The 7 Pillars of Catholic Spirituality by Matthew Kelley: The Rosary

I've been hoping to get back to writing lately - perhaps more will come soon.

Studious H.E. readers have will have noted that I never completed the Matthew Kelley series.  Actually, I skipped No. 6 - Good Spiritual Reading somewhat intentionally (see side-bar for my list) and completed, but forgot about No. 7, so here you go:
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No. 7: The Rosary

This post could also be called, “Mother Knows Best.”  If your mother generally knew what was good for you, how about Jesus’ mother?  Mary is the mother of the Savior.  She is the perfect Christian.  She is the model of the Church.  She is the New Eve.  She is the Queen-mother.  She is the Daughter, Mother, & Spouse of the Trinity.  She was present to Jesus’ whole life even unto his death & resurrection, & the birth of the Church at Pentecost.  It is thus that we can ask her to pray for us sinners at the hour of death, because she shared the sufferings of her Son in his hour.  She is the exemplar of God’s plan for mankind, & so is inextricably bound to the ministry of her Son.  Moreover, Jesus gave us to her as her children.  He wants us to know & love his mother as much as he does.  

The objection is that honor given to Mary competes with or diminishes the glory due God.  Mary does nothing other than bring us to her Son, & that’s what the Rosary is about: bringing us into the presence of her Son through the pondering of the saving events of his life.  Further, as Mr. West said in his bit on contemplation, the saints all made Jesus visible to the people & circumstances of their time.  In honoring the saints & asking for their intercession, we really honor Christ Jesus & ask for his intercession before the Father.  They do not compete with Christ or somehow diminish God’s glory; through these who have achieved faith’s goal, his glory blazes more brightly.  Our Faith is severely diminished if we cannot recognize the communion of saints as the living, body of Christ.  The notion that those who have passed on have no knowledge or connection to those of us still making our earthly journey is, frankly, a fractured, distorted, & diminished view of Christianity.  

We are not the first believers in Christ Jesus, nor did we come to the Faith on our own.  Rather, our faith is drawn from & sustained by the well of faith formed by uncountable multitudes who confessed their love of Jesus Christ for two thousand years.  At the head of that heavenly array stands Mary of Nazareth, the one individual from whom the entire Christian Faith sprang, beginning with her Fiat: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your will."

Therefore, what could be better than to contemplate the life of Jesus with the company of Mary, his mother?  Who could possibly be a better guide to Jesus than the one who says, "Do whatever he tells you."

Pray the Rosary.  Mother knows best.

P.S.: Photo of mosaic image taken in the chapel of Our Lady of Pompeii located in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C.
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New Beginnings (again)

As my last post title explains, I have been utterly overwhelmed for the past several months.

I began a new job at the beginning of the year, but was still able to take a load of the parish Youth to Washington, D.C. for the National March for Life.

We arrived early Friday morning & attended Youth Rally & Mass at the Comcast center (U. of Maryland), which is really an overflow of the Verizon Center Mass closer to D.C.  Just 20-thousand or so...

There was also an opportunity to go to Confession; an operation run by squadrons of fantastic religious sisters (Sisters of Life, Domincans, etc.), shepherding untold thousands of folks through the Confession lines.

Then we rode the Metro down to the Mall.  There were so many people & groups on the streets leading up to the March that I felt we had already participated in it by the time we actually got to the Mall!  There were so many Catholic parishes, schools, & other groups there - no question that this is a Catholic movement above all.  Yes, plenty of other folks from various religions participate.  But why is it so Catholic?  I think it is because of Mary.  The Church sees herself as not only the Bride of Christ & her members not only as brothers & sisters of the Lord, but as sons & daughters of Mary, who bore, loved, protected, nurtured, taught, & guided our Lord Jesus & continues to do it for us today, but also wants us to do it for her other children - those yet to be born.  

If one sees life itself as a gift from a loving God, then he must fight for life at all costs.  

I ran into so many great people during the March itself - a lady from Lansing passing out Rosaries (see above), my catechist Sr. Mary Michael of the Nashville Dominicans, a few wonderful older sisters originally from Tennessee, but long-time members of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, MI.  There were all kinds of speakers & preachers.  It was almost like a giant Catholic rally - if this had been a hostile crowd, we could have taken the place.  But everyone was so joyful!  

Then it started to snow heavily with a stiff wind.  I know that will stick in the minds of our Youth:

We - all 14 of us - stayed the night at the house of the brother & family of one of our parishioners.  Their Christian hospitality was extraordinary.  I felt like we were on retreat!

The next day, we toured the Smithsonian, they attended Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a house devoted to Mary as the Radix et Porta of Christ.  

