Year III, Number 28

The different ways of life which, in accordance with the plan of the Lord Jesus, make up the life of the Church have mutual relationships which merit consideration.

By virtue of their rebirth in Christ, all the faithful share a common dignity; all are called to holiness; all cooperate in the building up of the one Body of Christ, each in accordance with the proper vocation and gift which he or she has received from the Spirit (cf. Rom 12:3-8).The equal dignity of all members of the Church is the work of the Spirit, is rooted in Baptism and Confirmation and is strengthened by the Eucharist. But diversity is also a work of the Spirit. It is he who establishes the Church as an organic communion in the diversity of vocations, charisms and ministries.he vocations to the lay life, to the ordained ministry and to the consecrated life can be considered paradigmatic, inasmuch as all particular vocations, considered separately or as a whole, are in one way or another derived from them or lead back to them, in accordance with the richness of God's gift. These vocations are also at the service of one another, for the growth of the Body of Christ in history and for its mission in the world. Everyone in the Church is consecrated in Baptism and Confirmation, but the ordained ministry and the consecrated life each presuppose a distinct vocation and a specific form of consecration, with a view to a particular mission.For the mission of the lay faithful, whose proper task is to "seek the Kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God",the consecration of Baptism and Confirmation common to all members of the People of God is a sufficient foundation. In addition to this basic consecration, ordained ministers receive the consecration of ordination in order to carry on the apostolic ministry in time. Consecrated persons, who embrace the evangelical counsels, receive a new and special consecration which, without being sacramental, commits them to making their own — in chastity, poverty and obedience — the way of life practised personally by Jesus and proposed by him to his disciples. Although these different categories are a manifestation of the one mystery of Christ, the lay faithful have as their specific but not exclusive characteristic, activity in the world; the clergy, ministry; consecrated men and women, special conformity to Christ, chaste, poor and obedient.

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

Hello there. I have had "inclinations" towards religious life for the past four years and started serious spiritual direction almost a year and a half ago. I have been in general discernment this whole time getting ready for vocation discernment. And, even though I am not in formal discernment, I am really starting to get a sense that I may be called to religious life.... I also have this desire to completely surrender my life to Christ, not only in my daily life (which I do already), but in everything I do. My spiritual director is aware of this, and pretty soon we will be going into vocation discernment. However, the conflict comes in with my mother... The reason my mom hates the idea (for the most part) is because she wants grandchildren.... I know that I will eventually get to this conflict with my mother in spiritual direction and ultimately I have to trust in the Lord, but if you could provide any advise or input, I would appreciate it. -Laura

A. Dear Laura,

There is only one piece of advice I can give you: keep your priorities straight. If you put God in first place, everything else will work out for the best. It may take a long time (these things usually do, since we are talking about real life here, and not a TV show) and the attitudes that we are up against are deeply ingrained.

The main thing to ask God for your mother is not that she accept or understand your vocation (from what you say it would sound like you may have one), but the gift of faith. Faith will help her not only in this instance but in the many other difficulties we must face in life.

- Fr Anthony

Q. This question might be kind of odd, but I was wondering why is it that when you become a sister they take you away from your family and barely ever let you see them? I have two older sisters. One entered a convent three years ago August, and another is entering this August. Each left right out of high school, and I will be the last girl in the family. - Troubled and Confused

A. Dear Troubled,

Your question is not at all odd. It stems from the fact that we tend to judge everything as it relates to us personally, and we react to everything according to how it affects us personally. This is much more so when we are younger, and only with time as we mature and learn to love do we overcome this natural tendency.

You feel like your sisters have been 'taken away', and 'are not allowed' to visit you. There is the hint here of the thought that, since they really love you, somebody must be stopping them from seeing you, not allowing them, for they couldn't possibly really want this themselves.

It is easy to forget that they have followed their vocation and given themselves to God choosing him freely and exclusively, out of love, even at this price.

They feel the separation too, yet they have chosen him. And think of your parents - how they must feel it. Yet they have given your sisters at their young age freedom to do what is best for them, what God wants them to do, and they (your parents) didn't try to stop them, thinking only of themselves.

It is impossible, especially if you come from a good family, not to feel the separation. So what can you do? Say that God is cruel, that some religious orders are cruel? No, what you have to do is ask God to help you enter into a new dimension in your life, where you grow out of seeing everything only as it relates to yourself. That is what growing up means, humanly and spiritually. You have to let your faith help you understand what is happening.

What are some of the things that your faith tells you about your sisters' vocations? It tells you God has called them. It tells you our time on earth is to do good for others. It tells us that Christ made immense sacrifices to give us eternal life, and if we love him we will offer ourselves to do the same.

I hope these reflections help you. You will discover others as you bring your thoughts to Jesus and speak with him after Communion.

Maybe, too, part of what you feel is the uncertainty of what it will be like to be the only girl, perhaps the only child, at home. Make sure you don't mope around. Get involved in things that interest you, that will help you grow, and where you can help others. Talk this over with your parents. God bless.

