As we must never forget, our final bliss in Heaven is dependent, not just on God’s Mercy but upon our each having freely co-operated with his Grace. God will not force us to be obedient and go to Heaven; the choice is ours! As the highest of God’s creations, we are endowed, from conception, with a spiritual Soul and Free-Will; we are capable of coming to know and understand His Will for us, aided in the formation of our Conscience by our Parents, Priests and Catholic schools and, as we mature (a status marked by the Sacrament of Confirmation) by our own careful study of the often challenging Teachings of the Church. We must pray, often, that we will clearly discern exactly what Vocation (or call) God is giving us. As we see, in following the news media, the traps set by Satan are numerous and, in some cases, presented under the guises of ‘Human Rights’ and ‘Love’, of which they are, in truth, a denial.
One might say that the “bottom line”, regarding our hope to receive God’s Mercy, lies in the words we say, sometimes, sadly, with little thought, virtually every day of our Life: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” or, to put it another way “Do not forgive me if I refuse to forgive others”. That is not to say that to forgive is easy; hurts and harm can penetrate deeply. It may well be, too, that it is hard, if not impossible, to forget wrongs done to us. Pope Francis, among other matters, referred to the abuse, not by strangers, but by those close to the victims. Christ, in His Passion, showed just how forgiving we must be; In the end, it is Satan who thrives on hatred and unforgiveness. As Christians, we are called to be merciful as God is merciful. That means that we must, as well as forgiving, not forget our duty to correct error; it is just as merciless to, for instance, fail to warn someone we know to be living in a sinful state as it is to refuse to forgive those who repent and ask forgiveness of us. It is NOT being judgmental and may see us fall in the ‘popularity ratings’ but this duty supersedes our possible inclinations. God, grant us the Graces we need to spread your Divine Mercy. The image above, entitled Divina Misericordia, was painted by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski in 1934. This is the only painting which was done under the indications of Sister Faustina
Christ also, as we will readily understand from praying, "....forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us...", expects us to show mercy to others.
We must, of course, regularly seek God's Mercy in Confession, so increasing (or, indeed, restoring) the Grace we need in order to avoid sin and attain Heaven. Is regular Confession a priority in your life? How about saying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as part of your preparation? Find out more about Divine Mercy HERE, and read what our Holy Father has said to us about it. This November, Month of the Holy Souls, we come to the close of the Jubilee Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis. Let us ever have before our eyes the beautiful Image of our Merciful Lord, His right hand raised in Blessing, the left indicating the rays issuing from His Pierced Heart, and say the Prayer, “Jesus, I trust in You”. Jesus explained the meaning of these rays as follows: “The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls…” (Diary, 299). Loving Mercy is continually and freely offered to us. We are in great need of It! How eager are we to repent of our sins and to ask for and accept Divine Mercy? Extracts from Saint Faustina's diary: Used with permission of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. The image above, entitled Divina Misericordia, was painted by Eugeniusz Kazimirowski in 1934. This is the only painting which was done under the indications of Sister Faustina For anyone who has had, in the past, or currently, has doubts or unanswered questions about our Wonderful Catholic Faith or finds the Teachings of the Church challenging, the Apostle, Saint Thomas, is most definitely for us! Often popularly known as Doubting Thomas, he is a likely intercessor for those who find themselves unsure in any way about the Beliefs, Teachings and Practices of the Church. His declaration that he would not believe in Christ’s Resurrection unless he could see and touch his Risen Lord, followed by his later heartfelt and, probably, shamefaced cry of “My Lord and my God”, on seeing Christ, should give us more hope that our own questionings are well understood by God Who, as the psalmist says, knows us intimately!
Our Lord, Himself, of course, is ever patient and, through His Church, wishes to enlighten us if we will but turn to Him. Standing in His place, our Priests are near at hand and ever-ready to help; together with their Seminary Formation and the Grace of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, they generally have a wealth of Pastoral experience and, while they cannot simply make doubts and fears disappear, they will surely be able to point us, should we be willing, in the right direction. It can be very instructive to read of those who have lapsed from the Faith, perhaps due to ignorance or misunderstanding of the Teachings of the Church (maybe having been influenced by the warped or distorted views of those who reject and oppose the Church) and, later in life, have found help in returning, often filled with a desire to bring others back to share their joy. There are also the conversion stories of those who have come into the Church from other Faiths. The sacrifice that may be asked of converts is clearly portrayed in Joseph Fadelle’s book, The Price to Pay, chronicling his conversion from Islam. Whether one is strong in Faith or not, such literature is a useful way of deepening one’s own Faith and Commitment, helping us to more clearly understand our own Faith. With The Holy Father’s call for Evangelisation comes a call to deepen one’s personal Faith and, of course, to be aware of how vital is one's example in living it which can say more than words alone ever could. Ignatius Press (www.ignatius.com) is one source of faithful Catholic literature to help us on our way. Think of the Spirit of God’s Love. In the Acts of the Apostles we hear Peter, our first Holy Father, proclaiming the universality (Catholic actually means Universal) of God’s Redeeming Love; in fact, if any souls are, finally, excluded from Heaven it will be solely due to their having knowingly refused God’s Loving Embrace, an invitation which continues to the very end of each life on Earth. God respects our free-will; He will not force us. Saint John, calls us to love one another as God loves us; God doesn’t just love us. He is Love itself, shown most clearly in His sending of His Divine Son to suffer and re-open the way to Heaven. Christ’s words to His Disciples re-emphasise His Loving Sacrifice of Himself on the Cross and the message that it is in obeying God that we not only prove our love for Him, but stay safe in His Arms, protected from evil.
