When writing to the Corinthian, Paul expressed his feeling with great fortitude: “I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12. 7-9)
You, like me, must be taken up from time to time with the example of the martyrs in the Church who suffered painfully and died agonising deaths because of their belief in Jesus Christ. I often think of Thomas More, sitting in his damp cold cell in the Tower of London, and reflecting on his life and actions. He had held high office in the land, he talked and consulted with the King, he was looked upon as a learned man, had a wife and family living in comfortable surroundings, and was looked after by faithful servants. And now here he was having lost everything and in a few weeks time would be climbing the scaffold for execution. And it had come to this because he could not, and would not, deny the Lord Jesus who died on Calvary to set mankind free. And yet his spiritual guardians and leaders, the Bishops apart from John Fisher, were all caving in to Henry, and this must have caused More great sorrow and distress, because in his heart of hearts he knew he was right, that it was the way of salvation, the way of Calvary.
There are many men and women in past history who, like St Thomas More, have preferred death to life, and if we were to list them their names would fill page after page.
In this present time, as we make our way in the last three weeks of Lent, we see in the liturgy the storm clouds gathering round the figure of Jesus. He is not acceptable to the Scribes and Pharisees, He says what they don’t want to hear, He is making their situation, comfortable as it is, dangerously unstable, so steps must be taken to have Him removed. In Holy Week we will see the Lord’s sufferings increase and especially on Holy Thursday evening we will recall the crushing agony He endured in the Garden of Gethsemane.
A biblical commentator (Fr J LaPlace sj) expressed it in these terms:
"The agony is one of the most mysterious scenes we find in the Gospels. The believer may only approach it with extreme discretion. Here the prayer of Jesus manifests its depth but also its simplicity and its humanity. Jesus finds Himself caught in all man’s evil and allows Himself to be crushed by it. He who is without sin finds Himself to be crushed and enmeshed in it; sees it approaching in the person of His enemies who are plotting His death, and especially in the person of Judas who becomes like the embodiment of evil."
The secret of the martyrs' courage was not that they were fearless people, having no horror of being disembowelled, hanged or burnt to death. They were terrified, but found solace and strength in Christ whose power and love flowed through their veins, and so they were equipped to face the horrors about to be inflicted on them. Like St Paul, when they were weak it was then they were strong.
We now, in the 21st Century, for the most part have a comfortable existence. We have freedom of movement and are able to worship God when we want. Technology has spread in leaps and bounds. Medicine in all areas has and is working marvels, with the result that we are living longer than our forbears. Yet, you know and I know that our world, our society is very sick. For those of us who believe in God and His Commandments, who believe in Christ and His Church, who believe in the intercession of Mary, Mother of God and all the Saints, we are now finding that there is much opposition to all that we hold as precious. There is a certain amount of sophistication in the air, but when we begin to dig a little deeper we find there is much opposition and in places overt persecution.
True, there is the sadness and sorrow of great wrongdoing and scandal in the Church, but it is being used to smear those who are living good lives and with the help and assistance of God’s grace to give a good example to others. St John in his Gospel refers to the ‘Prince of this world’ and we must be aware that, as St Peter has told us, he is going around like a roaring lion to see who he can devour. It is all too obvious in our television programmes, magazines, modern music of the worst type and aspects of modesty in dress and behaviour. We believe that we are pilgrims on our way to the Kingdom of God and until that day, as St Augustine tells us,“the Church progresses on her pilgrimage amidst this world’s persecutions and God’s consolations”.
This, surely, is the reason why Mary has been coming to us in Medjugorje for such a long time, to encourage us, to support us, to enable us to believe more firmly and to be constant in the practice of and witness to the Gospel of her Son. Unless we are united to Christ each day in our prayer, united to Him in the Sacrifice of the Mass and Holy Communion, united to Him in sorrow for our sins and healed by His touch in the Sacrament of Penance, unless we are ‘in Christ’, then we will fail through weakness.
So, there is no reason for us to be afraid. The Lord has told us many times not to fear, because He is with us and we must remember that He has conquered the world. One day you and I, no matter how long we live, must die, and we pray that our death will be holy and that we will be welcomed into the joy of Heaven to live in God’s presence. We must pray for a happy death and for the grace to prepare for it. The words of the Imitation of Christ help us to reflect on this:
‘Every action of yours, every thought, should be those of one who expects to die before the day is out. Death would have no great terrors for you if you had a quiet conscienc.... Then why not keep clear of sin instead of running away from death? If you aren’t fit to face death today, it’s very unlikely you will be tomorrow.' (Imitation 1,23,1)
Fr John McCaffery ofm
An Easter Reflection Jesus came into this world for one purpose. He came to give us the Good News that God loves us, that God is love, that He loves you and He loves me. He wants us to love one another as He loves each one of us. Let us love Him. How did the Father love Him. He gave Him to us. How did Jesus love you and me? By giving his life. He gave all that He had- His life – for you and me. He died on the cross because He loved us, and He wants us to love one another as He loves each one of us. When we look at the Cross we know how He loved us. When we look at the manger we know how He loves us now, you and me, your family, and everybody’s family with a tender love. And God loves us with a tender love. That is all Jesus came to teach us, the tender love of God: ‘I have called you by your name, you are mine.'
(Blessed Teresa of Calcutta)
Every Blessing of the Risen Christ at Easter to all Members of the Apostolate.
Fr. John ofm
What is the point of Lent ?
It may be that already we are a little bit tired of Lent and its observances; and yet it has hardly begun.There are still quite a few weeks to go. So what do we do? Give up, or just grit our teeth and get on with it, if we want to do the Christian minimum?
In my room here in the Franciscan Friary, on the wall beside my bed I have a reproduction of Christ by the painter El Greco. I always remember seeing the original in the National Gallery at an exhibition of his work. Irecall turning to the right and finding myself riveted by this painting of Christ.His eyes pierced me and I was spellbound and unaware of all around me for those few moments. Admittedly it was a moment of grace,and it led me to buy a reproduction in the National Gallery in Edinburgh and now it has a commanding place in my room. Christ is portrayed with his right hand in blessing and his left hand is shown on the world, a small section which is seen at the bottom of the picture. Around his head is the glory of Divinity but, for me, it is the eyes that speak so eloquently. What do I hear, what is the message for my life?
“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carryingheavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me;for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy and my burden light.”Mt 11. 28-30
“I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Mt.18.3
“Ifany want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”Lk.9.23
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they doing.”Jn 23.34
“ Abide in me as I abide in you”.Jn 15.4.
“ As the Father has loved me so I have loved you; abide in my love”.Jn 23.9
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”John 6. 35
“ I am the resurrection and the life.” Jn 11.25
These are some of the helps I receive as I look into Christ’s eyes and he returns the gaze; and he is also reminding me of his Real Presence, because I have only to walk a short distance to the small oratory and I find myself in his Presence in the Blessed Sacrament.And all this brings us back to the season of Lent, which is a holy time and to be used in a special way for our own spiritual benefit.
We are all too well aware that our world is in a sad state, economically, morally, and spiritually. We cannot help but be witnesses of all that is taking place around us. Reverence for and the dignity of life are fast disappearing: immoral lifestyles are openly paraded, disasters killing thousands of innocent people, and the frightful scandal of bad example affecting our young people.The scenario can be rather frightening, but this surely is the healing balm of Lent. We are reminded of the other world which is under threat of suffocation, the world of Love, the world of peace, the world of forgiveness, the world of Jesus Christ. He says to us today, not to be afraid, because he is with us. He reminds us to come to him each day in prayer and hear his consoling words that he has conquered the world. He invites us to come more often to him in the Sacrament of Penance and be comforted and strengthened by his gentle forgiveness of our faults and failings. How many times do we hear his voice calling us to enter more deeply into his life through the Sacrifice of the Mass and receiving him in Holy Communion.All these aids flowing from Christ enable us to be loyal and true in his service, and fit us for the battle which is going on around us and attempting to drag us down in every way possible.Lent is a vivid reminder of the words of Jesus to the Greeks who came to see him. We don’t know their question but we do know the answer of the Lord, which we must follow in our own lives:
“Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit”. Jn 12.24
Our Lady’s message last month is a simple repetition of her Son’s words when she said
"Dear Children,May this time be a time of personal prayer for you, so that the seed of faith may grow in your hearts; and may it grow into a joyful witness to others. I am with you and I desire to inspire you all: grow and rejoice in the Lord who has created you. Thank you for having responded to my call." 25 Jan 2010
Medjugorje continues to be in the news and Mary for the past 28 years has been calling us to take the words of the Lord, her Son, very seriously. This is the whole point of Lent.Our times are troubled, and the only answer to all our problems, nationally and worldwide, does not lies with presidents, prime ministers or the intellectual elite. The only powerful answer is to be found in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who said:
"I have come as light into the world, so that everyonewho believes in me should not remain in darkness. I do not judge anyone who hears my words and does not keep them, for I came not to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my word has a judge: on the last day the word that I have spoken will serve as judge,for I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment aboutwhat to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I speak, therefore, I speak just as the Father has told me.” Jn 12.46-50
Darkness or Light ?
