More on the Virtues from St. Francis De Sales

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This is the fifth article in my series based on my reading of the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis De Sales. Written 400 years ago, it is available in various translations. I am reading the 2015 version published by Ignatius Press (San Francisco) and the Augustine Institute (Greenwood Village, CO) The first article was “What Does It Mean to be Devout?” followed by “Purification in the Devout Life.” The third article was “The Devout Life – Prayer.”. The fourth article was “St. Francis De Sales on Virtues.”

As I continue to reflect on St. Francis De Sales’ discussion of the virtues in the Introduction to the Devout Life, we come to “gentleness.” He writes, “Humility makes our lives acceptable to God, meekness makes us acceptable to men” (90. He uses meekness and gentleness interchangeably at this point.) He reminds us that virtue is not just a matter of our external actions. It involves what we are internally. He writes, “for it is a favorite device of the Enemy to make people content with a fair outside semblance of these graces, not examining their inner hearts, and so fancying themselves to be gentle and humble while they are far otherwise. And this is easily perceived, because, in spite of their ostentatious gentleness and humility, they are stirred up with pride and anger by the smallest wrong or contradiction” (90). To truly be gentle, it needs be at the core of who we are.

Why should we be gentle? It brings peace not just to ourselves but to others. St. Francis De Sales writes, “Nothing so stills the elephant when enraged as the sight of a lamb” (91). Responding with hatred and anger will not calm a situation. Responding with gentleness can. St. Francis De Sales asks which is better received, a king arriving with his armies or for a peaceful visit from the king without the army (91, cf. 93 with regards to anger and gentleness as a parent)?

St. Francis De Sales writes, “Depend upon it, it is better to learn how to live without being angry than to imagine one can moderate and control anger lawfully; and if through weakness and frailty one is overtaken by it, it is far better to put it away forcibly than to parley with it; for give anger ever so little way, and it will become master” (91). If we are always working to control our anger, sooner or latter we may fail. If we have no anger, peace always has a place in our heart. That peace then can sustain us in moments where we may have acted angrily in the past. To truly let go of the anger, we must be gentle with ourselves as well as with others (St. Francis De Sales, 93). We must let go of all anger.

We are at our best when gentleness prevails. St. Francis De Sales writes, “The rivers that flow gently through our plains bear barges of rich merchandise, and the gracious rains that fall softly on the land fertilize it to bear the fruits of the earth; but when the rivers swell into torrents, they hinder commerce and devastate the country, and violet storms and tempest do the like. No work done with impetuosity and excitement was ever well done” (95). Some may think they thrive in challenge. We are at our best when peace reigns in our hearts.

St. Francis next turns to the virtue of obedience. He defines obedience as “a consecration of the heart, chastity of the body, and poverty of all worldly goods to the love and service of God” (96). All true obedience is to the Lord yet the Lord leads us through other people. Thus, we are called to be obedient to those who hold authority as long as what they ask of us does not go against God’s Will. This is true for church leaders as it is for civil leaders (97). St. Francis De Sales even calls us to “yield to your equals, giving way to their opinions where nothing wrong is involved” (97). We must let go of selfishness to be obedient. It is not about getting our own way.

St. Francis De Sales then offers us instruction on poverty. Poverty is not simply a lack of material things. It isn’t so much about the things as our attachment to the things. He writes, “and so you may possess riches without being poisoned by them, so long as they are in your house or purse only, and not in your heart” (101). When they enter our heart, we become attached to them. In becoming attached to them, we become obedient to them in stead of God.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

You Can Count on God

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In our first reading, through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord offers a message to the Israelites in distress. “The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers.”

The message is in the future tense. It is a message of hope. While things may seem grim and hopeless to the Israelites, God has a plan for a better future for them.

We further read, “say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense.” God is going to make all things right. He will open the eyes of the blind, make the deaf hear, and the lame leap. There will be a time when they will meet the Lord and their “sorrow and mourning will flee” and be replaced with “joy and gladness.” For now they wait in hope.

John the Baptist knew of the prophecies of great things to come. He does not lose hope when he is arrested and put in prison. He trusts in greater things to come. In prison he hears of the works of Jesus. He wants to be sure that Jesus is the one of whom the prophecies spoke of as the Messiah. So, he sends his disciples to Jesus to ask if he is the one.

