MOUNT CARMEL

St. Elijah, First Prolifer

2012-01-20T09:04:00.001-05:00

Some things don't change even with the passage of time. During the time of Elijah, human sacrifice was in vogue. Baal was a fertility god and sacrificing human lives went with the worship of this popular god. The Romans were no different. During Roman times, unwanted babies were taken outside the city walls and were left to die. Centuries later, we are no better. The following is an excerpt from the Book of 2 Kings:

"So Ahab summoned all the Israelites and the prophets of Baal to meet at Mount Carmel. Elijah went up to the people and said, "How much longer will it take you to make up your minds? If the LORD is God, worship him; but if Baal is God, worship him!" But the people didn't say a word. Then Elijah said, "I am the only prophet of the LORD still left, but there are 450 prophets of Baal. Bring two bulls; let the prophets of Baal take one, kill it, cut it in pieces, and put it on the wood--but don't light the fire. I will do the same with the other bull. Then let the prophets of Baal pray to their god, and I will pray to the LORD, and the god who answers by sending fire--he is God." The people shouted their approval. Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal. "Since there are so many of you, you take a bull and prepare it first. Pray to your god, but don't set fire to the wood." They took the bull that was brought to them, prepared it, and prayed to Baal until noon. They shouted. "Answer us. Baal!" and kept dancing around the altar they had built. But no answer came. At noon Elijah started making fun of them; "Pray louder! He is a god! Maybe he is day-dreaming or relieving himself, or perhaps he's gone off on a trip! Or maybe he's sleeping, and you've got to wake him up!" So the prophets prayed louder and cut themselves with knives and daggers, according to their ritual, until blood flowed. They kept on ranting and raving until the middle of the afternoon; but no answer came, not sound was heard. Then Elijah said to the people, "Come closer to me." and they all gathered around him. He set about repairing the altar of the LORD which had been torn down. He took twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes named for the sons of Jacob, the man to whom the LORD had given the name Israel With these stones he rebuilt the altar for the worship of the LORD. He dug a trench around it, large enough to hold about four gallons of water. Then he placed the wood on the altar, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood. He said, "Fill four jars with water and pour it on the offering and the wood." They did so, and the said, "Do it again"--and they did. "Do it once more," he said--and they did. The water ran down around the altar and filled the trench. At the hour of the afternoon sacrifice the prophet Elijah approached the altar and prayed, "O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove now that you are the God of Israel. and that I am your servant and have done all this at your command. Answer me, LORD, answer me, so that this people will know that you, the LORD, are God and that you are bringing them back to yourself. The LORD sent fire down, and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones, scorched the earth and dried up the water in the trench. When the people saw this, they threw themselves on the ground and exclaimed. "The LORD is God; the LORD alone is God!"

The Cause for Life requires courageous men and women who will once again voice the most critical question of our times: "How long shall we straddle the issue?"

Which Prolifer Are You?

2012-01-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

photo: Lifenews.com

Just below was an article I posted a couple of years ago on 4marks, a social networking site for Catholics. It generated long (and some angry) discussions. Some thought that I was critical of people's motives and they replied justifying their reasons for joining the cause. Some were grateful because they felt the article led them to examine their consciences and their motives and came out of the process stronger and more focused. My intention was simple and non-malicious. I merely wanted to pose questions inspired by comments I hear everyday from people on both sides of the aisle. With the anniversary of Roe v. Wade coming up on 22nd of January, I decided to re-post it and challenge the readers once again. I don't exclude myself from this examination. Like some people, my motives for doing the things I do, are not always pure. I do want to quickly say that it would be naive and misleading to say that we only act when we're sure our motives are pure. That would be paralyzing! We are fallen creatures and we often don't start off right. I remember an incident in St. Teresa of Avila's autobiography where she stated the reason for her entering the convent. It wasn't because she loved God enough to turn her back on the world, but it was because she feared going to hell! It wasn't such a bad motive but she was motivated more by fear than by love, and Teresa herself was her own greatest critic. And as in any Christian spirituality, the heart of the Carmelite spirituality is love, and St. Teresa was a true daughter of Carmel, and she would look upon this desire as imperfect. But look what God did with her imperfect desire? It was purified and now she's a Doctor of the Church and a Teacher on prayer par excellence. And so it is with us. It doesn't hurt us either to once in a while engage in self-examination so that we would grow spiritually and be more effective ambassadors for the cause of such importance.

"The Cause for Life is a noble and godly cause. It is a crusade against the power of darkness and the shadow of death. I admire people who are so committed to the sanctity of life. Their commitment takes them to places they probably did not dream of going and met people they did not dream meeting or did things they never dreamed doing. For many, it has become the main purpose of their existence, a vocation, and reason for being here on earth. But how do you separate the wheat from the chaff? The sheep from goats? When does the Prolife Movement become for some, just another wagon to jump into, just another cause to rally, just another issue to scream about? Some people may just be there because they enjoy the fight and confrontations? Are they naturally argumentative and opinionated that the pro-life debates are just another way of exercising their war muscles? Or is a deeper motivation really present, a pure, unadulterated desire to correct the wrong done, promote justice for all and reclaim the right that belongs solely to God?"

My Star Shines Everyday

2012-01-07T16:41:00.000-05:00

The Feast of Epiphany is sometimes called "little Christmas." The word "Epiphany" means "manifestation." The liturgy readings narrate the revelation of the Christ-Child to the world of the gentiles in the form of a star. The Christmas Season captures the two forms of one reality- God came to earth to be with His people. The first form of this manifestation was on Christmas day when "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" (Prologue of St. John). The Word assumed a human nature and became like us. God the Father manifested Himself to us through the Son, Jesus. This is the first manifestation. Then on the feast of Epiphany, God manifested Himself again, not in the silence of the night in some hidden cave in Bethlehem, but to the world, through the persons of the Magi, and in them, to the Gentiles. This is the second manifestation.

One can draw many hidden meanings on this feast we celebrate. As I listen to the readings, many thoughts come to mind. First, the reality of the star. I think of the star as a symbol of Faith. Faith, according to St. Paul, is the certainty of things unseen. It is the engine that drives our relationship with God. 'Without faith, it is impossible to approach God," St. Paul says. Just like the star which the Magi saw, this faith can sometimes lead us to places we have not imagined, experience things we do not understand, and see things we have never imagined. This faith, just like the star, can bring us to a place hidden - a place of poverty, wonder and surprises, like a cave in Bethlehem. Living in faith can take us to a deeper awareness of our own spiritual poverty, helplessness, and total dependence on God. It forces us to take leaps of faith, courage in darkness, and perseverance in the midst of doubts and confusion. Our 'epiphany" happens everyday. Our star is always shining. God is always manifested in our daily experiences. Do we have the understanding of the Magi? Do we have the courage to follow a star that seems to lead us to a place, but a place unknown, and hidden? This is a question only we can answer. 'Where is the newborn King of the Jews?" the Magi asked. 'Where is God in our life?" Where is God in MY life? Isn't this the unspoken question we ask ourselves? And even if we know where to find Him, and what we need to do to find Him, do we find the courage to do so?

You and I know that once God enters, our lives are changed. We may not always remain in that initial surge of spiritual fervor, but we can not say we are the same man and woman. Just like the Magi, who after finding the Child, returned to their own countries by another way. Encounter with God always entail change. This can be an unsettling experience because we are used to the familiar and comfortable, but life in God constantly calls for moving forward. We know by experience how one step forward equals two steps back, but we continue to live in faith, hope and charity. I love these words of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity when describing the life of faith: "It no longer rests in inclination and feelings; it matters little to the soul whether it feels God or not, whether He sends it joy or suffering; it believes in His love." One believes that everything is grace.

This feast of the Epiphany calls you and me to a deep realization of our individual "star.' It is calling you and me to gaze at it with the understanding that it is telling us something. This star shines everyday. It challenges us to venture out into the unknown, beyond the familiar and the comfortable. It recalls for us the experiences of those who followed the same shining light in the skies. Did you ever wonder why only the Magi seemed to have understood what the significance of this star was? If you think that the whole land of Israel was waiting for this revelation to occur, and yet, only the Magi saw it when it was finally revealed? Maybe because they were vigilant. Maybe because they made it their business to study it, and analyze it, and contemplate it. If I don't endeavor to prayerfully look at the events of my life and see the hand of God in it, I too, will most probably see without understanding, go through life without having to experience God's daily manifestations. That would be sad because in God alone do we find rest.