St Peter, in his second Letter, refers to that tremendous event on Mount Tabor, which he and the two other apostles, James and John, witnessed with their own eyes. He also mentions the majestic voice from Heaven, declaring: This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. And the Apostle Peter continues:
So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (2 Pet 1.19)
I feel these words of the Apostle are important for us as we are now entering a New Year. Peter reminds us that the Lord is the fulfilment of all the prophets and He is also the One whom we follow for guidance, truth and light. The world in which we live for the most part has set aside the teaching of the Lord and the prophecies, deciding to follow the way of darkness, gloom and error. For us the words of the prophets and the great event of the Transfiguration form a guarantee of the second coming of the Lord. We have accepted the teaching of Christ, we profess our faith in what He has said and we have dedicated our lives to the way of life He has offered us in the Gospel.
We know that when we give ourselves to the love of the Master, He abides with us, we have His support and there is no doubt that we are aware of a lamp shining in a dark place. The light of Christ is a tremendous help and comfort and when we are led astray to other paths we notice the darkness that overtakes us. We are living at a period of history where darkness seems to dominate and gives the impression of winning. Not so! The Lord has told us that He has vanquished the world. We are not to be afraid. We are still in Christmastide, when we recall how God became one of us in order to bring us Love, and this season helps us to realise that we can approach Him without fear, and accept the strength, confidence, and radiant light which only He can give.
Just recall the beautiful words of Zechariah which he addressed to his infant son, John the Baptist, about his future task: By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1.78-79) We can all find great encouragement in these words if only we spend time in reflecting on them, in allowing God into our lives with His Light and Love.
Cardinal Comastri offered a reflection prior to Christmas, as a guide to fruitful celebration of the occasion, and in part said this: Men have exchanged joy for pleasure; how deceitful! Pleasure tickles the flesh and thus fades suddenly, needing to be continually and insatiably repeated; joy, instead, is the thrill of the soul that reaches Bethlehem, sees God, and remains fascinated and involved in the feast of pure love. This sadly is the world in which we live, which has chosen darkness rather than light, pleasure instead of joy, and which is attempting to lure us from the way of Christ to the domination of a worldly spirit.
As we kneel before the crib and see the image of Mary tending her infant Son, we are reminded that she has been coming to us in Medjugorje for a very long time, reminding us again and again to be serious in following the Gospel, to be reflections of her Son, in other words to bring Light into the darkness of our society. The way ahead may well be very challenging and may well involve pain and suffering, but we have the assurance of Christ Himself: Do not be afraid, I am with you.
As we prepare to welcome the New Year, 2010, we turn to Mary, the Mother of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and listen carefully to her words.
Dear Children, today I thank you for every sacrifice that you have offered for my intentions. I call you, little children, to be my apostles of peace and love in your families and in the world. Pray that the Holy Spirit may enlighten and lead you on the way of holiness. I am with you and bless you all with my motherly blessing. Thank you for having responded to my call. (25 June 2005)
MAY THE LORD OF HISTORY GUIDE AND PROTECT YOU ALL IN THE COMING YEAR, AND MAY HE BESTOW HIS GRACE AND THE LIGHT OF HIS LOVE UPON YOU AS YOU FOLLOW HIM IN FAITHFULNESS.
Fr John McCaffery ofm
Reflections for Christmas
On the 19th December Pope Benedict XVI raised his predecessor Pope John Paul II to the status of ‘Venerable’. This made me reflect on the relations of Pope John Paul and the Franciscans and the occasions when he visited Assisi as well as other shrines associated with St Francis and St Clare. On 2nd January 1983 he visited Greccio in the Rieti Valley, and his words to the Friars and those assembled for the event give us pause for thought in our own time. Here are some of his thoughts :
“The name of Greccio passed into history at Christmas 1223 when, that is, St Francis built the first Crib there. It was a mystical and popular intuition which spread throughout the world, giving rise to a ferment of Christian life.... Jesus Christ, who was made flesh and died for mankind, is the centre of the spirituality of Francis. The mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption were everything for him who was trying to adhere to the Master through such a very literal imitation.... Francis was in continuous dialogue with Jesus Christ; he had Him intervene in disputes over the Rule, he asked Him for advice, comfort and help. It can be said that he lived in His continuous presence.... Bring the Good News, which is a proclamation of hope, of reconciliation, and of peace, to this our age; resurrect Christ in the heart of the distressed and oppressed men; be custodians and witnesses to all of the hope which does not disappoint. Be like Francis, ‘Heralds of the Great King’ (1 Cel 16).”
We know well enough of Pope John Paul’s great love of Mary who brought Christ into our world. Also it has been made known that he took a great interest in the events of Medjugorje and followed all that was taking place with diligence. Mary, our Mother, has been calling us to wake up and live each day for her Son. She has been urging us onwards for the last twenty-eight years and we have to ask ourselves the serious question: Have I taken Mary’s call seriously and does the Gospel, the Word of God, make a vital difference in my life? To aid us, let us this Christmas reflect on the message of Christmas day 20 years ago and renew our lives.
Dear Children, Today I bless you in a special way with my motherly blessing and I am interceding for you before God that He gives you the gift of conversion of heart. For years I am calling you and exhorting you to a deep spiritual life in simplicity, but you are so cold. Therefore, little children, I ask you to accept and live the messages with seriousness, so that your soul will not be sad when I will no longer be with you, and when I will no longer lead you like insecure children in their first step. Therefore, little children, every day read the messages that I have given you and transform them into life. I love you and therefore I am calling you all to the way of salvation with God. Thank you for having responded to my call. (25th December 1989)
May God bless you all abundantly and may you know the warmth of His Love
Longing for God
We all remember the famous words of St Augustine when he said that our hearts were made for God and that they would be restless until they rested in Him. Is that how you feel at this moment? Do I feel like this? I think we can give an honest ‘Yes’ when we have allowed time to be with the Lord and not been bombarded with the attacks and invitations of the world. And surely this is what Advent is concerned with - longing to be more fully with the Lord, and we can capture the mood of the Israelites when they were full of expectancy waiting for the coming of the Messiah. The first stanza of Psalm 63 expresses this:
O God, you are my God, for you I long; For you my soul is thirsting. My body pines for you like a dry, weary land without water. So I gaze on you in the sanctuary to see your strength and your glory.
This could be our meditation theme for Advent, it reminds us of the One who has come and will come again, day by day, for those who truly seek Him. Mary, the Virgin of Nazareth brought Jesus into our world, and from her place in Heaven has been coming to us for many, many years to remind us that her Son must be an intimate part of our life. There is much chaos in our world, morally, physically, spiritually; and there are vast numbers of people trying to find peace and harmony in their lives. Sadly they go about this the wrong way and take drugs, sex or alcohol, and their plight gets worse instead of improving.
But we must not be overwhelmed by this, because there is a solution and it is simply in meeting Christ. That is faith. With the eyes of faith we see Christ our Risen Lord standing before us, arms outstretched and inviting us to be part of His life. If we really allow this to happen our lives begin to glow with a radiance which we feel in our souls, and we become aware of a powerful tranquillity which the world cannot give us. We simply hear His words and buried deep in our hearts they give us wonderful power and strength ‘I am the Way the Truth and the Life.’ ‘With me you can do anything.’
We feel His loving power when we receive the Sacrament of Penance and our sins are blotted out; we feel His loving presence when we receive Him in Holy Communion; we are aware of His attention when we spend time with Him in prayer, talking to Him as the best Friend we have. Those are just three ways of deepening our relationship with the Lord and we will become aware over time how much His presence means to us. It is only then that we can do what our Lady requests at Medjugorje:
I desire, little children, all of you who have felt the odour of holiness through these messages which I am giving you, to carry it into this sad world which is hungry for God and His love. (25 March 1994)
So perhaps we can devote our Advent time to concentrating on these three aspects of our faith. Holy Mass is a great experience and we can always learn more about the meaning and significance of the renewal of the Sacrifice of Calvary. Men and women down the centuries became saints through living the Mass daily; the martyrs died in defence of this great Mystery; and the more we know the more we love. Remember how Our Lady has urged all of us to let the Mass be our life, and when we do that people begin to see the light of Christ in our lives.
During Advent we could also pay more attention to the wonderful Sacrament of Penance, which is what I call a growth Sacrament. We do not have to be terrible sinners to go to this sacrament, but if we want to be bastions of holiness then we need the grace of the Sacrament frequently. Our sinful nature is always ready to drag us down, and it is only when we grow in the strength of Christ that we can win the fight against Satan. He loathes holiness and also those who make the effort to be true followers of Jesus. So be prepared!
Then we have prayer, a sacred time to be with the Lord. Our Lady has told us to ask the Holy Spirit to come upon us with the power of prayer, and so our lives will change and we will know great peace. We must each day seek the Heart of God with our own heart and gradually we make progress in the ways of the Lord. Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity has a beautiful description of prayer. She writes: Prayer is a rest, a relaxation. We come quite simply to Him whom we love; we keep close to Him like a little child in its Mother’s arms and let our hearts go out to Him. Time spent in prayer is never wasted, though we will be tempted to give up and do something ‘more useful’. It’s an old trap.
