Year IX, Number 24

Here we need to consider yet another aspect: this sacramental “mysticism” is social in character, for in sacramental communion I become one with the Lord, like all the other communicants. As Saint Paul says, “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:17). Union with Christ is also union with all those to whom he gives himself. I cannot possess Christ just for myself; I can belong to him only in union with all those who have become, or who will become, his own. Communion draws me out of myself towards him, and thus also towards unity with all Christians. We become “one body”, completely joined in a single existence. Love of God and love of neighbour are now truly united: God incarnate draws us all to himself. We can thus understand how agape also became a term for the Eucharist: there God's own agape comes to us bodily, in order to continue his work in us and through us. Only by keeping in mind this Christological and sacramental basis can we correctly understand Jesus' teaching on love. The transition which he makes from the Law and the Prophets to the twofold commandment of love of God and of neighbour, and his grounding the whole life of faith on this central precept, is not simply a matter of morality—something that could exist apart from and alongside faith in Christ and its sacramental re-actualization. Faith, worship and ethos are interwoven as a single reality which takes shape in our encounter with God's agape. Here the usual contraposition between worship and ethics simply falls apart. “Worship” itself, Eucharistic communion, includes the reality both of being loved and of loving others in turn. A Eucharist which does not pass over into the concrete practice of love is intrinsically fragmented. Conversely, as we shall have to consider in greater detail below, the “commandment” of love is only possible because it is more than a requirement. Love can be “commanded” because it has first been given.

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

How smart do you have to be to be a priest? I am in community college now and not doing terrific but am passing. I am worried that I might not do well in the seminary, but then maybe it is because I work about 20-25 hours a week. In the seminary will I have more time to study and not work?

-Peter

A. Dear Peter,

To be a priest you ordinarily have to be able to handle college studies. The time you put into work each week now is probably a factor that's keeping you away from 'doing terrific'.

When you get into the seminary you may not be able to put all of those 20-25 hours into study (you will have other responsibilities, will probably dedicate more time to prayer, etc...) but you will have some extra hours for study compared with now, you may be more relaxed, you most probably will have less distractions, and greater motivation to do better.

Don't be afraid of the studies. If God is calling you, you can do it with an extra effort. You may even surprise yourself. And remember, studies are only a means to an end. They are not your goal in life.

-Fr Anthony

Q. Dear Fr Anthony,

For the longest time, so many people in my home parish are saying that I would make a great sister. I am not sure if that is what God is calling me to. I spent a year at bible school and I love the Church so much. Could you help me? I am feeling lost and frustrated. I am frustrated with my present job right now. I feel something is not being fulfilled inside me. I can't mention any of my feelings at work because they think that I am weird. I am so confused and I don't know who to talk too anymore. Please help me. I am about to lose hope for my life direction. Thanks.

-Christina

A. Dear Christina,

The last thing you should do is lose hope.

It seems that your problem is mainly that you have no one to turn to and open yourself up to about your vocation in order to receive sound advice. Outside of that, you seem to have inklings of the vocation yourself yet you are not sure, you are frustrated with your present job, feeling unfulfilled, and people keep saying you would make a great sister.

Let's look at the positive elements in all of this. You have not closed your soul to the vocation, you have not rejected it. That is important. You are searching and the search is coming from inside your soul; it is not yet at rest. That is also good. You obviously want to do what is right. And you realize that on your own you are likely to make a mistake. All of these too are on the positive side; they are working in favor of you finding the right answer.

Let's look now at the negative, and I can only see one: you don't have a spiritual director you can work with.

There are several ways to find your way out of this problem. One, perhaps the simplest, is to look up a religious order that interests you and go speak to the vocations director. Also, if you let me know where you live I may be able to connect you with a qualified spiritual director. Thirdly, you may want to take the bold step of directly approaching a local priest who has a good reputation as a confessor, and ask him if he will direct you.

God bless. Be sure of my prayers.

-Fr Anthony

"Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe in you; make my faith ever stronger. Lord, I hope in you; make my hope firm and constant. Lord, I love you; make my love deep, faithful and expansive.

Petition: Lord Jesus, fill me with your life.

1. Therefore do not be afraid of them The Church echoes these words of Christ: “The faithful should bear witness to the Lord's name by confessing the faith without giving way to fear.” (CCC 2145) Am I, in practice, really afraid? How often do others hear me speak about my faith and values, and how often do they see me them lived out in action, publicly? Do I pull back when I think others won’t accept me living my faith sincerely?

Inevitably, the eyes of the crowd will learn whether I am an authentic Christian or not. The command of Christ, Be not afraid, therefore, is spoken for a reason. Christ wants to instill courage in my heart. Am I ready to be brave? He needs me to be his witness. Nothing will happen to me that Christ has not already overcome.

