A young man learns what’s most important in life from the guy next door

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack, did you hear me?”

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it,” Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.

“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said

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Beautiful Reasons for Praying the Rosary Even More

Often Father Gabriel Amorth, Chief Exorcist of the Vatican writes: One day a colleague of mine heard the devil say during an exorcism, “Every Hail Mary is like a blow on my head. If Christians knew how powerful the Rosary was, it would be my end.” The secret that makes this prayer so effective is that the Rosary is both prayer and meditation. It is addressed to the Father, to the Blessed Virgin, and to the Holy Trinity, and is a meditation centered on Christ.

I write in addition to the above: Please enunciate each word of the Rosary clearly and distinctly. Do not trample on the heels of the words of anyone with your words.. Do not speak over the leader if you are following or the respondent if you are leading the Rosary. Remember that they also are having a conversation with Mary Our Mother and it is not polite to speak when someone else is speaking.

In the case of the public Rosary there are only two people speaking: the Leader and the respondents. Each is speaking to the Blessed Mother and listening carefully to her response within their hearts as they meditate on the scene before them in their consideration of the mystery being spoken of and interpreted and translated into their lives.

Spread this powerful prayer of exorcism, the Rosary, which contains the Our Father, the Perfect Prayer, prayed five times in the recitation of each set of the Rosary’s Mysteries (plus one at the beginning), backed up by the powerful prayers of Our Mother who prays with us as we pray 53 Hail Mary’s.

The Eternal Father described to a group of us, through a Visionary Friend of mine, what happens when we pray the Rosary, saying, “When you pray Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now.., the Blessed Mother comes instantly to your side to pray with you. And she does not come alone. She brings angels with her. And not just one or two for she is the Queen of Angels, so choirs of angels come with her. And she and Jesus are joined at the heart and cannot be separated so she brings Jesus with her. And Jesus cannot be separated from the Trinity so He brings the Father and the Holy Spirit with Him.

And where the Holy Trinity is, all of creation is, and you are surrounded by such beauty and light as you cannot imagine in this life. Your Mother comes as Our Lady of Grace with her hands outstretched. Rays of light emit from her hands piercing your body, healing you and filling you with graces. This is your inheritance which was poured out from the heart of Jesus on the Cross, when the centurion pierced His Heart with the spear, into the only pure vessel ready to receive such graces at that time, Your Mother.

Now as you pray the Rosary, or even just recite one Hail Mary, you receive your portion of these graces. He also said at this time, “Anyone who goes to Mary and prays the Rosary cannot be touched by Satan.”

Is it any wonder that anyone who prays the Rosary from the heart is so blessed and protected and powerful in their prayers for others?

Haiti: Where is God?

Haiti.

“Why did God do this?”

“Where was God when this happened?”

Besides the physical crosses that the residents of Haiti are now burdened with carrying, I can’t begin to imagine what the survivors of this disaster are suffering in their hearts. What are their priests giving to them in response to these demanding questions? I can only pray that they can find the right words but I’m certain that their answers are spoken through shared tears and hugs rather than in homilies.

It’s a delicate thing, attempting to answer these questions so close to the fact. You can’t tell the Haitian mother holding the cold body of her child in her arms that she’s wrong for asking such questions or even that she’s asking the wrong questions. They’re exactly the right questions. And they don’t signify a crisis of faith but rather a crisis of understanding. The answers given in response though, aren’t often always the right answers. Our first parents knew the right answers, if only because of experience. Eve knew where God was even as she cried over the lifeless body of Abel in her arms. And Mary, the new Eve, knew exactly where God was as she pressed her cheek against the Sacred but silent Heart of her only Son. Yet it didn’t make it any easier to bear.

When men destroy, be it lives or property, it is possible, naively maybe, to place blame upon them that they do so because they are evil. But when it is not men but “nature” that destroys, who is to blame? Not nature; it is certainly not evil. If not nature, then who?

We live in a fallen world. Pain is not new. Suffering is not new. But each time a tragedy befalls us, it is new to us individually and we have to make sense of it once again.

Father Walter Ciszek was an American Jesuit who spent twenty-three years trapped in the prisons and gulags of the Soviet Union, enduring unspeakable torments and experiencing first-hand the brutal depravities of our world. During his long trial, he began to gain an understanding of how God relates to us in times of upheaval – that He alone must be our ultimate hope and sole source of support:

“We go along, taking for granted that tomorrow will be very much like today, comfortable in the world we have created for ourselves, secure in the established order we have learned to live with, however imperfect it may be, and give little thought to God at all.

