Pope Benedict XVI on Trust in Divine Providence

Pope Benedict XVI's Angelus message today was very apropos given the circumstances of the world events, and is a message we all need to hear in the midst of our anxieties and struggles. Here is the translation from Zenit:

On Trust in Divine Providence

"The Christian Is Distinguished by His Absolute Trust in the Heavenly Father"

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Echoing in today's liturgy is one of the most touching messages of Sacred Scripture. The Holy Spirit has given it through the writing of the so-called "second Isaiah," who to console Jerusalem, disheartened by misfortunes, expresses himself thus: "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you" (Isaiah 49:15). This invitation to trust in the unfailing love of God is supported as much by the thought-provoking page of Matthew's Gospel, in which Jesus exhorts his disciples to trust in the providence of the heavenly Father, who feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field, and knows every need of ours (cf. 6:24-34). This is how the Master expresses himself: "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all."

Given the situation of so many people, close and far off, who live in misery, this discourse of Jesus might not seem very realistic, if not evasive. In reality, the Lord wants us to understand clearly that we cannot serve two masters: God and wealth. Whoever believes in God, the Father full of love for his children, puts in the first place the search for the Kingdom, for his will. And this is, in fact, the contrary of fatalism or of a naive irenicism. Faith in providence, in fact, does not dispense us from the exhausting struggle for a dignified life, but it frees us from anxiety about things and from the fear of tomorrow. It is clear that this teaching of Jesus, although remaining always true and valid for all, is practiced in different ways in keeping with the different vocations: A Franciscan brother can follow it in a more radical way, whereas a father of a family must keep in mind his duties towards his wife and children. In every case, however, the Christian is distinguished by his absolute trust in the heavenly Father, as it was for Jesus. It is precisely the relationship with God the Father that gives meaning to the whole of Christ's life, to his words, to his gestures of salvation, to his passion, death and resurrection. Jesus has demonstrated to us what it means to live with our feet firmly planted on the earth, attentive to the concrete situations of our neighbor, and at the same time having our heart always in Heaven, immersed in God's mercy.

Dear Friends, in the light of the Word of God this Sunday, I invite you to invoke the Virgin Mary with the title Mother of Divine Providence. To her we entrust our life, the path of the Church, the events of history. In particular, we invoke her intercession so that we will all learn to live in keeping with a more simple and sober style, in our daily industry and in respect of creation, which God has entrusted to our care.

[Translation by ZENIT]

© Copyright 2011 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Contemplation in Augustinian Life

Several weeks ago we had a delightful visit from on of our friars who currently lives in Prague, Czech Republic, Friar Bill Faix, OSA. He was here to teach us an introduction to the history of the Order, and we are now the 38th class who has heard his wonderful presentation - 33 hours worth! I thought I would take a few moments here to share some of the things that really moved me and made me ever more proud to be an Augustinian, and some of the challenges that it poses to me.

A little bit first about who we are and how we came to be. It is true that the Augustinians do trace a spiritual lineage back to St. Augustine, whose Rule we follow and whose spirituality imbues the very essence of our Order. However, it is not right to say that Augustine founded our Order. Rather, the Order of the Hermits of St. Augustine (now just the Order of St. Augustine) was founded in 1244 by virtue of a decree from Pope Innocent IV. At that time there were groups of hermits living in the Tuscany area, very near to where Augustine himself was baptized in Milan, and impressed by the movements of the earlier mendicant communities of Francis and Dominic, the Pope decided to draw these hermits into that same current, and thus called these hermits together. Some of these groups were following Augustine's Rule, others were not, but in March of 1244 at a general chapter these hermits banded together under that Rule, and our Order was born. In 1256 Pope Alexander IV called various other groups of hermits from around the world (which at that time basically meant from various parts of Europe and Africa), and they were aggregated to the Order in what is known as the Grand Union.

This beginning is important because the eremitical origins have had a profound influence on Augustinian spirituality. Augustinians, both because of the spirituality of Augustine himself, who was first and foremost a monk, even when he was priest and bishop, and because of the eremitical way of life of our first members, are primarily called to the contemplative life, a life of prayer and study, and it is from the primacy of our contemplative dimension - what Augustine would call "holy leisure" - that our apostolic activity flows. This requires a great balance and a great effort on the part of the friars, and this balance has not always been well struck - at times in our history we have moved too far towards a desire to forsake our apostolic mission in order to live as pure contemplatives, and at times we have cast aside the contemplative essence of our charism in order to focus entirely on apostolic works.

