Year III, Number 39

A face radiant as the sun

“And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun” (Mt 17:2). The Gospel scene of Christ's transfiguration, in which the three Apostles Peter, James and John appear entranced by the beauty of the Redeemer, can be seen as an icon of Christian contemplation. To look upon the face of Christ, to recognize its mystery amid the daily events and the sufferings of his human life, and then to grasp the divine splendour definitively revealed in the Risen Lord, seated in glory at the right hand of the Father: this is the task of every follower of Christ and therefore the task of each one of us. In contemplating Christ's face we become open to receiving the mystery of Trinitarian life, experiencing ever anew the love of the Father and delighting in the joy of the Holy Spirit. Saint Paul's words can then be applied to us: “Beholding the glory of the Lord, we are being changed into his likeness, from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:18).

Mary, model of contemplation

The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In a unique way the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance which points to an even greater spiritual closeness. No one has ever devoted himself to the contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary. The eyes of her heart already turned to him at the Annunciation, when she conceived him by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the months that followed she began to sense his presence and to picture his features. When at last she gave birth to him in Bethlehem, her eyes were able to gaze tenderly on the face of her Son, as she “wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger” (Lk 2:7).

Thereafter Mary's gaze, ever filled with adoration and wonder, would never leave him. At times it would be a questioning look, as in the episode of the finding in the Temple: “Son, why have you treated us so?” (Lk 2:48); it would always be a penetrating gaze, one capable of deeply understanding Jesus, even to the point of perceiving his hidden feelings and anticipating his decisions, as at Cana (cf. Jn 2:5). At other times it would be a look of sorrow, especially beneath the Cross, where her vision would still be that of a mother giving birth, for Mary not only shared the passion and death of her Son, she also received the new son given to her in the beloved disciple (cf. Jn 19:26-27). On the morning of Easter hers would be a gaze radiant with the joy of the Resurrection, and finally, on the day of Pentecost, a gaze afire with the outpouring of the Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14).

Q. Dear Fr. Anthony,

How do I know if my (perhaps) future vocation may not be a prideful thought? Thank you. God Bless!

-Nolan

A. Dear Nolan,

The only way you can tell if your inclination towards a vocation is a prideful thought is by examining your conscience, because pride is in us as an attitude and disposition we have. But you are going to have to go beyond that to answer the vocation question, for there is a difference between our attitude and God's will, and knowing one does not determine the other. This is beginning to sound like a riddle so let me say it another way.

Your inclination towards a vocation may be a prideful thought, and yet God might still be calling you. You would simply be desiring the right thing for the wrong reason. Conversely it is possible that God really is calling a person who is leaning away from a vocation out of false humility. Of course the trick is to do the right thing for the right reason. How do you do that? By trying to get to the bottom line of what a vocation is.

Vocation is what God is calling you to do. To answer a vocation properly you have to put him, his will and his example, at the center. You may be proud and think you are worthy of the priesthood, or have great ambitions of future glory... but look at the priesthood of Christ: service, work, persecution, betrayal, death, and only afterwards the resurrection. Are you willing to follow him under those conditions? By praying and putting his example at the center you can purify yourself of your pride, or if you can't get rid of it completely (the most common case) you can at least curb it out of love for him.

Hope that helps. God bless.

-Fr Anthony

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

This web site is a great idea! I've read a couple of items on the web site about discerning priestly and religious vocations on this site, but so far haven't seen anything concerning discernment of marriage or single life. What advice would you give to a young person who is serious about their vocation to holiness, but may be called to pursue it in marriage or single life?

-John

A. Dear John,

Thank you for the encouraging words. As regards marriage or the single life as vocations, I think that much of what is on the site as regards the consecrated and priestly vocation can be of help there too because, really, to discover your vocation, whatever it may be, you have to want and seek God's will above all else. It is hard to make a mistake if you try to be as generous as possible with God. Since the leaning towards marriage comes so naturally, once a person sees that he is not called to a life of consecration it usually means that the way is marriage, and then it is a question of prudently placing the means to find "the one" that God has in mind. Here it will be the same principal: prayer, and placing the means. God bless.

-Fr Anthony

God, who surpasses all human limitations and sensory experience, chose to reveal himself to us step by step; our mouths tasted bitter, our eyes were tired, our stomachs ached for food, and our minds were disenchanted, and he drew close to us in order to raise us up and heal us.

The more we discover God, the more we love and savor him. As the small lights that at times revealed to us a little something of his truth and allowed us to enjoy it flicker out, day by day our experience of life with its relentless realism enables our hearts to love him as the only one totally deserving of love, our minds to believe in him as the only one who never deceives, and our freedom to choose him as the only one who satisfies our longings and desires. And then comes the great mystery of his presence in the Eucharist, where we can touch him and almost feel him as our Brother, Father, Friend and Redeemer. And so, little by little it pleased God to gradually fill our existence with joy, it pleased him to satisfy our longing for him, he decided to draw us closer to himself until the joy-filled day when we would break loose from our moorings, as free as free can be, and be able to contemplate him in the next life with ecstatic hearts.

