LENTEN RETREAT
Day 39
IT’s certainly possible to purchase a hot air balloon, set it all up, turn on the propane, and begin to inflate it, doing it all on one’s own. But with the help of another experienced aviator, it would become so much easier, quicker and safer to get into the skies.
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THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 8th, 2015
Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary
JUBILEE YEAR OF MERCY
Liturgical texts here
AS I collapsed into my wife’s arms this morning, I said, “I just need to rest for a moment. Too much evil…” It’s the first day of the Jubilee Year of Mercy—but I’m admittedly feeling a little physically drained and spiritually enervated. A lot’s happening in the world, one event upon the other, just as the Lord explained it would be (see The Seven Seals of Revolution). Still, keeping up to the demands of this writing apostolate means looking down the gaping mouth of darkness more than I desire. And I worry too much. Worry about my children; worry that I’m not doing God’s will; worry that I’m not giving my readers the right spiritual food, in the right doses, or the right content. I know I shouldn’t worry, I tell you not to, but I sometimes do. Just ask my spiritual director. Or my wife.
HE was a Muslim, and he was angry. As my fifteen minute cab ride unfolded, the young, stocky Islamic man at the wheel did not mince words.
“Pray the Rosary every day in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary to obtain peace in the world… for she alone can save it.” —approved apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima, July 13, 1917
IT is long overdue to take these words seriously… words which require some sacrifice and perseverance. But if you do, I believe you will experience a release of graces in your spiritual life and beyond…
The Triumph of Christianity Over Paganism, Gustave Doré, (1899)
“WHAT do you mean that the Blessed Mother will “triumph”?” asked one puzzled reader recently. “I mean, the Scriptures say that out of the mouth of Jesus will come ‘a sharp sword to strike the nations’ (Rev 19:15) and that ‘the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and render powerless by the manifestation of his coming’ (2 Thess 2:8). Where do you see the Virgin Mary “triumphing” in all of this??”
A broader look at this question may help us understand not only what the “Triumph of the Immaculate Heart” means, but also, what the “Triumph of the Sacred Heart” is as well, and when they occur.
Joshua passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant by Benjamin West, (1800)
AT the birth of every new era in salvation history, an ark has led the way for the People of God.
THERE are many sincere and genuine “prophets” in the Protestant churches today. But not surprisingly, there are holes and gaps in some of their “prophetic words” at this hour, precisely because there are holes and gaps in their theological premises. Such a statement is not intended to be inflammatory or triumphalistic, as though “we Catholics” have the corner on God, so to speak. No, the fact is, many Protestant (Evangelical) Christians today have a greater love and devotion to God’s Word than many Catholics, and have cultivated a great zeal, prayer life, faith, and openness to the spontaneity of the Holy Spirit. And thus, Cardinal Ratzinger makes an important qualification of contemporary Protestantism:
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for December 19th-20th, 2014
of the Third Week of Advent
Liturgical texts here
THE Immaculate Conception of Mary is one of the most beautiful miracles in salvation history after the Incarnation—so much so, that the Fathers of the Eastern tradition celebrate her as “the All-Holy” (Panagia) who was…
…free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature. —Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 493
But if Mary is a “type” of the Church, then it means that we too are called to become the Immaculate Conception as well.
THIS past Spring, I went through a terrible darkness. I felt tremendous doubts, surges of fear, despair, terror, and abandonment. I began one day with prayer as usual, and then… she came.
THE NOW WORD ON MASS READINGS
for September 15th, 2014
Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows
Liturgical texts here
I stood and watched as tears welled in her eyes. They ran down her cheek and formed drops on her chin. She looked as though her heart could break. Only a day before, she had appeared peaceful, even joyful… but now her face seemed to betray the deep sorrow in her heart. I could only ask “Why…?”, but there was no answer in the rose-scented air, since the Woman I was looking at was a statue of Our Lady of Fatima.
The Immaculate Conception, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (1767)
WHAT did you say? That Mary is the refuge that God is giving us in these times? [1]cf. The Rapture, the Ruse, and the Refuge
It sounds like heresy, doesn’t it. After all, isn’t Jesus our refuge? Isn’t He the “mediator” between man and God? Isn’t His the only name by which we are saved? Is He not the Savior of the world? Yes, all this is true. But how the Savior wishes to save us is a completely different matter. How the merits of the Cross are applied is an altogether mysterious, beautiful, and awesome unfolding story. It is within this application of our redemption that Mary finds her place as the crown of God’s masterplan in redemption, after Our Lord Himself.
ON THE FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION
August 15th, 2014
IT came to me as clear as a bell during Mass: there is one refuge that God is giving us in these times. Just as in the days of Noah there was only one ark, so too today, there is only one Ark being provided in this present and coming Storm. Not only did the Lord send Our Lady to warn of the spread of global Communism, [1]cf. The Fall of Mystery Babylon but she also gave us the means to endure and be protected throughout this difficult period…
…and it won’t be a “rapture.”
| 1. | ⇡ | cf. The Fall of Mystery Babylon |