THE LITURGICAL YEAR

Sermons, hymns, meditations and other musings to guide our annual pilgrim's progress through the liturgical year.

Sunday, May 30, 2021

WHO HATH KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD?

 A SERMON FOR TRINITY SUNDAY


What can we possibly say about the Most Blessed Trinity?  The Trinity is God, and God is everything, so you might think there’s an awful lot we can talk about.  And certainly that’s true.  But yet, you’ll notice that today’s Epistle and Gospel are both very short.  In fact, today’s readings are the shortest of the year.  And why is that?  Is it because of the lack of things to say about the Blessed Trinity.  Not at all.  The theological treatises on the Trinity started appearing in the very earliest days of the Church and have continued ever since.  We know a whole lot about each of the three Persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and a great deal too about them as one divine Being whom we call God.  And yet, even after two thousand years of study by the greatest minds of the Church, there’s still so much we don’t understand.

The reason is simple.  God is infinite and we are not.  Our minds cannot grasp the concept of a being that has always existed and always will, because our minds are limited.  Limited by our own experience of time and space, limited by our own finite nature.  We can only truly comprehend what falls within the limits of this nature, and so infinity, eternity, divine perfection are simply beyond us.  And that’s okay.  There are things we’re not meant to comprehend, and we call these truths “mysteries.”  Three Persons in one infinite and eternal God is one of those mysteries, and so we don’t need to attempt the impossible by trying to understand it.

St. Patrick gave it a good shot when he tried explaining the Trinity to the ancient pagan tribes of Ireland.  He held up before them a humble little shamrock.  Three leaves and yet one shamrock.  Three Persons, one God.  This simple device helped convert the pagans and thus served St. Patrick’s purpose.  And yet, neither they nor even St. Patrick himself could even begin to imagine the reality of the Trinity which the shamrock so dimly represents.  Today, with all out technology, our computers, our artificial intelligence, our smartphones, we’re no nearer understanding the mystery of the Trinity than when St. Patrick held up those little green leaves to the Irish people.

So what is there in today’s readings that the Church wanted to show us?  If we can’t possibly understand the concept of an infinite Triune God, what is there in today’s Epistle and Gospel that the Church wants us to know about the Trinity above all else?  She chooses first of all to confirm to us through the words of St. Paul that the Trinity is indeed a mystery beyond our comprehension.  “O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.”  There are truths out there, he’s saying, truths that are great riches, and which are very deep—“O the depth of the riches”—so deep that we can never approach them: “How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”  No one can ever know these depths, says St. Paul, as he asks the rhetorical question, “For who hath known the mind of the Lord?” 

We might know and understand very little about the Trinity, but oh, what unknown riches there are beyond our comprehension. St. Paul’s words are the best we can come up with to describe the nature of a God who is infinite and eternal, because no words are adequate.  This knowledge that that there are these riches so far above our comprehension inspire us to act accordingly.  And again, St. Paul sums up our response in the last words of this epistle today: “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever.  Amen.”  Everything we do actually understand, everything we know by our five senses and our reason, all of it was made by God, continues to exist through the divine will of God, and belongs to God.  “Of him, through him, to him.”  So what is our response?  We must adore this God, “to whom be glory for ever.”  If we know this much, we know enough.

In today’s Gospel, our blessed Lord himself confirms the words of St. Paul.  By the very fact of his existence as Man, our Lord offers us a greater knowledge and understanding of the Trinity.  For who is he, this Man whom we yet revere as God?  He is a man and therefore one of us.  A man that we can understand, because a man is not infinite.  He is born on a specific date, he dies on a specific date, he has a body that we can see and touch, he speaks with words that we can hear.  He probably resembled his blessed Mother, and certainly had her genetic composition, her DNA, her blood flowing through his veins.  He ate and drank like us, breathed air like us, was tempted like us.  We can relate to our Lord because he is like us in all things except sin.  God in his mercy begat his Son with a human nature so that we could better understand the nature of the divine.  And yet, our Lord tell us in this very short Gospel today, he may be a man, but he is at the same time more than just a man: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”  He was a man but he was also God.  He always was God and always will be God.  So go, baptize not just in the Name of God, but in the name of the Blessed Trinity, the three names of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 