Time during Advent is a time to be vigilant, in other words to keep our eyes on the Lord; and when we do we find ourselves fully aware of His Presence, because He did say: I will be with you always. (Mt 28.20)
______________________
fr John McCaffery ofm
JOY IN THE LORD
Fr John McCaffery, ofm
In her September message, Our Lady called on us again to work diligently on our conversion and to do it with JOY. You may ask but how do we carry this out, living in a world bombarding us with all kinds of evil and causing distress, worry and anxiety to so many. There is no need to go into details, we all know what is happening, in the Church and outside the Church and it brings a lot of pain and sadness.
What is the answer? We don’t have to look far. Jesus says to us each day: Things that are impossible for men are possible for God. (Luke 18.27) Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest. (Matt 11.28) In other words our solution lies in prayer, praying with the heart and in faith. We can gabble the Our Father etc, and it means nothing, simply words. My prayer must come from within, in sincerity and love. Then things begin to happen.
How often Mary, our Mother has called us to pray. She has time and time again repeated her appeal to us to pray. In this way we come to be aware of the Love, the Power and the Majesty of her Son, who died on Calvary for each and every one of us. There are so many examples down through history of men and women, rich and poor, in trouble, sorrow, in times of persecution and hardship when there seemed no way out; they prayed, their prayer was heard and the conflict conquered. Remember the great St Paul, the apostle of the Gentiles: he was beaten again and again, but the Lord was with him and Paul could write to the Philippians: I can do all things in Him who strengthens me. (Phil 4.13)
Archbishop Forte spoke to priests on prayer and his words were powerful. At one point he said this: A special gift which faithfulness to prayer will give you is the love for others and the sense of the Church: the more you pray, the more you will find MERCY for all, the more you will want to help the suffering, the more you will hunger and thirst for justice for all, especially the poorest and the weakest, the more you will accept to bear the sins of others to complete in yourself what is lacking in the Passion of Christ, for the benefit of His Body, the Church…. When we pray we become ever more aware of the urgent need to bring the Gospel to all, to the furthest ends of the world. When we pray we discover the infinite gifts of the Beloved and we learn ever anew to give Him thanks in all things.
I feel those words are worth our attention, words we can reflect upon and make them a living reality in our own lives. It means we must pray and pray and pray again.
Medjugorje has been known worldwide for the past 28 years. The Mother of God has been pleading with us to live more fervently in the light and the power of her Son’s Gospel. She encourages us and at times gently reminds us that we are slipping, taken up with the things of this world and we know at times it can reach the point of suffocation. Millions of people have travelled from all over the globe, yet we find today attacks are still being made against all that is happening. I myself have just returned from Medjugorje. As Spiritual director of the Apostolate, I want to ask you to consider carefully what I have said about prayer. But I feel we have to come to the Lord in the Apostolate as a body, using the great weapon of prayer for these reasons.
a) that the fruits of Medjugorje will strengthen in abundance
b) that all involved with Medjugorje, the Bishop, priests, friars, visionaries, villagers and pilgrims, will be open to God’s grace
c) that we ourselves may work each day on our conversion and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit in all aspects of our lives.
We are all familiar with the Feast of Divine Mercy brought to the Church by Pope John Paul II through St Faustina, and I know that many good people offer the Chaplet of Mercy each day. However I would like to put before you the words of the Servant of God, Pope John Paul II, when he wrote his encyclical Dives et Misericordia:
The Church must bear witness to the mercy of God revealed in Christ, in the whole of His mission as Messiah, professing it in the first place as a salvific truth of faith and as necessary for a life in harmony with faith, and then seeking to introduce it and to make it incarnate in the lives both of her faithful and as far as possible in the lives of all people of goodwill. (Vii Intro)
We all are in desperate need of God’s mercy and so my recommendation is this to you all. Putting our trust in God’s Love and Goodness, may we, each of us, as the Medjugorje Apostolate, offer the LITANY OF DIVINE MERCY for the reasons I have set out above. If we pray it attentively, devoutly and in sincerity of heart, our pleas will be heard, and great things will happen. After all it is God’s work, not ours, and if we surrender our lives to Him in prayer, we will know harmony, peace and love beyond our wildest dreams. We must keep ever before us those glorious words of St Paul when he wrote to the Ephesians and which are now each day addressed to us.
I have blessed you with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ. Before the world was made, I chose you, chose you in Christ, to be holy and spotless and to live through love in my presence. (Eph 1.3-4)
And Our Blessed Mother says to each of us….
God gives me this time as a gift to you, so that I may instruct and lead you on the path of salvation……. 25th August 1997
Christ lives in me
fr John McCaffery OFM
In the Catholic press there has been good coverage concerning the Year of the Priest which Our Holy Father initiated on June 19th. It is only right that this is so, in order that we can appreciate more fully the great gift which the Lord has given to the Church in the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Great harm has been done through the scandals and infidelities of bishops and priests and reparation needs to be made asking God’s pardon and mercy.
For quite a number of years I’ve been attending the Intercession for Priests started by Fr Kevin Scallon, which began with very few but has increased over the years not only in this country, but in countries all over the world. In the working of Providence, Sister Briege McKenna OSC became involved in the project and with Fr Kevin brought great help and assistance to priests in their work.
Ten days ago I returned from Leeds having been to the Intercession with about 60 priests from different parts of the United Kingdom. Those of us who attend always look forward to these few days and there is sadness when the day of departure arrives. The venue is the Pastoral Centre of the Leeds Diocese, which is well equipped, the food excellent and the atmosphere friendly and relaxed. I feel that the word has to go out and more needs to be known about what happens during these few days. In coming together there is great fun and banter, but the object of the exercise is to pray and to intercede, not just have to have a few laughs.
So what happens?
It lasts from Monday morning till Friday midday. Each day begins with Eucharistic Adoration for an hour; and this is optional. Each morning the Core group meet (four priests) with Fr Kevin and Sr Briege to pray for guidance as to what needs require intercession that day. After breakfast we meet for Morning Prayer, most of which is sung, aided by the organist and professional cantor. For about quarter of an hour there is a period of intercession for our bishops, priests and deacons, bringing morning prayer to an end. Following that there is an hour of silence, which can be spent in adoration of Blessed Sacrament exposed or in the garden or other locations. A coffee break is welcome, before Mass. There is a change of celebrant each day, and an opportunity to extend the intercessions for the various needs of the Church at home or abroad.
The Liturgy is impressive and the singing of hymns and other parts of the Mass very inspiring. Body and soul have to be kept together, so lunch is served in the dining room, giving all the chance to mix and chat and catch up on the news past and present. There is free time in the afternoon, and all gather together in the Chapel for a period of prayer. On Monday we have reconciliation, with the opportunity of the Sacrament of Penance; Tuesday we pray for healing of body and soul; Wednesday we intercede for a renewal of the grace of priesthood, and Thursday we pray for strengthening of the great gift of faith.
Evening Prayer follows after a short break and again we end this prayer with a period of intercession for the needs of the Church, for priests and religious. Once again refreshment comes by way of dinner and there is more time for relaxation before we gather for the recitation of the Rosary in one of the meeting rooms. The day formally comes to an end with a talk given by either Fr Kevin or Sr Briege or perhaps a guest speaker. As you can imagine, the day is quite full and it is good to have a walk or spend time in silence in preparation for the next day. I remember, at my first experience of the Intercession, Fr Kevin explaining what was going to happen and saying that we come together as priests not because we consider ourselves to be good and holy but in praying for others,and at the end of the week we are changed and fortified by God’s grace. And that is true. The age of miracles is not over, particularly when prayer is involved!
Some might think that this is over the top, now that we are in the 21st century However we know only too well the difficulty priests encounter today in living out their vocation and it didn’t come as a surprise when the Holy Father proclaimed this year, the Year of the Priest. Perhaps you have heard of Father Garrigou-Lagrange. He was a Dominican and professor of Dogmatic and Mystical Theology at the Angelicum in Rome from 1909 – 1960. In addition to his brilliant mind, he was also a very spiritual and holy friar. In 1952 he wrote a book The priest in Union with Christ and his words bear all the marks of being prophetic (on pages 67-69):
The modern spirit of unbridled pleasure leads inevitably to destruction, as is only too evident from the past two wars. No genuine peace has resulted, precisely because men have refused to see the meaning of divine chastisements and to return to a life which is both naturally upright and Christian. And so the Holy Ghost has implanted in many souls the seed of genuine and fruitful reparation.
In view of this widespread sterility in human endeavour many would-be reformers are asserting that what is needed is a new approach to the priestly and religious life, in order to adapt them to the needs of the modern era. So far as the religious life is concerned, they are of the opinion that its austerity ought to be mitigated since it is now out of date; time devoted to prayer should be cut down to leave more time for external activities. They would also adapt the priestly life to the spirit of the times; to them it seems no longer suitable for priests to wear a special dress or the tonsure or any outward sign of their priesthood, or even to recite the breviary – perhaps even celibacy has become outmoded - and so on.
But what is required is a careful study of the actions and ambitions of the saints, whether they were founders of Orders or excellent secular priests; and this study must be undertaken not in any mere historical or theoretical frame of mind but from a practical point of view. Neither must we neglect the perennial teaching of the Church and the Popes about the religious life and the priestly life……..We will then discover the real changes that have to be made, in a spirit of faith, trust in God, and self-diffusive charity.