Saint Peter Thomas

2012-01-04T22:09:00.000-05:00

Feast Day: January 8th

The Carmelite Order celebrates the feast of St. Peter Thomas on the 8th of January. St. Peter is probably known only in the Order. He had a most significant contribution within the Order and lived an illustrious role in Carmel:

"Born about 1305 in southern Perigord in France, Peter Thomas entered the Carmelites when he was twenty-one. He was chosen by the Order as its procurator general to the Papal Court at Avignon in 1345. After being made bishop of Patti and Lipari in 1354, he was entrusted with many Papal missions to promote peace and unity with the Eastern Churches. He was translated to the see of Corone in the Peloponnesus in 1359 and made Papal Legate for the East. In 1363 he was appointed Archbishop of Crete and in 1364 Latin Patriarch of Constantinople. He won a reputation as an apostle of church unity before he died at Famagosta on Cyprus in 1366."

Prayer:
Lord, you inspired in your bishop St Peter Thomas an intense desire to promote peace and Christian unity.
Following his example may we live steadfast in the faith and work perseveringly for peace. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
(Carmelite Liturgy of the Hours)

MARY, MOTHER OF GOD, MOTHER OF MINE

2011-12-31T11:29:00.000-05:00

January 1st is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Of all the titles of Mary, her motherhood is the title I like best. I love to collect photos of Mary showing her with the Child Jesus. There is something in that mystery that draws me. Of course, it gives me much delight to know that I was also born on the feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome - August 5th. The Basilica is the largest basilica in the West dedicated to the Mother of God. It was erected, as the story goes, at the site where Our Lady of the Snows appeared.

A great heresy in the Church, promulgated by Bishop Nestorius, claimed that Mary was not the Mother of God, but the mother of the man, Jesus. He proposed that Mary could not have born God since he is God, but bore only the man. In saying this, he was actually denying the divinity of Jesus. This heresy was put to rest in 431 at the Council of Ephesus when the Greek Fathers of the Church, headed by St. Cyril of Alexandria, defined the maternity of Mary. It was on this Council that the title of "Theotokos" or "God-Bearer",was first used.

It is interesting to note that Mary's motherhood is presented to us by the Church calendar at the beginning of the year. This maternal role actually began at the Annunciation when Mary agreed to be the Mother of the Son of God. But because the Church wants to put the spotlight on the person of Jesus, the Emmanuel, Mary sort of faded into the background. Now that the climax of Christmas is somewhat over, Mary is again brought back on stage. It is also fitting, I think, to celebrate this feast at the opening of a new year because it brings to mind the reality that Mary is the dawn and Christ the Rising Sun. She is the one that leads us to God. She opens the way so that we can follow the path of true discipleship. The document "Lumen Gentium" says that Mary is the first of Christ's faithful disciples.

It is unfortunate that this motherhood of Mary is rejected by many, Protestants and Catholics alike. By Protestants, because of a misunderstanding and fear that she will take away from Jesus the honor and worship that he solely deserves. By Catholics, because they have reduced Mary solely as an object of empty and silly devotions, the heroine of mythic proportion. Saint Therese of Lisieux one day complained about the manner in which priests of her days talked about Mary in their homilies. "They talk of her imagined life, not her real life. Why can't they talk about how she doubted like us, that she suffered like us." (paraphrased)

Of all the insights about Mary, one I ponder the most, is our late Pope John Paul II's words in his encyclical Redemptoris Mater that Mary is blessed BECAUSE SHE BELIEVED. It was her faith alone that we can all strive to imitate. Her other attributes of the Immaculate Conception and Divine Motherhood are attributes that will never be ours. But her faith, her trust and surrender, are virtues we can all imitate. Woman of Faith.. Mother of God... Mother of Mine.

The Holy Family

2011-12-30T13:06:00.000-05:00

Today is the feast of the Holy Family. It is a celebration of the dignity of that age-old institution we call the human family. It is a celebration of life, of relationships, and of the bond which make us individually unique and with our own sense of identity and history. Every family, that unit of human relations and origins, derives its source from God. We are born into a family and whether we like it or not, we are tied to this family for life until death. Blessed John Paul II called the family the “sanctuary of life.” It is in the family that life starts in all its aspects. It is a miniature form of society where you have hierarchical roles to establish order. There is no equality in a society as far as roles and responsibilities go. Not everyone can be presidents, mayors, governors, etc. Specific responsibilities are assumed by people appointed to the position either by due process of law or by Divine Providence. Each has a role to play and responsibilities to assume. In a family everyone assumes a place. Not all can be mothers, fathers or children as far as the physical reality goes. Special circumstances can sometimes demand that one assumes different roles and we must admit the stress this creates and the confusion it can sometimes entails. We are individual members of a body. The Book of Sirach talks about an exhortation for each member of the family. It carries a promise of a long life and abundant blessings. Love is the engine which must be at the heart of each family. It is the love St. Paul talks about, a love which sacrifices, forgives, bears with limitations, respects and believes in the other. We cannot have a dialogue in our families if it is not first of all inspired by a true love for each other. Dialogues not motivated by a true desire to listen and understand will just be an excuse to vent out problems, assign blame on someone and end up in even more frustrations. Taking the time is just the beginning. The real test is our ability and willingness to listen. We can use an abundance of words without really engaging in real communication. Often times paying more attention to what is not said in words could take us more into the heart of the matter. This is why St. Paul explains that we need the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit’s gifts are not just to be received but are exercised so that they can develop in us. The art of listening is an acquired gift. The Holy Family invites us to celebrate life . To celebrate life can mean upholding values which promote beauty, joy, openness, growth, appreciating the gift of each other, unity, loyalty and the like. Parents complain about the present generation without so much as acknowledging that the present generation is being short-changed. There is a cause and effect in everything. Money cannot replace what parents can give their children. It is not giving to our children what they want but what they need. If they cannot find what they need at home, they will seek for them somewhere else. The West is affluent in everything material but we are the most impoverished in relationships. Mother Teresa stated that we suffer from a different poverty here, the poverty of true love and self-sacrificing relationships. The Holy Family was materially poor but it was rich in love for God and each other. It was a family which lived in total trust in God. Joseph and Mary lived in faith, not understanding the works of God, but allowed themselves to be used by His Providence and in the end became the ideal home for the Child Jesus. Does it mean that the holiness of the Holy Family came to be because they were always happy, always provided for, always sure of what the future was? You and I know that this was not so. Holiness is conformity to the Will of God in whatever shape or form it manifests itself. It is seeing God’s hand in everything which happens to us. It is the “fiat” of Mary, the acceptance of Joseph, the subjection of Jesus to authority. These are all virtues which can be imitated, albeit with difficulty sometimes, but all possible with the help of God. The family is a holy institution. In the mind of God it is to be the sanctuary of life. Marriage is the bond which keeps it together. It is a bond which unites a man and woman together before God. But this bond is not magical, it needs to be worked at, it needs nurturing, it needs to be kept alive by mutual sacrifices and self- forgetfulness. Family life is the stage where the drama of human existence unfolds. It is the stage where stories of pain, sufferings, infidelities, betrayals, unhappiness, can unfold. Let’s face it, there were times we wished we were born into a different family! But it is also a stage where the grace of God can manifest itself if we are open to it and open to the sacrifices the solutions to problems entail. I am also thinking here of religious family where I belong. Saint Teresa of Avila had no patience with those who complained about the state of their religious Orders. Instead of complaining, she exhorted to do something about it. It is the same with our own human family. We have to find solutions to human problems, not just complain about them. And if they cannot be fixed, we must have the faith to trust that God knows what he is doing.

Christmas Message from Pope Benedict

2011-12-25T09:37:00.000-05:00

Dear Brothers and Sisters!
The reading from Saint Paul’s Letter to Titus that we have just heard begins solemnly with the word “apparuit”, which then comes back again in the reading at the Dawn Mass: apparuit – “there has appeared”. This is a programmatic word, by which the Church seeks to express synthetically the essence of Christmas. Formerly, people had spoken of God and formed human images of him in all sorts of different ways. God himself had spoken in many and various ways to mankind (cf. Heb 1:1 – Mass during the Day). But now something new has happened: he has appeared. He has revealed himself. He has emerged from the inaccessible light in which he dwells. He himself has come into our midst. This was the great joy of Christmas for the early Church: God has appeared. No longer is he merely an idea, no longer do we have to form a picture of him on the basis of mere words. He has “appeared”. But now we ask: how has he appeared? Who is he in reality? The reading at the Dawn Mass goes on to say: “the kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed” (Tit 3:4). For the people of pre-Christian times, whose response to the terrors and contradictions of the world was to fear that God himself might not be good either, that he too might well be cruel and arbitrary, this was a real “epiphany”, the great light that has appeared to us: God is pure goodness. Today too, people who are no longer able to recognize God through faith are asking whether the ultimate power that underpins and sustains the world is truly good, or whether evil is just as powerful and primordial as the good and the beautiful which we encounter in radiant moments in our world. “The kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed”: this is the new, consoling certainty that is granted to us at Christmas.