Jesus does not answer with a simple yes. He tells John’s disciples to tell John what they have heard and seen, “the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear…” Our first reading was in the future tense, prophecy of what is to come. With Jesus, these prophecies are fulfilled. Jesus speaks in the present tense. With the prophecies beginning to be fulfilled, it is a time to rejoice. We hear this during our season of Advent. Advent is a time of preparation. We examine our consciences to see if we are ready. For this, the liturgical color for Advent is violent. Today, as we hear that prophecies as fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, we rejoice. It is Gaudete Sunday. The color of the candle for today in the Advent wreath is rose, a color of warmth and joy.

Jesus did bring great rejoicing. Yet, today, we continue to face times of distress. In times of joy it is easy to believe that God exists. In times of distress it can be much harder to believe that God exists and to trust that He is with us always.

When we face distress, we need to look back at the Old Testament as the story of God’s love for his people. The Israelites faced times of distress. The times of distress came when the people did not listen to God and did their own thing. When they repented and returned to God’s ways, prosperity would come.

Many people no longer follow the Lord. Thus, we are in times of distress. Repeating the words from our first reading, “say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be Strong, fear not!” We who desire to follow the Lord, hope and pray for everything to be better. For now, we heed the words of James, “Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord.”

When we grow a garden, we know we must wait for the harvest. As we wait for the coming of the Lord, let us make our hearts firm, recalling how the prophets of old faced hardship and how Jesus suffered for us.

We wait in hope of the Lord’s promise of the life to come.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

New Series of Presentations on the Eucharist!

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Here is the “announcement” of my next series of presentations!

The Greatest Gift:  The Eucharist

A New Series of Presentations by Fr. Jeff

The Eucharist we receive is the Body and Blood of Jesus.  It is the Sacrifice of Jesus giving his life for us on the Cross so that our sins may be forgiven.  The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith.  Because the Eucharist is so important, we are in the midst of a three-year Eucharistic Revival in our country.  To help you know all that God offers us in the Eucharist, Fr. Jeff will begin a new series of presentations called The Greatest Gift:  The Eucharist in January.

This series begins on Thursday, January 12th (with two more presentations following on February 9th and March 9th).  Anyone is welcome to participate via the Internet/Zoom webinar from your own home at 6:30 pm in the evening. 

If you would like to attend via the Zoom webinar, please register at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uJYopSW0SqC_6b7IOwj08Q

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception – Homily

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The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Genesis 3:9-15, 20
Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4 (1)
Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Luke 1:26-38
December 8, 2022

Our first reading today comes from the story of the first sin in the Garden of Eden.  God had created the garden as a beautiful place and put Adam and Eve there to live there and to care for it.

It was a beautiful gift to Adam and Eve.  There was just one rule.  Don’t eat the fruit from one particular tree.  They could eat anything else.  It was just one tree they couldn’t eat from.

So, what did Adam and Eve do?

They ate the forbidden fruit.

God came looking for Adam.  Adam was afraid so he hid.  Why was he afraid?

Because he realized he was naked.  In eating the forbidden fruit, his sin was exposed.  Adam was afraid of being punished.

What do we do when we sin?  We often do what Adam did.  He said, “The woman whom you put here with me – she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”  Adam blamed Eve.  Actually, he even tries to put some of the blame on God saying, “the woman whom you put here,” suggesting that if God hadn’t put Eve with Adam, Adam won’t have sinned.

God then speaks to Eve.  In her defense she says, “The serpent tricked me.”  Now, this is true.  The serpent did trick her but she didn’t have to listen to the serpent.  She knew the rule not to eat the forbidden fruit.  She allowed herself to be tricked.

There may be blame to be shared but, in the end, we must take ownership for our part in our actions.  We should be willing to accept appropriate punishment.

There comes the fear.  How are we going to be punished?  What consequences must we face?

Sin is real.  We are weak.  Adam and Eve’s eating of the forbidden fruit points to our tendency towards sin.  It says something about our humanity.  We call it original sin.

It is in this sense that our first reading ends with identifying Eve as “the mother of all the living.”

As to our fear, God has a remedy.  God spoke in the garden of their offspring.

God will bring forth Jesus as offspring to be our Savior.  Jesus will come to save us from our sins.  We do not need to be afraid.  God loves us and He has a plan to save us.

Jesus came into the world as the one without sin.  To do so, He must be born of one who is without sin.

Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus.  She was a virgin to show that Jesus became incarnate through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The angel Gabriel came to Mary to share with her the good news.  Gabriel greeted Mary with the words, “Hail, full of grace!  The Lord is with you.”

Mary was “greatly troubled” by these words.  What did they mean?

“Full of grace” tells us that Mary is without sin.  That’s what it means to be “full of grace.”  “The Lord is with you” signifies that it is God who has come upon Mary so that she could be conceived without sin.