It was packed with thousands - standing room only.  Our kids took refuge under a side altar, like the martyrs in the Book of Revelation (This is well before Mass started - by the end, they were literally under the altar!)

The National Shrine has, perhaps, the finest sacred music program in the country.  This is just a taste - the Gloria:

 The celebrant was Abp. Di Nardo (I think) & his homily was straightforward & spot-on - How do we discern the will of God?

He noted that most people who ask, "What would Jesus do?" are really asking, "What would I do if I were Jesus?"  Then he suggested the following points for understanding God's call for young people (& old) in today's ever-shifting religious, philosophic, & moral landscape:

• Study the Scriptures
• Stay true to the sure & certain teachings of the Church as found in the Catechism
• Participate fully & rightly in the Sacramental life of the Church, esp. Holy Mass
• Cultivate a life of prayer

In this way, one will always know what is truly from God & have the strength to choose it, what is not of God & reject it.  Sounds like a plan.  I know this was a powerful, even life-changing experience for our Youth - & our adults.

Since then, I've had to cram for several exams & write several papers for my Franciscan U. coursework - the big I am still working on, overdue as it is.

We've also seen the surprising abdication of Pope Benedict - who truly has been a blessing to me & other millions, I'm sure - & the election of Pope Francis, whom I am sure will likewise be a blessing.  I am eager to see how his pontificate plays out.  

It is has been sad to see the media malign Francis for not buying into their agenda of the re-creation of man in his own fallen image (read: total sexual license), even as they pat him on the head for being a champion of the poor. "Oh, look honey, he rides the bus with all those dirty, poor people."  Like any CNN anchor person or Hollywood celebrity has ever taken the bus to work.

New beginnings all around, because our God is a God of new beginnings.

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Overwhelmed!

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Truly so!  Overwhelmed by the cares of the world, but much more so by the goodness of God!

But I just heard a striking comment on the EWTN program The Journey Home by a priestly convert about his very first experience of wandering into a Catholic church - Westminster Cathedral - for the first time.  He says he wandered in just after Mass or Vespers - the incense lingered in the air & the choir was practicing their chants, and -

"I was overwhelmed by the sense of holiness..."

I felt the same way with my first experiences with the Catholic church - first as a small child at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Atlanta & decades later walking into Westminster Cathedral myself.  I, too, was overwhelmed.

If a total stranger with no knowledge of the Catholic Faith wandered into your parish church, would they feel overwhelmed?  By what?  Holiness?
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Impossible!

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I'm watching papal Vespers (Evening Prayer I) for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God on EWTN, & I just saw something that I have been told over & over again was impossible:

YOUNG, LAY PEOPLE IN THE CONGREGATION WERE SINGING THE GREGORIAN CHANT ANTIPHONS ALONG WITH THE SCHOLA.

But, but, but... That's impossible!!!  No one knows Latin anymore.  Gregorian chant will never reach the young people.  Vatican II got rid of all that.  Everything is supposed to be in English now, even in Rome, I'm pretty sure.

Sorry my guitar-strummin', tambourine-shakin' brothas & sistas: everything old may be new again, but somethings are timeless.  Such is the beauty of Gregorian chant, which belongs to no time, but is perfect for every time.

Aside form a few modern touches (including my ability to watch it live form a quarter-world away), this celebration of Vespers could have been from a hundred years ago or a thousand years ago.  It might have even resembled worship in the great Hagia Sophia in the heyday of the Byzantine Roman Empire.

Thanks be to God, indeed.
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Merry Christmastide!

Some sights & sounds from yesterday's Traditional Christmas Day Mass at Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Faithful gathered for a program of carols & hymns before Mass began:

Good Christian Men Rejoice!

Angels We Have Heard On High

Silent Night & Away In A Manger

Then came the entrance procession, to Adeste Fideles:

Then the Introit to begin Mass:

 After the Kyrie, then the Gloria, from William Byrd's Mass for Three Voices (our voices started out a little rougher than we might have liked, but it came together well enough):

The sacred ministers take a rest while the Gloria is sung.

The Alleluia before the proclamation of the Gospel:

Father David Carter exhorts the Faithful to ponder the Mystery of the Incarnation in an unbelieving world & to make Christmas more than just a single day:

The Communion verse:

After the Benediction, the schola sang Patestrina's Alma Redemptoris Mater, then followed with Joy To The World.  However, I didn't record those, so I thought Hark! The Herald Angels Sing make a better "closer."

Hope you had a lovely Christmas Day, & will continue to have a Merry Christmastide!
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Why?