Sadly this holy priest’s words have come true: the priesthood has been attacked both within and outside the Church, and I think you will agree that the Intercession for Priests is vital today for the priests themselves and for the good of the Church in years to come. Pope Benedict highlighted the situation when he said “May this Year for Priests help all priests to grow towards the spiritual perfection essential to the effectiveness of their ministry, and enable the faithful to appreciate more fully the great gift of grace which the priesthood is: for priests themselves, for the Church and for the world.”
Mary, Queen of Apostles, pray and protect all priests
THE YEAR OF THE PRIESTHOOD
Fr John McCaffery OFM
Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has called for a year dedicated to the Priesthood, a year giving everyone the opportunity to pray, intercede, and seek God’s mercy for the sins and bad example given by priests. We can also praise God for the noble inspiring message offered by the lives of thousands of priests who have reflected the light of Christ, the power of Christ, and the compassion of Christ throughout their lives.
This year, in March, brought me to the 50th Anniversary of my ordination to the Priesthood, an occasion for giving thanks and celebration, but also a time for deep reflection on the many graces and blessings which I received and which I could have used more profitably for God’s Glory.
As I said in my anniversary homily, no one is worthy to be a priest. This comes home to us in the lives of the great patriarchs and prophets chosen by God; and all of them trembled with fear in the power of His Presence. Then of course God became one of us, and the apostles had the joy of being in His presence, talking with Him, eating with Him and seeing Him at prayer. We can read those words of St John which are so touching:
We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life. (1John 1.1)
Pope Benedict has just issued a Letter in preparation for the opening of the Year for Priests. He reminds us that it is the 150th anniversary of the death of the Cure of Ars, St John Mary Vianney. It is a beautiful letter and a great inspiration for all priests, reminding us all of the great means the Lord has given us and how the Cure in his life used them for his own sanctification as well as for his parishioners and all who came to him. The Saint said on one occasion: A good shepherd, a pastor after God’s heart is the greatest treasure which the Good Lord can grant to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of divine mercy.
Thanks to the Word and the Sacraments of Jesus, St John Vianney built up his flock through his great devotion to the Holy Mass and his dedicated service to the salvation of souls in the confessional. After celebrating Mass, he would spend hours and hours each day in the confessional, bringing the forgiveness and peace of Christ to souls. His reputation for holiness spread far and wide and people from all parts of Europe came to him in their longing for Christ and the desire to live better lives.
I am grateful in my own life for the good holy priests I’ve met, from my earliest days until the present, priests who were an example to me in the way they offered Holy Mass, in their prayer, their kindness and at the same time for their sense of fun. They were also committed to the people of their parishes and were ready to be of assistance and help in times of distress and sadness.
In my early days I was assigned to be the altar server to Canon Carey, the parish priest, and he offered Mass every morning at 7.30 a.m. on the dot! It meant me having to get up at 6.30 in order to walk to the Church and prepare everything for Mass. And woe betide me if anything was out of place. In those far off days everything was in Latin and I had to be sure that every word was pronounced correctly, otherwise there was a lesson at the end of Mass! It seemed hard at the time, but it was a form of discipline, which was useful to me in later years. I also grew in appreciation of the ‘Holy’, of the presence of God. The power, reverence and majesty of God were not to be taken lightly, and brought great peace and order into life. This I fear is something we have lost in the Church today, an awareness of God’s presence.
Our Lady in Medjugorje reminded us of this when She said: Let Holy Mass be your life. Understand that the Church is God’s palace, the place where I gather you, and where I want to show you the way to God. (25 April 1988)
Next week I take part in the Intercession for Priests and it will be the first week of the Year of Prayer for priests which the Holy Father has established. It is good to be with other priests and to spend time together in prayer and intercession. We pray for others, not because we are perfect, but in praying and interceding for others, silently we are strengthened ourselves. It was Fr Kevin Scallon who set up this endeavour and, with the help of Sister Briege McKenna, it has gone from strength to strength. Yes, we spend a lot of time each day in prayer, but there are the moments of fun and laughter which are also a great tonic. I will end with words of Fr Kevin, from his book I will come myself. He writes:
Jesus does help in his priests in every aspect of our priestly ministry. He does speak through us; He looks through us and touches through us……He takes us into the presence of the Father. He fills us with the peace of the Holy Spirit. He gives us a desire for Himself in the sacraments; in His Body, the Church; in worship and prayer.
In this special time of grace, please pray for your priests.
Mary, Mother of the Church, intercede for us with Jesus, your Son.
Dispel the Darkness of my Soul
Father John McCaffery OFM
I have been reflecting on the message of Our Lady to Mirjana on the 2nd May 2009. It is strong and challenging and once again a very firm reminder that Her purpose in coming is to renew us and reform us in the way we live the Gospel of Her Son. It is correct to say that we live in dark days, with war, violence, hatred, wanton killings by the young, job insecurity, marriage breakdown and the list goes on. Yes, our souls can be invaded by darkness. But we must not allow that to happen.
I was thinking of the Founder of our Order, and the difficult life he had to pursue once he gave himself to Christ. Briefly he was regarded as a buffoon, an idiot, even by his own family, though his mother was sympathetic. Followers gathered around him and in time they too found Francis too much, too demanding, and wanted his rule to be watered down. This year the Franciscan Order celebrates 800 years of the approval of the Rule by Rome, but the Rule of 1209 has been lost and eventually the ideas and form of life was put in the Rule of 1221. Although this form of life was not approved, the various Chapters are a forceful reminder of St Francis burning, passionate love of Christ. It is a very spiritual document, yet it was not until 1223 that the canonical Rule was approved by Pope Honorius III. However, allow me to quote from the first Rule which shows how Francis in spite of opposition, and darkness of soul; found the answer in life through his deep union and love of Jesus Christ.
In Chapter XXIII Francis writes: And because all of us wretches and sinners are not worthy to pronounce Your name, we humbly ask that Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son in whom You were well pleased, together with the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, give You thanks as it pleases You and Him for everything, He Who always satisfies You in everything, through Whom You have done such great things for us. Alleluia.
St Francis of Assisi was only taking Christ at His word, and in everything he turned to Him for help, assistance and guidance and he was never disappointed. Bibles were very rare and unique in those days, but Francis knew the Scriptures by heart through listening attentively in Church when the Word of God was read. So it was easy for him to recall the beautiful consoling words of his Lord: Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden light. (Mt 11.28)
Or we can take consolation from the Gospel of St John and Jesus says to us: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life. ( Jn 8.12).
However let us return to the message of Our Lady to Mirjana. We may honestly think that Our Lady is being somewhat severe in what She says. But is this the case? None of us can say we are perfect and untarnished. We have a lot of work to do. And when I reflect on my life and the sheer majestic, shimmering Glory of God, I tremble with fear. Remember how it is said in Scripture that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom. But just consider how Our Lady sees Her Son being treated today in our Churches. Before Mass there is little silence, and I notice that people will rush in without genuflecting or even a cursory nod to the Blessed Sacrament. Even during Mass there are young making their way to the toilet irrespective of the particular part of the Mass. Mass ends and almost immediately there is an explosion of chatter, laughter, and certainly no thought of spending some time in silent prayer with the Risen Lord who is present with them.
How many parishes today have a Sunday evening service in whatever form ending with Benediction. And if there is, how many people would attend? How many people have a regular Confession in order to live vibrantly the life of Christ? How many families gather for ten minutes to pray together for each other and their needs as well as for others? Sadly this is not just doom and gloom, it is reality; and having been ordained 50 years I see the difference from what it was in the early days of priesthood. We are a weakened Church and we are going to reap the consequences.
Some years ago I visited the Community of St John in St Jodard in France, to see a friend of mine who had become a novice. I was privileged in meeting Fr Marie-Dominique Philippe O.P. who founded the Congregation. A very holy priest, very learned, gentle and grace flowed from him. He died a few years ago aged around 92. I have a small book written by him on Jesus, and I find it full of spiritual wisdom. Perhaps we can reflect more on the message received by Mirjana in the light of these words of Fr Philippe:
Like St Maximilian Kolbe and many others devoted to Mary, Pope John Paul II loves Mary very much. I would say that devotion to Mary is more than devotion because it is based on the Word of Jesus, for it is a matter of faith that Mary is our Mother. Her universal motherhood is not a matter of sentiment or private devotion but is an integral part of our faith, our hope and our charity. Jesus creates a new relationship with her so as to make her fully ours. No doubt all the apparitions of Mary have come about in order to convince us THAT SOMETHING VERY SPECIAL IS HAPPENING AND THAT WE MUST RENEW OUR FAITH AND HOPE IN THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
That is the way we should look at Mary; as the one who comes to us as the Mother of the poor making us the poor children of the poor Christ. Great food for much thought.
So I ask the question and we can all answer it in our own way when we have looked at our lives and see if there is anything that needs adjusting, improving, or to be discarded, so that we can come closer to the Lord, as Mary has asked us to do.
