Year III, Number 14

Mary is the one who, from the moment of her Immaculate Conception, most perfectly reflects the divine beauty. "All beautiful" is the title with which the Church invokes her. "The relationship with Mary most holy, which for every believer stems from his or her union with Christ, is even more pronounced in the life of consecrated persons ... Mary's presence is of fundamental importance both for the spiritual life of each consecrated person and for the solidity, unity and progress of the whole community”. Mary in fact is the sublime example of perfect consecration, since she belongs completely to God and is totally devoted to him. Chosen by the Lord, who wished to accomplish in her the mystery of the Incarnation, she reminds consecrated persons of the primacy of God's initiative. At the same time, having given her assent to the divine Word, made flesh in her, Mary is the model of the acceptance of grace by human creatures. Having lived with Jesus and Joseph in the hidden years of Nazareth, and present at her Son's side at crucial moments of his public life, the Blessed Virgin teaches unconditional discipleship and diligent service. In Mary, "the temple of the Holy Spirit, “all the splendor of the new creation shines forth. Consecrated life looks to her as the sublime model of consecration to the Father, union with the Son and openness to the Spirit, in the knowledge that acceptance of the "virginal and humble life” of Christ also means imitation of Mary's way of life. In the Blessed Virgin Mary, consecrated persons also find a Mother who is altogether unique. Indeed, if the new motherhood conferred on Mary at Calvary is a gift for all Christians, it has a specific value for those who have completely consecrated their lives to Christ. "Behold your mother!" (Jn 19:27): Jesus' words to the disciple "whom he loved" (Jn 19:26) are particularly significant for the lives of consecrated persons. They, like John, are called to take the Blessed Virgin Mary to themselves (cf. Jn 19:27), loving her and imitating her in the radical manner which befits their vocation, and experiencing in return her special motherly love. The Blessed Virgin shares with them the love which enables them to offer their lives every day for Christ and to cooperate with him in the salvation of the world. Hence a filial relationship to Mary is the royal road to fidelity to one's vocation and a most effective help for advancing in that vocation and living it fully.

Q. My question, Father, is that since when I was a child until now as an adult, I have always felt in my heart that God was calling me to serve Him through contemplative life, and every night I dream of a Monastery with many brothers, wearing a brown habit with rosary, wearing only sandals, and I see myself with them very happy. I think God needs me to found a community of brothers but I don't have courage to speak this to the others. Can I ask your spiritual advice or direction regarding my vocation.

A. Dear George,

My advice is going to be perhaps disappointing to you, because I am not going to attempt to tell you if what you are thinking is a true inspiration or sign, or not. I do not know enough to be able to answer that. What you do need to do is to find a spiritual director you really trust, someone you can open your heart to, meet regularly with and who can really get to know you. Only then do I think you will be able to find an answer as regards what God wants you to do.

Be sure of my prayers. - Fr Anthony

Q. How exactly does a man become a priest? What steps should be taken before entering the seminary?

A. Dear Andy:

I am going to guess a little, and suppose that your question really is: if I think I have a vocation, what should I do? If I guessed wrong, you can correct me and ask again.

The first thing to do is to make a decision. No matter what your age. If you think you might have a vocation, take the decision that you are going to follow it, no matter what. That is something you do in prayer, because it is a promise you are going to make to Christ.

Once you decide that, then look at what your circumstances are so as to figure out what the concrete steps are going to be. These concrete steps will depend on circumstances such as your age, present obligations, possibilities, spiritual development, how specific your knowledge as regards the vocation, etc.

Before entering the seminary you have to get in touch with the vocations director and speak to him about your vocation and your circumstances, and get his advice. Once he gets to know you he will be able to tell you if you show the signs of a vocation, and if it seems like the right time to apply, or if there is something you need to work on before you take a step into the seminary. You will have to trust him and work with him.

Hope that helps. God bless. –Fr Anthony Bannon LC

Introduction: "Then Peter said, 'What about us? We have left everything and followed you. What are we to have then?'" (Mt 19: 27). A reasonable question: a question Jesus desired, since following him is the road to total self-fulfillment, and not an exercise in spiritual masochism.

