December 6th Fast

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JMJ

"Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields,'Come and have your meal immediately'? Would he not be more likely to say, 'Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards'? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do say,'We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.'" (Luke 17:7-10)

When Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem with the unborn Savior that first Christmas night, there were many hardships to be endured, but surely the most difficult to suffer was the callousness of others who were apathetic to their needs.   Pointed cruelty was not aimed at this poor couple, but simple and silent disregard.  The people they encountered could be not bothered with them, and either through indifference or indolence, they were quietly ignored.  No complaint arose from Mary's lips, no cry of frustration from Joseph's tongue; instead, only pity for those who were unaware of the treasure they forewent in refusing to serve the Divine Gift come down from Heaven.

In meditating upon Our Lord's birth, one may imagine that he would be with the shepherds to adore Him "at midnight, in piercing cold."  He imagines what small service he could render the Holy Babe; what comfort he could give His Blessed Mother and humble foster father.   But like St. Catherine of Siena, who was forced to serve as a servant in her large household, one can serve the Holy Family by imagining those he encounters (especially his own family) as the Blessed Three of Bethlehem.

One who is a servant of a king, considers himself blessed to perform any service, no matter how laborious or unseemly.  He is quick to respond to a request and does not languidly loiter.  Fatigue and feelings are set aside as fidelity to duty readily dominates. He is humbled when he reflects that His sovereign has entrusted him with a responsibility to execute his tasks faithfully.  He expects no other reward than the great privilege of being a member of the King's household.  So, we too, as servants of the King may be mindful that the services we are asked to render Him, as evidenced through our daily duties, are the ways we can offer succor to him and Our Lady and St. Joseph.  Through the guise of drudgery or inconvenience, we attend to Our Master and say,"we are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty."

November 1st Feast of All Saints

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JMJ

"For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.  From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance." (2 Tim 4:6-8)

Each morning one is prepared with sound resolutions and the zeal to practice the accompanying virtues that are required for them.  Unfortunately, as the day drags on, his store of patience is slowly depleted, and with it, his reserves of persevearance quickly run dry.  By the day's end, he is often exhausted from taxing battles- physical, mental, and spiritual. The respite he seeks is within reach, when still another implores his attention.  Perhaps it is something small, but at that moment, when so little of his stamina remains, a seemingly innocuous request looms large and burdensome.

He considers the matter briefly, hearing his ego opine incessantly,"It is too much!" His cup is nearly empty, only the pitiful dregs remain; cannot he savor these last few drops for himself? Or must he give them up too? Though he has freely sacrificed himself all the day, or week, or month, or year, there is a present need that can only be filled by his love, and no other.  There is solace in the knowledge that only he is needed, if not comfort in the outpouring of his spirit.

The total gift of self, compelled by one's vocation, is, as St. Paul wisely said:"being poured out like a libation." It is a complete emptying of one's store of energy, in all facets of life.  The intensity of the demand requires a constant replenishment of the needed graces to sacrifice generously and joyfully, not begrudgingly and resentfully. These graces come through the Sacraments, but also by frequent prayer throughout the day- continual contact with the one who supplies all our needs.  In particular, we should implore our dear Mother in Heaven, who greatly desires us to ask for graces through her intercession. For what Mother does not wish her child to succeed and finish the race well?

September 6th Fast

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JMJ

“In my long experience very often I had to be convinced of this great truth; that it is easier to become angry than to restrain oneself and easier to threaten a boy than to persuade him. Yes, it is more fitting to be persistent in punishing our own impatience and pride than to correct the boys. We must be firm but kind, and be patient with them.” 

St John Bosco

An oft-heard parental reaction after the embarrassing or unusual antics of a child is bewilderment and questioning to the origins of their offspring ("I don't where he came from") as if the mere fact that the child shares the same blood as the parent should assure him the same predictable and manageable personality. Frequently, parents forget that God did not give them a possession to control, but a soul to teach. A little one is not entrusted to the care of another to be a boast if brilliant and a property to managed if unruly; no, his spirit must be cultivated to be fruitful in good works, tended to with diligence and patience.

