Divine Mercy

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!

as the Easter Season gets in to full swing, i hope and pray that you and your families are doing well.  my friends Brad and Vince have been in town visiting me this week and it has been good to learn from them and see some people from home.  unfortunately, i have held on to the cold i caught 2 weeks ago and continue to remain weak.  they took a lot of pics and if they share them with me i will send them along to you [i was lazy and didn't bring my own camera along].  may God grant you the grace to recognize His mercy in your life in a special way today.

  

pictures:

1 - a statue of St. Faustina's vision at the Divine Mercy Shrine in Krakow

2 - the inside of the Divine Mercy Shrine

Good Friday

Papal Address at the End of the Way of the Cross"What Have We Done With This Gift?"
ROME, MARCH 21, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a transcription and translation of the reflection Benedict XVI offered today at the end of the Way of the Cross in the Roman Colosseum.
* * *
Dear brothers and sisters,
This year too we have walked along the way of the cross, the Via Crucis, evoking again with faith the stages of the passion of Christ. Our eyes have turned to contemplate the sufferings and the anguish that our Redeemer had to bear in the hour of great sorrow, which entailed the highpoint of his earthly mission. Jesus dies on the cross and lies in the tomb. The day of Good Friday, so permeated by human sadness and religious silence, closes in the silence of meditation and prayer. In returnin g home, we too, like those who were present at the sacrifice of Jesus, beat our breasts, recalling what happened. Is it possible to remain indifferent before the death of the Lord, of the Son of God? For us, for our salvation he became man, so as to be able to suffer and die.
Brothers and sisters: Let us direct today our gaze toward Christ, a gaze frequently distracted by scattered and passing earthly interests. Let us pause to contemplate his cross. The cross, fount of life and school of justice and peace, is the universal patrimony of pardon and mercy. It is permanent proof of a self-emptying and infinite love that brought God to become man, vulnerable like us, unto dying crucified.
Through the sorrowful way of the cross, the men of all ages, reconciled and redeemed by the blood of Christ, have become friends of God, sons of the heavenly Father. "Friend," is what Jesus calls Judas and he offers him the last and dramatic call to conversion. "Friend," he calls each of us, because he is the authentic friend of everyone. Unfortunately, we do not always manage to perceive the depth of this limitless love that God has for us. For him, there is no distinction of race or culture. Jesus Christ died to liberate the humanity of old of their ignorance of God, of the circle of hate and violence, of the slavery to sin. The cross makes us brothers and sisters.
But let us ask ourselves, in this moment, what have we done with this gift, what have we done with the revelation of the face of God in Christ, with the revelation of the love of God that conquers hate. Many, in our age as well, do not know God and cannot encounter him in Christ crucified. Many are in search of a love or a liberty that excludes God. Many believe they have no need of God.
Dear friends: After having lived together the passion of Jesus, let us this night allow his sacrifice on the cross to question us. Let us permit him to challenge our human certainties. Let us open our hearts. Jesus is the truth that makes us free to love. Let us not be afraid: upon dying, the Lord destroyed sin and saved sinners, that is, all of us. The Apostle Peter writes: "He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness" (1 Peter 2:24). This is the truth of Good Friday: On the cross, the Redeemer has made us adoptive sons of God who he created in his image and likeness. Let us remain, then, in adoration before the cross.
Christ, give us the peace we seek, the happiness we desire, the love the fills our heart thirsty for the infinite. This is our prayer for this night, Jesus, Son of God, who died for us on the cross and was resurrected on the third day.
Amen.
[Transcription and translation by ZENIT]
© Copyright 2008 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Holy Week

it is Holy week here in Rome. we celebrated Palm Sunday Mass this morning and in the homily the priest reminded us to stay close to the foot of the Cross this week, there will be many distractions, opportunites to do social activites, many things that clamour for our attention. hold firm and stay at the foot of the Cross, this is the climax of all our faith. it is this week, right now be with Jesus.

in moral theology class this week (my teacher is the Pope's personal theologian) pointed out something very interesting: in the Gospels Jesus calls men (vocation). they are looking to hear a call, wanting to know what God is asking of them. the women follow Him naturally, they didn't need to have Jesus come tell them to follow Him, somehow they just knew to do it (look who stayed at the Cross). its beautiful the way God made men and women differently. today at the end of Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's square the Pope said to all the english pilgrims: be a witness of charity to your friends.



a couple of my buddies are coming over here for Easter week and i am excited to spend some time with them here. it will be a refresher for me from home. but i'd like to leave you with this reflection i found in the Magnificat from Benedict XVI for your Holy Week reflection:

"Only when someone values love more hightly than life, that is, only where someone is ready to put life second to love, for the sake of love, can nlove be stronger and more than death. If it is to be more than death it must first be more than mere life. Jesus' total love for men, which leads Him to the cross, is perfected in total stepping-over to the Father and therein becomes stronger than death, because in this it is at the same time total 'being held' by Him"



please pray for deep conversion, i will do the same.

pictures:
1 - a pic of JP2 i had on my computer
2 - crucifix from the salt mines
3 - St. Maximilian Kolbe who died in at Auschwitz taking the place so that another might live
4 - the 11th station outside Jasna Gora
5 - see 1 above

