The Baptist's Announcement

I have been reading through Pope Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth (very slowly), and found myself opening up John 1:29 (John the Baptist's Testimony) in the New American Bible Revised Edition.

I felt compelled to share some of what struck me, as I feel it is especially appropriate for Advent, especially as we enter the Octave of Christmas. This is the text of John 1:29-34:

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.  

He is the one of whom I said, 

‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ 

I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” John testified further, saying, 

“I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, 

but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 

‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’  

Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.” 

 

This event follows directly after John the Baptist has been questioned by Pharisees about his identity. When they push him for an explanation of who he is, his reply is "I am 'the voice of one crying out in the desert, "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' as Isaiah the prophet said" (Jn 1:23). The verse of Isaiah to which he refers is Isaiah 40:3, which reads, "A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the Lord."

John further replies to them, "I baptize with water, but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie" (Jn 1:26-27). 

It is hard to imagine this scene without over dramatizing it, and yet, it is a very dramatic experience. Here is one who is wondered at, and is seen as an enigma; so much so, that the leaders of the community send men to discover exactly who John is. And John's reply is not one of self-proclamation, as perhaps they had anticipated. He speaks of himself only in reference to the one who is to come. He presents himself as a herald, as one who is to testify. 

Therefore, we read that the next day Jesus comes to John, and John announces that he is the "Lamb of God," the one whom the Spirit descended upon. Yet, John says he does not know Jesus, but that it was the sign of the Spirit remaining with Jesus that is the revelation that he is the Son of God. And John testifies to the revelation of the Blessed Trinity!

One of the footnotes from this section reads: "Remain: the first use of a favorite verb in John, emphasizing the permanency of the relationship between the Father and the Son (as here) and between the Son and the Christian. Jesus is the permanent bearer of the Spirit."

John has come baptizing with water that the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit may be made known; his life is to be a witness, to testify to the identity of Jesus, and to the revelation of the Trinity. 

Here we come to see something so imperative - the nature of communion that is the life of the Trinity, the love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is the very life into which we are called to and made part of in our own Baptism. We are not actually part of Triune God, of course, but we are made "'a new creature,' an adopted son of God, who has become a 'partaker of the divine nature,^' member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit" (CCC 1265). This is not only a gift of grace at one moment or for one experience, but it is one that remains with us throughout life, as an indelible mark on the soul (CCC 1272). Therefore, just as John proclaims and testifies that Jesus is the Son by his witnessing of the Holy Spirit remaining with Christ, so others may similarly recognize us as disciples and adopted children of God if and when they recognize that we remain in Christ and that the Holy Spirit remains with us. 

This simple prayer by Cardinal Mercier is part of his "Secret to Sanctity": 

O Holy Spirit, Soul of my soul, I adore You. 

Enlighten, guide, strengthen and console me. 

Tell me what I ought to do and command me to do it. 

I promise to be submissive in everything that You permit to happen to me, 

only show me what is Your will.

Cardinal Mercier explained this prayer by saying: "I am going to reveal to you a secret of sanctity and happiness. If every day during five minutes, you will keep your imagination quiet, shut your eyes to all things of sense, and close your ears to all the sounds of earth, so as to be able to withdraw into the sanctuary of your baptized soul, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, speaking there to that Holy Spirit saying: "O Holy Spirit, Soul of my soul …" If you do this, your life will pass happily and serenely. Consolation will abound even in the midst of troubles. Grace will be given in proportion to the trial as well as strength to bear it, bringing you to the gates of Paradise full of merit. The submission to the Holy Spirit is the Secret of Sanctity."

I believe this is so pertinent to the setting that we find John the Baptist in when he is able to make his testimony to the identity of Jesus Christ - the desert. 