Too easily, those in authority (parents, teachers, or otherwise) use nature as an excuse to relieve them of the responsibility to direct a seeking soul- be they young or old- and so orphan their charge, leaving them bereft of the necessary tools of wholesome maturation.  Frustration and fatigue often trample patience and zeal, thereby leading to wearisome resignation.  Pride rears its ugly head in the struggle, for sometimes one's exasperation emanates from the embarrassing realization of his own ineptitude or laudable witness.

How to go about the task of teaching then? Through perseverance and prayer, God will grant the necessary graces to succeed in this praiseworthy endeavor. Our Father does not expect the talent to be buried and neglected, but invested and returned with interest.  One must invest his attention, his emotion, his energy, his sacrifices to till the soil of a hungry soul. All this must be done with firm yet gentle determination for the training of a soul is a high calling indeed.

". . . proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching." (2 Tim 4)

August 2nd Fast

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JMJ

"At times, the weakest point in our spiritual life is more than twelve miles down!  We want to see what this is. We want, without putting ourselves under a microscope, to take better precautions, so that God's house, which is each of us, does not fall when the rain beats against it or the earthquake comes. We need to ask: "What caused this? If I lapse into a sudden moodiness or indulge miasmic sensitiveness, is there perhaps a resentment or self-pity I have never resolved twelve miles beneath that epicenter? If I quake with anger over something that even I myself can see, later on, is really such a small thing, what is twelve miles below that epicenter? Where is the real trouble? The real trouble is that I have not exercised self-control in little things."

(Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C.) 

One of the frustrations that may accompany one's journey to holiness results from the periodic lapses into a particular fault he struggles with.  Though he conquers his defect at times, the inconsistency of his victories reveals that his resolution to eradicate this fault was only superficial, failing to find and eliminate the source of the problem.

So, one struggles to bridle his tongue and is flabbergasted when this wild colt frequently breaks from the loosely held reins. Yet, it is not his need to talk that prevents his self-discipline but the prideful attachment to his opinions, witticisms, and accomplishments being heard.  Another is astonished at his impulsive and tempestuous outbursts but upon examination, he understands that they emanate from a stubborn refusal to patiently accept inconvenient interruptions that are really God's unexpected will in daily life. Still another, who employs himself in constant distraction, realizes that this attachment to noise is symptomatic of an unaddressed anxiety and restlessness.

The remedy in correcting these "quakes" in one's behavior lies first in humbly acknowledging the deeper attachments that trigger the first rumblings.  After excavating below the fault, one can then resolutely exercise a watchfulness for occasions when he is most likely to stumble.  This vigilance is not meant to produce scrupulosity, but rather affords one the opportunity to practice the opposing virtue, strengthening self-control by building up a store of little victories.  A particular examen, as promoted by St. Ignatius Loyola, is very helpful in this regard.  Above all, though, victory can be only gained through the graces received by perseverance in prayer and reception of the Sacraments.

July 5th Fast

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JMJ

"We human beings will do nothing without looking for a reward.  God is so munificent that we can do nothing harmless without being rewarded. We should understand that the most generous of acts, hidden, apparently seconded only by greater sufferings or persecution, is rewarded in such a manner, were it only at the end of a century, that [we will realize our] loss of self has resulted in the finding of self in God, where all is joy and vigor, though the body be but a skeleton of severities. The work is attempted for God, with all its renunciations, weariness, incurred scorn, floutings of one's personal tastes and sensibilities, is never anything but a self-interested proceeding-its goal is heaven.

The great God is so good a Master as this; and He has made it impossible for us to lose by suffering for Him. . .Let us understand clearly. . . that there can be no question of pride or complacency, but only humble thanksgiving . . . that we can do so little for the gift that will be given to us by God, who rushes His rewards upon us for the least loving act on on our part, or causes us to wait patiently for still greater treasure. It is not that we are not sublime when true to Him in entire obedience, but that He is so faithful, that the more we think we are doing for Him, the less we should imagine that we are to be pitied."

(Servant of God Rose Hawthorne)