Our Lady of the Rosary: Mercy that Stands and Fights

We often think of mercy as gentle and passive.

We picture forgiveness, compassion, patience, and kindness. We think of the father running toward his prodigal son, Christ forgiving the repentant sinner, or the Good Samaritan stopping beside the wounded man.

But there is another side to mercy that we sometimes forget.

Sometimes mercy must stand between the powerful and the vulnerable.

Sometimes mercy must resist.

Sometimes mercy must defend.

And sometimes mercy must fight.

The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, celebrated on October 7, has its roots in one of the most famous battles in Christian history: the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.

It is a story about war, certainly. But it is also a story about prayer, courage, protection, and the responsibility to resist forces that threaten human beings.

It reminds us that mercy is not always passive.

Sometimes mercy has teeth.

The Battle of Lepanto

In 1571, the Ottoman Empire was expanding across the Mediterranean. Christian Europe faced the possibility of further expansion, and the island of Cyprus had recently fallen to the Ottomans.

A coalition known as the Holy League assembled a fleet to confront the Ottoman navy.

On October 7, 1571, the two fleets met in the Gulf of Patras, near Lepanto in modern-day Greece.

The battle was enormous. Hundreds of ships and tens of thousands of men were involved.

The Christian fleet was commanded by Don John of Austria. Among those supporting the Christian cause was Pope St. Pius V.

But Pope Pius did something that went beyond assembling ships and soldiers.

He called Christians to pray the Rosary.

According to tradition, he asked Christians throughout Europe to pray for the success of the fleet. As the battle unfolded, the Rosary became closely associated with the Christian victory.

The Holy League prevailed.

Pope Pius V attributed the victory to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and established a feast in her honor.

Over time, that commemoration developed into the feast we celebrate today as Our Lady of the Rosary.

The Church does not celebrate war itself.

It celebrates the recognition that there are moments when refusing to resist evil can itself become a failure of charity.

When Peace Requires Resistance

This is an uncomfortable truth.

We rightly praise peace.

Christ calls us to love our enemies.

The Christian cannot turn hatred of another person into a virtue.

But peace is not the same thing as passivity.

Imagine a child being abused.

Imagine a woman being attacked.

Imagine a tyrant imprisoning innocent people.

Imagine someone with power exploiting those who have none.

What does mercy require?

Does mercy simply say, “We should not fight”?

No.

Mercy asks what love requires of us in the presence of another person's suffering.

Sometimes love requires forgiveness.

Sometimes it requires reconciliation.

Sometimes it requires boundaries.

And sometimes it requires standing between the victim and the one causing the harm.

That is not hatred.

That is protection.

Mercy for the Oppressed

The Christian understanding of mercy begins with the recognition that every human being possesses God-given dignity.

That includes the victim.

It also includes the perpetrator.

This is where Christian mercy becomes demanding.

To defend the oppressed does not require us to hate the oppressor.

Indeed, authentic Christian love requires us to desire the conversion of the oppressor as well.

But desiring someone's conversion does not mean allowing them to continue harming others.

Stopping evil can itself be an act of love.

A person who repeatedly abuses another person may need to be stopped.

A criminal may need to be restrained.

A nation may need to defend its people against an aggressor.

A community may need to confront injustice.

A Church may need to speak when the vulnerable are being exploited.

None of this contradicts mercy.

Sometimes it is mercy.

The Rosary Is a Weapon

The Rosary has sometimes been called a weapon.

That language can make modern ears uncomfortable.

But perhaps we have forgotten what kind of weapon the Rosary is.

It is not a weapon for destroying our enemies.

It is a weapon for transforming ourselves.

The Rosary places the mysteries of Christ's life before us again and again: his Incarnation, his suffering, his death, his Resurrection, and his glory.

It teaches us to look at the world through the eyes of Christ.

And that changes the way we fight.

The Rosary does not teach us to hate the person on the other side.