And what does this Second Person of the Blessed Trinity tell us we must do if we believe in God?  Obey the law.  “Observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”  For if ye love me, our Lord says elsewhere, ye will keep my commandments.  If we follow God’s will, all will be well.  And what is God’s will?  What is his greatest commandment?  Thou shalt love God!  “Love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, mind and soul, and thy neighbor as thyself.”  If we do this, everything else will fall into place.  Because when we love God above all things, God will be dwelling in our hearts and minds and souls.  “Lo,” says our Lord, “I am with you, always, even unto the end of the world.”


MOST ANCIENT OF ALL MYSTERIES

 A HYMN FOR TRINITY SUNDAY


By Fr. Frederick Faber


Most ancient of all mysteries,
Before thy throne we lie;
Have mercy now, most merciful,
Most holy Trinity.

 

When heaven and earth were yet unmade,
When time was yet unknown,
Thou in thy bliss and majesty
Didst live and love alone.

 

Thou wert not born; there was no fount
From which thy Being flowed;
There is no end which thou canst reach;
But thou art simply God.

 

How wonderful creation is,
The work which thou didst bless,
And O, what then must thou be like,
Eternal loveliness!

 

Most ancient of all mysteries,
Before thy throne we lie;
Have mercy now, most merciful,
Most holy Trinity.


THE ATHANASIAN CREED

 AN AFFIRMATION OF FAITH FOR TRINITY SUNDAY


Whosoever will be saved , before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith

except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.

 

And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither

confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of

the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy

Ghost, is all one, the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and

such is the Holy Ghost.

 

The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the

Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and

the Holy Ghost eternal.

 

And yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor

three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible.

 

So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are

not three Almighties, but one Almighty.

 

So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but

one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three

Lords, but one Lord.

 

For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by himself to be both

God and Lord, So are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion to say, There be three Gods, or three

Lords. The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not

made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son, neither made, nor

created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

 

So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy

Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is afore, or after other; none is greater, or less than another; But the

whole three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity

in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved must think

thus of the Trinity.

 

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our

Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the

Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man

of the substance of his Mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul

and human flesh subsisting.

 

Equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead; and inferior to the Father, as touching his manhood;

Who, although he be God and Man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; One, not by conversion of the

Godhead into flesh but by taking of the Manhood into God; One altogether; not by confusion of

Substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is

one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead.

He ascended into heaven, he sitteth at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence he will

come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies and

shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and

they that have done evil into everlasting fire.

 

This is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.

Sunday, May 23, 2021

WITH ONE ACCORD IN ONE PLACE

 A SERMON FOR WHITSUNDAY


“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”  After our blessed Lord ascended into heaven, the eleven remaining Apostles did as they had been commanded.  They returned to Jerusalem and to the Upper Room where they had celebrated the Last Supper of our Lord the night he began his final sufferings.  Here, they were joined by other disciples of our Lord, as well as what St. Luke describes simply as “the women.”  These were the holy women who had followed our Lord during his life, faithfully keeping his teachings in their hearts.  Only one of these women is actually named by St. Luke, and that is “Mary, the Mother of Jesus.”  Our Blessed Lady deserves special mention in this first assembly of the our Lord’s faithful followers, she who was the most faithful, the only one, in fact, whose faith had never wavered, even during the darkest hours of the Crucifixion.  She was now accorded a special place among the apostles, and would play a crucial role in the events of the first Pentecost.