We all know the continual challenge to retreat from the chaos and endless tasks of daily life to find some time for sincere and heartfelt prayer, but how much more necessary is it to do so when we are being further challenged to testify to Christ before the world. It may not seem so imperative for ourselves to find peace or to strengthen our knowledge of God, but perhaps the fire of proclaiming him to those who are in need of the freedom and truth of the Gospel is enough to push us into the desert. We cannot testify if we do not remain with the Lord, and he with us. Scripture repeatedly promises us that God will never abandon us, but it also reminds us that we often abandon the Lord. We must first place ourselves in the desert where we can clearly see the Holy Spirit's work; where we can authentically recognize Jesus Christ; where we can know of the Father's love. Only when we are saturated in the truth of God's revelation of his love can we then go and testify that what we have come to know and love is life-giving, and is for all.

The Year of Faith is a call to us all to breath again: to be born again. It is a call to rebirth and renewal. It is a reminder that no relationship grows without work, and nothing that is valuable comes easy. It is a mandate, really, to the baptized soul, to repeat in the utmost sincerety his or her baptismal promises:

V. Do you reject Satan?
R. I do.
V. And all his works?
R. I do.
V. And all his empty promises?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
R. I do.
V. God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.
R. Amen.

 

If we know that we believe and profess the truth, and that the truth has set us free, and that in the truth we have the hope of eternal life, how can we not testify to the truth? As imitators of Christ, who answered Pilot saying, "For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth" (Jn 18:37), we must similarly reply to the world in all of its hardships and heart aches and sufferings and darkness, that we testify to the truth; that we remain with the truth - that the truth is Jesus Christ, and it is he who takes away the sins of the world. 

 

Let us pray that these last days of Advent be a time for us to renew our knowledge of Christ, that we might more readily announce him in this world, and give testimony to his love and mercy. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to be with us, to remain with us, that we might better imitate our Lord.  

Ark of the Covenant

I have not developed much thought on this blog concerning Our Blessed Mother; this is both because I feel she is so worthy a topic that I feel whatever I say shall be inadequate, and also because there will always be more to say of the one who is Virgin Mother of God and Mother of the Church.

Many saints have devoted their entire lives to her honor, seeking to better understand the mysterious graces granted to this little girl who gave her total "fiat" to the angel Gabriel and became the Mother of Christ through the Holy Spirit. St. Louis de Montfort, perhaps one of the better known, wrote many beautiful things in his small book "True Devotion to Mary."
(If you would like to read it, the entire work in available online, here: http://www.ewtn.com/library/montfort/truedevo.htm)

St. Alphonsus Ligouri also had a great love for Our Lady and wrote "The Glories of Mary" (which I have not yet read, but intend to): http://www.ewtn.com/library/montfort/truedevo.htm.

You of course have the many saints who were blessed to actually see Our Lady, such as St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France, St. Juan Diego in Guadalupe, Mexico, and Venerable Sr. Maria Lucia and Bls Francisco and Jacinta Marto in Fatima, Portugal.

I do not have the time to list here any form of proper record of the early Church Fathers and their love for Our Lady, but St. Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Irenaeus, and many others wrote beautiful and profound things concerning her privileges and the honors given to her by God. Here's a short summary page from Dr. Mark Miravalle: http://www.piercedhearts.org/hearts_jesus_mary/heart_mary/mary_early_church_miravalle.htm

Surely we cannot ignore the beautiful documents of Church history given by our Magisterium in regards to the Blessed Mother, most recently in the document of the Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium. A brief overview of the Doctrines on Mary can be found here: http://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/marya1.htm

Therefore, the point is that my reflections are more from personal love of my Mother than they are meant to be in the form of teaching.

First, I would like to list the Ten Virtues of Mary as explained by St. Louis de Montfort in True Devotion. (In alphabetical order for easy memorizing, they go as follows:)

Angelic Sweetness
Ardent Charity
Blind Obedience
Constant Mental Prayer
Divine Purity
Divine Wisdom
Heroic Patience
Lively Faith
Profound Humility
Universal Mortification

These virtues are wonderful topics of meditation and contemplation in our journey to holiness, and how we might better come to know the Heart of Christ through the Heart of His Mother.

