joseph".  It's a day late, but better a bit late than never.

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent

     Over these past weeks of Lent we have been discussing and coming to a clearer understanding of what “sin” is.  This week we see in the readings of the Mass how God raises Israel, Lazarus, and us from the dead.  These readings are intended to bring us to see our renewed life in Christ which comes to us in Baptism; but what of us who are already baptized?  Can we be baptized again, having recognized even more clearly what our sins are and from whence they have come?

     Obviously, NO, we cannot be baptized again.  The Church made that abundantly clear in Her first centuries, especially in the aftermath of the great persecutions of the Church before the peace of Constantine where She had to reckon with the question of what to do about those who had apostocized, that is: turned away from the faith.  The Church had come to recognize that God had done His part and it was not to be done again and again; it was, rather, for us to do our part.  And yet…

     The answer lie in another of the sacraments (an outward sign of an inner reality established by Christ is give grace) which had already been practiced from the time Christ had established it after the Resurrection (cf. John 20:22-23): the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or Confession.  In this sacrament we are once again made clean, as at our Baptism, and reconciled with God, our holy Mother – the Church, and with Her children – our fellow believers.

     Thus, we have this great gift which, having become aware of our sins and confessing them, affords us again God’s great mercy; that mercy which was won for us at so terrible a price on Calvary.  As children we were taught how to approach this sacrament and were encouraged to approach it frequently.  Too often however we do not.  Too often as well, if we go, we don’t really do it very well; it’s almost as if we know we need to go but aren’t really convinced of our sins; other times we mistaken the sacrament for a counseling session.  The sacrament best does what God intends, when we do what the sacrament intends.  So, let me give you some insights gained from years and years of hearing confessions.

     First of all, recognize that the sacrament, as with all sacraments, is a liturgical rite.  It has developed over time to its present form because over time the Church, in Her wisdom and experience, has recognized what works best.  Take the rite seriously and follow it.  If you don’t remember the rite, take one of the guides provided at the entrance to each of our confessionals.  You will recognize, over time, how the rite itself forms us and then prepares us for the reconciliation with God and our neighbor that it is intended to provide.

     Next, CONFESS YOUR SINS!  So often people will come in and tell the priest-confessor what they need to improve on, or what their biggest “problem” is.  It may well be that these have something to do with the sins you have committed, but they are NOT your sins and therefore there is little the priest-confessor can do about them except to counsel you about them.  The absolution the priest-confessor offers is the absolution of sins, which are the matter of this sacrament – so give him something to absolve.

     When confessing your sins be specific and be brief (concise).  The priest-confessor doesn’t need to hear the background story to each sin.  Backstories too often serve to convince us that the sin wasn’t as bad as it sounds, they are also more often about how we were led into sin by the words / actions of another.  Think about it, if someone was asking your forgiveness would want to hear about either of these “excuses”?  Most likely not.

     Over the years, our Holy Father has made a point of encouraging frequent confession.  What is “frequent”?  I always tell our young people that in the Precepts of the Church, the Church requires us to go to confession once each year, typically as a preparation for receiving Communion at Easter which is also a precept.  So, we have to go once per year.  We have been encouraged by Pope St. John Paul the Great to go at least once a month.  In our Catholic school we attempt to cultivate this habit by providing the opportunity for our students to go each First Friday.  Finally, when we examine our conscience each night, we come to recognize very readily what our sins are.  When a mortal sin pops up or otherwise comes to our attention we know that we need to go as soon as possible; we also know it’s time to go (when it has been less than one month since our last confession) when our venial sins or a particular venial sin is popping up over and over again.

     Some have heard of the practice of going every two weeks and have wondered what that is about.  This practice comes from the requirement of going to confession within about a week before or after the grant of a plenary indulgence.  If we are in the habit of going every two weeks we are always ready to take advantage of a plenary indulgence offered.  Pretty awesome!

     But, what if I can’t think of any sins?  If you really, honestly can’t recognize ANY sins that should or could be confessed then you could make a Devotional Confession.  That is a topic for another time but if you want details ask me.

     A final note: Before you come to confession, pray to the Holy Spirit asking for His help and guidance as you make your confession.  You’d be amazed at how much better you remember the sins that need to be confessed and how much easier it is to confess them.

     Remember that through this pandemic I have been and will continue to be in the confessional during the times that weekend Mass would normally be said in each of our churches.  I am also generally available at St. Mary’s after I finish my morning Mass (8:00am) each day for about an hour and on Wednesday evening from 5:30-7:00pm.

Following are 20 Tips for Making a Good Confession put together by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf.  They are very good so read through them and take them into consideration as you prepare to make your Easter Confession.  Texts in red are my additional comments.

