Volume II/Issue 23/March 2018

From The Editorial Desk:

Faithfulness at Home and Work

Jesus is our Example in all things. The Father had arranged for Jesus to spend the first thirty years of His earthly life in two places basically - His home and His place of work (the carpentry shop). It was Jesus' faithfulness in these two places that brought forth the approval of the Father. This is a matter of great encouragement for us, for we all find ourselves in these two places constantly - our home and our place of work. And it is in these two places basically that God tests us.

Jesus' home was a poor home. Joseph and Mary were so poor that they could not even afford to offer a lamb as a burnt offering. The Law had commanded that "if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons......"(Leviticus 12:8). And Joseph and Mary took "according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, 'a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons'." (Luke.2:24). Jesus had at least six cousins (or some think that they were His step brothers and sisters). Mark 6:3 tells us that the people of his home-town remarked concerning Jesus, "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and Jude, and Simon? are not also his sisters here with us? And they were scandalized in regard of him?" If they were His step siblings, one can imagine the pressures and struggles that Jesus faced as He grew up in that poor home. To top it all, his younger brothers were unbelievers. It is written that, "neither did his brethren believe in him." (John. 7:5). They may have taunted Him in many ways. Based on archeology and history from that time period He may not have had any privacy in his house to retreat to, when facing the pressure of temptation from others in the house. There must have been the fighting and the squabbling and the scolding and the selfishness (common to all homes) in that home too. And amid such circumstances, Jesus was tempted in all points as we are; and He never sinned even once in deed, word, thought, attitude or motive or in any other way.

If Jesus had come in some different form than us, in some flesh that was incapable of being tempted, then there would have been no virtue in his living in purity in such circumstances. But He was made like us in all things. The Word of God says, "It behoved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren, that he might become a merciful and faithful priest before God, that he might be a propitiation (an appeasing) for the sins of the people." (Hebrews 2:17). He has undergone the pressure of every temptation that we can ever face. This is what gives us great encouragement in the moments when we are tempted, that we too can overcome. This is the hope that Satan seeks to rob us of, by trying to hide from us this glorious truth that Christ came in our flesh and was tempted exactly as we are.

As a carpenter in Nazareth, Jesus must have faced the temptations that all who engage in any form of business face. But He would never deceive anyone to whom He sold anything. He would never demand too much for any article and He would never compromise on any point of righteousness, whatever the cost (or loss) to Him may have been. He was not in competition with the other carpenters in Nazareth. He only worked to earn His living. Thus, through buying and selling and the handling of money (as a carpenter), Jesus faced all the temptations that we face in the area of money. And He overcame.

Jesus lived in submission to an imperfect step father for so many years. I am not saying that Joseph was not a good father to Jesus, I think he was one of the best fathers that the world had ever seen. But he was still human. And he was still part of a fallen world. Because of this this Jesus must have been exposed sometimes to various forms of inward temptations (in the realm of attitudes); and yet He never sinned. Joseph, I am sure, made some mistakes in raising Jesus at times. The best of dads do. Yet because Jesus was living in perfect victory, He never despised Joseph. If He had, He would have sinned. He respected Him, even though He and Mary was far purer than him. There we see the beauty of His humility.

Thus we see, that far from living an uneventful life during those thirty years in Nazareth, Jesus was in the midst of a conflict against temptation all the time - a conflict that increased in intensity as each year went by - for the Father had to take the Captain of our salvation through the entire range of temptations possible to human beings, before He could become our Saviour and our High Priest. God's Word says, "It was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things made, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings."(Hebrews 2:10 paraphrased). There were still a few temptations that Jesus would face in the last three and a half years of His earthly life. But the common temptations that we all face at home and in our place of work, He had encountered and overcome in the first thirty years. And the Father gave Jesus His certificate of approval at His baptism. If only our eyes were opened to see the basis on which God gives us His approval, it would revolutionize our lives totally. No longer would any of us covet a Hollywood lifestyle but rather faithfulness in the moments of temptation in daily life. We would stop admiring worldly celebrities and start admiring transformed lives. Thus our minds would be renewed to have our priorities right. What a tremendous encouragement this is, to know that God's greatest rewards and His highest commendations are reserved for those who face temptation with the same attitude that Jesus faced it - that is: "I would rather die than commit a sin or disobey My Father at even one point." This is the meaning of the exhortation in Philippians 2:5-8, which says, "For let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross."

