Reciting the Divine Office respectfully, attentively, devoutly

After the Sacrifice of the altar the Divine Office is one of the most important functions of my ministry. In making me responsible for this office, the Church wishes that several times a day her minister be present before the throne of his God’s mercies to draw down heavenly blessings on her children, and turn away from above their heads the scourges that the multitude of sins committed on earth call out for all too strongly. She wishes that I perform in her name, and in the name of the Christian people, that I take part here below in what employs the blessed spirits in heaven: Divinum Officium, imitatio coelestis concentus (S. Bonav. De Sexalis Seraph. c.8), that I begin during this life that concert of praises that I shall not cease to repeat in the other, if, as I must hope, I have the happiness to get there.

So I will direct all my attention to acquit myself worthily of this holy and consoling ministry, both as to the manner and as to the order in which I say it. As to the manner, I will direct all my attention to see that it is not an empty din of muddled words said out of obligation; I know well enough what reproaches the Jews merited for not having acquitted this duty of religion in any other way than this. This people honours me with their lips, says the Lord, and their heart is far from me. How many priests deserve this reproach, and as for myself too, do I not have some improvements to make on this score?

The indispensable conditions required for praying as one ought are found in this preparatory prayer that a laudable custom normally prefixes to the recitation of every part of the Divine Office: Aperi Domine os meum ut digne, attente, ac devote recitare valeam hoc officium, etc., namely, respectfully, attentively, devoutly.

Respectfully i.e., without haste, in a modest posture, in a suitable place.

Attentively for without attention there is no true prayer, prayer being a rational worship. To pray without attention is to act purely mechanically.

Devoutly for prayer is homage of the heart even more than it is of the mind, and the words of Our Lady prove that it is in the heart that lies the merit of prayer.

In the recitation of the Office, therefore, it will be very much to the point, indeed indispensable, always to prepare myself, even if only by fervently raising my heart to God.

I will take pains to repulse every distraction that comes up as soon as I notice it, and to avoid them persisting in spite of myself I will make an imperceptible pause at the end of each psalm while saying Gloria Patri, to renew my intention and refocus my attention if it has wandered for a moment. I will fix my mind to the best of my ability on the meaning of the Psalms that I am saying, in such a way as to follow the Psalmist in the various feelings that move him and that my heart may produce the same effect that animated him when he composed those wonderful canticles, Si orat Psalmus orate. Si gemit gemite,.si gratulatur gaudete, si timet timete (5. Aug. in Ps. 30), but when I do notice some involuntary distraction, I will try to accept not to go over it again as has sometimes happened, being satisfied in that case with humbling myself before the Lord, asking pardon of Him from the bottom of my heart, and starting again then with a new fervour to make reparation for past negligence.

So much for the manner in which I will acquit myself in a holy way of that important and consoling function. I will not add anything else save a desire that I might make this prayer on my knees, with uncovered head, as we read that the Venerable Cardinal Bellarmine and several other holy personages never failed to do.

As to the order, I will enter as much as I can into the spirit of the Church and its ancient practice by dividing up my saying of the office, and reciting it at the different times set out for it; if the Venerable Bellarmine, overburdened as he was with so many responsibilities, managed to conform with this edifying practice, it seems to me it should not be impossible for me, especially as I have always wanted to do it and have even made the attempt without difficulty while I was at the seminary.

~ Saint Eugène de Mazenod ~

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Maria!

This beautiful prayer comes to us from the mind and heart of a Carthusian monk:

O Lord Jesus, my God, I give You thanks for Your boundless love, and for the favors bestowed upon the Angels and men, and upon the whole world, from the noblest and worthiest of all Your creatures, the most holy Virgin Mary, Your Mother, down to me the most unworthy of all, unfit to appear before You on account of my sins and ingratitude.

Be forever blessed, O infinitely good Jesus, Who has from all eternity chosen Mary, this matchless Virgin, to be Your Mother! You made her wholly Immaculate. You preserved her from all sin. You prepared and possessed her soul, and adorned it with the fullness of all virtues and all graces. You were conceived in her womb; she is Your Mother. You were nourished at her holy breast. You willed that she should be present at Your preaching and at the sufferings of Your Passion and death. You allowed her to take part in our redemption. And now that she has been taken up to Heaven in body and soul, and is crowned with very great glory, You have given her to us to be our advocate, the Queen of mercy, and our Mother. Praise, glory and honor be to You forever for all these benefits! Most sweet Jesus, I offer you the heart of Mary and her merits, and through her I commend myself to Your most kind Heart.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Mary, may I be all yours and you all mine! Keep me, guide me, deliver me, preserve me from all sin, from all harm, from all danger, and remove from me everything that might come between my soul and God.