Gospel Passage: Lk 12: 32-34

"Sell your possessions and give alms. Get yourselves purses that do not wear out, treasure that will not fail you, in heaven where no thief can reach it and no moth destroy it. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

1. He is no fool.

A missionary, Jim Elliot, slain by Indians in South America, wrote the following in his diary before he was killed: "He is no fool to give up what he can't keep in order to gain what he can't lose."

How difficult it can seem to renounce so much in order to become a priest! The tantalizing allurements of pleasure, power and money; not to mention the goodness of marriage, family and children, all cry out to us: "Wait, don't rush your decision. Think about us." So much to give up.

I recall a young bank executive who came on retreat with me who had renounced a million dollar salary in order to follow his vocation. The newspaper had printed the sensational news, journalists assailed him during lunch at a restaurant, friends urged him to reconsider and even "religious" people told him to be prudent.

"I want to be sure that I'm doing the right thing," he said. "Yet, then I ask myself the question, 'What security will I have if I put my trust in the world, money, power, pleasures and even in human love?'"

"He is no fool to give up what he can't keep in order to gain what he can't lose."

Our problem is not that we want security, but that we are content with too little security. We don't seem to grasp the fleeting nature of our earthly hopes of security, and we certainly do not faintly perceive the basis for security that Jesus Christ is offering. Try reading the reply of Jesus as if you were reading it for the first time and allow your soul to be struck with amazement: "I tell you solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life." (Mt.19: 28-29)

"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory).

"Hence, do not go after what the world promises you. Rather, consider that which the Creator of the world promises." (St. Augustine)

2. How could I doubt you?

Can you now impel yourself, my heart, above your futile fears and rise to think of who it is who calls you? The moment has come to be still; it is now that, in fullness of heart and with confidence unbounded, I turn my gaze to you, Jesus Christ:

How could I doubt you, Jesus? Since it is you who calls me, what can cause me to fear?

How could I doubt you, Jesus, who not only shed your blood for me, rose for me and wants only that I be with you, "The Love that moves the sun and all the other stars"?

What can come between you and me? Can death or life, anything that exists, anything still to come, any power or person, friend or foe, hope or fear, sorrow or delight, ever, ever separate me from you?

How could I doubt you when I have the power of your resurrection flowing through my veins?

How could I doubt you when I see you say to your Mother, "Behold your son?"

How could I doubt you when I look at Peter and John and the other apostles, flesh and blood like me, who followed you and received the hundredfold in this life and eternity?

How could I doubt when I see through the pages of history the martyrs - and among them so many young beautiful girls and young courageous soldiers - give their lives for you joyfully?

How could I doubt when I look at Benedict and Francis, Dominic and Ignatius, Francis Xavier and Don Bosco, two thousand years of saints marching joyfully towards eternal life?

How could I doubt when I gaze on you present in the tabernacle knowing that you are there to be with me?

You cried out to Peter amid the darkness of the night over Lake Galilee, "Do not be afraid!" I hear you say the same to me as you call me to place my security in you.

My heart, has anyone who placed his security in him ever been betrayed? Can I too not say with St. Augustine: "God is not a deceiver, that he should offer to support us, and then, when we lean upon him, should slip away from us."

QUESTIONNAIRE

To help you to examine your life, in the light of the inspirations God just gave you in these moments you shared with him.

1. Have I ever spent fifteen minutes reflecting on the "length" of eternal life?

2. Is it possible that anyone who is generous with Christ should be deceived?

3. What generous next step in my vocation have I been putting off? Why not tell Jesus Christ, "I trust you," and do it?

We must be men and women of complete faith in Christ’s power. Do not let yourselves be disheartened by the number of obstacles to evangelization: “This is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith” (1 Jn 5:4). Be able to discover the presence of Christ in your lives and in the lives of others it will fill you with great hope. Your mission is to go to the world in Christ’s name, not your own. If he has sent you, he will give you all the graces you need to fulfill your mission.

Christ sends his apostles to the world like sheep among wolves and tells them to be simple like doves and prudent like serpents (cf. Mt 10:16). Many will be the accusations raised against you and the traps set for you. But do not be deceived or intimidated. If they label you madmen or fanatics for preaching Christ, remember that they called Christ those things first for preaching the Gospel of love (cf. Mt 12:24). If they do not understand you because you try to live gospel virtues, rejoice because your names are written in the Kingdom of heaven (cf. Mt 5:12 Lk 10:20). Trust always in the presence of the Holy Spirit who has never failed to be with Christ’s disciples since the day of Pentecost.