Thus all of us have the same opportunity to be overcomers and to be among the called, chosen and faithful, irrespective of our gift or our ministry, and irrespective of our sex or our age.

Preparing for Baptism 2018 

Most of us were baptized many years ago and many shortly after we were born. Just as Lent is a preparation for Easter for the baptized, it is also the preparation for Baptism by catechumens, who are converting to the Faith. Although not yet bound by the laws of fasting and abstinence, the catechumens observed the Lenten fast alongside the faithful, they soon hoped to join in holy Baptism on Holy Saturday. To this day, the Baptismal water is blessed on Holy Saturday. In fact, the proper time for the Baptism of Adults is Holy Saturday in the Cathedral with their Bishop.

The grace of God brings us to the door of the Church to receive Baptism. The priest meets us at the door and asks us our name. The next question he asks is: “What do you ask of the Church of God?” We answer: “Faith.” Faith is a gift of God we receive in Baptism, a gift we are in great need of. Saint Paul says: “without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6)

What have we done with the gift God gave us in Baptism? Is it in a prominent place in our life, or have we stuffed it in a closet somewhere to gather dust? If we have done the latter, we may find that we will throw it away and lose this precious gift.

We know of a religious community that has a room for unwanted gifts, which they call give away take away. Usually they go there to find a gift to give someone else, who will find it nice but equally as useless. Have we put our faith in the give away take away room, where it can be taken away by another person?

Faith is a gift that needs constant care. It needs to be in a prominent place in our life. It needs to be on our 'workbench', whether this be an office desk, the kitchen counter or an actual office.

So how do we care for faith? We do so by taking this gift into the center of hearts and with this gift make an Act of Faith. Although words as can be found in the catechism and many prayer books are helpful, the act itself must come from our heart. Otherwise it is mere lip service. Jesus said: “Hypocrites, well hath Isaias prophesied of you, saying: This people honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me.” (Matthew 15:7-8)

Let us consider the Act of Faith found in the catechism, for it gives us our proper dispositions: “O my God, I firmly believe that Thou art one God in Three Divine Persons, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. I believe that Thy Divine Son became Man, and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived.”

After stating some specific beliefs, we state: “I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived.” Elsewhere we profess more specific beliefs in the Apostle's Creed, which we recite later in the ceremony of Baptism.

This is the key point: “I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived.” We believe all Jesus teaches us through His Church, because God has revealed them. And then we explain why, because God cannot deceive us. And so we have certainty on the matters of Faith

Fr. Fahey says: “It is not merely question of believing the mysteries of our faith, but of adjusting one’s life to them and of habitually judging everything by their light.” 1 Our Act of Faith leads us to judge everything by the truths of the Faith, because we are certain they are true. We live by the truths of the Faith found in the Gospels, other parts of Sacred Scripture and in our own catechism. 

Renewal of Baptismal Promises 

We should renew our Baptismal Promises on the anniversary of our Baptism and on Holy Saturday and at other times throughout the year. 

Instruction on the Renewal of Baptismal Vows 

From Goffine's, Ecclesiastical Year. Remember the word vow is another way of saying a promise.

All the graces and dignities which we receive in baptism, God secures to us for the future, only on condition that we keep our baptismal vows. Every Christian in baptism makes a bond with God through the mediation of Christ who has sealed it with His blood. This bond consists, on man's part, in the promise to renounce forever the devil, all his works and all his pomps, that is, constantly to suppress the threefold lust of the eyes, the flesh and the pride of life, by which the devil leads us to sin, and to believe all that God has revealed, and all that His holy Church proposes to our belief, and diligently and properly to make use of all the means of salvation. On the part of God this bond consists in cleansing us from all sin, in bestowing the gifts of the Holy Ghost, in adopting us as His children, and in the assurance to the inheritance of heaven. This bond will never be broken by God who is infinitely true and faithful, but it is often violated by weak and fickle man. In compliance with the desire of the Church we should often reflect upon it, and from time to time renew it in the sight of God. This should be done particularly before receiving the holy Sacrament of Confirmation, before first Communion, on the vigils of Easter and Pentecost, at the blessing of baptismal water, on the anniversaries of our baptism and confirmation, before making any solemn vow, before entering into matrimony and when in danger of death. This renewal of baptismal vows can be made in the following manner: Placing ourselves in the presence of God, we kneel down, fold our hands, and say with fervent devotion: 

