What Does Sharing the Catholic Faith and Starting a Blog have in common? Passion!

Alcove at Sacred Heart Church. Rosary Board to the right.

What inspires someone to become a blogger? Most likely they have something they are passionate about. Perhaps they have an opinion and a blog provides a platform for sharing ideas. I have been a Catholic for 5 years. Before that I spent several years looking into the Faith. What I have learned has inspired me to share my faith with others. But how do I share it? Some may approach this by making a long list of what they didn’t like about their previous church affiliation. Others may use it as a platform for religious debate. Motives are so important when sharing your faith as well as sharing ideas. You cannot give what you do not have. What is left to share if the only objective is to take apart an argument? That is why in previous posts I share that forgiveness and kindness are critical in developing an authentic faith. It is not about being judgmental. It is about speaking the truth in love.

One observation in my journey into the Catholic Church was that I could not define Church teaching by dismantling arguments against it. Approaching the Faith on its own terms requires understanding. Catholics use different terminology than Protestants use in sharing the Faith. “The Eucharist.” “Real Presence.” “Our Lady.” “The Holy Rosary.” “The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.” These are terms used from a Catholic perspective.

Jesus calls us to be humble. It is only then He can work in us. The Rosary Board blog takes its name from a simple display in the alcove of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Miles City, Montana. On it hang several rosaries as an invitation to prayer. The posts on this blog are intended to be an invitation to prayer and reflection. The Rosary is one way we as Catholics spend time with our Lord and His Blessed Mother. So let us think about each word we say in prayer and pray it with passion.

Ave Maria!

Praise be Jesus Christ!

What It Takes To Pray Well (Part 2) - What we say.

What we say

Mary and Jesus window at Sacred Heart 

“. . . what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, . . .” 

(Matt. 15:18).

“Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

What is in your heart? A heart that hates his brother and cannot forgive does not love or know God. In the Sermon on the Mount we are told that if we are angry or insult our brother we are liable to varying degrees of judgment, but if we call them a fool we are in danger of hell (Matt. 5:21-26). This is in context of worship and has a direct affect on the outcome of our lives. “If any one thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is vain.” What is it to have pure and undefiled religion before God? We are given examples of this, including keeping yourself unstained from the world (James 1:26-27).

I would now like to quote from the book I mentioned last time by Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik. In this paragraph he talks about angry words that separate us from the love of God and neighbor. Fr. Lovasik writes:

Angry words become more harmful and more wicked when they are associated with cursing. With the tongue a person praises God, and with the tongue he curses men, who have been made after the likeness of God. (Cf. James 3:9) Cursing is a sin against the reverence due to God’s name. But another motive for avoiding it can be found in the fact that it arouses a special bitterness in the heart of its victim. No one likes to be cursed at, for cursing is an insult to one’s dignity as a human being. The sensitive are deeply wounded by it.
                                                                                                  (pp. 159-160)

So already we are seeing a connection to the beginning of the "Our Father" prayer. Would anyone talk to God with that kind of language? What does this have to do with praying well? How we conduct our lives and how we speak to one another has everything to do with it. This is just one of many factors we need to take into consideration. "If you bruise the heart of any human being, you hurt Christ, since what is done to your neighbor is done to Him." (Lovasik, p.162)

We need to avoid speaking unkindly about others. We never know if a word we speak in jest or in haste will impact another individual created in the image of God. Fr. Lovasik says that we should appeal to nobler motives. (p. 170) This requires self-denial. When we reflect on the fourth Sorrowful Mystery of the Rosary, we envision these words of Jesus, “If any man would follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Matt. 16:24, emphasis mine.) It is easier said than done. As we see Jesus carrying his cross he falls a number of times. His mother witnesses all of this. Jesus is bearing the weight of our failings and when we sin we add another stripe to his back. How do you think this makes his mother feel? That sword of sorrow pierces her heart as it was prophesied many years previous. (Cf. Luke 2:35) If one feels like gossiping, slandering, or all out revenge, think of that person’s mother. The next time we feel like cursing in our conversation, think of Jesus’ mother.

Ave Maria!

Praise be Jesus Christ!

Resources

Lovasik, Lawrence G., The Hidden Power of Kindness: A Practical Handbook for Souls who Dare to Transform the World, One Deed at a Time. Sophia Institute Press, Manchester, New Hampshire, 1999.

All Bible quotations from the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 2006.

What it takes to pray well - Part 1

It has been a few months since I posted anything on the Rosary Board. During this time I have been reflecting on what it means to pray well. Over the next several installments I will be sharing on this subject and how we as Christians need to conduct ourselves.

