Looks Can Be Deceiving

I am reading a book at the moment entitled "End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life" by Fr. Charles Arminjon and published in the 1880's.  St. Therese of Liseux read this book when she was 14 years old and said that it changed her life.  The first section of the book deals with the end of the world and the Anti Christ.  The next section deals with the resurrection of the body.  At one point, Fr. Arminjon discusses our inability to judge one another, and that we are often misled by each other.  From the book:

Most men, even the wisest and most enlightened, are easily outwitted and deceived by others. They do not discern the innermost depths of souls, and cannot reach what is secret and interior in them; hence, it happens that they generally form their judgments on appearances, on what is visible and exterior. Again, it follows that good men are often treated with undeserved severity, that they are unappreciated and injured in their reputation. On the other hand, the wickedness of a large number of men remains unknown, they everywhere enjoy public esteem and trust, and the world accords them that consideration and praise which is due to the just alone. So a judgment is necessary that exposes every pretense, unmasks all hypocrisy, and lays bare hidden ruses and all false and base virtues.

In our world today, things are often not as they seem.   Certainly that is true in movies and entertainment, where nothing is real except the heartache and misery that is the lives of far too many in that industry.  Politicians are always deceiving us, pretending to be something they're not, keeping their true nature hidden, as in the case of former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner, who presented himself as a fine upstanding young man when the truth was, while he was in his congressional office, he was exchanging pornographic text messages and tweets with young women despite the fact that he was a married man.  He is only one of literally hundreds of politicians down through the decades who were not the person they presented to their constituents.  We think of President Bill Clinton and his affair with a young intern in the oval office, or Gov. Elliot Spitzer of New York who fought against "corruption" as he saw it, yet at the same time was deeply involved in using prostitutes and even using government resources to procure their services.  The list is never ending.

We are all guilty of hypocrisy to one degree or another.  It is a part of the fallen human condition.  We even lie to ourselves in refusing to look honestly at who and what we are.  That is one of the reasons why Examination of Conscience and the Sacrament of Confession are so important.  We use God's Law and the teachings of the Church as a mirror and hold this up to ourselves.  Anything in us that is not in conformity to God's Law and the teachings of the church is sin.  We do not go by the standards of what the world defines as "good", because that will lead us off the track every time.

The readings from today's Traditional Latin Mass, the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost, put the fear of God into me and made me realize just how easy it is to deceive others and even ourselves as to our true spiritual condition.  We must be fighting every moment against our fallen nature and never let pride enter in.  Pride is the most poisonous spiritual weapon in Satan's arsenal.  Pride means we start looking at ourselves and saying, you know, I'm not so bad.  In fact, I'm pretty good.  Pride is the original sin of Satan when he said, "Non Serviam" (I will not serve).  Pride is saying to God, I don't need you, I can do this on my own.  We may actually fool ourselves and others into believing we are something we aren't, but we are not fooling our Creator, and someday we will have to come to terms before the throne of Christ with who and what we truly are and face the sin we refused to acknowledge during our time on this earth. 

Below is the Epistle for the Seventh Sunday After Pentecost

Rom. 6 : 19-23 - Brethren: I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

To be a part of the sinful world around us means to  be in servitude to Satan.  Satan lures us in by appealing to our pride and desire to feel good about ourselves, and he will give immediate satisfaction in following him.  With Christ's way, as he told us, "narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and few there be who find it."  We must always remember the sin we came out of and the deadness of soul that we experienced before receiving the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

The gospel is Matthew 7:15-21

At that time: Jesus spake unto his disciples: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

The words that pierced my heart are "Not every one that saith until me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."  We must never assume we have it made and that we are on the sure road to heaven.  As a very wise priest once said to me, Satan is rarely in the problem.  He is almost always in the solution.  Satan doesn't care what your problem is.  His tactic is to lead you to the wrong solution, and one very wrong solution is to think that while still here on this earth, we are assured of our place in heaven.  Be always mindful of your fallen human nature, which will be with you until the day that you die.  Constantly cry out to our Lord and to our Blessed Mother to keep you on that straight and narrow path which leads to heaven.  Don't ever think for one moment that you can make it on your own strength.  As the Apostle Paul said, "Pray without ceasing."  (I Thes. 5:17)

From the Breviary Readings today:

A Homily by St. Hilary the Bishop

The Lord warneth us that we must rate the worth of flattering words and seeming meekness, by the fruits which they that manifest such things bring forth in their works ; in other words, that we should look, in order to see what a man is, not at his professions, but at his deeds. For there are many whose sheep's clothing is but a disguise of wolfish ravening. And so the Lord asketh : Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. In which words the Lord teacheth us that men are a like case ; evil men bring not forth good fruits, and hereby are we to know them. Lip-service alone winneth not the kingdom of heaven, nor is everyone that saith unto Christ, Lord, Lord, an heir thereof.