Life-changing Gifts Deserve Thanksgiving

“When a person has eaten some delicious food at a banquet, he is careful not to take anything bitter in his mouth immediately after, lest he should lose the sweet flavor of those delicate viands. In like manner, when we have received the precious Body of Jesus Christ, we should take care not to lose its heavenly flavor by turning too soon to the cares and business of the world.” These are the words of Saint John Chrysostom.

We live in a time when priests usually preside at more than one Mass on a Sunday. For parents and their children, in addition to Mass, Sundays also mean softball practice or soccer practice or some other sport. And of course, Sundays also mean getting home in time for the big game. The Sunday liturgical celebration is in danger of becoming something obligatory that we must, therefore, squeeze in between everything else going on in our lives. And yet, the truth is that Mass is the most important thing we do each week. Nothing else we do has more eternal value for our souls. We all see it every week – church-goers heading for the exit right after Holy Communion. Being preoccupied with secular aspirations on a Sunday is not what makes saints.

The quote from Saint John Chrysostom exhorts us to offer a proper thanksgiving when Mass has concluded. It used to be a fairly common practice which today has subsided. For priests and anyone who prays the Divine Office, the breviaries prior to the post-Conciliar Liturgy of the Hours contained prayers that were appropriate Before and After Mass. Cardinal Francis Arinze, the Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said: “Thanksgiving after Mass has traditionally been greatly esteemed for both the priest and the lay faithful.”

Saint Teresa of Avila instructed her Sisters about what to do after Mass: “Let us detain ourselves lovingly with Jesus and not waste the hour that follows Communion.”

Saint Philip Neri said: “We have to pay proper respect to our Lord, Whom you are carrying away with you.” Saint Philip defined the love of God as a “devouring fire.”

How much time should be spent in Thanksgiving has always seemed to depend on the individual. Cardinal Arinze recommends ten minutes. Saint Josemaria Escrivá said: “Do not leave the church almost immediately after receiving the Sacrament. Surely you have nothing so important on that you cannot give our Lord ten minutes to say thanks. Love is repaid with love.” But the Church has had some very extraordinary souls in her history. Those like Padre Pio, Jean Marie Vianney and Louis Marie de Montfort couldn’t be dragged away from Thanksgiving by wild horses. Hours upon hours have been spent in Thanksgiving by these beautiful souls as well as others.

Saint Catherine of Genoa once had a dream that she would not be able to receive our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. In this dream she was so grief-stricken by this that she cried uncontrollably. The next morning when she woke up, her face was wet. Thus it was not only in the dream that she shed many tears. Her love was so great for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament that she could not bear the thought of not receiving Him in Holy Communion.

Saint Gemma Galgani wrote to her spitiual director these words: “Today I went to Confession and the Confessor said that I must stop receiving Jesus. O my Father, my pen does not want to write more, my hand shakes strongly, I cry.” She also expressed these words to Jesus in Holy Communion: “You are my loving prey just as I am the object of Your immense charity.”

As Saint Josemaria said, these are examples of love repaying love.

What does our Lord Himself say about this? Here’s what our Divine Savior told Saint Faustina: “My great delight is to unite Myself with souls. When I come to a human heart in Communion, My Hands are filled with graces which I want to give to souls. But souls do not pay attention to Me: they leave Me to Myself and busy themselves with other things. They do not recognize love. They treat Me as a dead object.”

Our Lord invites us to His house and feeds us with “the living Bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:51). Jesus said: “If any man comes after Me, let him deny himself” (Matthew 16:24). This is a statement about priorities. Is the Lord truly the Center of our lives? Let us consider reintroducing the practice of spending some time in Thanksgiving after Mass. Most disconcerting and heartbreaking are our Redeemer’s words: “Will you also go away?” (John 6:68).

Our Lady's Poverty

This particular piece from a Carthusian monk focuses on the poverty of the Virgin Mother of God, in order that she may ‘preserve her unique treasure’. Jesus tells us to ‘make to yourselves . . . a treasure in heaven which does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth corrupts. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’ (Saint Luke 12:33-34). The possessions of this world’s goods or the lack thereof, causes much stress in the hearts of humanity. Our fallen nature renders us ‘control freaks’, making it difficult to surrender totally to our Lord and trust in His Providence. Jesus encourages us however, when He said: ‘Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you a Kingdom’ (ibid. verse 32).