A Simple Prayer of Renewal 

Almighty and eternal God! Thou knowest all things; Thou seest the very bottom of my heart and Thou knowest that, however sinful I have hitherto been, I am resolved, by the help of Thy grace, to love and serve Thee for the remainder of my life. And therefore, O my God, kneeling before the throne of Thy mercy, I renew, with all the sincerity of my soul the promises and vows made for me in my baptism.

I renounce Satan with my whole heart, and will henceforth have no connection with him. I renounce all the pomps of Satan, that is, all the vanities of the world, the false treasures of its riches, honors and pleasures, and all its corrupt teachings. I renounce all the works of Satan, that is, all kinds of sins.

To Thee alone, O my God, I desire to cling; Thy word will I hear and obey; for Thee alone I desire to live and to die. Amen.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was born and suffered for us.

I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

I renounce the devil, all his works and all his pomps.

Christ Jesus! With Thee I am united, to Thee alone I cling, Thee only will I follow, for Thee I desire to live and die. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

The Funny Pharmacy

Proverbs 17:22

A joyful mind maketh age flourishing: a sorrowful spirit drieth up the bones.

The 1983 Code of Canon Law suffers the defect of being promulgated by a Non-Pope with no authority to change or reform the previous Church Law? Also there could not have been valid and licit changes in the liturgical calendar of the Church, nor its Liturgy...or its canonized Saints?

The Pope Speaks: March 2018 

Lord Make Me A Saint

How many of can sincerely say this prayer? Before his conversion, Saint Augustine prayed: “Lord, give me chastity, but not yet.” What are we holding back from Almighty God? What would we insert in place of chastity in the above prayer? Saint Francis de Sales said: “Were I conscious of one fiber in my heart that did not belong to God, I would rip it out.” What are we refusing to rip out?

Everyone in heaven is a saint. We want to go to heaven, therefore we must also become saints. Purgatory is for those who do not quite make it to becoming a saint in this valley of tears. Let us not underestimate what it takes to be saved.

What Is A Saint?

We get a false idea of what a saint is, when we read some lives of the Saints. We read of miracles and visions and think that sanctity consists in these. But, consider Judas lived with Jesus and probably cast out demons and performed miracles in the name of Jesus. And yet, we fear he was lost. Saint Teresa had visions and locutions, and yet Jesus could show her the place that was prepared for her in hell. Yes, For almost two decades, Teresa of Avila refused to give up one little thing Jesus asked of her. After she gave it up, Jesus showed her the place she had been heading towards. And she was headed there while receiving extraordinary graces, such as visions and locutions, including the one in which Jesus asked of her this small sacrifice.

Then we read of the heroic penances some of the saints performed and consider that we can't do that, so we compromise with the world. Saint Paul wrote the Corinthians (I Corinthians 13:1-3): “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.” Unless God specifically asks us to do special penances and these are approved by our spiritual director, we are forbidden to do them. Sanctity does not consist in heroic penances.

Saint Alphonsus writes: “But, on the other hand, to be the result of obedience, is an infallible sign that an action is pleasing to God. Nicephorus relates that when the Superiors of St. Simon Stylites wished to ascertain whether the extraordinary and singular life which he led, remaining on a pillar in the open air, night and day, were pleasing to God, they commanded him to come down from his pillar and to live with the other monks. On hearing the command, the saint instantly stretched out his foot to descend, but was told by his Superiors to persevere in his austerities, which he proved by his obedience to be acceptable before God. It is necessary, then, to seek even holy things without attachment to self-will.”

And then we read of the tortures the martyrs underwent. Martyrdom is to suffer death in defense of virtue. And thus we have Saint Maria Goretti, who choose death over losing her virginity. Are we ready to suffer death in defense of virtue?