What use is there in thus calling the Lord by his title Lord? Would he not be Lord of all the same, whether or not we called him so? What holiness is there in this ascription of a name, when the true way to enter into the kingdom of heaven is to do the will of our Father, who is in heaven? Saith the Lord Christ : Many will say to me in that day : Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy Name? Already here doth the Lord rebuke the deceit of the false prophets, and the feigning of the hypocrites, who take glory to themselves because of the power of their words, or their prophesying in teaching, or their casting out of devils, or such-like mighty works.

Because of all these things they promise unto themselves the kingdom of heaven, as though in their words and works any good thing were their own and not rather the mighty working of that God upon whom they call; for it is reading that bringeth knowledge of doctrine, and the Name of Christ that driveth out devils. That which is needed on our part to win that blessed eternity, that of our own which we must give, is to will to do right, to turn away from all evil. to obey with our whole heart the commandments laid on us from heaven, and so to become the friends of God. It should be ours, rather to do God's will, than to boast of God's power. And we must put off from us, and thrust away, such as are by their wicked works already estranged from his friendship.

The Feast of Corpus Christi

Yesterday, June 7, was the Feast Day of Corpus Christi in the Traditional Calendar.  This is the Feast of the Body of Christ, a day that we celebrate the Eucharist, which is Christ with us under the appearance of bread and wine.  This Feast celebrates the institution of the Eucharist, which is marked on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday.  Because Maundy Thursday is during Holy Week, which commemorates the Crucifixion of our Lord, we do not celebrate it as such because Holy Week is a season of sadness and our minds are more occupied with the actual passion of our Lord. Corpus Christi was celebrated for many hundreds of years (close to 1000) on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday.  But the Novus Ordo calendar has moved it to the Sunday after Trinity Sunday, which I feel tends to obscure it.  However, Corpus Christi is still celebrated in the Traditional Calendar on its original day, Thursday after Trinity Sunday.

I think the celebration of Corpus Christi is more important than it has ever been. We as a Church and the entire world need the Blessed Sacrament more than ever, and yet it is precisely in this time that fewer and fewer people recognize the significance of this great gift from our Lord, or even worse, don't even believe in it.  In October 2011, USA Today reported on a very troubling survey done by  Catholic University sociologist William D'Antonio.  This survey showed the alarming lack of belief among Catholics.  According to the article:

I am the Bread of Life

The survey, a comprehensive look at the beliefs and practices of 1,442 U.S. Catholic adults, also finds that 86% say "you can disagree with aspects of church teachings and still remain loyal to the church." Only about 30% support the "teaching authority claimed by the Vatican."

And 40% say you can be a good Catholic without believing that in Mass, the bread and wine really become the body and blood of Christ — a core doctrine of Catholicism.

That could reflect the decline in Mass attendance. The survey finds it's fallen from 44% attending at least once a week in 1987 to 31% in 2011, while those who attend less than monthly rose from 26% to 47%.

When asked why they don't go to Mass more often, 40% say they are simply not very religious.

The Catholics Church is experiencing a deep crisis of the faith.  Far too many Catholics in our contemporary world discount the importance of the Real Presence and its vital and unequaled meaning and significance in our lives.   And as Catholics lose their faith, the world spins further and further into an evil morass. 

I want to share the reading from the Traditional Breviary from St. Thomas Aquinas, in which this great saint explains the significance of the Holy Eucharist and why it is so vital in our lives and in our salvation.