Gospel: Mt 9:36-10:8

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, with power to drive them out and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ´The kingdom of heaven has come near.´ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment."

Introductory Prayer:

Jesus, teach me to be zealous for souls as you taught your first Twelve Apostles. Shed your divine grace upon me and make me sincere in my self-giving and in my desire to bring all souls closer to you. May your name be praised now and forever through Christ our Lord.

Petition:

Lord, fill me with apostolic zeal for the salvation of souls.

1. "The harvest is rich but the laborers are few."

Souls need you! It pains Jesus to see so many souls in the Church lost in their spiritual journey. So many no longer nourished through a life of prayer and the sacraments. These souls thirst for Christ and yearn to be set free by the power of his grace, yet they have no one to guide them. Christ needs us, his laborers, to bring them the saving message of the Gospel.

"Today there are many baptized Catholics who live as though they weren't. Their mentality is pagan, their conduct and decisions leave God out. It is in this secularized world that Christ's envoys urgently need to be heard, ...We must no longer be satisfied with waiting for them to come to the churches. We must go out and seek them" (Letters of Father Marcial Maciel, LC, Apostles of the New Evangelization).

2. " So ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to his harvest."

The grace of conversion flows from the loving heart of our Heavenly Father. Therefore as disciples, as men and women of the Kingdom, our first task in collaborating with Christ in the salvation of souls is to pray. "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened." Our action and our work to reap the harvest must first begin on our knees.

3. "You received without payment; give without payment."

"The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it and spread it" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1816). Faith is a free gift from God, and it is meant to be shared and multiplied. So many souls are searching but still have not found Christ. Why? Because they need to see the faith lived. We are called to be living witnesses of faith.

"Faith is a source of action and lasting optimism. It becomes an instrument of apostolate when we radiate it through our words and actions and those who don't posses it desire it." (Letters of Father Marcial Maciel, LC, Envoy III, p.23).

Dialogue:

Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of faith. I know you hear my every need and desire. I desire today to freely share my faith with others so that through my example of prayer and work for the salvation of souls others may come to know and love the message of the Gospel.

Questionnaire:

1. How do I think God will answer my prayer for more laborers in the harvest?

2. Do I ask Christ to increase my faith so that I can be the disciple he wants me to be? Am I putting my faith into action, bringing Christ and his Gospel to others?

3. What are the greatest needs I see around me? What are the greatest needs of the world?

Bishop José de Jesús Manríquez y Zarate, Catholic Bishop of Huejutla

Born in 1884, he studied at the Pio Latin-American College in Rome. He was Bishop of Huejutla (Hidalgo State) from 1922 to 1939. He was the most intransigent opponent of the anti-religious policy of President Calles. In May 1926, a few months before the outbreak of the Cristeros civil war, he was arrested and placed under house-arrest because of his criticism of the anti-clerical Constitution which came into effect in 1917. Later he was forced into exile with all the other Mexican Bishops. The Government imposed this exile as a condition for the pacification of the country, which was arrived at in June 1929. The Bishop returned to the country, but was exiled again in 1932. He died in 1951. On October 30, 1927, in Laredo, Texas, on the Feast of Christ the King, he had this to say:

"The Great Sacrifice is no longer offered on the altars, the churches are deserted, consecrated women in tears and priests silently weep or endure the bitterness of exile; many of Mexico's children have been barbarously sacrificed, others are in prison and a huge multitude has gone to foreign lands in search of refuge and bread.

And how has Mexico responded to all these wrongs? By proclaiming before the world the kingship of Christ; by praising and blessing Christ and kneeling before the Holy One of the Lord, to ask mercy and forgiveness. Mexico has had the very high honour of proclaiming Christ the King on the battlefields in the heart of the twentieth century, and, before the admiring gaze of other nations, she has vigorously defended her faith, not only with prayers, not only with reparation, but by pouring out her generous blood in torrents."

(Consuelo Reguer, Dios y mi derecho, Mexico 1997, pp. 704-705).

Prayer

Remember, Father of holiness and fidelity, the immense assembly of all your sons and daughters who suffered persecution in some nations, even traditionally Catholic nations. They did not renounce the faith of their Baptism and in various ways proclaimed the name of Christ the King and Saviour. They experienced the Beatitude of those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake and they remained faithful to the end.

May they receive from you the crown of glory.

R/. Kyrie eleison.

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, November 27 - December 1, Test Your Call! retreat. Contact Br Branigan Sherman, (800) 420-5409. vocation@legionaries.org

Cheshire, CT, December 26-30, Test Your Call! retreat. Contact Br Branigan Sherman, (800) 420-5409. vocation@legionaries.org

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated women

Toronto, Ontario, November 8-10. Spiritual Exercises. Ages 16-30. Contact Celine Kelly, (614) 562-9071. dmdetroit@inteducators.org

Los Angeles, CA, November 10. Young Women's Spiritual Growth Retreat. Ages 16-30. Contact Magdalena Faine, (562) 597-6352. mfaine@inteducators.org

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated men

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

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