Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Gospel, John 8:1-11

In today’s Gospel at Mass is the familiar story of the scribes and Pharisees bringing a woman to Jesus who had been caught in adultery.

The scribes and Pharisees are likely more interested in catching Jesus off-guard, attempting to make Him appear to be an enemy of the Mosaic Law, more than they are interested in punishing the woman. In fact, they are quick to point out to Jesus that in the law Moses commanded such women to be stoned.

After they state their case, what follows is a question in which they hope will entrap Jesus: “So what do You say?”

Saint John tells us that “Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with His Finger.” No one knows what He wrote but there is an interesting verse in Jeremiah which states: “O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake You shall be confounded; they that depart from You shall be written in the earth” (Jeremiah 17:13). If Jesus was doing exactly that, no one knows for certain; but there is perhaps another message from Jesus in the act of writing with His Finger. The Scriptures tell us that the stone tablets given to Moses were “written with the Finger of God” (cf. Exodus 31:18).

Thus in the mystery of Christ, the scribes and Pharisees are grilling the One Who conceived the Law, the One Who wrote the Law. What follows next are our Lord’s words: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then Jesus bent down again and continued writing on the ground as the accusers departed one by one.

What happened here? Why did they all leave? Was it what Jesus wrote on the ground? Was it His words? Was there some sort of mysterious, unspoken divine communication triggered by Christ’s Finger, the Finger of God? Or was it a combination of all three? Something made these men realize that along with this woman, they too were breakers of the law.

Perhaps there is also a message about repentance in this Gospel text. The woman who was accused did not depart from Jesus. She stayed with Him as if to wait on His verdict. But what she received was not His judgment, but His mercy. He dismissed her with the words: “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

When we go to the Sacrament of Penance there has to be the resolve to sin no more. There’s a choice before us as Catholics, go to Confession and receive our Lord’s mercy; or don’t go and hope for His mercy instead of His judgment.

In today’s Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours, Saint John Fisher tells us that our Lord’s Sacrifice is eternal. Thus, it can be applied in a moment of time even before the Sacrifice occurred in a moment of time. Such is the case in today’s Gospel. The sacrificial Blood of Jesus washes away the sins of the woman caught in adultery.

But, as Saint John Fisher writes: “A share in this holy, eternal Sacrifice is given to all who have undertaken true contrition and penance for their sins, who have made a definite resolve not to repeat their faults for the future but to persevere steadfastly in the pursuit of virtue.”

We cannot depart from Jesus like the scribes and Pharisees did in today’s Gospel. We must approach Him to receive His mercy -- approach Him in the Sacrament of Penance.

Dominica Quinta Quadragesimæ - Fifth Sunday of Lent

Jeremiah 31:31-34

“The days are coming, says the Lord” immediately turns the heart and mind towards prophecy. The Finger of God points us to the future. A new covenant is being made with God’s people which is unlike the covenant made in the days of the Exodus from Egypt. The ways of the Almighty will be placed within the hearts of His people. This intimates the Sacrament of Baptism.

In Baptism, one becomes a child of God and the soul becomes His temple where He can reside and write His law on the heart of the baptized. Friends, relatives and those who have the gifts to teach the faith are used as God’s instruments; therefore, when this Reading suggests that no longer will individuals be needed to teach, the understanding is that they are used as instruments of God but the faith and conversion experience is the sole work of the Holy Spirit. Remember that even the great Saint Paul needed the intercession of Ananias; and Philip was used as God’s instrument for the eunuch.

The Lord remembering our sin no more points to the Sacrament of Baptism as Baptism washes away original sin. It also points to the Sacrament of Confession which absolves the sins which follow after one has been baptized.

Hebrews 5:7-9

What the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews is trying to portray about Jesus in the flesh is the time when God humbled Himself and willingly took on a mortal and suffering condition. Offering “prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the One Who is able to save… from death” are actions of mortal man. And the understanding of mortal man that God saves from death delineates man’s dependency on Him.