We should consider two other cases of martyrdom, because there is an important message there. First we have the forty martyrs of Sebaste. They were placed on a frozen lake to freeze to death. However, a hot bath was prepared, if any one wished to apostatize. One solider was watching them closely as they prayed through the night that God would preserve their number of forty to remain faithful. And yet, one could take it no longer and ran to warm in the hot bath. Soon, he breathed his last in that bath. The solider seeing the fortitude of the other thirty-nine declared himself a Christian and ran out to join the others on the lake. Soon forty entered heaven, the soldier taking the place of the one who apostatized.

And then there is the story of two men, Sapricius and Nicephorus. Sapricius had wronged Nicephorus, but soon thought better of it and sought to be reconciled. Nicephonrus refused for years to forgive Sapricius. And then up came a persecution and Nicephorus was taken prisoner and being led to execution. Sapricius made last try at reconciliation, but Nicephorus refused. When the final test was given to Nicephorus, he sacrificed to the idols and saved his life, losing the grace of martyrdom. This teaches us that to be ready for martyrdom, we must be living the Christian life fully, following the maxims of the Gospels.

We have been considering what a saint is not, rather than what a saint is. A saint is an ordinary person, who does ordinary things extraordinarily well. There are saints in all walks of life from the humblest to the most exalted. Basically a saint is totally conformed to the will of God. A saint is totally dead to self. Saint Paul said: “And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me.” (Galatians 2:20) Does Christ live within us?

How do we learn the will of God? Should we wait for a burning bush? Of course not, God is talking to us all of the time. Are we listening? Yes, God is talking to you right now.

We look first to the Ten Commandments, which teach us many things about how we should live. This is why we study them thoroughly in the catechism, which is another way God speaks to us. The Gospels are full of advice on how we should live our lives, which is why we should read from them daily, as well as other portions of Sacred Scripture. This leads to our spiritual reading, which is another way God speaks to us.

God speaks to us through the authorities He has placed over us. We look to our employer at work for direction on how to do our work. We look to the government in civil matters. Finally in spiritual matters we look to the Church, the Pope, the Bishop of our diocese and the Pastor of our parish. Our Pastor speaks to us in sermons. Our Confessor speaks to us in spiritual direction and in the Confessional. From the Church flow the Commandments of the Church, which is another way God speaks to us. Obedience is extremely important in the life of a Christian. “For obedience is better than sacrifices:” (I Kings 15:22) We can perform large penances, but if we are disobedient they are useless.

And God can speak to us in inspirations, which He sends to us throughout our lives. A thought pops into our head to do some good act. Do we discharge it immediately? Do we follow these inspirations?

Most saints find their way by simply doing the will of God day by day. And another way of fulfilling God's will is through the duties of our state of life. Does a mother with several small children think about whether or not she is doing the will of God? No, she simply tends to the children as needs arise, while trying to get her other work done.

Let us pray with sincerity: “Lord, make me a saint.”

Pope Michael

Dear soul, it is my joy to write to you again. I pray that you are having a fruitful Lenten season and that you are blessed with every needed grace.

Let us turn our minds once again to Evagrius as he gives us four further "chapters" on prayer. These chapters, dear soul, I think you will find to be somewhat blunt. This is a good thing. If there is one thing that making a good Lenten Fast will teach the soul, it is that the spiritual life has no need for speaking around in circles; no need for frills or frippery. During the Fast, we get down to the real business of spiritual life, and it is sometimes not at all what we may have expected.

That, too, is a good thing. Let us lay all things bare and let us examine our life under the light of supernatural grace.

Now, Lent and tears go together, dear soul. That is not to say that they are inseparable, or that there is something wrong with the Christian who does not shed tears during the prayer of the Lenten Fast. As we have learned, genuine tears are a gift of God, and God gives or does not give according as He wills. You can rest assured that He gives exactly what is needed where it is needed.

In the spirit of discernment, however, let us hear the plain words of Evagrius as he addresses the gift of genuine tears in the next two "chapters." Hear him well!

7. If you do shed tears during your prayer, do not exalt yourself, thinking you are better than others. For
your prayer has received help so that you can confess your sins readily and make your peace with the
Lord through your tears. Therefore do not turn the remedy for passions into a passion, and so again
provoke to anger Him who has given you this grace.