In all three Christmas Masses, the liturgy quotes a passage from the Prophet Isaiah, which describes the epiphany that took place at Christmas in greater detail: “A child is born for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name they give him: Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace. Wide is his dominion in a peace that has no end” (Is 9:5f.). Whether the prophet had a particular child in mind, born during his own period of history, we do not know. But it seems impossible. This is the only text in the Old Testament in which it is said of a child, of a human being: his name will be Mighty-God, Eternal-Father. We are presented with a vision that extends far beyond the historical moment into the mysterious, into the future. A child, in all its weakness, is Mighty God. A child, in all its neediness and dependence, is Eternal Father. And his peace “has no end”. The prophet had previously described the child as “a great light” and had said of the peace he would usher in that the rod of the oppressor, the footgear of battle, every cloak rolled in blood would be burned (Is 9:1, 3-4).

God has appeared – as a child. It is in this guise that he pits himself against all violence and brings a message that is peace. At this hour, when the world is continually threatened by violence in so many places and in so many different ways, when over and over again there are oppressors’ rods and bloodstained cloaks, we cry out to the Lord: O mighty God, you have appeared as a child and you have revealed yourself to us as the One who loves us, the One through whom love will triumph. And you have shown us that we must be peacemakers with you. We love your childish estate, your powerlessness, but we suffer from the continuing presence of violence in the world, and so we also ask you: manifest your power, O God. In this time of ours, in this world of ours, cause the oppressors’ rods, the cloaks rolled in blood and the footgear of battle to be burned, so that your peace may triumph in this world of ours. Christmas is an epiphany – the appearing of God and of his great light in a child that is born for us. Born in a stable in Bethlehem, not in the palaces of kings. In 1223, when Saint Francis of Assisi celebrated Christmas in Greccio with an ox and an ass and a manger full of hay, a new dimension of the mystery of Christmas came to light. Saint Francis of Assisi called Christmas “the feast of feasts” – above all other feasts – and he celebrated it with “unutterable devotion” (2 Celano 199; Fonti Francescane, 787). He kissed images of the Christ-child with great devotion and he stammered tender words such as children say, so Thomas of Celano tells us (ibid.). For the early Church, the feast of feasts was Easter: in the Resurrection Christ had flung open the doors of death and in so doing had radically changed the world: he had made a place for man in God himself. Now, Francis neither changed nor intended to change this objective order of precedence among the feasts, the inner structure of the faith centred on the Paschal Mystery. And yet through him and the character of his faith, something new took place: Francis discovered Jesus’ humanity in an entirely new depth. This human existence of God became most visible to him at the moment when God’s Son, born of the Virgin Mary, was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. The Resurrection presupposes the Incarnation. For God’s Son to take the form of a child, a truly human child, made a profound impression on the heart of the Saint of Assisi, transforming faith into love. “The kindness and love of God our Saviour for mankind were revealed” – this phrase of Saint Paul now acquired an entirely new depth. In the child born in the stable at Bethlehem, we can as it were touch and caress God. And so the liturgical year acquired a second focus in a feast that is above all a feast of the heart. This has nothing to do with sentimentality. It is right here, in this new experience of the reality of Jesus’ humanity that the great mystery of faith is revealed. Francis loved the child Jesus, because for him it was in this childish estate that God’s humility shone forth. God became poor. His Son was born in the poverty of the stable. In the child Jesus, God made himself dependent, in need of human love, he put himself in the position of asking for human love – our love.

Today Christmas has become a commercial celebration, whose bright lights hide the mystery of God’s humility, which in turn calls us to humility and simplicity. Let us ask the Lord to help us see through the superficial glitter of this season, and to discover behind it the child in the stable in Bethlehem, so as to find true joy and true light. Francis arranged for Mass to be celebrated on the manger that stood between the ox and the ass (cf. 1 Celano 85; Fonti 469). Later, an altar was built over this manger, so that where animals had once fed on hay, men could now receive the flesh of the spotless lamb Jesus Christ, for the salvation of soul and body, as Thomas of Celano tells us (cf. 1 Celano 87; Fonti 471). Francis himself, as a deacon, had sung the Christmas Gospel on the holy night in Greccio with resounding voice. Through the friars’ radiant Christmas singing, the whole celebration seemed to be a great outburst of joy (1 Celano 85.86; Fonti 469, 470). It was the encounter with God’s humility that caused this joy – his goodness creates the true feast. Today, anyone wishing to enter the Church of Jesus’ Nativity in Bethlehem will find that the doorway five and a half metres high, through which emperors and caliphs used to enter the building, is now largely walled up. Only a low opening of one and a half metres has remained. The intention was probably to provide the church with better protection from attack, but above all to prevent people from entering God’s house on horseback. Anyone wishing to enter the place of Jesus’ birth has to bend down. It seems to me that a deeper truth is revealed here, which should touch our hearts on this holy night: if we want to find the God who appeared as a child, then we must dismount from the high horse of our “enlightened” reason. We must set aside our false certainties, our intellectual pride, which prevents us from recognizing God’s closeness. We must follow the interior path of Saint Francis – the path leading to that ultimate outward and inward simplicity which enables the heart to see. We must bend down, spiritually we must as it were go on foot, in order to pass through the portal of faith and encounter the God who is so different from our prejudices and opinions – the God who conceals himself in the humility of a newborn baby. In this spirit let us celebrate the liturgy of the holy night, let us strip away our fixation on what is material, on what can be measured and grasped. Let us allow ourselves to be made simple by the God who reveals himself to the simple of heart. And let us also pray especially at this hour for all who have to celebrate Christmas in poverty, in suffering, as migrants, that a ray of God’s kindness may shine upon them, that they – and we – may be touched by the kindness that God chose to bring into the world through the birth of his Son in a stable. Amen.

Christmas Reflection

2011-12-20T21:48:00.002-05:00

Christmas is my favorite liturgical season. The joy of anticipation and the joy of realization, when the Child Jesus is finally in our midst, creates a feeling of both wonder and nostalgia. I realize the fact that Christmas can mean different things to different people. For our elderly residents living in the Home, it is a moment of loneliness and pain. The loss of physical independence and the loss of family and friends, both because of distance and death, can bring about feelings of depression. For most people, Christmas can also mean work, lots of head-spinning work. Either because of unavoidable circumstances, such as one's means of livelihood, or one's duties and obligations, or either one's vocation or state in life, Christmas can mean a string of customers to be entertained, employees to be thanked, and friends to show love and gratitude to. But despite all these, when the dust finally settles, when the last box of gifts is wrapped, and the soul finally gets itself down to adore and listen to church-bells ringing, the full reality of the hustle and bustle, is brought home to consciousness- it is Christmas, a Child is born, Jesus.

Then our hearts begin to quicken and our eyes open to the awesome gift given to us. We begin to have an understanding, limited as it may be, of the wonder and miracle of love. Love is the fuel that keeps Christmas burning. It is the love of God from the very beginning of time, the love of the Son who came to fulfill the Father's wish, the love of Mary who accepted the call to be the vessel of the Incarnate, and the love that burns in our hearts for those we hold dear. That is why we endure the discomforts of work and toil, that is why we forgive and forget wrongs done to us, why we patch up tattered relationships - all because we love. The love shown us by the Father and Love made Incarnate, is the same flame of love that burns in our sinful hearts. Imperfect as this love may be, tainted as it may seem, we share in the Divine Sonship.

As I behold in love and muted wonder at the crib in my cell a few days before Christmas, my heart expands at the thought that this Child, celebrated by Kings, Popes, Saints, and all people alike, came just for me. Here in my cell, He and I alone, exchange intimacies of the heart, hidden from all others. At the sight of Him lying in this crib of hay, the wonderful Pandora box of promises is opened - Peace, Surrender, Sacrifice, Joy, humility, new beginning, eternal happiness- all promises of a New Year. Whatever was in our life's slate this past 2011, the promise of 2012 opens wide. Yes, the darkness has now passed, the rays of dawn had cast its full light, the Morning Star of our lives, has finally come. Oh what joy! What gift! The whole world is grateful! In the inner recesses of our hearts- we are speechless. We can only accept it with loving disbelief.

Lord Jesus, as you have given us much, grant us the joy of giving you something this Christmas and all the days of our lives. Bring to fruition all the good desires you have inspired in us. Just as you gave yourself for us because of your inestimable love, help us to extend ourselves to love others more. Just as you were Gift to us, undeserving as we are, let us be gifts for others, undeserving we may think them to be. As the New Year opens wide its door upon us, let us enter in confidently, hopefully and joyfully, with full expectations, realizing that we can always begin again. Help us to hold on to the joys and graces of these days. Imperfect as we are, you know that we love You and desire only to follow You, all the days of our lives. "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life!"