Jesus taught us through His suffering, that human nature can and should surrender to the divine will. Every prayer which Jesus made that was heard by man, was heard for reverential regard. That is, Jesus was heard in order that we might grasp reverential fear, respectful submission and piety. Thus Jesus, was perfected as man by possessing all the virtues, and because He is also true God, became the Source of our salvation.

John 12:20-33

Saint John’s Gospel more so than the three remaining Gospels is mystical. When reading his Gospel, one has to read it in the light of how it applies to the heart, soul, and inner life of man.

All Christians serious about their spiritual life collectively groan within the same words spoken to Philip: “We would like to see Jesus.” The spiritual life is a lifelong search for the Face of Jesus. In Jesus Christ, Almighty God has been given a human Face.

For us today, in the element of time, “the hour has” already “come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” But for the interior man, the battle of good versus evil wages within us and it is a lifelong struggle to work for the greater glory of the Indwelling of the Son of Man. In an ideal situation, the behavior: actions, thoughts and deeds for every Christian should radiate the God within us. But we are a fallen nature, and while it may never be our intention to stray from God, the reality is that we do.

There’s a twofold meaning for the grain of wheat example given by Jesus. First, it was the death of our Lord that produced much fruit – fruit that would never have ripened if Jesus hadn’t died on the cross. Saint Augustine was very clear about this as being one interpretation. We would still be sentenced to eternal death if not for the Sacrifice of the Lamb of God. Thus the death of Christ brought forth the fruit of faith.

Second, Jesus tells us that we must hate our life in this world. That sounds very harsh. But Jesus is calling us to walk in His Footsteps through good works including works of mercy for His sake heading towards the perfect act of charity, offering our lives for our brothers and sisters. For most of us this will not mean a literal sacrifice of natural life, but it could. Generally, this is about serving Jesus by serving our brothers and sisters. We do this mostly by not seeking our own desires but learning from the example of Jesus and His service to His brethren.

We see a little of the struggle of the interior life in Jesus the Man by the words: “I am troubled now.” Our Savior, because He had a human nature, was no stranger to the battle within. But it is through His divine nature that He was able to win this battle and say: “Father, glorify Your Name.” What that teaches us is that we cannot win these battles without divine intervention. So often we try to, though. If this weren’t true, stress would never be a silent killer.

Unfortunately we can’t snap our fingers and make it all happen. Laying down our lives at this level and entrusting the war within to Jesus requires deep, intense prayer. This will lead to a closer, intimate union with our Lord. Love for Him will grow and when love grows so does trust. This ultimately glorifies the Lord and benefits our brothers and sisters.

Our Lady and the Interior Life

Our Holy Father of jubilant memory, Pope John Paul II, wrote in Redemptoris Mater that “in the mystery of Christ she [Mary] is present even before the creation of the world, as the one whom the Father has chosen as Mother of His Son in the Incarnation. And, what is more, together with the Father, the Son has chosen her, entrusting her eternally to the Spirit of holiness. In an entirely special and exceptional way Mary is united to Christ, and similarly she is eternally loved in this beloved Son, this Son Who is One being with the Father, in Whom is concentrated all the glory of grace”.

Twice does the word “eternally” appear in that statement from the Holy Father. God -- Father Son and Holy Spirit sees everything with the Eyes of eternity. This is how Mary is present in God’s Eyes even before we read in Genesis, “Fiat lux” – “Let there be light.” In Genesis “darkness was upon the face of the deep” before God commanded light to appear. The eternal words, “Fiat lux” travels to the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary and once again Light appears. This Light will also illuminate the darkness, the darkness that sinful man had sentenced himself to.

“Fiat” or “so be it” intimates self-surrender and trust. The fiat of the creation story, that eternal word, flows from the lips of the Woman in order that our ears may hear, our souls may ponder, and by learning from this Lady’s example, our hearts may keep: “Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum” – “Be it done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

Eternity’s voice comes to us in the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We read in the hour of Matins: “Et qui creavit me, requievit in tabernaculo meo” – “And He Who created me, rested in my tabernacle” (Sirach 24:12). Clearly Mary is present in this verse even though the verse itself was written in a moment of time long before Mary was conceived in time. Her womb is the tabernacle in which her Creator rested and clothed Himself in human flesh. Continuing, we read: “In electis meis mitte radices” – “Take root in My elect” (ibid. 24:13).