This is the Immaculate Conception that we celebrate today.  Mary is conceived without sin so that Jesus can become like us in all things but sin.  He does this to save us from our sins.

Eve’s sin showed our sinfulness (original sin).

Mary’s yes began a new age of salvation.  Mary becomes the new Eve as Jesus comes to save us.

St. Francis De Sales on Virtues

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This is the fourth article in my series based on my reading of the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis De Sales. Written 400 years ago, it is available in various translations. I am reading the 2015 version published by Ignatius Press (San Francisco) and the Augustine Institute (Greenwood Village, CO) The first article was “What Does It Mean to be Devout?” followed by “Purification in the Devout Life.” The third article was “The Devout Life – Prayer.”

Today, our discussion moves into part 3 of St. Francis De Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life. Part 3 is on living the virtues as part of the devout life. Here I have to admit the language of virtues is a little hard for me to describe. Virtue is good habits but it is more than that. The online Catholic Culture Dictionary describes virtue as “A good habit that enables a person to act according to right reason enlightened by faith. Also called an operative good habit, it makes its possessor a good person and his or her actions also good. (Etym. Latin virtus, virility, strength of character, manliness.) (accessed 12/6/22 online at catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=37122). In faith, what is good is determined by God. The opposite of virtue is “vice.” The online Catholic Culture Dictionary describes “vice” as “A bad moral habit. Technically a vice is the strong tendency to a gravely sinful act acquired through frequent repetition of the same act. Qualities that characterize a vice are spontaneity, ease, and satisfaction in doing what is morally wrong. (Etym. Latin vitium, any sort of defect.) (accessed 12/6/22 online at https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=37094).

Pride may lead us to desire virtues that make us look good. St. Francis De Sales writes, “We do not very often come across opportunities for exercising strength, magnanimity, or magnificence; but gentleness, temperance, modesty, and humility are graces that ought to color everything we do” (69). We do well to begin with the virtues we most often need.

St. Francis De Sales continues, “In practicing any virtue, it is well to choose that which is most according to our duty, rather than most according to our taste” (70). While we should strive to live all the virtues, each individual’s place in life can require different virtues (70). We also need to be concerned more with our interior needs than exterior appearances. Here St. Francis De Sales writes, “Thus the common run of men ordinarily value temporal almsgiving more than spiritual; and think more of fasting, exterior discipline and bodily mortification than of meekness, cheerfulness, modesty, and other interior mortifications, which nevertheless are far better” (70). Here I think of Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount that we hear on Ash Wednesday, “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father” (see Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18).

How we do develop the virtues within us? Practice. St. Francis De Sales writes, “Cassian relates how a certain devout maiden once besought Saint Athanasius to help her in cultivating the grace of patience; and he gave her a poor widow as companion, who was cross, irritable, and altogether intolerable, and whose perpetual fretfulness gave the pious lady abundant opportunity of practicing gentleness and patience” (71). I don’t think we need to go looking for “trouble” but it is our struggles that we open ourselves to God’s help.

How are we to determine what virtues we need to develop? St. Francis De Sales says that we should look at our vices (bad habits) and ask what the opposing virtue is. That is the virtue we need to develop (72). He goes on to discuss how when one is first developing virtue in the devout life, we look in broad terms at our behaviors but as we develop in the devout life, we look more at the little things. Here we caution against scrupulosity. Rather, we are talking about awareness of our vices. When we start out we can’t see the little things. We start with the most obvious and only later can see and work on the little things (72-73).

We do this not for our own honor. We do it because it is right (see St. Francis De Sales, 74). It is not easy. As St. Francis De Sales begins to discuss specific virtues, he begins with “patience.” He writes, ‘ “For you have need of endurance, so that you may do the will of God and receive what is promised” (Heb 10:36), says Saint Paul; and the Savior said, “By your endurance you will gain your lives” (Lk 21:19)”. ‘ It is not easy to endure. We don’t have to do it alone. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.”

St. Francis calls to not complain. He writes, “If it is necessary to complain to someone, either as seeking a remedy for your injury, or in order to soothe your mind, let it be to some calm, gentle spirit, greatly filled with the love of God; for otherwise, instead of relieving your heart, your confidants will only provoke it to still greater disturbance; instead of taking out the thorn that pricks you, they will drive it further into your foot” (77). We complain not to gain pity but for help in dealing with our problems as God calls us to.