Meanwhile, let’s turn our attention to those first words of today’s lesson from the Acts of the Apostles, namely, that “they”—the Apostles and all the other disciples, men and women, who assembled in prayer for the nine days between the Ascension and the coming of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost—they, were all with one accord in one place.”  It’s worth mentioning, and for this very important reason: all these men and women were with one accord, in total agreement about their faith.  There was no dissent, no arguments about what to do, what to think, what to believe.  They acted, thought and spoke as one.  And this is a remarkable thing.  Human nature being what it is, people tend to enjoy finding things to disagree on.  But not in this case.  And we don’t have to look very far for the reason…

Before our Lord ascended into heaven, he appointed the leader of the apostles, Peter, as his Vicar on earth, the one who would take his place, representing him with all the weight of Christ’s divine authority and the infallibility of his revealed teachings about God and the ways of man.  The very first act of the new Pope is described in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, when Peter stood up and used his authority to announce that an election must take place to choose a replacement for the traitor Judas Iscariot.  For just as there were twelve tribes of Israel, so had our Lord selected twelve Apostles to be the judges of these twelve tribes.  Now that one of them had betrayed him, it was essential that before the Church was born again of the Spirit at Pentecost, it should have a full complement of twelve Apostles.  And so they drew lots, and St. Matthias was chosen to replace Judas.  But it’s important to note that this particular “act of the Apostles” didn’t just happen.  It happened because St. Peter stood up and explained why it had to happen.  No arguments, no dissent—they were all “with one accord.”

This is how human nature works.  We like to follow the leader.  The sheep follow the shepherd.  And without a leader we are lost, endlessly arguing and disagreeing about this, that and the other.  The shepherd has been struck and the sheep are scattered.  It happened to the Jews who did not accept their Messiah and who persisted in their betrayal of the new covenant between God and man.  The diaspora of the Jews, that terrible fate whereby the twelve tribes of Israel were scattered around the world and lost their identity, that diaspora was precisely the effect of their refusal to acknowledge that Christ was their king and Peter their Pope.  The same thing happened to the Protestants who broke away from the Church to found their own new religions—there is only one Church, but the Protestants are now split into hundreds of different denominations—Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Mormons, and so on and so on.  Strike the shepherd and the sheep are scattered.  And let’s not forget what has happened since Vatican II, when the actions of one bad shepherd after another has forced the faithful to flee from the poison these shepherds are feeding them.  Now, through no fault of our own, we faithful Catholics are leaderless.  And because we have no leader, we immediately resort to discord and division.  It’s the way of things.  How can it be otherwise, when we acknowledge no leader with the authority to resolve disputes?  These divisions we suffer in the traditional Church today are inevitable, but that does not mean that they are good.  They are, rather, a necessary evil, the unavoidable result of our popes and bishops betraying us.

What can we do about it?  We must simply do as the first Christians did when faced with the betrayal of Judas.  They got together with all those who were in agreement with them.  “With one accord in one place.”  It’s what we are doing right now, here in this little chapel.  We gather to pray and worship our Creator in the way our Saviour taught us.  We remain faithful to the true Church founded by our Lord Jesus Christ.

On the first Pentecost Sunday, the Holy Ghost proceeded from the Father and the Son, and descended upon the heads of these men and women who were in accord and in one place.  The fire of the Holy Ghost enkindled in them the fire of God’s love, and the Church was born, the Church entrusted to St. Peter, the Church composed of all those who are in one accord about what to believe, how to act, how to worship.  We who are in agreement on these things taught by our Lord are the members of his Church, his Mystical Body.  Have no fear when those who have betrayed him tell us that it is we who are the traitors, who have fallen away from the Church, who don’t “follow the Pope.”  Let our response be one of tranquil acknowledgment that indeed we are not following anyone who would lead us away from Christ our true and divine head, and that we are and will continue to be members of his true Body, the true Church that was born on that first Pentecost so many years ago.


HOLY SPIRIT, EVER DWELLING

 A HYMN FOR PENTECOST


by Timothy Rees, 1922

1 Holy Spirit, ever dwelling 
In the holiest realms of light;
Holy Spirit, ever brooding 
O'er a world of gloom and night,
Holy Spirit, ever raising 
Those on earth to thrones on high;
Living, life-imparting Spirit, 
Thee we praise and magnify.

 

2 Holy Spirit, ever living 
As the Church's very life,
Holy Spirit, ever striving 
Through us in a ceaseless strife,
Holy Spirit, ever forming 
In the Church the mind of Christ;
Thee we praise with endless worship 
For Thy gracious gifts unpriced
.

