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Grace: To forgive ourselves
Scriptures: John 6:53-59; 1Peter 5:5-11; 1Peter 1:6-9
"The decision to forgive is often reached after much struggle. The problem with forgiveness is that there is something to forgive --- hurt. Those who have never been hurt have no need to learn of forgiveness.
Forgiving an injury or pardoning a wrong, letting go of a hurt unjustly inflicted are all spiritual actions that can be wrung from the depths of the soul It is not something to be taken lightly.
...The struggle ultimately is always a spiritual one and should be done in prayer. Christ himself went in to prayer in his struggles.
His forgiveness returned love whenever injury was received. This is the spiritual victory taught by Jesus but often beyond our reach.
The perfect prayer that the Lord has given us is the Eucharist. All of our spirituality flows from the Eucharist and returns there as well. It is the highest form of union with the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that the Lord Jesus is truly and fully present in the Eucharist.
The Eucharist with its many dimensions brings us to Calvary where we enter into Christ's Passion, are touched by it, and united to the Sacrifice of the Cross...
When the Eucharist is celebrated as a sacrifice ... each person who participates is invited to offer his or her life in, along with and through Jesus. One's life involves all the struggles, hurts, needs, feelings and emotions that make up life. It is not simply the virtues, gifts and blessings that we offer, but our basic humanity in all its frailty. That is the part of us that is still unfinished and has its share of shadows and dark corners. We offer ourselves just as we are."
--from Forgiveness, by Fr Richard McAlear, OMI
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Bless me, Father
Grace: For a good confession
Scriptures: John 20:19-23; Mt 6:14-15; Lk 17:3-4
"There is no better medicine for the ills and wounds of the soul than frequent confession when it is made with a humble, sincere, and contrite heart. Jesus awaits us in this Sacrament of His merciful love, not only to cleanse our soul in His precious Blood, but also to strengthen it in this salutary bath, fortify it, and guard it against future attacks of temptation and evil. Confession applies to our soul all the merits of the Passion of Jesus, all the infinite value of His Blood; we shall always return from this Sacrament renewed, sanctified, and strengthened in good in the measure in which we have approached it with a contrite and humble heart." --taken from Divine Intimacy, p. 213.
"Few words have ever produced more joy in the world than the words of absolution...St Augustine affirms that the wonder they work is greater than the very creation of the world. How glad are we to receive these words when we go to the sacrament of forgiveness? How grateful are we? How often have we thanked God for having this sacrament close at hand? In our prayer today we can show Our Lord our gratitude for this great gift." --taken from In Conversation With God Vol. 2, p. 211.
Here are links to some aids to examine your conscience in preparation for receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Catholic Pages and EWTN
Scriptures: John 20:19-23; Mt 6:14-15; Lk 17:3-4
"There is no better medicine for the ills and wounds of the soul than frequent confession when it is made with a humble, sincere, and contrite heart. Jesus awaits us in this Sacrament of His merciful love, not only to cleanse our soul in His precious Blood, but also to strengthen it in this salutary bath, fortify it, and guard it against future attacks of temptation and evil. Confession applies to our soul all the merits of the Passion of Jesus, all the infinite value of His Blood; we shall always return from this Sacrament renewed, sanctified, and strengthened in good in the measure in which we have approached it with a contrite and humble heart." --taken from Divine Intimacy, p. 213.
"Few words have ever produced more joy in the world than the words of absolution...St Augustine affirms that the wonder they work is greater than the very creation of the world. How glad are we to receive these words when we go to the sacrament of forgiveness? How grateful are we? How often have we thanked God for having this sacrament close at hand? In our prayer today we can show Our Lord our gratitude for this great gift." --taken from In Conversation With God Vol. 2, p. 211.
Here are links to some aids to examine your conscience in preparation for receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Catholic Pages and EWTN
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Suffering
Grace: To suffer with dignity in silence
Scriptures: Is 53:11-12; James 1:2-5; John 12:23-26
"At the end of Lent, I was thinking about how important it is to know how to live the painful moments, the suffering, being cast aside, loneliness, moments of failure, disappointment, and unfaithfulness...Sometimes the Lord wants us to participate in human suffering. We must mature in this capacity to suffer and at the same time offer it to Jesus. To do this, it is necessary to speak to Him, to cry out to God about our suffiering, kneeling with our eyes fixed on the crucifix. We must form this way of thinking so that, in the moment of the Cross, we do not walk around complaining, trying to excape it, and wasting this precious moment in which Jesus is sharing the Cross with us and giving us a small part of His pain. Pain is a part of human life. Do not avoid it, minimize its significance, or talk about it in such a trivial way!"
"...Jesus invites us to look at him , to ask Him for faith and love, so that our heart will not lose hope, and after the darkness of Good Friday, we will know how to capture in our own lives the radiant light of Easter morning! The risen Jesus is our true hope, because in Him pain and death are defeated often!"
--Mother Elvira Petozzi, quoted in Magnifcat, March 2011, p. 321.
Scriptures: Is 53:11-12; James 1:2-5; John 12:23-26
"At the end of Lent, I was thinking about how important it is to know how to live the painful moments, the suffering, being cast aside, loneliness, moments of failure, disappointment, and unfaithfulness...Sometimes the Lord wants us to participate in human suffering. We must mature in this capacity to suffer and at the same time offer it to Jesus. To do this, it is necessary to speak to Him, to cry out to God about our suffiering, kneeling with our eyes fixed on the crucifix. We must form this way of thinking so that, in the moment of the Cross, we do not walk around complaining, trying to excape it, and wasting this precious moment in which Jesus is sharing the Cross with us and giving us a small part of His pain. Pain is a part of human life. Do not avoid it, minimize its significance, or talk about it in such a trivial way!"