Other aspects of honor for Our Lady include the many titles that have been attributed to her throughout Church history, especially considering her typifying of the Church as Bride of Christ and the many analogies drawn of her as New Eve, spiritual Mother of us all, the Body of Christ even as the Church is Body, etc...

One of my favorite titles within the Tradition is "Ark of the Covenant."
St. Louis de Montfort uses this title in the Litany of the Blessed Virgin in his preparation for Total Consecration to the Immaculate Heart.

To really consider this title properly, we must reach back into the Old Testament and seek to understand how the Ark of the Covenant was understood. We do not have time for much exegesis here, but suffice it to say that the Ark was the visible sign among the Israelite people of God's presence with them, the Holy place where the Glory of the Lord dwelled.

The Ark therefore is a sign and symbol as well as a reality. In some ways one can see the Ark as a prefigurement for the Church, for the Tabernacle where God will remain with us, in Christ's very Flesh. Likewise, the analogy is not hard to understand in light of the Mother of Jesus. She who bears Christ within herself, within her womb, is much like the Ark of the Old Testament. Within her is the Glory of God, is God Himself. She bears Him to the world, carrying Him within her holy temple. The language of the human body as a temple is not a stretch for Biblical theology as St. Paul reminds us: "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body" (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Therefore, if the body is a place where the Holy Spirit dwells with us, and likewise the same place where we meet God in the Flesh and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, certainly it can be said that the Mother of Jesus was the temple within which He dwelt for nine months! Moreover, as the Holy Spirit "came upon" Mary when she conceived Jesus, He remains with her, and she is Spouse of the Spirit in a unique way. So as we all are temples of the Holy Spirit, in an honored fashion, Mary is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

I could go on, but there is much to think about in those short thoughts.

I want to end with a prayer from the Preparation for Total Consecration which St. Louis de Montfort includes. I cannot help but think of Our Mother's title as "Ark of the Covenant" whenever I read this:

O, Jesus Living in Mary
Come and live in Thy servants,
In the spirit of Thy holiness,
In the fullness of Thy might,
In the truth of Thy virtues,
In the perfection of Thy ways,
In the communion of Thy mysteries,
Subdue every hostile power
In Thy spirit, for the glory of the Father.
Amen.

Let us pray that like Our Lady, we will come to know the heart of Christ in a special way through the intimate time spent with him in prayer and contemplation and through the mysteries of the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Let us also ask the Holy Spirit to come upon us and form us into His very likeness, that we can always be living temples and witnesses of God's love.

Most Holy Spirit, Enflame Us

I want to be where the light is. 


"Behind and before you encircle me and rest your hand upon me. Such knowledge is beyond me, far too lofty for me to reach. Where can I hide from your spirit? From your presence, where can I flee? If I ascend to the heavens, you are there; if I lie down in Sheol, you are there too. If I fly with the wings of dawn and alight beyond the sea, Even there your hand will guide me, your right hand hold me fast. If I say, "Surely darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light" -- Darkness is not dark for you, and night shines as the day. Darkness and light are but one." Psalm 139:5-12


"What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." Jn 1:3-5


"I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!" Lk 12:49


There are perhaps too many things to say about love. About zeal. About passion. About what the truth should mean to us and for us. There are so many aspects of what it means to be consumed by the Holy Fire. 


Saints upon saints have found all that they need to lay down their very lives for the sake of Christ the King within the sweetness of the Holy Spirit's intoxication. All the courage and zeal that could be found within a heart are necessarily enflamed when the soul seeks to be so filled and so consumed with Him. 


There should always be a two-fold aspect to this burning, similar to what we hear about in the story of the widow with seven sons who all die rather than forsake their faith. It is about humility and purgation, and then it is about faith and trust. This is the process of a life entrusted to Our Lord in the Spirit, and especially if we are also dedicated and consecrated to his holy Mother, Mary. She who had no sin and who was the most humble was able to live in the greatest faith and deepest trust any human has ever known. She is our perfect model, for she is the most perfect imitator of her Son, and she is truly Spouse of the Spirit. Daughter, Spouse and Mother of God! Gifts completely unasked for, unmerited, simply given and accepted and loved and cared for and cherished in this pure Virgin's Heart. 