One of our great early historians, Jordan of Saxony, in the 14th century wrote a book called The Life of the Brothers (Vitasfratrum), just about 100 years after our founding. Regarding the balance between the contemplative and active lives essential to our existence as Augustinian Friars, he had this to say:

It is certain that in its modern state the Order is principally founded on spiritual works, those that pertain to the contemplative life. These are as follows: the singing of the divine office; the service of the altar; prayer; psalm singing; devotion to reading or study of sacred scripture; teaching and preaching the word of God; hearing the confessions of the faithful; bringing about the salvation of souls by word and example.

What is important here is the way that he brings out the manner in which the active works of the apostolate necessary flow from our commitment to contemplation. Prayer always comes first, and from our prayer we are able to go about the works which enable us to cooperate with God's plan for the salvation of souls - in our case, through preaching, teaching, writing, hearing confessions, et cetera. Jordan goes on to say, "[O]ur Order was founded more for the works of the contemplative than of the active life." This primacy of the contemplative life imbues every part of our history and our charism. The great Augustinian historian Friar Balbino Rano, OSA, writes that the history of our Order shows that we are most effective when we are conscious and intentional about our commitment to the contemplative life, meaning both prayer and theological studies.

One of our greatest saints, the 16th century St. Thomas of Villanova, a devoted friar, teacher, contemplative, who was also named Bishop of Valencia, Spain (and for his nine volume collection of writings, found here, I propose should be considered for the title Doctor of the Church), wrote a letter to the novices of the Order, in which he says:

You must therefore strive as best you can in contemplation, even though it may be scant, because, without it, you would not do anything, and you could not apply yourself in the active life. Contemplation shall aid you and give you wings, in order that you may apply yourself properly in active life, and because our Lord has given you this admonition, you must also think of the active life so that you do not forget yourself.

This is the great challenge, and why the novitiate experience is so deeply committed to the contemplative formation of the friar, because once we leave this place, the demands of studies and the apostolate will press upon us, and the temptation will be to flee the contemplative life altogether, thereby removing the very heart of our religious lives.

The Augustinians have a truly glorious missionary history, and we were among the first to send missionaries to the New World. When our missionaries were sent, one of the reasons why we were able to be so successful is because the demands for the contemplative dimension were increased rather than decreased. Our missionaries were required to spend two hours a day in mental prayer, twice what was typically required of the friars. This is rooted precisely in the realization that our work can only be effective if we allow ourselves to be united to the very heart of Jesus Christ, a union which necessitates a life devoted to prayer.

So this is the challenge that grace presents, and this is the challenge that grace alone can fulfill. For Augustinians, this challenge is met especially through our Marian devotion. As Augustinians we have historically called Mary by four titles: Our Lady of Grace, Our Lady of Help, Our Mother of Consolation, and Our Mother of Good Counsel. By turning our hearts to the Mother of God, she ever obtains for us the grace we need to live our lives in holiness and surrender to God's will; she aids us and obtains for us all the help that we need in order for our mission to bear fruit; she consoles us in our sufferings and thereby obtains for us the strength and the courage to persevere to the end; and she ever counsels us to follow Christ and do whatever He tells us. May her prayers continue to bless the Augustinian Order, and may her witness of faith encourage us always to seek the better part, always to ponder the mysteries of God in our hearts in contemplation, so that like Christ and united to Christ, our lives may be poured out in love for the salvation of the world.

More about blog changes

I'll still be going offline until Easter, beginning next Sunday. However, I have decided one thing about the blog. This blog will remain exactly as is (though I've redesigned it - what do you think?). What I am doing, though, is starting another blog, which I've already created but won't post to until after Easter. That blog can be found here, and it's called Enchiridium Patristicum. It is also now featured at the top bar of this blog under the heading "Patristics Blog" - but again, it won't be active till after Easter. The purpose of the blog is threefold: to discuss the Fathers of the Church, which in the beginning will probably just entail me posting certain passages from their writings and reflecting on them; to talk about Augustinian spirituality, the Augustinian saints and martyrs, to highlight various Augustinian writings from the past seven and a half centuries; and to discuss the spiritual classics.

