Fifth Sunday of Easter

First Reading, Acts 14:21-27
The purpose of this particular missionary journey by Paul and Barnabas was to oversee the organization of new churches and to add to the numbers of those adhering to the Christian faith.

Saint Luke writes in this Reading: ‘It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.’ Origen, one of the early Church writers, shares these words: ‘God does not want to impose the good, but wants free beings. There is a certain usefulness to temptation. No one but God knows what our soul has received from Him, not even we ourselves. But temptation reveals it in order to teach us to know ourselves, and in this way we discover our evil inclinations and are obliged to give thanks for the goods that temptation has revealed to us’. The Catechism of the Catholic Church adds: ‘The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man. We must discern between being tempted, and consenting to temptation. Discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a delight to the eyes and desirable, when in reality its fruit is death’ (CCC 2847).

Truthfully, most of us would rather get through this life without any temptations or hardships. This kind of philosophy, however, cannot be embraced without first considering this warning from Denys the Carthusian: ‘Woe to you, lovers of this world, who wish to pass your lives without tribulation. Enemies of the Cross! Is the disciple above his Master? Did it not become Christ first to suffer, and thus to enter into His glory? Shall we pretend to enter by any other means’?

Evangelization is a hot topic in today’s Church. Evangelization can be done by preaching and teaching but perhaps the most powerful way to evangelize is to live one’s life in accordance with the teachings of the Church. Living our faith by example will often lead others to ask questions about our faith which opens the door for us to share our faith. As this Reading emphasizes ‘what God had done’, our opportunities to evangelize are available to us not by our own doing but by our willingness to allow God to work through us.

Second Reading, Revelation 21:1-5a
Saint John is given the vision of a new heaven and a new earth which is the definitive realization of God’s plan to bring under a single Head, all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth (cf. CCC 1043).

The holy city or new Jerusalem is understood as the citizens of heaven: the angels and saints. This is the Church triumphant.

A voice from the Throne is heard saying: ‘Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race’. The Latin Vulgate is translated as: ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God with men’. It expresses that we, the chosen sons and daughters of God, will dwell in His tabernacle forever and ever; and in this perfect existence sorrow will no longer be a part of our makeup. The Catechism refers to this moment as God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause His Bride to come down from heaven (cf. CCC 677). At this moment all is accomplished and all is made new.

Until we have arrived at that place, however, where ‘there shall be no more death and mourning, wailing or pain’ consideration should be given to the human tabernacle – the indwelling of Christ. As we expect to walk into our churches and see a tabernacle that is beautiful, those same expectations should be true of the human tabernacle. Christ deserves to dwell in a heart and soul that attempts to remain as spotless as possible, turning to our spotless Blessed Mother as our model and intercessor.

Gospel, John 13:31-33a, 34-35
There is a lot of glorifying going on this short Gospel, and it sounds confusing! It is much easier to grasp if you keep in mind that the Father is God and the Son is God, therefore the Father and the Son are One. Not even that is completely comprehended especially when you add the Holy Spirit to the mix.

Jesus said: ‘Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him’. Christ is referring to the miracle of His death and Resurrection. Jesus is glorified as Man because He was able to rise from death which also glorifies God because rising from the dead is impossible without God.

Christ promises resurrection for us but this requires two beings: it requires us, that is, the human person who is to be resurrected and it requires God, Who does the resurrecting. With Christ’s Resurrection, only One Being was required as He is both God and Man.

Since we’re in the Easter Season, it’s best to forget that this Gospel story occurs before Christ’s death. It’s more beneficial to focus on the glorification of Christ as God and Man because of these events.

Jesus commands us to love one another. As human beings, when we think about strong bonds of love we tend to consider the love a husband has for his wife and a wife for her husband, and the love that parents have for their children. It’s difficult for us to apply that kind of intense love to acquaintances and perfect strangers; and without God, indeed it is downright impossible. Let us keep in mind, though, that if Christ commands it, it is very possible or else He would never have commanded it.

Faith assures us that our Lord supplies the graces needed to do that which human logic doesn’t consider possible. Our part in this is to be conformable to the will of God. Saint Augustine offers an excellent way of expressing this divine love for one another with these words: ‘As Christ the Saviour loved us, so charity should be a thirst for the spiritual salvation of our neighbours, all of whom God wills to be saved’.