Sorry, getting on a bit of a tangent (which is nearly unavoidable for me when I think about Our Lady), but back to the consuming fire! I am reading through the preparation for Consecration to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort, and yesterday's reflection spoke of the willingness to see ourselves as dust. Do we really want to know how sinful we are? Could we even handle it? I often fear I can't. If you love someone you want to make them happy, and to know that you are constantly failing to do this - it's a little disheartening. But only when it is conceived in that fashion. The TRUTH is that we are loved, infinitely, undeservingly, unconditionally, passionately, powerfully, purely, freely, consistently, faithfully, enduringly, perfectly. Yes, we will always fall short of this love. Yes, we will continue to sin. No, that will never separate us from his love if we are always seeking his mercy and striving to do better! He does not lose his children. We may wander off, but he always knows where we are, and he comes for us himself when we need him. 


So to address our sinfulness, to acknowledge it, to look at ourselves... this is important. And ick! It is never fun. But we cannot fear what is brought to our souls by Perfect Love. If we invite Him in, ask to be cleansed, seek forgiveness, admit our failure and are truly contrite - how quickly he will heal us! And this is something we should do often, daily. Of course, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is absolutely necessary and should be frequented often, especially (and immediately) if there is any danger of mortal sin. But even outside of the beauty and gift of efficacious grace that comes to us through the Sacrament, we should daily be willing to acknowledge our weakness and seek the grace to be made whole once more. 


This is what is so wonderful about the simple prayer of "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love..." To be warmed. To allow the fingers hot with the heat of holy love to melt away the ice from our hearts, to heal the aching wounds of our soul, to purge the darkness that clings to our mind, to burn within us so that there is no room for what is not of Him. 


What would this world be like if we were all little St. Thereses or St. Francises or St. Pauls? What if "zeal for His house" truly consumed us? What if we could not stand still! What if all of our energies were constantly burning up for the sake of his Kingdom here on earth! If every breath was a prayer. Every struggle made a sacrifice. Every long day of work made an offering. Every tedious task made on behalf of those in need. Every boring conversation, every disservice done to us, every rude driver or unkind coworker or terrible day of traffic given up in love for another. What if every thought that was tempted to hate or jealousy was caught in time and turned to mercy and love? What if every darkness that invaded, every lie that tried to take us hostage, every temptation to self-love over self-gift was conquered at the door by the blaze of Love within our hearts!? We would not recognize our world. 


How empty our lives often are. How hallow they become. Day in and out we fall away from community and family. Day by day we walk more on the path of solitude hoping to escape all the demands that threaten our meager existence, threaten to shatter our already-broken peace. Moment by moment we become more self-satisfied, more complacent, more accepting of our pitiful state. No longer does the realization of our humble presence make us weep! No longer do we lower our heads in shame. More often it is the safety of disinterestedness or indifference that blankets our ugliness. We do not grasp at crowns, but we do not balk at the image in the mirror. We are what we are, let it be. 


World! Brothers and sisters, my friends, myself - Christ wept over us. He wept because we were not on fire. He wept because we were lukewarm, and were to be spit out of the mouth rather than ingested into the Fire of the Trinity. We cannot accept this! Why should we? Why would we prefer chains to freedom? Why would we like our putrid pens when we have the open door staring us in the face? "And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God." Jn 3:19-21 We cannot remain still! We cannot be at home in the dark. We were not created for it. We were meant to see. We cannot be satisfied with blindness. Right before the verses I just shared from John Christ says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." Jn 3:16-17 This is the hope, the victory, the mercy, the truth, the delight, the joy, the life that is offered to us all! Oh, that we would not hesitate to take it.