Why be afraid when we have so many helps in the way of the Sacraments, prayer, Holy Scripture, and above all the Sacrifice of the Mass? True, there can be darkness in our lives, but we only have to approach Christ, even kneel at His feet, and allow Him to strengthen and console us, because we know that with Him we can do anything.
I end with the words of a famous follower of St Francis in our own day, St Padre Pio. I have used this quotation in talks and conferences I have given on the Medjugorje messages and people have always found them inspiring. I hope you do. This is what he said some months before he died:
It is no longer time to sleep, but to watch in order that humanity be saved. Act now to implore pardon and mercy for all the brutalities of the world. The most Blessed Virgin, compassionate Mother, who sheds tears of blood over the world of today, calls all Her children to penance and prayer. Let pilgrimages be in a spirit of penance. The time is now the hour of darkness. Let us fear the chastisements of God. Let us give up some licit pleasure. Let us be like a family which, seeing one of its members dying, thinks only of prayer to save it. I speak to you thus, not to make you fear, but so that each one may regulate his or her conduct to make the world better. If you do not listen, yours is the responsibility.
AS THE FATHER HAS LOVED ME, SO I HAVE LOVED YOU; ABIDE IN MY LOVE. (Jn.15.9).
Obedience to the Church and Medjugorje
Fr John McCaffery OFM
I’ve been aware of certain reverberations concerning Medjugorje. It seems that the Bishop in Mostar is highlighting various rules and regulations. Any Bishop has the right to lay down guidelines for his diocese, and unless they are immoral or wrong in the Christian sense these rules have to be obeyed.
But we must be careful not to be too contentious. As Christians, our role was made clear by Pope Benedict when he reminded us of the great commandment of Love, and this command from the Lord embraces all of us. As a Franciscan Friar Minor; I am very aware of the ruling of our Founder, St Francis in the 9th Chapter of his Rule which we promise to obey. The 9th Chapter is ‘On Preachers’: Let the friars not preach in the diocese of any bishop when he has opposed their doing so. That is very clear and it is obeyed; if it isn’t, then there is the sin of disobedience.
We have been hearing and, please God, following Our Lady’s messages which she gives us every month. They are rooted in the Gospel and we know that we, as sinful people, have difficulty living them to perfection, but it is a question of perseverance aided by the powerful grace of God. The truths that Mary places before us are not only for our personal conversion, but also to help us to be a challenge to others so that they might be able to turn to God in a more dedicated way.
We don’t have to say a word, or preach, or write; but simply by a loving and caring devotion to the Lord, in our every day thought, word and action, allow others to see the light of Christ shine forth in our lives. How often that has happened in those who were regarded as ‘nothings’ in the eyes of the world, but were spiritual giants having a great impact on the lives of others. Reflect on our Lady’s words of October 25th 1996:
Through you I wish to renew the world. Understand, little children, that today you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Little children, I invite you, and I love you, and implore you in a special way: convert.
Each day we all need conversion, and when it comes to the command of Love we realise how badly we fail. Recently I came across a quotation from St Mary Magdalen dei Pazzi, a great Carmelite mystic, who died aged 41 in 1607. I find it extremely challenging in my own life, and will leave you to decide how you stand in the presence of God.
Teach me, O Lord, not to judge my neighbour for any fault I may see him commit, and if I should see him commit a sin, give me the grace to excuse his intention which is hidden and cannot be seen. But even if I should see that his intention was really bad, give me the grace to excuse my neighbour because of temptation from which no mortal is free.
Why am I saying all this? I feel there is a danger in the lives of all of us that we can be caught up in the world of today, which can so easily penetrate our spiritual aims, and weaken our good intentions and lower our high standards. In other words we can spend much energy on discussion and analysis of certain events and declarations, what attitude to adopt, and how we should respond. And it can go on and on taking us away from our real purpose, and the only one to make sense: contact with our Lord and God. It can be one of Satan’s ploys, and he is very good at squirming into our lives causing mayhem and anxiety.
We are all aware that our world today has many problems. Neither you nor I are going to solve them but we can do what Our Lady is pleading for in her message of June 5th 1986: Especially, dear children, I wish that all of you be a reflection of Jesus, which will enlighten this unfaithful world walking in darkness.
Only a few days ago, April 25th, Our Lady begged us to accept peace in our hearts and so in the world, and she insisted yet again: Pray, pray, pray. Yes we’ve heard it all before, but are we doing it?
We are pilgrims on our way to Eternal Life with the Lord. What do we do? What about reading quietly the words of Moses to his people as he was dying; they could change our lives and revolutionise our sad world.
See, as the Lord our God has commanded me, I teach you the laws and customs which you are to observe in the land you are to enter and make your own. Keep them, observe them, and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding. When they come to know what all these laws are, they will exclaim, ‘No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation’. (Dt 4:5-6)
Mary, Mother of God and Seat of Wisdom, intercede for us with your Risen Son
OBEDIENCE THROUGH SUFFERING
Fr John McCaffery ofm
We are now approaching the holiest week of the year, when we recall with devotion and love, the pain, the sufferings, the death and then the triumphant Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Son of God.
Suffering and death still remain with us, but have new meaning since Christ our Saviour took upon Himself our human condition, and brought light and salvation to a darkened world. When the Lord alerted the Apostles to the imminence of His suffering and death, it was something they didn’t want to hear. They turned away. This plan of action was not in their expectations and they turned to other matters. But Matthew tells us: “Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised." (16.21)
Suffering and death are not only part of the destiny of Jesus, but a vital part of Christian life as well. You might say they are the badge of our Christian identity, They are the prerequisite to the reward of eternal life. This is something that we all know, something that we have all experienced as followers of Christ. The Lord promised us that the way wouldn’t be easy, and He gave us due warning to be prepared and ready: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.”(Lk 9.23-24)
We sinners have revolted against God, in big ways and in little ways, and the Lord took our sins on His shoulders and brought us life through His great love on Calvary.
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…..He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his striped we are healed “ (Is.53;4-5)
Our rejoicing on Easter Sunday is celebrating the incredible fact that God has rewarded this suffering with endless victory; and all of us from the greatest to the least share in that triumph, and no one can take it away from us.
One point about the life of Jesus which we can’t miss is that His entire life was lived in total and complete obedience to His Father. Just consider His words
“I seek not my own will but the will of Him who sent me.” (Jn.5.30)
“I always do what is pleasing to Him.” (Jn.8.29)
“I know Him and keep His word.“ (Jn.8.55)
And there are many others throughout the Gospel. On Holy Thursday in the terrible agony in the Garden of Gethsemane He cried out: “Not my will but Yours be done.” Because of that, the result was humiliation, pain, fearful suffering and an agonising death branded as a criminal. Obedience is costly.
From that day on Calvary the Church has been clothed in the garments of a fool. The Saints while they lived were regarded as weird and out of touch with reality. Men and women who follow Christ in religious life are wasting their time and talents. Priests are mad men promising to live in celibacy in a world which is devoted to sexual pleasure and all kinds of deviations. Married couples should be able to have other partners and be fulfilled; it is the way of the world, and for that matter same sex couples are applauded and seen as forward-looking and enhancing humanity.
We have seen the Vicar of Christ, Benedict XVI, lampooned in recent weeks because he dared to express the teaching of Christ in defiance of worldly opinion. And working for the unity of the Church brought him a lot of poisonous comments, even from within the Church. Standing in front of Herod, the Lord was ridiculed and mocked and He bore it in silence, a silence that was devastating. Reflect how Jesus said: “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me before you.”
Today we see this all around us, and it is all due to the fact that obedience is not popular in the culture of today. Sadly, children fail to obey their parents, their teachers and lawful authority, and we see this multiplied in many ways in all different areas of life. God’s commands and precepts are ignored, because to be successful in climbing the ladder today it is MY needs, MY feelings, MY aspirations, My ideas, My plans that are important above all; the rest is old wives' tales and worthless. So God in no way comes into the reckoning.
This is very sad and it means we must pray that the Lord through the Holy Spirit will guide men and women to honour and follow God in their lives. The Mother of God, with great love and concern, has been calling us to take God seriously, and to clasp her Son’s Gospel to our hearts that we may live and breathe His love and life each day of our mortal lives. Last October Mary called us to pray for her intentions…
"So that, through your prayers, you may stop Satan’s plan over this world, which is further from God every day, and which puts itself in the place of God, and is destroying everything that is beautiful and good in the souls of each of you….“ (25 October 2008)
On Christmas Day last year Our Lady’s message was more of a reprimand and warning, which we must reflect on to help us live the Gospel seriously and in love.
“Dear Children, you are running, working, gathering – but without blessing. You are not praying! Today I call you to stop in front of the manger and meditate on Jesus, whom I give you today also, to bless you and to help you understand that, without him you have no future. Therefore little children, surrender your lives into the hands of little Jesus for him to lead you and protect you from every evil. Thank you for having responded to my call."
As we begin Holy Week and contemplate the sufferings and death of Christ, may we pray for ourselves, for others and for our world; that the brilliance of the Light of our Risen and Glorified Lord shining upon us at Easter, may bring blessings of obedience, joy and peace to every heart.
