Volume V/Issue 7/October 2020

The Second Conversion

Those of us baptized as infants have what the spiritual authors call a second conversion. When we reach the age of reason, we can now choose between good and evil. Some day we must choose good in order to go home eventually to heaven. This choice is called a conversion, because it is the same choice an adult makes, when they choose to come to the Church and follow the teachings of the Gospel.

If we do not choose good, then we will choose evil and begin a life of sin, beginning with little venial sins. Although we are choosing evil, we are also studying the Catechism and hearing sermons that tell us to choose good. In the Catechism we learn of the evil of sin and that it has grades, mortal and venial. We learn that one unrepented mortal sin is a ticket to hell, whereas a million venial sins will only earn Purgatory. And this is where we make a big mistake.

Sin is a poison to our soul. Mortal sin is a fast acting poison, which kills off grace at once. Venial sin is a slow poison that weakens our soul. Wisdom tells us: "he that contemneth small things, shall fall by little and little." (Ecclesiasticus 19:1) Slowly we slide down the slippery slope until that first mortal sin entices us. We may resist it, but eventually we find a sin that is just too tempting, and then we commit our first mortal sin. The second is easier than the first. If we are still assisting at Mass weekly, we may begin the habit of confessing every time we commit a mortal sin. We soon forget, that an essential part of the Sacrament of Penance is a firm purpose of amendment, which we do not have. The sin we confess Saturday afternoon we may have already made plans on getting into the near occasion of that very sin next Friday night.

Eventually we are in the habit of committing sin, confessing, then returning to the same sin over and over again. We are definitely in need of conversion. If we don't convert, we will perish as Scripture says: "No, I say to you: but unless you shall repent, you shall all likewise perish." (Luke 13:3,5) Pope Pius IX, who read the Secret of La Salette was asked what it contained and he quoted this Scripture and told those questioning that this is all they needed to know. Indeed, this is what we all need to know.

Before our real conversion, we may be proud of being practicing Catholics. We are faithful to Sunday Mass. We faithfully contribute to the work of the Church, but we will be ready to proudly brag that we gave half of the extra pay we got from that last day of over time. We are proud to be Catholic, when Catholicism is a religion of humility.

Shortly after Pentecost, Peter told a crowd: "Be penitent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." (Acts 3:19) There are two types of saints. The first, like Saint Therese of Lisieux, never commit a mortal sin. Yes they need conversion, if they were baptized as infants. The second and far larger class are penitents. A penitent is a person who has committed one or more mortal sins and leaves his life of sin for a life of virtue. Father Mateo, founder of the movement of Enthronement of the Sacred Heart last century, tells us that eighty-five percent of the Saints were penitents. Saint John Vianney tells us: "The saints did not all begin well; but they all ended well." Conversion is the beginning of ending well.

"And Jesus calling unto him a little child, set him in the midst of them, and said: Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the greater in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:2-4) Conversions means a return to spiritual childhood. Consider how trusting a child is of his father. We must be just that trusting in God the Father.

Conversion, according to the Fathers of the Church is a complete change of customs and habits. We change from lax Catholicism, which is on the edge of mortal sin, to a life of virtue. When we convert, we will find things that must be removed from our lives. This may even require spiritual surgery. "And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh." (Ezechiel 36:26) Yes we have had spiritual heart disease and God may have to do surgery to remove our hardened heart and replace it with a new heart; a heart docile to Almighty God.

We are changing a barn full of manure (sin) into a church full of grace. What we must realize is that our life has been a mistake, because we have compromised with sin, making our pet sin an essential part of life. It is this compromise with sin that must end. Sin must no longer be a part of our lives.

The Council of Trent tells us that to prepare for death, the whole life of a Christian ought to be a perpetual repentance. Self-denial is an essential part of repentance, because it is selfishness that underlies our sins. Sin is selfishness in action. Self-indulgence blocks grace in our lives. Mortification is the enemy of self-indulgence. By mortification we regulate our lives in a proper manner, putting self last where it belongs, seeking God first. Saint Paul says: "For if you live according to the flesh, you shall die: but if by the Spirit you mortify the deeds of the flesh, you shall live." (Romans 8:13)

John the Baptist said: "Do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 3:2) A footnote in the Bible says: "Penance: Which word, according to the use of the scriptures and the holy fathers, does not only signify repentance and amendment of life, but also punishing past sins by fasting, and such like penitential exercises." Our biggest problem here is that we attempt to cover our sins by acts of penance without any true repentance. Look at the publican in Scripture: "O God, I give thee thanks that I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as also is this publican. I fast twice in a week: I give tithes of all that I possess." (Luke 18:11-12) How many of us say a daily Rosary, abstain from meat on Fridays and observe the fast laws of the Church and yet are unconverted? Penance without repentance is worthless. What did Jesus say of the Publican? "I say to you, this man (the publican) went down into his house justified rather than the other (pharisee): because every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled: and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted." (Luke 18:14)

Let us conclude with some thoughts. First of all, sin is the only evil in the world and must be completely removed from our lives. Secondly venial sin leads to mortal sin. "he that contemneth small things, shall fall by little and little." (Ecclesiasticus 19:1) Therefore we must also remove all habits of sin, mortal and venial from our lives. This is the penance we begin with. All other penances are undertaken in order to aid us in accomplishing our goal as Jesus told two different people: "Go now and sin no more."