The Lesson is taken from a Sermon by St. Thomas Aquinas

Among the immeasurable benefits, which the goodness of God hath bestowed on the Christian people, is a dignity beyond all price. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is unto us? The only-begotten Son of God was pleased to make us partakers of his divine nature ; that is, he took our nature upon him, being himself made man that he might, as it were, make men into gods. And this body, which he took from us, he gave wholly unto our salvation. For, on the Altar of the Cross, he offered up his body to God the Father, as a sacrifice for our reconciliation, and thereon he shed his own blood for our redemption ; that is, his blood is the price whereby he redeemeth us from wretchedness and bondage, and the washing whereby he cleanseth us from all sin. And for a noble and abiding Memórial of this his so great work of goodness, he hath left unto his faithful ones the same his very Body for Meat, and the same his very Blood for Drink, with which we are fed under the forms of Bread and Wine.

O how precious a thing then, how marvellous, how health-giving, yielding royal dainties, is the Supper of the Lord. Than this Supper can anything be more precious? Therein there is put before us for meat, not as of old time, the flesh of bulls and of goats, but Christ himself, our very God. Than this Sacrament can anything be more marvellous? Therein it is that Bread and Wine become unto us the very Body and Blood of Christ ; that is to say, perfect God and perfect Man, Christ himself, is there under the veils of a little bread and wine. His faithful ones eat him, but he is not mangled ; nay, when the veil which shroudeth him in the Sacrament is broken, in each broken fragment thereof remaineth the whole Christ himself, perfect God and perfect Man. All that the senses can reach in this Sacrament, all these abide of bread and wine, but the Thing is not bread and wine. And thus room is left for faith. For Christ, who hath a Form that can be seen, is herein taken and received not only unseen, but seeming to be bread and wine, and the senses, which judge by the wonted look, are warranted against error.

Than this Sacrament can anything be more health-giving? Thereby are sins purged away, strength is renewed, and the soul fed upon the fatness of spiritual gifts. This Supper is offered up in the Church, both for the quick and the dead ; it was ordained to the health of all, all get the good of it. Than this Sacrament can anything yield more of royal dainties? The glorious sweetness thereof is of a truth such that no man can fully tell it. Therein ghostly comfort is sucked from its very well-head. Therein a Memorial is made of that exceeding great love which Christ shewed in time of his sufferings. 

It was in order that the boundless goodness of that his great love might be driven home into the hearts of his faithful ones, that when he had celebrated the Passover with his disciples, and the Last Supper was ended, then, knowing that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end, and instituted this Sacrament. For this Sacrament is the everlasting forth-shewing of his death until he come again ; this Sacrament is the embodied fulfilment of all the ancient types and figures ; this Sacrament is the greatest wonder which ever he wrought, and the one mighty joy of them that now have sorrow, till he shall come again ; and thereby their heart shall rejoice, and their joy no man take from them.

The Holy Eucharist is both the source and the summit of all Catholics.  We receive life from the Blessed Sacrament and, since it is the actual Body, Blood, Soul  and Divinity of our Lord, it is also that for which we long above all else.  We have no life apart from Christ.  We have no life apart from Him in the Blessed Sacrament.  Is it any wonder that our world is dying when it has rejected the only source of Life?

Jesus Christ tell us the following in John 6:54-57:

54 Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say to you: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.

55 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

56 *For my flesh, is meat indeed: and my blood, is drink indeed:

57 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him.

The Holy Eucharist - The Source and Summit of all Life

Jesus, The Great Physician

We hear in our world all the time that all religions lead to God.  We may get there by different paths, but we are all headed toward the same place.  St. Augustine, the great convert and bishop of Hippo back in the 4th Century, would be deemed unacceptably "politically incorrect" because he most vehemently disagreed with this point of view.  Below is a reading from today's traditional breviary in which St. Augustine discusses the "Great Physician", Jesus Christ, who came to this world not to condemn man but to save him.  The catch is that we can find our salvation only in Christ and no other and we must cooperate with him.  Jesus cannot and will not save us against our will.  Then St. Augustine makes the incredibly politically incorrect statement that "he that believeth not is condemned already. Though the condemnation be not yet openly pronounced, it hath nonetheless already taken place." 

The reading is a response to the Gospel of John 3:16-21, which is as follows:

16 *For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son: that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world, but that the world may be saved by him. 

18 He that believeth in him is not judged: but he that doth not believe, is already judged: because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the judgment: *because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.

20 For every one that doth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be reproved.

21 But he that doth truth, cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God.

A Homily by St. Augustine the Bishop

Jesus, the Great Physician, healing the blind man

The Physician cometh to do all he can towards the healing of the sick. And the sick person who will not attend to the advice of the Physician bringeth on his own death.  [Jesus Christ came to save all, but he will not force anyone to accept the salvation he brings.  We must make a personal decision to accept Jesus Christ as the Saving Physician.]  This Physician is come, as a Saviour, to the world. Why is he called the Saviour of the world, except that he came, not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved?