The Lord is a light in darkness to the upright. He is gracious, merciful and just. (Psalm 111.4)
THE GOODNESS OF GOD
by Fr John McCaffery OFM
As usual this year I received the kind and generous invitation from Harry Dixon to join the leaders of the various groups on their pilgrimage to Medjugorje. Sadly I had to refuse, for the simple reason that there has been a few health problems and I didn’t feel able to face the challenge of travel, especially if the weather was bad. But enough of the sad story and all the moaning.
Though I can’t travel to the Holy Shrine, I can still visit it in memory and be uplifted by all the various experiences I’ve had, and the inspiring meetings with people and priests and bishops that have taken place over many years. All of these contribute to the wonderful ever growing awareness of God’s goodness to me and to so many, many others.
When in my imagination I approach the Church of St James, I recall young and old, rich and poor from every nation, making their way to share in the Passion and death of Christ through uniting themselves in the Sacrifice of the Mass. I can recall being with many priests united by sharing the Priesthood of Christ, and filled with a great love of His Holy Mother and Her call to all of us. The moments of grace, when suddenly a sentence from a homily hits and brings home a truth, making it become a living and powerful reality, where before it had simply been words. God’s finger touches once again.
The stupendous moment when all priests present pronounce the words of consecration over the bread and wine, and in humble adoration we adore the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Having distributed Holy Communion to the faithful, then there are those moments of silence when our hearts are one with God and we pray in humility, begging for peace in our lives and in the world in which we live and mo ve.
Familiar as we are with the messages of Our Lady, we know She begs us time and again to pray and to pray with the heart. Medjugorje is outstanding for the atmosphere of prayer. I start and stumble in prayer; but I’m encouraged when I see others deep in prayer and almost lifted out of this world. I think it is true to say that the Holy Hour whether in Church or outside is an other world experience.
I’ve been to many Holy Hours, in the rain, in electric storms, in sunshine, and no matter how uncomfortable the situation, there is always the invitation, when we listen : ‘Come to Me all you who are weary and overburdened and I will give you rest’. I can never forget the Adoration held outside one Wednesday evening, It was warm, and gradually thousands of people gathered in a semi-circle around the altar. There was a murmur of conversation; then Fr Ljubo came forward and placed the Monstrance on the altar; a bright light highlighted the golden Monstrance - Our Lord and Saviour was present among his people, and everyone fell silent in worship.
I think you will agree it’s an overpowering moment, and once again we are on the Hill of the Beatitudes, and we are quietly listening to the healing words of Christ, or we are with the frightened Apostles in the Upper Room after the Resurrection, when suddenly the Lord appears in their midst bring them peace and healing ; ‘Do not be afraid, it is I’ The peace is tangible; it is another world for that short space of time. And yet, the goodness of God comes to our help as we struggle in this violent and crazy world and find it difficult to keep God in the centre of our life.
But as we kneel in the presence of our Lord and God, we recall those consoling words:
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever , and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you, abide in my love. Jn 15. 7-9
Those are the words that can change our live if only we open our hearts and allow the Lord to use us as messengers of His Gospel. We always come away from the Holy Hour refreshed and renewed. We may have come troubled in spirit, or worried, or angry, or tired of religious things; but the Lord touches us and we become aware that there is another world, richer and more powerful than the one that tries to trap us day after day.
There are many aspects that could be touched upon. As a priest and a sinner I am always deeply grateful for the patience and mercy of God. Each year the holy season of Lent comes upon us and reminds us that though we think we are alright, we are sinners and always will be, and at all times need to rely on the grace of God to walk in a straight and narrow path. Thomas Merton explained it very well when he said:
The purpose of Lent is not only expiation, to satisfy the divine justice, but above all a preparation to rejoice in God’s love. And this preparation consists in receiving the gift of His mercy – a gift which we receive in so far as we open our hearts to it, casting out what cannot remain in the same room with mercy.
And I remember the many occasions I have received the Sacrament of Mercy in my life, bringing peace and freedom and an awareness of God’s goodness and love. It brings great comfort to recall the hundreds and hundreds of those who have approached me seeking Christ in His mercy. For a priest this moment is truly humbling, because one can see the hands of God reaching out in welcome and compassion to the person who may have strayed for years, known great distress and agony because of wrongdoing; yet now hears those comforting words; ‘I absolve you from your sins....’ Such is the goodness of God, and we should never fear going to confession/ reconciliation because it is simply a meeting with the Lord of mercy.
Remember the word of St Paul to the Ephesians: “you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord”. In those quiet moments after our forgiveness, when we feel the love and gentleness of God around us, we can pray Psalm 30 with the psalmist:
O Lord, I cried to you for help and you, my God, have healed me O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead, Restored me to life from those who sink into the grave.
Medjugorje is known as the Confessional of the world, and when I recall my numerous visits over the years, I realise how true it is.
But that isn’t all. There is what I would call the Mystery of Medjugorje. It is a challenging call to return to the Gospel, to become familiar not only with the message of the Master, but to know in an intimate way the Master Himself. It means putting aside all that I hold dear, all that the world treasures and which is barring me from the true life and Love of God. We have to take to heart the words of Jesus :
Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for the eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, my Father will honour. Jn 12. 25-26
Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light. Jn 12. 35-36
We are living in a world that seeks comfort, pleasure, enjoyment no matter what form it takes. There is no time for sacrifice, pure love, honesty, integrity, forgiveness; so we are living in a hostile atmosphere. This is the reason that Medjugorje has the call to eternal values, to all that God holds precious and in our brief time on earth we must make sure that we are walking in the light of God and not in suffocating darkness. When in Medjugorje, there is an awareness of the presence of the Mother of God. Her concern, her love, her serenity, and her peace are palpable. It all falls into place when we consider her words explaining why she is with us for so long.
I am your Mother and therefore I want to lead all of you to perfect holiness. I want every one of you to be happy here on earth and every one of you to be with me in Heaven. This is, dear children, the reason for my coming here and my desire. (25th May 1987)
Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Mt 11.28-30
In past months I have had a bone marrow test, CT scans and a biopsy. This morning, 7th January, I was told I had Follicular non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, which is one of 22 varieties. For the moment no treatment is being given, but I am being monitored.
Thank you all very much for your Masses and prayers. Your support is of great value, and may the Good Lord bless you abundantly.
fr John McCaffery OFM
Holiness - A Great Price
Talk given at Walsingham, 25 August 2008
The path of the just is like shining light, that grows in brilliance till perfect day. Prov 4.18
Our lives these days are surrounded by chaos. We have floods causing destruction, social change, globalization, terrorism, and the cost of living reaching new highs. Murder and violence pervade our society, teenage suicide is frequently reported and there is an apparent powerlessness to exercise any control. When the taking of life of an unborn child is seen as a right; and when the preservation of precisely that right becomes the object of a political campaign – I have shrewd suspicion that Satan is deeply satisfied.
When a whole society begins to question whether marriage really requires one man and one woman - Satan must be very pleased indeed!
When we are met with such anti-traditional values, we must surely reach the unmistakable conclusion that ‘”an enemy has done this “ In addition we have our own personal pain and suffering coming to us from many sources. It all looks bleak and dismal, and yet we are here to be reminded that we are on the winning side, as the Book of Proverbs reminds us. (above) Or put it another way in the words of Christ “ Do not be afraid I am with you” “With me you can do all things” “Fear not I have vanquished the world”.
One of the great feasts is the Transfiguration which we celebrated earlier this month and it gives immense comfort and consolation in our pain filled lives. The message of the Transfiguration is empty and meaningless if it is not for the fact that Jesus was about to suffer and die in order to release God’s transforming power into our humanity. In fact the whole of Christ’s life is without meaning unless it points to the value of suffering. Of all the great founders of religion Jesus Christ is the only one who enters into suffering, loss, pain and even death itself in order to support us in our frailty and through it bring us into the resurrection and a higher and better life.
We must have courage and make the hard decisions. Mary, Queen of Peace encourages us in her concern and love. Take her message in March 2002:
Dear Children. Today I call you to unite with Jesus in prayer. Open your heart to Him and give Him everything that is in it; Joys, sorrows and illnesses. May this be a time of grace for you. Pray, little children, and may every moment belong to Jesus. I am with you and I intercede for you. Thank you for having responded to my call.
We are now living in an age when we, Bishops,Priests and laity must move away from being merely comfortable, and enter into the cost of discipleship. In the days ahead we will encounter many Herods and Pilates who will judge us and mock us,simply because we are not falling in line with the attitudes and morals of the world.
You are the light of the world. Meaning what? Jesus is insisting that we who believe He is the Saviour of the world, who have risen with Him and live in His presence, who eat His flesh and drink His blood, have no right to hide our gifts in a sort of rubbish bin. Our gifts given to us by God – of nature and of grace, should stand out like neon lights, should make people pause, stop, look and listen. We must be bearers of Christ to others, and if we are united to Christ we must live His life and experience growth, transformation and transcendence. We might dare to call this the Christian mystery, meaning that a tremendous truth hidden in God has been revealed to us by His Son. Our task as Christians is not adopt the culture of society, but to bring faith hope and love into world searching for a meaning to life.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was martyred by the Third Reich because of his devotion to Christ and His message. Before He died he wrote about the cost of belonging to Christ.
Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field…..the pearl of great price……. the call of Jesus Christ, at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows Him. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again. It is costly because it cost God the life of His Son - and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.
Today we’ve come from many parts of the country and listened to the inspiring words of Fr Mario, who renews for us the holiness and challenge of Medjugorje. The challenge he has given us today is to become people of prayer, and how often have we heard that message over the years. But did we heed the words when he said that it isn’t the Bishop who is causing trouble; or the theologians impeding Medjugorje. The truth is that WE are responsible for not carrying out Our Lady’s requests, and we have sunk into a sort of lethargy. However , the Lord wills to let His face shine upon us through the face of the Mother of God, and as G.K.Chesterton said: ‘we serve a Mother who seems to grow more beautiful as new generations rise up and call her blessed’.
This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Mary’s appearances at Lourdes. The message of Lourdes is to look at the grace and holiness of Christ in Mary, become converted and be healed. It is a call to Christ as at Fatima, Rue du Bac, and now at Medjugorje; a call to enter fully into the fruits of His redemption. Today we must take to our hearts St Paul’s fiery words: 'For God who said ‘Let Light shine out of darkness’ has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Christ.' (2 Cor 4.6)
‘The path of the just is like shining light, that grows in brilliance till perfect day.' (Prov. 4.18)
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. ___________________________________ Fr John McCaffery O.F.M.
The Holy Spirit – our Love - our Strength
When we attend Mass we hear the Word of God and, reflecting on His message, we sometimes begin to wonder how we are going to fulfil what He is asking us, or in fact commanding us to do. To take a simple example. Jesus says "This is my commandment, love one another as I have loved you." We have heard it often but, honestly, do we really live it? I may work with someone who is a constant bore, has nothing to say, and spends the whole time complaining about life and the faults of other people. Or it might be someone who knows all the facts and, whatever anyone says, there is always a correction to be made - the voice of authority and truth!
The list could go on: difficulties in marriage, in religious life, and at times it seems almost impossible to carry on. But we do have strength and the ability to persevere in spite of all the bitter opposition. We see it in the life of the Lord especially in His Passion and death and that has been carried on down the centuries in men and women giving heroic examples of holiness even though surrounded by evil in all forms of repulsiveness. How is it possible for this to be achieved?
In the Old Testament we hear the psalmist giving praise to God: For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered for ever. They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord. (Ps 112: 6.7) Or, again,
Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped.
When we come to the New Testament, Jesus is even more outspoken about the difficulties and hardships that come to us simply because we are following His way and not the way of the world. We will have opposition, suffering and hatred, but we will be able to withstand it all if we allow the Lord to enter our life and fill us with His Love. It means dying to myself and all that I want so desperately, so that the emptiness can be filled with the power of His Holy Spirit.
"If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." "I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But TAKE COURAGE; I HAVE CONQUERED THE WORLD.” (John 16:33)
Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict recently visited the USA and his words had a powerful impact on many people, young and old, laity and clergy alike. They became aware of his prayerfulness, his sincerity, and his closeness to Christ. All the different groups he met he asked to keep their eyes fixed on Christ, who had the answer to all problems, and he said if they did they would find peace and contentment. ‘Come to Me all you who labour…..’ Cardinal Mahoney of Los Angeles openly declared that he went home a different disciple of Jesus Christ, because the Pope’s words brought him strength and helped him with his burdens; he had been directed to a deeper union with the power of the Holy Spirit, and in this way renewed in the service of the Lord.
At Medjugorje Our Blessed Lady has been giving us message after message, pleading with us to live the Gospel with greater intensity and in this way to bring peace to the world. On August 25th 2000 Our Lady said: "I desire to thank you and inspire you to work even more for God and his Kingdom with love and the Holy Spirit." This means that if we want to change the world, it is vital that our lives are changed. There has to be an examination of conscience, because personal conversion is a prerequisite if we want love and peace to reign in the world.
Today in this new Pentecost in which we are living, the Holy Spirit guides the Church in its mission of realizing an encounter between Jesus Christ and all peoples. We must make sure that we are not simply sitting back, waiting for events to happen; rather each of us must be involved in an openness to the Holy Spirit, ready to play our part in renewing the face of the earth. It is not enough today to attend Mass on Sunday and forget about the Lord and His message for the rest of week until the next Sunday comes round. Recall our Lady’s message:
This time is a time of grace. Especially now when THE CHURCH IS CALLING YOU TO PRAYER AND CONVERSION. I also, little Children, invite you to live the messages that I have given you during the time I have been with you. (February 25th 1996)
The purpose of the messages is not just for the conversion of the individual, but that each converted individual become a challenge to others to change their way of life. We must never forget that the Lord has asked all of us to be the salt of the earth and a light to the world. As we reflect on the messages, the call is made in different ways to Christians to remember who they are and what they should be doing. And above all for our consideration there is the summons from Our Blessed Lady: "Let Holy Mass be your life." (April 25th 1988)
We are in the middle of our Novena for the great Feast of Pentecost, and we pray that we might be renewed in these days by the power of the Holy Spirit: renewed in our prayer, so that each day we will give glory to God; renewed in our faith, hope and love; renewed in our reverence for God and the things of God; and renewed in our personal commitment to Christ our Lord and Saviour, fortified with courage to be able to proclaim the Gospel not just in words but with the shining power of our example. That is what the world is waiting for, to continue the work and the mission of Christ.
In my examination of conscience I must ask myself : am I a living advertisement for Jesus Christ? Can people see from what I do, say or think, that I am a follower of Christ? If not, then I must fall to my knees and ask God’s mercy and pardon, and beg for the grace to change my lifestyle in line with the commands of the Gospel. I must pray to the Holy Spirit to burn all the evil from my heart and renew and fortify me in the power of His Love: "Come Holy Spirit, fall afresh on me!" We need the Holy Spirit to guide us, inflame us, empower us, so that we can stand and proclaim the liberating truth of the Gospel which brings light to dispel the horror of darkness in our world.
There is no better way to end our reflection than to quote the Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. Ignatius Hazim, who in Uppsala in 1968 said:
Without the Holy Spirit, God is distant, Christ is in the past, the Gospel is a dead letter, the Church is a simple organization, authority is domination, mission is propaganda, worship is the summoning of spirits, and Christian action the morality of slaves... but in him… the Risen Christ is here, the Gospel is the power of life, the Church means Trinitarian communion, authority is a liberating service, mission is a Pentecost, liturgy is a memorial and anticipation, human behaviour is deified.
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh us.
THE LORD IS RISEN - ALLELUIA
Holy Week and Easter bring home to us the great truths that last for ever. Above all we are reminded by the liturgy of the tremendous love God has for each of us. On Holy Thursday we reflect on the tremendous Gift of the Holy Eucharist, the power and holiness of the Priesthood, and Christ crushed in suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane. On Good Friday we follow the agony of the scourging, the mockery, the crown of thorns, then setting out for death, stumbling in agonising pain on the way to Calvary. Three hours pinned to the Cross, gasping for breath, blood streaming down His shivering Body, yet words of love, forgiveness and peace. All this happened because I made it happen, through my selfishness, my sensuality, my greed, my lust for power, my unkind treatment of others, my lack of appreciation of God’s love in my life, The list could go on. But on my knees I hear those consoling words: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.”
Now we are in the joy of Easter, and we know that Calvary was not the end but only the beginning: “I am with you all days till the end of time.”
We are blessed yet again with a powerful Pope who in his words and actions is alerting the world to the existence and law of God. Pope Benedict said at the end of last year: “…..Christ’s words mean that the peace He came to bring us is not synonymous with the mere absence of conflicts. Instead, Jesus' peace is the result of a constant battle against evil. The fight that Jesus is determined to support is not against human beings or human power, but against Satan.”
We see this today where science is taking over and ignoring the law of God: the plan set up by God to ensure the harmony of human life in all its dignity. We must pray for our Bishops for the strong stance they are taking to protect the gift of God’s life; for ourselves that we pray for our leaders to follow God’s way in justice and love. And we must constantly ask God’s forgiveness for insulting His goodness, His love and His Holiness. The Feast of Divine Mercy is near, and may it be an occasion of heartfelt sorrow for all the sins we have committed and the outrages perpetrated against a loving God, We can do no better than use the prayer of St Faustina, placing our trust in God.
“Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your Holy Will, which is Love and Mercy itself”. (950)
Father John McCaffery o.f.m.
OUR NEED OF JESUS CHRIST
In the last 30 to 40 years mankind has made great strides in science, embracing many areas of life and also in technology. We have all lived sufficiently long to be able to recall when all these marvels of science simply didn’t exist. Yet sadly, when we compare our present day with fifty years ago, are we happier, more contented? Is the world a safer place, do we have greater respect for life and the dignity of the human person? Again we can all answer those questions from our personal experience. We can also look at our own lives and see whether we are closer to God, or do we find it more a struggle simply because the world has a greater dominance than years before?
The great French theologian, the Dominican Yves Congar warned us about this many years ago. “With the constant progress of science, man has gradually lost the awareness that he depends on another. Yet salvation essentially consists in this awareness of dependence. Man cannot save himself by his own efforts. Another saves us. Catholics also are running this risk.”.
