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) 

June 7th Fast

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JMJ

"My Child, do not be curious. Do not trouble yourself with idle cares. What matters this or that to you? Follow Me. What is it to you if a man is such and such, if another does or says this or that? You will not have to answer for others, but you will have to give an account of yourself. Why, then, do you meddle in their affairs?"

(Imitation of Christ, Thomas à Kempis)

God has placed a natural desire for knowledge and truth in our hearts so as to propel man to seek Christ, the Truth and man's ultimate end.  Unfortunately, this legitimate and healthy need to seek true knowledge can sometimes take unnecessary detours in the attractive but empty pursuit of useless and sometimes harmful information which emanates from an unquenchable curiosity.

The tantalizing effects of the unknown are used as a lure of the devil to satisfy one's spiritual and intellectual appetite with the tasty morsels of gossip and saccharine trivialities, rather than a hearty diet of truth, goodness, and beauty.  Technology readily feeds into an unbridled curiosity, seductively inviting one to various vacuous pleasures: idleness, gossip, voyeurism, jealousy, lust, etc.  The rotten fruit of this shiftless activity is pride as one's ego relishes the discovery of that which was hidden from him.  In contrast, the gaining of true knowledge produces the celestial fruit of humility, which is cultivated in the man who increasingly recognizes his nothingness compared to the Almighty Father he is coming to know better. 

Learning to mortify one's curiosity is a praiseworthy and necessary task to tackle.  One must learn to be content with questions unasked and unanswered, and grow accustomed to the silence of the ears, eyes, and tongue which accompany a peaceful heart that is content with the unknown.

May 3 Fast

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JMJ

"The love of husband and wife is the force that welds society together.  . . Because when harmony prevails the children are raised well, the household is kept in order, and neighbors, friends, and relatives praise the result. Great benefits, both for families and states are thus produced. When it is otherwise, however, everything is thrown into confusion and turned upside-down."

(St. John Chrysostom)

Ironically, when society pushes the notion of egalitarian marriages- where all aspects of family life are shared, irregardless of the particular gifts God has accorded to each sex- chaos ensues amidst a power struggle.  Often, one spouse eventually dominates because a soft tyranny is preferable to the disorder that resulted from the previous state of affairs.  Marriage is not a division of labor, but a unification of heart (wife) and head (husband).  To deny the feminine genius* of the wife and to ignore the natural headship of the husband is akin to a builder tossing aside the blueprints of the architect, and deciding on his own design.

Men and women do not follow this blueprint blindly; rather, when a spouse humbly recognizes his own deficiency and perceives the wisdom of the other in a particular matter, he makes an act of the will, displaying his confident assurance that God has endowed the other with the necessary graces and gifts to fulfill his vocation and irreplaceable role in family life.

In this month of May, we turn to the Blessed Mother for her guidance and example. She- who could have claimed authority by virtue of her position (as Mother of God) and nature (as conceived without sin)- humbly yet actively submitted to St. Joseph's authority.  If the Seed of Wisdom could defer to another, surely we could mortify our pride, and relinquish our controlling grasp so as to contribute to the harmony of a peaceful home.

*term coined by St. John Paul II