Who are God’s elect? The Catechism of the Catholic Church offers these words: “Those who are united with Christ will form the community of the redeemed, ‘the holy city’ of God, ‘the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ She will not be wounded any longer by sin, stains, self-love, that destroy or wound the earthly community. The beatific vision, in which God opens Himself in an inexhaustible way to the elect, will be the ever-flowing well-spring of happiness, peace, and mutual communion” (CCC 1045). Thus, first and foremost, God’s elect are those who already enjoy the beatific vision. We cannot overlook, however, that everyone is called to this greatness, to eternal blessedness. Our Lady, by means of her Assumption has taken root in God’s elect. We, who desire to wholeheartedly embrace the call to holiness, must allow our Blessed Mother to be a part of our interior life, to take root in our soul.

As long as we remain in a state of grace, the Holy Trinity dwells within us. The eternal God rests in our tabernacle. Mary must be permitted to dwell there also because she is the perfect adorer. She teaches us how to properly adore the God within us. Saint Louis Marie de Montfort wrote is his Secret of Mary that “she leads every soul straight to God and to union with Him.” Sometimes we forget that we share an incomprehensible dignity: Mary is the Mother of Jesus – and our Mother. We share the same Mother with our Redeemer. That thought and reality alone is worth hours of solitude in a desert cave.

Saint Julian Eymard said: “Kind Mother, come with me, for a mother always accompanies her child. Without you, I shall not know what to say to Jesus.” Precisely! No one knows the child like the mother, therefore, no one knows Jesus like Mary. She is the key to a richer interior life. She can help us to grow in communion with Jesus. Saint Julian Eymard adds: “Mary adored with the most submissive faith. She adored her hidden Son, veiled under a strange form. She adored that Heart so inflamed with love, whence issued the Holy Eucharist. Mary's adoration was profound, interior, intimate.” Mary knows that she is the perfect adorer and she would like nothing more than to have her children become perfect adorers.

It was no accident that our Blessed Lady was present on the day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit, Who appeared as tongues of fire, finds Mary irresistible. She is the chaste Spouse of the great Paraclete. Once again, from Saint Louis Marie de Montfort, this time in True Devotion to Mary he writes: “When the Holy Spirit finds His Spouse in a soul, He flies to that soul, to communicate Himself to it, to fill it with His Presence, in proportion as He discovers there the presence and the fullness of His Spouse.”

Mary must be a part of our interior life. Temptation flees from her. She can keep us in a state of grace. Unfortunately, as Saint Louis Marie de Montfort adds: “One of the major reasons why the Holy Spirit does not now work blinding wonders of grace in our souls is that He does not find in us a sufficiently strong union with Mary His indissoluble Spouse.”

In this Season of Lent in which we are called to intense prayer, let us allow Mary to show us the way. Let her show us how to adore her Son, how to attain an intimate union with the Trinity. Our souls in a state of grace are like a garden in Paradise. Let us allow the Mystical Rose to take root there.

IN ANNUNTIATIONE DOMINI

Annunciation

The dictionary defines “annunciation” as: an act or instance of announcing; proclamation. Announcement about what? What is being proclaimed? A virgin shall conceive and bear a son (Isaiah 7:14). The ancient Hebrew text actually translates more to mean “maid” or “young woman” or even “damsel” rather than “virgin”. This, however, should not put a damper on our understanding of Isaiah’s prophetic text because it refers more to a time or period rather than a state in life. But as with most things scriptural, the scholarly arguments continue.

Saint Leo the Great tells us that “lowliness was taken by majesty, weakness by strength, and mortality by eternity” (Epist. 28, ad Flavianum). The announcement, then, what is being proclaimed, is unthinkable, inconceivable. The eternal God will be born – and born of a Virgin. He Who is incapable of suffering will suffer. He Who is incapable of dying will die. The incorruptible God will enter into a fallen world.