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The Pope Speaks: October 2020

How to Prepare For a Time of Persecution And Turmoil

 

In times of ease and comfort, we lose sight of the fact that times of unrest, turmoil and even persecution will come. During these times we cease to be the Church Militant here on earth and become rather the Church Comfortable. Instead of being men and women of faith, we become lax in our our Faith and the practice of that Faith through living the life of the Gospels and Sacred Scripture. We cease to be true penitents, but are rather looking to draw a line between mortal sin and venial sin and stay on the heaven side of that line. Prayer has become a few empty words we mutter occasionally, rather than a way of life that penetrates our heart and soul. We flirt with sin as if were a mere trifle, dismissing it as, only a venial sin, as if a little poison is not bad for you. We overindulge on Saturday night, only to go to another empty Confession on Sunday morning. We are Catholic in name only, not in the true Spirit of Catholicism. If Jesus were to return today, He would call us whited sepulchers. (Matthew 23:27)

If some missionary priest comes in for a mission, we may warm the pews a night or two, but ignore his sermon urging us to repentance. As far as we are concerned, we are not as the rest of men (Luke 18:11), and have no need of repentance. Oh, someday when we are old we will get a bit more serious about things, but today we have to put up with the world, so why shouldn't we enjoy a bit of it as compensation?

Unfortunately our pastors are not much better than we are. They have ceased to be men of prayer, but are happy with rushing through their Breviary and get about their profession. No longer is the priesthood a sublime calling, but another profession similar to doctor or lawyer. Oh yes, it is a high calling, but we should not work any harder than our counter parts in the world. It is enough to reign in vice enough to keep it from getting out of hand, but our poor people have it so hard.

Over the years We have read much from many kinds of priests and people prior to the upheaval of the 1960's. In a book, one priest said he no longer gave a sermon the Sunday before Ash Wednesday on the fast laws, because he figured the only ones truly bound were a few of the people in the pews and himself. He considered most of the people, because of the burden of every day life in the mid 20^th century were not bound by the fast laws any longer. In the same era, one could go priest shopping for a confessor who would allow you to use birth control. (We will not go into the arguments they used to justify this action.) Those few who can remember, think back to these days. We call this '50's Catholicism.

Unfortunately Traditionalism in its early days, when it realized what was happening to the Catholic Church to revise it into a new sect at and in the spirit of Vatican II, wanted to restore the Church to an earlier age. They were a few comments, such as, "The Church needs a good inquisition" or "The Church needs a good persecution." However, there was not much talk of a reform, only a step back a decade or two to the 1950's. The were thinking, life was good and easy then. They longed for the garlic, onions and other food of Egypt, (Numbers 11:5) not realizing that at the time they were slaves, slaves to sin. True people became more serious about a few things, but they longed for a return of '50's Catholicism, not realizing that '50's Catholicism led to '60's apostasy.

In a time of ease, we need to prepare for a return to battle. We are only on leave from the battled field, it has not gone a way. "And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away." [Matthew 11:12] We are called the Church Militant for a reason, for our enemies surround us, the world, the flesh and the devil. In a time of ease, these are the only ones surrounding us, whereas in a time of persecution, the world is persecuting us. The choice is clear, the world or Catholicism. There is no middle ground of laxity, because the world is no longer tolerating us.

We should always be prepared that everything can be taken away from us. Not just material goods, more importantly spiritual goods. The church may be open this Sunday for Mass, but will it be next Sunday? How truly prepared are we for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? How truly prepared are we for Holy Communion?

Saint John Vianney tells us: "All the life of a Christian ought to be a preparation for that great action. (i.e. Holy Communion)" If we are truly living a life of preparation for Holy Communion, we will be zealous in our Faith. They may close our churches, but they cannot take away our Faith. We may be unable to pray with our fellow Catholics, but we can always pray to God in our exile.

