MISSIONARIES--A DYING BREED

A REFLECTION FOR MISSION SUNDAY

There was a time when the Church of Rome took the words of Christ seriously.  When our blessed Lord told his apostles to go forth unto all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, he was giving a command not only to his twelve apostles, but to their successors.  He was ordering them to seek out those people who were not members of the Church and instruct them in the faith so they could become members.   Unless a man believe in this faith, he cannot be saved.  Nobody comes to the Father except by me, said our Lord.  So if he taught us explicitly the importance of converting and baptizing non-Catholics, how is it that since Vatican II, the new Church has been teaching the very opposite?

Vatican II plainly teaches heresy, notably in the document Lumen Gentium, in which we are told that the Church of Christ is, after all, not to be identified solely with the Catholic Church.  This contradicts the age-old teaching of this same Catholic Church, most recently confirmed by Satis Cognitum of Pope Leo XIII, Mortalium Animos of Pope Pius XI, Mystici Corporis of Pope Pius XII and in condemnations made by the Holy Office under Pope Pius IX.  Plainly stated, Vatican II declares that it is not essential to be a Catholic in order to be saved, and that being Catholic merely provides us with a slight advantage over our Protestant, Jewish, Muslim or Voodoo brethren.

Given this false premise, is it any wonder that the missionary orders have all but vanished in the years since this heresy was promulgated by the false conciliar Church of John XXIII, Paul VI and their successors.  Their present leader, Jorge Bergoglio, has doubled down on the heresy, opening up the possibility of salvation to not only heretics like Martin Luther, but now to the immoral as well.  After all, says he, who is he to judge?  But it is precisely the job of a true pope to judge—not individual souls, certainly, but the actions whereby those individuals conduct their lives.  It’s what the Church has always done, and no amount of fake humility removes the responsibility from those in authority to judge those who break the laws of God.

It is for this very reason that even we, who have no authority whatsoever, can yet quite clearly condemn the words and teachings of this Jorge Bergoglio.  What he says presents a clear and present danger to our souls and those of our neighbor.  The irony is that those in greatest danger are those he so “lovingly” encourages to remain outside the Church or living an immoral lifestyle.  Such is the way the Devil works.

It is our bounden duty to help our fellow man to see the true Lumen Gentium—the Light of the World—who came to teach us all about the Way, the Truth and the Life.  He explained to us that he actually is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that no man can come to the Father except through him.  Until we believe this, whether explicitly or implicitly, we cannot be saved.  Hence the need for missionaries.  Given the directives from the new Rome, however, the work of the missions has been undermined completely.  Why convert someone to the Catholic faith if they can save their souls just as easily without it?  We who know better must take upon our own shoulders the added responsibility of becoming missionaries ourselves.  So on this Mission Sunday, we do not pass the collection basket to gather up money to send to the Holy Ghost Fathers or the other missionary orders.  Instead we remind ourselves that it is now our duty to do what they once did, not, perhaps, on the shores of distant lands, but here at home, beginning with the deluded members of that once noble institution that still claims the title of the Catholic Church.  Let us do our part and instruct the ignorant.  It is the first of the Spiritual Works of Mercy, and now, more than ever, needs to be practised by all who would follow our Master’s express command to be missionaries.

AN EVER-CHANGING WORLD

A REFLECTION FOR THE 19TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

The Epistle today is all about changes.  We’re asked by St. Paul to put away lying and speak truth with our neighbor; to replace stealing with labor and the work of our hands; to put on the new man and be renewed in the spirit of our mind.  In short, we are reminded that whatever in our lives takes us further away from God must be replaced with something that takes us closer to him instead.

Change, then, is not always a bad thing.  There is always room for improvement, and this goes for the things around us as well as our own souls.  However, we would be wise to remember that there is always something bad about change.  The very idea of change implies that there was something wrong that needed to be made right, or something flawed that needed to be made more perfect.  Ad the problem with that, of course, is that it depends on the subjective interpretation of the individual as to what actually is right and wrong, what is better and worse.  So many people in this wicked world of ours are more likely to think that things that are perfectly all right need to be “improved on” and ultimately destroyed.

A good axiom to bear in mind is that “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”  And perhaps the best example we have these days would be the supposed “improvements” made to the Church by Vatican II.  We had a form of worship, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which had continued unchanged from the sixth century and which was as perfect as it was humanly possible to make it.  And then along came the Freemasons headed by Annibale Bugnini, introducing reform after reform until they had altered the Mass beyond recognition.  Progressives think that change is always a good thing, and are never satisfied with the changes they accomplish.  They always need to take it another step, as their projects descend further and further into the infernal pandemonium.

Change is an attack on the peace of stability.  It can give rise to a deep upheaval of the soul, causing psychological problems for the individual and division for the community.  While the Catholic Church was for the most part firmly united before Vatican II, there has been nothing but disunity and quarreling ever since.  Progressives fail to place the cause of today’s divisive atmosphere at the feet of the changes perpetrated by Vatican II.  Instead, they double down, insisting on further and more disturbing changes in an effort to correct the ineffectiveness of their previous attempts at improvement.  Take the ‘new improved Rosary’ of John Paul II, for example.  What a pity that so very few have the courage to admit that the blame lies with changes that should never have been made in the first place.

Again, while we accuse “change” as being the cause of much of the evil in today’s world, we must never become so cynical as to regard all change as evil. We are traditionalists, not reactionaries, and yes, some changes are good.  When?  When there is a proportionate cause for making the change.  If we are going to disturb the common good and the equilibrium of the status quo, we must have a good reason for doing so.  Changing our vices into virtues is the example St. Paul gives us today.  On a more mundane level, when is a good time to make changes to the living room?  Is it worth it to go through the upheaval of buying new furniture, planning color schemes, painting and spending countless weekends trying to get everything just right?  We must figure out if the current state of the living room is really so bad that it warrants such drastic modifications?  If it is, then fine, do it.  But if it’s just on a whim because you saw a house in a movie that you’d like to copy, then take a deep breath, think about other things, and forego the unnecessary turmoil.

In short, make changes when they need to made.  Otherwise, have the wisdom to leave things well alone.

