1 May 2013 St Joseph the Worker Jesus was called “the son of the carpenter” (Mk 6:3). This feast reminds us that honest work, even if seemingly menial, can be sanctified. Through work, we can sanctify ourselves and others. We become participants in the work of redemption. Many countries honor labor on 1 May. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1517) Work is a gift from God “By the labor of your hands shall you eat.” (cf Ps 128:2) The Church, in presenting St Joseph to us today as a model, is not endorsing one particular form of work, manual labor, but is testifying to the dignity and value of all honest human occupations. God placed man in the garden of Eden “to till it and keep it” (Gen 2:15). From the beginning of man’s existence, work is a command of nature, a feature of his being as a creature, an expression of his dignity, whereby he cooperates in the overall task of Divine Providence. What original sin did was to change the ‘form’ of this cooperation. “... In the sweat of your face shall you eat.” (Gen 3:17-9) For many centuries manual work was seen only as a way of earning a living, basically worthless or degrading. Nowadays some societies tend to classify people according to ‘how much they make’ and to their ability to secure a higher level of material comfort at any cost. “It is time Christians shout from the rooftops that work is a gift from God and that it makes no sense to classify men according to their occupation, as if some jobs were nobler or of less significance than others. Work, all work, bears witness to the dignity of man, his dominion over creation. It is an opportunity to develop one’s personality. It is a bond of union with others, the way to support one’s family, a means of contributing to improvement of society and to the progress of all humanity.” (Cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 47) Saint Joseph worked for his living as a tradesman. (Cf John Paul II, “Redemptoris custos”, 15 August 1989, 22) We should frequently pray to him so that our work never loses its innate dignity or value. Oftentimes, when God is forgotten, “from the factory dead matter goes out improved, whereas the men there are corrupted and degraded”. (Pius XI, “Quadragesimo anno”, 15 May 1931, 135) Our work, with St Joseph’s help, ought to leave our hands as a prayerful and pleasing offering to God. Any honest occupation can be a means to perfect the worker and society. Through the unity among all members of Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church, man’s work can become a means of helping others. Every human enterprise, even the most laborious and difficult, must be ‘supernatural’ with a human purpose. Let us meditate today, with St Joseph’s help, on aspects of love and esteem for our job. Do we endeavor to do things perfectly and punctually? Always careful and considerate in every detail of our work? Work well done is work done with love. A proper regard for our task is the first step in raising it to the supernatural level. St Joseph teaches us to love the occupation in which we spend so much of our life -- keeping the home, in the factory, at the office, etc. Let us ask St Joseph to teach us the awareness of God’s presence as he had while engrossed at work. We must not forget our Blessed Mother to whom we lovingly dedicate this month. Let us offer daily in her honor a particular hour of work or study, each day better and more perfectly done. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:208-14 May*, Month of Mary “Month of sun and flowers ... month of Mary ... Since Advent our thoughts have followed Jesus; now that the great peace that follows the resurrection is in our souls, how can we not return to her who gave Him to us? “She appeared on earth to prepare His coming; she lived in His shadow, such that we do not see her intervening in the Gospel except as the mother of Jesus, following Him, watching Him. And when Jesus leaves us, she effaces herself. ... but she remains in the memory of the people because we owe Jesus to her.” (Cf J Leclerq, “A Year with the Liturgy”) Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:519 *A month of pilgrimages to the “Shrine of Our Lady of Antipolo”. The statue of the “Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage” (Antipolo) was brought by Governor Juan Niño de Tavora from Mexico to Manila in 1626. On his death (1636), the statue was turned over to the Jesuits for the church of Antipolo. The “Nuestra Señora dela Paz y Buenviaje” was proclaimed patroness of galleons. The statue crossed the Pacific and returned eight times on board galleons of Acapulco: 1641-1748. The statue was canonically crowned on 26 November 1926 by Archbishop Michael J O’Doherty at the Luneta attended by at least 100,000 people. (Philippine Historical Commission marker) ` ` ` MAY DEVOTIONS ` ` ` Mary is the Mother of God “When the Blessed Virgin said ‘yes’, freely, to the plans revealed to her by the Creator, the divine Word assumed a human nature: a rational soul and a body, which was formed in the most pure womb of Mary. The divine nature and the human nature were united in a single Person: Jesus Christ, true God and, henceforth, true Man; the only-begotten and eternal Son of the Father and, from that moment on, as Man, the true Son of Mary. “This is why our Lady is the Mother of the Incarnate Word, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity who has united our human nature to himself forever, without any confusion of the two natures. The greatest praise we can give to the Blessed Virgin is to address her loud and clear by the name that expresses her very highest dignity: Mother of God.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Friends of God”, 274) Let us offer our Mother: ‘Brief but frequent prayers of love, eg: “Mother of God, you are omnipotent in your petition.”’ Ref: Fr Charles Belmonte and Fr James Socias (Eds), “Handbook of Prayers”, 1988, p304 • In the year 1449, some of the principal goldsmiths of Paris began to give the May-pole to the Church of Our Lady. — Da Breuil, Antiquites de Paris, liv. i. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Queen of May. Donation of May-pole to “Notre Dame” church. 1449. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Donation of the May-pole to the church of Notre Dame. Paris, France 1449. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady Queen of May. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady of Charity. Agoo, La Union PHL. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html) • Our Lady the Divine Shepherdess. Gapan, N Ecija PHL. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)

30 April 2013 St Pius V, pope A Dominican, his pontificate was among the most glorious in the 16th century. He enforced decrees of the Council of Trent, published the Roman Catechism; and revised the Missal and Breviary. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1516) It was during his pontificate that the celebrated victory of Lepanto (1571) was won against the Turks and conferred the title, ‘Mary, Help of Christians’. (Fr Charles Belmonte, “Aba Ginoong Maria”, 1990, p175) As a result of this victory he ordered the feast of the Holy Rosary to be observed on the first Sunday of October. (Rev Hugo Hoever, SOCist, PhD, “Lives of the Saints”, p172) In 1573, Pope Gregory XIII ordered that the same event be solemnized under the title of “Our Lady of Victory”. (Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, 1984, p49) ‘The Pope of the Rosary’ Pius V was born Antonio Ghislieri, and he sat upon the Chair of St Peter from 1566 till 1572. He is especially known as ‘the Pope of the Rosary’ by reason of the impulse he gave through his example and teaching to the spread of this devotion, so dear to the heart of the Christian people ... Dearly beloved, the truest and most sincere wish I can offer you is only this: “Turn yourselves into saints, make yourselves holy soon”, and I repeat the words of St Paul to the Thessalonians: “May the God of peace make you perfect in holiness. May he preserve you whole and entire, spirit, soul, and body irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thes 5:23) Let us be glad to live in these times of ours, and let us courageously commit ourselves to the design which Providence is mysteriously accomplishing ... John XXIII said that “the surpassing personage that was St Pius V is linked with great trials that the Church had to bear in times much more difficult than ours.” St Pius teaches us as well to have recourse to Mary Most Holy in our difficulties, for she is our heavenly Mother. She has overcome every error and every heresy. Let us pray to her always especially with the Holy Rosary so that our sole and supreme ideal may ever be the salvation of souls. Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, 1984, p175 Christian humility This supernatural virtue is unique because it comes from above. It recognizes the difference between Greek ‘eros’ where the human tends upwardly toward the Divine and Christian ‘agape’ where the Divine stoops down toward us. Humility governs our relationship to God and neighbor. The Incarnation struck at the indigence and arrogant pride of our humanity in allowing the God-Man to suffer exile, persecution and death to relieve that poverty. Utterly sinless, Christ showed on Calvary how sinners should live humility. Not a creature as we are, but He submitted to the Will of the Father in everything and became our model of humility. Humility opens us to the grace of God to better resist temptations. The foundation of prayer and the spiritual life, humility facilitates discipleship and imitation of Christ. It is also a natural virtue which opposes pride, arrogance and vanity, the roots of all evil. Humility promotes an upright conscience; leads to prudence, astuteness and thoughtfulness. Ref: “Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholic Encyclopedia”, 1991, 490-91 Christian family customs The homes of the early Christians did not differ outwardly from any other. Parents passed on the Faith to their children who in turn did likewise. Thus, the family became the main ground for nurturing Christian faith and morality. Christian homes being steeped in love were havens of peace amidst errors from without. What parents taught their children came with the naturalness of life itself, and so the family thus fulfilled its mission of education. St John Chrysostom gave the following advice to Christian couples — “Show your wife you appreciate her company a lot and that you prefer to be at home because she is there. Show her a preference even above the children she has given you; love them because of her ... Pray all together ... Learn the fear of God; everything else will flow from this like water from a fountain and your house will be filled with bounty.” (Cf St John Chrysostom, “Twentieth homily, Letter to the Ephesians”) Sometimes responsibility for bringing Christianity into the family falls on a son or daughter: they attract other brothers and sisters to the Faith; then perhaps their parents, who in turn bring the uncles and aunts ... even the godparents end up being involved. Many Christian devotions can be practised in the home: reciting the ‘Rosary’ (indulgenced if prayed in a family group), praying the ‘Angelus’, having pictures and statues of Our Lady, making cribs at Christmas, blessing at meals, etc. They will help make the home always a friendly place, characteristic of a Christian family where people are taught from a very early age to speak to God and his Most Holy Mother with naturalness. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:439-40 • Our Lady of Nantes, in Brittany. This church, dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul by Felix Bishop of Nantes, was demolished by the Normans in the year 937; and rebuilt by Alain, Duke of Brittany. — Fortauatus, lib. iii.; Carm., c. 1, 2, 3, and 4. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • “Notre-Dame de Nantes”. Bretagne, France. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of Nantes (in Bretagne, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Our Lady of Africa. Algiers. 1876. Celebrated by the White Fathers. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of Africa (celebrated by the White Fathers). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Our Lady of Africa, Algiers (1876). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady of Quito (Ecuador). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) [NB: See 28, 29 April.]

29 April 2013 St Catherine of Siena, virgin and Doctor of the Church She caused the return of Pope Gregory XI from Avignon to Rome (~1376). Despite her short life, she gave us a lesson in courage — ‘of telling the truth for love of the Church and of souls’. Imprinted with the stigmata, she died in Rome at thirty-three years of age. Patroness of Italy along with St Francis of Assisi. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1514) Pope Paul VI proclaimed her Doctor of the Church. (Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:201-2; 205) Love for the Church and the Pope St Catherine of Siena did not have a formal education (she learned to read and write as an adult). She led an extraordinarily full and fruitful life, “as if she was in a great hurry to reach the eternal tabernacle of the Blessed Trinity”. (John Paul II, “Homily in Siena”, 14 October 1980) She is a wonderful example of love for the Church and for the Roman Pontiff, whom she described as “the sweet Christ on earth” (St Catherine of Siena, “Letters”, Siena 1913, III, 211); and of forthrightness and courage in making herself heard by the men of her time which was particularly difficult in the Church’s history. Rome, as the centre of Christianity, had deteriorated. Our Lord made St Catherine see the necessity for the Popes to return from Avignon to Rome and inaugurate the long-awaited urgent reform of Church life. She prayed tirelessly, did penance and wrote unceasingly to the Pope, to cardinals and to various princes of Christendom. St Catherine always professed unswerving obedience and love for the Roman Pontiff, of whom she wrote: “Anyone who refuses to obey the Christ on earth, who is in the place of Christ in heaven, does not participate in the fruit of the blood of the Son of God.” (St Catherine of Siena, “Letter 207”, III, 270) She had great respect for the Church’s pastors because “they are ministers of the blood of Christ” (Cf Paul VI, “Homily on proclaiming St Catherine a Doctor of the Church”, 4 October 1970). Let us pray to her for this fiery love for our Mother the Church, which is an indivisible closeness to Christ. Our times, too are days of trial and sorrow for Christ’s Mystical Body. Let us offer the numerous pinpricks of daily life for the welfare of the Church. God will surely bless us and Our Lady will generously pour out his grace upon us. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:201-2; 205 St Catherine of Siena, ‘Teacher’ and ‘Mother’ We look at St Catherine today to admire in her what at once struck those who came close to her: ‘her extraordinarily rich humanity’. This was by no means obscured but rather was ‘increased and perfected by grace’. This made her a living image of that veracious, healthy Christian ‘humanism’, the fundamental law of which was formulated by St Catherine’s fellow Dominican and teacher, St Thomas Aquinas. His famous maxim is: “Grace does not suppress, but supposes and perfects nature.” A human with complete dimensions is one who acts in the grace of Christ ... Our saint had a woman’s nature, abundantly endowed with fantasy, intuition, sensibility, ... readiness to give herself in service. She was transfigured, not impoverished, in the light of Christ ... and to identify mystically with him in the depths of ‘interior knowledge’; to commit herself likewise in charitable action, social, and even political action, among the great and small, the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant. She, almost illiterate, became able to make herself heard, to read, to be held in consideration by rulers of cities and realms, by princes and prelates of the Church, by monks and theologians, by many of whom she was actually venerated as ‘teacher’ and ‘mother’. The daughter of humble dyers showed how she could hearken to the voice of the one Shepherd and Teacher and nourish herself at the table of the Divine Spouse, to whom, as a ‘wise virgin’, she generously consecrated her life. This was a masterpiece of grace, renewing and elevating the creature to perfection of holiness ... Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, pp173-4 • Our Lady of Faith, at the Augustinian convent of Amiens. This image remained a long time in the cabinet of a young lady who made a present of it to the church of the Augustinians, where it has wrought many miracles. — Augustinian Manuscripts, Amiens. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of Faith (in the Augustinian Church of Amiens, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html); (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of Faith, Amiens, France. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady Queen of Orphans. Celebrated by the Somaschians. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Our Lady of the Earthquake (Quito, Ecuador). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) [NB: See 28, 30 April.] • Apparition of Our Lady to St Bonet, Bishop of Clermont in Auvergne, whom she ordered to say mass one night when he had remained in the church to pray. The saint leaning against a pillar, as if to hide himself, the stone became soft and made the place for him, which is seen to this day. But the Blessed Virgin having obliged him to officiate, she left him when mass was over, the chasuble which had been brought him by angels to celebrate in. The heavenly present is still to be seen at Clermont, where it is preserved with great care. — See his Life in Surius, Jan. 15. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Apparition of Our Lady to St Bonet (7th Century). (/www/divinewill.org/feastofourlady.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)

