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Read more about the article The Pearl of Great Price

The Pearl of Great Price

The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. (Mt 13:45-46)

Most of us think of Heaven as somewhere in the clouds with the angels singing and where everyone is happy, but a closer look informs us that the Kingdom of Heaven is not just a place to go when we die.  It is an experience, a state of being beyond human understanding that exists in the present moment and in the eternal now. Jesus knows our limitations – we cannot understand what cannot be conceived even in our imagination, so He speaks in similes, giving us concrete images we do understand.

He wants us to truly seek Heaven because He desires our highest good and wants us to experience unending joy.  We have the tendency to keep ourselves very busy, preoccupied with the small details of going to school, raising families, performing well at work, saving for a house — or a bigger house. Pursuing these things is not wrong as long as we keep them in the right perspective. Are we serving God in the fulfilling of our duties, or are we merely serving our own egos? There is a simple test we can give ourselves to see if we are on the right track.  When we obtain the object that we seek, whether it be a new pair of shoes or a promotion, how do we act two weeks later when the thrill of the new thing wears off? Do we appreciate what we have and express gratitude, or do we fill ourselves with dissatisfaction over what we do not yet have and focus on acquiring the next bright, shiny object?  The first mindset leads to joy and the second mindset leads to depression; the first mindset focuses our thoughts on our Creator and the second mindset focuses only on ourselves. We can turn this around with one simple change – The Morning Offering.  It’s a very short prayer we can place in front of the coffee pot, on the bathroom mirror, or the refrigerator.  It’s twenty five seconds a day that can change our entire perspective.

Every one of us needs this change in perspective, even the saints. St. Thérèse of Lisieux wrote of wanting new shoes for Christmas in spite of her family’s poverty, St Francis of Assisi was busy enjoying the pleasures of extraordinary wealth and position, and St. Catherine of Genoa used her wealth to distract herself from a miserable marriage.  Each of them had an encounter with Love, however, that made them want to change course –Thérèse going to a cloistered convent, Francis abandoning his worldly goods for a life of poverty, prayer, and preaching, and Catherine caring for the sick at the hospital in Genoa, while making a life habit of frequent confession and offering penances.  They became saints because they encountered God’s love and spent their lives searching for the depths of it.  As they fell further into the endless depths of His Love for them, so too their hearts increased their capacity to love Him more. Their good deeds sprang not from a desire for a reward, but from their desire to serve Love Himself.

Whatever our temporary position is in the world, there is so much more waiting for us. Heaven is the “pearl of great price;” it is worth more than the treasures of this world and sacrificing our will and our wants to obtain it leads to our ultimate happiness. Take a closer look again — there is something else there too.  Love Himself is calling us.  Hidden in this parable, Jesus is the merchant. He is searching for us – we are His pearl of great price. He came to earth to pursue our salvation and He offers us His entire kingdom, hoping we will fall in love with Him as He has fallen in love with us. He delights in the beauty of our souls, created by Our Father and each created to love Him in a way that is unique and unrepeatable.  We are His pearl and we are worth so much to Him that He has given everything for us. 

The Morning Offering

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day

For all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart

In union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered throughout the world

In reparation for my sins, for the salvation of souls, for the reunion of all Christians,

and for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.

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Read more about the article Hallowed Be Thy Name

Hallowed Be Thy Name

The name of God is so holy that Moses was given the second commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain,” and Jesus praised His Father’s Name in the most important prayer He taught us.  Honoring this commandment has profound effects not only on our spiritual life, but also on our mental and emotional well-being.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that when teens and young adults are exposed to the extreme vulgarity that pervades much of our music, movies, tv shows, books, and even speech, that they become angry or depressed themselves.  Many adults have been angry or depressed for so long they don’t remember when that feeling began.  Taking the Lord’s Name in vain is a serious sin that harms the soul.  According to St. Thomas Aquinas, a doctor of the Church, serious sin also dulls the intellect.  According to neuroscientists, repeated actions and exposure to intense emotional states rewire our brains and reinforce those habits.  So when young people listen to angry music and think they feel better because the music expresses their feelings, what is actually happening is they have remapped their brains and anger has now become a more comfortable emotion.

