Three things are to be feared in the particular judgment:
1) The judge,
2) the account to be rendered, and
3) the sentence.
By penance we may make the judge, our Lord himself, favorable to us. The judge whom we have neglected, offended and injured, with all the malice of sin, and so often, deliberately, although he favored us with benefits.
A God of mercy, he is quick to pardon at the first sign of repentance; but then he will be a God of justice. Not the smallest fault, not an idle word, will pass unperceived; but will be severely punished in purgatory.
What have we to fear from our judge? For one, lukewarmness which blinds man as to the number and gravity of his faults; or maintains him in false security.
What, then, should we do? “When you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case.” (Lk 12:58)
That is, according to St Augustine, with God who is your judge, and whom sin has made you an enemy. You can do so, if “you be humble ... under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in the time of visitation” (1 Pet 5:6).
Penance may lighten the account we shall give. Everything will be reviewed by One from whom nothing can be hidden-- time lost in useless things; the good left undone, the good ill-done; all our thoughts, intentions, words, actions.
The judgment will be severe in proportion to the grace received: “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required.” (Lk 12:48)
These truths filled with fear even the penitents of the desert who never thought they had atoned enough for their past lives. Their only means of consolation was unending penance until death.
Let us strive to imitate them and try to lighten by such penance and mortification our heavy account of sin, faultiness and negligence.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp157-9
Learning to see the good in others
Charity makes the heart find room in it for all men, even those who don’t understand us or who fail to respond to our love. With the Lord beside us no one will be our enemy.
We will learn not to judge the covert personal intentions of others. The few external signs we see often do not reflect their true motives.
“Although you might see something bad, do not instantly judge your neighbour”, advises St Bernard, “but, rather, excuse him interiorly. Excuse the intention if you are unable to excuse the action. Consider it as done in ignorance, or unawares, or through weakness. If the matter is so weighty that you cannot possibly overlook it, then try to believe the following and say to yourself: ‘the temptation must have been very strong!’” (St Augustine, “Sermon 40 on the Song of Songs”)
Our Lady will teach us, if we ask her, how to forgive -- in Cana, Mary does not deplore or criticize the lack of wine, ‘but helps find a solution to the need’ -- and to struggle to cultivate in our personal lives these very virtues which, on occasion, may seem to us to be lacking in others. We will then be in an excellent position to offer a helping hand to them.
Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:132
On Making Disciples
Jesus Christ said:
“Go, therefore and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Mt 28:19-20)
Since then, there has been ceaseless organizational or communal response from those who believe and are baptized. In the “Acts of the Apostles” we read: “Those who accepted his message devoted themselves to the apostles’ instruction and the communal life ...” (2:41-2) Here we already see the Church’s communitarian nature. ...
“This is how all men will know you for my disciples: your love for one another.” (Jn 13:35) The communal dimension of your Christian vocation was strongly emphasized by the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council. Every liturgical act is an act of the entire Body of Christ ... and every Mass is an act of Christ in his Body.
Every good deed done by a member is to the advantage of all the members together, and every sin is not only an offense against God but is also a wound inflicted on Christ’s Body ... Clearly, it is not even thinkable that a Christian should live solely for himself.
A Christian who has not learned to see and love Christ in his neighbor is not fully Christian. We are our brothers’ keepers; bound to each other by the bond of love ...
This communal or organizational nature of our vocation ought to be directed toward the universal Church. We are a local Church instituted by Christ the Lord only to the degree in which we are part of the universal Church.
Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, p56
Father’s Day
Venerate Joseph, the just man, Joseph, who loved Mary, of the house of David, all the more deeply for having accepted her mystery. We venerate Joseph in whom the Fatherhood of God Himself is reflected more fully than all earthly fathers. We venerate Joseph who built a family home on earth for the Eternal Word, just as Mary gave Him a human body. “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. (Jn 1:14)
Let us turn our eyes from that great mystery of the faith and direct our thoughts to our homes, to so many couples and families. Joseph of Nazareth is a special revelation of the dignity of human fatherhood, Joseph of Nazareth, the carpenter, tne man of labor ....
The family rests upon the dignity of human paternity -- on the responsibility of man, husband and father, as it does also on his work. Joseph of Nazareth testifies to that.
God addressed the following words to him: “Joseph, son of David, have no fear about taking Mary as your wife” (Mt 1:20).
Are not these words perhaps addressed to each one of you? Dear brothers, fathers and husbands of families! “Do not be afraid to take ...” Do not desert!
It was said at the beginning, “A man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body” (Gen 2:24). And Christ added, “Therefore let no man separate what God has joined!” (Mk 10:9).
The compactness of the family, its stability, is one of the fundamental goods of man and society. At the basis of the compactness of the family lies the indissolubility of matrimony.
If man, if society, seek ways depriving marriage of its indissolubility and the family of its compactness, then they cut away almost the very root of its moral strength and its health; they deprive themselves of one of the fundamental goods on which human life is built.
Ref: Prayers and Devotions from POPE JOHN PAUL II, 365 Daily Meditations. 1984, p453
Our Lady
“Love of our Lady is proof of a good spirit, in works and in individuals. Don’t trust the undertaking that lacks this characteristic.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 505)
“Before, by yourself, you couldn’t. Now, you’ve turned to our Lady, and with her, how easy!” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 513)
• Our Lady of Bruges Flanders 1150. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)
• Our Lady of Bruges, in Flanders, where a lock of the Blessed Virgin’s hair is exhibited, given by a Syrian bishop, named Moses. — Hugo Farcitus, lib. i., Miracul. B. Virg. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
• Our Lady of Bruges, Flanders (1150), where a lock of Our Lady’s hair is preserved. (www/divinewill.org/feastofourlady.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
• Our Lady of Bruges. Flanders. 1150. Relic of Mary's hair. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
• Our Lady of Bruges (Flanders). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
• Our Lady of the Rain (Italy, 1367) (http://mariedenazareth.com)
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