 

3 Holy Spirit, ever working 
Through the Church's ministry,
Teaching, strength'ning, and absolving, 
Setting captive sinners free,
Holy Spirit, ever binding 
Age to age and soul to soul,
In communion never ending, 
Thee we worship and extol.


BORN AGAIN IN THE SPIRIT

 A REFLECTION FOR WHITSUNDAY


There was a reason why our Lady was present with the Apostles that first Pentecost morning.  It was certainly not because she needed to be strengthened and sanctified by the Holy Ghost.  She was already “full of grace.”  She was there to fulfill for the second time the prophecy of the Angel Gabriel: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy One which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”   Once again our Lady would miraculously conceive and bear a Child.  Only this time it would not be the physical body of Christ but his Mystical Body, the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

 

Once more the Word of God breathes forth a command.  At Creation he demands that there be light, and the story of man begins in time and space.  At the Annunciation he speaks again, saying “This is my Body” and becoming flesh in the womb of his Mother to continue the story of man and his Redemption.  At the Last Supper he repeats those words “This is my Body,” sharing his divine authority with his priests that they would also “do this in his memory” so that the Word could become flesh in the Holy Eucharist, and man could enjoy the source and presence of salvation abiding with them forever.  Now in the very same room where he performed the first Mass, the Word once more breathes forth his Holy Ghost with the same powerful words “This is my Body,” and the Church has its birth, the Mystical Body dwells amongst us, giving man the power to be a part of that Body by his adherence in faith and his communion in love.

 

On Good Friday, our Lord had looked down from the cross on his Apostle John and had said to him: “Son, behold thy Mother!”  In doing so he made our Lady not only St. John’s Mother but the Mother of the whole Church.  The events of Pentecost were nothing more than the confirmation of our Lady’s role as Mother of Christ’s Mystical Body.   She is Mother of God, and Mother of all God’s creation, but most especially she is the Mother of Holy Church, that Church in which she would continue until the end of time to bring us her Son, our Lord, to be our light and life.  Just as she gave birth to a Son in Bethlehem, “House of Bread”, so she will now bring forth her Son at Holy Mass to be our living Bread.

 

As the Apostles prayed in the nine days between Ascension Day and Pentecost, God the Father looked down on the world he had created, a world in which the “Light of the world” no longer walked and dwelt.  He had known from all eternity that this light could not be extinguished from his people, and had prepared for this time, the moment when his Son would speak from the heavens, “This is my Body,” and the Mystical Body, the Church, would be born. 

 

When the Word of God thus spoke, the Holy Ghost moved once more upon the face of the darkened world, igniting that new spark of light, the light that would be the life of that Mystical Body.  This new spark of light took the form of tongues of fire, not only enlightening but galvanizing the Apostles on whose heads it settled.  The Holy Ghost, who at the moment of creation had illuminated the empty darkness of the world, now brought the same bright radiance to the twelve men chosen to bring to that same world the holy truth of the Gospel and the Blessed Sacrament of Salvation.  Is it any wonder our holy Mass begins with the priest’s invocation to the Holy Ghost, to send forth his light and his truth—Emitte lucem tuam et veritatem tuam!

 

On Pentecost Sunday the world changed forever.  It heard again the great announcement of the herald angels of Christmas night: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day… a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”  The holy city of Jerusalem, that city of God of which “glorious things are spoken,” is now revealed as the fulfillment of the prophecy that “of Sion it shall be reported, that he was born in her.”  In thirty-three short years we have moved from the Third Joyful Mystery to the Third Glorious, from the physical birth of Christ in Bethlehem, House of Bread, to the mystical birth of Christ in his Church, the true House of Bread.  Our temporal gift of joy has been transformed into an eternal and glorious remedy: “Behold, I am with you always, even to the consummation of the world.”


Sunday, May 9, 2021

ROGATIONTIDE

 A MESSAGE FOR ROGATION SUNDAY


Nature can be a terrible thing at times. We’re reminded of this during powerful weather events like tornadoes and floods, as well as other natural phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, wildfires and tsunamis.  We are currently enduring a global pandemic which is afflicting literally millions of people in one way or another.  At times like these, when we find ourselves at the mercy of the elements or events that we are powerless to control, we turn to God, conscious of our own human frailty, our need for divine assistance, and most especially the importance of forgiveness for our many sins.