THE FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY

A MESSAGE FOR ROSARY SUNDAY

 Taken from the Roman Breviary for October 7

When the heresy of the Albigenses was making head against God in the County of Toulouse, and striking deeper roots every day, the holy Dominic, who had but just laid the foundations of the Order of Friars Preachers, threw his whole strength into the travail of plucking these blasphemies up.  That he might be fitter for the work, he cried for help with his whole soul to that Blessed Maiden, whose glory the falsehoods of the heretics so insolently assailed, and to whom it hath been granted to trample down every heresy throughout the whole earth.  It is said that he had from her a word, bidding him preach up the saying of the Rosary among the people, as a strong help against heresy and sin, and it is wonderful with how stout an heart and how good a success he did the work laid upon him.  This Rose-Garden, or Rosary, is a certain form of prayer, wherein we say one-hundred-and-fifty times the salutation of the Angel, and the Lord's Prayer between every ten times, and, each of the fifteen times that we say the Lord's Prayer, and repeat tenfold the salutation, think of one of fifteen great events in the history of our Redemption.  From that time forth this form of godly prayer was extraordinarily spread about by holy Dominic, and waxed common.  That this same Dominic was the founder and prime mover thereof hath been said by Popes in divers letters of the Apostolic See.

 

From this healthy exercise have grown up numberless good fruits in the Christian Commonwealth.  Among these deserveth well to be named that great victory over the Sultan of Turkey, which the most holy Pope Pius V, and the Christian Princes whom he had roused, won at Lepanto.  The day whereon this victory was gained was the very one whereon the Guild-brethren of the most holy Rosary, throughout the whole world, were used to offer their accustomed prayers and appointed supplications, and the event therefore was not unnaturally connected therewith.  This being the avowed opinion of Gregory XIII, he ordered that in all Churches where there was, or should be, an Altar of the Rosary, a Feast, in the form of a Greater Double, should be kept for ever, to give unceasing thanks to the Blessed Virgin, under her style of Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, for that extraordinary mercy of God.  Other Popes also have granted almost numberless Indulgences to those who say the Rosary, and to those who join its Guilds.

 

In the year 1716, Charles VI, Elect-Emperor of the Romans, won a famous victory over countless hordes of Turks, in the kingdom of Hungary, upon the day when the Feast of the Dedication of St. Mary of the Snows was being kept, and almost at the very moment when the Guild-brethren of the most holy Rosary were moving through the streets of Rome in public and solemn procession, amid vast multitudes, all filled with the deepest enthusiasm, calling vehemently upon God for the defeat of the Turks, and entreating the Virgin Mother of God to bring the might of her succour to the help of the Christians.  A few days later, the Turks raised the siege of Corfu.  These mercies Clement XI devoutly ascribed to the helpful prayers of the Blessed Virgin, and that the memory and the sweetness of such a blessing might for all time coming endure gloriously, he extended to the whole Church the observance of the Feast of the most holy Rosary, for the same day and of the same rank, Benedict XIII commanded the record of all these things to be given a place in the Service-book of the Church of Rome; and Leo XIII, in the most troublous times of the Church and the cruel storm of long pressing evils, by fresh Apostolic letters vehemently urged upon all the faithful throughout the earth the often saying of the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, raised the dignity of the yearly festival, added to the Litany of Loreto the Invocation Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, and granted to the whole Church a special Office for this solemn occasion.  Let us all then be earnest in honouring the most holy Mother of God in this form which she liketh so well, that even as the entreaties of Christ's faithful people, approaching her in her Garden of Roses, have so often won her to scatter and destroy their earthly foes, so she may gain for them the victory over their hellish foes likewise.

THE GUARDIAN ANGELS

A MESSAGE FOR THE FEAST OF THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS

The Church celebrates in some way every aspect of the Divine Work – of creation, redemption, sanctification and glorification. One aspect is the existence of spiritual creatures whom we call angels. The Church celebrates the Feast of the Guardian Angels on October 2, which is today.  The angels help us in many ways, such as often protecting us from physical danger. More importantly, however, angels can help us in regard to sin. St. John Bosco said, “When tempted, invoke your angel. He is more eager to help you than you are to be helped! Ignore the devil and do not be afraid of him: he trembles and flees at the sight of your guardian angel.”  Also, angels help us at the end of our lives. St. Alphonsus Liguori said, “The powers of hell will assail the dying Christian; but his angel guardian will come to console him. His patrons, and St. Michael, who has been appointed by God to defend his faithful servants in their last combat with the devils, will come to his aid.”

The Church teaches that every human being has a guardian angel given to them at birth. St. Basil the Great said, “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd, leading him to life.” Some have thought that priests, and perhaps others in important positions, have a second angel, but this is not taught by the Church.  Communities of human beings also have guardian angels, so indirectly the angels of our communities are also our guardian angels.  St. Michael, for example, is recognized by the Church as the guardian of the Church.  At Fátima the angel who appeared to the children in 1916 identified himself as the guardian of their country, “the angel of Portugal.” Thus, it is also piously believed that the United States has a Guardian Angel.  We can therefore honor these guardians of our communities on this feast day, as well as our personal guardian angel.

The nature of the angels as spirits makes them invisible to our human eyes. However, as we learn in Genesis 18 and in book of Tobit, with God’s permission they sometimes make themselves seen under a human form. Thus, some holy men and women, such as Padre Pio and St. Gemma Galgani, had the privilege of seeing their guardian angels and speaking to them.  You can pray to your guardian angel, just as you can pray to any saint. It is important to note that this is not an act of worship, but of the honor due to the ministers of God sent to serve our salvation (Heb. 1:14).  You may pray to your guardian angel and to anyone else’s angel. Often, people will ask the intercession of their children’s guardian angels.  The prayer to our Guardian Angel is familiar and one of the first prayers we learn as children: “Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide.  Amen.” 

This important intercessory role is further shown in the New Testament in Apoc. 8:3-4.  “And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God.”  Following Scripture and Tradition, therefore, popes and saints have encouraged Christians to seek the help of their angels through prayer. As St. Bernard of Clairvaux said, “We should show our affection for the angels, for one day they will be our co-heirs, just as here below they are our guardians and trustees appointed and set over us by the Father.”