A blessed weekend to all!

Work and the Primacy of the Interior Life

Work was the daily expression of love in the life of the Family of Nazareth. The Gospel specifies the kind of work Joseph did in order to support his family: he was a carpenter. This simple word sums up Joseph’s entire life. For Jesus, these were hidden years, the years to which Luke refers after recounting the episode that occurred in the Temple: ‘And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them’ (Luke 2:51). This ‘submission’ or obedience of Jesus in the house of Nazareth should be understood as a sharing in the work of Joseph. Having learned the work of His presumed father, He was known as ‘the carpenter's son’. If the Family of Nazareth is an example and model for human families, in the order of salvation and holiness, so too, by analogy, is Jesus’ work at the side of Joseph the carpenter. In our own day, the Church has emphasized this by instituting the liturgical memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker on May 1. Human work, and especially manual labour, receive special prominence in the Gospel. Along with the humanity of the Son of God, work too has been taken up in the mystery of the Incarnation, and has also been redeemed in a special way. At the workbench where he plied his trade together with Jesus, Joseph brought human work closer to the mystery of the Redemption.

In the human growth of Jesus in wisdom, age and grace, the virtue of industriousness played a notable role, since work is a human good which transforms nature and makes man in a sense, more human.

The importance of work in human life demands that its meaning be known and assimilated in order to help all people to come closer to God, the Creator and Redeemer, to participate in His salvific plan for man and the world, and to deepen friendship with Christ in their lives, by accepting, through faith, a living participation in His threefold mission as Priest, Prophet and King.

What is crucially important here is the sanctification of daily life, a sanctification which each person must acquire according to his or her own state, and one which can be promoted according to a model accessible to all people: Saint Joseph is the model of those humble ones that Christianity raises up to great destinies; he is the proof that in order to be a good and genuine follower of Christ, there is no need of great things -- it is enough to have the common, simple and human virtues, but they need to be true and authentic.

The same aura of silence that envelops everything else about Joseph also shrouds his work as a carpenter in the house of Nazareth. It is, however, a silence that reveals in a special way the inner portrait of the man. The Gospels speak exclusively of what Joseph did. Still, they allow us to discover in his ‘actions’ -- shrouded in silence as they are -- an aura of deep contemplation. Joseph was in daily contact with the mystery ‘hidden from ages past’, and which ‘dwelt’ under his roof.

The total sacrifice, whereby Joseph surrendered his whole existence to the demands of the Messiah's coming into his home, becomes understandable only in the light of his profound interior life. It was from this interior life that very singular commands and consolations came, bringing him also the logic and strength that belong to simple and clear souls, and giving him the power of making great decisions -- such as the decision to put his liberty immediately at the disposition of the divine designs, to make over to them also his legitimate human calling, his conjugal happiness, to accept the conditions, the responsibility and the burden of a family, but, through an incomparable virginal love, to renounce that natural conjugal love that is the foundation and nourishment of the family.

In Joseph, the apparent tension between the active and the contemplative life finds an ideal harmony that is only possible for those who possess the perfection of charity. Joseph experienced both love of the truth -- that pure contemplative love of the divine Truth which radiated from the humanity of Christ -- and the demands of love -- that equally pure and selfless love required for his vocation to safeguard and develop the humanity of Jesus, which was inseparably linked to His divinity.

This just man, who bore within himself the entire heritage of the Old Covenant, was also brought into the ‘beginning’ of the New and Eternal Covenant in Jesus Christ. May he show us the paths of this saving Covenant.

May Saint Joseph obtain for the Church and for the world, as well as for each of us, the blessing of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

~ Pope John Paul II ~

The Heart of Jesus is the Book of Divine Love

This reflection on the Sacred Heart of Jesus was written by Dom Peter van Blommeveen who was Prior of the Carthusian charterhouse in Cologne from 1506 to 1536. He was born in Leyden, the Netherlands. His Latin name has appeared as Petrus Blœmenvenna or Petrus Leydensis. He was a mystic and ascetic who published several works in defence of the Roman Catholic Church, as he lived during the time of the Protestant Reformation. Here is his Carthusian-centred reflection on the Sacred Heart of Jesus:

Eat this book . . . and I did eat it; and it was sweet as honey in my mouth. ~ Ezekiel 3:1, 3

‘Go forth, daughters of Zion, and see (the King). . . in the day of the joy of His Heart’ (Canticle of Canticles 3:11). Carthusian soul, daughter of contemplation, come out of yourself, and behold Jesus crowned in the day of the joy of His Heart. The heart rejoices when its desires are fulfilled. And what does the Heart of Jesus desire? It desires our salvation, and finds Its happiness therein.