 

In the early Church, when the faith of the population was far stronger than it is today, this reliance on God to avert catastrophe was given much greater emphasis.  The Rogation Days were created after a series of calamities that afflicted Rome and France, and have endured to the present day, despite the power of technology and the cynicism of the modern world.  The word “rogation” comes from the Latin verb rogare, which means “to ask.” Literally, the Rogation Days are the “asking days,” when the Church formerly fasted and prayed for forgiveness for sins. But where did these days come from?

 

The first Rogation day (known as the Greater Litanies) takes place on April 25th every year. It was instituted by Pope St. Gregory the Great in the 6th century after Rome was afflicted by a plague during the Easter season.  It was assumed at the time that the plague was a punishment for the people’s extreme gluttony in which they indulged after the hardships of Lent. The symptoms of the plague were severe: people would drop dead in the streets, and sometimes they would die after sneezing. The custom of saying “God bless you” after we hear someone sneeze dates from this time. To avert the plague, Pope St. Gregory the Great set up a liturgy for April 25th that involved a procession and the litany of the saints. People were called upon to fast and abstain and violet vestments were worn. Eventually, however, another set of similar Rogation Days were added to the calendar, and it is this period of Rogationtide which begins today.

 

These Rogation Days, known as the Minor Litanies, fall on the three days preceding Ascension Thursday. They were also instituted in the sixth century, but unlike the Greater Litanies, they originated in Vienne, France, where they were instituted by the bishop of the diocese, St. Mamertus, after a series of extraordinary natural disasters.  The first disasters were earthquakes that decimated homes and churches.  These were followed by a fire that came down from the sky and engulfed the King’s palace in flames. The last and strangest of these disasters was an attack by wild wolves on towns and cities! St. Mamertus called upon the people to fast for three days and had a special litany said, and the disasters stopped.  Pope St. Leo III extended the observance of the Minor Rogation days to the universal calendar of the Church, as a prayer for God’s blessings and a reminder of the terrible power of nature.  People would fast and abstain from meat, walking in procession as the Litany of the Saints was chanted.  In farming communities, the procession would go out to the fields, where the priest would bless the new crops and ask for God’s blessing for a bountiful harvest. 


PRAYER IS THE SOUL'S SINCERE DESIRE

 A HYMN FOR ROGATIONTIDE


by James Montgomery, 1818

1 Prayer is the soul's sincere desire,
uttered or unexpressed;
the motion of a hidden fire
that trembles in the breast.

 

2 Prayer is the simplest form of speech
that infant lips can try,
prayer the sublimest strains that reach
the Majesty on high.

 

3 Prayer is the Christian's vital breath,
the Christian's native air,
his watchword at the gates of death:
he enters heaven with prayer.

4 Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice,
returning from his ways;
while angels in their songs rejoice,
and cry, 'Behold, he prays!

 

5 The saints in prayer appear as one,
in word and deed and mind;
while with the Father and the Son
sweet fellowship they find.

6 Nor prayer is made on earth alone:
the Holy Spirit pleads,
and Jesus on the eternal throne
for sinners intercedes.

7 O Thou by whom we come to God,
the Life, the Truth, the Way,
the path of prayer thyself hast trod:
Lord, teach us how to pray!


Sunday, May 2, 2021

SWIFT TO HEAR, SLOW TO SPEAK

 A SERMON FOR THE 4TH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER


One of the things I’ve tried to stress over the years is based more in Catholic philosophy than theology.  It’s the question of prioritization of what goes on in our heads.  We’re all aware that there are two warring factors constantly doing battle.  Sometimes we attribute these to the good angel on our right shoulder and the little demon on our left.  Or less dramatically, but with the same significance, we say that the spirit is willing but the body is weak.  It all boils down to temptation, where our fallen human nature wants to do one thing while our conscience tells us not to.  It’s our Faith, in other words, doing battle with our “feelings”.