DEVOTION TO THE INFANT JESUS

2011-12-17T19:22:00.000-05:00

Devotion to the Infancy of Jesus has been cultivated in the Order of Carmel and gained more prominence since St. Teresa of Avila established the Reform. There is a story in the Order of Teresa having a vision of the Child Jesus. She met a little boy in the cloister and the boy asked her: "Who are you?" Teresa answered, "I am Teresa of Jesus." And she in turn asked him, "And who are you?" The child answered, "I am Jesus of Teresa."
Devotion to the Infant of Prague began in the Monastery of the Discalced Carmelite Fathers of Prague about the year 1628. The religious of the monastery received the gift of the statue from Princess Polixena. In the year 1631, when Prague fell to the hands of the enemies of the Church, the Holy Infant was thrown into a heap of garbage only to be found by Fr. Cyril The image had broken hands. One day, the image spoke to Fr. Cyril with these words: "Have pity on Me and I will have pity on you; restore My hands and I will give you peace; the more you honor Me, the more I will bless you."

St. Therese took her religious name in honor of the Child Jesus and made it her mission the Spiritual Childhood.

The Chaplet of the Infant Jesus can be recited as a form of devotion to the Little King. It is available in any religious store.

The Method of praying the Chaplet:
Invocation recited on the Medal:

"Divine Infant Jesus, I adore thy Cross, and I accept all crosses thou will be pleased to send me. Adorable Trinity, I offer thee, for the glory of the Holy Name of God, all the adoration of the Sacred Heart of the Holy Infant Jesus."

On each of the three following beads is said:
"And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" and the "Hail Mary" in honor of the 12 years of Our Lord's Infancy.

Then the Glory Be and the invocation "Holy Infant Jesus, bless and protect us."

__________________

Advent: The Sleeper's Wake

2011-12-16T19:05:00.000-05:00

Advent, Mary and Woman

2011-12-16T18:48:00.002-05:00

Advent is a time of expectant longings. The prophet Isaiah expresses it beautifully when he says: “ Return for the sake of your servants!” or “ No ear has ever heard, no eye has ever seen, any God but you, doing such deeds for those who wait for him.” There is an air of impatience, of calling out with insistence that God would come back. During Advent, man finds expression of this longing in the way we celebrate this season. We remember those we love, we buy and give gifts, mend broken relationships and ponder the state of our inner life. God has planted that longing in our hearts. He created it in us so that like Isaiah, we may cry out in a loud voice the longing for a deeper kind of fulfillment.

The mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus is God’s response to this cry. It is as if leaving heaven, God assumed a body and entered time to satisfy this longing. It was an act inspired by love for the sake of those He loves. This is the greatest manifestation of God’s power but more so the greatest manifestation of Love.

Our longings are about to be answered in just another week before Christmas. But before we bask in the glory of the coming of the Lord, let us focus our attention on Mary, the woman of the hour. The story of Christmas is intimately linked to Mary. Her presence dominates the scene. The spotlight is on her as the drama of the Annunciation unfolds. What vigilance she practiced! What vigilant expectation! What anticipation she manifested as she waited for the realization of the words of the angel. What deep faith she had as she allowed the light of the event to illumine her response and her actions following her consent. She was focused to go beyond the trappings of this great event of revelation: the vision of the Angel, the words proclaiming her greatness, and focused on the reality of a life offered to her. As the story of the Incarnation progresses, we shall see how Mary recedes into the background to give way to the presence of the Child- her Child- the Emmanuel. In this instance, I seem to hear the echo of a voice- that of the Baptist- who said “He must increase, I must decrease.”

Isn’t this the story of every woman? And in particular of a woman with child? Isn’t this the ethos of woman, to conceive within her the reality of God and in due time, according to the degree of our cooperation, give birth to the Son of God in the realm of grace? Aren’t the qualities inherent in a woman- her nurturing instinct, her maternal solicitude, her intuition, her self-sacrificing ability for the sake of others- present precisely because of this reality? These qualities are never effaced whether one chooses a life of natural motherhood or single state of life as a lay person or as a consecrated woman.
The reality of spiritual motherhood is as real and deeper. A woman with child is reliving the mystery of God made Man. If we believe that we are temples of God, then we must agree that a woman pregnant with her child is pregnant “with God.” Can she like Mary, be vigilant so that the mystery does not pass her by? Can she look beyond the trappings of physical inconvenience, added responsibilities, added expense, added burden, and focus herself on the mystery being unfolded within her? Can she, like Mary, be joyful in the faith that tells her “she is blessed among women because she believes?” Believes in the power of LIFE? Believes in her dignity as a woman, a vessel of life? Can she, like Mary, sing in refrain the Baptist’s cry “He must increase” because the life within her is of God? And that she must decrease because she must forget herself with all her supposed needs?

The Season of Advent is a time of conceiving and giving birth. To conceive in faith desires that transcend ourselves and giving birth to them by the help of God’s grace thus transforming ourselves, our lives and those of others. We wait... Wait for what? For the Good News promised to us that God will come to be with us. As the Psalmist exclaims “God delights in his people!”

The Tree of Life

2011-12-15T11:43:00.000-05:00

Christkindl Church

Article taken from "The Blessings of Christmas"
pp 53 - 60
by Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)

A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to see the oldest surviving Christmas tree in the world, which forms a kind of reredos behind the high altar in the church at Christkindl near Steyr. The history of this tree takes us back to the year 1694. At that time, Steyr had a new sacristan and choirmaster who suffered from epilepsy, or, as the chronicle innocently puts it, "the sickness where one falls down." He came from Melk, where he had become acquainted with the devotion to the Child Jesus. He placed a picture of the Holy Family in the hollow of a medium-sized pine, and he found strength and consolation as he said his prayers before his picture. Then he heard of an image of the Christ Child that had healed a paralyzed nun, and after some time he succeeded in obtaining an exact copy, a waxen Christ Child holding a cross in one hand and the crown of thorns in the other.

He brought this image to the tree and said his prayers before it, sensing that a healing power radiated from the image. Gradually, people heard about this, and they began to make pilgrimages to the Christ Child in the tree. The Church authorities in Passau were slow to approve of this popular devotion, but the local people were finally given permission to erect a little church around this tree, and the foundation stone of the Christkindl church was laid in 1708. It was built by the most celebrated Austrian architects of the time, on the model of Santa Maria Rotonda in Rome. One might say that it has become a precious husk around the tree, out of which the altar and the tabernacle grow. The tree still bears the little waxen Christ child. He wears a crown, and rays go forth from the figure, giving an assurance of faith and hope to many people.

The story is more than just an interpretation of one of our loveliest Christmas customs: I have come to see it as key to the very heart of the mystery of Christmas itself. This tree is now the rediscovered tree of life from paradise; as an old German hymn says, "the cherub with his flaming sword no longer blocks the way." And this tree is Mary with the blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus. And Jesus is there as a child without weapons, issuing an invitation to us. He is "Immanuel", God as a child, a God to whom we may speak in intimate language. He invites us to Himself, and in a very deep sense, we are all suffering from "the sickness where one falls down." Again and again, we find ourselves unable interiorly to walk upright and to stand. Again and again, we fall down: we are not masters of our own lives; we are alienated; we are not free. The rotunda of the church building underline this. The circular octagon is the classical form of baptisteries, which in turn is linked to a very ancient tradition in religious history, namely, to the cave and to the circular building that hint at the maternal womb- at the mystery of birth. Thus, the building points once more to Mary, to the Church, and to our baptism and rebirth. The building explains to us what it means to affirm that God has become a child. It explains to us the meaning of Jesus' words to Nicodemus: "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (Jn 3:5). And another saying of Jesus belongs here too: "Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 18:3).

Karl Marx once said that a man is not independent as long as he owes his existence to the goodwill of someone else. As long as you are not autonomous, you are not free, you are dependent. This seems perfectly obvious! But if we look more closely, we discover that Marx's words declare love to be slavery. For love means that I need the other and that I need his goodwill.

This idea of freedom understands love as servitude; in other words, it presupposes the destruction of love. This makes it an attack on the truth of human existence, since this draws its life from love. And it is an attack on God, since man is God's image precisely by the fact that he needs love. For God, too, did not want to be "independent" of love: the Son exists only from the Father, and the Spirit exists only from the Father and the Son, and the Father exists only for the other two Persons. It is only in this mutual dependency, as the Triune Deity, that He is God. And this must be so, if God is love.