[Summarized from www.ewtn.com]

THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF LOVE

 A REFLECTION FOR THE 16TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

All the visible objects that surround us can be measured.  If we have a ruler or a measuring tape long enough, we can determine the three dimensions by which all things are measured—length, width and height.  With today’s technology, the proportions of even the distant stars and planets can be accurately determined.  But today, St. Paul provides us with food for thought as he describes the one thing that is beyond our human instruments of measurement.  It is the love of God.

With an intensity that is undeniable, St. Paul describes to the Ephesians how he falls to his knees to implore God for them, that they might be “strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.”  And why is St. Paul so anxious for them to be thus strengthened?  He has one reason only, that they might be given the understanding “to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the love of Christ.”  It will take such divine intervention to allow them to comprehend such things because Christ’s love is of a dimension beyond the physical domain.  Indeed, it “passeth knowledge.”  And what is beyond human knowledge but our faith, a faith in the things that are infinite, eternal and divine.

Like the Ephesians to whom St. Paul writes, we too find ourselves standing in awe at the concept that such immeasurable love exists.  We read in Holy Scripture about God’s love for us, we witness the acts of God in the Old Testament that prove his love for us, and we see the glorious acts of love displayed by his Son in the New Testament, culminating in the sight of a bleeding and suffering Saviour dying on the Cross for our sins.  But these are all merely outward signs of a divine Love that is so great, it goes far beyond anything we can comprehend with our finite minds.  It is a love that has no end, no limit to its breadth, and length, and depth, and height, a love that our own poor hearts can never adequately return, not even if we add up every measure of love ever felt by each single mortal who has breathed its spirit.  For mankind did not love before they were created; only a limited number of men and women will ever have existed; and most importantly, each man and woman is capable of only a limited amount of love.  No matter how much we ourselves, or even all mankind, might love God or our neighbor, it is as nothing when compared with the love God has for us.

God continues daily to show this love.  He is, as St. Paul says, “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”  For us to love God enough is impossible.  For us to try to love God perfectly is not only possible but the first and greatest of the commandments, that upon which all other laws, not to mention our salvation, depend, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”  With all our finite heart, our damaged soul, and our often wandering mind.  Our heart and mind can be measured.  They are physical attributes of our body and our personality.  But it is up to us to use every single inch of our heart and mind to love God as much as we possibly can.  We must give to God every ounce of love we have, and anything short of that is failure.  To deny God the slightest amount of love is an imperfection, and sometimes even a sin, for which we must beg God’s forgiveness and merciful loving-kindness.

It is only when we love “with all our soul” that we can come anywhere near returning to God the perfect love he desires and demands.  While our soul yet lives within our imperfect and finite bodies, however, our soul is hampered by the distractions of the devil, the world and our own fallen human nature.  We must yearn for the day when our soul will no longer be obstructed in this way, and will discover forever in heaven, through the beatific vision, that love of God that passeth knowledge, and can reflect it in our own love for God that will then also surpass all length and breadth and depth and height.

FRATERNAL CORRECTION

 A MESSAGE FOR THE 15TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

When it comes to observing the faults of others, most of us have no problem in seeing everything.  Even here in this very building, we notice when someone comes to church not dressed properly, when certain people always arrive late, whose babies cry the loudest, which children don’t make the correct genuflection on two knees when passing the altar after the Consecration.  If the things that happen are genuinely offensive to God, I would ask you to take the necessary steps to stop it from happening on a regular basis.  But here, we run into difficulty, don’t we?  We who notice everything, we who might even point out the bad behavior of others by gossiping to our own family and friends about it—suddenly, we’re not so keen on correcting the person or persons responsible.

However, it is an act of charity to do so, and is called “fraternal correction.”  This is an act by which we charitably try to watch over the souls of others by trying to draw them closer to God and away from their sinfulness or poor conduct.  It’s a delicate thing to do, and must never be done out of anger, frustration or a sense of power and control over others.  It must always be motivated with selfless love of neighbor, the hope that our correction may be effective and not personally offensive to the person whose conduct we are trying to improve.

These considerations make for certain rules that govern our methods of correcting others.  The first is never to correct someone publicly.  If I singled out one of you by name from the pulpit and yelled at you because your phone rings during Mass, this would be inexcusable on my part, no matter how mad I might be!  In a case like this, the embarrassment of the interruption is usually itself enough of a correction to the offender.  If not, I would perhaps need to take the person aside discreetly to remind them how to handle this in future.  Nor do we ask our ushers to inspect your clothing to make sure it’s appropriate.  I rely on your good taste, modesty, and respect for the presence of God on the altar, to come to Mass in your “Sunday best,” and if I have to mention it to anyone, it should never be from the pulpit.

So we see that discretion is essential in correcting others.  Even our own children, though they must be firmly corrected at all times, are sensitive to being corrected in front of others.  In their case, it may sometimes be necessary, as the presence of witnesses may be more effective, increasing their fear of being embarrassed in front of others so they behave better in future.  At other times, the simple whisper of “Wait till I get get you home!” is enough to supply a different and even more effective kind of fear.  For adults, however, fear is more likely to take the form of resentment, and that drives people away—from us, from the church, from religion, even from God.  So depending on your relationship with the person you’re correcting, you need to vary your approach appropriately, and always so they’re aware of your good motives.  The last thing they’re going to appreciate is some “busybody” butting in with some holier-than-thou observations about how bad they are!

As St. Paul observes in today’s Epistle, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted… for if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.”  So meekness and humility should also be part of our corrections, conscious always of our own faults and imperfections, and never looking down upon the behavior of others.  We’re told to “love the sinner but hate his sin” and that is not always so easy to do.  Our constant awareness of our own lack of merit should help though, and the person we’re correcting should never feel we consider ourselves to be his moral superior.  Pride goeth before a fall.  Let’s all be prepared to correct (and to be corrected by) others, and “do good unto all men, especially unto them that are of the household of faith.”

TWENTY-ONE YEARS AGO TODAY

 A REFLECTION FOR THE ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11

Today’s anniversary of 9/11 gives us pause to reflect upon certain painful memories of the past.  As Christians, however, and particularly as Catholics who follow the traditional liturgy untarnished by the assaults of the modernists, the memories of that awful day are mitigated by the very feastdays that surround it.  As we remember those poor men and women, they say between 100 and 250, who had no choice that day but to jump hundreds of feet to their death, and those others who remained trapped in the twin towers only to feel the floor beneath them give way and collapse—let’s say a prayer to yesterday’s saint, St. Nicholas of Tolentino.  If only they had known the comfort of having prayed on the eve of their death to this patron of the very Holy Souls whom they were about to join!