Actually, Jesus, the Good Teacher, prepares me ahead of time: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.” These are the words of Christ that lead into the excerpt quoted above. The thought of what will happen to my reputation if I stand up for my faith in public and turn the other cheek instead of striking back can indeed make me feel vulnerable. The teeth of so many wolves, real or imagined, seem bared at me. Yet Christ’s logic is very different from my natural instincts, and the conclusion he draws from his is: do not be afraid. If that is not how I think perhaps I should open my heart and be filled with his grace to persevere:

Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. The Lord is my strength and my song.’ In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.’ (CCC 1808)

2. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light. My conscience is a very dark and hidden place if I am unfaithful, that is, if what the Holy Spirit prompts in my heart never sees the light of day. Christ’s own voice speaks in my depths so many times and he wants me to be his mouthpiece. What I hear and realize in the secret of my heart in prayer and in contemplating Christ’s example needs to find outward expression in the reality of my daily life. Others need to learn the truth and love of Christ from me. Now I have heard his command more clearly: What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light. He has given me a mission.

St. Paul describes this experience: For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus. For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of (Jesus) Christ. But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. (2 Corinthians 4:5-7) So, Jesus’ truth is my truth. If I am weak, then his grace makes me strong.

As the Universal Church prepares to celebrate the Jubilee Year of St. Paul, my heart should burn with the desire to spread the faith. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! (Cfr. 1 Corinthians 9:16) Christ has not lit my lamp in order to put it under a bed, rather, to place it upon a lamp stand, so that by it all may see. (Cfr. Luke 8:16) What darkened corner of the earth does Christ invite me to shine his light upon? How many souls’ salvation relies upon my fidelity to the mission?

St. Paul also describes this sense of mission: For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring (the) good news!" (Romans 10:13-15)

Send me, Lord! My life for Christ!

3. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. Fidelity has eternal consequences. If I am faithful, the Day of Judgment will be a day of reward for me. Christ wants to promote me. I have a lifetime to spend, and an eternity to earn. If I make Christ known to the souls entrusted to me, Christ will make me known to the heavenly Father: Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. I shall enter the inheritance of God. I shall share Christ’s friendship and brotherhood in perfect communion with all the souls who likewise have responded to Love with love.

Conversation: Grant me, Lord Jesus, a knowledge so deep of you that I cannot help loving you, and an experience of your love so profound that I cannot help imitating you. Let me shine forth your light in the world around me. Let me teach souls about your love. Send me wherever you need me. My life is for you!

Questionnaire:

1. What was the most recent thing that happened that shows me how I must still need to grow in courage?

2. Has this passage from the Gospel allowed me to reflect on the truth that God knows all things, even what is held secretly in my heart?

3. Even if no one else notices, could it be that I fail God many times when I have been prompted to act with charity in word or deed, only to be negligent? How would I best overcome these sins of omission?

Mary leads our souls to safe harbor, molding in us the gamut of virtues most prized by Jesus Christ: universal, considerate charity towards our brothers and sisters; supernatural obedience to the Father up to the point of heroism; real, substantial humility; purity of mind, heart and senses; a burning zeal and surrender without counting the cost and without measure for the salvation of souls; charity in thoughts, words and deeds, and in my dealings with others, seeing in them an extension of Christ’s Mystical Body.

These are the virtues that she practiced down to the last detail in her earthly life, and now instills in all her faithful children spread throughout the world.

Mary is our guide in our total surrender to God, when she accepts his will unconditionally in everything. Her acceptance and surrender were without hesitation or reservation, joyful, trusting, generous, unselfish, total and faithful. She was given to us as our mother at the foot of the cross, and in this gift from on high and from the very Heart of Christ are contained the secrets of fidelity and eternal joy.

THE OPENING OF THE COVENANT TO ALL MANKIND

Paul’s first gesture in the capital city of the Empire and also his last words, documented in the Acts of the Apostles, were aimed at launching – once more – an appeal to the Jews. He did so in the same manner as in his earlier Letter to the Romans: “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek” (Rom. 1:16). In this way, at the conclusion of his mission, the man whom the Lord had chosen as Apostle to the Nations did not want to forget even the “least brothers of mine” (Mt. 25:40), “for it is on account of the hope of Israel that I wear these chains” (Acts 28:20). He launched his final and vibrant appeal to the “conversion” of his people, to the radical change of life he had come to know. In Christ, God’s Covenant is now open to all people. His final words did not mean the end of Paul, for on the contrary, Christianity and the Good News spread to all the ends of the earth due to his great witness to the Risen One, in whose image Paul became a “Light of the Nations” (Is. 49:6; Acts 13:47).

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

Test Your Call Weekends. Experience the novitiate in Cheshire, CT with retreats for young men ages 16-27 sponsored by the Legion of Christ. These weekend retreats combine time for personal reflection, preached meditations, conferences, and opportunities for confession and spiritual direction with the experience of the day to day life of the seminarians. For more information, please call Br. Francois at (800) 420-5409 or email vocation@legionaries.org. Dates in 2008: July 25-27, Aug 14-17, Oct 10-12, Nov 26-30, Dec 19-23, and Dec 26-30

REGNUM CHRISTI consecrated women

Mark your calendars for World Youth Day in Australia 2008! In the days leading up to the celebration of World Youth Day, young people from around the world will gather to take part in a special service mission proclaiming the Holy Fathers message throughout parish communities. By joining us as Missionaries for the Pope you spend four days helping local parishes get the Word out about the upcoming World Youth Day events. Young Women ages 16-29 are invited to join MissionYouth during the World Youth Days' activities July 7-21. Cost is $1700, not including airfare, but does include the WYD. For more information please contact Katie Stephens at kstephens@missionnetwork.com or 678/679-2512.

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