During Lent I will continue to pray over it and consider how both of these blogs can truly be mission-oriented, which is what I want from them. I think with this blog, the main thing is just to write more frequently - writing helps me, and my hope is that it can help others, too. With the other blog, those three areas are areas of great passion for me, and I think that in all three there is great wisdom that can be truly beneficial to anyone walking the Christian journey.

Change of Direction on the Blog

Beginning the Sunday before Lent I'll be going offline until Easter. After that time I'm planning on taking the blog in a different direction. I believe I'll probably maintain the same URL, but I'm planning on a more thematic approach to the blog, instead of just random posting when I feel like writing something. I know generally what that theme will look like, but in the meantime I'd ask for your prayers that I might see where God is leading me in this, and how I can use this blog more effectively to be a witness to the Gospel and to the Catholic faith in my own role as an Augustinian friar.

Woman Accepts Church Teaching on Priesthood

This is one of the most encouraging things I've read regarding the movement among a small minority in the Church to seek the ordination of women. One of those women who participated in the parody ordination to the diaconate, Norma Jean Coon, has repented of her actions and has released a wonderful statement on her web site. She writes:

I wish to renounce the alleged ordination and publicly state that I did not act as a deacon as a part of this group except on two occasions, when I read the gospel once at mass and distributed communion once at this same mass. I withdrew from the program within two weeks of the ceremony because I realized that I had made a mistake in studying for the priesthood. I confess to the truth of Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis . I confess the authority of the Holy Father on these issues of ordination and recognize that Christ founded the ordination only for men.

Formally, I relinquish all connection to the program of Roman Catholic Women Priests and I disclaim the alleged ordination publicly with apologies to those whose lives I have offended or scandalized by my actions. I ask God's blessings upon each of these folks and their families.

Check out her entire statement here. And kudos to Mrs. Coon for the courage and humility it takes to come to such a decision.

Pope Benedict XVI's 2011 Lenten Message

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
BENEDICT XVI
FOR LENT 2011

“You were buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him.” (cf. Col 2: 12)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The Lenten period, which leads us to the celebration of Holy Easter, is for the Church a most valuable and important liturgical time, in view of which I am pleased to offer a specific word in order that it may be lived with due diligence. As she awaits the definitive encounter with her Spouse in the eternal Easter, the Church community, assiduous in prayer and charitable works, intensifies her journey in purifying the spirit, so as to draw more abundantly from the Mystery of Redemption the new life in Christ the Lord (cf. Preface I of Lent).

1. This very life was already bestowed upon us on the day of our Baptism, when we “become sharers in Christ’s death and Resurrection”, and there began for us “the joyful and exulting adventure of his disciples” (Homily on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, 10 January, 2010). In his Letters, St. Paul repeatedly insists on the singular communion with the Son of God that this washing brings about. The fact that, in most cases, Baptism is received in infancy highlights how it is a gift of God: no one earns eternal life through their own efforts. The mercy of God, which cancels sin and, at the same time, allows us to experience in our lives “the mind of Christ Jesus” (Phil 2: 5), is given to men and women freely. The Apostle to the Gentiles, in the Letter to the Philippians, expresses the meaning of the transformation that takes place through participation in the death and resurrection of Christ, pointing to its goal: that “I may come to know him and the power of his resurrection, and partake of his sufferings by being molded to the pattern of his death, striving towards the goal of resurrection from the dead” (Phil 3: 10-11). Hence, Baptism is not a rite from the past, but the encounter with Christ, which informs the entire existence of the baptized, imparting divine life and calling for sincere conversion; initiated and supported by Grace, it permits the baptized to reach the adult stature of Christ.

A particular connection binds Baptism to Lent as the favorable time to experience this saving Grace. The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council exhorted all of the Church’s Pastors to make greater use “of the baptismal features proper to the Lenten liturgy” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum concilium, n. 109). In fact, the Church has always associated the Easter Vigil with the celebration of Baptism: this Sacrament realizes the great mystery in which man dies to sin, is made a sharer in the new life of the Risen Christ and receives the same Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead (cf. Rm 8: 11). This free gift must always be rekindled in each one of us, and Lent offers us a path like that of the catechumenate, which, for the Christians of the early Church, just as for catechumens today, is an irreplaceable school of faith and Christian life. Truly, they live their Baptism as an act that shapes their entire existence.