It teaches us to hate what destroys the human person.

It teaches us to resist sin without becoming sinful ourselves.

It teaches us to defend truth without abandoning charity.

It teaches us that victory ultimately belongs to God.

The Rosary is a weapon because it forms warriors who know whom they are fighting for—and what they must never become.

Our Lady Stands in the Battle

There is something fitting about placing this feast under the patronage of Mary.

Mary is not a warrior in the ordinary sense.

She does not appear carrying a sword.

She appears with a child.

Yet Scripture gives us another image of her.

In Genesis, God speaks of the woman and the serpent.

In Revelation, we see the woman clothed with the sun, caught up in the cosmic struggle between good and evil.

Mary's strength is not the strength of domination.

It is the strength of surrender to God.

She says, “Let it be done to me according to your word.”

And then she carries Christ into the world.

That is the strength the Rosary teaches us.

Before we can confront evil outside ourselves, we must allow God to confront the evil within us.

Before we demand justice from others, we must allow Christ to make us just.

Before we fight for the oppressed, we must ask whether our own hearts contain pride, resentment, prejudice, or hatred.

The Rosary does not merely prepare us for battle. It prepares us to fight the right battle in the right way.

The Battles We Face Today

Most of us will never stand on the deck of a warship.

Our battles will look very different.

We may need to defend a child who cannot defend himself.

We may need to speak up when someone is being bullied.

We may need to intervene when an elderly person is being exploited.

We may need to challenge an abusive situation.

We may need to defend the dignity of someone who has become the target of contempt.

We may need to speak the truth when remaining silent would allow someone else to be harmed.

And sometimes the battle will be much closer to home.

We may need to fight our own anger.

Our own addiction.

Our own pride.

Our own desire for revenge.

Our own temptation to dehumanize the person we believe deserves condemnation.

Those battles matter, too.

Because the Christian cannot effectively oppose evil while allowing evil to reshape his own heart.

Mercy Does Not Mean Surrender

There is a temptation in Christian discussions about mercy to confuse mercy with surrender.

We can become so concerned about forgiveness that we forget justice.

So concerned about compassion that we forget truth.

So concerned about peace that we forget the vulnerable person who needs protection.

But Christ never asks us to call evil good.

And he never asks us to sacrifice innocent people on the altar of our desire to avoid conflict.

Mercy does not mean allowing evil to continue unchecked.

Mercy seeks the good of the person who has been harmed.

It seeks the conversion of the person who is doing the harm.

And it seeks the restoration of what sin has damaged.

Sometimes restoration requires confrontation.

Sometimes it requires separation.

Sometimes it requires consequences.

And sometimes it requires courage.

That is mercy with teeth.

The Victory We Seek

The victory at Lepanto was understood by those who celebrated it through the lens of Blessed Mary's intercession.

But the deeper Christian victory is not the destruction of an enemy.

It is the triumph of Christ.

That distinction matters.

If we turn the Rosary into a tool for convincing ourselves that we are the good people and they are the enemy, we have missed the point.

The Rosary should make us more humble, not more self-righteous.

More courageous, not more hateful.

More willing to defend the vulnerable, not more eager to condemn.

More committed to truth, not less charitable.

We pray the Rosary because we need Mary to lead us closer to her Son.

And the closer we come to Christ, the more clearly we see what love demands.

Sometimes love kneels.

Sometimes love forgives.

Sometimes love suffers.

And sometimes love stands up and says, “No more.”

Our Lady of the Rosary, Pray for Us

The Battle of Lepanto is history.

But the need for courage in the face of evil has not disappeared.

There are still people who are oppressed.

There are still people who are abused.

There are still people who are exploited.

There are still people whose dignity is ignored because they are weak, inconvenient, unborn, elderly, poor, imprisoned, or otherwise unable to defend themselves.

And there are still Christians who are tempted to remain silent because confronting evil is uncomfortable.