In today’s epistle, St. James focuses in on just one aspect of these feelings at war with what we know to be right.  Addressing us as his “beloved brethren,” full of concern for our well-being, he admonishes us: “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” 

Wrath, or anger is generally not a good thing.  It’s not always sinful of course, and by way of proof we have the example of a very angry Saviour whipping the moneylenders out of the temple.  Anger is often justified, and so long as our higher intellect is in control of it and we don’t just go berserk, screaming and shouting like a maniac, we may control that anger to effectively achieve the desired results.  We spank our children when necessary and that’s okay.  We’ve spoken about this often enough before, and by now you should all know that anger in itself is not sinful.

Generally speaking though, anger is dangerous.  Dangerous, because of what it is.  More often than not, it’s not a rational but an emotional response to a tense situation.  And emotions are nothing more than “feelings”, and so we must be on our guard.  First of all, anger can lead us into sin by losing our temper, or acting with disproportionate violence towards the object of our anger.  But even if we don’t cross that line, there is still a great danger to our own spiritual and psychological equilibrium.  When we get angry, we often lose that peace of mind, that serenity that is the hallmark of the saints.  We cannot imagine our Blessed Lady, for example, going off the deep end.  It’s unthinkable.  But for us, who are not saints, it happens all too often, and our spiritual peace is disturbed.

The key to maintaining that perfect balance between anger and calm lies in placing our priority on the rational above the emotional.  In other words, when we experience the first rising of anger within us, we should stop, pause to reflect rationally on whether anger really is the appropriate and most effective way to deal with the situation at hand.  Very often, if we do this, we’ll realize that it isn’t.  Maybe instead, it may be preferable, as St. James tells us, to be “swift to hear.”  We might listen to the arguments of our adversary; try and see things from his point of view, appreciate the value of his objections if they’re genuine.  And then we could try and excuse his own lack of politeness or whatever it might be—maybe his ignorance is not through his own fault, maybe he’s suffering some unknown pain or sorrow in his life, maybe he was mistreated as a child and knows no other way to behave.  I don’t mean to sound like a liberal here, excusing every instance of bad behavior in others.  There is always a line that should be drawn, and we certainly must defend with vigor the Truth, the natural law, the Faith, and so on.  But generally, even this is usually better done by de-escalating the situation rather than putting one’s foot down right from the start.

St. James sums it up perfectly: “Be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”  He doesn’t say, “don’t speak, avoid wrath altogether,” but simply “be slow.”  Take your time, reflect on what’s the best way to deal with the situation, don’t just blow up at the first provocation, but use your brain to decide on the most effective solution.  “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”  Think about that—when we give in to anger, we are the least likely to make our case effectively, the least likely to win a convert, the least likely to shine forth as the reflection of God’s light and peace and love.  On the contrary, we are more likely to give scandal than food for thought, more likely to provoke the other person to greater anger himself than to win our argument.

Whenever “feelings” come into play, know that we’re playing with fire.  Stop, think, and only then, speak or act.  “But what if I don’t have time to think?” you may ask.  “What if someone attacks me unexpectedly, violently even?”  At times like that, we have to rely on our training, if we’ve had any.  Law enforcement officers are often placed in situations like this, and if they’re trained well, will know how to handle the situation.  Sometimes, this involves using violence in return, and it’s morally quite acceptable as it falls under the heading of self-defense.  It’s a judgment call made on the spot by a trained individual who hasn’t time to do anything else, and we should never second-guess someone who is placed in such a position.  And if we don’t have any training, then we have to rely on instinct.  Instinctively, our actions will be based on self-preservation, and surely any snap decisions made in such circumstances will be judged, at least by God, with mercy and understanding.

Such situations are few and far between, thank God.  More usually, we’re dealing with situations that don’t require such an instant reactions.  More likely, unexpected and instinctive anger will be caused by someone cutting us off on the freeway or some such thing.  How should we act then?  After we’re done braking and swerving, our next response may be to curse and scream at the other driver, whether he can hear us or not.  As a way of venting, it is understandable, but wouldn’t it be better to say a thank-you prayer to our guardian angel (who can hear us) that we didn’t hit the other car? 

