The other side of death

This is the most beautiful explanation of death.

Ever.

A sick man turned to his doctor as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, “Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side.”

Very quietly, the doctor said, “I don’t know.”

The sick man was beside himself, sputtering, “You don’t know? You’re a Christian man, and you don’t know what’s on the other side?”

The doctor was holding the handle of the door. On the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with eagerness and joy.

Turning to the patient, the doctor said:

“Did you notice my dog?

He’s never been in this room before. He didn’t know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear.

I know little of what is on the other side of death. But I do know one thing. I know my Master is there and that is enough….”

~Eowyn & Joan

Prayer to the Holy Family

In my little kitchen, I have a lovely picture of the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  They are surrounded by angels.  Jesus is walking towards Mary and Joseph is building something.  I say this prayer daily, reminding me of the holiness and humility of the Holy Family.

Oh most loving Jesus, who by your surpassing virtues and the example of your home life did hallow the household in which you did choose to live while on earth, mercifully look down upon this family, whose members humbly prostrate before you, imploring your protection.  Remember that we are yours, bound and consecrated to you.  Protect us in your mercy, deliver us from danger, help us persevere always in the imitation of your Holy Family, so that, by serving you and loving you faithfully during this mortal life, we may at length give you eternal praise in heaven. 

Oh Mary, dearest Mother, we implore your assistance, knowing that your divine Son will hearken to thy petitions. 

And do you, most glorious patriarch, St. Joseph, help us with your powerful patronage, and place our petitions in Mary’s hands, that she may offer them to Jesus Christ. 

Amen.

~Joan

A Morning Offering

When I awakened today, I heard the beautiful rain come down, looked out and saw how green and clean everything became.

The rain reminded me of my mother who loved rain.  I remember watching her look outside from the kitchen windows observing rain storms.  I remember her funeral — that day it rained too.  I remember the day it rained when I was a little girl and she taught me about a very important prayer that I have said daily since that time.  It is called, “A Morning Offering.”  My mother taught me that we have many things to do during the day in our jobs, and that sometimes we cannot spend a lot of time praying using words to talk to God.  So, she said we offer our entire day to God as a prayer, which is why it is so important to do all things with great love like St. Therese, the Little Flower taught us, “The Little Way”.  Anyway, although this is a Catholic tradition, anyone can offer their day as a prayer to God.

The following are some versions of a Morning Offering that are beautiful:

My God, I adore You, and I love You with all my heart.  I thank You for having created me, enabled me to be a Christian, and preserved me this day.  I offer you the actions of this day, my prayers, works, joys and sufferings.  Grant that all of them may be in accordance with Your holy Will and for Your greater glory.  Protect me from sin and from all evil.  Let Your grace be always with me and with alll my dear ones.  Amen.

Lord Jesus, I unite myself to Your perpetual, unceasing, universal Sacrifice.  I offer myself to You every day of my life and every moment of every day, according to Your  most holy and adorable Will.  Since You have been the Victim of my salvation, I wish to be the victim of Your love.  Accept my desire, take my offering, and graciously hear my prayer.  Let me live for love of You; let me die for love of You; let my last heartbeat be an act of perfect love.

Finally, this version is the Morning Offering taught to me by my mother which I have said on a daily basis during my life:

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world.  I offer them for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart; the salvation of souls, the reparation for sin and the reunion of all Christians.  I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and in particular for those intentions recommended by our Holy Father this month.

The Morning Offering sanctifies work and our actions as a path to personal holiness and joy.  And of course when we do our work, we remember that we must do a wonderful job, doing our best in what we do, since we know that this work is an offering to God.

I hope all people of Faith participate in the Morning Offering.  It is a most beautiful way to begin your day.

Joan

Prayer for the Salvation of the World

This photo, one of many, was taken in South Florida on March 13, 2013.

Yesterday, I was going through my box filled with Holy Cards and prayers, and I came across this most beautiful prayer written by the Most Reverend Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap., Archbishop of Denver.  This prayer is so appropriate given the status of our world.

Father, hear our prayers for the salvation of the world.  Grant mercy to all souls that turned away from you.  Open their hearts and minds with your light.

Gather your children from the east and the west, from the north and the south.  Have mercy, O God, on those who do not know you.  Bring them out of darkness into your light.  You are our saving God who leads us in our salvation.  Protect us from evil.

Bless and praise you, O Lord.  Hear our prayers and answer us.  You, our Savior, are the hope of all the ends of the earth and the distant seas.  May your way be known upon earth; among all nations your salvation.