Hast thou no desire to be saved through him? by thine act be thou condemned. [Christ does not condemn us.  He came to save us.  It is our action of turning away from him that condemns us] And why do I say, Be thou condemned? Because it is written : He that believeth on him is not condemned. What then dost thou expect will be said to him that believeth not? This shall be said : He is condemned. [Those who refuse to believe Christ, who refuse to accept his saving graces, will be condemned]  Indeed he hath already said more than that, to wit : He that believeth not is condemned already. Though the condemnation be not yet openly pronounced, it hath nonetheless already taken place.  [A very grave warning to all who refuse to believe Jesus Christ.]

We condemn ourselves when
we refuse to listen and believe

The Lord knoweth them that are his. He knoweth them that will continue unto the crown, and likewise he knoweth them that will continue unto the fire. He knoweth the wheat on his threshing floor, and the chaff. He knoweth the field (which is the world) with its good grain, and its tares. He that believeth not is condemned already. Why? Because he hath not believed in the Name of the only-begotten Son of God. [The only Name under heaven by which men are saved.  Acts 4:12]

And this is the condemnation : That light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Whose deeds, my brethren, doth the Lord find to be good? None. [Romans 3:10 - "All have turned out of the way; they are become unprofitable together: there is none that doth good, there is not so much as one."]  He findeth the works of all men to be in themselves bad. How then do we hear that some there be who do the truth, and come to the light? For it is written : He that doeth truth, cometh to the light.

But he saith : Men loved darkness rather than light. And here he maketh the great point of difference between such as love darkness, and such as come to the light. There be many who have loved their sins. [How many of us can admit that we actually love our sins] Also there be many who have confessed their sins. He that confesseth, thereby denounceth his sin, and is working already with God. God denounceth thy sins, and if thou denounce them likewise, then dost thou join thyself with God in his act.  [When we confess our sins, we have denounced them and put ourselves on the side of God.]  The man and the sinner are, as it were, two different things. God made the man ; man made the sinner.  Destroy what thou hast worked in thyself, and God will save what he hath already made. [If we are willing to denounce and turn away from the sinful beings we have become, God will save what we were originally created to be.] Thou art behoven to hate in thyself thine own works, and to love God's work. When thine own works begin to displease thee, then is it that thou beginnest to do well, because thou denouncest thine own evil works. The first thing to do, if thou wouldest do good works, is to acknowledge thine evil ones.

Too many people believe that as long as they are "good" people, and don't try to hurt others, that they will go to heaven.  We too often fail to realize that we are spiritually and morally sick, and the only One who can heal us is the Great Physician, Jesus Christ.  Someone with AIDS needs to do more than eat well.  When we admit our sins and destroy the evil we have created by denouncing it, then and only then will the Great Physician be able to heal us. 

Christ Ascends to Heaven in His Glorified Human Body

Alleluia, Christ the Lord, who hath ascended

into heaven,
O come, let us worship, alleluia.

And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.  (Acts 1:10-11)

Jesus With the Apostles after the Resurrection

Today officially marks the end of Easter Season.  It has now been 40 days since Easter, which commemorated the resurrection of our Lord and his victory over sin and death and the opening of the gates of heaven to all mankind.  Our Lord spent 40 days on earth with his disciples after his resurrection, teaching and admonishing them, and leaving no doubt in their minds that he had truly risen body and soul from the grave.  It took some time for all the disciples to come to truly believe that our Lord, who had died so brutal a death on the cross, had risen from the dead.  But Christ's 40 days on earth after his resurrection was not just for the disciples' benefit at that time, but for all who followed them down through the ages right up to our time. 

The Traditional Breviary has a reading today from St. Gregory the Pope in which he tells us that we have more to learn from the Apostle Thomas, who refused to believe Christ had risen, than from Mary Magdalene, who believed immediately.

Thomas inspecting the
Risen Christ's wounds

I may be allowed to say that the disciples' slowness to believe that the Lord had indeed risen from the dead, was not so much their weakness as our strength. In consequence of their doubts, the fact of the Resurrection was demonstrated by many infallible proofs. These proofs we read and acknowledge. What then assureth our faith, if not their doubt? For my part, I put my trust in Thomas, who doubted long, much more than in Mary Magdalene, who believed at once. Through his doubting, he came actually to handle the holes of the Wounds, and thereby closed up any wound of doubt in our hearts.