1.       Examine your conscience regularly and thoroughly.  In the Church’s spiritual tradition this is done each night.

2.       Wait your turn in line patiently.  I know! Sometimes this can be a penance all by itself.

3.       Come at the time Confessions are scheduled, not a few minutes before they are to end.  This is especially important when confessions are scheduled before Mass.  When you show up just as the priest is supposed to be getting ready for Mass, you’re setting him up for all the people who are going to chew him out after Mass for not starting on time.

4.       Speak distinctly but never so loudly that you would be overheard outside the confessional.

5.       State your sins clearly and briefly without rambling.  Discussed above.

6.       Confess all mortal sins in number and kind.  Meaning you should know what “mortal” sin is.  If the priest asks how many times you did something that would be a pretty good clue.

7.       Listen carefully to the advice the priest gives.

8.       Confess your own sins and not someone else’s.  Again, discussed above.

9.       Carefully listen to and remember the penance and be sure you understand it.  If the priest gives you a penance that you don’t think you can accomplish tell him so.  He will then give you something that you CAN do.

10.   Use a regular formula for confession so that it is familiar and comfortable.  Again, pamphlets containing the liturgical form are available outside the door of each of our parish’s confessionals.

11.   Never be afraid to say something “embarrassing”…just say it.  And don’t fumble about trying to figure out how to say it “right”…just say it.

12.   Never worry that the priest thinks you are a jerk…he is usually impressed by your courage.  Indeed! and gratified that another one of his sheep is taking the health of their soul seriously.

13.   Never fear that the priest will not keep your confession secret…he is bound by the Seal.

14.   Never confess “tendencies” or “struggles”…just sins.  Discussed above.

15.   Never leave the confessional before the priest has finished giving absolution.  Or before the liturgical form has been completed.  You’re missing out on some good stuff!

16.   Memorize an Act of Contrition.  This should follow your examination of conscience each night right before you say “good-night” to Mary (your last prayer of the day) and go to sleep.

17.   Answer the priest’s questions briefly if he asks for a clarification.

18.   Ask questions if you can’t understand what he means when he tells you something. 

19.   Keep in mind that sometimes priests can have bad days just like you do.  Sad, but true.

20.   Remember that priests must go to confession too…they know what you are going through.

Holy Father's "Urbi et Orbi" Message

 
If you missed the Holy Father's "Urbi et Orbi" message and blessing yesterday (and the Plenary Indulgence that went with it) you CAN still read what he had to say and bring it to prayer. REMEMBER: You can still receive a plenary indulgence according to his prior grant of praying the Rosary, Stations of the Cross, Divine Mercy Chaplet having made a perfect Act of Contrition and preparing to go to Confession and receive Holy Communion as soon as we are again able, along with prayers for the Holy Father's intentions (these last three being what is meant by "the usual conditions").  Enjoy!

The Annunciation: further reflections

     There are a couple of readings that I have always enjoyed on the feast of the Annunciation.  The first is an excerpt from a homily of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (Office of Readings for December 20), the second comes from a letter of Pope St. Leo the Great and is the second reading for the Office of Readings for this feast.  I placed them in the following order for reason that will become obvious when read.  Enjoy!

     You have heard O virgin, that you will conceive and bear a son; you have heard that it will not be by man but by the Holy Spirit.  The angel awaits an answer; it is time for him to return to God who sent him.  We too are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us.

     The price of our salvation is offered to you.  We shall be set free at once if you consent.  In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die.  In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life.

     Tearful Adam with his sorrowing family begs this of you, O loving Virgin, in the exile from Paradise.  Abraham begs it, David begs it.  All the other holy patriarchs, your ancesotrs ask it of you, as they dwell in the country of the shadow of death.  This is what the whole eart waits for, prostrate at your feet.  It is right in doing so, for on your word depends comfort for the the wretched, ransom for the captive, freedom for the condemned, indeed, salvation for all the sons of Adam, the whole of your race.

     Answer quickly, O Virgin.  Reply in haste to the angel, or rather through the angel to the Lord.  Answer with a word, receive the Word of God.  Speak your own word, conceive the divine Word.  Breathe a passing word, embrace the eternal Word.

     Why do you delay, why are you afraid?  Believe, give praise, and receive.  Let humility be bold, let modesty be confident.  This is no time for virginal simplicity to forget prudence.  In this matter alone, O prudent Virgin, do not fear to be presumptuous.  Though modest silence is pleasing, dutiful speech is now more necessary.  Open your heart to faith, O blessed Virgin, your lips to praise, your womb to the Creator.  See, the desired of all nations is at your door, knocking to enter.  If he should pass by because of your delay, in sorrow you would begin to seek him afresh, the One whom your soul loves.  Arise, hasten, open.  Arise in faith, hasten in devotion, open in praise and thanksgiving.  Behold the handmaid of the Lord, she says, be it done to me according to your world.