We put the world in your hands.  Fill us with your love and grant us peace through Christ, Our Lord.  Amen.

Dog with no eyes plays fetch

Chica is a border collie who lives on a farm in Clay County, Indiana. Her favorite pastime is playing fetch with her owners Martha and Buddy Knox.

That’s not unusual, right?

Except Chica has no eyes.

Her eyes had been surgically removed when she was a pup.

Unlike humans however, Chica doesn’t waste time feeling sorry for herself but instead lives life to the fullest — with joy. (Source: WTHITV10.com)

~Eowyn & Joan

Suffering – Jesus, I Trust In You!

All of us suffer and in different ways according to our individual situations.

That is the human condition.

It is reasonable to try to alleviate suffering as much as possible, exhausting avenues of recourse to help us deal with it.  I bring this up now because I have heard a lot about people suffering in my community, about the people who participate in FOTM, its readers and writers, notwithstanding what we hear and read about in the media realms.

One of the effects I have experienced is that suffering helps us to become “Little”, and I say this with a capital “L” to emphasize that I have found it has brought me closer to Our Lord in that I come to Him as a little child most dependent upon Him.

One needs only to look at a Crucifix and embrace Jesus completely because of the greatest act of love ever given — His horrible suffering and death upon the Cross to save us from our sins and to open the gates of heaven for everyone.  We need not be morbid or “put out” for each of our individual experiences with suffering, because then our suffering is offered to Jesus with a poor attitude.  I have also found that a sense of humor really helps, because sometimes, when it rains, it pours, and we cannot figure out what is happening. The otherwise little things and chores we try to do become trying and monumental….

But really, we simply must say, “Jesus, I Trust In You,” in every juncture of our lives.  Remember what Jesus said, ”Take up your cross and follow Me.”

It is no secret that I love the angels and the saints, members of the Church Triumphant.  Below are some of their thoughts about suffering:

My Good Shepherd, who have shown Your very gentle mercy to us unworthy sinners in various physical pains and sufferings, give grace and strength to me, Your little lamb, that in no tribulation or anguish or pain may I turn away from you.  St. Francis of Assisi

There’ll be a lot of surprises at the Last Judgment when we shall be able to see what really happened inside people’s souls; and I think the way of suffering by which God led me will be a revelation to the people who knew me.  St. Therese de Lisieux, The Little Flower

To suffer much, yet badly, is to suffer like reprobates.  To suffer much, even bravely, but for a wicked cause, is to suffer as a martyr of the devil.  To suffer much or little for the sake of God is to suffer like saints.  St. Louis-Marie de Montfort

Christ tells us that if we want to join Him, we shall travel the way He took.  It is surely not right that the Son of God should go His way on the path of shame while the sons of men walk the way of worldly honor.  St. John of Avila

Reason should dominate pain, for our Redeemer has sanctified pain and by so doing has given us Christians a right way of facing it.  For us, pain does not come to hurt and destroy but to raise to the heights.  Bl. Placid Riccardi

I shall remind myself of the labors He undertook in preaching, of his weariness while traveling, of the temptations He suffered while fasting, of His vigils while praying, and of the tears He shed out of compassion.  I will remember, moreover, His sorrows, and the insults, spittle, blows, ridicule, rebukes, nails, and all the rest that rained down upon Him in abundance.  St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Say always, “My beloved and despised Redeemer, how sweet it is to suffer for you.”  St. Alphonsus Liguori

I could not reveal or declare the sweetness I felt or the tears of exceeding great joy that I shed when I was troubled or reviled by my brethren, my friends, or my kindred.  Bl. Angela of Foligno

I have had crosses in plenty-more than I could carry, almost.  I set  myself to ask for the love of crosses-then I was happy.  St. John Vianney

The temple of the spirit is raised through work and suffering; and I would add that suffering counts for more than work.  St. Anthony Mary Claret

If God is well pleased so long as we do not deny His ordinances, what supreme pleasure we must afford Him when we accept His will with cheerfulness in sufferings that touch our own person…Afflictions and the cauterization of the flesh burn away the rust of sin and perfect the life of the just.  St. Anselm of Canterbury

The soul in the darkness groans under its chains, motionless, helpless, until the spirit is softened, humbled, purified, made so subtle, so simple, that it can, in some way, become one with the spirit of God, in accordance with the extent and degree of the union of love to which mercy wishes to raise it.  St. John of the Cross