God knew of our trauma and anguish that day.  And he prepared us for it by allowing it to take place in the only liturgical week of the year in which no less than three feasts of Our Lady occur:  her Nativity on September 8^th, her Holy Name on the 12^th, and her Seven Sorrows on the 15^th.  Who better to comfort us in those dark days than this loving Mother, comforter of the afflicted, at whose feet we so often fall in times like this, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears.  Think of those poor victims trapped in the towers collapsing under their feet, and read the words of St. Bernard in the second Nocturn of tomorrow’s Matins.   It could have been written especially for them, and for their bereaved families:

“O thou, whosoever thou art, that knowest thyself to be here not so much walking upon firm ground, as battered to and fro by the gales and storms of this life's ocean, if thou wouldest not be overwhelmed by the tempest, keep thine eyes fixed upon this star's clear shining.  If the hurricanes of temptation rise against thee, or thou art running upon the rocks of trouble, look to the star, call on Mary… if thou begin to slip into the deep of despondency, into the pit of despair, think of Mary.”

And what of that feast on September 11, itself, Saints Protus and Hyacinth, whom we celebrate today?  The still undisturbed grave of St. Hyacinth was discovered as recently as 1845, in a crypt of the Catacomb of St. Hermes in Rome.  The grave was identified by the inscription D P III IDUS SEPTEBR YACINTHUS MARTYR (Buried on 11 September Hyacinthus Martyr).  In the same chamber were found fragments of an architrave belonging to some later decoration, with the words:  SEPULCRUM PROTI M(artyris) (Grave of the Martyr Protus).  Thus both martyrs were buried in the same crypt.  Pope Damasus wrote an epitaph in honour of the two martyrs, part of which still exists (Ihm, "Damasi epigrammata", 52, 49). In the epitaph Damasus calls Protus and Hyacinth brothers.  The Roman Breviary also refers to them as “brethren”, two brothers who were mercilessly attacked by the pagans, twin towers of the faith whose bodies were destroyed but whose spirits rise again as a symbol of hope in adversity, of the triumph of the Cross over its enemies.

The Cross did indeed triumph.  Just two days after the attack, in the course of the massive operation to find survivors amongst the rubble, a worker at the site discovered a 20-foot cross of two steel beams amongst the debris of the World Trade Center.  Those with access to the site, rescue workers, then construction workers, police and firefighters, families of the victims, immediately began to honor this cross, using it as a focal point for their messages and prayers.  It was the eve of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  You can still see this cross in the National September 11^th Memorial and Museum.  Is it our imagination that this scrap of metal from the North Tower was given by God on this day to become a shrine for thousands?  If you think so, tell that to the loved ones of those who died on 9/11, and those who have found solace at the foot of this cross.  Tell it to the family who stood before it in silence, before placing the personal effects of their loved one beneath it, prompting one of the onlookers to exclaim:  "It was as if the cross took in the grief and loss.  I never felt Jesus more."

CHRIST THE HEALER

 A REFLECTION FOR THE 13TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

The cleansing of the ten lepers in today’s Gospel is typical of many other such stories about our Lord’s brief life on earth.  After all, what was that life all about?  What was its purpose?  Ultimately, of course, its one great objective was to redeem mankind, “to save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.”  But for man to accept him as the Redeemer, he had to prepare for his Crucifixion and Resurrection.  He had to build up a reputation.

Let’s contrast his motivation for wanting to become famous with that of modern-day celebrities.  They seek fame for its own sake.  They want to be hailed in the street, adored by their fans, popular and loved by the masses.  If this is what drives them to fame, then it is based on a false, self-centered motivation that is not pleasing to God.  In the case of the Son of God, whose only purpose in every single thing he ever did was to please his Father in heaven, his desire to make himself known to the people was based also on this higher purpose to make his Redemption more effective and available to the maximum number of people.  In other words, to save as many souls as he could.

He accomplished this purpose by several means.  First of all by teaching.  His words were so profound, so inspiring, that they attracted multitudes to hear them.  Men and women would follow him even into the mountains and wilderness to hear his sermons, all eager to hear the wisdom and insight Jesus gave them in their dull and often dangerous lives.  But words were not enough.  Our Lord needed to reinforce those words with startling acts that would set him apart from all other men.  He performed miracles.

What kind of miracles should our Lord perform for the admiring crowds?  Should he fly through the air, should he move mountains?  He certainly could have done such things, but what would it prove?  It would certainly demonstrate divine power, but the people would learn nothing else other than this one fact, they would not be inspired to a greater love of God and neighbor.  When necessary, our Lord performed amazing miracles like this, but it was always for a special purpose, such as the changing of water into wine at the behest of his Mother, or walking on the surface of the Sea of Galilee to reach the apostles in the boat.  But the miracles he performed the most were miracles of healing.

By healing sick people from their infirmities, our Lord was able to prove his divinity in a very special way.  He used these miracles first and foremost to demonstrate that he could call upon his divine powers not only to change the natural state of a person, but how he had the power equally to change the person’s supernatural state.  He could make the deaf to hear, the blind to see and the lame to walk, he could cleanse a man from leprosy, even recreating limbs that had fallen off.  Amazing stuff, no doubt.  But what he truly wanted to show them was that he could forgive sins.  He wanted them to know that not only their physical bodies were subject to his divine will, but that he could just as easily heal their souls from the terrible sins they had committed.  He wanted them to know that he was truly merciful, not just for this life but more importantly for the life to come.