Our Lord has given us many proofs of the truth of His Resurrection in order to increase our faith and kindle our love. One of these is His having appeared to the disciples bearing the scars of His five Wounds. By this He has made known to us His love. See, He said, My Feet, My Hands and My Side; read in My Wounds, learn and understand how great is My love for you.

This mystic book -- which is no other than Jesus Himself -- is printed with the most precious Blood of God, and the types employed are the Saviour’s Wounds. Now Jesus gives the perusal of this book especially to His Carthusians. He wishes us to be the servants of His private apartments, and the interpreters of His most secret thoughts. He would have us Carthusians always in His presence, and chiefly occupied in reading this book of the Saviour’s Wounds.

Yes! Read Jesus, relish this reading; and in each of the five Wounds read the incentive to and the means of leading a new life.

The scars of our Redeemer's Feet tell us to trample underfoot all that is human and earthly, so that we may love only those things which He loves.

The Wounds of the Hands of Jesus show us how He has acted. With one hand He took up obedience, and with the other patience. He worked for our salvation, ‘becoming obedient unto death; even to the death of the Cross’ (Philippians 2:8).

In the Wound of the Side, which leads us to the Heart of Jesus, and is the outward representation of the Wound of that Heart, read the love of Jesus, a love that can never be surpassed by any other love. It is only in beholding this Wound of the Heart that you will realize the great love of God for you, and see how much Jesus has loved you, since He has given His life for us poor sinners.

Jesus risen shows to us this mortal Wound of His Heart. You who read there, profit thereby, and love Jesus with all your heart.

What Our Lord Says about Prayer

Today is the feast of Saint Catherine of Siena. In her ‘Dialogue’ Our Lord reveals some interesting things about prayer: the devil’s disruption of it, that he places himself on the tongues of individuals for the purpose of chattering, to prevent the beauty of silence and the soul’s immersion in prayer, how perseverance in prayer acquires every virtue, how the strength of the Sacrament of the Eucharist depends on us, and how a soul can become inebriated by means of a Spiritual Communion. Our Lord also speaks about praying the Psalms which intimates the Divine Office, and how vocal prayers alone are not sufficient. What is revealed here by Our Lord to Saint Catherine might give one cause to reflect on the ways of the world today: how uncomfortable silence has become to our society, the many words spoken on the political platform which seem to say to little, the noise of advanced technology, etc. This ‘Dialogue’ may even say something to us about own life of prayer. Here’s what Our Lord told Saint Catherine:

How is a lively faith to be recognized? By perseverance in virtue, and by the fact that the soul never turns back for anything, whatever it be, nor rises from holy prayer, for any reason except for obedience or charity’s sake. For no other reason ought she to leave off prayer, for, during the time ordained for prayer, the devil is wont to arrive in the soul, causing much more conflict and trouble than when the soul is not occupied in prayer. This he does in order that holy prayer may become tedious to the soul, tempting her often with these words: ‘This prayer avails you nothing, for you need attend to nothing except your vocal prayers.’ He acts thus in order that, becoming wearied and confused in mind, she may abandon the exercise of prayer, which is a weapon with which the soul can defend herself from every adversary, if grasped with the hand of love, by the arm of free choice in the light of the Holy Faith.