May it please the Mother of God to hear my prayer for you, which is that you may meet with even greater affronts, so that you may have the occasion of greater merit, provided that you can accept them with patience and consistency and without sin on the part of others, remembering the greater insults which Christ Our Lord suffered for us.  St. Ignatius of Loyola

An unpitied pain wins greater merit beofre God.  Never say to God:  “Enough”; simply say, “I am ready!”  Bl. Sebastian Valfre

I thought you might appreciate some of the thoughts from your family in heaven which might assist you in your individual suffering.  Please make your suffering redemptive, and offer it to Jesus-join  your suffering to Him.  And don’t compare your suffering to others because each person has a Cross to bear that if joined to Jesus in sincerity, with a contrite heart, will become sanctity and joy.

When I was six years old, a beautiful artist, my first grade teacher, Sister Editha, stopped her teaching when we all heard an ambulance race by our Catholic school.  She then told us to always, always pray for that person in the ambulance who is suffering, asking Jesus to help that person.  We must be concerned about others’ suffering, as opposed to our own, to become a servant, not to be served.  That is where the joy comes in, becoming Little, to ourselves and most of all, to God, His little child.

Always remember:  “Jesus, I Trust In You”.  May God bless you, may the Blessed Mother, the angels and the saints assist you in your life!

Joan

Source:  The Wisdom of the Saints-An Anthology, Jill Haak Adels

Arkansas: The Pro Life State – Another Pro-Life Victory!

Senator Jason Rapert, R-Conway, Arkansas, drafted the nation’s most restrictive abortion law, SB134, known now as Act 301 of 2013.  Senator Rapert’s legistlation requires a woman seeking an abortion 12 weeks or later into a pregnancy, to undergo an abdominal ultrasound to check for a fetal heartbeat.  If a heartbeat is detected, then the fetus is viable and the abortion is prohibited.  However, this legislation includes exceptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, medical emergencies and fetal anomalies that would prohibit the child to live after birth.  It also provides that if a doctor is found guilty of violating this law, that the doctor would lose his/her medical license.

The House voted 68-20 in favor of the bill and the Senate voted 26-8 in favor of the bill.  Governor Mike Beebe, a Democrat, vetoed the bill stating in a letter that it “would blatantly violate the United States Constitution.”  In spite of his veto, last week the House and Senate overrode the gubernatorial veto.  This law takes effect 90 days after the end of this legislative session, either in late March or early April of 2013.  The Arkansas Legislature also overrode Governor Beebe’s veto on The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, HB1037, sponsored by Rep. Andy Mayberry of Hensley, Arkansas, which also became law in Arkansas on February 28, 2013.  This law precludes abortions at 20 weeks, the point at which a fetus is capable of feeling pain.

Has the Governor forgotten that the substance of the United States Constitution and its very purpose provides to protect the lives, liberty and pursuit of happiness of humankind?  Accordingly, since the fetus is a real child, a human being, that life is protected by this legislation.  How, then could it be unconstitutional?  The Governor’s interpretation of the Constitution lacks merit, since the object of the legislation is to protect life, especially for the unborn, the most vulnerable, who have no voice of their own.

Senator Rapert indicated that people are speaking to him about this legislation all across the country, that he has been flooded with e-mail communications and telephonic communications as well, in support of this law.  Nevertheless, he has also received disparaging communications, including threats.

The ACLU indicated that this law is the most restrictive law in the country, expecting and predicting that the law will be challenged in the courts.  Gov. Beebe is also concerned about the cost of defending these challenges, which concern also contributed to his decision to veto the bill.  I say that this is a very poor reason not to protect the life of a little baby, an innocent human being, who deserves to have his or her life protected.

In any event, congratulations to the Legislature of the State of Arkansas for its bold and courageous preservation of the unborn human being who deserves life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!  We have seen how Republicans and Democrats can work together for goodness!  We thank Senator Jason Rapert for his bravery, determination and clarity; he is a true American hero, deserving of our admiration, continued support and prayers!

Thanks be to God!

~Joan

Update (May 17, 2013):

Today, a federal judge, U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright, granted a request to temporarily block enforcement of the new Arkansas law that bans most abortions 12 weeks into a pregnancy. The request was a motion for preliminary injunction in a lawsuit that the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas and the Center for Reproductive Rights brought on behalf of two Little Rock abortion providers. (Source)

Wright first came to national attention when she dismissed the sexual harassment lawsuit brought by Paula Jones against President Bill Clinton in 1998. Wikipedia describes her as a “conservative Republican.”