The Child Jesus points us to this primal truth of human existence. We must be born again. We must be accepted, and we must let ourselves be accepted. We must transform our dependency into love and become free therein. We must be born again, laying aside our pride and becoming a child. In the Child Jesus, we must recognize and receive the fruit of life. This is what Christmas is meant to bring about in us. This is the truth of the child, the truth of the fruit from the tree of life. The tree at Christkindl, which tells us all this, is at the same time a monstrance, the appearance of the One who is the bread of life, the appearance of salvation. And this tree is a cross, and thus has become an altar. The child bears the cross and the crown of thorns in his hands. These are the signs of the love that transforms the tree into a cross and the cross into a table of eternal life.

The true tree of life is not far from us, somewhere in a world that we have lost. It has been established in our midst, not only as an image and sign, but in reality. Jesus, who is himself the fruit of the tree of life, and life itself, has become so small that our hands can enclose him. He makes himself dependent upon us in order to make us free and to raise us up from our "sickness where we fall down." Let us not disappoint the trust he places in us. Let us place ourselves in his hands, just as he has placed himself in our hands!

December 14- Short VIdeo on St. John of the Cross

2011-12-13T19:28:00.000-05:00

Saint John of the Cross: Doctor of Love

2011-12-12T19:53:00.000-05:00

Doctor of Love

Feast Day: December 14th
Carmelite, Mystic, Doctor of the Church

The Carmelite Order celebrates the feast of Saint John of the Cross on December 14th. Saint John is first of my favorite male Saints, with St. Francis De Sales, as my second. Humanly speaking, his life is a story of poverty and sufferings but spiritually, it is a story of love between a creature and the Creator. To know Saint John we need to know some basic facts about him.

Juan de Yepes was born June 24, 1542 in Fontiveros, Spain. He had two brothers, Francisco and Luis. Luis died as a small child after his father's death. His father, Gonzalo De Yepes, belonged to a noble family of silk merchants. His mother, Catalina Alvarez, was an orphan girl who was raised by a local family and earned her living as a weaver. The two met when Gonzalo was on a business trip. Gonzalo fell in love with this attractive young woman and the two married "out of love" without the blessing of the Yepes family. Gonzalo was disinherited and the couple raised their family in hard work and financial straits but full of love and dedication. When Gonzalo died, Catalina was left to care for the boys. Life proved to be very difficult for her and the small family of three lived in abject poverty. Catalina assumed the heavy responsibility of feeding and raising her children. She was forced to move from place to place to look for a good paying job that would help her to meet even the bare necessities of life. This childhood experience of self-sacrificing love will form John and he will develop this subject and use it as a structure in his explanation of Divine love of God and a standard of what our own response to God's love should be. His sayings of: "where there is no love, put love and you will find love," "love is repaid by love alone," "in the evening of life you will be examined in love,"" When you experience something unpleasant, look at Jesus Crucified and be silent," are all sentiments formed by his own experience of self-emptying love.

Catalina was described as a very devout Christian woman who brought up her sons "with the greatest Christian spirit, and encouraged them to be devoted to the Mother of God." Years later, Saint John would recount a story of his childhood. He had fallen into a pond and a very beautiful lady appeared and stretched her hand to him in the motion of helping him. Young Juan refused to extend his hand to her because he did not want to get her dirty. A workman with a pole eventually fished him out of the pond and rescued him. Saint John often said that it was for this reason that he was very devoted and fond of Our Lady.The Shepherd Boy

We cannot speak of Saint John without mentioning Saint Teresa of Avila. The two met when St. John went back to Medina del Campo to celebrate his First Mass after ordination. He had entered the Carmelites but felt unhappy thinking he was called to a more austere life of the Carthusians. St. Teresa had founded a reformed Carmelite community of nuns in the same town and was beginning a process of finding men to join her reform for the friars. This was to be a providential meeting. They met and talked and St. John confided to her his plans. St. Teresa for her part convinced John to join her reform and assured him that whatever he was looking for with the Carthusians, he would find in the Reformed Carmel. John agreed provided that he did not have to wait long.

John and Teresa suffered much for the reform of Carmel. It resulted in St. John being held prisoner for 9 months in a Toledo cell by his fellow Carmelite brothers. True to the practice of the times, he received the beatings and penalty imposed on a "renegade " religious. He was in a solitary confinement, deprived of any kind of mental or physical activity, in the cold and dark prison cell with a very small window to allow a little bit of light to enter. When the time ordained by God came, he escaped and made his way to a monastery of Reformed Carmelite Nuns in Toledo. They barely recognized him for they found him emaciated, confused and looking barely alive.

St. John's experience in imprisonment brought with it a purification of the purest quality. It would bring out the sparkle already in the diamond that is St. John. It produced the most beautiful poetry Spain has ever had, the 'Spiritual Canticle." John of the Cross would serve the Discalced Order in a spiritual way. He is considered to be the co-founder of the Order along with Saint Teresa of Avila. He died in Ubeda December 14, 1591 from a blood poisoning originating from a gangrenous ulcerated leg sore. He was beatified by Pope Clement January 25, 1675. His canonization occurred 50 years later on December 27, 1726 by Pope Benedict XIII. He was declared a Doctor of the Universal Church by Pope Pius XI August 24, 1926.

Personally, I love Saint John because he is a true voice of Truth. He is dependable because he doesn't water down the demands of the Gospel. He points to what is true and necessary and does not mince words to soften the blow. He challenges but at the same time he comforts with his words of love and understanding. He demands but at the same time understands the frailty of human nature. He holds up an ideal but makes room for human weakness. He feeds us with the solid meat of the spiritual. He is austere but at the same time poetic and eloquent. He speaks of mortification and detachment but always in the context of loving. He reminds us that we are special and loved by God. He reminds that we have been bought by the blood and death of Jesus and that nothing - no suffering, no trial, no persecution- can ever make us repay what He did out of love. Except to love Him back.

Saint John wrote his major works of The Dark Night, Ascent of Mount Carmel, Spiritual Canticle and Living Flame of Love. He also wrote some prose, prayers and Counsels. We have some surviving letters he wrote.

Saint John of the Cross is known as the Doctor of the Dark Night. That is an inaccurate description. His dark night was only a means to the greater end of transforming union in love. He is a Doctor of Love. Only if we see him in this light, will we cease to be afraid of him and his doctrine.

What is St. John's relevance in our modern day and age? I believe first and foremost that he, like John the Baptist", is the voice that cries in the wilderness, "make straight the way of the Lord!" his voice bears the impact of conscience. Our lives can become filled with so many needs, longings and wants, ambitions and plans. We find our plates full , and yet, still go away hungry and thirsty. We find ourselves in a world of options and freedoms, and yet, find ourselves enslaved and limited. We find ourselves soaring so high in our spiritual adventure, and suddenly, find ourselves on a rapid descent and sometimes ending with a fatal crash on the ground of life. What does John of the Cross say to all these? "On the way to the mountain, nothing, nothing, nothing. And at the top of the mountain, still nothing." (Ascent of Mount Carmel). God is much greater than all the goods of this earth. Much greater than the loftiest of our spiritual experiences. Much greater than our mind can conceive. He teaches us that the ascent to union with God is accomplished in darkness and nakedness. He teaches that God is not found AFTER the darkness passes, but that God is IN the darkness, and to embrace this darkness is the surest way to find God. Faith, Hope and Love, the three things that last. In the end, these are the surest guides we can depend on. We are living in these times of faith-crisis. We look for signs and miracles. We exalt grand spiritual experiences and gravitate to what our intellect can understand. We are confronted by worldly idols and created some ourselves. We put out our hands and frantically grab whatever makes us happy, only to be disappointed because they all make us feel empty. In short, we look for God in all the wrong places. St. John invites us to journey WITHIN.

Saint John of the Cross, pray for us!

Mary of Guadalupe

2011-12-11T16:18:00.000-05:00

Feast: December 12th

The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a beautiful feast appropriately celebrated during Advent. Just as the message of Guadalupe was a message of light piercing through the darkness, so is the message of Advent that of Light dawning upon mankind. The story of Our Lady of Guadalupe is beautiful in that it once again shows us the tenderness of Mary as mother, appearing to a humble native named Juan Diego on the hills of Tepeyac, to offer consolation and hope to a world wrapped in ignorance and darkness. She appeared heavy with child, anticipating the beautiful event we are to celebrate Christmas night, when the Child to be born of her comes to save His people.