Our Lady of the Rosary reminds us that prayer is not an escape from responsibility.

Prayer prepares us for responsibility.

So we pray the Rosary.

We pray for the oppressed.

We pray for those who have been harmed.

We pray for those who perpetrate evil—that they may repent and be transformed by grace.

We pray for those who must confront injustice.

And we pray that when the moment comes for us to act, we will have the courage to do what love requires.

Because sometimes mercy must kneel.
Sometimes mercy must forgive.
Sometimes mercy must protect.
And sometimes mercy must fight.

That is not a contradiction.

It is the reason mercy has teeth.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

Our Lady of Sorrows: Mercy That Stays

There is something almost unsettling about the image of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Mary is not pictured smiling.

She is not standing at a comfortable distance from the suffering of her Son.

She is standing beneath the Cross.

She watches the One she loves suffer and die.

And she stays.

That is where we discover another dimension of what I call "mercy with teeth."

Mercy does not always fix the suffering.

Sometimes mercy means refusing to abandon someone who is suffering.

(Image is the 13th Station in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - Our Lady of Sorrows.)

The Mother Who Remained

The Gospels tell us that Mary stood near the Cross of Jesus. While many of His disciples had fled, she remained.

Think about what that required.

She could not stop the crucifixion.

She could not take away the nails.

She could not silence the crowd.

She could not prevent her Son from suffering.

But she could be there.

And she was.

Sometimes we are tempted to believe that if we cannot solve someone's problem, there is nothing we can do.

Mary teaches us otherwise.

There are moments when the most merciful thing we can do is simply stay.

To sit beside someone who is grieving.

To accompany someone who is dying.

To listen to someone who has been wounded.

To stand beside someone who has been abandoned.

To remain when there are no words that can make things better.

That is mercy.

And it has teeth because it requires courage.

Mercy Is Not the Absence of Suffering

We sometimes imagine mercy as God's way of making suffering disappear.

But Mary's experience tells us something different.

She was the mother of the Messiah.

She was full of grace.

And yet she suffered.

Her holiness did not protect her from the pain of this world.

Instead, her holiness gave her the strength to enter into that pain with Christ.

The Seven Sorrows of Mary remind us that mercy does not always mean removing the Cross.

Sometimes mercy means helping another person carry it.

That is why the Christian response to suffering cannot simply be, "How do I make this go away?"

Sometimes the better question is:

"How can I help this person carry it?"

The Sword That Pierced Her Heart

Simeon had warned Mary early in Jesus' life:

"And you yourself a sword will pierce."

That prophecy was fulfilled beneath the Cross.

Mary's heart was pierced by the suffering of her Son.

And yet she did not turn away.

This is a profound image of mercy.

To love another person is to make ourselves vulnerable to their suffering.

If we truly love, their wounds begin to matter to us.

Their grief affects us.

Their pain costs us something.

Mercy with teeth is willing to pay that price.

It refuses the easier path of indifference.

The Courage to Stay

There are many ways we can abandon someone without physically walking away.

We can avoid the uncomfortable conversation.

We can stop answering the phone.

We can decide that someone's problems are simply too complicated.

We can say, "They made their own choices."

Sometimes those things may be necessary. Mercy does not require us to remain in situations that are dangerous or abusive.

But even when we must establish boundaries, we can refuse to surrender our compassion.

Mary shows us a different kind of strength.

She stayed close to Christ without being able to change His circumstances.

She loved Him without being able to rescue Him from the Cross.

She suffered with Him without taking His place.

Her presence was itself an act of love.

Mercy Does Not Enable

This is important when we speak about mercy with teeth.

Mary's presence at the Cross was not passive approval of evil.

She did not call the crucifixion good.

She did not pretend that injustice was justice.

She did not tell Jesus that His suffering didn't matter.

She simply refused to let suffering have the final word.

That distinction is important in our own relationships.