The healing of the sick had another effect in that it showed that the divine power was to be used for mercy and not for destruction.  The God of the Old Testament had often shown his wrath for the people of Israel when they crossed him.  Many are the examples when multiple thousands of Jews were destroyed by the will of God after having sinned.  God wanted to show that the New and Everlasting Covenant would be one of mercy, and that with the coming of the Saviour, mankind now had the benefit of his graces and compassion, the forgiveness of their sins if only they would be sorry for them.  These are our own expectations today.  Let not such expectations become presumption however.  Destruction always awaits those who smugly go on sinning.  Pride goeth before a fall.  Let us always remember to call out, like the lepers, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

RENDERING TO GOD HIS DUE

 A REFLECTION FOR THE 12TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

What is it that makes us want to please God above all things?  And what can we do to fulfill this innate desire?  Once we know God exists and we begin to have some understanding of who he is and what he wants from us, the virtue of Religion encourages us to perform acts calculated to render the honor and glory that are due to God alone.  This virtue of Religion is what drives us to give honor to God and to promote that honor in others.  By this virtue we are motivated to pray, to sacrifice, to adorn our chapel and decorate the altar, to sing in the choir, serve at Mass, and do all the other things whose primary function is to give honor to the Supreme Being.

These acts alone, while of great value to our spiritual life, are not, however, enough of themselves.  We are creatures living in a material world, amidst a multitude of other human beings, each with his own cares and needs.  Our Lord reminded us of this when he told us that the Second Commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves is like unto the First, which is to love God above all things.  “The virtue of Religion can and must direct to the glory of God all the works and exercises of a Christian life, that it may become a perpetual divine service” (Fr. Nicholas Gihr on the Virtue of Religion).  In other words, all our actions must have as their objective the glory of God.  As St. Paul puts it in his Epistle to the Corinthians, “Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever else ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

This brings us to the importance of making a good Morning Offering daily upon waking up.  With a prayer such as the one following, we offer up to God everything we do, no matter how banal or insignificant, and thus make each action meritorious and pleasing to our Creator.  The words of our prayer may vary, but the basic sentiment should be as follows: “O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer thee my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of thy divine Heart, and for the suffering souls in Purgatory.”  You can add to these intentions the reparation for your sins, the increase of a particular virtue, your relatives and friends, the Church, the nation, or any other intention close to your heart.  What’s important is the idea of elevating the mundane tasks of your daily life to becoming a source of grace and goodness, even when you’re not thinking about them specifically.  The day is thus sanctified without any further effort on your part and abundant are the graces and mercies you will receive from this simple morning prayer that takes only a few seconds to say.

Naturally though, we are called upon to practice other virtues and perform deliberate acts that are morally pleasing to God.  Other than the ones directed specifically to God, such as adoration, thanksgiving, supplication and repentance, we should also strive to pray and practice acts of Faith, Hope and Charity.  Fr. Nicholas Gihr explains this as follows: [These three virtues] may be elicited with the intention of acknowledging the divine truth, fidelity, and goodness, and God is thereby greatly honored and glorified.  In believing, hoping, and loving, we give ourselves to God with all the powers of our soul, we lean upon God and rest in God as our last end; in other words, we render to the divine perfections and majesty due homage and submission.  The three divine virtues also condition the development and completion of the Christian life, which is founded on faith, nourished by hope, and animated by charity.  Faith enlightens the understanding with celestial light, hope endows the soul with supernatural strength, and love inflames the heart with divine fire.  Thus these three virtues enable us by a new and holy life to announce to men the glorious prerogatives and perfections of God, that they may see our works and glorify our Father who is in heaven.  They give rise to the virtue of religion, and excite us to glorify God through works of piety, mercy and penance.”

DEAF AND DUMB

 A REFLECTION FOR THE 11TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

We can be deaf and we can be dumb in two very different ways.  The first type of deafness and dumbness is purely medical, where we have a physical disability that prevents us from hearing sounds around us or expressing ourselves through speech.  It was such a physical disability that our Lord heals in today’s Gospel. 

But there is a second kind of deafness, one that implies a moral choice that is willful, a deliberate refusal to hear or pay attention to something that we don’t like.  This could be morally virtuous or sinful depending on what we’re listening to.  Sometimes it is a good idea to “turn a deaf ear” to things that are offensive or might lead us into temptation.  At other times though, it might be a bad idea to refuse to listen to certain things.  It could be an act of charity to listen to someone’s suggestions or opposing points of view for example.  Or it might be beneficial to us to listen to the complaints or criticism of others, even if it makes us feel uncomfortable.  Certainly, we should never refuse to listen to things that would elevate us spiritually as such behavior would be offensive to God and thus, in most cases, sinful.

Deciding on whether to speak or not requires a similar moral judgment, one that should be based on prudence, charity and fear of the Lord.  Never are those virtues more needed, and never is our decision more difficult, than when we find ourselves in a position where those around us are behaving badly or speaking sinfully.  Should we just walk away, should we intervene and openly criticize their immoral conduct, or are we tempted to simply ignore it and participate?  Individual circumstances call for a specific judgment call on our part, but there are some general guidelines we may find helpful. 

First of all, we must never simply join in the sinful conversation or behavior as though we approve it.  To do so would be participating in the sins of others.  However, we are naturally hesitant to coldly “spoil the atmosphere” by wagging our finger in disapproval, and indeed, this is very rarely effective.  So what’s left?  Walking away is always an option, although it doesn’t mean we have to stamp away in a huff.  But while leaving the room is a possibility, it does nothing to stop the bad behavior, and thus is not really in the best interests of the parties concerned.  Better still is to subtly change the subject of conversation, or distract the offenders with a more innocent pastime.  We should also try to find an opportunity at some later time to speak one-on-one with those with whom we are most friendly, and point out to them privately and charitably, when they are more receptive, the reasons why we found their conversation distasteful and that it would be beneficial to themselves to behave more honorably in future.

Guided at all times by charity and a zeal for the souls of our neighbor, we will gain experience in knowing when to listen and when not to, when to speak and when to keep our mouths shut.  Our hearing and our speech will thus be based on God’s will and not merely our own often misguided emotions, and we will avoid the pitfalls of being deaf and mute when we should listen to our neighbor and speak to him with true charity.

BE STILL MY SOUL

A REFLECTION FOR THE 8TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST 

Is my soul truly at peace?  In the midst of turmoil, can I find the peace of mind, the peace of soul, within myself?   There are two answers to these questions, two very basic answers, “Yes,” or “No.”  If our answer is in the affirmative, it confirms that we are on the path to salvation, or at least that we think we are.  If negative, then I’m afraid there is something lacking in our lives that must be put right.