Mary's tenderness and gentleness in Tepeyac drew the humble Juan Diego to the top of the hills to learn more about this beautiful sight of the "Heavenly Lady" before him. What humility the Mother of God had when she decided to appear to him as one of them, a native just like himself, only more beautiful than he had ever seen. When asked who she was, she replied by saying, "I am the ever Virgin Mary, Mother of the true God through whom all things live. It is my ardent desire that a church be erected here so that in it I can show and bestow my love, compassion, help, and protection to all who inhabit this land and to those others who love me, that they might call upon and confide in me." Mary is the Mother of the Church. She brings the message to the Church, works through the Church, and does not bring anything to fruition without the Church. Just as on Pentecost, a small band of uneducated, frightened men, huddled together to await the coming of the Holy Spirit, so were the people of Tepeyac waiting for this hour when the light of God will come. And Mary was there to bring it about. In their ignorance they did not know it. They were content with darkness: the darkness of pagan idols, human sacrifices, poverty, sin. But grace pierced through the darkness of their world.
It seems that the Mother of God is drawn to people who are most humble and act with no pretense. Juan Diego was set to meet Our Lady one day at the top of the hill when he was confronted by a choice he had to make. His uncle was ill and he had to find a priest to hear his confession. But the Lady was waiting for him. What was he to do? He decided to go around the hill and passed on the other side to avoid being detained by the heavenly Lady. Mary came out to meet him and reassured him: "Listen and understand, my humblest son. There is nothing to frighten and distress you. Do not let your heart be troubled, and let nothing upset you. Is it not I, your Mother, who is here? Are you not under my protection? Are you not, fortunately, in my care? Do not let your uncle's illness distress you." How many times we long to hear those words in moments of trials and distress, when we feel sad and lonely? Many times I recall these words of Mary and they give me comfort and joy.
Our Mother left us a token of this love and consolation: her image imprinted in the beautiful "tilma" or cloak still venerated today in Mexico City. I have heard it said that in all of Mary's apparitions, she had been portrayed according to the accounts of her witnesses. But in Guadalupe, she left us an image created by herself with her own brush. The most interesting thing is that a thorough study of the image shows an image of a man reflected in one of the pupils of her eye. Experts claim it was that of Juan Diego. You can't get more personal and intimate than that.

What is the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe? There are many. She is the Patroness of Life. She brought life and light to a world of sin and darkness. She is the bearer of life, pregnant with the Word made Flesh. She reiterated that she will always and forever be our Mother, whether we know her or not. Just like a true mother, she searches for her children and takes the initiative to bring about what is good for them. She is forever the "ever Virgin Mary", both Virgin and Mother, thus confirming the teaching of the Church from the beginning of salvation history.

Just on the side, I am happy to reflect on the grace of knowing that my father was born on Our Lady of Guadalupe's feast, December 12th, and my mother- a day after Our Lady's Assumption, August 16th, and I was born on the feast of Our Lady of the Snows (dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major)! I am forever grateful for this grace of Providence.
May our most beautiful and gentle Mother, be our comfort always and our joy, our treasure and source of strength. May we always look for her at the top of our own "hill at Tepeyac" and recognize her as "our true mother... Are we not under her protection? A mother who is always there..."

Third Sunday of Advent

2011-12-10T11:47:00.000-05:00

“I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul. For he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice...” We call this prayer the “Magnificat” almost always used in reference to Mary. But this prayer , as we have it now in the first reading of the Third Sunday of Advent , I would like to apply to John the Baptist. John was certainly a man singularly blessed by God to be the precursor of the messianic age. He was God’s mouthpiece announcing the dawn of a new age. His was the message of repentance, forgiveness and justice. The Spirit of the Lord was upon him because God anointed him to send glad tidings to the prisoners under the bondage of sin, to announce the year of favor from God. Interestingly enough, this was the passage used by Jesus for his own credentials when John, from prison, asked Jesus: “Are you the one who is to come or do we wait for another?” This same message was played out by two different personalities. One with a loud voice in the desert and an unyielding reed standing by the banks of the Jordan. Another with the power of love and service, a lamb who opened not his mouth, a bruised reed.

John knew his role in the salvation drama of Israel. He himself acknowledged that he is only the voice in the desert announcing the coming of the Lord. He is fully aware of the words of the prophet Isaiah. What struck me the most with him was his deep self-knowledge and his being fully rooted in the truth about himself. The questions (more like proposals) that were addressed to him were unhesitatingly answered with what he knew to be the truth. “I am not Elijah or the prophet or the Messiah. No, I am only a voice... Someone mightier is coming after me.... I am not worthy to untie his sandals....”

Only in our knowledge of the truth can we truly deliver the message of God. Only in knowing ourselves can we fully serve God without the danger of losing our souls. The “proposals” we can encounter in the service of God can become a wine that intoxicates us. We can easily forget that the message is more important than the messenger. We can easily forget that we are not the Elijah’s, or God forbid we have the illusion that we are the Messiah, of our world with subtle agendas. We are only voices in the deserts of this world, witnessing to the reality that there is One, more powerful and more important who will accomplish the impossible which we cannot do ourselves. John was important in the plan of God, and so are we, but only to the extent that we remain in the vine, rooted in the truth of who we truly are on the chess board.

John the Baptist never witnessed the fullness of God’s revelation. He never saw the fullness of God’s intent to save his people. He never witnessed the victory of the Resurrection. And yet, God needed him to prepare the way of this ultimate victory. We may never witness the ultimate victory in our fight for justice. We may never reap the harvest of our labors but God needs us to proclaim the Good News of His Son. We may never see the end to abortion, euthanasia, social injustice, poverty and sufferings in this world. But we should be firm in our faith and hope that One who is mightier will come and will make justice and praise spring up before all the nations.

I believe that only if we truly make this our conviction that we can rejoice always and pray without ceasing as St. Paul exhorts us to do in the second reading. I believe that if we can seek out the good from the bad can we retain what is good. Only then is it possible to be thankful in all circumstances. Only then can we be found blameless until the coming of the Lord. For as St. Paul says, God is faithful and He will accomplish His plan present since the foundation of the world.

"FIrst Impressions Need Not be Lasting!"

2011-12-09T19:37:00.001-05:00

December 14th, Feast of St. John of the Cross, is fast approaching.

My first impression of Saint John was a a man who never laughed, who was always gazing up to heaven and beating his chest. A man who talked about raining in your parade, with his insistence on denial of this thing and that. Only after I read his letters and read comments by witnesses to his life that I began to change my opinion of him. He was gentle, he was joyful and he was kind to his confreres. He loved to dance and played the tambourines as he carried the Infant Jesus around. He was a wonderful spiritual director who had the knack of making people see the the changes they need without being judgmental or pushy. After reading his works,most especially his letters, you come out with a resolution to be more serious about one's spiritual life and to ask God for the grace to do it. He sets you out on a journey which is personal, solid and authentic. You feel encourage reading him and motivated to be better because he almost seems to be able to read your mind and answer your unspoken questions about the spiritual life. He can be intimidating because he does not water down the demands of the Gospel. He offers the strong spiritual meat of the spirit. He is a good shepherd and spiritual director because he points out the hidden crevices one can fall into in the arduous climb to the mount of perfection. In a way, one who is self-assured and comfortable with their spiritual status, may not like him because he pulls the red carpet off one's feet and shattering one's illusions by showing that person that the mistaken virtues were after all imperfections. John of the Cross can open the eyes of so many many people who call themselves "religious." It takes prudence and common sense to read St. John. We have to know when we are ready to receive his message. He said it himself that not all will take to what he is writing because "we are not talking about sensible things but achieving a nakedness of spirit necessary to union with God." If you find at initial take that your soul does not profit from his counsels, put it down, and come back another time. You will find that somewhere in his writings is the experience that you are going through. I am continually sustained by his writings. I owe him a great deal and I am proud to call him "my holy father" since he is truly the father of my soul. I believe that sooner or later, the works of St. John of the Cross must be explored by anyone who is serious about growth in the spiritual life.

Devotion to Our Lady

2011-12-07T19:00:00.000-05:00

Catholics, from the moment of birth, are tied to the idea of devotion to Mary, Mother of God. It's second nature to think of her as Mother and Protectress. But what does it really mean to have devotion to her? Is it enough to surround ourselves with her statues, recite the rosary , follow her apparitions, or read books about her? Mary is a very significant part of my spiritual journey. I was led to Carmel because of her. But it didn't always start that way. I'm sure Catholics instinctively love her even without the externals of devotion. Is that possible? I have read many books about her but none satisfied me the most until I read "Marialis Cultus" and "Mother of the Redeemer." Now, most of my books on Mary have to do with her place in the Carmelite spirituality and books written by our Carmelite Saints. It sounds disrespectful to say but it is not: The more you get to know her, the more she grows on you.

The first devotion I had of Mary was under her title of Our Lady of Lourdes. I joined a children group called Children of Mary and little girls wore the white dress and blue sash. St. Bernadette was my favorite Saint then. When I entered religious life, I was introduced to Mary as Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In time I was able to meditate on her several virtues embodied under this title. All Carmelites are devoted to her under this title. "Carmel is All Mary"- is like a line you learn from rising to retiring in Carmel. The titles I love best of Mary are "Mother of God" and "Virgo Fidelis" (Faithful Virgin). I really don't need anymore apparition by Our Lady. We have Fatima and Lourdes, these are enough for me.