There are those who attend to their appearance out of pride. They seek vainglory. They seek status in earthly things like “noble birth, favor of great men, popular applause” (St. Francis De Sales, 79). What really matters is our status in following Christ. A mule is a mule where it carries the goods of a prince or a simple shepherd (St. Francis De Sales, 81). Now, there is nothing wrong with a good reputation. However, we do good not for the reputation but because it is good (see St. Francis De Sales, 87-88). In my recent homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, I contrasted the boasting of the Pharisee to that of Paul.

St. Francis De Sales points us to the humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary (81-82). Her Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) begins, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.” Mary is not committing the sin of pride. Why? Because she is giving the credit to God for making her great.

We must not pretend to be great. We become great by imitating Jesus and the saints. We imitate them not to look good. We imitate them to actually become like them. Our imitation of the saints is not to glorify them. It is to follow their example of being like Jesus (St. Francis De Sales (82). In Isaiah 7:10-14, King Ahaz is offered a sign from the Lord. He appears to profess trust in God in refusing the sign. What is really going on is he wants to things his way. His way won’t work. When the Lord offers a sign or help, the humble person willingly accepts it.

The Lord is ready to do go things in you. Are you ready to let him?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

2nd Sunday of Advent, Year A – Homily

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2nd Sunday of Advent, Year A
Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17 (7)
Romans 15:4-9
Matthew 3:1-12
December 4, 2022

Our gospel passage today comes from the time just before Jesus began his public ministry during his first coming.  It speaks of preparation.  We can use this passage to reflect on our readiness for the Second Coming.

John the Baptist came preaching a message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  It was not a call to fear and dread.  The message came as fulfillment of the prophecies of a long-awaited Messiah.  Thus, it should be seen with hope.  We are called to repent so that we may share in the good things to come.

There are symbols in the passage that might seem strange to us.  John the Baptist preaches in the desert.  Why the desert?  Going into the desert is seen as stepping aware from the things of this world to focus on the things of God.

John the Baptist “wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist.”  This recalls the dress worn by the prophet Elijah (2 Kings 1:8).  John is sent as a prophet to “prepare the way of the Lord.”

John the Baptist ate “locusts and wild honey.”  It was a simple diet that indicated a life of poverty, setting aside worldly pleasures.

Many people were coming to John to be baptized in the Jordan River.  The Jordan River held great significance for the Jews as the place where they crossed over into the promised land at the end of the Exodus.

John’s baptism was a simple baptism, only for the forgiveness of sins.  The forgiveness of sins is not insignificant.  I say “only” because, as John the Baptist tells us, Jesus inaugurates a Baptism that is so much more.

John’s call to repentance is a call for us to seek God’s forgiveness of our sins.  When a person is baptized, any sins they committed before their Baptism are forgiven.  However, the forgiveness of sins does not end at Baptism.  The Lord gives us a Sacrament just for the forgiveness of sins.

It is the Sacrament of Reconciliation where we can confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness, where God makes straight our paths.  It is a gift.  God doesn’t have to forgive us.  He wants to.  Why confess to a priest?  God gives us this Sacrament as a means to experience his grace.  For many it is a forgotten sacrament.  I encourage you to seek it out.

John’s call for repentance could be received in fear of punishment.  Probably understand, the scriptures encourage us to seek God’s forgiveness with hope.

God intends to bring about a renewal of his kingdom.  Our first reading speaks of the one who will come from the “stump of Jesse” who the “spirit of the LORD” will rest upon.  It speaks of the radical change to come when “the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb.” 

We might wonder about that radical change.  These words are given as an encouragement of good things to come.  They give us hope. 

What is the last thing in the list of the gifts of the Holy Spirit?  It says, “his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.”  How are we to delight in fear?

I don’t know about you but when I hear the word “fear”, I think of something that scares me.  I don’t “fear” God in that way.  Don’t misinterpret me.  We should fear the consequences of our sins but the Lord loves us and is eager to forgive us.

So, what is meant by “fear of the Lord”?  We can (and should) stand in great “awe” of the Lord.  He is all-knowing and all-powerful (hence the fear).  He is also all-loving.  Thus, our “awe of the Lord.”

God loves us so much as to send his Son to die for us.  Jesus loves us so much that He gives us the Eucharist as his Body and Blood to feed us.

Next week we will have a Holy Hour with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament where we can come and sit in “awe of the Lord” present in the Blessed Sacrament, the consecrated host, that will be placed on the altar as we pray together and in silence.

John the Baptist calls the people to “Produce good fruit as evidence” of their repentance.  If we want to see the radical change prophesized in Isaiah (ex. “the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb”), it starts with us allowing God to change us.  We need to repent, confessing our sins, so that God might be at work in us.