There is one truth but many lies.  “Two plus two equals four.”  Four is the only correct answer.  But there is an infinite number of wrong answers.  Life is the same.  There is one simple answer to finding peace in our lives.  It is to be in the state of grace.  When we are in that state of grace we are the living temples of the Holy Ghost, we have God himself dwelling within us.  When we look inside of ourselves it is God that we shall find and the peace that comes from his presence, that peace on earth that is the reward of men of good will.  Unfortunately, there is an infinite variety of apparent “good things” that seek to entice us away from that state of grace.  We seek pleasure, ownership, money, power; we look for independence when we should obey authority, self-indulgence when we should desire penance and reparation for our sins.  Wherever we turn there is something, someone, to beckon us away from our true happiness in God, and no matter which we choose, we shall never find that true peace that comes only from God.

All of us yield to temptation at some point, in one form or another.  We offend the God whose presence we should cherish above all things.  The result?  We lose our peace.  Thankfully, God has given us the Sacrament of Penance by which we can welcome him back into our soul and restore the peace he brings.  But if there’s one thing that God has entrusted to us that we should at all costs preserve and nurture and take care of, it is our soul.  No matter what, we must always strive to keep it in the state of grace. 

“But Father,” you might object, “isn’t it selfish to want the state of grace just so that we can have peace of mind?  Shouldn’t we want the state of grace purely out of the love of God?”  Yes, of course we should.  Nevertheless, this is a part of what our Lord meant by making friends with the mammon of unrighteousness.  Even if we keep our state of grace out of selfish reasons, the fact is, we’re still in the state of grace and on the path of salvation.  We can still go to heaven even if our motivation is simply to get there and avoid hell.  Whatever the reason for staying out of mortal sin, the important thing is to stay out of it.  You’re entitled to the peace of mind it brings.

WHO AM I?

 A REFLECTION FOR THE 7TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

It seems like a strange question to ask ourselves who we are.  Unless we’re suffering from one of those unpleasant diseases that ravage the minds of some of our elderly neighbors, generally speaking we know who we are.  However, with today’s Gospel in mind and applying the idea of wolves in sheep’s clothing, it’s a suitable opportunity to examine our own character a little more deeply.  Sure, we know our name and address, we recognize our children most of the time, we have an idea what drives us, what are our goals, our beliefs, our moral values and our general character.  We even know, or hope we know, how we appear in the eyes of others.  But in this last respect, who are we really fooling?  Them?  Or ourselves?

 Let’s face it, we behave in totally different ways depending on who we’re talking to.  Have you ever been really, really tired, so that all you can do is grunt to your wife or husband while you moan and yawn and shuffle around?  And then suddenly the phone rings.  It’s a call from the teacher at your daughter’s school trying to arrange for chaperones for the next field trip.  Within seconds, your voice is bright and normal, you’re cracking jokes and in short, you’ve become a totally different person.  Which is the true “You”?  Or we go from complaining and griping about our boss’s personality and behavior one minute, to a façade of groveling politeness as soon as he appears.  What kind of phony people are we?

 The truth is, we all put on an “appearance” depending on who we’re with, who we’re trying to impress, who we like, dislike or respect, where they are on the social ladder, our relationship with them and so on.  We’re like chameleons, constantly changing our appearance to fit our surroundings and our company.  It’s part of our human nature, and worth noting as such.  It’s not that we’re pretending to be someone we aren’t, rather just adjusting out of politeness, convenience, self-interest or whatever.

 Where morality enters the scene is when we do actually pretend to be someone we’re not in order to take advantage of someone else, to exploit them for our own benefit.  This is where we become wolves in sheep’s clothing, predators who slip in among the flock to lead them to a bad place where we can devour them without hindrance.  Our Lord warns us to beware this type of personality, and it goes without saying that we must beware above all becoming this type of personality ourselves.

NINE FIRST FRIDAYS

 A MESSAGE FOR THE 6TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

This devotion is based upon one of the twelve promises made by Our Lord to St. Margaret Mary: “I promise thee, in the excess of the mercy of My Heart, that Its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Communion on the First Friday of every month, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence, and that they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving the Sacraments, and My Heart shall be their secure refuge at that last hour.”

THE TWELVE PROMISES OF THE SACRED HEART

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.

2. I will establish peace in their families.

3. I will console them in all their afflictions.

4. I will be their assured refuge in life, and more especially at death.

5. I will pour out abundant benedictions on all their undertakings.

6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.

7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.

8. Fervent souls shall advance rapidly to great perfection.

9. I will bless the house in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honored.

10. I will give to priests the gift of moving the most hardened hearts.

11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names inscribed in My Heart, never to be effaced from It.

12. I promise thee, in the excess of the mercy of My Heart, that Its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Communion on the First Friday of every month, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final penitence, and that they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving the Sacraments, and My Heart shall be their secure refuge at that last hour.

ACT OF REPARATION TO THE SACRED HEART

Adorable Heart of Jesus, consumed with love for men and thirsting for their salvation, Heart so loving yet so little loved, deign to accept this act of reparation that we eagerly offer to make amends to Thee for the outrages, the irreverences and profanations which Thou dost receive in the adorable Sacrament of the Altar. Pardon, O most Sacred Heart, the forgetfulness and ingratitude of men, the abandonment and indifference with which they repay Thine immense love! Forgive us all, forgive all poor sinners! Remember not our innumerable faults, and from the open wound of Thy Sacred Side let floods of grace and mercy descend upon us. Guard and protect us, hide us in this divine wound till that happy moment comes, when in our heavenly kingdom we repeat with the angels throughout eternity: “Glory, love, gratitude, and unceasing praise be to the most loving Heart of our Saviour!”