To confirm to our minds the trustworthiness of the fact that our Lord did indeed rise again from the dead, it is well for us to remark one of the statements of Luke : Eating together with them, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem : and a little afterward : While they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. Consider these words, note well these mysteries. After eating together with them, he was taken up. He ate and ascended : that the fact of his eating might shew the reality of the Body in which he went up [a spirit cannot eat.  But the fact that Christ ate proved that he was not a spirit but a risen human being]. But Mark telleth us that before the Lord ascended into heaven he upbraided his disciples with their unbelief and hardness of heart [even after being with the Risen Lord for 40 days, the apostles were still struggling to believe]. From this I know not what we should gather, but that the Lord then upbraided his disciples, from whom he was about to be parted in the body, to the end that the words which he spake unto them as he left them might be the deeper imprinted on their hearts.

When, then, he had rebuked the hardness of their hearts, what command did he give them? Let us hear. Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. Was the Holy Gospel, then, my brethren, to be preached to things insensate, or to brute beasts, that the Lord said to his disciples : Preach the Gospel to every creature? Nay ; but by the words Every creature, we must understand man, in whom are combined qualities of all creatures. Being he hath in common with stones, life in common with trees, feeling in common with beasts, understanding in common with angels. If, then, man hath something in common with every creature, man is to a certain extent every creature. The Gospel, then, if it be preached to man only, is preached to every creature.  [END OF SERMON]

Ascension Thursday marks the day that our Lord rose to sit at the right hand of the Father, as we say in the Creed, "from whence he shall come again to judge the living and the dead".  As Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, he is constantly interceding for us, and the 5 wounds in his hands, feet and side are, as stated in a rosary meditation that I do, "an endless plea before the Father on our behalf." 

This is a wonderful, joyous feast day, bittersweet to an extent because our Lord no longer walks the earth with us.  But we know that he is always with us in the Eucharist, and as we will see in 10 days, he has given us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to guide and lead us in all righteousness. 

It is very sad that most of the United States dioceses no longer celebrate this day as a holy day of obligation but now celebrate "Ascension Thursday" on Sunday.  I feel this takes away great meaning from it, for it was 40 days after the resurrection that Christ ascended into heaven, not 43 days.  I pray that someday the Church as a whole will return to the orthodoxy that will strengthen the faith of her members and lead them into heaven with the resurrected and glorified Jesus Christ, who now sits at the right hand of his father.

Are You a Dumb Sheep?

Our Lord has called us sheep. Is he just trying to tell us we are stupid? Well, that might be true for some of us, but this is not what our Lord meant.  The universal perception of sheep is that they are so stupid they will follow one another right off of a cliff to their own deaths if they are not stopped. This is true, but it's not because sheep are stupid.  There is a reason why sheep act with "group think."  From sheep101.info: 

Due to their strong flocking instinct and failure to act independently of one another, sheep have been universally branded "stupid." But sheep are not stupid. Their only protection from predators is to band together and follow the sheep in front of them. If a predator is threatening the flock, this is not the time to act independently.

Sheep have no way to protect themselves other than to band together. Therefore, they will follow one another even into apparent danger. Sheep need a shepherd to survive. 

Man's greatest enemy is Satan, who wants to destroy each and every one of us, and without anyone to defend us, Satan will accomplish his evil purpose. We, in our natural carnal state, are completely defenseless against his wickedness and evil.  Like sheep, we can sense there is something evil out to destroy us, but also like sheep, we have no natural defense against that evil.  We tend to band together because we feel that is our only defense, which in turn leads us to destruction.  But our Lord came to this earth as a man and died on the cross to become the Good Shepherd who will protect and save us from the evil one.

The Gospel for today in the Traditional Latin Mass is taken from John 10:11-16 in which Jesus tells us He is the Good Shepherd who will lay down his life to save His sheep.  

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep.