Forgiving and Forgiveness

As the Lord’s prayer states, “forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors . . . For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matt. 6:12, 14-15). “This petition is so important that it is the only one to which the Lord returns and which he develops explicitly in the Sermon on the Mount.” (CCC 2841)

Each section of the Rosary begins with an “Our Father” prayer. In it, “With bold confidence, we began praying to our Father. In begging him that his name be hallowed, we were in fact asking him that we ourselves might be always made more holy.” (CCC 2839) In order for us to become holy we must forgive others as well as ask forgiveness from others. Otherwise our hearts will not be opened to God’s grace. (CCC 2840) The Sermon on the Mount sheds light on this point: “So if you are offering your gift at the alter, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the alter and go: first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matt. 5:23-24) Forgiveness and forgiving ultimately affects our worship of God in prayer, and especially our participation in the Mass. How we treat our neighbor reflects our love for God. St. John states, “If any one says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God should love his brother also.” (1 John 4:20-21)

God forgives us as we forgive our neighbor. In like manner a merciful person will receive God’s mercy (Matt. 5:7). “It is impossible to keep the Lord’s commandment by imitating the divine model from outside; there has to be a vital participation, coming from the depths of the heart, in the holiness and the mercy and the love of God. Only the Spirit by whom we live can make “ours” the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. Then the unity of forgiveness becomes possible and we find ourselves “forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave” us. (CCC 2842)

At this time, I would like to recommend a wonderful book by Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik entitled, “The Hidden Power of . . . Kindness: A Practical Handbook for Souls who Dare to Transform the World, One Deed at a Time”. Fr. Lawrence knows what he is talking about. I will be sharing some quotes from this book in future posts.

Ave Maria!

Praise be Jesus Christ!

Resources:

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994.

All Bible quotations from the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 2006.

The 3rd Mystery of Light – The Preaching of the Kingdom of God and repentance and forgiveness of sins – a reflection.

The Feeding of the Multitudes

Over the past two weeks I have been giving a Bible Study to our Youth Ministry class. The verses sighted below were among the topics we discussed. I also found that a good audio Bible recording is a great tool for teaching Sacred Scripture. As Catholics we hear a lot of the Bible read every week, but rarely do we sit down and read from beginning to end. Try this for a Bible Study; Listen and follow along to about three chapters of an Audio Bible recording (For example, Mark’s Gospel). Then pray a decade of the Rosary reflecting on highlights from that reading or from the gospel as a whole. In praying the Sacred Scriptures in the Rosary we can deepen our devotional time and become more familiar with the sacred page. The following are verses from the Gospel According to Mark.

The Gospel According to Mark

Our Father . . .

1. The Heavens opened

1:10-11 - And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased.”

Hail Mary . . .

2. The Curtain in the Jerusalem Temple torn

15:37-38 - And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

Hail Mary . . .

3. The Confession of Peter

8:29 – And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.”

Hail Mary . . .

4. The Confession of the Gentile (Roman Centurion)

15:39- And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he thus breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

Hail Mary . . .

5. Feeding of the 5000 (12 baskets collected)

6:41 – And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people; . .

Hail Mary . . .

6. Feeding of the 4000 (7 baskets collected)

8:6- And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; . . .

Hail Mary . . .

7. The Last Supper

14:22- And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take, this is my body.”

Hail Mary . . .

Jesus Predicts his Suffering, Death and Resurrection

8.

8:31 – And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Hail Mary . . .

9.

9:31 – “The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”

Hail Mary . . .

10.

10:33-34- “Behold, we are going to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the Gentiles; and they will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise.”

Glory Be . . .

O My Jesus . . .

Ave Maria!

Praise be Jesus Christ!

Resources

Ignatius Catholic Study Bible RSV 2nd Edition, The Gospel of Mark, Commentary, Notes and Study Questions, Compiled and edited Scott Hahn, Ignatius Press, 2001.

Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition (emphasis mine)

Picture retrieved from  http://thesplendorofthechurch.blogspot.com/2010/11/questions-from-somascan-seminarian-on.html

So let us abide in Christ and let Christ be formed in us.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ.” The prayer of the rosary helps us to reflect on the mysteries of Christ. “This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him.” (CCC 2708)

When we contemplate these mysteries we fix our gaze of faith on Jesus. St. John Vianney reflected that, “I look at him and he looks at me” (CCC 2715). Let us sit at the school of Mary and contemplate the beauty of the face of Christ and experience the depths of his love (Pope John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pauline Books & Media, Boston, p. 8). “To recite the Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ (JPII, p. 10). The apostle John wrote in his letter, “Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God, and every one who loves the parent loves the child (1 Jn. 5:1). In John’s gospel Jesus from the cross says to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home (John 19:26-27).

Let us say with the cousin of Mary and the mother of John the Baptist, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:42). For truly all generations will call her blessed and that includes us.

Ave Maria!

Praise be Jesus Christ!

Resources:

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994.

Pope John Paul II, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pauline Books & Media, Boston.

All Bible quotations from the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 2006.