Our annals record the apparition, in the year 1137, of Our Blessed Lady to a simple lay-brother of La Correrie near La Grande Chartreuse, to whom she said, having delivered him from some grievous temptation: ‘Keep on advancing always in the life of perfection. Love the coarse food, the poor clothing allowed you by your Rule, and spend yourself in manual labour’.

These are the counsel of a Mother, herself imbued with a great love for poverty, a virtue of which during the whole of her life she gave a wonderful example.

Daughter of David and the descendant of the kings of Judah, Mary counted it her glory to live hidden from the eyes of men. She heard herself spoken of as a carpenter’s wife, and rejoiced in it, just as her Son was happy to pass for a workman’s son.

Rich in the possession of her divine Son, Mary deprived herself of the goods of this world, in order to preserve her unique treasure. And yet as she was Queen of creation, she knew that she could have been trusted always to make use of created things in a lawful and holy manner. We too, therefore, should remain detached from the vanities of this world, if we would possess Him Who in truth only gives Himself to those who can repeat with the poor man of Assisi: My God, and my All!

The prospect of the unfading crown which will encircle the brows of those who conquer for Christ’s sake should make us generous in our detachment, like those athletes of whom the apostle speaks, who strip themselves of everything in order to fight in the arena (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:25). Did not Joshua once see his army put to flight by the enemies of God in punishment for a theft committed by a son of Israel, who had stolen objects vowed to the pagan gods?

Holy Mary, Mother of God: pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Dominica Quarta Paschæ

First Reading, Acts 2:14a, 36-41
This is a continuation of last weekend's speech from Peter. Again, it's very tempting to think that the hearers of this message are being read the riot act; but an angry tone delivered among adults usually produces the same in return. But the fact that the hearers "were cut to the heart" intimates something very different. Peter, perhaps in a deeply sad tone, delivered these poignant words. Fortunately, Peter is quick to offer a remedy for such a barbaric series of events in the form of sacramental Baptism. He might very well be wearing on his sleeve his own personal experience of betraying Jesus. Although as disciples of Jesus we are most grateful for our Lord's ocean of mercy, our often feeble minds are not so quick to forget some of the sins committed. The Image of our Lord nailed to the Cross is a vivid reminder of the wages of sin. But our Lord's love for us will not abandon us to live out a life of despair. We are a sacramental Church which produces healing and the gift of the Holy Spirit. In this Reading the question, "What are we to do, my brothers?" surely suggests a desire to repent. Much of the childhood and early adult years of Jesus was hidden. What we don't know and is interesting to consider is how many of the hearers of Peter's message grew up with Jesus and maybe played together as kids or were friends as teenagers? How many are a little older and perhaps associated with Joseph and Mary and maybe shared meals together? What drives friendships to utter betrayal? How did "Hosanna!" turn to "Crucify Him!"? Saint Peter makes it clear who the real enemy is: "Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, prowls about seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Saint Peter's exhortation to "save yourselves from this corrupt generation" reaches even our ears separated by two thousand years. We've all suffered the consequences for not always being so vigilant. The French philosopher, Blaise Pascal, said: "Jésus sera en agonie jusqu'à la fin du monde; il ne faut pas dormir pendant ce temps-là" – "Jesus will be in agony until the end of the world; during this time we must not sleep." When we find that sleep or a lack of vigilance has become habitual, that is also when we will find ourselves very much a part of the corrupt generation. To live a sacramental life is to stay close to the Bosom of Jesus Who envelops us with His Love; and love which freely offers forgiveness is a wounding blow to our adversary.

Second Reading, 1 Peter 2:20b-25
Saint Peter desires that we follow in the Footsteps of our Lord especially when he uses the example of Christ handing Himself over to the One Who judges justly. You can bet that the Church's first pope prays for us unceasingly in heaven. Our commitment to discipleship is an act of handing ourselves over to our Lord and trusting in His Providential care. Our sufferings in which Peter calls us to patient endurance are inevitable. No one will escape suffering. Suffering without patient endurance, however, no matter how minimal or extreme can be a catalyst to sin. Our struggle to be without deceit in our mouths, our struggle to remain silent when insulted and our struggle to offer no threats in the heat of the battle perhaps is caused by unwittingly adhering to the whispers of the tempter which leads to an unbeknownst pulling away from the embrace of Jesus. And because of that human weakness, that elusive ingredient within us that needs to control, or at least is led to believe we're in control, the straying sheep that we are need a means in which we can return to the Shepherd and Guardian of souls. And hopefully the graces received from the frequent reception of that sacrament will help us to remain more intently in the Bosom of our Lord while going astray like sheep becomes a rarity.