Mercy does not mean remaining in an abusive situation.

It does not mean protecting someone from the consequences of their actions.

It does not mean pretending that evil is acceptable.

It means that even when we must say "no," establish boundaries, seek justice, or separate ourselves from someone who causes harm, we can still refuse to become consumed by hatred.

Mercy can have boundaries.

Mercy can demand justice.

Mercy can speak hard truths.

And mercy can still remain mercy.

From the Cross to the Resurrection

The Blessed Virgin Mary's story did not end at Calvary.

The woman who stood beneath the Cross would also experience the joy of the Resurrection.

This is the hope at the heart of Christian mercy.

We do not enter into another person's suffering because we believe suffering is the end.

We enter because we know Christ has conquered death.

The Cross is real.

But so is the empty tomb.

The sorrow is real.

But so is the hope.

The wound is real.

But so is the possibility of healing.

Our Lady Teaches Us Mercy

Our Lady of Sorrows teaches us that mercy sometimes looks less like fixing and more like accompanying.

It looks like staying.

It looks like listening.

It looks like praying.

It looks like carrying another person's suffering to Christ.

It looks like refusing to abandon someone simply because we cannot solve their problem.

And sometimes it looks like having the courage to say the difficult thing, establish the necessary boundary, or pursue justice—while still refusing to surrender the person to hatred.

That is mercy with teeth.

It is tender enough to weep.

Strong enough to stay.

Courageous enough to confront evil.

And faithful enough to stand beneath the Cross until the dawn of resurrection.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.

Teach us to remain with those who suffer.

Teach us to love without enabling evil.

Teach us to seek justice without vengeance.

Teach us to forgive without pretending that wounds do not matter.

And when the Cross becomes too heavy for us to carry alone, teach us to stand beside your Son—and to invite others to stand there with us.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.

Mothers

This weekend, we honor our mothers. These women are too often the unsung heroes of our communities. Whether they have careers outside the home or their career is the home, they provide the backbone of the formation of our children. Of course, we know that motherhood begins with conception, and from that first moment, the bond between mother and child is formed. For the first 9 months, and perhaps for some time after birth, the mother and child are inseparable. As the child grows and matures, it is more often than not the mother who comforts and nourishes the children. Their role might too easily be taken for granted, overlooked, or even minimized. With that understanding, we as children need to show respect to our mothers more than just one day (and equal for our fathers). Perhaps, this Mother’s Day, we take special note of the hidden ways our mothers have given of themselves, and pledge our love and respect at a deeper level. As a Catholic, however, I cannot help but take this inclination to honor mothers a little further. Not only do we honor mothers this weekend, but we also honor the Blessed Mother Mary this month of May. After all, the first mention of Mary in the scriptures is the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel reveals God’s plan to her, the plan to be the mother of His Son. God the Father chose her, really created her, for this moment. We next hear of Mary taking Jesus in her womb to visit Elizabeth, whose own unborn son recognizes his unborn Savior. These two mothers rejoice in their good fortune: one to be a mother in her old age, her shamed barrenness lifted; the other, the mother of the hope of all for salvation. They rejoice in their mutual maternity. Two millennia later, Mary remains a mother who seeks to introduce her Divine Son to all. We do not worship her, but we do honor her for her role in salvation. We ask her aid, not as a God, but as a mother who had such an intimate union with the Incarnate Word of God, so intimate that she gave Him flesh, clothed Him, feed Him, comforted Him. As a mother, she did so much of our Savior and Lord. To disregard her role in God’s plan is to minimize her Son. Put positively, to honor Mary is to honor her Son, and to understand her role is to worship God! Even Jesus, as a Jew, honored and obeyed her! Mary longs, like a good mother, to help us understand her Son, to know Him and to love Him. All of us, Catholic or Protestant, have recourse to her as a mother who is willing to come to our aid. Like Elizabeth, let us cry out “Who am I that the Mother of my Lord should come to me!”

Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

Mary is the Mother of God, and on this octave of Christmas, we take a further look at her Son. To proclaim Mary is the Mother of God is a proclamation that Jesus Christ is the incarnate Word of God. The Blessed Mother is often titled Theotokos, the God-bearer. It is not that she gave Christ existence - He was begotten by the Father before the ages - but gave Him flesh. Mary, Mother of God, reveals Christ to us. So we honor her, and we worship her Son who was born for our salvation.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Mary responds to the message of the angel, rather to the Lord, "May it be done to me according to your word." She may not know the full implication of her response, nor how exactly this is to come to be, but she is submissive and obedient. She is not passive, though, despite the passive voice of her translated response. In the Greek New Testament, this is in the 'middle' voice - a voice that implies that while another performs the action, the subject will cooperate with the actor. Mary will cooperate, she will help the Lord bring about salvation.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

His name shall be Jesus... What is in a name? The Angel announces to St. Joseph that the child conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary is by the Holy Spirit, and that His name will be Jesus - God Saves. Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity not only is "God with us" Emmanuel, but is the reminder that God longs to save His people. His purpose, is His name.
Few of us are so blessed to have our names reveal our vocations. But the Lord, all the same, calls us my our names. More than an unique identifier, He gives us an unique purpose in life. Like St. Joseph, we are invited to accept Jesus and Mary into our lives, and like him, may we live our vocations out!

Our Lady of Sorrows - Stabat Mater Dolorosa

Today is the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Praying the Stabat Mater Dolorosa is especially appropriate today.

At the cross her station keeping
stood the mournful Mother weeping,
close to Jesus to the last.

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing,
all His bitter anguish bearing
now at lenght the sword had passed.

Oh, how sad and sore distressed
was that Mother highly blessed,
of the sole-begotten One!

Christ above in torment hangs,
she beneath beholds the pangs
of her dying, glorious Son.

Is there one who would not weep,
'whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ's dear Mother to behold?

Can the human heart refrain
from partaking in her pain,
in that Mother's pain untold?

Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,
she beheld her tender Child
All with scourges rent.

For the sins of His own nation,
saw Him hang in desolation,
Till His spirit forth He sent.

O sweet Mother! fount of love!
Touch my spirit from above,
make my heart with thine accord.

Make me feel as thou hast felt;
make my soul to glow and melt
with the love of Christ, my Lord.

Holy Mother! pierce me through,
in my heart each wound renew
of my Savior crucified.

Let me share with thee His pain,
who for all our sins was slain,
who for me in torments died.

Let me mingle tears with thee,
mourning Him who mourned for me,
all the days that I may live.

By the Cross with thee to stay,
there with thee to weep and pray,
is all I ask of thee to give.

Virgin of all virgins blest!,
Listen to my fond request:
let me share thy grief divine;

Let me, to my latest breath,
in my body bear the death
of that dying Son of thine.

Wounded with His every wound,
steep my soul till it hath swooned,
in His very Blood away;

Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
lest in flames I burn and die,
in His awful Judgment Day.

Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence,
by Thy Mother my defense,
by Thy Cross my victory;

While my body here decays,
may my soul Thy goodness praise,
safe in paradise with Thee. Amen.

Assumption 2010

The Blessed Mother is assumed into Heaven, body and soul. It is only fitting, as the most perfect vessel for the Incarnation of Christ, having been prepared from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception. It is not of her own accord, but rather because she said yes to the Lord.



(Icon of the Dormition - the Eastern Churches' term for the Assumption - calling to mind her 'sleeping' and being taken into Heaven. Note that Christ her Son is at her side, along with the Apostles.)

Sometimes, one considering a vocation, forgets that God not only loves those who follow Him, but He takes care of them. He shows His love of the Blessed Mother by honoring her thus, and he will take care of us, too.