There’s a time and place for everything, including a time to be angry.  But our temperament should not such that we are permanently just one step away from losing it.  If it is, we must work on it, as that type of anger is a vice, and can be a very bad one.  In fact, it’s one of the seven deadly sins.  So be sure to take your time in deciding, rationally, and with the blessing of God, to be angry.  “Be slow to wrath.”  And when you do make that decision to be angry, make sure it’s based on sound principles of charity for the one you’re angry at.  As it tell us in the Fourth Psalm, Irascimini, et nolite peccare!—Be angry, and sin not.


AVE MARIS STELLA

 A HYMN FOR THE MONTH OF MAY


Ave Maris Stella

Sea-Star! we acclaim thee,
God's kind Mother name thee!
Hail, thou Maid immortal,
Heaven's blissful portal.

Ave was the token
By the Angel spoken!
Peace on earth it telleth,
Eva's name re-spelleth.

Ask light for the blinded,
Free the worldly-minded;
Thus our ills repressing,
Win us every blessing.

Be to us a Mother;
For thy Son, our Brother,
Will, for our salvation,
Heed thy supplication.

Maiden meek and lowly,
Singularly holy,
Hardened sinners render
Meek and chaste and tender.

In straight paths direct us,
On our way protect us,
Till on Jesus gazing,
We shall join thy praising.

Father, Son eternal,
Holy Ghost supernal,
Thee we bless as Trinal,
One and First and Final.  Amen.


THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS

 A REFLECTION FOR THE 4th SUNDAY AFTER EASTER


Pride, Avarice, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Anger, and Sloth

We may be forgiven if the title “Seven Deadly Sins” makes us think that these particular offences against God are the worst of all sins.  This is not necessarily so.  The title of “deadly” refers not to the gravity of these offences, but to their capacity to lead to other sins.  Indeed, the Seven Deadly Sins are the root cause of almost all other sins that can be committed, and it is this potential for further damage to our souls that makes them so dangerous that they deserve the name of “deadly”.  They are sometimes called “Capital Sins” with the word being used in the same sense as “Capital” Punishment, leading us to moral and spiritual death.

Each of these sins is likely to become habitual, and as such, they also fall under the category of “vices.”  A vice is a bad habit that offends God, and must be combatted by the corresponding virtue.  Each deadly sin, therefore, has a “Capital Virtue” contrary to it, and we must practice these virtues if we are to win our battle against the vices that afflict and tempt us with such alarming regularity.  Thus, we practice the virtue of humility to rid ourselves of pride, generosity against avarice, chastity against lust, kindness against envy, moderation against gluttony, meekness and patience against anger, and fortitude against sloth.

So are the seven deadly sins all mortal sins?  Not necessarily, although any of them may be, depending on the gravity of the thought, word, or deed with which they’re committed.  The important thing to keep in mind though is the danger we place ourselves in by those thoughts, those words, and those deeds, which will lead us ever further into the dens of iniquity.  And it is only by taking the time to examine our conscience that we will see them for the pied pipers they are, and be able to decide on the proper course of action to avoid following them into trouble.  What is my most habitual fault, my worst habit?  Under which category of deadly sin does it fall?  What is the corresponding virtue I must therefore ask God for, and commit to practicing on a daily basis?

Much more could be written on each of the deadly sins and the various ways in which they raise their ugly heads in our lives.  Some of those details would sound very familiar to us, others less so.  The children of God are a diverse bunch, and what is good advice for one would be wasted on others.  So it’s up to you and me, each individual soul, to seek out his or her own path to salvation.  The way forward is clear, as our blessed Lord told us that he himself is The Way, the Truth and the Life.  But our own individual soul needs to take different steps to place itself on that Way.  Today, let’s take that time we need to plot our next move.  If our primary vice happens to be Sloth, that might be especially difficult!  But whatever faults we have, there is a way out of them, and we will be judged ultimately on the efforts we make to find that way out and follow it.