Gospel, John 10:1-10
Concerning the sheepfold, the Catechism of the Catholic Church shares these words: "The Church is, accordingly, a sheepfold, the sole and necessary gateway to which is Christ. It is also the flock of which God Himself foretold that He would be the Shepherd, and Whose sheep, even though governed by human shepherds, are unfailingly nourished and led by Christ Himself, the Good Shepherd and Prince of shepherds, Who gave His life for His sheep" (CCC 754). All three Readings this weekend plead with us to stay close to Jesus. This message would not be necessary if it weren't for our tendency to stray. The prophet Ezekiel speaks of God's intention of taking care of His sheep by taking the sheep away from shepherds who feed themselves. The prophecy also reveals that this will occur through a Davidic Prince (cf. Ezekiel 34:1-24). And of course this Prince from the line of David is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The thieves and robbers that our Lord speaks of could refer to the false prophets who preceded Him throughout salvation history; but Jesus is speaking mysteriously in the present tense when He says: "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers." The word "are" is present tense and agrees with the ancient texts, therefore, Christ is most likely referring to the scribes and Pharisees. There's a level of intimacy here that cannot be overlooked. There must be a deep, personal relationship with Jesus in order to recognize His Voice. And one can really get a sense of the personal closeness intended when Jesus says that He calls His own sheep by name. And that intimacy with our Lord rewards us with abundant life. The great opportunity we have in the here and now cannot be overemphasized. Meditating on Sacred Scripture every day enables us to recognize the Voice of the Master. In "The Plan of Life" of the Hermits of Bethlehem who are located in Chester, NJ, using our Blessed Mother as the model, there is a very beautiful passage which applies not only to hermits but anyone who desires to make Sacred Scripture a vibrant part of their life. The passage reads as follows: "Like Mary, the hermit strives to be a servant-bearer of the Word by daily opening oneself to the presence and mystery of the Word (Isaiah 50:4), listening to and pondering the Word (Luke 2:19, 10:39), believing and treasuring the Word (John 17:20), waiting patiently for the Word to take flesh in the heart through the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14), proclaiming the Word not only by one's speech, but by the very actions and attitudes of one's life (John 2:5), celebrating the Word (Acts 2:46; Luke 4: 17, 18), responding in love to the Word (John 15:23; Mark 3:35), resting in the word (Psalm 62:1-5; Matthew 11:29) surrendering himself in trust that the day-to-day experience is the mysterious revelation of God's plan." And it was our Savior Himself Who said: "Blessed are they who hear the Word of God and keep it" (Luke 11:28).

A Sweet Paradise

Today the Carthusians reflected on this at Matins:

When Jesus is near, all is well and nothing seems difficult. When He is absent, all is hard. When Jesus does not speak within, all other comfort is empty, but if He says only a word, it brings great consolation.

Did not Mary Magdalene rise at once from her weeping when Martha said to her: “The Master is come, and calls for you”? Happy is the hour when Jesus calls one from tears to joy of spirit.

How dry and hard you are without Jesus! How foolish and vain if you desire anything but Him! Is it not a greater loss than losing the whole world? For what, without Jesus, can the world give you?

Life without Him is a relentless hell, but living with Him is a sweet paradise. If Jesus be with you, no enemy can harm you.

He who finds Jesus finds a rare treasure, indeed, a good above every good, whereas he who loses Him loses more than the whole world.

The man who lives without Jesus is the poorest of the poor, whereas no one is so rich as the man who lives in His grace. It is a great art to know how to converse with Jesus, and great wisdom to know how to keep Him.

~ The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis ~

The Temple of the Body

O glorious God Who dwells in ineffable silence:
You have built for my renewal a tabernacle of love on earth
where it is Your good pleasure to rest,
a temple made of flesh.
Then you filled it with Your holy Presence
so that worship might be fulfilled in it. . .
an ineffable mystery. . .
In wonder at it angelic beings are submerged in silence,
awed at the dark cloud of this eternal mystery
and at the flood of glory which issues from within this source of glory,
for it receives worship in the sphere of silence.
You have made my nature a sanctuary for Your hiddeness
and a tabernacle for Your Mysteries,
a place where You can dwell,
and a holy temple for Your Divinity.

~ Isaac of Nineveh ~