Churches are just now reopening, but many think that not everyone will return. This is because we have not been prepared how to practice our Faith without all of the normal helps we find in the church building. We have not been built into solid men and women preparing for sainthood. Instead our lax way of life has been tolerated and after a couuple of months away from making any sacrifice to assist at Mass, we have learned how to live without it. It is only when something, especially something as important as the Mass is taken from you, that you begin to either really appreciate it or to consider that was a bother and waste of time. You either become serious about your Faith or you leave it entirely.

In the 1960's and early 1970's the changes as a result of Vatican II and its spirit resulted in a loss of faith for many. Traditionalism was born in order to preserve the Faith in our souls. Then we awoke one day to find that not only were they taking away or Faith, they were had taken the Mass as well. Destroy the Faith and you will destroy the Mass. Some of us feared that the Antichrist might be on the horizon: "And he shall confirm the covenant with many, in one week: and in the half of the week the victim and the sacrifice shall fail: and there shall be in the temple the abomination of desolation: and the desolation shall continue even to the consummation, and to the end." [Daniel 9:27]

In the late 1960's and early 1970's it was possible to go months without assisting at Mass. Traditionalists soon realized that the Novus Ordo was not a true Mass pleasing to Almighty God. It was a natural result of the theology behind the sermons that were slowly driving us away from the churches that called themselves Catholic, "but do lie." (Apocalypse 3:9)

Today, you may not agree with Our assessment of the crisis. There is much discussion about that Soon the discussion will end, because the next persecution will be upon us. We are not here to encourage you to accept Our position, but to issue a warning, persecution is coming. It is time to prepare ourselves spiritually for it. What are you going to do, when they come to your door and ask you to give up your Faith or die? They may be along with guns to show they mean business. Of course, it may not happen this way. The temptation to abandon Jesus Christ will likely be more subtle. We need to be prepared for any manner of persecution.

First of all, '50's Catholicism must be recognized for what it is, a road to hell. We cannot compromise with the world in any way, but must draw the line where it belongs, between virtue and vice, not between lesser vice and more serious vice. A man who gets close to drunk every Saturday night, but confesses every Sunday morning, is not far from approving of his daughter's abortion. Relaxation in our war against sin is the road to mortal sin. "he that contemneth small things, shall fall by little and little." (Ecclesiasticus 19:1)

However, our focus should not be on sin, because this is wrong. After we truly repent of our sins and confess them, we should put them in the past and haul them out with the garbage. "And be not conformed to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind," (Romans 12:2) Notice we leave the world and renew our mind. It is time to brainwash ourselves. That is wash our brain clean of all wrong thinking. The way to do this is not to focus on our wrong thinking, but rather immerse ourselves in right thinking. If you fall into a cesspool, do you look back to the cesspool for clean water to wash with? Of course not, you look for a nice shower to wash away the grime.

The purpose of the Olive Tree and our other work here is to help you immerse yourselves in truth. This has become our way of life for the same reason it should become yours. We have been out in the world and through the grace of God have been led away. God will lead you too.

Christianity has always been a way of life, not a few practices we perform under some sort of obligation. We literally have to put our heart into Christianity. Scriptures are full of instructions on how to do this. Some may seem difficult, or even a bit hard to understand, especially at first. This is where we turn to the Fathers of the Church and the Saints, who have gone where we need to go. And let us always remember our goal is to become a Saint. No we do not expect our name to ever be exalted from the altars in canonization. Humility forbids us to even think of this. No, rather we want to become saints in a quiet out of the way manner. Our definition of a Saint is an ordinary person, who does ordinary things extraordinarily well. Saints are canonized as examples to us of some virtue.

True some Saints have had extraordinary things happen to them, such as visions and locutions. God has worked miracles through some, during their life. Sanctity does not consist in these extraordinary things. In fact, there are some who God has worked through, who may be burning in hell. Saint Teresa of Avila was shone the place in hell reserved for her, if she had continued to hold back from Jesus a request He had made to her. Visits from Jesus, Mary or the Saints is not a guarantee of heaven. Miracles are not a guarantee of salvation. The Saints knew this and shied away from such extraordinary events as much as they could. They knew the danger in these things.

Saint Therese of Lisieux with her little way knew that sanctity consists in being faithful in little things. "Good servant, because thou hast been faithful in a little, thou shalt have power over ten cities." [Luke 19:17] It is this faithful in little things we need to get with. If we are faithful in little things, if God sends us a big test, He will send us the grace we need to handle it.

The stories of the great fortitude of the martyrs are told to us to inspire us. However, let us consider that the whole life of a Christian is a life of martyrdom, where we die to ourselves and live for Jesus Christ. (Galatians 2:20)

Let us close with this thought from the holy Cure of Ars, not all of the Saints began well, but they all ended well.

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Saints from East and West

October 3 - Saint Therese of Lisieux.