John the Baptist was a great servant of the Lord.  He was also a humble man.  He said to the people, “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I.  I am not worthy to carry his sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Of course, it is Jesus of whom John the Baptist speaks. 

Following Jesus’ example, we are baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire. 

Remember the list of the gifts of the Spirit foretold in Isaiah?

Baptized in the Holy Spirit, we receive each of these gifts.  This helps us live as Christ teaches.

As times, we fall short.  That’s when we are to confess our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 

We need strength.  We need to come to Eucharist every week, to eat the Body and Blood of Jesus.

The Devout Life – Prayer

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This is the third article in my series based on my reading of the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis De Sales. The first article was “What Does It Mean to be Devout?” followed by “Purification in the Devout Life.”

This article is based on my reading of Part 2 of the Introduction to the Devout Life. Part 2 focuses on prayer and the sacraments. I will be focusing on prayer in the devout life. (If you are interested in reading what I have previously written on the sacraments please see my “Liturgy & Sacraments” page on website and/or the sacraments section on my blog. If you are interested in watching video presentations on the sacraments, please see my series, Sacraments: Channels of God’s Grace. For my video presentation series on prayer, see Giving Our Hearts to God: What It Means to Pray)

St. Francis De Sales opens part 2, “Prayer opens the understanding to the brightness of divine light, and the will to the warmth of heavenly love” (37). Prayer is not just saying the prayers we have memorized or reading from a text. Prayer is not simply giving our list of requests to God. Prayer is about connecting with God. Prayer is about our relationship with God. St. Francis De Sales continues, “But especially I commend earnest mental prayer to you, more particularly such as bears upon the life and Passion of our Lord. If you contemplate him frequently in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with him, you will grow in his likeness, and your actions will be molded on his” (37). Mental prayer (meditation) does not exclude vocal prayer. For example, we see the two working together in praying the Rosary. The Rosary utilizes prayers we have memorized (The Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, Glory be, etc.). It is vocal prayer. It is also mental prayer when we meditate upon the mysteries of Jesus’ life.

St. Francis De Sales calls us to pray one hour each day in meditation (don’t start with an hour, start with a few minutes and increase the amount of time as you can). He encourages us to pray this hour before noon when we still fresh. I suggest that you are the one who knows yourself. You know what time of day is best for your mental prayer. He encourages to offer this hour prayer in church. Why? Are we not less distracted in church than at work or home? I realize that not everyone can make it to church to pray. For suggestions on creating a prayer space at home, see my article, “Where Do You God to Find God?”. He calls us to begin all prayer “by an act of the presence of God” (38). In prayer it is ultimately God we seek. God is everyone. In prayer we ask God to help us be aware of his presence.

For it is when we are aware of God’s presence that we can best live in accord with him (St. Francis De Sales, 39). Otherwise, if we think God is not with us, we might more readily allow ourselves to fall into sin.

Returning to St. Francis De Sales’ instruction to pray in church, God is present in a special way in the church. Jesus is found in the Tabernacle in the consecrated host that is his Body. To be most aware of Jesus’ presence, St. Francis De Sales invites us to pray before the Blessed Sacrament in Adoration (40-41). As I said before, God is present everywhere. However, we can be most aware of his presence in the Blessed Sacrament on the altar.

We must not compartmentalize our prayer. St. Francis De Sales writes, “Above all things, my child, strive when your meditation is ended to retain the thoughts and resolutions you have made as your earnest practice throughout the day” (45, my emphasis). Prayer is not just something we do for a few minutes each day. It is to be part of who we are. This is what it means to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

In chapter 9 of part 2, St. Francis writes of the times when we experience dryness in prayer. We may find ourselves without the ability to mediate. In such times he encourages us to rely on vocal prayer (47) and trust in God. We may not always be aware of God’s presence or the fruit of our prayers but God is always listening. St. Francis De Sales also suggests spiritual reading in times of dryness of prayer. We might not always be aware of the fruit of our reading but it opens the door to let God in. St. Francis De Sales speaks of external actions like prostrating and kissing a crucifix as expressions of what we seek in prayer (47).

In chapter 10 of part 2, St. Francis suggests we begin our morning prayer by thanking God for bringing us through the night to the new day. Then we call to mind what the day will bring and how we might work for eternity. We ask how we might serve God in the day we are beginning while admitting where we might struggle and need God’s help (48).

St. Francis then discusses evening prayer and an examination of conscience. This examination of conscience is more than the one we do before going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This examination begins by thanking God “for having preserved you through the day past” (49). We then examine our day to ask how we conducted ourselves through the day (this is the examination of conscience for sins). Then, thank God for any good we have done and commend everything we have to God (49).