Know, dearest daughter, how, by humble, continual, and faithful prayer, the soul acquires, with time and perseverance, every virtue. Wherefore should she persevere and never abandon prayer, either through the illusion of the devil or her own fragility, that is to say, either on account of any thought or movement coming from her own body, or of the words of any creature. The devil often places himself upon the tongues of creatures, causing them to chatter nonsensically, with the purpose of preventing the prayer of the soul. All of this she should pass by, by means of the virtue of perseverance. Oh, how sweet and pleasant to that soul and to Me is holy prayer, made in the house of knowledge of self and of Me, opening the eye of the intellect to the light of faith, and the affections to the abundance of My charity, which was made visible to you, through My visible only-begotten Son, Who showed it to you with His Blood! This Blood inebriates the soul and clothes her with the fire of divine charity, giving her the food of the Sacrament [which is placed in the tavern of the mystical body of the Holy Church] that is to say, the food of the Body and Blood of My Son, wholly God and wholly man, administered to you by the hand of My vicar, who holds the key of the Blood. This food strengthens little or much, according to the desire of the recipient, whether he receives sacramentally or virtually. He receives sacramentally when he actually communicates with the Blessed Sacrament. He receives virtually when he communicates, both by desire of communion, and by contemplation of the Blood of Christ crucified, communicating, as it were, sacramentally, with the affection of love, which is to be tasted in the Blood which, as the soul sees, was shed through love. On seeing this, the soul becomes inebriated, and blazes with holy desire and satisfies herself, becoming full of love for Me and for her neighbour. Where can this be acquired? In the house of self-knowledge with holy prayer, where imperfections are lost, even as Peter and the disciples, while they remained in watching and prayer, lost their imperfection and acquired perfection. By what means is this acquired? By perseverance seasoned with the most holy faith.

But do not think that the soul receives such ardour and nourishment from prayer, if she prays only vocally, as do many souls whose prayers are rather words than love. Such as these give heed to nothing except to completing Psalms and saying many Paternosters. And when they have once completed their appointed tale, they do not appear to think of anything further, but seem to place devout attention and love in merely vocal recitation, which the soul is not required to do, for, in doing only this, she bears but little fruit, which pleases Me but little. But if you ask Me, whether the soul should abandon vocal prayer, since it does not seem to all that they are called to mental prayer, I should reply ‘No’. The soul should advance by degrees, and I know well that, just as the soul is at first imperfect and afterwards perfect, so also is it with her prayer. She should nevertheless continue in vocal prayer, while she is yet imperfect, so as not to fall into idleness. But she should not say her vocal prayers without joining them to mental prayer, that is to say, that while she is reciting, she should endeavour to elevate her mind in My love, with the consideration of her own defects and of the Blood of My only-begotten Son, wherein she finds the breadth of My charity and the remission of her sins. I do not wish the soul to consider her sins, either in general or in particular, without also remembering the Blood and the broadness of My mercy, for fear that otherwise she should be brought to confusion. And together with confusion would come the devil, who has caused it, under colour of contrition and displeasure of sin, and so she would arrive at eternal damnation, not only on account of her confusion, but also through the despair which would come to her, because she did not seize the arm of My mercy. This is one of the subtle devices with which the devil deludes My servants, and, in order to escape from his deceit, and to be pleasing to Me, you must enlarge your hearts and affections in My boundless mercy, with true humility. You know that the pride of the devil cannot resist the humble mind, nor can any confusion of spirit be greater than the broadness of My good mercy, if the soul will only truly hope therein. The moment she feels her mind disposed by My visitation, she should abandon vocal prayer; then, My visitation past, if there be time, she can resume the vocal prayers which she had resolved to say, but if she has not time to complete them, she ought not on that account to be troubled or suffer annoyance and confusion of mind; of course provided that it were not the Divine Office which clerics and religious are bound and obliged to say under penalty of offending Me, for, they must, until death, say their Office. But if they, at the hour appointed for saying it, should feel their minds drawn and raised by desire, they should so arrange as to say it before or after My visitation, so that the debt of rendering the office be not omitted. But, in any other case, vocal prayer should be immediately abandoned for the said cause. Vocal prayer, made in the way that I have told you, will enable the soul to arrive at perfection, and therefore she should not abandon it, but use it in the way that I have told you.

Qualities of Divine Love

Today is the feast of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort. He is well-known for his devotion to Our Blessed Lady and perhaps comes to mind more than any saint by the reading or hearing of two words: God Alone. He writes of Our Lord as Incarnate Wisdom but Wisdom needed a home from a woman of our race – the Blessed Virgin Mary. Here’s a poem he wrote on God alone:

What ill or evil, Lord, can harm
This joyous heart that You alone can charm?
I love You more with every breath,
So how can I fear life or death?
To love You, Father, is to live and sing
The songs the angels sing their King.
God alone in every cell of me!
God alone! For all eternity!

‘Totus tuus’ (I am all yours) are two Latin words which also turn one’s thoughts to Saint Louis-Marie as they are from his work, ‘True Devotion to Mary’: and these two words were the apostolic motto of Pope John Paul II, who was deeply influenced by the writings of Saint Louis-Marie.