2. In order to undertake more seriously our journey towards Easter and prepare ourselves to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord – the most joyous and solemn feast of the entire liturgical year – what could be more appropriate than allowing ourselves to be guided by the Word of God? For this reason, the Church, in the Gospel texts of the Sundays of Lent, leads us to a particularly intense encounter with the Lord, calling us to retrace the steps of Christian initiation: for catechumens, in preparation for receiving the Sacrament of rebirth; for the baptized, in light of the new and decisive steps to be taken in the sequela Christi and a fuller giving of oneself to him.

The First Sunday of the Lenten journey reveals our condition as human beings here on earth. The victorious battle against temptation, the starting point of Jesus’ mission, is an invitation to become aware of our own fragility in order to accept the Grace that frees from sin and infuses new strength in Christ – the way, the truth and the life (cf. Ordo Initiationis Christianae Adultorum, n. 25). It is a powerful reminder that Christian faith implies, following the example of Jesus and in union with him, a battle “against the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world” (Eph 6: 12), in which the devil is at work and never tires – even today – of tempting whoever wishes to draw close to the Lord: Christ emerges victorious to open also our hearts to hope and guide us in overcoming the seductions of evil.

The Gospel of the Transfiguration of the Lord puts before our eyes the glory of Christ, which anticipates the resurrection and announces the divinization of man. The Christian community becomes aware that Jesus leads it, like the Apostles Peter, James and John “up a high mountain by themselves” (Mt 17: 1), to receive once again in Christ, as sons and daughters in the Son, the gift of the Grace of God: “This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys my favor. Listen to him” (Mt 17: 5). It is the invitation to take a distance from the noisiness of everyday life in order to immerse oneself in God’s presence. He desires to hand down to us, each day, a Word that penetrates the depths of our spirit, where we discern good from evil (cf. Heb 4:12), reinforcing our will to follow the Lord.

The question that Jesus puts to the Samaritan woman: “Give me a drink” (Jn 4: 7), is presented to us in the liturgy of the third Sunday; it expresses the passion of God for every man and woman, and wishes to awaken in our hearts the desire for the gift of “a spring of water within, welling up for eternal life” (Jn 4: 14): this is the gift of the Holy Spirit, who transforms Christians into “true worshipers,” capable of praying to the Father “in spirit and truth” (Jn 4: 23). Only this water can extinguish our thirst for goodness, truth and beauty! Only this water, given to us by the Son, can irrigate the deserts of our restless and unsatisfied soul, until it “finds rest in God”, as per the famous words of St. Augustine.

The Sunday of the man born blind presents Christ as the light of the world. The Gospel confronts each one of us with the question: “Do you believe in the Son of man?” “Lord, I believe!” (Jn 9: 35. 38), the man born blind joyfully exclaims, giving voice to all believers. The miracle of this healing is a sign that Christ wants not only to give us sight, but also open our interior vision, so that our faith may become ever deeper and we may recognize him as our only Savior. He illuminates all that is dark in life and leads men and women to live as “children of the light”.

On the fifth Sunday, when the resurrection of Lazarus is proclaimed, we are faced with the ultimate mystery of our existence: “I am the resurrection and the life… Do you believe this?” (Jn 11: 25-26). For the Christian community, it is the moment to place with sincerity – together with Martha – all of our hopes in Jesus of Nazareth: “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world” (Jn 11: 27). Communion with Christ in this life prepares us to overcome the barrier of death, so that we may live eternally with him. Faith in the resurrection of the dead and hope in eternal life open our eyes to the ultimate meaning of our existence: God created men and women for resurrection and life, and this truth gives an authentic and definitive meaning to human history, to the personal and social lives of men and women, to culture, politics and the economy. Without the light of faith, the entire universe finishes shut within a tomb devoid of any future, any hope.

The Lenten journey finds its fulfillment in the Paschal Triduum, especially in the Great Vigil of the Holy Night: renewing our baptismal promises, we reaffirm that Christ is the Lord of our life, that life which God bestowed upon us when we were reborn of “water and Holy Spirit”, and we profess again our firm commitment to respond to the action of the Grace in order to be his disciples.