      Lowliness is assured by majesty, weakness by power, mortality by eternity.  To pay the debt of our sinful state, a nature that was incapable of suffering was joined to one that could suffer.  Thus, in keeping with the healing that we needed, one and the same mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ, was able to die in one nature, and unable to die in the other.

     He who is true God was therefore born in the complete and perfect nature of a true man, whole in his own nature, whole in ours.  By our nature we mean what the Creator had fashioned in us from the beginning, and took to himself in order to restore it.

     For in the Savior there was no trace of what the deceiver introduced and man, being misled, allowed to enter.  It does not follow that because he submitted to sharing in our human weakness he therefore shared in our sins.

     He took the nature of a servant without stain of sin, enlarging our humanity without diminishing his divinity.  He emptied himself; though invisible he made himself visible, though Creator and Lord of all things he chose to be one of us mortal men.  Yet this was the condescension of compassion, not the loss of omnipotence.  So he who in the nature of God had created man, became in the nature of a servant, man himself.

     Thus the Son of God enters this lowly world.  He comes down from the throne of heaven, yet does not separate himself from the Father's glory.  He is born in a new condition, by a new birth.

     He was born in a  new condition, for, invisible in his own nature, he became visible in ours.  Beyond our grasp, he chose to come within our grasp.  Existing before time began, he began to exist at a moment in time.  Lord of the universe, he hid his infinite glory and took the nature of a servant.  Incapable of suffering as God, he did not refuse to be a man, capable of suffering.  Immortal, he chose to be subject to the laws of death.

     He who is true God is also true man.  There is no falsehood in this unity as long as the lowliness of man and the preeminence of God coexist in mutual relationship.

     As God does not change by his condescension, so man is not swallowed up by being exalted.  Each nature exercises its own activity, in communion with the other.  The Word does what is proper to the Word, the flesh fulfills what is proper to the flesh.

     One nature is resplendent with miracles, the other falls victim to injuries.  As the Word does not lose equality with the Father's glory, so the flesh does not leave behind the nature of our race.

     One and the same person - this must be said over and over again - is truly the Son of God and truly the son of man.  He is God in virtue of the fact that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He is man in virtue of the fact that the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.

March 25: The Feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 This has always been one of my favorite feasts.  This comes from the fact that my home parish is dedicated to Our Lady's Annunciation.  It also comes from the fact that this mystery has been such an important part of my spirituality.  In the Annunciation we see the mystery of the Incarnation begun; we also see the most definitive example aside from our Lord's own example of the stance we should all take before God when asked to accept and cooperate with His holy Will.
     Of course, this example she has given comes from a particularly important virtue - humility.  This is why the virtue of humility is traditionally attached to this first of the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
     One thing I have come to understand in my life, both in my own spiritual pilgrimage and in those I have been called to serve as pastor, confessor, and spiritual director, is both the importance and the difficulty in mastering this particular virtue.  As the Apostle says: "I do not do the good that I want" (cf. Romans 7:19).
     We have all found ourselves in this situation.  We know what we ought to do, how we ought to respond, but we don't.  We continue to be presented, daily, with opportunities to practice, refine, and perfect this virtue.  Sometimes we succeed, sometimes (often?) we do not.  And so, what to do?
     It seems to me that we continue trying.  But beware!  We mustn't continue using only our own resources.  Elsewhere Paul tells us of the "thorn of the flesh...an angel of Satan to beat me" which continues to bedevil him.  (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:8)  What is God's answer to his thrice repeated request that this thorn be removed?  "My grace is enough for you", and our Lord Himself tells the disciples, "this kind [of demon] can only come out through prayer" (cf. Mark 9:14-29).
     So we practice, but we refine and perfect through prayer; especially through our prayer and contemplation of this lovely and often under rated mystery of the Annunciation.

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Lent - Laetare Sunday

Homily for the 4^th Sunday of Lent – Laetare Sunday

Brothers & Sisters,

     Over the past three Sundays we have been discussing “Sin”.  We began by recognizing that sin comes when our understanding of who God is becomes distorted, and along with that our trust in Him.  We also recognized that the way we look at ourselves and one another becomes distorted as well.  This distortion comes from the voice of the tempter, Satan, the ancient serpent; it is frequently, daily, heard through the voice of contemporary culture.  We recognize through this the importance of quiet, for it is only in the quiet that we can hear the Voice of God.