LOVE AS BRETHREN

LOVE AS BRETHREN

How many times do we confess to breaking the Fifth Commandment?  Not because we have literally broken the law of Thou shalt not kill by killing someone.  Usually, thank God, it’s not that bad.  Rather, we have committed lesser crimes against the Fifth Commandment, crimes like hatred, violence, unjustified anger, even venial sins like impatience, intolerance, and so on.  These may be not as serious as downright murder, yet our blessed Lord condemns them also.  “Ye have heard that was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill… but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment… whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”  He doesn’t quite say you’ll go to hell for calling someone a fool, but he does say there are serious perils in doing so.  If we’re willing to condemn others so easily and without any reason, we’re really not loving our neighbor as ourselves, placing ourselves in danger of escalating from name-calling to violence and hatred.  In other words, our actions can easily go from venial to mortal sin, and then we are truly in danger of hell fire.  So be careful with that temper, watch yourself and cultivate the virtue of patience, remind yourselves that you’re no better than your neighbor, and if we are to expect patience, tolerance and forgiveness from others, we had better respond by giving patience, tolerance and forgiveness in our turn.

The old cliché that we should hate the sin but love the sinner is one that is all too easy to set aside in the heat of the moment.  We may legitimately despise the sins of God’s enemies.  We are surrounded by daily atrocities against our divine Creator, and we are not only allowed to have contempt and hatred for these acts of rebellion against God, we are duty-bound to loathe and despise such behavior.  But when it comes to the individuals who commit these acts, we are equally bound in charity not to loathe and despise them, tempting though it might be.  Our duty is to show charity at all times, especially when we’re in direct contact with these persons.  Charity does not mean being friends with them, it doesn’t mean condoning their crimes and sinful actions.  But it does mean that our ultimate aim for them is the salvation of their souls and not their damnation.  We must seek to bring them to the truth, to know the error of their ways, to convert and rediscover the laws of God.  We must seek for the good in our neighbor, not just the bad.  We should even seek to excuse others from the gravity of their offences if we can find any excuse at all.  Accuse yourself, excuse others.  Only God knows their true motivation and will mete out justice with mercy as appropriate.  Our job is to obey the two greatest commandments of our loving God by loving our neighbor as ourselves—the neighbor for whom he suffered and died.  All the other commandments, including the Fifth, is subordinate to this one great law, and we would do well to give it the priority it deserves. 

We may not feel particularly loving towards those who persecute us or who attack God’s laws, but we must rationally acknowledge that these are misguided sheep who have strayed from the fold and need to be brought home.  Even if some of them truly are wolves in sheep’s clothing, it’s not for us to judge which ones.  You see, being a Christian is all about giving up our own feelings to do what’s right by God.  It’s not an easy way of life, and sometimes goes against the strongest instincts of our nature—our fallen human nature, let’s not forget!  The reward is simply in pleasing God by obeying his commandments, even the ones that are sometimes the hardest to keep.

HIS LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

 A REFLECTION FOR THE MONTH OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD

As we get older and our thoughts turn to our legacy, we start looking at the material accumulation of wealth and property we’ve acquired (if any!), and what’s going to happen to it after we’re passed on.  Sounds a bit morbid to some of you perhaps, but that’s only because you haven’t reached the right age yet.  But eventually, you too will know that the time has come to start thinking of the welfare of your surviving spouse, your children and grandchildren.  So what do we do?  We write our Last Will and Testament.

This testament can be a simple note written by hand, or a more complex legal document, filled with clauses and provisions, drawn up and witnessed by an attorney and kept in a safe place until the fateful day.  The unique thing about it is that until then, it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.  The beneficiaries of the Last Will and Testament aren’t entitled to a penny until we’re dead!  That’s why it’s such an important factor in so many murder mysteries.  The fact is, morbid or not, that in order for this document to come into effect, first, it’s author must die. 

Until that time, we can make as many changes as we want.  If we find out, for example, that one of our children has squandered all his own wealth on gambling, drugs or alcohol, we can “write him out” of the will and leave his share to another son or daughter.  If we learn that our family is being nice to us only so that they can inherit our money, we can leave all that money instead to the loyal servant who devoutly took care of us in our old age.

July is the Month of the Precious Blood, whose feast was celebrated a couple of days ago on the first of the month.  What does that have to with last wills and testaments?  Simply this: that our blessed Lord, on the night he was betrayed, took the chalice, and after giving thanks to his almighty Father, said the following words, so important for our salvation: “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”  This is a new testament, a modification to God’s Old Testament, one that disinherits the people of the chosen race who had been unfaithful and who on the following day would commit the ultimate crime of deicide—murdering their Lord and Saviour.  It would no longer be the Jewish people who would be the beneficiaries of the immense riches of God, namely, his grace and his salvation.  God had chosen new beneficiaries, the children of his new Church.  And he sealed this Last Will and Testament, the new and everlasting Testament, not with pen and ink, but with his own most Precious Blood.

Like any Testament, it was for a time “worthless” and of no help yet to his new beneficiaries.  Those infinite graces, even salvation itself, could not be bestowed upon them until one simple yet required stipulation was met.  The author of this Testament had to die.  It is from this death, from the very spilling of his Blood on Calvary, perpetuated in our Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, that we, the new beneficiaries of Christ’s Will, now benefit.  His Precious Blood is our inheritance, far superior than any material wealth.  His Precious Blood, received in Holy Communion, is the source of all the graces we receive, the source of our Salvation.  If we reject this our inheritance, we should never expect to enjoy its ultimate benefit, the life everlasting.

WHY DO THE HEATHEN RAGE?

 A REFLECTION FOR THE SUNDAY WITHIN THE FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART

“Why do the heathen so furiously rage together? and why do the people imagine a vain thing?  The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against his Anointed.”  These somber words are taken from the 2^nd Psalm, sung at Sunday Matins, and describe perfectly what has been going on since Friday’s ruling by the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, that murderous decision that supposedly granted the federal government the right to kill unborn babies.  Now that “right” has been taken away and returned to the individual states, and the heathens have certainly been furiously raging.  They have concocted a fantasy world for themselves in which the imagined rights of women have been trampled and the tyrannical Christians have succeeded in imposing their laws on the poor and oppressed.  They fail, of course, to acknowledge that the murder of the unborn is not a Christian law, but the natural law.  They fail because they refuse to acknowledge that there is even such a thing as the “natural law”.  The only law they do acknowledge is the law of Satan, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.”

And so, the heathen rage.  On Friday night they had their so-called “Night of Rage.”  The exasperated heathens, unable to control their emotions, had to express their rage by ransacking pro-life clinics, threatening churches, politicians, and Supreme Court justices, and at one point even holding lawmakers hostage in the Arizona state capitol.  Of course, we should not expect to see any retribution or punishment for any of these violent acts, as our government is too busy prosecuting, or rather persecuting, the people who entered the US Capitol back in January 2021.  With the Democrats in power, there will never be any true justice in this country. 