3. By immersing ourselves into the death and resurrection of Christ through the Sacrament of Baptism, we are moved to free our hearts every day from the burden of material things, from a self-centered relationship with the “world” that impoverishes us and prevents us from being available and open to God and our neighbor. In Christ, God revealed himself as Love (cf. 1Jn 4: 7-10). The Cross of Christ, the “word of the Cross”, manifests God’s saving power (cf. 1Cor 1: 18), that is given to raise men and women anew and bring them salvation: it is love in its most extreme form (cf. Encyclical Deus caritas est, n. 12). Through the traditional practices of fasting, almsgiving and prayer, which are an expression of our commitment to conversion, Lent teaches us how to live the love of Christ in an ever more radical way. Fasting, which can have various motivations, takes on a profoundly religious significance for the Christian: by rendering our table poorer, we learn to overcome selfishness in order to live in the logic of gift and love; by bearing some form of deprivation – and not just what is in excess – we learn to look away from our “ego”, to discover Someone close to us and to recognize God in the face of so many brothers and sisters. For Christians, fasting, far from being depressing, opens us ever more to God and to the needs of others, thus allowing love of God to become also love of our neighbor (cf. Mk 12: 31).

In our journey, we are often faced with the temptation of accumulating and love of money that undermine God’s primacy in our lives. The greed of possession leads to violence, exploitation and death; for this, the Church, especially during the Lenten period, reminds us to practice almsgiving – which is the capacity to share. The idolatry of goods, on the other hand, not only causes us to drift away from others, but divests man, making him unhappy, deceiving him, deluding him without fulfilling its promises, since it puts materialistic goods in the place of God, the only source of life. How can we understand God’s paternal goodness, if our heart is full of egoism and our own projects, deceiving us that our future is guaranteed? The temptation is to think, just like the rich man in the parable: “My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come…”. We are all aware of the Lord’s judgment: “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul…” (Lk 12: 19-20). The practice of almsgiving is a reminder of God’s primacy and turns our attention towards others, so that we may rediscover how good our Father is, and receive his mercy.

During the entire Lenten period, the Church offers us God’s Word with particular abundance. By meditating and internalizing the Word in order to live it every day, we learn a precious and irreplaceable form of prayer; by attentively listening to God, who continues to speak to our hearts, we nourish the itinerary of faith initiated on the day of our Baptism. Prayer also allows us to gain a new concept of time: without the perspective of eternity and transcendence, in fact, time simply directs our steps towards a horizon without a future. Instead, when we pray, we find time for God, to understand that his “words will not pass away” (cf. Mk 13: 31), to enter into that intimate communion with Him “that no one shall take from you” (Jn 16: 22), opening us to the hope that does not disappoint, eternal life.

In synthesis, the Lenten journey, in which we are invited to contemplate the Mystery of the Cross, is meant to reproduce within us “the pattern of his death” (Ph 3: 10), so as to effect a deepconversion in our lives; that we may be transformed by the action of the Holy Spirit, like St. Paul on the road to Damascus; that we may firmly orient our existence according to the will of God; that we may be freed of our egoism, overcoming the instinct to dominate others and opening us to the love of Christ. The Lenten period is a favorable time to recognize our weakness and to accept, through a sincere inventory of our life, the renewing Grace of the Sacrament of Penance, and walk resolutely towards Christ.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, through the personal encounter with our Redeemer and through fasting, almsgiving and prayer, the journey of conversion towards Easter leads us to rediscover our Baptism. This Lent, let us renew our acceptance of the Grace that God bestowed upon us at that moment, so that it may illuminate and guide all of our actions. What the Sacrament signifies and realizes, we are called to experience every day by following Christ in an ever more generous and authentic manner. In this our itinerary, let us entrust ourselves to the Virgin Mary, who generated the Word of God in faith and in the flesh, so that we may immerse ourselves – just as she did – in the death and resurrection of her Son Jesus, and possess eternal life.

From the Vatican, 4 November, 2010

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

© Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Preparations for Lent

Lent is near upon us, only a few short weeks away. During the entirety of Lent I will be offline completely, and I ask that you all keep me in prayer, for my continued conversion and surrender to the will of God. Pray especially that God blesses me with humility and patience.

As Lent approaches it is important to begin now some preparations so that when Ash Wednesday gets here on March 9, we have a game plan and know what we want to do and how we wish to prepare ourselves for the Paschal Mystery, and how we will engage this wonderful liturgical season of penance and conversion in a way that truly allows us to be renewed in our Christian walk.

The spiritual life is rooted on the three basic pillars of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Like legs of a tripod, if one leg is missing or broken, the whole tripod is going to collapse. Lent offers a particular opportunity to embrace each of these in a deeper way and in a way that allows us to die to self and live for God.