- Fr Anthony

Introduction: Rich or poor, young or old, atheist or believer, everyone faces the cross. No matter how hard we try, we cannot eliminate it from our lives. But Christ made the cross the instrument of salvation. Not only did he give the Blessed Mother a privileged place at Calvary, but he invites us to take up our cross daily. This meditation reminds us of the spiritual meaning of the cross, to help us embrace and bear it with joy.

Preparatory Prayer: Mary, fount of love's devotion, let me share with true emotion all the sorrow you endured. Savior, when my life shall leave me, through your mother's prayers receive me, with the fruits of victory.

Gospel Passage: Mk 10:33-34

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him to the Gentiles; and they will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise."

1. Why the Cross?

"Why my cross?" The painful question in the face of suffering. It is a good question; it can be an excellent prayer. The fact that it is a question means that I must address it to someone. Whom shall I ask for an answer, God or the world?

The world will not be able to give me an answer. It tries to eliminate suffering, but cannot explain it. It does everything possible to rid itself of suffering, but cannot eradicate its cause: sin.

Things make sense to us when we know their causes. Erase the concept of sin and we become clueless about suffering: because the world cannot answer the question "Why my cross?" I must put my dilemma before God. But I must ask not the gods of the Greeks, those mythical gods aloof to any concerns of mere humans. I must ask the God who loves and who suffers, the God of Jesus Christ who allowed his Only Son to be crucified and put to death. Only he can give us an answer.

"It is true that today unfortunately the cross is disappearing before our very eyes. It is gone from the houses of the living and the graves of the dead; most of all it is gone from the hearts of many people who are troubled to look at a dead man nailed to a cross. Nevertheless, we cannot remove the Cross from our Christian life and Christian apostolate. To be a Christian, yesterday, today and tomorrow we have to embrace Christ's Cross with our hearts, and make it our own, very much our own, for in the Cross is our salvation." (Marcial Maciel, LC)

2. Christ suffered in place of me and for me

Christ's teachings on suffering are paradoxical. Blessed are the poor in spirit, the afflicted, those who hunger and thirst for justice. Blessed are those who are persecuted; when they are insulted and slandered all for his sake. This is the narrow gate, the road that leads to life. Enter it. Since the road that leads to perdition is wide and spacious, many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Mt 7:14)

"The cross, the joy of suffering, death's victory, the fruitfulness of suffering, finding by loosing, the grain buried in the earth... these are all paths that give life. Hard, sterile paths for our human mind and logic if Christ had not walked them first." (Marcial Maciel LC, September 3, 1975)

"Christ drew close to the world of human suffering by taking this suffering upon his very self. In his public life not only did he experience fatigue, homelessness, the misunderstanding even of those closest to him, but especially he was progressively ostracised and encircled by increasing hostility and connivings to put him to death. Christ knows what is happening and often speaks to his disciples of the sufferings and death that await him. Christ goes towards his passion and death fully aware of the mission he has to fulfill precisely in this manner. Precisely by his suffering is he to bring it about 'that man should not perish, but have eternal life.' Precisely by his cross is he to accomplish the work of salvation. This work, in the plan of eternal Love, has a redemptive character... Christ goes out to suffer knowing its saving power; he goes forward in obedience to the Father, but primarily he is united to the Father in the love with which he has loved the world and man in the world. That is why St. Paul will write of Christ: 'he loved me and gave himself for me.'" (JP II, Salvifici Doloris, #16)

"We cannot, therefore, leave the cross out of our Christian lives. Moreover, we must place it at the center of our Christianity to the point of exclaiming with St. Paul; "My only glory is in the Cross of Jesus Christ through whom the world is crucified for me and I for the world." (Gal 6:14). The cross can then become the symbol of our whole life where our joys meet our sorrows, our surrender meets love, our life meets resurrection, and our present life meets our life to come. (Marcial Maciel, LC)

3. A new perspective

"It's not fair!" We always seem to link suffering with injustice. The fact that many sufferings are brought on by injustice makes our pain all the more excruciating. This is our narrow vision of suffering when viewed through the prism of justice. But Christ told us that he would draw all men to himself when lifted up on the cross, and our view of suffering quickly changes when we look upon the Crucified One! We no longer search for its meaning in terms of justice; rather, our perspective of suffering is opened up to the dimensions of redemption and salvific love.

"True, we must give our lives. We have to fall in the ground and die so as to live and bear fruit. But this Gospel law is hard only for the worldly, those looking in from the outside. If you get involved, if you live fully this attitude, you will discover that if the first part is true, the second is no less so: bounty, fruit, fulfillment, life." (Marcial Maciel LC, May 9, 1981)

" ... But suffering is a sign of special love. How fruitful it is and how the world needs to embrace it willingly ... Raise up your grief-stricken soul to him with spiritual joy, to the King who has the right to ask every sacrifice of us. Raise it as an offering and tread life's difficult, uphill path in a way that will give him joy and set an example for those around you. Let the pain you feel most deeply and personally come from seeing that he does not yet reign in the world... and that with all his love he has not even conquered every corner of our own Christian life." (Marcial Maciel, LC)

QUESTIONNAIRE

To help you to examine your life, in the light of what God has put in your heart in these moments you gave him in prayer.