28 April 2013 The origin of the Rosary St Louis de Montfort tells the story of how St Dominic received the Rosary from the Blessed Virgin. St Dominic, seeing that the gravity of people’s sins was hindering the conversion of the Albigensians, withdrew into a forest near Toulouse where he prayed unceasingly for three days and three nights. During this time he did nothing but weep and do harsh penances to appease the anger of Almighty God. He used his discipline so much his body was lacerated, and finally he fell into a coma. Our Lady appeared, accompanied by three angels, and said: ‘Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world?’ ‘Oh, my Lady’, answered St Dominic, ‘you know far better than I do because next to your Son Jesus Christ you have always been the chief instrument of our salvation’. Our Lady replied: ‘I want you to know, in this kind of warfare, the battering ram has always been the Angelic Psalter which is the foundation stone of the New Testament. Thus, if you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter.’ He arose, comforted, and burning with zeal for conversion of the people in that district he went directly to the Cathedral. At once unseen angels rang the bells to gather the people and St Dominic began to preach. At the start of his sermon a storm broke out, the earth shook, the sun was darkened, and there was so much thunder and lightning. Everybody was very scared. Even greater was their fear when looking at a picture of Our Lady exposed in a prominent place, they saw her raise her arms to heaven three times to call down God’s vengeance upon them if they failed to be converted, to amend their lives, and seek the protection of the Holy Mother of God. God wished, through these supernatural phenomena, to spread the new devotion of the Holy Rosary and to make it widely known. At last at the prayer of St Dominic, the storm ended, and he went on preaching. So fervently and compellingly did he explain the importance and value of the Holy Rosary that almost all the people of Toulouse embraced it and renounced their false beliefs. Soon a great improvement was seen in the town; people began leading Christian lives and gave up their former bad habits. Ref: St Louis M de Montfort, “The Secret of the Rosary”, 1954, 18-9 “Virgo fidelis” — “Faithful Virgin, pray for us! Teach us to believe as you believed! Make our faith in God, in Christ, in the Church, always be limpid, serene, courageous, strong and generous.” (Pope John Paul II, “The Pope Speaks on Mary”, 1979, p19) “We ought to perform all our actions through Mary, with Mary and in Mary in order to perform them better through Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus.” — St Louis Marie de Montfort (In Rev Joseph A Viano,SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, 1984, p19) “The Holy Spirit, upon entering a soul and finding there Mary, His beloved Spouse, communicates His life to that soul and fills it with gifts.” — St Louis Marie de Montfort Ref: Rev Joseph A Viano, SSP, “Two Months with Mary”, 1984, p19 The peace Our Lord gives His disciples ‘Peace be to you’, are our Lord’s first words to his apostles on the evening of his resurrection. Peace of the soul and of the heart; the only true happiness in this life. And he repeats them three times in two successive visits. Why three times? To make us understand the three kinds of peace he desires for us — peace with God, our neighbor, ourselves. How much do we value this highest of heavenly gifts, ‘peace with God’? This peace consists in the full and entire conformity of our will with that of God. His will is manifested through the commandments and counsels, the orders of our directors. All we need do, then, is to ask, “How have I conformed my words, thoughts, and actions to these standards?” “... after eight days, again his disciples were within, with Thomas. Jesus came, the doors being shut, stood in their midst, and said, ‘Peace be to you’.” (Cf Jn 20:26-7) Peace with God should always be united to peace with our neighbors. The fulness of this peace, based on charity and fraternal union, is what our Lord desired for his disciples. It was vital to them, for the least division can cause failure of their mission to reunite all nations of the earth by mutual faith, hope, and charity. The conditions for preserving this peace are: 1) to bear with the defects of others; and 2) to give others nothing to bear from us. Does our rudeness disturb peace and union? “He said, therefore, to them again, ‘Peace be to you’.” To possess the fulness of peace Jesus desires for his disciples, we must acquire ‘peace with ourselves’. This interior peace consists in a good conscience; the senses and passions subject to reason, and of reason to faith. This peace is impossible in this world where the flesh and self-love always rebel against the will of God. The peace of our souls must be sought in a perpetual and resolute combat “... resisting the passions, not by serving them, that true peace of heart is to be found.” (Thomas à Kempis, “The Imitation of Christ”) Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp224-6 • St Peter Chanel, priest and martyr — A religious of the Society of Mary (Marists). (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1513) • St Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort — Founder of the “Missionaries of the Company of Mary” (Montfort Fathers) and “Daughters of Wisdom”. A great lover of Mary, he wrote “The True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary”. • Our Lady of the Oak, near the town of Sable, in Anjou. This image has wrought so many miracles, that it is at present very famous in the country; Marshal de Bois-Dauphin built a fine church for it, and a house of reception for the pilgrims.— (Triple Couronne, n. 50.) (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of the Oak (“Notre-Dame du Chêne”). Near Sable, Anjou, France. In the Middle Ages. A Druidic custom absorbed by Christianity. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of the Oak, Anjou, France. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady of the Oak (near Sable: Anjou, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Our Lady of Quito, Ecuador (1534) “Our Lady of the Earthquake”. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) NB: See 29, 30 April. • “Nuestra Señora de Quito” (Our Lady of Quito); Our Lady of the Earthquake. Quito, Ecuador. 1534. Discussed in the visit of John Paul II to Quito. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)