Someone shared this sentiments with me.
"Ah, devotion to Mary...Any advice for anyone in my situation? As a lifelong Catholic, I've always admired her, read many books about her, pray the rosary, have holy cards bearing her image, talk to her in my own words every day, novenas, have stopped at chapels dedicated to her, etc etc, but still have a very difficult time relating to her on a personal level. I don't feel close to her at all. For a long time I've longed to know a mother/daughter relationship with Our Lady but for some reason that remains something to be grasped at. It's like admiring a beautiful painting, a wonderful historical figure. The admiration is there, I learn about her often, but there is always that great distance. I don't know why. It bothers me although I accept it. My priest told me to talk to Mary about the very topic in my prayers, to bring it to her and put it in her hands. I've done that but there still seems to be a block. By the way, I have a good relationship with my own earthly mother , for some reason I have never been able to feel close to Mary although I would love to. I would describe my relationship with Jesus as intimate. Any suggestions or insight? Thank you."

When I was younger, I also had difficulty relating to Mary in an intimate way. I went through all the motions of rosary, novenas and holy cards ,just like my friend here have because I thought it was part and parcel of being Catholic. But although I believed in her, I did not connect with her. It all changed when I received my Brown Scapular in a Carmelite Monastery. It was a great grace I received. The many years of my own efforts to know her was done for me in a few days of public novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It was a turning point in my life and it led me to joining the Carmelites. I nourish my devotion to Mary by contemplating the events of her life as illustrated in the Rosary. The Rosary is the sum total of Our Lady's life. If you meditate on the Holy Rosary, not just recite it, but really praying the Rosary, you will find how it will yield much fruit. You don't even have to do all 5 decades if you find that is too much at one time. You can concentrate on a few decades and see Mary in the mysteries: In the Annunciation: What is she thinking? What is she doing? Imagine her feelings and emotions? The Sorrowful Mysteries- imagine and feel her pains, her sorrows, her fears because of what was happening to Jesus. Praying the Rosary this way will make her come alive. Reading books on Our Lady was not much help to me during this period of my life because I was reading life experiences of other people. I cannot relate to flowery and overly pious books on Mary. St. Therese of Lisieux used to be so disappointed with the homilies about Mary in her days. She complained that homilies were based on Mary's imagined life, not her real life. Why don't they say that she had her doubts? That she had to live by faith because she did not understand everything that was happening to her? She did not understand the full reality of Jesus. When Jesus was lost in the Temple and Mary and Joseph found Him, they complained, "Son, why did you do this to us? Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you?" But Jesus said, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father's business?" And they did not understand the word that he spoke to them." (Luke 3:48-50). Mary's faith is the single attribute we can mostly imitate. I would also like to add that when you have tried everything well, do not give up just because you can't experience feelings of intimacy with her. Feeling is not everything. It is the believing. I worked hard to be close to Mary but I labored in vain. And then She came to me. She changed everything with very little effort on my part. Our Lady knows you love her. Just like a good mother, she has a bond with you that cannot be broken, even if you don't feel it.

Portrait of St. John of the Cross

2011-12-06T19:02:00.000-05:00

In honor of St. John of the Cross' feast day on December 14th, I will be posting articles about him in the next few days so we all get a deeper awareness of this great Saint of Carmel.

"About Me" is an interesting phrase to see when one is looking at blogs and facebook pages. St. John was never known to write anything about himself. Spiritual writers and scholars on St. John indicate that when he wrote about spiritual experiences in his major works, he was indirectly profiling his own spiritual experiences. We do have documented descriptions of John by the many people who knew him or lived with him. Through their words and witness, we can picture this saint and imagine his personality and character.

Physical Portrait
"The venerable Father was between small and medium in height, well proportioned in body, although thin from the rigorous penance he performed. His face was of brownish color, somewhat gaunt, more rounded than long; he was venerably bald with a little hair in front. The forehead was broad; the eyes black with a gentle gaze. The eyebrows were clearly formed. The mouth and lips, with the rest of the face and body were well proportioned. He allowed the beard to grow slightly so that with his short habit of coarse wool he seemed more venerable and edifying. " (Jeronimo de San Jose- early biographer).

Character
"He had a special demeanor, given by God".. "Our Lord God had given him a holy demeanor, which is all respected." "In all his being and and work, he breathed the air of a free and energetic man." "His life was one of detachment, not through mortification, but through vitality and freedom. Things were a hindrance to him when they were not necessary. He was kindhearted and understanding with others as he was sober and austere with himself." " Even before he had written his books, he was portrayed as profound and intelligent. This he was in his biblical interpretations, theological reasonings, and spiritual discernment. The professors in University of Baeza, after attending the academic reunions at the College of the Discalced Carmelites, presided over by Fray John, left saying: "What a profound man we have here!" "Joy was an ever-present facet of his spirit, behavior, and leadership style. But it was not an explosive kind of joy and laughter. He laughed on occasion, smiled a great deal. When he was superior, it pained him to see his brothers fall into sadness. He would take them into the country and try to alleviate their sadness. In caring for the sick where the atmosphere tended to be somewhat dismal, he multiplied his efforts to promote good humor by telling stories and even jokes. ""Fraternal was his predominant trait in his dealings with others. His office and prestige did not interfere with the simplicity of his relationships. . He was always lowering and depreciating himself. ""Saint John of the Cross was a combination of warmth of feeling and reserve. .. The affective component stands out in John's conduct and his writings. There was more than fraternal charity involved; he also possessed sensitivity, passion, feeling, and affection. He shows it at every step, but in a veiled form because of his moderate and reserved bearing. He was not greatly expressive in words and gesture. He showed this rather in his tone of confidence and familiarity, which by its strength of sentiments substituted for a more exuberant expression."(Fr. Frederico Ruiz, biographer)

I love to imagine St. John according to the descriptions of him. Somehow, they make him human and none of the austere and sad statue I see of him. When one reads his letters, his tender and affective side, even shows even more.

Advent's Main Characters

2011-12-04T15:28:00.000-05:00

There are three major personalities in the season of Advent: Isaiah, John the Baptist and Mary. It is very helpful to meditate on the significance of these three personalities and to find their significance in the event of Christmas.

Isaiah is the great prophet of Advent. Most of the liturgical readings are taken from him. For the most part, they are proclamations of Israel’s infidelities to God and God’s plan of salvation. Despite Isaiah’s cries of woes, the liturgical texts of Advent are really beautiful in the sense of being invitations to keep our faith anchored in God’s promise of redemption. Advent is a season of supernatural hope. It reminds us that despite our infidelities, or precisely because of our weakness, God is ready to take us back if only we repent.

This subject of repentance brings us to the person of John the Baptist. John was an ascetic, the “voice in the wilderness.” Isaiah proclaimed John as the one to prepare the way of the Lord. Advent does not have the penitential rigors of Lent though the priest uses purple vestments during Mass, but an inward conversion of heart. God’s coming is to take the form, not as judge, but as an infant. That in itself is a joyful event. There is a jubilant expectation, love is in the air. John calls us to repent and to turn away from everything that lies in the way of God’s coming to us. It is a call to a deeper awareness of who it is “leaving heaven” to be with the sons of men. After having grasped this we are moved to love. Advent requires that we make room for the Spirit of God. We need to do away with things that are not compatible with Him. Having offered the little we have, God purifies them so that we may be presented to Him as a “chaste bride to her bridegroom.”

Mary is the central figure in Advent because she is the Mother of God made Man. It is fitting to celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception during Advent because it makes sense to honor the Ark that contained the New Covenant. She had to be immaculately conceived to bear the Sinless One. Mary’s greatness does not only depend on her privilege of physical motherhood but more so because she exemplifies the faith of a true disciple. I think it was St. Bernard who said that Mary gave birth only to what she had already conceived in her heart and mind. This was manifested in her complete submission, her living faith, her readiness to give herself to the fulfillment of what the great prophets had foretold. She exemplifies the true spirit of Advent, the vigilant waiting we must try to practice. You and I will make it our aim to make this Advent and Christmas Season different. Let us ponder how..

Holiday Woes?

2011-11-30T19:31:00.001-05:00

December is here, and soon, Christmas. I wrote this article last year and decided to dig it out of my archive and post it on this first day of December. I have read a lot of Facebook entries about the word "Christmas", "Keeping Christ in Christmas" and the use of the word "holiday" to replace "Christmas." This is a very relevant concern since it is, sadly, the practice of the times. It's obviously a symptom of a deeper illness afflicting our society which is secularism. It puzzles me how a tradition and celebration which has gone on for centuries, and seems to be appreciated by a lot of people, if not by all, can suddenly be questioned and attacked. But then again, some may argue, "what's the big fuss over a name? So it's Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. So what?