12 But the hireling, and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf snatcheth, and scattereth the sheep:

13 And the hireling fleeth, because he is a hireling: and he hath no care for the sheep.

14 I am the good shepherd, and I know mine, and mine know me.

15 As the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father, and I lay down my life for my sheep.

16 And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

There is an excellent reading in the Traditional Breviary by St. Gregory the Pope in which he explains that this beautiful passage not only tells us how to recognize the Good Shepherd, but how to follow the example of Jesus and lead others to the true Way of Life.

Dearly beloved, ye have heard from the Holy Gospel what is at once your instruction, and our danger. For behold what Christ saith concerning goodness! He himself is good, not from any gift of nature bestowed upon him, but by the very essence of his being, and he saith : I am the Good Shepherd. And then he saith what is the character of his goodness, even of that goodness of his which we must strive to copy : The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. As he had foretold, even so did he ; what he had commanded, that he exemplified. The Good Shepherd gave his life for the sheep, and made his own body and his own blood to be our Sacramental Food, pasturing upon his own Flesh the sheep whom he had bought.

He, by despising death, hath shewn us how to do the like ; he hath set before us the mould wherein it behoveth us to be cast. Our first duty is, freely and tenderly to spend our outward things for his sheep, but lastly, if need be, to serve the same by our death also. From the light offering of the first, we go on to the stern offering of the last ; and, if we be ready to give our life for the sheep, why should we scruple to give our substance, seeing how much more is the life than meat?

And some there be which love the things of this world better than they love the sheep. All such as they no longer deserve to be called shepherds. For these are they of whom it is written : But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth. Such an one as this is not a shepherd but an hireling, which feedeth the Lord's sheep, not because he loveth their souls, but because he obtaineth earthly gain thereby. He that taketh upon himself a shepherd's place, but seeketh not gain of souls, that same is but an hireling ; such an one is ever ready for creature-comforts, he loveth his pre-eminence, he groweth sleek upon his income, and he liketh well to see men bow down to him.

This last paragraph is especially ominous, I think, for all bishops and priests who have been given a duty to protect the people of God.  How many are sacrificing the people of God because they want to just fit in with the rest of the world, they don't want anyone to think badly of them and so will not stand up for what is right?  We may not always be able to depend on humans for the protection we need, but we can always be sure that the Good Shepherd will never let us down. 

Where Did That Health and Wealth Gospel Go?

Jesus appearing to St. Faustina

Today in the contemporary Liturgical Calendar, it is Divine Mercy Sunday, a beautiful day given to us through the diary of St. Faustina, a Polish nun to whom Christ appeared in the 1930's to announce his great message of Divine Mercy.  In her diary, St. Faustina wrote these words of our Lord:

My image already is in your soul. I desire that there be a Feast of Mercy. I want this image, which you will paint with a brush, to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy.

This day was instituted by Blessed John Paul II in 2000 when St. Faustina was canonized.  It is a wonderful feast day with many blessings attached to it.

But I am concentrating today on the readings from the Traditional Breviary.  The Gospel for the Traditional Calendar today is from John 20:19-31.  In this passage, the apostles are hiding out from the Jews in fear of their lives a week after Christ's crucifixion, even though most of them have seen the risen Christ.  One who had not seen the risen Christ at this point was Thomas, Doubting Thomas as we call him.  Christ appears and Thomas now believes and utters those words that lay people still utter at the consecration in the Holy Mass:  "My Lord and My God!"

19 Now when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews: Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them; Peace be to you.

20 And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands, and his side. The disciples, therefore, were glad, when they saw the Lord.

21 He said therefore to them again; Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.

22 When he had said this, he breathed on them, and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost:

23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose you shall retain, they are retained.

24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 The other disciples, therefore, said to him; We have seen the Lord. But he said to them; Unless I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.

26 And after eight days, his disciples were again within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said; Peace be to you.

27 Then he saith to Thomas; Put in thy finger hither, and see my hands, and bring hither thy hand, and put it into my side: and be not incredulous, but faithful.

28 Thomas answered, and said to him; My Lord, and my God.

29 Jesus saith to him; Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed.

30 Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of his disciples, which are not written in this book.

31 But these are written that you may believe, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing, you may have life in his name.

As we were reminded at the Mass I attended yesterday, this day also marks the institution of the Sacrament of Confession, as noted in verses 22:23:

When he had said this, he breathed on them, and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost:  Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose you shall retain, they are retained." 

There is yet another lesson from this passage that St. Augustine brought out and which was used in the readings for the Traditional Breviary.   In verse 21, Christ said to the Apostles:

As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.