There is a way out of this morass.  Jesus Himself guides the way:  “Hallowed be Thy Name.”  Praising the Name of God not only fulfills our obligation to Him, it brings us to the center of His Divine Heart.  Praising Him elevates our own souls because it actually fills us with His joy.

Anyone who has attended a Charismatic Conference or Mass understands the power of praise music and its ability to touch us profoundly.  For those who are introverts or are struggling with depression or anxiety, Gregorian Chant is profoundly healing.  Neuroscientists have demonstrated that when engaged in Chant, the entire brain lights up on imaging machines.  Meditating on the Rosary in Chant has been shown to remap and heal the brain.

Praising the Holy Name of God brings us innumerable blessings.  We increase in our own humility – the understanding of who God is as Our Creator and who we are as the created. As our souls marvel at His glory, our faith increases and our fears disperse.  We increase in gratitude; we change our focus from ourselves and our list of wants, to Him and the many gifts and mercies He has already bestowed on us. His hope within us increases, which in turn increases our generosity toward others and expands our capacity to give and receive love.

Praise Him and He meets us where we are, as we are.  Whenever we find ourselves still struggling with attaining peace and joy, then we start with a deep examination of conscience, forgive others from our heart, and go to Confession.  We need not have any fear of being rejected because that won’t happen.  When Jesus hung on the cross, He saw every sin that each of us would ever commit.  He saw each one of us at our ugliest moments and He loved us so much even in those moments that He chose to die; He died for me and He died for you.  He delights in forgiving you.  He delights in filling you with His Peace.  The journey to the center of His Divine Heart starts with a single step.  Praise His Holy Name with a sincere heart and He will fill you with His abundant joy.

Here are some Praise Songs you may enjoy:

Your Grace is Enough

10,00 Reasons

Here are some Gregorian Chants you may enjoy:

Salve Regina

Pater Nostra

Ave Maria

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Read more about the article Declare The Works of God And Give Thanks

Declare The Works of God And Give Thanks

Raphael called the two of them aside privately and said to them: “Bless God and give him thanks before all the living for the good things he has done for you, by blessing and extolling his name in song. Proclaim before all with due honor the deeds of God, and do not be slack in thanking him.  A king’s secret should be kept secret, but one must declare the works of God and give thanks with due honor. (Tb 12:6-7)

I recently returned from a trip and shied away from writing about my experiences because this isn’t a travel website nor is it about my personal life.  But after hearing the words of St. Raphael, the Archangel known for healing, it became clear that it’s not about me, but about the fingerprints of God and recognizing Divine intervention in even the most ordinary of circumstances because He loves us so much.

After years of talking about a visit to Ireland, I finally sat down and planned it. I had heard about Knock, a place of apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  I didn’t really know much about Knock, but felt a burning desire to go and knew I was being called there.  As with all pilgrimages, traveling there had its own ordeals, but our arrival was met with a sense of peace.

On our first morning, we headed for the Reconciliation Chapel.  I knew the Holy Spirit was present because the priest understood things about me that we hadn’t even discussed.  He recommended that we attend the 3:00 Healing Mass at the Basilica and that we visit the museum. “Do it today,” he said.  At the healing Mass the priest called each of us by name and did the anointing and all the prayers of the Sacrament of the Sick.  Having three sacraments in one day was so amazing we didn’t even notice our jet lag. 

I had a whole list of things to do at the Shrine, but the priest told us to go to the museum so we went.  It was like viewing a time capsule from 1879, and at the very back of the museum was a large binder full of hand-written letters in beautiful European script. For some reason I sat down to read the letters.  Some kind soul had transcribed in type-written form all 600 of them. People were pouring out their hearts about illnesses, accidents, and deformities.  In every letter the person described either rubbing a piece of mortar from the gable wall, or touching the wall, or putting the mortar in a glass of water and drinking the water.  All of them were miraculously healed.  600 verified miraculous healings between 1881-1884.  I had no idea this apparition site was a place of healing –it’s the Lourdes of Ireland.  We saw photographs of many crutches left at the gable wall because people had been healed.  I inquired about the mortar and was told that the portion of the gable wall where Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist and the Lamb of God appeared had been incorporated into the outer wall of the apparition chapel and we could go touch it.  Had we not started the day with Reconciliation, we would not have known about the healing Mass, nor discovered the important secret revealed in these letters.