~Eowyn

Pro-Life Victories in Arkansas!

An unborn baby at 20 weeks (Source)

A great American and hero in the Arkansas State Legislature, Rep. Andy Mayberry, of Hensley, introduced into the Arkansas State Legislature, “The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” HB 1037, which became law in Arkansas on February 28, 2013.

This new law in part would ban abortions at 20 weeks, the point at which the bill claims a fetus is capable of feeling pain.  Nevertheless, this bill did not become law without opposition from Arkansas’ Democratic Governor Mike Beebe, who vetoed this bill on Tuesday, February 26th, claiming that this bill was contrary to the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade, and further justifying his decision because he didn’t want the state of Arkansas to pay the cost of defending this measure.

The bill had been passed by the Republican legislature garnering the support of many Democrats.  However, yesterday, February 27th, the House voted 53-28 to reaffirm the bill, and today, February 28th, the Senate voted 19-14 to reaffirm the bill, and combined, these overrode Beebe’s veto, making the bill, law, thus satisfying the simple majority vote requirement in both chambers.

Unfortunately, this law provides exceptions in cases of rape, incest and pregnancies that endanger the mother’s life or could cause irreversible physical impairments; but, it does not provide for any exemption for fetal disorders or abnormalities.  I believe that babies are babies no matter what the situation of their conception and that how that pregnancy came about still does not affect the fact that the baby is a child, a live infant person, who is guaranteed life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness under the United States Constitution.

However, it is still a great victory for Life against the abortion industry/mill.  Rep. Mayberry told the Associated Press that this law was patterned after the law in the State of Nebraska which has not been challenged as yet, further citing justification as a result of the advancements in pre-natal science which provide new evidence and definitions of “viability”.

The States of Nebraska, Kansas, Idaho, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Georgia and Alabama have also enacted the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act and/or similar legislation protecting the unborn.  Rep. Mayberry speaking on the House Floor Wednesday, called HB1037 “a bill that saves babies’ lives.  These are babies who are capable of feeling pain.  The methods used to abort those pregnancies are excruciatingly painful.”

Additionally, another bill is still pending entitled, “The Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act,” SB 134, introduced by another great American hero, Arkansas Republican Senator Jason Rapert, from Conway, which has also garnered support in the Republican-majority legislature which most probably will be presented to the Governor in the very near future.  If this bill becomes law, it would ban abortions once a heartbeat was detected, requiring a woman seeking an abortion at 12 weeks of gestation or later to undergo an abdominal ultrasound to check for a fetal heartbeat, and it would prohibit an abortion if a heartbeat is detected, but adds an exception in the case of a fetal anomaly that would not allow the child to live after birth.  More information will be provided on this bill and our prayers are warranted for its passage as well.

Finally, Governor Beebe did sign into law last Tuesday, February 26th, the “Pregnant Woman’s Protection Act” which insures that a pregnant woman and her unborn child are protected from unlawful criminal violence and that a woman’s decision to carry her child to term be respected.  According to Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D. and President & CEO of Americans United for Life, “A pregnant woman is more likely to be a victim of homicide than to die of any other cause,” and that “criminal investigations across the nation demonstrate that husbands or boyfriends are oftentimes perpetrators of pregnancy-associated violence and that this violence is often intended to end or jeopardize the pregnancy.”  Dr. Yoest further provides that “Studies have shown that violence and abuse are often higher during pregnancy than during any period in a woman’s lifetime.”

Accordingly, we should appreciate these victories!  I am praying that the Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act becomes law as well!

Joan

St. Valentine

Did you know that there is indeed a history to the celebration of Valentine’s Day?  According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops website (usccb.org), “For Your Lenten Journey Today,” it provides this comment:

“Today is the feast day of St. Valentine.  Did you know St. Valentine was a real person?  Well, actually there are at least 2 St. Valentines in the ancient martyrology of the Church.  While very little is known about Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni, we do know that Pope Gelasius declared February 14th his feast day in 496.  He is the patron saint of happy marriages, engaged couples and young people.”  And this site further informs us under “Saints for the Lenten Season,” that “It is believed that Valentine was a priest arrested by the Emperor Claudius for marrying Christian couples secretly during a time of persecution in the Church.  Legend has it that while he was imprisoned and waiting for his martyrdom, he sent letters to his fellow Christians signing them, “From Your Valentine.”