1. Where do I search for the meaning of my crosses?

2. Am I afraid of suffering? Do I bring my suffering to God?

3. Have I ever thought of "offering up sacrifices"? What do I offer them up for?

4. What connection do I see between sacrifice and vocation, sacrifice and redemption?

Never forget that the time given to you to use is not your own - you received it from God to bear fruit, and as good administrators of time you are asked to be faithful (1 Cor 4:2). Never forget that the Bridegroom can come at any moment. Only those whose lamps are lit, topped off with the oil of good deeds, will enjoy God's presence and reach life's end in the company of many other souls that you have won to the Gospel cause. (cf. Mt 25).

Reflect on this, examine yourself thoroughly and make whatever resolution the Holy Spirit places in your heart. But this reflection should not make you bitter or sad, but rather more enthusiastic; it should encourage you to give yourself increasingly to the Church and others, in a heightened sense of what is essential, in view of what has value towards eternity.

God knows how difficult the Christian walk is. In his wisdom and mercy, he gives us help in many ways. One of these ways is the canonization of saints.

Saints are those followers of Christ who have exhibited extraordinary virtue, whose miracles have corroborated their eternal communion with God, and whom the Church raises up before us to inspire and assist us in our pilgrim path. Men and women just like us, the saints show us that fidelity to God as members of the Church Militant leads to communion with God as members of the Church Triumphant (those who are already in Heaven). As the Liturgy puts it:

You are glorified in your saints,
For their glory is the crowning of your gifts.
In their lives on earth
You gave us an example.
In our communion with them,
You give us their friendship.
In their prayer for the Church
You give us strength and protection.
This great company of witnesses spurs us on to victory,
To share their prize of everlasting glory,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, has wisely named saints to be patrons of many aspects of the human condition, to remind us that we are to find God in all things, and that we are never alone in our pursuit of communion with God. We have patrons of motherhood, of children, of artists, of teachers, of physicians, of lawyers, of carpenters, of farmers, of travel, of the press, even of taking exams. When we include the saints in our life of prayer, we exercise our faith and give glory to God, whose grace made them into the saints that they became. Our own situation in life, or our personality, can ignite a personal affinity with a particular saint or two, and as long as that supernatural friendship enhances our relationship with Christ and doesn’t substitute for it, it can please God greatly and fill us with comfort, inspiration, and encouragement. All parents are pleased when their children get along and help each other out – our Heavenly Father is no exception.

Of course, the Queen of all Saints, Mary the Mother of God and our Mother in the order of grace, deserves special mention, and a special place in our life of prayer and pursuit of communion with God. Her example of total surrender to the will of God – “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word” – and her unique role of intercession on behalf of the new People of God, the Church , have through the centuries helped countless souls along their path of fidelity to God, and propelled many of them to the heights of sanctity. A common way of developing a relationship with Mary is through the fervent recitation of the Rosary, which combines vocal and meditative prayer. It leads us into regular contact with the fundamental mysteries of Christ’s life as seen through the eyes of someone who contemplated them more deeply than any other human soul.

Warning! Warning!

The perennial danger in our prayer to the saints and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of other traditional aids to prayer and union with God (litanies, chaplets, images, etc.) comes through blurring the distinction between devotion and devotions. Favorite prayers, or saints, or images (“devotions”) must lead us deeper into communion with God (“devotion”), must reproduce the virtues of Christ in our own lives, must open us more and more to total docility to the will of God in all its manifestations and fill us with a growing desire to do all we can to extend his Kingdom in our own hearts and in all hearts. If, on the contrary, we find ourselves using devotions as if they were some kind of magic formula, or ends in themselves, we have gone off track. Our goal remains the same: living communion with God, a “vital and personal relationship with the true and living God”; we must evaluate every aspect of our life in light of that goal and nothing else.

In all of these forms of prayer, keep in mind that as you lift your heart and mind to God, he is responding, engaged in the conversation. Therefore, an attitude of listening should pervade all our prayer. God will speak to us in his own way, and it will take us time and spiritual growth to become familiar with his voice. But even when we don’t seem to hear God, when prayer seems to have no effect on our lives, faith reminds us that prayer always has results. Our Lord himself guarantees it: “"And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

As you come up with your personal program of prayer, above all be realistic. Consistently following through with small prayer commitments will build your spiritual life more surely than making huge commitments and fulfilling them haphazardly or not at all. Babies learn to walk by taking baby steps; beginners in prayer learn to pray by making realistic prayer commitments.

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

Rome December 27 to January 5, $399 plus airfare. Contact Br Nicholas Perez,LC 1 (800) 420-5409

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated women

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated men

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

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