A few days later we booked a 13 hour bus tour that brought us from Dublin to the West Coast of Ireland, the Cliffs of Moher, Galway, and the rural countryside. Once again, the inconveniences of life turned out not to be coincidence.  Upon arriving at the tour bus stop, we joined a crowd of over 300 people booked on a tour bus that accommodated 63. Our tour guide explained that normally there was a high no-show rate, but they were calling in four other buses to handle the demand. Unfortunately, although we presented our confirmation and payment receipt we were not on her list.  Unflustered, she told us to ride with her to the last pickup point and hopefully people wouldn’t show up — “Don’t worry.  We’ll get you sorted out.”  We started praying to our guardian angels that four people would change their minds about taking a tour.  Amazingly, four didn’t show up so we were let back on the bus.  The only seats left were the front row “reserved” seats which is exactly where I wanted to sit. I couldn’t have planned it better.  

On the three hour ride back to Dublin, the friendly couple behind us shared their adventures in Spain and Morocco and how a layover in Ireland had turned into a spontaneous five day vacation extension.  We all agreed that seizing the present moment instead of always planning for some distant future was a much more fulfilling approach to life.  I settled in to my 15 decade rosary while reveling in the beauty of this marvelous green country with its endless rolling hills.  At the 7th decade, the man behind us dropped his phone.  Something in his wife’s panicked, “Robert, are you okay?” made me turn around.  He was definitely not okay – he was having a stroke.  In the middle of nowhere. He made a convulsive grimace and then his head fell to the left, his mouth slack open, his eyes unfocused, his face like yellow wax. His wife screaming his name and thumping his chest with no response. No rise and fall of his chest – no breath. No movement or recognition in the lifeless stare.  Desperate to help them, I didn’t even have an aspirin.  But I had my rosary – the simple plastic rosary that I had touched to the gable wall at Knock. I held it up and told her I was praying for him.  I knew he was dead.  She knew he was dead. The tour guide knew he was dead. I prayed anyway as the bus pulled into a rest stop. Then suddenly he coughed so hard his arms and legs flailed about.  When he was able to speak, it was obvious he had no idea what had happened to him and sought to reassure his wife that he “was just coming down with something but was fine.”  Miraculously he was able to walk down the steps of the bus and speak in coherent sentences.

His wife and the tour guide tried to convince him to go to the hospital while he continued to insist he was fine.  Not wanting a repeat episode on their flight to Los Angeles the following day, I asked the Holy Spirit to give me the words to encourage him to make a better decision, and, as always, He responded:  “Robert, I know that as a man you are expected to be the strong one, the one who takes care of the family. You want to be in control, but today that is not the way to be strong or take care of your family.  Look at your wife. She is terrified. She will have no peace until she knows you are okay.  For her sake Robert you have to be strong in a different way.  Sometimes being a man means you must fall on your sword and do something you don’t want to do, but you do it for the good of your wife and family because you love them.  Today is one of those times.” He agreed to go to the hospital.

Thinking back on this trip, I see the fingerprints of God everywhere, in every inconvenience, in every decision, in every path to which I was guided.  None of this happened on my own. He guided me to Confession. The priest was guided to instruct me to go to the museum. With all the beautiful art around me, I sat down to read letters. We discovered the gable wall.  We somehow wound up in the front of the bus with this couple and I had my rosary with me.  God intervened and restored this man to life through the intercession of Our Lady and many witnessed it.  The miracles of Knock continue.  Praise be Jesus now and forever.