The 13th Day

Wow! That is the only word that comes close to describe the movie "The 13th Day". It is a beautiful film about the Marian Apparitions of Fatima.

Pope examines relationship of Mary to priests

Catholic News Agency reports on the Pope's Wednesday Audience in "Pope examines relationship of Mary to priests".

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Aug 12, 2009 / 10:48 am (CNA).- During Wednesday’s general audience in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of there being a “nexus” between the Blessed Virgin Mary and the priesthood. Like St. John, he said, all priests “are called to accept her into their home.”

Pope Benedict pointed out that this nexus is rooted in the mystery of the Incarnation. “God does not act against our freedom,” he explained. “He needed the yes of his creatures.”

“St. Bernard of Clairvaux, in one of his homilies, explained in dramatic manner this decisive moment of universal history, when heaven, earth and God Himself await this creature’s response,” he added.

“Mary is truly and profoundly involved in the mystery of the Incarnation, of our salvation. … Sacrifice, the priesthood and the Incarnation go together and Mary is at the heart of this mystery,” the Pontiff said.

Pope Benedict also reflected on the tie between priests and Mary.

From the cross, Jesus sees his mother and the beloved apostle, an important individual, but more importantly a prefigurement of loved people and especially all priests.

“The Second Vatican Council invites priests to see Mary as the perfect model of their existence,” the Pope added.

“The Curé d'Ars, who we think of this year especially, loved to repeat that after Jesus Christ gave us everything he could give, he wanted to make us heirs of what was most precious to him, his holy mother,” the Pope continued. “This applies to all Christians, but especially for priests.”

"Every priest can and should truly feel himself to be the son of this most holy and most humble mother," he said.

...

The Blessed Virgin Mary's Role in Celibacy

In a post Ignatius Insight: The Blessed Virgin Mary's Role in the Celibate Priest's Spousal and Paternal Love, the author Carl Olson writes of the role of the Blessed Mother in the celibate priesthood, based on the book of the same title by Fr. John Cihak, STD.

Fourth Sunday of Advent

This weekend's readings, we hear of God's will for the Blessed Mother given to her in the message from the Angel Gabriel. She was ready and prepared, aware of her need of a savior. Remember though free from original and actual sin, she was pre-redeemed by Jesus Christ and was still in need of His life, death, and resurrection. Hearing the message of the Angel, she receives it with joy and humility. She willingly allows the will of God to be done. Not fully knowing the 'hows', she knows the why: for the her salvation, and that of the whole world and our souls. She provides the temple for the Son of God to dwell (hence the first reading). Through her, He will be born. She receives the Lord.
In addition to John the Baptist, the Blessed Virgin Mary can provide another way of living Advent. She was ready to receive the Lord! As we count and prepare for these last days before Christmas, we should remember that God has a plan for us, too. We ought to be ready to do His will, and to receive Him with joy.