"Amen I say to you, unless you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3)

At her First Communion Saint Therese made a resolution to never become discouraged. This is the foundation of her spiritual life and helped her through her spiritual struggles. Yes all of the Saints have spiritual struggles.

Therese was beyond this early in her life. However, she did have what the spiritual authors call a second conversion. This is the time in life, when you begin to take the spiritual life more seriously.

Therese was eventually admitted to the Carmelites and began the last part of her short life, which lasted about thirty-four and a half years. She began her quest for spiritual childhood.

Her first realization is that God can never inspire someone with desires that cannot be fulfilled. She resolved, therefore, to become a saint. We are all called to sanctity and saintliness. So she was not desiring what actually happened, her eventual canonization. Humility would never inspire such a desire. She desired what God desires for all, humble quiet sainthood.

She soon realized that by her own efforts, she could not climb the steep road to perfection, so she looked for another way. She had seen elevators, which had been invented before she was born and people were installing in buildings and homes. Since she could not climb the stairs, she looked for an elevator to reach Almighty God. She looked in Sacred Scripture for the answer.

The first step was found in Proverbs (9:4): "Whosoever is a little one, let him come to me." As a child she began the trip, still seeking the elevator. She found the elevator in Isaias (66:12-13): "you shall be carried at the breasts, and upon the knees they shall caress you. As one whom the mother caresseth, so will I comfort you, and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem." Jesus invites little ones to approach Him, as we read in Luke (18:16): "Jesus, calling them together, said: Suffer children to come to me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God." She had found the elevator: "Thine arms, O my Jesus, are the elevator which must raise me to heaven."

She would write in her autobiography, which her Mother Superior had commanded her to write: "I must remain little, I must become even smaller than I am. My God, Thou has gone beyond my desire and I will sing Thy mercies." She had found the key to the spiritual life: "All Thee, Almighty God, and no me."

One may ask how she became well known. Each Carmelite convent writes once a year a letter on spiritual matters to be sent to all of the other convents. After Therese died, her autobiography was read. Her convent decided to send her autobiography as their letter soon after her death. Soon her autobiography was printed and translated throughout the world. In this way her little way came to be known world wide to inspire us to look for the same elevator she did.

Therese made humility the foundation of her little way of spiritual childhood. Her teaching can be summed up: "Love God and offer Him many little sacrifices; abandon yourself to His arms like a little child."

 

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October 10 - Saints Eulampius and Eulampia, Martyrs.

The Holy Martyrs Eulampius and Eulampia, a brother and sister by birth, lived at the beginning of the fourth century in the city of Nicomedia. 

Having read the decree of the emperor Maximian (284-305) putting every Christian under a sentence of death by execution, Eulampius became upset that the emperor, rather than going off to fight the enemies of his fatherland, instead was taking up arms against his own subjects. 

They brought the youth to trial and demanded that he renounce the Christian faith. For his refusal they first tore at him with iron hooks, and then they placed him upon a red-hot bed. 

Of a sudden the sufferer expressed a wish to visit the pagan temple. The judges were delighted, supposing that they had swayed the youth from Christianity. In the pagan temple of Mars the saint cried out: "In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I command thee, idol dumb and without soul, fall down upon the ground and be turned to dust!" The idol with a crash smashed down upon the ground. People exclaimed: "The Supreme God is the Christian God, great and mighty!" The saint again was taken off for torture. 

This time the sister of the sufferer, Eulampia, appeared before the judges and declared that she also was a Christian. Eulampius encouraged his sister: "Sister, fear not those killing the body, but unable to kill the soul" (Mt. 10:28). After tortures they threw the martyrs into a red-hot furnace, but the Lord protected them from the fire. Finally, they beheaded the brother, and the sister died from the tortures.

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Books to feed your faith!

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Crispy Roast Chicken

Ingredients
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 tablespoons paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon onion powder
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (4 pound) broiler-fryer chicken, cut in half lengthwise

Directions

In a spice grinder or mortar, combine kosher salt, caraway seeds, sage, fennel, coriander, and rosemary. Grind to a coarse powder. Transfer spice mixture to a bowl and stir in paprika, garlic powder, flour, and onion powder; mix in vegetable oil to make a smooth paste.

Pat chicken halves dry with paper towels and tuck wing tips up behind the back. Brush spice paste onto chicken halves, coating both sides, taking care to season under wings and legs. Place chicken halves in baking dish or roasting pan with skin sides up, leaving space around chicken so halves aren't touching.

Roast in preheated oven until a thermometer inserted in a thigh reads 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), about 1 hour. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

  

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

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The Fourth Commandment: Lesson 11

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The Principle of Ownership

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