27 April 2013 Our Lady of Montserrat The veneration of Our Lady of Montserrat, Patroness of Catalonia, is extremely ancient, predating the seventh-century Arab invasion of Spain. The statue was hidden at the time of the Islamic incursion and discovered in the ninth century, at which point a chapel was built to venerate it. King Wilfrid later founded a Benedictine abbey there. The shrine was originally regional in appeal, but the miracles attributed to the Virgin of Montserrat became so numerous, news of them was carried far and wide; the fame of the shrine spread well beyond the borders of Catalonia. In Italy one can find more than one-hundred and fifty churches or chapels dedicated to Our Lady of Montserrat. Some of the first churches to be founded in Mexico, Chile and Peru were also dedicated to her, not to mention numerous monasteries, towns, mountains and islands throughout the American continent named in her honor. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:195-7 Marian shrines are ‘divine signs’ Countless pilgrims daily visit numerous shrines of Our Lady to discover God’s ways or to renew them to find peace of soul and consolation in affliction. In these places of prayer, the Blessed Virgin makes the soul’s encounter with her Son easier, his presence more accessible. Every Marian shrine is a “permanent antenna of the Good News of salvation”. (John Paul II, “Address to rectors of Marian shrines”, 22 January 1981, in F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:195) For centuries countless Christians have had recourse to Our Lady of Montserrat for her intercession to keep them going when life was hard. At her shrine they all found what they sought: peace of soul, God’s call to a greater self-giving, a cure, or consolation in tribulation. The liturgy of this feast is centred on the mystery of the Visitation, “which is the first undertaking of the Blessed Virgin. Montserrat offers us, therefore, very worthwhile lessons for our journey as pilgrims.” ((John Paul II, “Address at Montserrat”, 17 November 1982) We must remember our goal is specific and very well defined: heaven. The destination determines to a great extent what transport to use, the baggage to bring and provisions along the way. The Blessed Virgin tells us not to carry too many things, nor wear cumbersome clothes, and to walk briskly towards our Father’s house. She reminds us that nothing on this earth is permanent; and that everything must be subordinated to the completion of the journey, of which perhaps we have already covered a considerable portion. Moreover, on the journey we have to do as Mary did when she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth: She “arose and went with haste” (Lk 1:39), with a quick and joyful gait. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:195-6 The Significance of Marian Shrines A particular manifestation of the motherhood of Mary with regard to mankind is to be found in places where she meets with them — ‘houses which she inhabits’; houses where a particular presence of the Mother is felt. Such places and such houses are very numerous; and very varied — alcoves in dwellings or wayside shrines where the image of the Mother of God shines out, chapels and churches erected in Her honor. But there are also some places where people ‘feel the presence of the Mother to be particularly alive’. Sometimes these places radiate their light fulsomely; they attract people from afar. Their brightness may cover a diocese, an entire nation, sometimes more nations and even continents. These are ‘Marian shrines’. In all these places that singular testament left by the Crucified Lord is realized in a marvelous manner: man there feels consigned and entrusted to Mary. Man hastens there in order to be with her as with his own Mother, man opens his heart to her and talks about everything. ‘He takes Her into his house’, that is, into all his problems, which are sometimes difficult; and others’ problems: of families, of society, of nations, of the whole of mankind. Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, p204 The Holy Spirit, the Gift of Holiness We must now reflect on the fact that Pentecost began ‘on the very evening of the Resurrection’ when the Risen Lord breathed on those in the Cenacle and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them.’ This is the Easter gift whereby, according to a relationship of causality even before that of chronology, ‘Christ gave the Holy Spirit to the Church’ as the divine gift; and as the incessant and inexhaustible ‘fount of sanctification’. ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ ... And sanctification begins with remission of sins. First there is ‘Baptism’, the sacrament of total cancellation of sins; then ‘Penance’, the sacrament of reconciliation with God and the Church; then the ‘Anointing of the Sick’. But this work of sanctification always attains its culmination in the ‘Eucharist’, the sacrament of the fulness of holiness and grace. In this marvellous flow of supernatural life, what place is due to ‘Confirmation’? The same sanctification is expressed in reinforcement of it as well, that is, in ‘Confirmation’. In it, too, is the superabundant fulness of the Holy, sanctifying Spirit, operating in a special dynamism, the efficacy of inner-inspired and directed action. The nature of the Sacrament of Confirmation flows out in this ‘conferring strength’, communicated to each of the baptized, to make him or her a perfect Christian and soldier of Christ, ready to testify courageously to his resurrection and its redemptive power: ‘Then you are to be my witnesses ...’ Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, 1984, p218 • It is said that in the year 1419, Our Lady de Haut, in Hainault, restored a child to life who had been dead three days. — Justus Lipsius, History of Our Lady of Haut, c. 19. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of Haut (Hainaut, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • “Notre Dame d’Haut”. Hainaut, France. Church built by Le Corbusier, 1955. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • “Nuestra Señora de Montserrat”. Spain. 1535. “Patrona de Cataluña”. ... Black madonna. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady “La Moreneta”, Spain. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)

26 April 2013 Mother of Good Counsel ‘Mater Boni Consilii.’ You who profess a special devotion to the Mother of God may you obtain help and comfort from her for your renewed resolves to tighten the bonds of the common life and, exactly by reason of that interior strengthening of roots, to project that life to the whole Church. May we above all obtain from her that higher ‘counsel’ which is discernment and sagacity in decisions, but even more the individualization of the increased spiritual needs of our age, vision of social and human reality in the light of the Gospel, and consequently courage to give adequate responses to these needs and that vision. O Mother of Jasna Gora, I am, O Mother, all yours, and everything mine is yours! All that is mine, so also my homeland, my nation. O Mother, I have been called to serve the Universal Church on the Chair of St Peter at Rome. Thinking of this universal service, I constantly repeat, ‘Totus tuus — wholly yours’. I desire to be the servant of all! Mother, everything that is mine is yours! What more can I say to you? In what other way entrust this land, this people, this heritage, to You? I confide them to you just as I can. You are the Mother. You will understand and will accept. Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, p170 The fruits of difficulties After the martyrdom of St Stephen there arose a persecution against the Christians of Jerusalem which caused them to scatter throughout other areas of the Middle East. (Acts 8:1-8) Providence made use of that circumstance to carry the seed of the faith to other places which otherwise would have taken longer to get to know Christ. Our Lord always has more complete plans. What seemed the end of the primitive Church in fact led to its strengthening and expansion. So those who persecuted the Church, whose objective was to stifle the recently-born seed of faith, were the indirect cause why so many more people, otherwise unreachable because of their dwelling in faraway places, got to know the doctrine of Jesus Christ. The Christians expressed their apostolic spirit during times of peace, which were the majority, and in times of calumny and persecution. They never ceased to announce the Good News which they had in their hearts, convinced the doctrine of Jesus Christ is the only one that can make this world a more just and humane place. Trials and difficulties can differ considerably. Some may be due to a materialist and anti-christian environment which opposes Christ’s reign in the world: calumnies, professional discrimination, anti-Catholic fanaticism. Or Our Lord permits sickness, financial disaster, failures, fruitless apostolic enterprise after much effort or lack of understanding. Whatever, we should understand that God is very close to us. He helps us, with more graces, to mature in virtue and to bear fruit in the apostolate. God wants to purify us like gold in the furnace, cleansing our soul of its dross, leaving it more refined and valuable. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:399-400 The communion of graces The doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ shows the profound unity among Christians due to union with their head, Christ. “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.” (1 Cor 12:26) This stable union of the faithful with one another led St Paul to ask for prayers from the first Christians at Rome. He always felt very united with his brothers in the Faith, whom he always addressed as ‘saints’ in his letters. (Cf Phil 1:1) From the beginning of the Church, Christians have professed among the principal truths of faith in the Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in the Communion of Saints.” It is a community of spiritual qualities from which everyone benefits. It is not a sharing of material, cultural or artistic favors, but of imperishable goods. Offering Our Lord our work, prayer, joy and difficulties brings an immense good to people who are far from us and to the entire Church. St Teresa, aware of the damage caused by Protestant errors in the Church, knew also of this desirable mutual support. “The things of God’s service are so bad that those of us who do serve Him have to stand back to back in order to make progress at all.” (St Teresa, “Life”, 7-8) This doctrine was always practised throughout Church history. (Cf St Ignatius of Antioch, “Letter to the Ephesians”, 2, 2-5; St Cyprian, “Letter 60”; St Clement of Rome, “Letter to the Corinthians” 36, 1 ff; St Ambrose, “Treatise on Cain and Abel”, 1 ff) What does the Communion of Saints mean for us in practise? “... that all of us who are united in Christ, the saints in heaven, the souls in purgatory, and we on earth — must be mindful of the needs of one another ... The saints ‘must’ love the souls whom God loves. The love the blessed in heaven have for the Souls in Purgatory and the souls on earth is not a passive love. ... [but] an active, ‘hungry’ love. The saints long to help onward to heaven all souls ... And if the prayer of a good man on earth has power with God, there is no estimating the power of prayers which the saints offer for us. ...” (Leo Trese, “The Faith Explained”, p146) Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:411-3 • Our Lady of Naiera, in Navarre. This image was found miraculously in the year 1048; Dom Garcias de Naïera, King of Navarre, built a church for it, which several kings of Navarre visited. — Andre Favin, liv. iii.. Hist. de Navarre. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of Naïera, Navarre (1048). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady of Naïera (Navarre, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Our Lady of Good Counsel. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Mother of Good Counsel. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Mother / Our Lady of Good Counsel. Detailed history. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • “Nuestra Señora de Salera”. Aliaga, Nueva Ecija. (“The 1997 Catholic Directory of the Philippines”, p51)

25 April 2013 Feast — St Mark, Evangelist St Peter’s secretary in Rome. Author of the second Gospel which emphasizes the Saviour’s miraculous powers. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1511) Despite his Roman name, Mark was Jewish by birth. He was also known by his Hebrew name John. Not one of the twelve Apostles, he probably knew Jesus personally. Many ecclesiastical writers see in the episode of the young man, who let go the sheet and fled at Jesus’ arrest in Gethsemane, a reference to Mark in his Gospel. Mark alone mentions it. This tallies with the fact that he was the son of a woman named Mary, who seems to have been a wealthy widow in whose house the first Jerusalem Christians used to meet. According to ancient tradition this house was in fact the Cenacle, where Our Lord celebrated the Last Supper and instituted the Blessed Eucharist. (Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:189-93) The apostolic mandate From his early youth Mark was among the first Christians of Jerusalem who had lived with Our Lady and the Apostles, all of whom he knew well. His mother was one of the first women to provide for Jesus and the Twelve. He is a cousin of Barnabas, one of the chief figures of those first days; and who initiated him in the task of spreading the Gospel. Mark went with Paul and Barnabas on their apostolic journey (Cf Acts 13:5-13), but on arriving in Cyprus he probably felt he was unable to carry on any further, for at that point he left them and went back to Jerusalem (Cf Acts 13:13). Paul seems to have been disgusted at Mark’s inconstancy. Many years later in Rome, Paul finds him “a comfort” and faithful companion. (Cf 1 Pet 5:13) About ten years later we find him in Rome, helping Peter who refers to him as “my son, Mark” (Cf Phil 24), thereby testifying to a long-standing close relationship. Being interpreter for the Prince of Apostles provided him with a privileged vantage-point, reflected in the Gospel he wrote later. St Jerome writes that “Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, wrote down his Gospel at the request of the brethren living in Rome, according to what he had heard Peter preach. And Peter, having heard it, approved it with his authority to be read in the Church.” (“De script eccl”) This was no doubt Mark’s principal mission in life: to faithfully transmit Peter’s teaching. The Church proposes St Mark to us today as a model. It can be a great source of hope and consolation to contemplate the life of this holy Evangelist, because despite weaknesses we can, like him, trust in divine grace and in the assistance of our Mother the Church. Our imperfections should not cause us to turn away from God or to abandon our apostolic mission. At times we may have failed to respond properly to God’s grace. In these and other circumstances, if they occur, we should not be discouraged. Failures and acts of cowardice can serve a purpose and that is why we turn to Our Lord asking his pardon and help. But precisely because he trusts us and that we can count on receiving grace anew, we ought to begin again immediately and resolve to be more faithful. With Our Lord’s help we learn to draw good from our weaknesses, especially when the enemy, who never rests, tries to discourage us and get us to give up. Jesus wants us to be his despite any history of weakness on our part. “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15) is the apostolic mandate. Moved by the Holy Spirit, St Mark testifies that this command was fulfilled: the Apostles “went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by signs that attended it” (Mk 16:20). Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:189-93 Prayer Helps Read ‘the Signs of the Times’ Through prayer especially to Jesus at Communion, you will understand so many things about the world and its relationship to him. You will be in a position to read accurately what are referred to as the ‘signs of the times’. Above all, you will have something to offer those who come to you in need. Through prayer you will possess Christ and be able to communicate him to others, the greatest contribution you can make in your lives: ‘to communicate Christ to the world’. Through prayer you will receive the strength to resist the spirit of the world. You will receive the power to show compassion to every human being -- just as Jesus did. Through prayer you will have ‘a part in salvation history’ as it unfolds in your generation. You will be able to enter into the heart of Jesus and understand his feelings towards his Church. ... Going to Jesus in prayer and through him to the Father, you will always find inspiration in Mary his Mother. You will learn to pray with her, and with her to await the action of the Holy Spirit in your lives. (Cf Acts 1:14) Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, pp263-4 Our Lady · “Holy Mary is the ‘Queen of peace’, and thus the Church invokes her. So when your soul or your family are troubled, or things go wrong at work, in society or between nations, cry out to her without ceasing. Call to her by this title: ‘Queen of peace, pray for us.’ Have you at least tried it when you have lost your calm? You will be surprised at its immediate effect.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Furrow”, 874) · “My Mother and Lady, teach me how to pronounce a ‘yes’ which, like yours, will identify with the cry of Jesus before his Father: ‘not my will but God’s be done’ (Lk 22:42).” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way of the Cross” 4th Station, 1) • Dedication of the Lower Holy Chapel of Paris, in honor of Our Lady, by Philip, Archbishop of Bonurges, in the year 1248. — Du Breuil, Theatre des Antiquites. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Dedication of the Lower Holy Chapel of Paris in honor of Our Lady (1248). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Dedication of the Lower Holy Chapel in honor Mary. Paris. 1248. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Dedication of the Holy Chapel of Paris in Our Lady’s honor, 1248. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Our Lady of Good Counsel, Genazzano, Italy. 1467. History. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)