Well, in this case, there is more to a name. This is a subject that is personal and goes deeper into the heart of what the celebration is about. If we bring this to the everyday experience, we sure can understand how people get offended if their family name is misspelled, mispronounced or even dragged to a sort of scandal. That causes a sting in our hearts and mind. Christmas came to be because of Christ. He is the beginning of this event we call Christmas. Even though people try to separate, or worse yet, eliminate the sacred from this event, it cannot be done without appearing to be a hypocrite. Christmas is the story of Jesus' birth, whether one likes to admit it or not, Christ is in Christmas. I don't buy this attitude of changing things just to please everybody. If we cannot agree on even one thing, let us at least be respectful of our differences. It is an act of justice to give one his or her due. That goes for God too. Christmas is God's great event. Let us give him his due.
"Holiday", no," Holy day", yes!

Now, having said all that, there is another point I would like to bring out. It is naive to think we can take the bull by the horn. People will do what they believe they should do. It's sad to say but sometimes people are carried by the "herd mentality." Monkey see, monkey do, is another way of putting it. Most of them just go along with what seems to be fashionable or politically correct at the moment. Most of the time malicious intent is not a factor although that happens too. My point is, we cannot control people's actions but we can control ours. I'll give you an example:
Just before Christmas, I went to Barnes & Noble to do a last minute Christmas shopping for a book Dad wanted to get for a gift. When my turn came up at the cashier, the young lady very nicely handed me my change and smilingly said, "Happy Holidays!" I was wearing my habit but that did not make a difference. I smiled back at her and said, "Yes, Merry Christmas!" She smiled back and shyly said, "Yes, Merry Christmas!" My point is that we cannot police the world and change every single anomaly that happens. We can only do what is right and hope that we can make a difference in the place we are and in the circumstances we find ourselves in. There are a lot of good people out there, especially young people, who are as confused and baffled about what is right and wrong. The act is not always a declaration of war. Truth is to be proclaimed, that it absolutely true. But it should be proclaimed in charity and in peace, distanced from passion and anger, as much as possible. Otherwise, we become the evil we are trying to fight.

I find that when I think this way I can have the peace that Jesus brings. "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives but as I give" Jesus says. We cannot be at peace if we are always reacting to every evil out there. Our business is to follow the Lord. We should have a "holy indifference" to every thing that goes around us. Not because we don't care, not because we are pacifists, but because we know that there is a lot that can be achieved by prayers. Let us begin with ourselves. Let us do what we want others to do, and be faithful to God in the circumstances He has put us and our light will shine inevitably. People will notice and we can change their hearts by our example. Saint John of the Cross had a motto: "Well and good if all things change, O God, provided we are rooted in YOU!"

No Greater Love- The Movie

2011-11-27T16:01:00.002-05:00

NO GREATER LOVE
A film by Michael Whyte

‘You cannot put a value on prayer, like you can a product, it still remains a mystery’.
After ten years of correspondence, Michael Whyte was given unprecedented access to the monastery of the Most Holy Trinity, in London’s Notting Hill. The monastery, which was founded in 1878, is home to the Discalced Order of Carmelite Nuns. The nuns lead a cloistered life dedicated to prayer and contemplation, rarely leaving the monastery except to visit a doctor or dentist. Silence is maintained throughout the day with the exception of two periods of recreation.
No Greater Love gives a unique insight into this closed world where the modern world’s materialism is rejected; they have no television, radio or newspapers. The film interweaves a year in the life of the monastery with the daily rhythms of Divine Office and work. Centred in Holy Week, it follows a year in which a novice is professed and one of the senior nuns dies. Though mainly an observational film there are several interviews, which offer insights into their life, faith, moments of doubt and their belief in the power of prayer in the heart of the community. (From No Greater love website)

Advent- Be vigilant in Love!

2011-11-25T13:49:00.000-05:00

With Mother Nature having transformed herself into the colorful trees and that cold wintry air, the Church's liturgical year turns its page to a new season- the Season of Advent- which begins this Sunday. We traditionally celebrate our New Year on the 1st of January, but our church calendar actually starts its new year in the evening hour of the last Saturday of the 34th week in Ordinary Time. Prior to this, the reading at Masses were pointed towards the "end times." The readings were ominous in character, apocalyptic, and speak of the end of the world as we know it and the final coming of Jesus as Judge of the living and the dead. Advent also speaks of another coming. It is the season of vigilant waiting. There is a penitential spirit implicit in our celebrating Advent. The penitential color of purple vestment worn by the priest at Mass reminds one of the same color vestment worn during Lent. But when one pays close attention to the readings used at the liturgical celebration, one would notice, aside from the reminders of preparedness, a loving expectation of something beautiful to come or someone wonderful to come. We are encouraged during Advent to lay aside cares and avoid distractions which may come in the way of our interior vigilance and waiting for the Lord. Advent is really a spiritual preparation for the birthday of Jesus. There is a tendency in everyone to be so taken up with the many activities connected with Christmas. There's the shopping to be done, cards to be written and sent, parties to plan, etc. Unfortunately, these have become part and parcel of the days leading up to Christmas. I used to think that it is impossible to fully appreciate the season of Advent because of these demands. Even when one is living in the convent like I do, there are demands and responsibilities the Sisters find themselves responding to. But I found that it is possible to take the time to be quiet, to lay aside concerns, and to plan one's activities so as to make room for the spiritual.

There is a beauty in Advent and Christmas none of the other liturgical feasts have. Although Easter is theologically larger in significance, Christmas speaks to the heart. It is my favorite season. The idea of God coming to us as a Child, in total dependence, awakens in everyone a sentiment too deep for words. It brings out the best in everyone. We find ourselves more loving, more giving and forgiving at Christmas. Let us enter into the Advent Season with determination to be open to whatever the Spirit of God brings and to listen attentively to the prophecies read in Scriptures during Mass. Let us imitate Mary in her loving vigilance, waiting for the coming of the Lord, as a Child.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-22T17:52:00.000-05:00

This picture by the famous Norman Rockwell says it all! The blessings of family, friends and being together, a wonderful Thanksgiving moment! Blessings everyone!

In Allegiance to Jesus Christ

2011-11-20T20:35:00.001-05:00

The second chapter of the Rule of Carmel has this to say: "In many and various ways the holy fathers established how everyone, whatever his order or whatever kind of religious life he has chosen, must live in allegiance to Jesus Christ and serve him faithfully from a pure heart and a good conscience."

Today, November 20th, is the feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the liturgical year. The whole Church gathered in churches everywhere to give glory and homage, and pledge our allegiance, to the King of Kings and Lord of lords. We acknowledge the kingship of Christ and so it might be good to take a closer look at what this kingship means. The life of Jesus was a paradox. He was the God who lowered himself and assumed a human estate. He was the Master who served his disciples at the Last Supper. He was the Teacher who showed surprise at the faith of the centurion. He was the innocent man who was crucified for a man-made crime. And now, a King, flogged and mocked, stripped naked, crowned with thorns, dragged on the streets and crucified on the cross. What a pathetic King! A joke of a kingship! And so they all thought...

And Jesus said: "My Kingship is not of this world. " The kingdom of God is not of this world. Living in allegiance to Jesus Christ is living in hope. It is fixing our eyes on what is to come. It is the joyful expectation that the promises made are to be fulfilled. Jesus also answered Pilate: "It is you who say I am a king. the reason I was born, the reason why I came into the world, is to testify to the truth. Anyone committed to the truth hears my voice." Living in allegiance to Jesus Christ means living in truth, conforming our lives to the truth of the Gospels as we discern these truths in prayer and in the teachings of the Church, Christ's voice on earth. In our modern times, it has become more and more difficult to hear the truth because there has arisen many voices which claim to be the bearers of truth. The notion of an objective truth, a truth which is distinct from us and does not change, is vehemently challenged. We are bombarded by people who mean well but are misguided, advising us to listen to "our heart" and to do what "we think is right." The phrase sounds good but deceiving. Decisions, especially moral decisions, made separate from the teachings of Christ as revealed in the New Testament and the Commandments as revealed in the Old Testament, are mere sentimentalism and secularist humanism.

This feast of Christ the King is a reminder to all of us that the kingdom promised by Jesus comes with a heavy price. We profess to follow a King who went through humiliations and unspeakable sufferings. His was the 'Royal road of the Cross." While on earth, "this valley of tears," we cannot escape the Cross, as much as we try, without sacrificing our allegiance to Jesus Christ.