And Matthew Bunson, an apologist at EWTN pursuant to the ewtn.com website (Eternal Word Television Network), tells us that not only was St. Valentine a Roman priest and martyr, executed on February 14th, but that he was also a physician, that he was probably flogged and/or beheaded and that he was buried on the Via Flaminia, with a basilica erected on the spot where he was buried in the year 350.  However, there is mention of another Valentine who was the bishop of Terni near Riome, although these two Valentines may be the same individual.

Going back to the tradition of sending missives, the Catholic Encyclopedia provides us with a history of this practice:

“The popular customs associated with Saint Valentine’s Day undoubtedly had their origin in a conventional belief generally received in England and France during the Middle Ages, that on 14 February, i.e. half way through the second month of the year, the birds began to pair.  Thus, in Chaucer’s Parliament of Foules we read:  “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.”  For this reason the day was looked upon as specially consecrated to lovers and as a proper occasion for writing love letters and sending lovers’ tokens.  Both the French and English literatures of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries contain allusions to the practice.”

We know for sure that St. Valentine was a martyr and that he gave his life for Jesus with great love and loyalty.  Could we be that brave as to give our lives for our Faith, for Jesus?  I have asked myself that question and I believe that because I am such a determined and stubborn individual, and because I love Jesus so much, that I would be able to do so, although I would need unending help from Him.  Accordingly, it is most appropriate to concentrate on the Gospel today from St. Luke 9:22-25:

Jesus said to His disciples:

“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

Happy St. Valentine’s Day!

With love and respect,

Joan

Sources:

Usccb.org (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops); ewtn.com (Eternal Word Television Network)

Lent

Lent is the 40 day period before Easter, excluding Sundays, which begins today, Ash Wednesday, and ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter.  Sundays are excluded because Sunday is the day on which Jesus rose from the dead, wherein it is inapppropriate to fast and mourn our sins on that day, as we must celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, our salvation.  On Friday, we commemorate the death of Our Lord for our sins and Fridays are days of penance.

Lent is forty days long pursuant to previous traditions set forth in the Holy Scriptures.  For example, Moses remained on the Montain of God for forty days (Exodus 24:18 and 34:28), Elijah traveled forty days before he reached the cave where he had his visions (1 Kings 19:8); Nineveh was provided with forty days to repent (Jonah 3:4);and of course, Our Lord Jesus, before going forth in His public ministry, spent forty days in the wilderness praying and fasting (Matthew 4:2).

Since Jesus prepared himself for his public ministry during these forty days, so, too, do we imitate Him with prayer and fasting during this time to prepare for Holy Week, the Paschal Mystery.  According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (540), “By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert.”

Ash Wednesday is a day of fast and abstinence.  Fasting means that you are allowed one full meal and two maller meals.  Abstinence means that you abstain from all meat.  We give up meat, a good thing, to attain a spiritual goal.  Abstinence is required on the Fridays of Lent for all those beginning at age 14.  Fasting is required of all those from age 18 through age 59.  We abstain on Fridays because Jesus died for our sins on Friday, making this day appropriate for mourning our sins.  The Code of Canon Law (CIC 1250) provides that “All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are penitential days and time throughout the Universal Church.”  As to persons with medical conditions requiring a greater or more regular food intake can easily be dispensed from the requirement of fasting as with people who have special dietary needs can also be dispensed.

Jesus gave the leaders of His Church, the apostles and all leaders in apostolic succession in the Church, the authority to establish days of fast and abstinence, “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt 16:19, 18:18).  The “binding and loosing” language comes from the rabbinic way of establishing rules of conduct, or “halakah”, wherein the Jewish Encyclopedia provides in pertinent part as follows:

“Binding and Loosing (Hebrew, asar ve-hittir)…is a Rabinnical term for forbidding and permitting…”  Accordingly, Jesus gave the leaders of the Church the power of making such rules of conduct for the Christian community.

Pope Benedict tells us in his “Message of Holiness for Lent 2013,”  that “the celebration of Lent, in the context of the Year of Faith, offers us a valuable opportunity to meditate on the relationship between faith and charity:  between believing in God - the God Jesus Christ – and love, which is the fruit of the Holy Spirit and which guides us on the path of devotion to God and others.”  The Holy Father also makes a most important statement about Faith, to-wit: “Faith tells us that God has given His Son for our sakes and gives us the victorious certainty that it is really true:  God is love!…Faith, which sees the love of God revealed in the pierced heart of Jesus on the Cross, gives rise to love.  Love is the light – and in the end, the only light – that can always illuminate a world grown dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and working.  All this helps us to understand that the principal distinguishing mark of Christians is precisely “love grounded in and shaped by faith.”

