Come what may, we must remain faithful to Jesus Christ: to His Church, to the Sacraments, to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and to His Real Presence among us in the Holy Eucharist. No pandemic, no crisis, no human or ecclesial authority should ever separate us from the Love and Real Presence of Christ. Only He can save us! Let us persevere unto the end.
As we pass through this supposed Coronavirus pandemic, let us have our eyes ever upon the Lord. In turning our hearts to God, we also seek the intercession if the saints, such as St Roch, and St. Rosalia. I pose to you three questions having to do with Faith which every Catholic ought to seriously ponder. [1] Do I truly believe that the most dangerous virus is sin? That sin is disastrous for the soul and the body? [2] Do I truly believe that that Jesus Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist? [3] Do I truly believe in the present reality [...]
We should obviously be careful in regards to preventing the spread of the coronavirus by practicing proper hygiene. Those who are sick should not come to Mass – out of charity to others. The history of past flus, such as the Spanish Flu (1918) or Swine Flu (2009), should serve as warnings that these diseases can be deadly. Yet more importantly, we should employ spiritual means to combat such diseases: holy water, blessed palms, scapulars, the St. Benedict Medal and processions to name a few. Churches should be open, Holy Mass available, and public prayer encouraged. Above all, this is a [...]
St. John of the Cross explains that we need two kinds of purgation to make it to the higher levels of holiness and ultimately Heaven. Active purgation is taking on voluntary penances so as to overcome ourselves, as we do in Lent. But, truth be told, we are too weak, too slow and too small of soul in performing such penances. So, God provides the needed cleansing though passive purgation. God normally does this by allowing us to undergo various trials through our neighbors, attacks by the devils, and natural disasters, war, famine, and plagues. The soul that loves God will [...]
Many people are presently very concerned over the coronavirus. This is natural. However, by far the deadliest 'virus' is sin. We should be far more concerned about the state of our soul, resisting the capital sins, and avoiding the terrible sins of blasphemy, heresy and impurity so rampant in our world. If you are not, there is something very wrong with you. Closing churches and limiting our access to the sacraments and sacramentals is not the authentically Catholic response. We should instead look to the example of St. Gregory the Great. Also, use holy water and blessed candles. In faith, we [...]
A grave error today is an inordinate focus upon - and misunderstanding of - physical evils. Sin leads to physical evils. Recall that physical evil entered the world through Adam's Original Sin. God is also NOT an 'environmentalist.' He does use natural disasters to punish sinful men. Occultists and atheists often worship the cosmos, perceiving nature as an animate 'living being' and are easily aroused over environmental issues. Christians know that the human person sums up all the best qualities of the world - and more. Man is the world in miniature. Thus, one single human is worth more than all [...]
Christian meditation is reflecting upon a mystery of Christ and thereby making it real to ourselves. The devils do all they can to prevent us from such meditation as they can't easily find entrance into a soul unless they first deprive it of all holy thoughts. With the growing rise in the occult today, how much more important it is for us to increase such prayer. Christian meditation is most especially effective when focused on the Passion of Our Lord and Savior. For example, consider that at the end of time, the Cross and all the instruments of the Passion, will be carried by angles [...]
Do you ever ask God to end your life now, thinking it be better to die than live? As man is a social being, without proper support from fellow men, he loses the will to live. Despair and depression are terrible things to struggle through. Worse, the devil preys upon it. Even great personages from the Bible struggled with this, such as Job, Elias, Tobit and Sarah. Three major points of commonality they had: [1] Living in a time of God's wrath; [2] None gave up on God; and [3] Despair was trigged by a failure in human relations (barbed words). These conditions are present today and [...]
Epicureanism, Stoicism and Pragmatism are each ethical systems that man have turned into a form of idolatry. Though some of these systems may be better than others, they all share a fundamental flaw: they are purely natural and lack a supernatural perspective. Christian morality, patterned upon Christ, is based on supernatural charity and is epitomized by a willingness to sacrifice for the good of another person. Lent is coming! This is a privileged time to grow in this sacrificial love. There will indeed by unexpected crosses and tests to help us fill up what is needed tp perfect our supernatural love.
Our lack of mortification prevents us from receiving grace and drawing sufficiently near to God. Too often, our appetites, passions and desires are unruly and out of control. We can only rein them in by dying to our selves. Lent is a privileged time for us to grow spiritually by practicing such penance. Perhaps the most pervasive manner in which we indulge our passions, seeking ease and entertainment, is through technological gadgets. Through technology, man easily avoids his duties of state and can escape from reality into a virtual world. Why not take the challenge of giving our 'tech rewards' for [...]