24 April 2013 The need for prayer in order to follow Jesus Three times he looks for his three disciples to pray with him. Perhaps in that state of helplessness he seeks a touch of human warmth. But his friends abandoned the Friend. A night they should have stayed awake, to have prayed; but they slept. They still did not love enough. Yielding to weakness, they left Jesus alone. The Lord found no support. He had chosen them for this; they had let him down. We must always pray, but there are times when prayer must be intensified. To abandon it would be like abandoning Christ, leaving ourselves at the mercy of the enemy. “Why do you sleep?” He asks them [and] us, too. “Rise and pray that you may not come into temptation.” (Lk 22:46) Thus, we say to Jesus: “If you see me asleep, if you discover that I am afraid of pain, if you notice that I stop when I see the cross more closely, Do not leave me! Tell me, as you told Peter, James and John, that you need my affection, my love. Tell me that in order to follow you, in order never to abandon you again into the hands of those who plot your death, I have to overcome my drowsiness, my passions and my comfort ...” (C O’Shea, “The Way of the Cross”) Jesus wants us to accompany him; “without prayer, how difficult it is to accompany him!” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 89) Our experience tells us so. Yet, through a strong daily relationship with him we can say: “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.” (Mk 14:31) Peter could not fulfil his promise that night. Among other things, he did not persevere in prayer as Jesus had asked. After his repentance, he remained faithful, even dying for his Master years later. Meditating on this scene in the passion can be of great help in making us strong so as never to omit our daily prayer and so to carry out the will of God in the things we find difficult. Lord, may things be done not as I want, but as you want! Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:237-9 Prayer Transforms Our Lives Prayer transforms our individual lives and the life of the world. Young men and women, when you meet Christ in prayer, when you get to know his Gospel and reflect on it in relation to your hopes and plan for the future, everything is new ... [and] different when you begin to examine in prayer the circumstances of every day, according to the set of values that Jesus taught. These values are so clearly stated in the Beatitudes: “Blest are the merciful; they will receive mercy. ... Blest too the peacemakers; they will be called children of God.” (cf Mt 5:7-9) In prayer, united with Jesus -- your brother, friend, Savior, God -- you begin to breathe a new atmosphere, you form new goals and new ideals. Yes, in Christ you begin to understand yourselves more fully. This is what the Second Vatican Council wanted to emphasize when it stated: ‘The truth is that only in the mystery of the Incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light.’ In other words, Christ not only reveals God to man but also reveals man to himself. In Christ we grasp the secret of our own humanity. But there is more. Through prayer you come ‘to experience the truth that Jesus taught’: “The words that I spoke to you are spirit and life.” (Jn 6:63) In Jesus, whom you get to know in prayer, your dreams for justice and for peace become definite and look for practical applications. When you are in contact with the Prince of Peace, you understand how totally opposed to his message are violence and terrorism, hatred and war. In him you experience the full meaning of an interpersonal relationship that is based on generous love. Christ offers you a friendship that does not disappoint, a fidelity beyond compare. Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, pp262-3 Unity among Christians “The company of those who believed were of one heart and soul.” (Acts 4:32) These words summarize the deep unity and fraternal love of the first Christians, which attracted so much attention from their fellow citizens. “The disciples bore testimony to the Resurrection not only with their words but also with their virtues.” (St John Chrysostom, “Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles”, 11) Christ expressly wished this Church unity from the very start. He speaks of one Pastor (Cf Jn 10:16); emphasizes the Kingdom which cannot be divided (Cf Mt 12:25), of the building with a single foundation (Cf Mt 16:18). This unity was always founded on the profession of one faith, observance of a single form of worship; and submission to a sole hierarchical authority, constituted by Christ. “There is only one Church of Jesus Christ which is like a big tree into which we are all grafted. It’s a matter of a deep vital unity which is a gift from God. It is not merely, nor above all, an external unity; it is a mystery and a gift ... “This unity then is shown around him who in each diocese has been constituted as Shepherd, the Bishop. In the universal Church it is shown around the Pope, the Successor of Peter.” (John Paul II, “Homily”, Madrid, 3 November 1982) The unity of faith was, among the first Christians, the support of their fortitude and of the inner life which flowed over into the exterior. The same Christian life has been lived since then by very different peoples. “... they shared, experienced and transmitted one single doctrine with the same soul and the same heart and identical voice.” (St Irenaeus, “Adversus Haereses”, 1, 10, 2) The first Christians defended this unity of theirs to the point of facing persecution and even martyrdom. The Church has always encouraged her children to watch over their precious unity and pray for it. Our Lord prayed for it at the last Supper: “that they all may be one; even as thou, Father, are in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us” (Jn 17:21). Unity is a great benefit; we must daily implore it because “every kingdom divided against itself cannot stand” (Mt 12:25). Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:349-50 • Dedication of Our Lady of Reparation, at Florence, by Eugenius IV., in the year 1436.—(Balingham on the Calendar.) (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of Bonaria (Sardinia). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Our Lady of Bonaria, Island of Sardinia (1370). Declared Patron of Sardinia in 1908. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • “Madonna della Bonaria”. Sardinia, Italy. 1370. Mary is declared Patron of Sardinia in 1908. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)

23 April 2013 On the grace of our vocation “‘Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!’ The messenger greets Mary as ‘full of grace’. He calls her this as if it were her real name. He does not call her by her proper earthly name ‘Miriam’ (Mary), but by this new name: ‘Full of grace’. What does this mean? Why does the archangel address the Virgin of Nazareth in this way? “In the language of the Bible ‘grace’ means a special gift which according to the New Testament has its source precisely in the Trinitarian life of God himself, of God who is love.” (Cf 1 Jn 4:8) (John Paul II, “Redemptoris Mater”, 25 Mar 1987, 8) Mary is called ‘full of grace’ to express her true being. Whenever God changes a person’s name or gives him or her an extra one, he destines him or her to something new or reveals to that person his or her true mission in the history of salvation. Mary is called ‘full of grace’, most highly favored, because of her divine Motherhood. The angel’s announcement revealed to Mary her mission in the world, the key to her whole existence. For her the Annunciation was a most perfect light that filled the whole of her life and made her fully aware of her exceptional role in the history of mankind. “Mary is definitively introduced into the mystery of Christ through this event.” (John Paul II, “Redemptoris Mater”, 25 Mar 1987, 8) “The scene of the Annunciation is a very lovely one. How often have we meditated on this! Mary is recollected in prayer. ... using all her senses and her faculties to speak to God. ... in prayer ... she comes to know the divine Will. And with prayer she makes it the life of her life. Do not forget the example of the Virgin Mary.