8. Many people, shedding tears for their sins, forget what tears are for, and so in their folly go astray.

Yes, dear soul, tears are meant not as an end in themselves, but rather are given as a help to urge us to repentance. If you are graced with the gift of tears, it is because God wishes so to soften your heart with them. Do not think yourself more blessed in this than one who does not shed tears in prayer, for it is perhaps that the one who does not weep already has a heart so like unto the that of the Saviour that he has no need of the softening action of the gift of tears. Attend, rather, to your own heart. Hasten to repentance! Tears are given you to make the way to penance that much easier to discern.

Evagrius continues:

9. Persevere with patience in your prayer, and repulse the cares and doubts that arise within you. They
disturb and trouble you, and so slacken the intensity of your prayer.

Here we see that the fruit of genuine tears is not found in doubts or in fears. Too often, one might mistake one's own tears of doubt, of frustration, or even of sorrow for the gift of holy tears. All can be turned into occasions of grace when offered unto God, this is a certainty. But one rejects the workings of grace who sheds tears over sin and yet does not resolve all the more to seek to do the will of God, and to do so not in a state of agitation, but in the state of blessed recollection. This leads us to the final "chapter" for this month, dear soul:

10. When the demons see you truly eager to pray, they suggest an imaginary need for various things,
and then stir up your remembrance of these things, inciting the intellect to go after them: and when it
fails to find them, it becomes very depressed and miserable. And when the intellect is at prayer, the
demons keep filling it with the thought of these things, so that it tries to discover more about them and
thus loses the fruitfulness of its prayer.

And here we see a deep trap which is laid for those who would pray, and one into which it is so easy to fall! How many times have each of us found ourselves there?

The one who sets about the life of prayer must cultivate a blessed dispassion in the intellect. That is, we must learn not to trust our own decision-making when it comes to matters of grace, but rather to trust the movements of God. In our intellect, we might have the inclination to think that we know best, that we know how a certain situation might play out.

All things are in God's hands, and the human will is a fickle thing. We must never become discouraged that the work of grace is met with seeming indifference or even outright hostility, especially among those who should know better. Abide, rather, in patience and in quiet with God. For how long - and how often - has God Himself put up with the folly of our own hearts? How long has God awaited our own conversion?

So likewise we must grow to be the same, to truly be like unto God. We do not know better than Almighty God Himself does. Let us rather do his holy will, and cultivate a genuine dispassion to all things which might be distracting from a fruitful life of faith.

And here I think we can leave the lessons for this month, dear soul. We have been given some blunt, heavy lessons to consider during this time of Lent. I think, though, that these lessons will serve us well.

Let us remember that all gifts are given to the glory of God and for the life of grace. Do not let the diversity of gifts be an occasion for pride, but rather for even greater working in grace. And finally, cultivate dispassion in the face of despondency by learning from the Lord Himself, Who is meek and humble of heart.

Books to feed your faith!

Arroz Rojo

A simple Lenten dish that goes well as a side or even as a main dish itself! If not using oil during Lent, you can dry-toast the rice in the pan, it will still turn out delicious!

2 cups rice
1 Tablespoon oil
1 garlic clove, diced
3 tomatoes, chopped
½ onion, chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cups peas
2 carrots, chopped
1 chili pepper, chopped
Salt to taste

Add oil to a large pan on low heat.
Add rice and toast until golden.
Add garlic, tomatoes and onion; cook until mixture is soft.
Add the broth, peas, carrots, chili pepper and salt.
When it begins to boil, reduce the heat and cover until rice is fully cooked.
Enjoy!

Makes 4–6 servings

Video sermons and instructions: Oldies but goodies! 

After Conversion

Gluttony

Curiosity

New! VIE Catholic Radio Network

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Catechism Catch-Up

The Holy Spirit's Work in the Old Testament

Living Catholic

How Would You Advise...? Part III

• Pray for Frater Francis Dominic as he teaches Catechism through the web site. We are still working on our new Website where people can listen or watch Catechism lessons, take tests, and get a certificate of completion. It will take a long time to finish it but you can see the work that we are doing and we will keep you updated on when it is completed. Check out all of the construction going on over there at Traditional Catechism.com

• God is calling men to come fully into His service with us here at the Vatican in Exile. It will be a life of self sacrifice. And so we ask all to pray for these men, that they will surrender to this calling and also have the fortitude to undertake this sacred calling.

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