The journey of the way of the cross is the path that we must each walk throughout our pilgrim lives, but this way of the cross is heightened at this time. Christ says in Mark's Gospel, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mark 8:34, RSV). We are called to walk the way of the cross so that we may be united to the life of Christ, the imperishable life which does not die, but rather passes through death into eternal life.

Each of these aforementioned pillars play a particular role in enabling us to deny ourselves and carry the cross of Christ. By fasting, we tame our fallen ego which rebels against the spirit and tells us to feed every desire that comes to us, to indulge every impulse for self-gratification without limits, and it aids us in stilling the passions which tenaciously interfere with our call to silence and prayer - hence one reason why fasting and prayer are so intrinsically connected.

Through prayer, we enter deeply into the mystery of the life of God, we turn into ourselves and discover the life of God within us. Through prayer, as prayer deepens and matures we begin to be healed of the false illusions which tell us that we are somehow separated from God, and the vision of the eyes of our mind are corrected so that we may see the very truths that faith teaches us, which is that we are created in the image and likeness of God and that we are deeply and unconditionally loved by Him. It is the lack of knowledge of God's love for us that is at the very heart of our fallenness and our sinfulness, and it is only by seeing what Jesus has truly revealed, that we indeed are beloved children of a loving Father, that we may truly be perfect in the way that Christ calls us to be - meaning, that we can come to the wholeness and the full stature of the new man in Christ. This essential vision of the mysterious reality of God is revealed to us in prayer.

Finally, through almsgiving we are able to take this gift we have been given, the gift of being loved by God and knowing it, and by going out of ourselves we bring this gift of love to our neighbor. Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another" (John 13:34, RSV). And again, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15, RSV). Charity then is the only way to respond to the love God has shown us, and it is by loving one another that both our own selfish egotism is healed, and that we are able to heal the divisions that sin has built between men - or rather, through charity we allow ourselves to be cooperators in God's healing.

Today better than ever we see the way in which our sinful selfishness leads to oppression of the poor, to unjust discrimination, to abortion, and to all manners of atrocities. For all of these sins we all must do penance, and we all must atone for those sins. This atonement, if it is to be truly reconciling, can only happen by charity, by authentic love for our neighbor, love which is willing to sacrifice all for the other, in order to heal the devastation of the seemingly eternal pattern of sacrificing the other for our all. I believe this is what St. Peter meant when he wrote, "Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Pet 4:8, RSV). Love does not cover these sins like a blanket which hides them, but rather it covers them like an ointment which heals them.

Three final words about fasting. The early Christians, as we read in the first century writing called the Didache, fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays. After Lent is finished I would encourage that we all take up this practice as a means of regularly including fasting as a part of our spiritual regiment. Furthermore, it is helpful to offer our fast for particular needs of the world. One suggestion might be to offer the Wednesday fast for the healing of all victims of sexual abuse, for the repentance of all priests and bishops involved in the scandal, and for the strengthening of the faith of all those whose faith has been deeply shaken by this crisis; and then offering the Friday fast for the souls in Purgatory, who are ever in need of our prayers.

Second, fasting can seem a confusing topic to many. We don't really know how to fast. I want to suggest just a few thoughts. One, the purpose of fasting is not to do great violence to our bodies. This concept was an exaggeration from previous ages that reflects an unhealthy or undeveloped understanding of the goodness of the human body. But at the same time, fasting does need to be a real sacrifice in order to truly fulfill its purpose. The key here is prudence. Don't fast so severely that you become sick, or faint, or whatever. Fast enough so that you feel the hunger. That could mean eating nothing until dinner time, and drinking only water. It could mean eating some bread and a piece of fruit during the day, and drinking only water, and then a normal dinner. It could mean eating two small meals that combined equal less than one normal meal, and then a normal dinner. Use your judgment and find what works best for you, and don't be afraid to experiment if fasting is new to you.

Finally, in order to most effectively embrace the intrinsic connection between fasting and prayer, whenever the physical effects of the fast are felt throughout the day - in other words, when you notice the hunger that comes along with the fast, let that experience of hunger be a reminder to pray. So you feel a hunger pang, stop for a moment and offer a prayer. If you are fasting for a particular purpose, like for the souls in Purgatory, then when you feel that hunger pang, offer a prayer for the souls in Purgatory. If you are fasting in repentance for sins, at that hunger pang offer a prayer to God for the virtue which that sin offends. In a particular way, fasting is a wonderful time to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, so that in emptying ourselves of carnal food, we may be filled with the Bread of Life.