Article on the Ten Suggestions

This month, we mark National Vocations Awareness Week(January 13-18). While so often we single out priesthood and religious life, we know that we need holy husbands and wives, following the model of the Holy Family. We need holy married couples to raise children in an environment of holiness. Any response to the call of God is first made possible by the loving example of family. Without holy families, the chances of responding to a call are greatly diminished, simply because no one has modeled how to respond to any call, whether to priesthood, religious life, the deaconate, the missionary life, or even holy marriage.
There seems to be a certain confusion among parents for the best practices that would open their children’s hearts to responding. Perhaps we should take comfort calling to mind Pentecost – despite all the confusion, it was the work of the Holy Spirit in which we find the trust that God to still be in control. We also know that more than the minimum is necessary. Following the precepts of the Church are the minimum. What follows are some humble ‘hints’ for parents in how to create an environment in which children will be open to hearing God’s voice and responding in love to that call.
1. Develop your relationship with Christ and impart a desire for discipleship in the lives of your children. Especially important would be participating in Eucharistic Adoration and even if possible daily Mass. Silence is necessary for growth (both your own and for your child), and in the presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, we are profoundly touched by His loving embrace. In frequent reception of the Eucharist, we grow in grace and freedom.
2. Live your vocation to marriage out as fully as you can. By responding to your vocation to marriage, asking for the fullness of grace that God offers, you will model to your children how to live and respond to God’s grace.
3. Speak of the holy and influential priests and religious in your life. Sharing these stories helps to show the impact a religious life can have.
4. Provide opportunities for your children to speak with priests and religious. Invite them to your house, or let your children interact with them after Mass or at various functions. Your children will see them as human beings and begin to ask if God might be calling them, too.
5. Pray for your children’s vocations, that they may understand their call, and place them in the care of the Blessed Mother, through praying the rosary as a family. By placing your children’s vocations to her maternal protection, she will lead them to Christ.
6. Speak of your children responding to whatever vocation they have, showing your support of them without pushing them. Be aware that the vocation comes from God, and that their free response will lead them to lasting happiness. Parents walk a fine line between showing support and forcing a response. Let your children know you are pleased by their response to God’s call.
7. Instill in your children a desire to serve and a proper understanding of stewardship. This can be done through your ‘open’ service and stewardship. Let your children see your joy-filled gift of self, and help them to find opportunities to do likewise.
8. Inspire a heroic life of virtue in your child by reading to them or with them about the lives of the saints and encouraging moral choices.
9. Help your child develop a wide range of activities and discern what gives them joy and what their talents are. By knowing their talents and gifts, your child may be able to know what God desires. There are certain skills that are useful in any lifestyle and vocation, and by learning to place these in the service of God, your child will more readily be able to cultivate other ‘specialized’ gifts that will led to discerning God’s will.
10. Develop a sense of the sacred and transcendent in your child. Great art, literature, and music can inspire us and teach us of the human condition.
There is nothing profound in any of these things. Together, we can build a culture for vocations in our homes, parishes, area faith communities, diocese, and world. We can create an environment which enables and encourages all of us to respond more deeply to God’s call. We can inspire our youth to take their proper places at the altar as lay men and women, as religious, as deacons, and priests, together worshipping God with one unified voice of praise!

Reasons To Be a Priest

The editors at the National Catholic Register ran an article 7 Reasons To Be a Priest. It is a thoughtful piece filled with great points that have potential to inspire.
The seven reasons are listed here, but read the article to find out what they mean.

First: The World Needs Heroes

Second: To Make Christ Present to More People.

Third: To Forgive Sins.

Fourth: To Be a Living Icon of Christ.

Fifth: To Be Like Mary.

Sixth: To Preach and Teach.

Seventh: To Expand Your Family.

Reflection on the Feast of the Holy Family

This weekend, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. Held within the Octave of Christmas, we remember that Jesus Christ, Son of God, is born into a family, and that He submits to St. Joseph's paternal protection and the Blessed Virgin Mary's Maternal nurturing. It is through His family that Jesus understood His humanity on an experiential level. Yes, He 'knew' what it meant to be human - He had a role in creating humanity, after all. But in taking on flesh, in becoming man for us, He now experiences it, and because of it, redeems all of humanity.

Most of us have families that more or less are attempting to follow the model of the Holy Family. Families have an important role in helping us discern our vocations. It is through the modeling of holy parents that children learn of God's love for us, and become willing and eager to respond. This does not mean, however, that in families where this is not the case that the child has no hope - we are never without hope - but that there is the difficulty. In most cases, the child has to be embraced, knowingly or unknowingly, by a father-figure at least, and perhaps even a mother-figure. It could be a grandparent, teacher, neighbor, or parent of a friend. We need families to help us understand our vocations!