Parents will readily understand this; you would move heaven and earth, surely even risk your lives, to keep your children from harm and they, hopefully, will grow to realise that they are safest when they (maybe reluctantly at times!) allow themselves to be guided by your ‘do’s and don’ts’; as they grow up they come to understand the great love which, sometimes, means that Mum and Dad will say ‘no’ or will insist that such and such be done, knowing better than their offspring what lies behind things which may appear very attractive. It may, sometimes, be hard to convince others of the rightness of the more challenging Teachings of Jesus, however we need look no further than His own example; when certain of His followers decided to desert Him, unable to accept His Central Teaching on Holy Communion, His Body and Blood as our Food of Life, He did not water things down but asked the Twelve who remained, “Will you also go away?”. May Love help us pursue the Truth, come what may! We have heard Jesus remind us that, “If a man serves me he must follow me” Through the Mass and the Sacraments, particularly the Eucharist and Confession, we have, readily to hand, the means by which we may follow Our Lord and live in (or even regain) the State of Grace and so be constantly prepared for our Judgement and Eternity.
We have also heard through the Charity, Aid to the Church in Need, how for the Faith from which, sadly, we can be tempted to lapse or to practice indifferently, others of our Brothers and Sisters in Christ daily incur persecution, exile and even death for publicly practising. Bishop Patrick noted the generosity of our Parish when it comes to giving financial aid to those who, on our behalf, help those in the world who are often living in dire poverty or, as we have heard, are denied their freedom to practise their Faith. Of course, as we will appreciate, this open-handedness is only of real value when it is underpinned by Faith as it is then united to God, the Author of all Goodness. While we may be limited, financially, in what we can give, spiritually we are only limited by our own determination; “Ask and you will receive….”; beginning with our Morning Offering we can dedicate every prayer, work, suffering and joy of each day to helping those who are in need of any kind. Every moment of the day can become a prayer if it is offered to God and lived in union with His Grace. As the story of The Widow’s Mite illustrates, unlike the world, God looks into our hearts and not at externally ‘significant’ actions in our lives Saint Pope John Paul II, in Domicae Cenae (1980), said, of Eucharistic Worship, that it is “….both in the celebration of Mass and in our devotion to the Blessed Sacrament….like a life-giving current that links our ministerial….Priesthood to the common Priesthood of the Faithful…”.
As we are now privileged, at St. Bartholomew’s, to be invited to adore Our Lord every day of the week, it is fervently hoped that, gradually, more and more of our Parish Community will answer Christ’s call. Even a brief visit, a reverent genuflection, maybe taking five minutes out of a busy day, can be a source of great Graces and Blessings; with very young children this can gradually be built up into longer visits as they come to appreciate and love God’s presence and never-ending Love for them and their Parents. There is a touching story of a man who, daily, would pop into church, genuflect, saying, “Jesus, this is Jim. I have to be going now. Will you come with me?” and then leave. There came the day when he was involved in a fatal accident. As he lay there, life ebbing away, he heard, “Jim, this is Jesus. I have to be going now. Will you come with me?”. This holds a clear lesson for all; if we are, to the best of our understanding and ability, faithful to Jesus, He will more than repay our love when we die. There is only one day of the year, Good Friday, when Our Blessed Lord is not present in the tabernacle. Even then we would wish to show great reverence in church; how much more, then, should we wish on every other occasion, to show those who see us, believers or not, that we are, truly, in the Presence of God. Bishop Emeritus Fabian Bruskewitz, has this to say: “..we should (even) try to be respectful and silent in church after Mass, in consideration of those who may be trying to make their thanksgiving Prayers”. We are very lucky in this Parish as groups of our fellow-Parishioners already pray the Morning Prayer of the Church before each weekday Mass and, afterwards, pray the Rosary. On some days they also pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Why not join them in swelling the river of Prayer, both for ourselves, our Families and for our suffering Brothers and Sisters who may, even today, be killed for publicly showing the Faith we can take for granted! Some Catholics, sadly, seem to believe that the Fathers at the Second Vatican Council changed swathes of Church Teaching, even concerning central Teachings of the Church. Myths have grown up surrounding Vatican II. You may even have seen unsettling changes/modifications brought in and, having questioned them, been told that you must accept them as being in 'the spirit of Vatican II', whatever that may mean. The Council was Pastoral and not called to change the unchangeable (i.e. the Teaching that Christ commanded the Apostles to pass on in its entirety) but to remind us of the universal Vocation to Holiness; we are all, without exception, Pope, Bishops, Priests, Religious and Laity, called to 'do our bit'. Saint Josemaria Escrivá, Founder of Opus Dei, had already anticipated this call, clearly teaching that every Catholic, however 'insignificant' the world might consider them or their occupation, is called to live a holy life, whether in a 'high-profile' job such as a Cardinal, for instance or a somewhat less-regarded occupation such as a road-sweeper; the Grace of God, first sanctifying us in Baptism and ever there for the asking, enables us to attain this holiness.
Parents are crucial to this way of living. Through their love for God and, so, for one another, sustained by the Graces of the Sacrament of Matrimony, they form, through example, their children; they prepare, in this way, future Parents, Priests, Religious and Singles (just as much a Vocation) to be open to God's Call, to 'carry the torch' of Faith. There is really no excuse for pleading ignorance of our role in the grand scheme of things. We are all, thank God, educated and literate. The Council Documents themselves are still readily available as are later documents, such as Veritatis Splendor' (the Splendour of Truth), from Saint Pope John Paul II; he wrote this to the world's Bishops in 1993, concerned that,"....certain fundamental truths of Catholic doctrine....risk(ed) being distorted or denied...". These and other documents make excellent discussion material. Generally these are freely available to read on-line. Try dipping into this huge library. Some real eye-openers here - a kind of Catholic 'Highway Code'! |
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Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark
A Registered Incorporated Charity - CIO No. 1173050
A Registered Incorporated Charity - CIO No. 1173050
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