“Somehow, then, God must contrive to break through those routines of ours and remind us once again, like Israel, that we are ultimately dependant only upon Him, that He has made us and destined us for life with Him through all eternity, that the things of this world and this world itself are not our lasting city, that His we are and that we must look to Him and turn to Him in everything. Then it is, perhaps, that He must allow our whole world to be turned upside down in order to remind us it is not our permanent abode or final destiny, to bring us to our senses and restore our sense of values, to turn our thoughts once more to Him – even if at first our thoughts are questioning and full of reproaches. Then it is that He must remind us again, with terrible clarity, that He meant exactly what He said in those seemingly simple words of the Sermon on the Mount: Do not be anxious about what you shall eat, or what you shall wear, or where you shall sleep, but seek first the kingdom of God and His justice…

“Mysteriously, God in His providence must make use of our tragedies to remind our fallen human nature of His presence and His love, of the constancy of His concern and care for us. It is not vindictiveness on His part; He does not send us tragedies to punish us for having so long forgotten Him. The failing is on our part. He is always present and ever faithful; it is we who fail to see Him or to look for Him in times of ease and comfort, to remember He is there, shepherding and guarding and providing us the very things we come to count on and expect to sustain us every day…”

So, where then is God in this?

Praying before a statue of the Pieta right after news of the earthquake, the Archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, answered half of this question in the most profound theological terms: “Haiti is the broken, bloodied body of Christ.” In other words, God is right there. We are witnessing Him, right before us. In every person still holding on to life beneath the bricks of a fallen building, He is there. In every one of the one million children now left orphaned, He is there. In every one of the countless homeless wandering through the incomprehensible piles of corpses, He is there. In every husband, desperately trying to find a cup of water for his parched wife, He is there. Yes, we all have a share in the Resurrection, but as a race redeemed, we also all sometimes take part in His Passion. Christ scourged. Christ crucified.

The other half of the answer to the question should now be obvious. He is in every soul who stoops to give succor to that “broken, bloodied body” that is Haiti. He is in the volunteers that are feeding the hungry and burying the dead. He is in the priests delivering the Sacraments to the sick and dying. He is in the nuns stroking the cheeks of the broken-spirited. He is in the policemen and paramedics that tirelessly sift through the rubble, listening intently for sounds of life. He is in the doctors that have dropped their practice to fly off to stitch wounds and set broken bones. He is in the pilots and captains and truckers who have donated their services to deliver food and medicine. He is in the factory worker who has taken his vacation savings and given it to the special collection at his church. He is in the college student who has taken up a collection of shoes to be donated. He is in the prayer-warriors around the world that haven’t ceased reciting rosaries and chaplets of Divine Mercy for mitigation of the agony of that land.

Where is God?

He is in us, in the hearts of us all, and He’s urging us to act.

Reflections on St Matthew the Apostle

St. Matthew, one of the twelve Apostles, is the author of the first Gospel. He was the son of Alpheus and was called to be an Apostle while sitting in the tax collectors place at Capernaum. Before his conversion he was a tax collector by profession. He is to be identified with the “Levi” in gospels of Mark and Luke.

Saint Matthew is the patron of accountants, bankers, bookkeepers, customs officers, financial officers, guards, money managers, security forces, security guards, stockbrokers, tax collectors, etc.

What is God’s call on each of our life? Jesus chose Matthew to be his follower and friend, not because Matthew was religious or learned, popular or saintly. Matthew appeared to be none of those. He chose to live a life of wealth and ease. His profession was probably the most corrupted and despised by everyone because tax collectors made themselves wealthy by over-charging and threatening people if they did not hand over their money to them.

What did Jesus see in Matthew that others did not see? When the prophet Samuel came to the house of Jesse to anoint the future heir to the throne of Israel, he bypassed all the first seven sons and chose the last! “God looks at the heart and not at the appearance of a man” he declared.

Matthew’s heart must have yearned for God. When Jesus saw Matthew sitting at his tax office – no doubt counting his day’s profit – Jesus spoke only two words – “follow me”. Those two words changed Matthew from a self-serving profiteer to a God-serving apostle who would bring the treasures of God’s kingdom to the poor and needy.

After his calling, when Saint Matthew gave a feast in Christ’s honor, the guests were drawn from among his friends—including fellow tax collectors and sinners (Matthew 9:10-13). The Pharisees objected to Christ eating with such people, to which Christ responded, “I am not come to call the just, but sinners”.

Reflecting on St. Matthew’s calling, Pope Benedict said in 2006 that “in the figure of Matthew, the Gospels present to us a true and proper paradox: those who seem to be the farthest from holiness can even become a model of the acceptance of God’s mercy and offer a glimpse of its marvelous effects in their own lives.”

Be Still & see Him come!

Look how Jesus comes!

First, whispered to a Woman by an angel (Lk.1:28). Dreamt, by a man, in the stillness of the night (Mt. 1:20-23).