While St. Francis De Sales focuses on morning and evening prayer, he reminds us to pray throughout the day (50). That might difficult. For example, how can one possibly pray in a crowded place? Here I think of my seminary days in Washington, DC. I used to go to the National Mall where there are several monuments and museums and walk. I won’t go inside. I would just walk around the area. There were often lots of people but God revealed himself there. He would bless me with solitude in a crowded place.

We should also realize that praying throughout the day doesn’t mean always spending a lot of time in prayer. It can be as simple as pausing our work and saying just a couple of words to ask God to help us be aware of his presence (50). It might only take a minute but what we open ourselves to in that minute can refresh us in our daily tasks, strengthening us to complete the task before us (St. Francis De Sales, 52).

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, part 2 of the Introduction to the Devout Life is on prayer and the sacraments. I said I wasn’t going to discuss the sacraments in this article. However, there is one sacrament that does need to be included for it is the sacrament that gives us food to endure. It is the Eucharist! St. Francis De Sales describes the Eucharist as “the very center point of our Christian religion, the heart of all devotion, the soul of piety; that ineffable mystery that embraces the whole depth of depth love, by which God, giving himself really to us, conveys all his graces and favors to men with royal magnificence” (55). The Eucharist is the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins. It is the Bread of Life, the very Body and Blood of Jesus. It is God’s great gift to us (After Christmas, I will begin a series of presentations on the Eucharist!).

Knowing what the Eucharist is should be enough to motivate us the “Keep the Sabbath holy” by coming to Mass every Sunday. For those who are able, it should motivate to come to Mass and communicate (receive Communion) everyday. St. Francis De Sales writes, “If men of the world ask why you communicate so often, tell them that it is that you may learn to love God; that you may be cleansed from imperfections, set free from trouble, comforted in affliction, strengthened in weakness” (68).

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

The Day is at Hand

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In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks the coming of the Son of Man. Noah had been commissioned by the Lord to build an ark. The people did not know that a great flood was coming. “They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.” They had no idea what was coming. They went about their normal lives, not prepared for what was coming.

Jesus says, “So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.”

No one except the Father, not even the Son, knows when the Second Coming will happen. It will be a surprise. We should not assume we are guaranteed a place in Heaven for “one will be taken, and one will be left.”

Not everyone will be saved. “So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Does this scare you?

How are we to be ready if we don’t know the hour? To answer this question we need to ask ourselves what does it mean to be ready.

To be ready we must, as Paul writes, “throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, let us conduct ourselves properly.”

Now is hour for us to “awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” We do not know the hour or the day but, as time passes, the hour is coming closer.

What does it mean to “throw off the works of darkness”? It means to set aside the “desires of the flesh.” There should be no more orgies, drunkenness, promiscuity, lust, rivalry, and jealous. These all belong to the evil one.

We must “put on the armor of light.” This light is from the Lord. We must seek the highest mountain for it is the Lord’s. There are many mountains that we can choose to dwell on. It is the Lord’s we seek. We long for the day when “All nations shall stream toward it.”

It takes effort to “climb the Lord’s mountain.” The good news is that we do not have to do it alone. When we seek the climb the Lord’s mountain, the Lord himself will help us. He will “instruct us in his ways” so that “we may walk in his paths.”

Isaiah speaks of the day when “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another.” We long for the day when there will be peace everyone. For this to happen, everyone needs to follow the Lord’s ways. “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!“

I asked before if the fact that the Son of Man will come at hour we don’t expect scared you. The possibility of ending up in Hell should scare us. Instead of letting the fear consume us, we should make it our motivation to live as the Lord calls us each and every day. With the Lord’s help, led by the Holy Spirit and the guidance of our guardian angel, we can follow the Lord’s path. When we do this, we will ready. We will have nothing to fear.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

We Need to be Thankful

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Thanksgiving Day
Sirach 50:22-24
1 Corinthians 6:3-9
Luke 17:11-9
November 24, 2022

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving Day.  It is a national holiday for us.  It is a secular holiday but it is a day that we need to celebrate.

Why do we need Thanksgiving Day?  If you watch the news, you hear of a lot of bad things that happen.  It seems things are getting worse instead of better.  It can be depressing.

We need a day of thanksgiving to give us hope.  This day of thanksgiving is a call for us to think about we have that we are thankful for. 

We might lament a serious illness.  We can give thanks for the care and healing we receive.  We thank the medical workers for their efforts and we thank God for strength and healing.