This is a very short statement packed with tremendous meaning, as was everything Christ said.  St. Augustine gives us an excellent explanation, and it is not in keeping with the world's understanding of what it means to be a Christian:

Christ Instructing Apostles

Then said Jesus unto them again : Peace be unto you ; as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. That is, As my Father, who is God, hath sent me, who am God, even so do I, who am Man, send you, who are men. The Father sent the Son, whom he appointed to be made man for the redemption of man. Him he willed to send into the world to suffer, albeit this Jesus whom he sent to suffer was the Son whom he loved. And the Lord Jesus sendeth his chosen Apostles into the world, not to be happy in the world, but, as he had been himself sent, to suffer. As the Father loveth the Son and yet sendeth him to suffer, even so doth the Lord love his disciples, albeit he sendeth them unto the world, to suffer therein. And therefore it is well said : As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. That is, Even though I send you into the wild storm of persecution, I do love you all the same ; yea, I not only do have a love for you ; but I love you with a love like unto that wherewith the Father loveth me, who sent me into the world to bear agony therein.

In our modern world, we are far too often taught that to be a Christian means to enjoy the great physical blessings of God, i.e., health and wealth.  How many times have we heard, God wants you to be happy!  He doesn't want you to live in poverty and suffer.  In fact, if you are not physically blessed, that means you are doing something wrong and you must be a great sinner!  Well, that is not what our Lord said, and not what the great saints of the Church have told us. 

The Grotto at Lourdes

The greatest saints in the Church all suffered in this life.  One prime example is St. Bernadette, the visionary at Lourdes, which is renowned for all those who have been healed there.  Yet, St. Bernadette suffered terribly in her short life.  From a short autobiography of St. Bernadette:

Even from her earliest years at Nevers she had been a victim of a tubercular condition of the right knee, but this developed into an abcess in 1877, which left her in constant and agonizing pain. In 1879 she became much weaker, was hardly able to eat and became quite emaciated. She was also tormented by painful sores on all her limbs. On 28 March she was anointed for the fourth and final time, dying on 16 April.

Her comment was that the healing at Lourdes was for others, not for her. Was she bitter about this? The following are quotes from this beloved saint:

It is so good, so sweet and above all, so beneficial to suffer. 

I'm happier with my crucifix on my bed of pain than a queen on her throne. 

O Jesus and Mary, let my entire consolation in this world be to love you and to suffer for sinners. 

O Jesus, I would rather die a thousand deaths than be unfaithful to you! 

I must die to myself continually and accept trials without complaining. I work, I suffer and I love with no other witness than his heart. Anyone who is not prepared to suffer all for the Beloved and to do his will in all things is not worthy of the sweet name of Friend, for here below, Love without suffering does not exist.


I shall spend every moment loving. One who loves does not notice her trials; or perhaps more accurately, she is able to love them. 

O my Mother, to you I sacrifice all other attachments so that my heart may belong entirely to you and to my Jesus. 

I shall do everything for Heaven, my true home. There I shall find my Mother in all the splendor of her glory. I shall delight with her in the joy of Jesus himself in perfect safety. 

From this moment on, anything concerning me is no longer of any interest to me. I must belong entirely to God and God alone. Never to myself.

Are we willing to suffer for the Kingdom of God?  There is no easy road to heaven.  Our Lord was the example for us, just as St. Augustine wrote:

The Father sent the Son, whom he appointed to be made man for the redemption of man. Him he willed to send into the world to suffer, albeit this Jesus whom he sent to suffer was the Son whom he loved. And the Lord Jesus sendeth his chosen Apostles into the world, not to be happy in the world, but, as he had been himself sent, to suffer.

Our first Pope wrote in I Peter 2:21-23:

For to this you have been called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow his steps.  Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:  Who when he was reviled, did not revile: when he suffered, he threatened not: but delivered himself to him that judged him unjustly. 

And in I Peter 4:12-13:

Dearly beloved, think not strange the burning heat which is to try you, as if some new thing happened to you: But partaking of the sufferings of Christ, rejoice that also in the revelation of his glory ye may rejoice with exultation.

Let us take up our Crosses, rejoicing and thanking Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, as we follow him into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Easter Meditation: The Women At Christ's Sepulchre

Easter is such a joyous Feast, celebrating Christ's victory over sin and death and the opening of heaven to mankind, that it cannot be celebrated in just one day.  Easter is celebrated the entire week, so each day is Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Easter Tuesday, etc. 