His unborn presence stirs another infant to leap with joy in the womb! (Lk. 1:41-43). He does not come to the busy, bustle and fuss of the city of Bethlehem; nor is he born in the supremely important capital of religious heritage-Jerusalem. In fact, three foreigners disturb that city when they come and announce the birth of its Messiah and King (Mt. 2:2-3).

No, no, no. Jesus is not sent there.

Jesus comes hidden, small, vulnerable unknown to the worldly minded. Jesus first comes to humanity in stillness and great humility. His life is marked by lowliness (Phil. 2:6-8).

Be still and search for that quiet place within.

Even the shepherds were instructed by the angels to leave their jobs to make time to adore Him, newborn in the stable. In prayer, quietly hold the baby Jesus in your heart; imagine being surrounded by the stars in the cool night with the only sound the soft bleating of sheep.

Be still and quiet with Him.

He will give you peace, joy and happiness (Mt. 11:28-30). This is a new year! Jesus coming into our own small, poor, quiet hearts. Let Him come there first! Come, Lord Jesus, into our hearts, families forever and always! Amen! (Rev. 22:20)

Looking back & Looking forward

2009. Annus horribilis. Or Annus mirabilis. Or something in between.

Each of us will fall into one of these three categories; possibly many of us may fall into the last one - somewhere between “horrible year” and “wonderful year”. But, irrespective of which category, to the person who walks by faith (2 Cor 5:7), a time to “praise the Lord”, for God’s Word encourages us to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thes 5:18). So, we all say (I take the liberty on your behalf), “Thank You, Loving Father; Thank You, Precious Saviour; Thank You, Holy Spirit Our Constant Helper.”

Looking back, and counting our blessings there is indeed so much to thank the Lord for. So many miracles and answered prayers in the past year; listing just a few that we have prayed together “in on accord” (Acts 1:14) for in 2009:

- The success of the Indian Mission Congress
- The Hand of the Lord during the Proclamation effort at Mount Mary’s, Bandra (both for the weekly initiative as well as the outreach during the Bandra Fair)
- The secular Government in our Country and State

We also thank the Lord for protecting our Pope from any serious harm during the recent attack on him as well as protecting all 278 passengers aboard the Delta flight, from the terrorist attack just above Detroit. Both on Christmas Day. Glory to God!

Thus, with an attitude of gratitude we look ‘with hope’ towards 2010. We believe, with God’s grace, that it indeed will be a “perfect 10”. For with the Lord “all things work for the good” (Rom 8:28). May the Lord “direct our path” as we “acknowledge Him” and “trust in Him with all our hearts” (Prov 3: 5, 6). And so we say confidently, “Thank you, Lord, for 2010”.

And we can already see the Lord in control as we began preparing the intercessory diary for the month of January. We sensed the Lord directing us to pray for the Proclamation Cell of our Archdiocese as well as the efforts for Christian Unity with a greater appreciation for our own Catholic faith. You can imagine our joy when we realised that the Holy Father’s Missionary Intention for January is: That every believer in Christ may understand that unity among all Christians is necessary for effective proclamation of the gospel. A confirmation from the Holy Spirit of the need to immerse in prayer two key aspects - Proclamation and Christian Unity.

Toward this end, I commend to your prayers and wish to remind you of two important highlights this month
- the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Jan18-25th)
- the Catholic Apologetics Outreach being organised from Jan 29th -31st (7-9pm at St Peter’s Bandra). All are welcome. Entry is free.

I close with sincere wishes for God’s abundant blessings on you and your family. We consecrate this New Year to the intercession of our Blessed Mother and the saints. May the Lord sanctify and have His way in all the time He gives us in 2010.

We don’t know what the future holds, but we know Who holds our future. Halleluiah!

January 2010

Daily Intercessions through the Word of God – January 2010
Sanctuary Intercessors – India Branch of FBB
International Catholic Charismatic Missionary Intercessors of the Fellowship of the Burning Bush (FBB)
The ‘Intercession Diary’ has the approval and blessings of the Bishops’ Team of the Archdiocese and contains intentions of our Cardinal and the Bishops
(Join us in agreement to intercede each day according to the Scriptures, ask the Holy Spirit how to pray to actualize God’s promises in each situation)

Day/Date Interceding According to the Mind of Christ

Fri
1/1/2010
Luke 1:28 And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart
Feast of The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. We pray, as we commence this New Year, for a heart and attitude like our Blessed Mother. May we follow her example throughout this year, keeping God’s Word at the center of our hearts – ever open and ever obedient to His Holy Will. We consecrate the year ahead to her and pray the three Hail Mary’s devoutly seeking Mary’s intercession and protection in 2010. Pray that it be a year of abundant blessings for the Church, our priests, religious and laity and for each of us. Our prayer focus this month is the Holy Father’s missionary intention – the key thrusts being Christian Unity and Proclamation

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