“The kings of the earth rise up.”  In today’s terms, the “president” and his cronies in government, education, the media and big business rise up, and “the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against his Anointed.”  Yes, even the self-proclaimed Catholics Nancy Pelosi and Joey Biden are already plotting ways to bypass the ruling of the Supreme Court and return to the unbridled killing of babies in the womb.  As true Catholics, we must recognize evil for what it is, no matter who conspires to commit it.  Popes and bishops, presidents, politicians—these are the kings of the earth, and they are busy taking counsel together.  Evil is as evil does, and we must redouble our prayers against the persecutors of Holy Church and the enemies of God, no matter what title they might pretend to hold.

Above all, let’s remember that seeking the destruction of the wicked is never an achievable goal.  We must rather replace their wickedness with something better, something more desirable, more fine and honorable.  “Desire of me,” continues the 2^nd Psalm, “and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance.” The good we seek will never come from hatred or vengeance, but from charity, compassion and good example.  It will, in short, come from God, and from the desire to please God we ourselves display in the face of the heathens’ persecution and their rage.

WHY DO WE OBEY?

  A REFLECTION FOR THE SUNDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF CORPUS CHRISTI

When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, he did not tell the Hebrews anything they didn’t already know.  The Jews back then were the same human beings created by God as the human beings who exist in the world today.  We all have had the same human nature since God created Adam and Eve, or at least since they took a bite out of that famous apple.  Our human nature follows the laws of nature.  Just as surely as we know we can’t levitate off the ground in defiance of the law of gravity, so too do we instinctively know we shouldn’t murder or lie or steal, or any of the other things forbidden by the Ten Commandments.

The conscience within us is the result of the biting of the apple by Adam and Eve.  They chose to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil.  From that point on, they knew the difference, and their misuse of that knowledge, the choosing of evil over good, would forever haunt the conscience of them and their descendants.  Our conscience therefore helps us avoid evil—if we want to be free from guilt and the psychological challenges it causes, we try to stay on the straight and narrow.  In other words, we’re ultimately happier if we do what’s right and avoid what’s wrong.

This is a reason why we try to be good, but is it really a good reason?  Any reason for being good is a good reason, but the self-centered focus on our own well-being is hardly the best reason!  It’s actually no more elevated a motivation than our attempts to avoid the loss of heaven and the pains of hell.  When we’re sorry for acting badly for these reasons, it’s what we call “imperfect contrition”—sufficient for the absolution we receive in the Sacrament of Penance, and yet “imperfect”.  Like our contrition for sins already committed, our resolution to avoid falling into future sins can also be based on such “imperfect” motives.

God’s laws have one reason for existing: they are to protect us from doing harm to ourselves and others.  They do so by reminding us what is God’s will in the various categories they cover.  Even though it’s sufficient to just “love God with our whole heart and mind and strength”, it’s good to have these reminders of how exactly this love should be practiced.  By obeying these laws in their entirety we are protected from the evil that would ensue from breaking them, namely, eternal damnation if the sin is sufficiently grave.  Damnation is not what God wills for us.

God loves us.  The gift of his Blessed Sacrament is the ultimate manifestation of that love, as it is the fruit of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, itself the continuation of the love he showed us at Calvary.  Even more than the laws of God, this Sacrament of Union, Communion, with God is our greatest reminder of how much God loves us, and our frequent and devout reception of the Holy Eucharist is the best way in which we can show God that we love him in return.  O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine!

ONE GOD, THREE PERSONS

 A REFLECTION FOR TRINITY SUNDAY

The Holy Trinity is the biblical, monotheistic doctrine that there is only one God in three distinct co-equal, co-eternal Persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Ghost; three Persons of the one nature and being. The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father, but each of them are fully, equally, and simultaneously God. These three Persons are not three gods, but one God—the only God in existence. There are three essential parts of the Holy Trinity:

• There is only one God.

• The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three different Persons.

• The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are the same Being (God).

In summary, the Holy Trinity is: “one God in three Persons”. Person, in this context, is best described as someone who can say “I” and “You” and who possesses individuality and self-awareness. Being (or substance / essence) is best described as what you are, or everything that you consist of that that makes you what you are. Some Christians find it helpful to say that God is three “Who’s” (Persons) and one “What” (Being).

Nature, in this context, refers to the specific qualities and aspects of beings or things that make them of the same kind or of a different kind of other beings or things (e.g. human nature, angelic nature, and divine nature, the last of which refers to God). It should be noted that we sometimes use the term “Godhead” to refer to all Persons (or members) of the Holy Trinity. In addition, we often call the Father the first Person of the Trinity, the Son the second, and the Holy Spirit the third. We worship a three-in-one God.

The Holy Trinity is a very difficult concept to wrap our heads around. God is far greater than how we think of him, after all. However, there are some real-life objects or concepts which may help us come to terms with God’s Triune nature. One example is a three-leafed clover. There are three leafs on the one plant, similar to the three Persons in the one God. Another example is matter. Matter consists of solids, liquids, and gases, but there is only one matter, not three. Another example is an apple: it has the skin, flesh, and seeds, yet these are not three apples, but one apple.

These examples are not perfect, though, and should not be used as accurate descriptions of God’s Triune nature. God is both known by those who love him (Galatians 4:9) and at the same time he is a mystery whom the human mind can never comprehend (Romans 11:33–35). This makes sense, to a certain degree; after all, one should be suspicious of any claims that the finite human mind can contain and understand the infinite and transcendent God (Isaiah 40:28; Jeremiah 23:24).

The Holy Trinity Is a Standard of Orthodoxy.  Because the Holy Trinity deals with the nature and identity of the God of the Bible, the Catholic Church across all centuries has rightly labeled those who reject this doctrine as non-Christian and heretical. If you do not see God in a Trinitarian way, then you do not know God at all, because the God of the Bible has revealed himself as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The Holy Trinity is an essential doctrine of the Church; you must believe in it in order to be a Catholic.

[Adapted from www.redemptionofhumanity.org]