Lourdes: stories

St. Bernedette and the apparitions of Lourdes:

in 1858, a young, frail, french girl from a poor family went out to gather firewood with her sister and a friend. that night Mary appeared to St. Bernedette. from february 11th until the 16th of july, Mary would appear to St. Bernedette 18 times. now these visions are "private revelation" which means they do not have to be believed for salvation, but nonetheless are approved by the Church as a way of recognizing God's love and care for us now in our daily lives. The main message that Mary brought to Bernedette was penance: "penance! penance! penance! pray for the conversion of sinners! kiss the earth for the conversion of sinners" (appriation of 24 feb).

the thing that strikes me about the whole shrine and the stories is the humble simplicity of it all. there is nothing fanciful about Bernedette or how Mary appeared there, it is all about following and loving Jesus. Letting His love penetrate our hardness and the way we expect Him to be/work in us/love and responding to that love is the beauty of the place for me.

the Spring:

at one of the appiritions Mary told Bernedette to go and drink and wash at a spring. there was no spring there but Mary indicated a spot, Bernedette dug, and miraculously a spring appeared. from these waters many people have been healed of all kinds of illnesses and sicknesses at Lourdes. while i was there it was explained to me like this:

as you look at the grotto, you will notice that Mary is not at the center. this is because Mary does not seek her own glory, but she is always about the will of her Son, she always indicates the way to Him. the spring is like Jesus' Sacred Heart, Mary stands nearby pointing the way so that all might come to Him and drink of His love.

Mary reveals her name:

the priests told Bernedette to validate these appiritions and messages by telling the name of "the lady" who was in the visions. Bernedette didn't know her name. one priest said "you expect us to believe this from a 14 year old girl with little catechism. to which Bernedette responded "i was not sent to make you believe but to tell you" finally on the 25th of March Mary revealed her name to Bernedette when she appeared: "i am the Immaculate Conception". this name is not something that Mary took for herself for her own glory, but even in her name she attests to her Son. by accepting the title Immaculate Conception Mary testifies that not even the "impossible" (that a human could be conceived without sin), is out of the reach of God. God can do anything, Mary receives this title in witness to what God has done for her.

my last morning there:

it was the anniversary of the 2nd apprition. i wanted to wake up early and pray at the grotto before the hustle and bustle started. i woke up early, packed up and headed downstairs. however, the door was locked--you could only open the outside door with a key that i didn't have. i was bummed. i offered a prayer: "Lord, these were my plans for this morning, but if You have other plans help me to be open to them" i sat down in the parlor and as i was pulling out my breviary to pray i said to Mary that if she wanted me to pray at her grotto then she would have to interceede for me. i offered up all my intentions for those who asked for my prayers and those who i promised to pray for while i was there. i called to mind each person that i could. just as i was about to open my breviary, the door opened: the bread man came to drop of the daily bread for the sisters. i think i scared him as i sprang to the door. i started down to the grotto and prayed the angelus as the bells chimed.

when i got to the grotto there was hardly anyone there, so i got to go right up to the altar near the spring and got to interceede for you through a rosary. i was particularly struck by the mystery of Jesus turning the water into wine. just as i finished the rosary in the calm and quiet of the morning, an italian man who i met the day before came to say goodbye to me. as he left he pointed out to me a spot right next to where i had been: the place where John Paul II prayed when he came to Lourdes. and so as i pulled out my breviary i got to pray the prayer of the Church, for the Church, on the same spot John Paul II prayed for the Church. just as i finished morning prayer the bell rung and Mass was beginning in the grotto. as i took my seat a few feet back the Word of God was being proclaimed just as the sun was breaking over the hills; Light came flooding in. it was a beautiful morning.

there is much more to tell you, but i haven't the ability or the time. i hope you are able to find a good book on Bernedette and the opportunity to go to Lourdes one day yourself.

pictures:

1 - one of my favorite spots: in the sun across the river from the grotto

2 - front of the "lower cathedral" Our Lady of the Rosary

3 - candlelight procession on the vigil of the 1st appirition

4 - cathedral at night

5 - the grotto at night (note how unshakey i can be at 0 degrees celsius)

Lourdes

this last week i have been sick with some version of the flu. i slept for about 21 hours one day and then exhausted myself the next day taking 6hrs to do one load of laundry. i can't believe how weak and fragile i really am, i'd rather not think that. i'm still trying to recoop but i wanted to put up pics from Lourdes for you.

Lourdes: 150th anniversary

one travel book for france in general read: if you are not looking for a spiritual experience, Lourdes is best to be avoided. that sobered us up sufficiently. from the moment we got there till the day we left we were not lacking in blessings or "chance encounters" that the Lord provided. Mary too was very gracious. She shows the simple way of Love. never did she study theology and nowhere is it recorded amazing teachings about her Son that she gave; yet she always marks the way to Christ, she always points towards Him, is always following Him. "do whatever He tells you"

next time i will recount a few stories: about Lourdes and the apparitions to St. Bernedette, about the spring, about the baths, about what Mary revealed her name at Lourdes, and about my last morning there. please pray for conviction of sin, which is necessary for conversion.

pictures:

1 - the only 2 flowers on the riverbank

2 - sunrise from the convent where we stayed

3 - entrance view to the shrine

4 - the basilica built where Mary asked right on top of the grotto

5 - the grotto where Mary appeared to Bernedette Suborious in 1858.

6 - Paul Kolker (Dallas), Laura who we met there, and me at the grotto at night (freezing)