Christmas Reflections

Christ is born for us. The Son of God is the Word become flesh, and dwells among us. He is the fulfillment of every human longing, giving us salvation, hope, and joy. He is Emmanuel - God with us. Is it any wonder that Angels offer a mighty song of praise? Is it any wonder that the shepherds made haste to see the child Jesus laid in the manger? Is it any wonder that the Star led the way of the wise men to worship the new born king? The true wonder is that God would choose to save us in such a way!

One of my favorite Christmas hymns, among many, is "What Child is This". Set to Greensleeves, even the melody is hauntingly simple. But the theology of the song is beautiful. I offer it for your Christmas Reflections.

What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom Angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?


CHORUS: This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and Angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.


Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.


Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.


So bring Him incense, gold and myrrh,
Come peasant, king to own Him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.


Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary

Merry Christmas! May Christ Jesus fulfill in us the salvation He gives!

Immaculate Conception

In the Immaculate Conception, we remember the act of God in applying to the Virgin Mary, from the first moment of her conception in the womb of her mother, the grace her Son would give through his death and resurrection. God could do this because He is eternal, and in His foreknowledge knew that the Blessed Mother would freely say yes to bearing the Son of God. With this feast, we remember the unique vocation of the Blessed Mother, enabled to do so by the fullness of God's grace, and given all the grace she needed to provide a perfect womb for Jesus Christ. She is the model, therefore, of vocations. Though we are not immaculate, much less immaculately conceived, we can find forgiveness and grace to respond to God's will. May the Blessed Mother intercede for us.

Ten Suggestions for Parents

This last weekend I preached my first of 8 weekends on the state of vocations in our Diocese in various parishes/Area Faith Communities. Instead of presenting a message of desperation on our need for priests, I tried to present the present state as one of opportunity for us to reflect on the need for priests to preside at the Eucharist and other sacraments, and that God is calling. In addition, I tried to give practical hints of what parents can do to raise their children in a culture of vocations - an environment in which the notion of a call from God is not only capable of being heard but readily responded to. My suggestions to parents are:

1. Develop your relationship with Christ and impart a desire for discipleship in the lives of your children.


2. Live your vocation to marriage out as fully as you can.


3. Speak of the influential priests and religious in your life.


4. Provide opportunities for your children to speak with priests and religious.


5. Pray for your children’s vocations that they may understand their call, and place them in the care of the Blessed Mother (especially in praying the Rosary).


6. Help your children develop a wide range of activities and discern what gives them joy and at what they are good.


7. Speak of your children responding, showing your support of them without pushing them.


8. Instill in your children a desire to serve and a proper understanding of stewardship.


9. Inspire a heroic life of virtue in your child by reading the lives of the saints and encouraging moral choices.


10. Develop a sense of the sacred and transcendent in your child – the Good, the True, and the Beautiful – which will reveal the Truth.

The Annunciation

Leonardo da Vinci's Annunciation, c. 1472-75
Normally, the feast that we celebrate today, the Annunciation, is celebrated on March 25, but because the 25th is on a Sunday and the Sunday of Lent has precedence. This feast is, of course, the celebration of the announcement of the Angel to the Blessed Virgin Mary that she was to bear the Son of the Most High. Without knowing how this was to be, she places her trust in the Lord and the message of the Angel. Her response, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me, according to your word" (Ecce ancilla Domini fiat mihi secundum verbus tuum in Latin.)

The Blessed Mother is the model of vocation. She places her trust, and indeed her whole life, in God. She responds, not knowing the fullness of how, the mechanics perhaps, but knowing that God's plan was good. She is willing to become a virgin mother.

We might have questions about the mechanics of what God is inviting us, but the Blessed Mother shows us that it is in responding to the will of God that we come to understand.

Dear Blessed Virgin Mary, you are full of grace.
We celebrate the message of the incarnation of your Son,
and your Fiat to the message of the angel.
Help me to respond to God's loving will as you did.
Help me to let go of the questions,
the worries that prevent me for saying yes with self-abandonment.
Be my strong advocate
as you take my intercession to know God's will
to our King, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.