Ave, Gratia Plena

Pope John Paul II writes in Redemptoris Mater: The messenger greets Mary as “full of grace”; he calls her thus as if it were her real name. He does not call her by her proper earthly name: Miryam (=Mary), but by this new name : “full of grace”. What does this name mean? Why does the archangel address the Virgin of Nazareth in this way?

In the language of the bible “grace” means a special gift, which according to the New Testament has its source precisely in the Trinitarian life of God Himself, God Who is Love (cf. 1 John 4:8). The fruit of this love is “the election” of which the Letter to the Ephesians speaks. On the part of God, this election is the eternal desire to save man through a sharing in His own life (cf. 2 Peter 1:4) in Christ: it is salvation through a sharing in supernatural life. The effect of this eternal gift, of this grace of man’s election by God, is like a seed of holiness, or a spring which rises in the soul as a gift from God Himself, Who through grace gives life and holiness to those who are chosen. In this way there is fulfilled, that is to say there comes about, that “blessing” of man “with every spiritual blessing”, that “being His adopted sons and daughters… in Christ”, in Him Who is eternally the “beloved Son” of the Father.

When we read that the messenger addresses Mary as “full of grace”, the Gospel context, which mingles revelations and ancient promises, enables us to understand that among all the “spiritual blessings in Christ” this is a special “blessing”. In the mystery of Christ she is present even “before the creation of the world”, as the one whom the Father “has chosen” as Mother of His Son in the Incarnation. And, what is more, together with the Father, the Son has chosen her, entrusting her eternally to the Spirit of holiness. In an entirely special and exceptional way Mary is united to Christ, and similarly she is eternally loved in this “beloved Son”, this Son Who is One being with the Father, in Whom is concentrated all the “glory of grace”. At the same time, she is and remains perfectly open to this “gift from above” (cf. James 1:17). As the Council teaches, Mary “stands out among the poor and humble of the Lord, who confidently await and receive salvation from him” (Lumen Gentium).

If the greeting and the name “full of grace” say all this, in the context of the angel’s announcement they refer first of all to the election of Mary as Mother of the Son of God. But at the same time the “fullness of grace” indicates all the supernatural munificence from which Mary benefits by being chosen and destined to be the Mother of Christ. If this election is fundamental for the accomplishment of God’s salvific designs for humanity, and if the eternal choice in Christ and the vocation to the dignity of adopted children is the destiny of everyone, then the election of Mary is wholly exceptional and unique. Hence also the singularity and uniqueness of her place in the mystery of Christ.

Behold, You Shall Conceive in Your Womb

We now return to the unthinkable, the inconceivable. Saint Thomas Aquinas writes: “It may perhaps in the first instance of reflection, appear shocking to our ideas, that a God should dwell in a human body; but does not the sun emit its rays into all kinds of places, without any detriment to its purity? How much more would the Sun of Justice, assuming a most pure Body, formed of the purest blood of the spotless Virgin, not only remain free from every the least stain Himself, but even impart additional sanctity to His Virgin Mother.”

How Shall this be Done

Some would like to suggest that our Lady was doubting what the angel Gabriel was saying to her. On this celebration of a Divine Conception, we must conclude that this explanation is misconceived. This is more about the curiosty of a young girl. Saint Augustine explains that Mary is only asking the manner in which this will take place. Being a Virgin, it’s quite logical to ask how one is to be with Child. You can almost see the incredible innocence radiating from Mary in that question. It’s as if she thinks the angel is unaware of her virginity or that perhaps Gabriel is in need of a lesson on human sexuality.

Saint Augustine also adds something very interesting by suggesting that Mary would not have asked this question had she not made a vow to God to live always as a Virgin.

In agreement, Saint Gregory of Nyssa adds: “She did not doubt the truth of what the angel said, but she wished it might not happen to the predjudice of her vowed virginity.”

Be it Done to Me According to Your Word

That beautiful response flows from the mouth of Mary demonstrating her humility of heart and mind and her total trust in God. It’s not very likely that she comprehended all that was about to happen. But that did not outweigh her faith and trust in her Lord. Saint Ambrose writes: “Thus ought the Virgin, who brought forth meekness and humility itself, show forth as an example of the most profound humility.”