P.S. –I prayed for all of you while there and lit several candles. The last candle was for anyone I have ever met or ever will meet, and anyone who has ever or will ever pray for me or my intentions that they be filled with an abundance of joy in this life and especially in the next. So if we have never met and you would like the blessing of abundant joy from God through Our Lady of Knock, you know what to do: “Hail Mary full of grace …… ” And for those non-Catholics who do not yet know the love of Our Blessed Mother, “Our Father Who Art in Heaven …..”

P.P.S. – In 1879, 15 villagers in Knock saw the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. John the Evangelist, and the Lamb of God. The villagers prayed the rosary for 2 hours in the pouring rain during the apparition. The Church has investigated and found the eye witnesses to be credible. The faithful laity and devoted priests have created a beautiful Shrine of pilgrimage and retreat. Find out more at Our Lady of Knock.

Continue ReadingDeclare The Works of God And Give Thanks
Read more about the article Our Father Who Art in Heaven

Our Father Who Art in Heaven

Over the years several Protestant friends have inquired about why Catholics have the body of Christ on the cross in our churches.  Our Protestant brothers and sisters display an empty cross in their churches because Christ resurrected from the dead.  For Catholics though, the cross means nothing without the sacrifice Jesus made for us.  The crucifix (Christ’s body on the cross) is central to our faith because His death saved us from our sins.  The shape of the church itself is a crucifix with the altar and tabernacle containing Christ at the head, and we the faithful sitting in the body. This is the simple answer, but it goes much deeper than this.

Jesus did not only die for our sins so that we could go to Heaven, He left us the gift of the Eucharist so that we could become one with Him and thus become adopted children of God.  We the created become members of His uncreated family. At any Catholic church we are home. All Latin rite churches throughout the world have the same readings and the same prayers each day.  No matter where we are, we can walk into a Catholic church and pray the Mass without knowing the language.  This is the unity of one family.  It reflects the unity of the Trinity as one family. After the Our Father, we exchange the Sign of Peace with our brethren signifying that we forgive one another, which is another sign of unity, before turning to the altar and asking Jesus to forgive us for our own sins in the Lamb of God prayer. In presenting ourselves for Holy Communion we communicate our oneness in belief. When we partake of the Eucharist — the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus — we all become one with one another just as all the branches are part of the same vine.  In the Eucharist, we receive the crucified and risen Christ and become one with Him, receiving a share in His inheritance as sons and daughters of God.

Jesus alludes to this plan when He teaches the disciples to pray “Our Father Who art in Heaven” and when He reveals how this becomes possible in John chapter 6, known as the Bread of Life discourse:

Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day, for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in Me and I in them. Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats Me will live because of Me. This is the bread that came down from Heaven, not like that which the ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” (Jn 6:53-58)

His teaching become clear at the Last Supper when He says, “This is My body…This is My blood.”  At the Consecration during the Mass, the priest prays His words from Scripture: “This is My Body which will be given up for you” and “This is the chalice of My Blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.”  When Jesus took human form to fulfill the covenant between God and Man which will stand forever, He did not separate Himself from His divinity. Instead, He humbled Himself to share in our humanity, and He elevated us to share in His divinity.

In the Catholic Mass, which is offered every hour of every day somewhere in the world, Christ’s sacrifice is re-presented in a non-bloody manner.  The priest, who through the sacrament of Holy Orders is in persona Christi1, presents Christ’s sacrifice to the Father on behalf of the whole world.  It is this continual offering of Himself to the Father that brings us the Mercy that sustains our sinful world. After transubstantiation2 the priest stretches out his arms in prayer, in the same position Christ stretched out His arms on the cross, and offers the prayer Jesus taught us calling God “Our Father.”  He stands in persona Christi, arms outstretched, acting as mediator for all of us.  

If the resurrection had not occurred, our faith would be meaningless. As Catholics it is vital for us to attend the sacrifice of the Mass every Sunday because every Sunday is a celebration of His Resurrection. We come together to strengthen our faith and partake in our Eucharistic Lord now for the nourishment of our souls and also that we may be resurrected on the last day, when we will receive glorified bodies just as Christ’s body is glorified.

[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph #1548.

[2] CCC, #1376.

Continue ReadingOur Father Who Art in Heaven

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