We lament when we hear of another Mass shooting.  We can give thanks when the shooter is caught and people are safe.

We lament in drought conditions.  We can give thanks for the food and drink that we do have.

We lament Russia invading Ukraine bringing death and destruction.  The people of Ukraine can give thanks for the humanitarian assistance.

We lament a cold day.  We can give thanks for a warm place to gather inside. 

We lament big snowstorms.  We can give thanks for the water that we need in the snow.

I said we can give thanks for the various things.  We “can” but do we?  We ask God for help.  Do we remember to thank him?  Do we thank the people who help us?  There were ten lepers who were healed of their leprosy.  Only one recognized Jesus as the source of his healing and returned to give thanks.

When we recognize the good things that others have done for us, it can bring us happiness.  When we recognize the wonderous things God has done, our hearts are filled with joy. 

This joy gives us hope.  Hope that we need to make through difficult times.  God rescued the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.  God sent many prophets to teach his people.  He sent David as a great king.  He brought the Jews home from exile in Babylon. 

In each of these things the people suffered in some way.  They cried to God for help and He answered when they truly turned their hearts to him.  This is not just their story of what God did for them.  It is our story of what God does for his people.

The story continues with Jesus.  What does He do for us?

He teaches us how to live well.

He reveals his power in the miracles He does.

He saves us from our sins, gives us his Body and Blood as bread from Heaven to nourish us.  He opens the door to eternal life.

It is your choice for how you look at things.  Do you see the cup as half-empty or half-full?  God gives us cup that filled with what we need.

The word “Eucharist” means thanksgiving.  Let us be thankful for all that God has done for us and will do for us in the future. 

Thanksgiving may be a secular holiday but it is a holiday that we need.  The Church gives us special prayers at Mass for Thanksgiving.  We have readings today specifically selected as expressing thanks.

Who has helped you this year?  Have you thanked them?

What blessings has God given you this year?  Have you thanked God?

Purification in the Devout Life

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Last week I began a series of articles inspired by my present reading of St. Francis De Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life. The first article was “What Does It Mean to be Devout?”. I ended that article with a brief mention of “pruning and cutting” by St. Francis De Sales (8).

Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you” (John 15:1-3). We want to be branches on the vine that is Jesus. That means we need to be pruned so that we bear more fruit. We prune our lives by ceasing any activity that does not follow Jesus’ word that He spoke to us.

What about sin? What are we to do to cut away the sins that we have already committed? Of course, Jesus gives us the means to be purified of our past sins. St. Francis De Sales writes, “The first purification to be made is from sin – the means whereby to make it, the sacrament of penance.” (10). Jesus died on the Cross so that our sins will be forgiven. He gives us the Sacrament of Reconciliation to receive that forgiveness for sin. How do we prepare ourselves for this sacrament? We need to make an examination of our conscience.

St. Francis writes, “that by sin you have lost God’s grace, rejected your share in paradise, accepted the pains of hell, and renounced God’s eternal love” (10). Sin is a bad choice. The ramifications of it just described by St. Francis De Sales are huge. However, I don’t know if many people sin consciously choosing to reject paradise or to mean to accept hell. Sometimes we just don’t know better. We make bad choices. Thank God (literally) that Jesus has died for our sins so that we can be forgiven.

From there, St. Francis De Sales discusses the importance of making a “general confession” (10). A general confession is when one examines their entire life to confess all of their sins. Normally, when we make an ordinary confession, we only confess our sins since our last confession. That is all we normally need to confession. Everything that we have confessed before is already forgiven.

So, why make a general confession of one’s whole life? St. Francis De Sales suggests a general confession in the context of one who is making a new and significant effort to live a devout life. To do so, one needs to seriously examine one’s life to see what needs to be changed. In doing so, of course, past sins come to mind. We make the general confession to hand our past over to God as we make new to live the devout life.

Here, St. Francis De Sales writes about we might become lax in preparing ourselves for an ordinary confession, making little preparation (examining our conscience) or with little contrition for our sins. Some will come without a firm resolve to sin no more (10-11). Here I want to distinguish between a real desire to stop sinning and one who doesn’t really try to change. Often we do sin again but not because of a lack of desire to sin no more. Rather, we are weak and we don’t know how to change. That’s why we need to keep coming back to God with a real desire to change. We can’t fix ourselves. God can. It may take time. Be patient. Remember Jesus’ last words in Matthew’s Gospel, “I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b).