Here is something excerpted from one of the homilies of Saint Louis-Marie in which he borrows from the infallibility of Sacred Scripture and the wisdom of the saints:

Everyone claims that he loves God (Saint Gregory). However, nothing is more rare. ‘Do not be deceived, brothers’ (1 Corinthians 6:9). Among the metals are gold and silver. Charity is gold.

True charity is full of action as a fire. It is a seed that germinates, a root that sprouts, water that flows, a fire that burns: ‘never is the love of God idle. If it is a great love, it will always be active; if there is no action it does not exist’ (Saint Gregory).

All virtues operate through the commandment of charity, ‘faith which operates through charity’ (Galatians 5:6).

‘Love is as strong as death . . . O unsurpassable virtue of charity, that overcomes the invincible’ (Saint Bernard).

When we love God, we imitate Him in His love which, according to Richard of St. Victor: is a love which never tires; a love which is never the first to break off; a love which is not deterred by our rebelliousness.

‘The frigid heart cannot understand the burning speech of love . . . the language of love is foreign to one who does not love and is just booming brass and tinkling cymbals’ (Saint Bernard).

It lasts through eternity – it is infinite like God. ‘The measure of our love of God is to love Him without measure’ (Saint Bernard).

There are three sorts of love: that of a mercenary; that of a slave; that of a child. Mercenaries are greedy, slaves are fearful, sons are loving. Each has his own law: mercenaries are impelled by cupidity; slaves are moved by fear, sons are inspired by love. All seek what is proper to them.

It is by a show of deeds that charity is proven. ‘Simon, do you love Me? . . . Feed . . . feed . . .’ (John 21:15). ‘It is your own selves that you should be testing’ (2 Corinthians 13:5).

‘We do not love by word or lips’ (1 John 3:18), but by deeds and truth. See the cloud of witnesses (cf. Hebrews 12:1) . . . they have drunk of the chalice of the Lord and have made friends of God. We do not live in love without there being sorrow . . . roses are gathered among thorns. Love with all one’s heart: that is, courageously in spite of obstacles. Love with all one’s mind: that is, with every thought, supremely and discreetly, for love is discerning. Love with all one’s soul: that is, totally without reservation, deeply without hypocrisy for love is tender. Love with all one’s strength: that is, courageously, doing all, abandoning all, suffering all for God, for love is powerful.

When we do not love God, even if we perform marvels, it is a waste of life’s precious time. ‘Life is lost, if God is not loved’ (Saint Augustine).

‘Through and with charity you will become capable of possessing blessedness, but without it you will never see God. Charity is the summit of all the virtues, it contains the promise of the Kingdom and is the supreme reward of the saints in heaven’ (Saint Augustine).

‘Become a lover and experience what I tell you. Be a person of desires, be a hungry person, be a pilgrim in the solitudes of love, be a thirsty person seeking the waters of your eternal home. Be warm as the sun and you will understand what I say, for if I speak to a cold person, he will not understand my message’ (Saint Augustine).

More Solitude than the Carthusians

‘The desert experience is something everyone can know and, in fact, must have, to one degree or another. It is not desertion. The irony is that people who are surrounded by noise and constantly active are the ones who feel deserted. It is in solitude that the soul can listen and be alone with God. It is in solitude that we are least alone. The Church has always known that the desert experience, inner peace, quiet prayer, silence, contemplation are essential components of a devout Christian’s spiritual life. They are needed though unfortunately too often neglected in our Liturgies. They are essential in our private prayer. And they are the principal features of the contemplative life’.

These words were written on the Feast of the Assumption in the year 1977 by His Excellency Frank J. Rodimer, the now Bishop Emeritus of Paterson, New Jersey. Bishop Rodimer in that same year on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary canonically erected the Hermits of Bethlehem in Chester, New Jersey in the diocese of Paterson as a Laura of Consecrated Hermits of Diocesan Right.

The Founder of the Hermits of Bethlehem is Father Eugene L. Romano. Father Romano was ordained a priest in 1957 in the Diocese of Paterson. In the Code of Canon Law, Code 603 states that in the life of a hermit, he/she is ‘devoted to the praise of God and the salvation of the world’. The Ratio Vivendi for the Hermits of Bethlehem is to live ‘with the Trinity in the Heart of Jesus’. Into the silence and solitude of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the hermit enters to quiet himself/herself and ‘to learn what it is to be loved and cherished by God’.