"...Jesus invites us to look at him , to ask Him for faith and love, so that our heart will not lose hope, and after the darkness of Good Friday, we will know how to capture in our own lives the radiant light of Easter morning! The risen Jesus is our true hope, because in Him pain and death are defeated often!"
--Mother Elvira Petozzi, quoted in Magnifcat, March 2011, p. 321.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Testings
Grace: To love
SS: Luke 6:35 & 36
"Take neither great nor little notice of who is with you or against you, and try always to please God. Ask Him that His Will be done in you. Love Him intensely, as He deserves to be loved."
"Have a great love for those who contradict and fail to love you, for in this way love is begotten in a heart that has no love. God so acts with us."
"When something distasteful or unpleasant comes your way, remember Christ crucified and be silent."
Taken from The Way of the Cross with the Carmelites Saints by Sister Joseph Marie, CHT
SS: Luke 6:35 & 36
"Take neither great nor little notice of who is with you or against you, and try always to please God. Ask Him that His Will be done in you. Love Him intensely, as He deserves to be loved."
"Have a great love for those who contradict and fail to love you, for in this way love is begotten in a heart that has no love. God so acts with us."
"When something distasteful or unpleasant comes your way, remember Christ crucified and be silent."
Taken from The Way of the Cross with the Carmelites Saints by Sister Joseph Marie, CHT
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Making a Good Confession
Grace: To set things right
SS: Isaiah 1:16-20; Phil 2:3 & 4; 1 Pt 3:13-17
Our confession should be concise, concrete, clear and complete. The use of too many words frequently denotes a desire, whether conscious or not, to flee from direct and full sincerety. So as not to fall into this, we need to make a good examination of conscience.
Concise: Confession with few words, just the words that are needed to say humbly what we have done or have failed to do, without any unnecessary elaboration or adornment.
Concrete: Confession without digression, without generalities. The penitent will suitably indicate his situation, and also the time that has elapsed since his last Confession and the difficulties he finds leading the Christian life. Declares his sins and the surrounding circumstances that have a bearing on this fault so that the confessor can judge, absolve and heal.
Clear: A Confession where we make ourselves understood, declaring the precise nature of the fault, manifesting our wretchedness the necessary modesty and delicacy.
Complete: Integral Confession, without leaving anything out through a false sense of shame so as not to appear bad in the confessor's eyes.
Let us examine whether, each time we prepare outselves to receive this sacrament, we make sure what we are going to say to the confessor has the characteristics just described.
Taken from In Conversation with God by Francis Fernandez. Vol 2, pgs 46 & 47
SS: Isaiah 1:16-20; Phil 2:3 & 4; 1 Pt 3:13-17
Our confession should be concise, concrete, clear and complete. The use of too many words frequently denotes a desire, whether conscious or not, to flee from direct and full sincerety. So as not to fall into this, we need to make a good examination of conscience.
Concise: Confession with few words, just the words that are needed to say humbly what we have done or have failed to do, without any unnecessary elaboration or adornment.
Concrete: Confession without digression, without generalities. The penitent will suitably indicate his situation, and also the time that has elapsed since his last Confession and the difficulties he finds leading the Christian life. Declares his sins and the surrounding circumstances that have a bearing on this fault so that the confessor can judge, absolve and heal.
Clear: A Confession where we make ourselves understood, declaring the precise nature of the fault, manifesting our wretchedness the necessary modesty and delicacy.
Complete: Integral Confession, without leaving anything out through a false sense of shame so as not to appear bad in the confessor's eyes.
Let us examine whether, each time we prepare outselves to receive this sacrament, we make sure what we are going to say to the confessor has the characteristics just described.
Taken from In Conversation with God by Francis Fernandez. Vol 2, pgs 46 & 47
Sunday, March 20, 2011
The Power of the Cross of Christ
Grace: To bear with one another
Scriptures: Gal 6:1-10; Ephesians 4:31 & 32; Luke 14: 25-33.
"'Bear one another's burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of
Christ' (Gal 6:2). Just as Christ bears our burdens, so also are we to bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters. The law of Christ which must be fulfilled is the bearing of the cross. The burden of my brother or sister that I am to bear is not only that person's external fate, that person's character and personality, but it is in a very real sense that person's sin. I cannot bear it except by forgiving it, in the power of the cross of Christ in which I, too, have a portion. Hence Jesus' call to bear the cross places every disciple into the community of the forgiveness of sins. The forgiveness of sins is implied in the sufferings of Christ commanded to the disciples; it is imposed on all Christians." --from *Meditations on the Cross*, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (p.16)
Scriptures: Gal 6:1-10; Ephesians 4:31 & 32; Luke 14: 25-33.
"'Bear one another's burdens and in this way you will fulfill the law of
Christ' (Gal 6:2). Just as Christ bears our burdens, so also are we to bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters. The law of Christ which must be fulfilled is the bearing of the cross. The burden of my brother or sister that I am to bear is not only that person's external fate, that person's character and personality, but it is in a very real sense that person's sin. I cannot bear it except by forgiving it, in the power of the cross of Christ in which I, too, have a portion. Hence Jesus' call to bear the cross places every disciple into the community of the forgiveness of sins. The forgiveness of sins is implied in the sufferings of Christ commanded to the disciples; it is imposed on all Christians." --from *Meditations on the Cross*, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (p.16)
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