Today is my birthday and it is so good to be in retreat. I was in retreat for my birthday here last year, too. And I love the fact that it is always a feast of Our Lady. I thought it might be Corpus Christi, too, but that is celebrated on Sunday now and we come out of retreat that morning.
The Pope's Exhortation on Holiness is influencing me and I will continue with it tomorrow as we are still on the 4th Chapter and have another, very important one, to do still.
Please keep me in your prayers. I am 87 today.
I have scheduled my blogs ahead since I am using Pope Francis' new exhortation. I hope we are getting holy just by reading it and trying to put into practice what it says.
#132 Parrhesia is a seal of the Spirit; it testifies to the authenticity of our preaching. It is a joyful assurance that leads us to glory in the Gospel we proclaim. It is an unshakable trust
in the faithful Witness who gives us the certainty that nothing can "separate us from the love of God"(Rom 8:39).
You are getting some shorter posts this week because I am in retreat and scheduling ahead.
Please keep the retreat in your prayer.
#131. "Look at Jesus. His deep compassion reached out to others. It did not make him hesitant, timid or self-conscious, as often happens with us. Quite the opposite. His compassion made him go out actively to preach and to send others on a mission of healing and liberation. Let us acknowledge our weakness, but allow Jesus to lay hold of it and send us too on mission. We are weak, yet we hold a treasure that can enlarge us and make those who receive it better and happier. Boldness and apostolic courage are an essential part of mission.
The name given to my group when we made our final Profession in Rome was "Apostolic Courage" and it was something we all have lived in these 57 years; many have gone to God but we are all united in the Mystical Body of Christ.
In #130 in the Exhortation on Holiness, Pope Francis says: "How often we are tempted to keep close to the shore! Yet the Lord calls us to put out into the deep and let down our nets.
He bids us spend our lives in his service. Clinging to him, we are inspired to put all our charisms at the service of others. May we always feel compelled by his love (2 Cor 5:14) and say with Saint Paul: 'Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel'..."
I find so much to reflect upon in this Exhortation. We preach the Gospel by the way we live. Am I ready to put out into the deep?
Today we celebrate the Mass of the Holy Trinity with the entrance antiphon: " Blest be God the Father, and the Only Begotten Son of God, and also the Holy Spirit, for he has shown us his merciful love."
The Collect asks that we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory and adore your Unity, powerful in majesty. I often thank God for the grace I received when living at the Trinita dei Monte in Rome of having months to just try to develop a relationship with each member of the Blessed Trinity. I am still influenced by that grace.
Tonight we enter into retreat so I have scheduled my blog for these days ahead so I can spend them in silence. We only have a six day retreat but I will be making a few more days later as I think retreat is the most important time of the year, at least for me. I need this time with the Lord and it is like a honeymoon. I do count on your prayer for this week of intense prayer.
Another aspect of holiness is boldness and passion. The Holy Father says in #129, "Holiness is also parrhesia: it is boldness, an impulse to evangelize and to leave a mark in this world. To allow us to do this, Jesus himself comes and tells us once more, serenely yet firmly: 'Do not be afraid' (Mk 6:50). 'I am with you always, to the end of the world' (Mt 28: 20). These words enable us to go forth and serve with the same courage that the Holy Spirit stirred up in the Apostles, impelling them to proclaim Jesus Christ. Boldness, enthusiasm, the freedom to speak out, apostolic fervor, all these are included in the word parrhesia. The Bible also uses this word to describe the freedom of a life open to God and to others....."
Have we this boldness and enthusiasm?
Today is the feast of our Mother Foundress, St. Madeleine Sophie. She seems so close to all of us as I know she watches over us from heaven. She wants each of us to live in union and conformity with the Heart of Jesus. She loves fidelity to the Holy Spirit and is concerned with the interior life of each of us. She always wants us to be humble, prayerful, and to seek only to be faithful to whatever God is asking of us. I find her presence in my life so consoling and encouraging. She often tells me to slow down and discern what the Lord is asking of me. I suspect she does this for all her daughters.
Since the Holy Father has asked all to make an examen in dialogue with the Lord every day, I am trying to do this and now will ask Sophie to help me. I am rediscovering the great value of an examen of consciousness - where is the Lord in my life today? What is He saying to me in the persons, events, and circumstances of this day? What might He be asking of me? Above all, it is a time to thank Jesus for all the daily graces He gives us.