Below is the meditation from yesterday's traditional Breviary on the women who came to Christ's tomb early in the morning and were greeted by an angel who told them to fear not, that Christ was not there but had risen as he said he would.  St. Gregory the Great tells us that the story of these women symbolizes our walk with Christ, in that just as the women brought spices to Christ's grave, our good works are a sweet fragrance to our Lord.  The Roman guards were very frightened by the angel when he came and rolled back the stone, and they, who were supposedly afraid of nothing, even ran away.  This represented the fear of those who are opposed to our Lord compared with the love and acceptance shown to those who follow our Lord. 

The women going early in the morning to the grave are an inspiration to me because even though Jesus was dead, and as far as they knew, he was no longer there for them, their love for him was so great that they still served him.  After three days, a dead body would have a very bad smell, plus Jesus had been beaten so badly that it would have been worse than a normal dead body.  But that did not deter them at all.  Also, while Peter and the other apostles were hiding away from the Roman soldiers in fear of their lives, the women boldly went out without thought for their own safety to minister to Christ in the only way they could.  For this they were rewarded with a greeting from an angel of God, and were the first to receive the message that our Lord had risen.  They did not understand this message and Mary Magdalene was not convinced it was true until Christ Himself appeared to her and told her so.  But her lack of understanding was not counted against her or the other women.  And so our lack of understanding is not an impediment to us.  Intellectual understanding by itself will not save anyone.  It is only faith that counts, and that is what these women illustrated in their actions. 

A Homily by St. Gregory the Pope

Dearly beloved brethren, ye have heard the deed of the holy women which had followed the Lord ; how that they brought sweet spices to his sepulchre, and, now that he was dead, having loved him while he was yet alive, they followed him with careful tenderness still. But the deed of these holy women doth point to somewhat which must needs be done in the holy Church. And it behoveth us well to give ear to what they did, that we may afterward consider with ourselves what we must do likewise after their ensample. We also, who believe in him that was dead, do come to his sepulchre, bearing sweet spices, when we seek the Lord with the savour of good living, and the fragrant report of good works. Those women, when they brought their spices, saw a vision of Angels, and, in sooth, those souls whose godly desires do move them to seek the Lord with the savour of good lives, do see the countrymen of our Fatherland which is above.  [Like the women who came to the sepulchre on that first Easter, even though we may not totally understand all that we do for our Lord, he will reward us in far greater measure than we can ever imagine as long as we proceed in faith.]

The Demons Cast Out Of Heaven

It behoveth us to mark what this meaneth, that they saw the angel sitting on the right side. For what signifieth the left, but this life which now is? or the right, but life everlasting? Whence also it is written in the Song of Songs : His left hand is under my head and his right hand doth embrace me. Since, therefore, our Redeemer had passed from the corruption of this life which now is, the Angel which told that his undying life was come, sat, as became him, on the right side. They saw him clothed in a white garment, for he was herald of the joy of this our great solemnity, and the glistering whiteness of his raiment told of the brightness of this holy Festival of ours. Of ours, said I? or of his? But if we will speak the truth, we must acknowledge that it is both his and ours. The Again-rising of our Redeemer is a Festival of gladness for us, for us it biddeth know that we shall not die for ever ; and for Angels also it is a festival of gladness, for it biddeth them know that we are called to fulfil their number in heaven.  [St. Augustine taught that one of the purposes of creating man was to replace the fallen angels who had rebelled against God and been cast out of heaven.  Therefore, the angels in heaven rejoice greatly that man has been saved to join them in heaven.]

On this glad Festival Day then, which is both his and ours, the Angel appeared in white raiment. For as the Lord, rising again from the dead, leadeth us unto the mansions above, he repaireth the breaches of the heavenly Fatherland. But what meaneth this, that the Angel said unto the women which came to the sepulchre : Fear not? Is it not as though he had said openly : Let them fear which love not the coming of the heavenly countrymen ; let them be afraid who are so laden by fleshly lusts, that they have lost all hope ever to be joined to their company. But as for you, why fear ye, who, when ye see us, see but your fellow-countrymen? Hence also Matthew, writing of the guise of the Angel, saith : His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. The lightning speaketh of fear and great dread, the snow of the soft brilliancy of rejoicing.