This question must play over & over again in the minds of those in Connecticut who lost children or family in the shooting tragedy & all in the community who were affected.  Why now?  Why here?  Why these children & teachers?  Why would God allow this?  I only want to say three brief things about this situation.

Everything that happens happens according to God's will - he either permits some things or he directly wills things.  Evil is not the equal & opposite of God & his love.  Evil did not somehow "beat" God.  He permitted it.  We cannot know why, other than to know that God always brings the greatest good from the most terrible evil.  Even believing this to core of our being will not take away the grief & sense of loss, and we may not like it or understand it, but we must trust this is so.  This is the supernatural virtue of hope - that God will do what he has said.

As Fr. Christian said in a couple of lovely posts [HERE & HERE], the response to evil is to keep doing good.  Keep going with acts of charity, which Catholics call the corporal & spiritual works of mercy.  But perhaps the greatest thing we can do is become a people of prayer, by which we cull the evil from our own hearts & intercede for others.  Pray the Rosary.  Read the Gospels.  Pray at Holy Mass.  Pray the Liturgy of the Hours.  Fast in some way, especially from the things that draw us more toward the world than toward God.  Rejoice in the Lord always & give thanks to God in all things.  Make prayer & immersion in the Scriptures the foundation of all you do.  Here we encounter the saving power of the God of Jesus Christ who said, "without me you can do nothing."

Many people have called this a senseless act of put evil by a deranged person.  It is possible that people have mental disorders that make them incapable of discerning fantasy from reality or right from wrong.  However, the young person that did this did something deliberate that required planning & forethought.  He knew exactly what he was doing.  And he's not the first one.  This sort of thing was utterly unknown when I was young.  This person & his actions are the product of our society & its values.  We glorify in the media every perversion & impiety that man can dream up, & even enshrine these very things in our laws.  Violence, gossip, consumerism, gluttony, vulgarity & profanity, homosexuality & mockeries of marriage, lust & pornography, abortion & contraception, witchcraft & the occult, pride & vanity, death.  In our self-satisfaction, we have drifted so far from God & left a tremendous black & poisonous void in our society, our hearts, & in the lives of our young people.  If we insist upon a society totally devoid of God, or morality, or truth, or love, we will never see the end of this sort of thing & it will grow ever worse.  We must as a society & as individuals return to God with our whole hearts, & teach God's law to our children.  "Repent, & believe in the Gospel."

Advent: Get Ready! He's Coming!

Sale! 50% Off! Clearly the world and the Church have different ideas about what the season of Advent is about.  Both proclaim: Get Ready!  So a good question would be, “Get ready for what?”  The world’s preparation for Christmas is, of course, the buying frenzy that precedes it.  Its savior is “the perfect gift” and its sacrament is the swiping of plastic at the checkout register.  The pull of the secular holiday even draws the faithful into its vortex.  So, again, for what are we preparing and how should we do it?

As Catholics, we know for what and for whom we prepare: the arrival of Jesus - God himself who enters silently and secretly into human history to redeem both humanity and history, giving them their fullest meaning.  The secular deity offers an immediate but superficial salvation in the form of the latest fashion, entertainment, or technology; this god would define us according to our desires and possessions.  The true God invites us to become most fully who we were created to be through union with him.  This gift is never on sale; it is totally free, but demands our entire being.

God teaches us how to prepare through the Advent liturgies.  The loss of the Gloria and liturgical violet remind us of the darkness under which humanity labors.  We have been part of that darkness, so we do penance.  We participate in the secular insanity, so we must reorient ourselves to God through quiet, reflective prayer and listening to his prophetic words.  Jeremiah declares God “will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel… I will raise up for David a just shoot.”  God has not forgotten his people lost in darkness.  Baruch encourages, “Up, Jerusalem!... look to the east…God is leading Israel in joy… with his mercy and justice.”  Dawn begins to break along with hope of restoration.  In the third week, the color rose anticipates the sweetness of the coming of our deliverer, as Zephaniah says, “Sing joyfully, O Israel... The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior.”  Finally, Micah announces the coming ruler of Israel whose “greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.” Here we find more than we could ever hope for: the God of Israel offers his salvation to the whole world - in him all humanity can find brotherhood and peace.  Spend time with these prophets whose words teach us Advent’s true meaning.

This arrival has already happened in history, but it is not yet complete: Jesus comes to his people over and over again, and he continues to bring us his peace: in prayer, in the Scriptures, in those in need, in the sacrament of Reconciliation and in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar. Every year he calls us to ponder and enter evermore deeply into this mystery.  He will come again at the end of history to judge all men and to present all things as an offering to the Father.  Now, that’s an arrival for which we should get ready!

Ed: This article was originally written for our diocesan RCIA newsletter.