Be able to defend yourselves against the world. Watch and pray. Learn to reject energetically its provocations and sophisms, and to confront its standards with those of the Gospel and the Church’s Magisterium. Form an incorruptible conscience, assisted by the guidance of your spiritual director.

The world may hate Christ’s disciples, but deep down it longs for salvation. It may reject it on the surface, but its soul cries out for the grace of God. People want to hear the Gospel of love. They need it. This should be a great incentive in your apostolic work. It should steady us greatly to know that in the depth of every person’s soul is an irrepressible longing for God, and in God, his spirit seeks to slake its thirst for truth and love.

Margherita Chou, a Chinese Catholic, was arrested at the age of 22 and spent the years from 1958 to 1979 either in prison or in labor camps. She writes of her experience:

"In the prison factory we worked eighteen hours a day, seven days a week. The drums would wake us up at four every morning. Before long, due to extreme fatigue, I lost my appetite. At night, I just collapsed on my bed without even washing my face. The routine kept on for one year.

"A few days after I arrived at the prison, the officer asked me: 'What is your crime?' I snapped back: 'I did not commit any crime. I was arrested because I was a Catholic and tried to defend my faith.' The officer became very angry and shouted: 'If you did not commit any crime, why are you here?' I was stunned by his extreme anger and shut up. The whole factory was dead silent. Because of this incident I discovered several Catholics. We quickly united. Among them was a girl named Tsou who was turned in by a priest in the government-sponsored Patriotic Association. She was especially good to me. Unfortunately, after four years, she broke down mentally. The officer even used her mental condition as a violation of prison regulations. They tied her up. They hung her up and beat her. They extended her sentence twice. Although she has now completed her time, she is still in the labor camp as of this date without proper care".

(Manuscript text in James T. Myers, Nemici senza fucile. La Chiesa cattolica nella Repubblica popolare cinese, Jaca Book, Milano 1994, pp. 252-263)

Upcoming Events & Retreats

(( Listed here are retreats directed by the Legionaries of Christ and Regnum Christi members. For a listing of diocesan activities and other events, click here to go to the vocation.com website ))

LEGIONARIES OF CHRIST

Cheshire, CT, May 17-19, Test Your Call! retreat. Contact Br Shane Johnson, (800) 420-5409. vocation@legionaries.org

Detroit, May 24-26, Spiritual Exercises for men 17 to 27. Contact Fr Ned Brown, (203) 631-7782. nbrown@legionaries.org

Atlanta, GA, June 6-17, "Come and See" Program. Contact Fr Patrick Murphy, (678) 428-6348. pmurphy@legionaries.org

Los Angeles, CA, June 6-17, "Come and See" Program. Contact Fr Thomas Maher, (509) 780-8130. tmaher@legionaries.org

Cheshire, CT, June 6-17, "Come and See" Program. Contact Br Shane Johnson, (800) 420-5409. vocation@legionaries.org

Edgerton, WI, June 6-17, "Come and See" Program. Contact Br Chad Wahl, (608) 884-8856. cwahl@legionaries.org

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated women

Louisiana, May 3-5. Mother/Daughter Retreat. Contact Kay Eads, lumenchristikay@juno.com.

Ottawa, May 19. Marian Pilgrimage for young women (17-30). Contact Lourdes Cano, (401) 225-2314. lcano@inteducators.org

Greenville, RI, May 23-30. Open Your Doors Retreat (ages 17-30). Contact Malise Lagarde, (401) 378-3201. mlagarde@inteducators.org

Syracuse, June 1. Half-Day retreat for young women (17-30). Contact Laura Mayers, (914) 522-5506. lmayers@inteducators.org

Los Angeles, June 1-15. Open Your Doors retreat. Contact Magdalena Faine, (562) 400-3362. mfaine@inteducators.org

Ottawa, June 16. Half-Day retreat for young women (17-30). Contact Lourdes Cano, (401) 225-2314. lcano@inteducators.org

Greenville, RI, June 28 - August 10. Candidacy Program (ages 17-30). Contact Malise Lagarde, (401) 378-3201. mlagarde@inteducators.org

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated men

Call Tony McDonnell for more information, (301) 365-3205. info@ytm.org

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