God's blessings to you all.

Spiritual Bouquet for the Holy Father

Over at Fr. Z.'s excellent blog, WDTPRS, he has posted an excellent exhortation for Catholics to offer a spiritual bouquet for Pope Benedict XVI ending on March 19, the Solemnity of St. Joseph and the Holy Father's name day. Check out Fr. Z's entry for more details.

Regardless of whether one participates in this particular - and efficacious - manner of prayer, I think all Catholics - and indeed all Christians, for this Pope is truly the Pope of Christian Unity - should truly devote themselves these days especially for praying for the leader of the Catholic Church. These are dark times and this Pope especially is yoked with heavy burdens, and our prayers indeed can aid him greatly. That the Enemy is active in the world is as true now as ever, and we need the Holy Father to remain strong, steadfast, humble, faithful, and courageous. Each of the tasks he is taking on - sexual abuse, liturgical reform and renewal, the dictatorship of relativism, religious extremism, particularly in Islam but certainly not exclusive to it, the vocations crisis, the dying of the European Church, and so on, ad nauseum - require a leader strong in virtue and filled with wisdom. This Pope is both of these things and much more, and we are truly blessed to be led by this man in these times. But we are in this together, and so let us all now commit ourselves anew to praying for our Church, praying for the Pope, praying for all bishops and priests, and praying that we each may be filled with the strength of the Holy Spirit to courageously live our faith in this troubled world.

Planned Parenthood and Prostitution

It is well known that Planned Parenthood receives hundreds of millions of dollars annually from the government - we the taxpayers are funding this organization whether we like it or not. In recent years, led by a brave young soul, Lila Rose, an organization called Live Action has been exposing that this taxpayer-funded organization systematically aids and abets prostitution, statutory rape, sex trafficking, and other vile crimes. Yet their lobbying arm is strong, and our government has neither the spine nor the moral compass to do what's right: cut off all their funding, and aggressively prosecute them for their heinous crimes. Visit the Live Action website for more information on the great work they do in exposing Planned Parenthood. And please contact your congresspersons, senators, and governors demanding that taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood be stopped entirely.

Here is one of the latest videos showing just what goes on at Planned Parenthood:

Pope Benedict XVI's Homily on Day for Consecrated Life

VATICAN CITY, FEB. 2, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today during evening vespers on the occasion of the World Day of Consecrated Life, which is observed on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. The liturgical service took place in St. Peter's Basilica.

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Dear brothers and sisters!

In today's feast we contemplate the Lord Jesus whom Mary and Joseph take to the Temple "to present him to the Lord" (Luke 2:22). Revealed in this evangelical scene is the mystery of the Son of the Virgin, the consecrated One of the Father, who came into the world to carry out his will faithfully (cf. Hebrews 10:5-7).

Simeon points to him as "light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32), and proclaims with prophetic word his supreme offer to God and his final victory (cf. Luke 2:32-35). It is the meeting of the two Testaments, the Old and the New. Jesus enters the ancient Temple, He who is the new Temple of God: He comes to visit his people, bringing to fulfillment obedience to the Law and inaugurating the end times of salvation.

It is interesting to observe close up this entrance of the Child Jesus into the solemnity of the Temple, in the great "coming and going" of so many people, seized by their endeavors: the priests and the Levites with their turns of service, the numerous devotees and pilgrims, desirous of encountering the Holy God of Israel. None of these, however, notice anything. Jesus is a child like others, first born son of two very simple parents. Even the priests are incapable of accepting the signs of the new and particular presence of the Messiah and Savior. Only two elderly people, Simeon and Anna, discover the great novelty. Led by the Holy Spirit, they see in that Child the fulfillment of their long expectation and vigilance. Both contemplate the light of God that comes to illumine the world, with their prophetic gaze open to the future, as proclamation of the Messiah: "Lumen ad revelationem gentium!" (Luke 2:32). In the prophetic attitude of two old people is the entire Ancient Covenant, which expresses the joy of the encounter with the Redeemer. On seeing the Child, Simeon and Anna intuit that it is in fact Him, the One Awaited.