Without being pessimistic and doom laden, we are going through a trauma in the opposition we find to the basics tenets of our Christianity. The reason we are here in Medjugorje speaks volumes. It isn’t for a holiday, and that is certainly not the reason why you are involved in bringing many people here year after year. For over 25 years the Mother of God has been speaking to us with urgency and concern, and She puts it very simply. There is no mistaking her message. “Dear Children, I want to lead you on the path of conversion and I wish that you convert the world, that your life may be a conversion for others." ( 24/6/87)
It is vital that you and I are in the forefront, leading by good example, and in that way convince the world that Christ and Christian models are absolutely needed for the solution of all our human problems. History tells us that all human efforts alone are doomed to utter failure. The Lord made it quite plain “Without me you can do nothing.” When we are dealing with moral absolutes, there is no room for any kind of gimmicks, because truth cannot be compromised nor can faith be trifled with.
God we know so loved the world that He sent his only Beloved Son; He spoke our language and told us about the Eternal Father. Jesus, the image of the Invisible God, revealed that He equally shared in His Father’s Divinity. “I and the Father are one.” I am as equal as my Father who is in Heaven.” “He who sees me sees the Father who sent me.”
We know and believe that His teaching, miracles and His Resurrection authenticate the fact that He was both human and Divine: “I am the Way the Truth and the Life.” And saying this He invites us to follow him, and we will not be in error but confident in truth.
Many times He says to us “Do not be afraid” yet so often we wonder and ask “What is the world coming to?” Today, bad news dominates everywhere; crime is rocketing, all that we hold dear and reverent is being vilified and cast aside. What ARE we to do, as we find ourselves in a desert, where all our supports and securities are falling away and we stand exposed to the dangers of human existence? We can easily recall the great strength we have, mentioned in many places in Scripture, and that is our Faith. If we follow the example of the psalmist, and pray his words found in Psalm 56, then we have overpowering confidence and comfort. “O Most High, when I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God whose word I praise, in God I trust, I am not afraid: what can flesh do to me?”
We know well enough how runners and athletes prepare themselves by training and we too can train ourselves in confidence in God, and as we know well enough this entails fervent prayer each day. It is good for us to recall that when Jesus' life was drifting towards failure and defeat it was then that He performs his most hopeful gesture. He takes bread and wine and gives it to his disciples saying: “This is my body given for you; take and drink. This is my blood……” When the Christian community is beginning to break up, Jesus proclaims the New Covenant. Each time we celebrate the Eucharist, we enact the memory of this crisis, endured and vanquished. We have nothing to fear from our present crisis. The Church was born in a crisis, and has endured many in the course of history. It survived and will do so, as Christ has promised.
There are many avenues of grace available for us: the Eucharist which we can attend with greater faith and love; allow Our Lady more time in our lives, consecrating our parishes and families and ourselves to her protection; and develop the habit of reading Scripture regularly and prayerfully.
We must also seek ways to contribute to the new evangelization. After all, God wishes the salvation of all mankind, and we must take the trouble to bring the joyful message of the Gospel to our world, because when we walk in the light of Christ there is nothing to fear from the darkness. But we need Christ and it is necessary that we are close to Christ.
Here is this place Mary warns us of the evil around us and the snares to avoid. In 1986 Mary said “You know, dear children, that with your help I can accomplish everything and force Satan not to seduce you to evil and to remove himself from this place. Dear children, Satan is lurking around each individual. Especially in everyday affairs he wants to spread confusion among you. Therefore, dear children, my call to you is that you attend each day to prayer and complete surrender to God.”( 4/9/86)
Archbishop Sheen was renowned as a preacher and broadcaster and gave powerful witness by his life. On one occasion he said “If the basis of Christianity were anything else than a God Who came forth from a tomb then we would be without hope. How long this conflict between good and evil will last we do not know; how long we will walk down the road bemoaning persecutions and Crucifixions before He makes His Presence known to us we do not know; how long we will seek the living among the dead, as did Magdalene, we do not know; how long we will crouch in fear behind closed doors before the Light of the world breaks through with “Peace be with you” we do not know. There is only one thing we do know and that is that we have already won - only the news has not leaked out yet.”
Our task in the difficult times that lie ahead is simply to abide in him, believe in him and do whatever he tells us. Jesus in the Lord of history and He is the one to whom we must cling as we make our way through a dark age. Pope John Paul was a prophet for his age and gave tremendous witness of his love for Christ and for his brothers and sisters. Much has yet to be revealed about his life which will inspire us and enable us to imitate Christ with complete conviction and intense love. We end with his words “…today the Lord is passing by. He is calling you. In this moment of grace, he is once again calling you by name and renewing his covenant with you. May you listen to his voice so that you may know true, total joy and enter into His peace.” (To Bishops of Latin America in 1992).
HOLY IS HIS NAME
REFLECTIONS ON GOD’S CALL TO ETERNAL LIFE GIVEN THROUGH THE VIRGIN MARY
Fr John McCaffery O.F.M.
Introduction
“Strengthened by the presence of Christ (cf. Mt.28.20), the Church journeys through time towards the consummation of the ages and goes to meet the Lord who comes. But on this journey - and I wish to make this point straightaway: She proceeds along the path already trodden by the Virgin Mary, who ‘advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and loyally persevered in her union with her Son unto the Cross’. This quotation is from Pope John Paul’s Encyclical Letter Redemptoris Mater and he tells us that he quotes from the Constitution Lumen Gentium which in final part of the document offers us a clear summary of the Church’s teaching on the Mother of God. To some it may seem strange that Mary has a great deal to teach us in our reading of the Gospels. She appears infrequently and speaks very little but her actions are much louder than her words and we have to take note of them. It is very important that we become familiar with the Scriptures and know what Mary is saying to us while she was on this earth.
All of us are on our pilgrimage of faith and in these days we find it difficult to respond well and in generosity to the following of Jesus, our Saviour. Mary our Mother is aware of this and has shown her concern in a unique way. Since June 25th 1981 it is claimed that the Blessed Virgin Mary has appeared on a daily basis to a group of six young people. On the second day she revealed herself to them as Mother of God and Queen of Peace. These young people (though older now) all insist that Mary brings an urgent and prophetic message for mankind. We are told that peace in the world is in a state of crisis and that “mankind must be reconciled with God and with one another”. This began in Medjugorje which is in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the message is very basic. Peace (through conversion with God and one another) faith, prayer and fasting. Medjugorje has grown to be a centre of Christian pilgrimage, attracting millions of pilgrims over the years from all over the world. Bishops and priests have been there in vast numbers. So far the Church has made no definitive statement on the authenticity of the apparitions, but in the meantime it remains a place of great grace and a source of spirituality.
I have been to the Shrine of Our Lady over thirty-eight times and find it a place of prayer and remarkable graces. In the following chapters I would like to present some aspects of Mary’s messages which she has been giving to us for almost twenty-five years: keeping in mind that we are submissive to whatever decisions are made in the future by the Apostolic See.
CHAPTER ONE
The Parish and the Shrine at Medjugorje is under the care of the Franciscans (Order of Friars Minor). The Franciscans have been in that part of the world since the latter part of the thirteenth century, and the spread of the Gospel was certainly due to their courageous work, especially in time of persecution. In a sense that is another reason why I feel at home in Medjugorje as I am a friar Minor myself, and an unworthy one. Of all the saints I am sure the story of Francis of Assisi is the best known, even if it is only because of his connection with the animals, birds and all of nature. After his conversion Francis gradually fell in love in a very deep and passionate way with Jesus Christ; and he lived a life of love, penance and renunciation. So faithful was he to God in everything, that towards the end of his life he was signed in his flesh with the marks of Christ’s Passion; in his hands feet and side. From then on he was known as the Christ of Umbria.
But Francis had a great love for the Mary, the Mother of Christ and this is made clear in the few writings that have come down to us. As we read his praises of Our Lady, we can see that here is a mystic at prayer, and that he is caught up in the love of God; a love which embraced Mary and endowed her with the most wonderful of gifts.
I greet you, Lady, holy Queen, holy Mary, Mother of God, Virgin who became the Church, chosen by the most holy Father of Heaven, consecrated to holiness through his most holy and beloved Son and the Holy Spirit, the comforter; in you was and is the whole fullness of grace and everything that is good. I greet you, his princely dwelling, I greet you, the tent of his covenant, I greet you, his habitation, I greet you, his garment, I greet you, his handmaid, I greet you, his mother, with all the holy virtues, which through the grace and light of the Holy Spirit descend unto the hearts of believers, to make believers of unbelievers for God.
As we pray these praises we can glean something of the tender love of Francis for the Mother of Christ and our Mother; and we ask his intercession that we too may grow in a similar love for Mary, and allow her to bring us each day closer to the everlasting life of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Mary, Mother of the Lord, help us as we make our way uncertainly to the Kingdom of Heaven. Listen to the prayers of St Francis and may he gain for us the love, strength and perseverance to serve Jesus your Son on this earth and rejoice with him and you through the power of the Holy Spirit in the Kingdom of the Father.