I am adding this that is from the end of the letter that our Mother General just sent for today's feast and that of the Sacred Heart. I know many Associates read this blog, too.
...please know that each one of us has a part in this journey we are on together. All of us are called to pray deeply. We are called to deepen our love – within the Heart of Christ, for each other and for our world and its people. We are called to participate in whatever way is possible for us. No one is too old or too young to be co-creators of our future. Remember, each one of us has a basic responsibility which she cannot surrender and which no one can carry out for her: that of living in the truth of her heart and her life, wherever she may be, the charism of Saint Madeleine Sophie (Constitutions, 140).
May the same spirit that guided Sophie throughout her life strengthen and enlighten us. May we pray together that this Spirit will give us the gifts we need to live deeply and united in this very important moment for the life of our world, our Church and our Society.
We continue with thoughts for reflection from the Pope's Exhortation on Holiness:
128. Pope Francis tells us that "I am speaking of a joy lived in communion, which shares and is shared, since 'there is more happiness in giving than in receiving' (Acts 20:35) and 'God loves a cheerful giver'(2 Cor 9:7). Fraternal love increases our capacity for joy, since it makes us capable of rejoicing in the good of others: 'Rejoice with those who rejoice'(Rom 12:15). 'We rejoice when we are weak and you are strong'(2 Cor 13:9). On the other hand, when we focus primarily on our own needs, we condemn ourselves to a joyless existence."
We are now still on the Fourth Chapter of Gaudete et Exsultate.
#127 "With the love of a father, God tells us: 'My son, treat yourself well... Do not deprive yourself of a happy day' (Sir 14:11,14). He wants us to be positive, grateful, and uncomplicated....we should remain resilient and imitate St. Paul: "I have learned to be content with what I have." (Phil 4:11). Saint Francis of Assisi lived by this; he could be overwhelmed with gratitude before a piece of hard bread, or joyfully praise God simply for the breeze that caressed his face."
So, let us go and be full of His joy today for Christ is truly risen and is in each of us. We will never get used to or grasp fully this Divine indwelling!
The Pope tells us that hard times may come but "nothing can destroy the supernatural joy that adapts and changes, but always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved. That joy brings deep security, serene hope and a spiritual fulfillment that the world cannot understand or appreciate."
#126 "Christian joy is usually accompanied by a sense of humor." The Pope says that ill humor is no sign of holiness....
We receive so much from the Lord 'for our enjoyment' (1 Tim 6:17), that sadness can be a sign of ingratitude. We can get so caught up in ourselves that we are unable to recognize God's gifts."
The underlining is mine!
From Gaudete et Exsultate :
#122. Far fro being timid, morose, acerbic or melancholy, or putting on a dreary face, the saints are joyful and full of good humor. Though completely realistic, they radiate a positive and hopeful spirit. The Christian life is 'joy in the Holy Spirit' (Rom 14:17), for the necessary result of the love of charity is joy....
If we allow the Lord to draw us out of our shell and change our lives, then we can do as Saint Paul tells us:'Rejoice in the Lord always; I say it again, rejoice!' (Phil 4:4)....."
#123 "The prophets proclaimed the times of Jesus, in which we now live, as a revelation of joy." The Pope gives us some quotes that show us how we are to rejoice greatly; we are not to grieve for the joy of the Lord is our strength.
#124 Mary, recognizing the newness that Jesus brought, sang: 'My spirit rejoices' and Jesus himself 'rejoiced in the Holy Spirit'... After the resurrection of Jesus, 'wherever the disciples went, there was 'much joy' (Acts 8:8). Jesus assures us: "You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy...I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you' (Jn 16:20,22). 'These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."
(Jn 15:11).
In today's Liturgy we ask God to sanctify the whole Church in every people and nation and to pour out the gifts of the Holy Spirit across the face of the earth and fill now once more the hearts of believers.
I love the description Luke gives us of the first Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles: "When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim."
This feast has a wonderful Sequence that is worth praying over. I think I copied it for last year's feast so will not repeat it here. You can no doubt find it in my archives or on Google.
Happy Feast!