     Next, we recognized that sin isn’t simply a matter of the law which is written down and meant to be followed according to the letter.  There are laws which have been passed down to us which point the way, however, it doesn’t stop there.  We saw how the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is our pattern for this deepening of the law given by Moses: we saw how it wasn’t so much the letter of the law as much as the motive, which is love – love of God and love of neighbor.  When we “miss the mark” in the many invitations to love which are presented to us each day, we have sinned.  We also recognized how these invitations to love are invitations given to us by God; and so we recognized that these invitations are manifestations of the Will of God.  Our task: to align our will with the Will of God.

     So, what of free will?  We were then presented with the difficult understanding that free will isn’t my ability to do whatever I wish but rather is a gift from God which gives me the freedom to choose to do God’s Will.  Not what contemporary society will accept, but what we must accept, indeed freely choose if are to know God’s salvation.

     On this 4^th Sunday of Lent, Holy Mother Church calls on us to Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and come together, all you who love her: rejoice with joy, you who have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation. (Isaiah 66:10-11). 

     It is on this Sunday that we will focus on the Sacrament of Reconciliation / Confession.  Why would we do this on a Sunday in which the Church calls on us to rejoice?  The fact of that question says something about how distorted our notion of Reconciliation has become.  Reconciliation with the One Who has created and redeemed us has been twisted into something ugly, giving us cause to question the motives of God, or at least of His Church which then becomes something other than a loving and Holy Mother.

     And yet, as we read the antiphon above from Isaiah we see that we “who have been in sorrow” are the ones called upon to rejoice; and we rejoice because we have been “filled from the breasts of [our] consolation”.

     First of all, I think of that great song of joy sung at the Easter Vigil, the “Exultet”, in which we sing of Adam’s sin as a “happy fault which gave to us so great a Redeemer”.  Amazing, isn’t it?  Original Sin is recognized as the catalyst for salvation, because without that sin there would have been no need for a savior.

     We see then that it is because we have sorrowed that we can rejoice.  It is our sins which are the motive not for our shame but for our rejoicing – but rejoicing in what?  A clue is given us, indeed the reason for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and not some nebulous (no matter how heartfelt) going “directly to God”.  We see in this portion from Isaiah that we rejoice because we have been filled from the breasts of our Holy Mother – the Church; as another translation used in the Divine Office of this same passage makes even more clear, “Oh that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort, that you may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts” (Thursday, Morning Prayer, Week IV).

     We are given such comforting imagery which portends our Lord, Jesus Christ’s intent in giving to us the Sacrament of Confession.  So why should we be so frightened?  How is it that we are so easily taken in by the words of those who would cause us to question God’s motives; who would have us see His words of comfort twisted and distorted?

     The devil excels at exploiting any lack of humility, an excess of pride, which causes us to be focused on ourselves rather than on the One we were created to love.  Our eyes are not fixed on Him; they are not fixed on the salvation He offers, nor the Savior Whom He has sent to offer it.  No, our eyes are fixed on ourselves, or rather, they are fixed on the ugliness of sins that we too often try to twist (justify) into something “beautiful” (as if the ugliness of sin could ever be made beautiful) and then declare it superior to the true Beauty that has been distorted and called “ugly”, “too difficult”, even “impossible”, as if God would propose to us anything that He wasn’t already prepared to help us achieve.

     How then to return to that state in which we recognize the beauty of the reconciliation God offers us through our Holy Mother, the Church?  It begins with getting our eyes off ourselves; tearing our eye away from the ugliness of the sins we have committed.  It begins with getting ourselves out of the middle of our universe and freely allowing God to take His rightful place in the world He created.

     When we can do this, we will readily find that the Sacrament becomes a joy, we are comforted, we are filled and satisfied.  Have our sins changed?  Probably not.  But our view of the world, God’s world, has: what was distorted, twisted until it bore no resemblance to the reality God had created has been made whole again; what was wounded, even broken, has been healed.  What we are doing when we come to Confession, what the priest-confessor does, will not change; but our view of what is happening will have radically changed.  We won’t be focused on our sins, ourselves; we’ll be focused rather on God, our Father, Who is waiting to gather us up into His loving arms.  The glasses that distorted what God had made good will have been torn from our eyes and smashed, and we will see aright and see God: not as a “judge” but as the Lover He desires to be to and for each of us.

     Ask God to send the Holy Spirit into your heart.  Ask for the radical transformation of vision required.  Dare to see God as your truest and greatest love.  And then, come, taste and see that the Lord is good.

St. John Vianney, Pray for us!

St. Therese of Lisieux, Pray for us!

St. (Padre) Pio de Pietrelcina, Pray for us!