We can have a real desire to stop sinning yet struggle to do so. St. Francis De Sales writes, “Even so there are penitents who forsake sin, yet without forsaking their sinful affects; that is to say, they intend to sin no more, but it goes sorely against them to abstain from the pleasures of sin” (11). He continues, “They are like a sick man who abstains from eating melon when the doctor says it would kill him, but who all the while longs for it, talks about it, bargains when he may have it, would at least like just to sniff the perfume, and thinks those who are free to eat of it very fortunate” (11). As we say in the Act of Contrition, we need to avoid whatever leads us to sin. For example, if drinking alcohol leads you to sin (as it weakens your resistance to sin), than stop drinking.

St. Francis reminds us, “those wretched affections will perpetually enfeeble your mind, and clog it, so that you will be unable to be diligent, ready and frequent in good works, in which nevertheless lies the very essence of all true devotion” (12). We fool ourselves (prompted by the devil) that it won’t matter this one time or think that we haven’t crossed the line. This kind of attitude begins us down the slippery slope to sin.

When we find ourselves repeatedly sinning, especially committing the same sins over and over, we might be tempted to give up, thinking God won’t love us. St. Francis De Sales reminds us, “God brought you out of this nothingness, in order to make you what you are, not because he had any need of you, but solely out of his goodness” (my emphasis, 13). God always loves you. Jesus died for you because He loves you. God will keep forgiving.

How grateful are you for God’s forgiveness? If we are grateful, we will give all effort to change, to stop sinning (St. Francis De Sales, 17). However, as long as we are really trying, we should never despair when we sin. One challenge in the Sacrament of Reconciliation is that the focus in what we have done wrong (as it should be). However, that doesn’t mean we don’t do good. It doesn’t mean that we haven’t made improvements. The first place to look might be to ask yourselves if you are sinning less often. If you are sinning less often, thank God for the progress. In this we find hope. The cup is half-full rather than half-empty. Yes, we need to stop all our sins but we rejoice in any progress.

We need to be sincere in examining our conscience with a contrite heart. Once we confess our sins, at the final judgment the devil cannot use any sins we have confessed against us. We do not want to spend eternity in Hell where we are eternally separated from God (St. Francis De Sales, the “loss of God’s glory”, 23). The fear of Hell can be a powerful motivator. Perhaps an even better motivator against sin is that when we are free from sin and do good works, we will spent eternity in paradise. We will be in Heaven. The eternal cup is not simply half-full. It is overflowing with the glory of God.

If we understand what God offers us in Heaven, the eternal happiness of being with him, we will seek to change. St. Francis De Sales writes, “Suppose the angel to set before you paradise, full of delights and joys; and on the other hand hell, with all its torments. Contemplate both, kneeling in imagination before your guardian angel. Consider that you are most truly standing between hell and paradise, and that both the one and the other are open to receive you, according to your own choice” (my emphasis, 26). The problem is that we don’t look at it this way. Rather than see the pains of hell, we seek the immediate earthly pleasure that comes from our action. We don’t see the eternal consequences. We tend to seek the immediate pleasure of this world rather than the eternal pleasure of Heaven. We are stuck in the here and now. We ask God to help us see what lies beyond the here and now. Then our choice will be clear. We will choose Heaven.

Here, I wish to offer a caution against scrupulosity. Do not live thinking you are no good. Do not let your life be consumed by constantly examining your past. General confession is a rare thing. As long as you sincerely examine your conscience, even if you forget a sin, God will and does forgive you. Have no doubt that God loves you. His love for you is absolute. Once you have confessed your sins and done your penance, know for certain that God has forgiven you.

Will you change immediately? Maybe not. Don’t try to fix everything yourself. Living the devout life comes with time. Sometimes we have to unpeel layers of sin, handing each layer over to God. We may not understand why we sin. Venial sin clouds what we see. Mortal sin can blind us to what is really going on. We ask God to help us see why we sin and for the grace to change (see St. Francis De Sales, 32-33).

Sometimes the things that lead us to sin, are neither good or bad in their own. St. Francis De Sales writes, “Sports, balls, plays, festivities, pomps, are not in themselves evil, but rather indifferent matters, capable of being used for good or ill; but nevertheless they are dangerous, and it is still more dangerous to take great delight in them…if you are addicted to these things, they will hinder your devotion, and become extremely hurtful and dangerous to you. The harm lies, not in doing them, but in the degree to which you care for them” (my emphasis, 34). For example, there is nothing wrong in playing football or going fishing. There is something terribly lacking when we choose to play football or go finishing instead of spending the time with God.

No matter what sins you have committed, no matter how much you continue to struggle with sin, know that God loves you.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16-17).

Peace,

Fr. Jeff