Father Romano closes the Preface of The Plan of Life of the Hermits of Bethlehem with these words: ‘The hermit looks to Mary, Queen of the Desert and Mother of the Incarnate Word, to guide him in the journey of the Spirit in a continued Magnificat of praise of the Triune God, that together with her, he will participate in the wedding feast of the Risen Lamb. Through Mary’s Immaculate Heart and her example of selfless love the hermit seeks to live and share Christ’s infinitely deep desire for the salvation of all’.

In a way of life that has more solitude than the Carthusian Order, the Hermits of Bethlehem gather as a community only for:

~ Daily Eucharist
~ Solemn Vespers on Saturday Evening
~ Solemn Vespers on the Vigil of Solemnities
~ Lauds on Sundays and Solemnities
~ A common meal on Sundays and Solemnities

All other forms of prayer, meals and labour are done in solitude. Their daily Horarium looks like this:

Pre-dawn: Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours, One hour of Eucharistic Adoration

Dawn: Lectio Divina (prayerful reading of Sacred Scripture)

Morning: Angelus, Lauds (Morning Prayer) from the Liturgy of the Hours, Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (20 minutes of silent prayer after Holy Communion), Breakfast

Midday: Angelus, Dinner, Leisure, Daytime Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, Twenty minutes of contemplative prayer

Afternoon: Solitary work

Evening: One hour of Eucharistic Adoration, Vespers (Evening Prayer) from the Liturgy of the Hours, Salve Regina is chanted, Angelus, Optional light collation, Leisure time in solitude, Lectio Divina

Night: Examination of conscience, Compline (Night Prayer) from the Liturgy of the Hours, Salve Regina is chanted, Nightly silence

For each hermit there is also a weekly Day of Reclusion which begins after the final blessing of Mass and the hermit is given some blessed bread, is anointed with oil, and then begins a day of fasting and complete solitude. The hermit is exempt from all labour on this day and spends his/her time in prayer and sacred reading.

Movements of the Human Heart

In the Gospel we’ll hear at this weekend’s liturgy (Saint John 10:27-30), Jesus says: ‘My sheep hear My Voice’. Every word in this Gospel passage is spoken by Jesus. When read slowly and meditatively, there is an encompassing sense of intimacy that cannot be expressed in words; and Jesus desires to have that intimacy with each and every one of us.

We are His sheep who hear His Voice and follow Him. Through prayer, sacred reading and charitable works it becomes vividly clear that if we so desire, Our Lord’s love will consume us; and He assures us that no one can take us away from Him. Christ's enfolding and loving embrace offers comfort in times of trial and also carries us into eternal life.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Saint Matthew 18:10-14) is a reassuring reminder that Jesus wishes all to be saved and desires not to lose any of His sheep. At Mass the Voice of Jesus is heard in the Liturgy of the Word; and the Word of God, the Bread of Life, nourishes our souls as Our Lord makes Himself present to us truly, really and substantially in the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

Anyone who lives in the Middle East might have a clearer understanding of what Jesus means when He says: ‘My sheep hear My Voice; I know them, and they follow Me’. Many of us have never witnessed a shepherd and his sheep interact.

Father Benedict Groeschel, a priest of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, as well as an author, psychologist, and well-known EWTN personality, once shared a story of his visit to the Holy Land in which he watched shepherds work with their sheep. He said that there were a bunch of sheep walking around, along with three shepherds. He said that the shepherds split up and each walked into a different direction, and then made a whistling sound with their mouths. The sheep, which were all bunched together, then began to divide and walk towards the direction of their own particular shepherd; each of them recognized their own shepherd’s whistle and followed him.

It is the human heart that hears the Voice of the Chief Shepherd. And He speaks to the heart in the silence and stillness of meditation and contemplation. The human heart is a living altar from which He Who sacrificed Himself, rests -- a Sacrifice which enabled Him to fulfil His own words: ‘I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish’ (Saint John 10:28). When we are able to remain in His Presence through prayer, Adoration and most especially in partaking of His Most Precious Body and Blood, then we have the necessary weapons to feel His Presence even in the hustle and bustle of the daily grind. And when we can do that, our very lives become a liturgy.