The Mercy Seat

The Lord spoke to Moses: "Speak to Aaron your brother, that he not enter at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the mercy seat which is upon the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat" (Leviticus 16:2).

From Homily IX by Origen:
Once a year the high priest leaves the people and goes into that place where the mercy seat is, and over the mercy seat the cherubim, where the ark of the covenant is kept; where the altar of incense stands which no one is allowed to enter except the high priest alone.

Let me now turn to my true High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. When He was in the flesh He was with the people the whole year, the year of which He Himself said: “He has sent Me to preach good news to the poor, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of forgiveness.” Notice how only once in that year, on the Day of Atonement, He enters the holy of holies, that is, He enters heaven, having accomplish His work, and appears before the Father to make Him look with mercy on the human race, and to intercede for all who believe in Him.

Aware of this atoning Sacrifice by which He makes propitiation for men before the Father, the Apostle John writes: “My little children, I am writing this to you that we may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate before the Father, Jesus Christ, the Just One, and He is the expiation for our sins.”

Paul similarly recalls this propitiation when he says of Christ: “God put Him forward as an expiation by His Blood, to be received by faith.” Thus the Day of Atonement remains with us until the end of the world.

Holy Scripture says: “And imposing incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat which is upon the testimony, lest he die; and he shall take some of the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat towards the east.”

This taught the ancients how the rite of propitiation was to be carried out which was offered to God on behalf of men. But you have turned to Christ, the true High Priest, Who by means of His Blood obtained God’s mercy for you and reconciled you with the Father. Become acquainted… with the Blood of the Word and listen to Him tell you Himself: “This is My Blood which will be poured out for the forgiveness of sins.”

However, do not consider it pointless that the blood is sprinkled towards the east. Your propitiation came from the east. From there came the Man Whose Name is the Dawn, Who became the Mediator between God and man.

This invites you to keep looking to the east where the Sun of Justice rises for you, where light is always dawning for you… that you may always walk in the clear light of knowledge, always having the daylight of faith, and may always obtain the light of charity and peace.

Dominica Quarta Quadragesimæ - Fourth Sunday of Lent

2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23

Our Lord had compassion on His people then, and He has compassion on His people now. During Lent the Church guides us in her liturgy to hear that call from God – a call to a more intimate union with Him -- to acknowledge that our fidelity to Him has been less than perfect.

His compassion and mercy are exercised most especially in the Sacrament of Confession. One cannot really return to the Lord wholeheartedly unless one embraces that sacrament.

God has given us great saints from both genders and from all sorts of nations, races, levels of education, body shapes and personalities; but the diversity vanishes when it comes to Confession. The one thing that the saints all had in common was their faithfulness to that sacrament.

We cannot allow ourselves to be influenced or brainwashed by the pictures the enemy tries to paint after the Church has been attacked. As the story begins in this Reading even priests “added infidelity to infidelity”. We all know about the headlining news concerning the infidelity and apparent lack of faithfulness on the part of some Catholic clergymen. When priests falter publicly, then it could very well inflict damage on the faith of the Church’s members. The public sins of the Church’s ordained could leave images that make the Sacrament of Confession appear less credible and make the belief in the Real Presence less believable.

The enemy works on the human intellect making it logical to ask why God would absolve the sins of a penitent through a man whose behavior is far worse than the one confessing sins; or why God would change the substance of bread and wine into His sinless Body and Blood through a man who is not in a state of grace. Rest assured that is not usually the case as most priests are very faithful but surely it has happened.

It’s quite possible that our Lord placed Judas before us to show us that not every priest would be faithful. What we have to remember is that the power of the sacraments is greater than anyone’s sins – greater than everyone’s sins. Jesus instituted them, Jesus works in them and He is stronger than death.


Ephesians 2:4-10

God has given to us His grace, the gift of faith, and the sacraments, which can be considered pledges of our eventual resurrection and eternal life. Each little step we make in the ongoing process of conversion is like a mini-resurrection, one tiny step closer to a new, full life in Christ.

