Mary, Queen and Mother.

With all my thoughts lately on holiness, I have been naturally led to reflect on Mary's role in the lives of every follower of Jesus. Tomorrow is the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, the feast during which we celebrate Mary's yes to God's call for her to be the Mother of His Son, a yes so radical that God took on flesh in her womb. In part to celebrate this feast, I participated in an ancient Marian devotion just this evening: the blessing and vesting with the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

What is a scapular, you ask? A scapular was originally a part of a monk's habit. It was a rectangular cloth, about the width of the shoulders, that hung over the shoulders all the way down the length of the habit, both front and back. The word "scapular" comes from the Latin scapula, which means shoulder, and it symbolizes the yoke of Christ which all Christians are called to bear. Now adays, they have been altered popular use, and not just those who have taken vows with a religious order, although by wearing them, you are considered affiliated in some way with that order. These "lay scapulars" tend to be much smaller, maybe a few square inches in size, and hang over the shoulders by a chain or a ribbon attaching the two sides (see picture below). The Brown Scapular, specifically, is associated with the Carmelite religious order, an order devoted to mysticism and contemplative prayer. The brown scapular was given to the superior general of the order, St. Simon Stock, but Our Lady in a vision in his room in Cambridge, England. That was around 1251. With this gift came an awesome promise: "Whosever shall die while wearing this scapular shall not suffer the eternal fire." Basically this promise means that anyone who lives a good Christian life and dies in the friendship of God (i.e. in the state of grace), while wearing this gift of Mary's, will enjoy forever, in unimaginable bliss, the face of God.

But what's the wearing of little brown cloth have to do with my salvation? Well, in the Catholic mindset, to quote a theology teacher of mine from my College Seminary days: "matter matters." I mean that Catholicism is a religion that acknowledges the importance of the physical in God's plan. After all, He did think it a good idea to take human body so that he could really commiserate with our poor, broken nature. By taking on flesh, Jesus showed us that our bodies are good, and that the material world is His creation, and a source of grace, signifying His presence in our world. That's the whole point of the Incarnation, to catch up into the divine our lowly humanity! And that's why we celebrate the Annunciation, thanking Mary for making it all possible by her "yes," her fiat. By wearing this brown scapular, we are always silently remembering her devotion and love for God and her children. We are all her children, for we are all one body in her Son. By wearing this scapular, we are silently lifting up a perpetual prayer to her, pleading for her protection, and asking her to show us Jesus, just like she did for the shepherds on Christmas day. Mary is our advocate, our defender, our great example, God's promise of our future glory. And by wearing this scapular-by devoting ourselves to Mary without reserve-God showers us with His favors. And what Son would not be pleased in seeing His Mother so honored.

So don't be afraid to devote yourself to our Lady. She gave Christ to the world by her humble obedience, and she can show us how to do the same. She can give birth again and again to Jesus in our own hearts, and the hearts of others. Peace be with you, and Mary keep you!

An Easter Call to Holiness

Happy Easter! The blessings of the Risen Lord be upon you! This is a season of great joy for me, as the whole Church celebrates the great victory over sin and death of Her Head, Jesus Christ. With that victory comes the joy of redemption from sin, of the grace of the Holy Spirit, of intimate union with the Father in Heaven. Between the awesome beauty of the Triduum Liturgy - The Mass of the Lord's Supper, The Commemoration of the Lord's Passion, and the Easter Vigil - and the wonderful graces imparted throughout these days, Eastertide has always been a season of great spiritual consolation, even when things have been a little dry. And who could remain cold to the celebrations of Easter, amid the beautiful sights and smells of a lilly-clad altar? The beauty of the Easter decorations in churches everywhere are such sources of grace in and of themselves!

Lately, during the tail end of Lent and throughout this Easter Week, I've been thinking a lot about what it means to be a Christian, how it all boils down in the routine, everyday of our lives here on earth. I think, the reason being, is simply because I don't know if I've been doing the best that I can in my walk with Christ. On top of that is the exciting, and also sobering news from my bishop that I will be attending Major Seminary at the North American College in Rome. This news is absolutely wonderful, and I feel incredibly blessed and honored to be given this amazing opportunity to be so close to the Heart of Holy Mother Church. How truly graced I will be. All this makes me think how un-graced-like I've been acting recently. Without giving away details too personal for the public forum, I'll say that I've been lately worn out by my daily crosses. Most of these are private crosses, things that I bear in silence, that most of my brothers are unaware of. But the crosses themselves aren't really the problem. The problem comes from how distracted I've let myself become in the midst of them. I'm already someone who doesn't deal well with stress. That weakness is compounded a hundred-fold when I allow myself to loose sight of what really matters in life.