The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is an eloquent icon of the total donation of the life for all those men and women who are called to reproduce in the Church and in the world, through the evangelical counsels, the characteristic features of Jesus virgin, poor and obedient" (postsynodal apostolic exhortation "Vita Consecrata," No. 1). That is why today's feast was chosen by the Venerable John Paul II to celebrate the annual Day of Consecrated Life. In this context, I address a cordial and grateful greeting to Archbishop João Bráz de Aviz, whom I recently appointed prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, with the secretary and the collaborators. I greet affectionately the Superiors General present and all consecrated persons.

I would like to propose three brief thoughts for reflection on this feast. The first: the evangelical icon of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple contains the essential symbol of light; the light that, coming from Christ, shines on Mary and Joseph, on Simeon and Anna and, through them, on everyone. The Fathers of the Church linked this radiation to the spiritual journey. Consecrated life expresses this journey, in a special way as "philocalia," love of divine beauty, reflection of the goodness of God (cf. ibid., No. 19). Resplendent on Christ's face is this beauty. "The Church contemplates the transfigured face of Christ, to be confirmed in the faith and not risk dismay before his disfigured face on the Cross ... she is the Bride before her Spouse, sharing his mystery, enveloped by his light, [from which] are gathered all his children ... But a singular experience of the light that emanates from the Word incarnate are certainly those called to the consecrated life. In fact, the profession of the evangelical counsels places them as sign and prophecy for the community of brothers and for the world" (ibid., No. 15).

In the second place, the evangelical icon manifests the prophecy, gift of the Holy Spirit. Simeon and Anna, contemplating the Child Jesus, perceive his destiny of death and resurrection for the salvation of all peoples and proclaim this mystery as universal salvation. Consecrated life is called to this prophetic witness, linked to its twofold attitude, contemplative and active. Given to consecrated men and women, in fact, is to manifest the primacy of God, passion for the Gospel practiced as a way of life and proclaimed to the poor and to the last of the earth. "In the strength of such primacy nothing can be preferred to personal love for Christ and for the poor in which He lives. True prophecy is born from God, from friendship with Him, from attentive listening to his Word in the different circumstances of history" (ibid., No. 84). In this way consecrated life, in its daily living on the paths of humanity, manifests the Gospel and the Kingdom already present and operative.

In the third place, the evangelical icon of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple manifests the wisdom of Simeon and Anna, the wisdom of a life dedicated totally to the search of the face of God, of his signs, of his will; a life dedicated to listening and to proclaiming his Word.

"'Faciem tuam, Domine, requiram': thy face, O Lord, do I seek" (Psalm 26:8). Hence, the consecrated person witnesses the joyful and laborious commitment, the assiduous and wise search of the divine will" (cf. Congress for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life, Instruction The Service of Authority and Obedience. Faciem tuam Domine requiram [2008], No. 1).

Dear brothers and sisters, be assiduous listeners of the Word, because every wisdom of life is born of the Word of the Lord! Be scrutinizers of the Word, through Lectio Divina, because consecrated life "is born from listening to the Word of God and accepting the Gospel as its norm of life. To live following the chaste, poor and obedient Christ is in this way a living "exegesis" of the Word of God. The Holy Spirit, in the strength of which the Bible was written, is the same who illumines the Word of God to men and women founders with new light. From it flows every charism and every rule is an expression of it, giving origin to itineraries of Christian life marked by evangelical radicalism" (postsynodal apostolic exhortation "Verbum Domini," No. 83).

Today we live above all in the most developed societies, a condition often marked by a radical pluralism, by the progressive marginalization of religion from the public sphere, by a relativism that touches fundamental values. This calls for our Christian witness to be luminous and consistent and for our educational effort to be ever more attentive and generous. In particular your apostolic action, dear brothers and sisters, must become a life commitment, which accedes with persevering passion, to wisdom as truth and beauty "splendor of the truth." Be able to orient your life with wisdom, and with trust in the inexhaustible possibilities of true education, and the intelligence and the heart of men and women of our time to the "good life of the Gospel."

At this moment, my thought goes with special affection to all consecrated men and women, in every part of the earth, and I entrust them to the Blessed Virgin Mary:

O Mary, Mother of the Church,
I entrust to you consecrated life,
So that you will obtain for it the fullness of divine light:
That it may live in listening to the Word of God,
In the humility of the following of Jesus your Son and our Lord,
In the acceptance of the visit of the Holy Spirit,
In the daily joy of the Magnificat,
So that the Church is built by the holiness of life
Of these your sons and daughters,
In the commandment of love. Amen.

[Translation by ZENIT]