Reflecting on being “dead in our transgressions,” Saint Augustine said: “The time is come, when the dead shall hear the Voice of the Son of God, and those who hear shall live.”

Faith is the foundation of all virtues because without faith one cannot please our Lord and Savior. Good works are a result of faith but they are not what save us; it is the grace of God that saves us.

Being God’s “handiwork” does not only refer to our body and soul but also the new creation we’ve become through Jesus Christ. Saint Paul seems to compare our conversion with creation to show that we have been called to this greatness. It is nothing that we did to earn it. Just as we had nothing to do with our own created selves, likewise we had nothing to do with the new creation we’ve become in Christ. We have no bragging rights except only to boast about God.


John 3:14-21

Jesus uses the example of the serpent lifted up in the desert in which whoever looked at it was cured from the bite of serpents. This is a figure of Jesus lifted up on the cross. Because Jesus uses the term “Son of Man” being “lifted up,” and the end result being “eternal life,” we have to understand lifting up to really mean “exalted” showing that the cross is not an instrument of disgrace but of glory. In fact, the Latin Vulgate uses the word exaltari.

Saint John Chrysostom writes: “As the Israelites, bitten by the fiery serpents, were cured by looking upon the brazen serpent, so are Christians cured by looking up with an active faith, replete with love and confidence, on Jesus Christ crucified.”

Jesus is the Son of God not only as the result of the Incarnation. Jesus is God’s Son even before He was sent into the world. He is the Son from the beginning, the Word of God from all eternity.

Creation itself proclaims the glory of God. The light of day exposes everything while the darkness of night makes things more difficult to see. But even in the darkness of night the moon and the stars are radiant enough to remind us of hope. Anyone who is old enough to remember when Confession was always in a booth could probably relate well to our Lord’s explanation of darkness and light. In the Confession booth you were kneeling in darkness, and when the priest slid open the little door so you could confess your sins, you could see that the priest was sitting in a lighted booth. Thus your sins are hidden in that dark booth until you confess them to the priest seated in the lighted booth. After Confession sins are thus exposed to the light; and through absolution the light overcomes the darkness.

Amor Meus Crucifixus Est

In Amity, Oregon the monastic lifestyle is being lived out according to the Rule of Saint Augustine, a life of prayer and contemplation where silence prevails. They are the Brigittine monks, the Order of the Most Holy Savior. Theirs is the hidden life. As the monks daily give witness to Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind, they daily offer prayers for themselves and all of mankind, shedding light upon the whole human race.

The Monastic Horarium

The monks’ day looks like this:
4:45 am Rising
5:05 am Office of Readings, Lauds
6:00 am Solitude
7:45 am Mid-morning Prayer
8:00 am Conventual Mass
8:45 am Conference/Work
12:00 noon Mid-day Prayer
1:oo pm Solitude
3:00 pm Mid-afternoon Prayer
3:30 pm Work
6:00 Evening Prayer
6:30 pm Collation
7:00 pm Recreation
8:00 pm Rosary, Night Prayer

The entire Liturgy of the Hours is sung and the daily Mass is the vertex of their monastic day. Also included in their daily prayer life is the Rosary and lectio divina. Following an ancient Brigittine tradition, like burning incense, prayers continually ascend to the Throne of grace for the souls in purgatory and for the conversion of sinners.

The Contemplative Life

Benedict Williamson, O.Ss.S. writes: “The Order of the Most Holy Savior is contemplative. The monks and nuns are called to be, in a very special way, the lovers of Jesus, and so their life is one of solitude, the most essential characteristic of the contemplative. Lovers want solitude above all things, they want to be alone with their love, and so the contemplative wants to be alone with his Love, too. Contemplation is the soul's beholding, with the eyes of love, Jesus her lover. It is a life of solitude and prayer. Without solitude there is no contemplation.”

Taste and See that the Lord is Sweet

The community is self-supporting through the making of gourmet confections. Among the delicious treats includes:
Chocolate Fudge Royale with or without nuts
Chocolate Amaretto Fudge
Pecan Praline Fudge Royale

And from October 1 to March 31 they also manufacture truffles in a variety of flavors.