So what does really matter? Amid all the trappings of the Catholic - Christian life, the teachings, the prayers, the Liturgies and Traditions, what is the driving principle and last end of all these essentials? What's at the core? What holds them all together?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it wonderfully:

In the waters of Baptism...our Father calls us to holiness in the whole of our life, and since 'he is the source of [our] life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and...sanctification,' both his glory and our life depend on the hallowing of his name in us and by us. (no. 2813)

Holiness. That's our call, that's the first mission and reason for our existence. In everything we do we are to "hallow" his name in our hearts and in our actions. It is this lived Faith, I think, in which real spiritual progress consists. But don't we so often get distracted, even in our Faith? What I mean is, especially for those involved in service to the church, is that sometimes we make our faith all about having the best music at Mass, or being on the right side of all the big debates that divide us today. Now, I firmly believe that many of these things are among the most important aspects of our religion; I said it above already - they're the essentials, because they direct and inspire our Faith, showing us the way to holiness, helping us to pray. But all of them mean absolutely nothing unless we daily seek after Christ. That's what holiness means: union with that God-man Jesus, who died and rose from the dead to deliver us from sin and make us new in the Spirit. It means that every day we have to get back up when we fall; It means every day remembering that it's all His work, and never ours; It means we are hopeless without Him, and living like we know it. It means we pray like our lives depended on it. It means trying to be one with Him, like Him in Heart and Mind. Every morning we have to renew our commitment to Him, give ourselves over to Him, and let His love fill our hearts so it can be the lens through we we see all whom we meet.

It sounds like quite a tall order, doesn't it? I guess from this side of heaven, it does. But it helps to simplify it, I think. It's all about Jesus. Everything else about our Catholic Faith falls into place around Him, pointing toward Him. So here's a bit of advice, if all my talk about Holiness seems like a lot: try and grow in your love for the Blessed Sacrament. It works for me, and has for all the saints. Why? Well, because it's Jesus. Because everything comes together in the Eucharist. There's nothing symbolic about it - Jesus is really and truly there, and that's an essential to our Faith. You can't come to truly know Christ without it. Mary will help you, too; everything she does points to Him. If you find yourself losing focus, getting distracted by your sins or just those lesser concerns, go to her. She'll take you to the Cross, where His blood will wash you clean again...

I hope my Easter ramblings have made some sense. There's a lot of context to these reflections that I admit I've left out for personal reasons, so it all seems to make perfect sense in my head. But the advice I've given has been given by all the spiritual masters. This Christian Life is tough, I know. I've been trying hard to live it for a while now. But I think we'll all be okay if we just manage to focus. That in and of itself can't be done without the grace of God, so again, stick close to Him. He loves us, and wants only the best for us. Well, that's all for now. Until next time, may the Risen Lord fill your hearts and your minds with the peace that is beyond all understanding... Ciao!

St. Joseph - Man of Faith

Well, it's certainly been a while since I've written anything. Seminary has been a rich, joyful - and also quite a busy - experience in these past two years. I find it rather amusing looking back over some of my old posts, intending at the time to chronicle my adventures here at the College Seminary--St. Andrew's Hall, and finding that my last post was in September of my first year. And already, it's two months to go before graduation and Major Seminary! It's truly been one amazing ride, an experience that has formed me in my faith and love of God and His people. There have been so many rich blessings over these two years, and I am ever more deeply grateful as each day goes by. But, it must be said that above all that, my time in College Seminary has been a great challenge, in some ways the greatest challenge of my life...

And so I find myself thinking of Lent - the Great Season of Penance. That time each year where we turn our backs to sin and look with trembling to God our Father, confident in His never failing Mercies. For all the great blessings He has shed upon me, I'm still so far from being the kind of man that He wishes me to be. It's so hard to stay pure, focused, and mindful of God's presence in my life. I find myself so easily discouraged, and sometimes disillusioned with my dreams of priesthood and holiness. It seems like so lofty a goal, so far and high above me. How can I ever dare to be an alter christus when I can't even treat my brothers and sisters in Christ with all the respect and charity that I aught! And it's so hard to find time to pray. It's so easy to just bury myself in my work (or play) and forget to take time out to spend before Jesus in the Tabernacle and just have a real heart-to-heart. Perhaps it's my dreams that are far to lofty, too high, too unrealistic. But even if they are what they should be, the challenges would still be great.

That's why I admired St. Joseph. His was a faith unquestioning, unwavering. I can't imagine what it must have been like for him to suddenly find his beloved fiancee was pregnant! Yet he trusted in God and took Mary into his home, even though to all appearances it seems that she broke the Law. How absurd it must have sounded to Him to hear that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit! Yet, he believed, despite the looks, despite the whispering and the gossip! If only I were so untouched by anxiety over my own reputation... He was found worthy by God to take into his care the Second Person of the Holy Trinity! How amazing! And how unworthy am I to take Him under my own roof every day at Mass? Joseph's faith was an extraordinary faith - he was ready to give up everything for the ones that he loved, starting with God. He even threw himself amidst a pagan people to protect his wife and Son. My only prayer is that he would teach me-teach all of us-the meaning of true faith and trust in God, that when the crosses become hard to bear, we might cling ever more tightly to Jesus, rather than caving into our desire to have it easy. Jesus is the only thing worth clinging to. Letting our selves get dragged down by the desire for comfort is a sure sign of disordered self-love. And how empty these worldly pleasure are! We must strive always to love God more, despite ourselves and the whims of the moment. Isn't this the meaning and purpose of Lent as well? A valuable lesson, O Christian. Pray for us, O blessed Joseph, that this Lent, and every day of our lives, my be a lesson in the true meaning of Faith in Jesus...