Let us pray to be burned up. To have the grace to look at ourselves in truth, the grace to ask for the grace to look at ourselves in truth. Let us pray that we can be truly contrite, and be healed of our infirmary. Let us pray that we can learn to build up habits of virtue in our lives, and habits of prayer, so that when the enemy comes for us we shall stand in the light. Let us be thankful, always and in everything, even in our trials and failures, because they too lead us back to his Heart, back into the Fire of the Holy Spirit. Let us never lose faith. 


Thomas a Kempis said,
“Love flies, runs, and rejoices; it is free and nothing can hold it back.”

Pope Benedict XVI

My heart is heavy and broken when I read the many articles calling for Pope Benedict XVI's resignation. Oh silly and foolish people.

The Church is not a democracy, nor a political system for that matter. Certainly, any institution has its share of "politics," but the Roman Catholic Church is unique and cannot be confused with the common institutions of our day. This is an institution that has its Founder as Christ Jesus, God-Man, the second person of the Trinity. The Church's birthday is the feast of Pentacost, when the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, came down upon the Apostles who were in prayer. Throughout the past 2,000 years, the Church has professed belief in her establishment on ongoing guidance and protection within God himself. This is no ordinary situation then, where men can dictate the leadership and movement of the people of faith. This is why so many seem confused and foolish - if you do not believe in the Catholic Church's principles of faith, such as the infallibility of the Pope on matters of doctrine because of the grace of the Holy Spirit who protects the Church at all times and leads her ever more to the service of God, then of course you will not understand how ridiculous it is to bombast the Holy Father through the mainstream media as if Catholics are going to be swayed to vote for a new leader. WE DON'T VOTE for him! The Holy Spirit leads the Cardinals and Bishops to know who has been called forth to lead at the given time when it is necessary for a new Pope to be elected. This is a principle of FAITH, not of politics. Once again, attacking the Pope now is attempting to speak a language you do not understand if you think you can influence the Church. You are dealing with God, not with man. Certainly, do not mistake me, the Pope is a man and most certainly sins, as many Popes have openly shared their frequencing the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but the man who serves as the head of the Church cannot fail to lead the Church in matters of faith by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Here is a link to a site that details the teachings of the Church on Papal Infallibility: http://crawfordcountycatholics.com/infallibility.html. To hightlight a piece, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states in 891: "The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his office, when, as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful - who confirms his brethren in the faith he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals. . . . The infallibility promised to the Church is also present in the body of bishops when, together with Peter's successor, they exercise the supreme Magisterium," above all in an Ecumenical Council. When the Church through its supreme Magisterium proposes a doctrine "for belief as being divinely revealed," and as the teaching of Christ, the definitions "must be adhered to with the obedience of faith." This infallibility extends as far as the deposit of divine Revelation itself."
Consider St. Paul's words to the Corinthians: "For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Cor. 1:21-25). We may not always understand the moving and working of the Holy Spirit in the whole Body of the Church but we can and must trust that the same loving God who brought us into being, giving us the gift of Life and the gift of Baptism, the Sacraments and the Church, that we might have new and true life with Him even after this life ends...that same merciful and perfect God is the one who unfailingly leads his servants to his will and his wisdom. To men, this may indeed seem foolish at times, but it is rather the foolish men who are mocking God's ways that are humbled by God's wisdom in the end. Do not forget those who stood outside Noah's ark, mocking him for obeying God when it seemed so ridiculous. Yet, when the flood came, it was those same people who were begging to be saved.
Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, formerly Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, formerly Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has been instituted as the Vicar of Christ by the Holy Spirit and the College of Cardinals. Faith calls us to believe that God will has and will continue to lead this man in humble service of the Church to bring her to greater holiness and love of God and neighbor. At the end of the Baptismal promises, the celebrant proclaims these words: "This is our faith. This is the faith of the Church. We are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus our Lord." Let us not be mislead but stand by the gift that Christ has given us and in prayerful support stand by our Holy Father in these challenging times.