Pope Benedict explains the relationship of Faith with Charity: “The entire Christian life is a response to God’s love.  The first response is precisely faith as the acceptance, filled with wonder and gratitude, of the unprecedented divine initiative that precedes us and summons us.  And the “yes” of faith marks the beginning of a radiant story of friendship withthe Lord, which fills and gives full meaning to our whole life.  But it is not enough for God that we simply accept his gratuitious love.  Not only does He love us, but He wants to draw us to Himself, to transform us in such a proufound way as to bring us to say with Saint Paul: “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).”

Pope Benedict then clarifies that faith must lead us to action, when he says: “Faith is knowing the truth and adhering to it (1 Tim 2:4); charity is “walking” in the truth (Eph 4:15).  Through faith we enter into friendship with the Lord, through charity this friendship is lived and cultivated (Jn 15:14).  Faith causes us to embrace the commandment of Our Lord and Master, charity gives us the happiness of putting it into practice (Jn 13:13-17).  In faith we are begotten as children of God (Jn 1:12); charity causes us to persevere concretely in our divine sonship, bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit  (Gal 5:22).  Faith enables us to recognize the gifts that the good and generous God has entrusted to us; charity makes them fruitful (Mt 25:14-30).  This comes to mind the admonition and conclusion of St James that “faith without works is dead; show me your works and I’ll show you your faith.”

And, the Pope tells us that “Faith without works is like a tree without fruit:  the two virtues imply one another.  Lent invites us, through the traditional practices of the Christian life, to nourish our faith by careful and extended listening to the word of God and by receiving the sacraments, and at the same time to grow in charity and in love for God and neighbour, not least through the specific practices of fasting, penance and almsgiving.”

“The Christian life consists in continuously scaling the mountain to meet God and then coming back down, bearing the love and strength drawn from him, so as to serve our brothers and sisters with God’s own love.  In sacred Scripture, we see how the zeal of the Apostles to proclaim the Gospel and awaken people’s faith is closely  related to their charitable concern to be of service to the poor (Acts 6:1-4),  In the Church, contemplation and action, symbolized in some way by the Gospel figures of Mary and Martha, have to coexist and compliment each other (Lk 10:38-42).  The relationship with God must always be the priority, and any true sharing of goods, in the spirit of the Gospel, must be rooted in faith.  Sometimes we tend, in fact, to reduce the term, “charity,” to solidarity or simply humanitarian aid.  It is important, however, to remember that the greatest work of charity is evangelization, which is the “ministry of the word”.  There is no action more beneficial – and therefore more charitable – towards one’s neighbour than to break the bread of the word of God, to share with him the Good News of the Gospel, to introduce him to a relationship with God:  evangelization is the highest and the most integral promotion of the human person.  As the Servant of God Pope Paul VI wrote in the encyclical Populorum Progressio, the proclamation of Christ is the first and principal contributor to development.  It is the primordial truth of the love of God for us, lived and proclaimed, that opens our lives to receive this love and makes possible the integral development of humanity and of every man (Caritas in Veritate, 8).”

Ending with this communication, the Holy Father tells us:

“Dear brothers and sisters, in this season of Lent, as we prepare to celebrate the event of the Cross and Resurrection – in which the love of God redeemed the world and shone its light upon history – I express my wish that all of you may spend this precious time rekindling your faith in Jesus Christ, so as to enter with Him into the dynamnic of love for the Father and for every brother and sister that we encounter in our lives.  For this intention, I raise my prayer to God, and I invoke the Lord’s blessing upon each individual and upon every community!”

Finally, let us also examine our lives and identify our faults and proclivities to sin, so that we look into our conscience to reform ourselves.  This is the opposite of an unhealthy and selfish narcissism, where people appoint themselves as their own gods and goddesses, so wrapped up in their vanity and ego that they cannot see real Truth, who is a Person, Jesus Christ, nor can they truly love their neighbor because their love is not a love from God, nor can they repent and transform themselves in the Person of Love, Jesus.

This evening as I receive the ashes upon my forehead, I will remember my mortality, and I will also remember to live the Gospel in my own “Calcutta”, knowing that Jesus is the Truth and that I am His servant and His daughter.

I send each of you my respect and love, especially during this special time of Lent.

Joan

Sources:

Catechism of the Catholic Church; Vatican Library: Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI For Lent 2031; EWTN Library “All About Lent” – James Akin