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Furrow”, 481) Mary’s vocation is the perfect example for any vocation. We understand our own life and the events surrounding it in the light of our vocation. In our endeavor to fulfill this divine plan is the way to Heaven. Therein also lies our own human and supernatural fulfilment. Vocation is not the choice we make for ourselves so much as that which God makes of us through the thousand and one events in which we are involved. We must know how to interpret these circumstances with faith, and with a pure and upright heart. “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” (Jn 15:16) “Every vocation, every existence, is in itself a grace that encloses within it many others; it is a grace, a gift, that is given to us, that is bestowed on us without our having deserved it, without being evoked by any merit of ours, and with no right to it on our part. It is not necessary that ... the call to fulfil the plan of God, the assigned mission, be great or splendid. “It is enough that God has wanted to employ us in his service, that He wants us to aid him, that he trusts in our cooperation. The fact that he wants our cooperation is in itself so extraordinary and magnificent, that an entire life spent in thanksgiving is not enough to repay him for such an honour.” (Federico Suarez, “Mary of Nazareth” [Sinag-Tala Publishers, Inc, Manila, 1988, pp20-21]) The ‘yes’ that God asks of each one of us, whatever our direction in life may be, lasts for the whole of our lives. Sometimes, it will be our reply to minor events, at other times to larger, more important situations. Let us ask Our Lady for a great and true desire to perceive our own vocation in greater depth and for light so as to correspond to the successive calls God makes to us. Let us ask her to enable us to give a prompt and firm reply on each occasion. Our vocation alone is what can fill our lives and give them their full meaning. Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 6:182-7 The humility of John the Baptist The whole of John’s life is determined by his mission: as the ‘voice’ that announces Jesus. His vocation will be to prepare, for Jesus, a people capable of receiving the Kingdom of God. Concurrently, he is to give public testimony of Him. John will not seek personal fulfilment through his work, but to prepare a perfect people for the Lord. John will fulfil his mission not because it appeals to him, but because he was conceived for this very purpose. This is what all apostolate is about: forgetting oneself and developing a true concern for others. He was to carry out his task to the full, even to the extent of giving up his life in the fulfilment of his vocation. Many came to know Jesus through John the Baptist’s apostolic work. Through his express indication, the first disciples followed Jesus. And many others were inwardly prepared by his preaching. One’s vocation embraces one’s whole life; and our whole being works towards fulfilment of the divine mission. In our place and concerns, each of us has a God-given vocation. The Divine Will desires many other things which depend on fulfilment of that vocation. “Many great things depend, don’t forget it, on whether you and I live our lives as God wants.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 755) Do we bring people around us closer to God? Do we give good example in our work, at home? Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:58-9 • Grant of indulgences by Pope Calixtus III in the year 1455, to whoever visit the cathedral of Arras where a veil and girdle of Our Lady are preserved. — Andreas Herby, from the Manuscripts of the Church of Arras.) (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Pope Calistus III grants Indulgences to visitors of the Cathedral of Arras, which holds a Marian veil and cincture (sash). 1455. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Pope Calixtus III grants indulgences to those who visit the Cathedral of Arras, where a veil and cinture of Our Lady are kept (1455). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Indulgences granted to whoever visit the Cathedral of Arras where a veil and a cincture of Our Lady are preserved. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Our Lady of Mende, Africa (16th Century). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of Good Counsel. (Fr James Socias, ‘et al’ [Eds], “Daily Roman Missal”, 1989, p1907)

22 April 2013 Motives for penance: The thought of death If we were to tell a dying person: ‘Your last moment is drawing near; all is ending for you in this world; but take comfort -- you have borne an important part; you have held ... the highest posts ... in your profession; ... won a great name among the learned; your works and writings will keep your name alive.’ Would it give him any comfort? He would say-- ‘What will all this avail me in eternity? A dying celebrity said-- I have been president in the largest companies; ... a popular and much applauded teacher. All this is ‘nothing’ to me now. I have kept my faith and ‘that is something’; it is the only thing that consoles me now.’ The greatest comfort, then, on our deathbeds is the knowledge that we have been true to our faith; that we have been crucified with Jesus to the world and to ourselves by constant mortification. If I were to die now, should I find comfort in reviewing the past? A dying good man is not in fear and sorrow at the thought of leaving the fair things of this world; but only on account of his past sins. But what reassurance and peace we can find in those other words of the Holy Spirit -- ‘Thou overlooked the sins of men for the sake of repentance!’ The memory of having expiated by mortification the insult which sin is to God, of having paid off many debts owing to divine justice by means of penance, will also comfort us. St Hilarion was thus preserved from the fear of death: ‘What, my soul, thou hast carried the cross for seventy years, and now dost thou fear to leave the world to appear before God?’ When death draws near and desiring to share the calm trust of the saints, even those whose lives had not always been spotless, we should imitate their penance especially during this precious time of Lent. Let us be in earnest and not defer it to the hour of sickness or the time of old age. “While you are in health, you can perform many works of satisfaction; but you know not what you will be able to do when sickness overtakes you.” (Thomas à Kempis, “Imitation”) When the laborer joyfully gathers in a rich harvest, all his past labor is forgotten. The joy and satisfaction of the result far outweigh his former trouble and privation. This signals the joy and happiness which the penitent and mortified person will feel when he begins to reap the fruits of all the austerities of life. He receives the reward promised by our Lord to those who renounce all worldly pleasures to bear the cross after him. St Peter of Alcantara gave some idea of it when he appeared in glory to St Teresa, and said, ‘O blissful penance, which has purchased for me so great a reward!’ Thoughts like these bring us courage and strength to live and persevere till death in doing penance. Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp140-142 Fear of Death Today Generations of men achieved progress with great difficulty, waste, energies, expense. However, it contains ‘a potent coefficient of death’ within its complexity; conceals a gigantic ‘potential for death’ in itself. Is it necessary to test this for oneself in society, conscious of possibilities of destruction in the military and nuclear arsenals? Man of today is therefore, afraid. The superpowers possess those arsenals but are afraid. This ‘fear is justified. ... men are slaying other men abundantly already today!’ They kill in homes, offices, universities. Men armed with modern weapons kill defenseless and innocent people. Together with this gigantic material progress, have we also reached the point of ‘wiping out man himself, who is such a fundamental and elementary Value?’ Ref: Cf “Prayers and Devotions from Pope John Paul II”, pp99-100 Grace begets more graces Our Lady had plenitude of grace which corresponded to her at every moment. This grace grew and increased day by day, since graces and supernatural gifts do not limit one’s capacity to receive them. Instead, they increase and expand that capacity for new gifts. The more we love God, the more our soul is enabled to love him further and to receive more grace. By loving we obtain new powers to love. Whoever loves more has a greater desire to love and a greater capacity for loving. Grace invites more grace, and a plenitude of grace calls for an ever greater plenitude. Mary’s soul at the first instant of its creation received an immense treasure of graces. From the beginning Mary has been loved by God above all creatures, because the Lord was fully pleased with her and filled her with supernatural graces, “more than all the angelic spirits and more than all the saints.” (cf Pius IX, “Ineffabilis Deus”, 8 Dec 1854) Of Our Lady, St Thomas states that “her dignity is in a certain sense infinite”. (8St Thomas, “Summa Theologiae”,1, q.25, a.6 ad.4) This grace was given to Mary due to her divine Motherhood. Fulness of grace and fulness of freedom went together in Our Lady, since one is more free in so far as one is more holy. Thus, she gave a most faithful response to God’s gifts and obtained great merit. Let us go to her now. We have such great need of her help. Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 4:611-2 Our Lady — “Mary spent three days and three nights looking for the son who was lost. May you and I also be able to say that our willingness to find Jesus knows no rest.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Furrow”, 794) • Our Lady of Betharam, in the diocese of Lescar, in the province of Bearn. This image was found in the year 1503 by some shepherds who, seeing an extraordinary light on the spot where the high altar of the chapel now stands, came up and found an image of Our Lady, for which they at once erected a chapel. — Triple Couronne. n. 32. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of Betharam, France (1503). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady of Betharam (Diocese of Lescar: Bearn, France). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • “Notre Dame de Betharam”. Diocese of Lescar, Bearn, France. 1503. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)

21 April 2013 ‘For God all the glory’ “Am I seeking human approval or God’s? ... If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Gal 1:10) “It is a very small thing that you should judge me ... The Lord alone is my judge.” (1 Cor 4:3-4) “Among the surprises which await us on the day of judgment, not least will be the silence with which Our Lord will greet those actions of ours which merited the applause of men ... On the other hand it can happen that he will weigh in positive terms some actions which have drawn down criticism and censorship upon us ...” (G Chevrot, “In Secret”) A wrong intention destroys the best of actions: the deed can be well done, it can even be beneficial; but, since it is corrupted at source, it loses all value in the eyes of God. Vanity or self-seeking can destroy, sometimes completely, what could have been a deed meriting holiness. Without a right intention, we go astray. Occasionally, receiving some praise is a sign of friendship and can help along the way of goodness. But this praise must be directed towards God in all simplicity. Besides, it is one thing to receive a word of praise, a sign of being well received; another thing is to look for praise. We must always be careful when we are praised or commended. “Since many times our poor soul goes off the right path, as soon as it is applauded ... thus it finds its delight more in being called happy than in actually being so. And that thing which should have been a reason for praising God becomes instead a cause of our separation from him.” (St Gregory the Great, “Moralia”, 10, 47-8) God accepts our actions, even small ones, if we offer them to him with a pure intention. “Do everything for the glory of God.” (1 Cor 10:31) The two small coins that the poor widow put into the box in the Temple (Cf Mk 12:42) became a great treasure in heaven. We have a marvellous aspiration to say repeatedly: “Lord, for myself I want nothing. All for your glory and for Love.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 788) Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:394-7 The ‘New Commandment’ of Our Lord “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (Jn 13:34-5) New because the reasons for it are new: the neighbor, one with Christ and the object of the Father’s special love; the Model, always current, establishing a new relationship with men; its degree of fulfilment “... as I have loved you”; and a fresh approach between men. Let us recall Mary’s dedication to the accomplishment of God’s Will and her service to others. So great is Mary’s love for all mankind that she, too, fulfilled Christ’s words when he affirmed: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). (Cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Friends of God”, 287) Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:278-80 Consumer Society Man, with his planetary dimension, was never so much aware of all the forces he is capable of putting to use and setting to his own service. Never has he made such use of them. From this point of view, and in this dimension, conviction concerning the progress of mankind is fully justified. In countries and circles with greater technical progress and greater material well-being, side by side with this conviction, goes an attitude which we usually describe as consumer-oriented. This testifies to the fact that the conviction of the progress of man is only partly justified. Indeed, it testifies that the direction taken by progress can kill what is most profoundly and most essentially human in man. The consumer attitude does not take into account all the truth about man. Neither the historical truth, nor the social truth, nor the interior and the metaphysical truth. Rather it is a flight from that reality. Man is created for happiness. Yes! But man’s happiness is not identified with enjoyment! In such enjoyment the consumer-oriented man loses the full dimension of his humanity; he loses deeper feeling and meaning of life. So, such a direction of progress kills what is most deeply and essentially human in man. Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, p98 Fortitude and Its Rewards This virtue can become rare in the pleasure-loving and success-hungry environment where most of us live. Religious convictions can easily be suppressed by fear of being criticized, belittled or even ridiculed. About fortitude, Fr Leo J Trese said it is hard not to laugh at the obscene joke, especially if the teller happens to be the boss or a good customer. When the malicious gossip starts, it is hard to insist on changing the conversation or to speak up in defense of the person under attack — particularly when the subject really is a stinker. It is hard to make the boyfriend behave when everybody says a little loving never hurt anyone; especially when boyfriends are rare. Our world of work and recreation may frequently be unsympathetic to virtue. Businessmen often find under-the-table deals as standard operating procedure. Risqué shows are bandied about as hilarious entertainment. It is consoling to find that fortitude also brings rewards. The courage of the man born blind in glorifying Jesus before the council was magnificently rewarded. “Jesus heard they had driven him away, and when he found him he said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ‘Sir’, the man replied, ‘tell me who he is so that I may believe in him’. Jesus said, ‘You are looking at him; he is speaking to you’. The man said, ‘Lord, I believe’, and worshipped him.” (Jn 9:35-8 ) Before, sight was restored to his eyes. Now, sight was given to his soul. Christians who stand by their conscience inevitably discover that they have grown in stature in the eyes of other people. Initially, they might have been somewhat afraid they would lose their friends. Afterwards, they realize they have gained respect as well as affection. Their friends find in them a reassuring source of strength. Ref: Cf Fr M Guzman, “Encounters With Christ”, 1990, pp109-10 • Institution of the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, at Toledo, in the year 1506, by Cardinal Francis Ximenes, archbishop of that city. — See his Life by Gormez, etc. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Institution of the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, Toledo, Spain (1506). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Institution of the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception in 1503. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)

20 April 2013 Creation, the Gift of Love The early chapters of ‘Genesis’ as the constitutive content of the mystery of creation, outline the reality of this gift and the act of giving. It confirms that the radiance of Love is an integrating part of this same mystery. Only Love creates Good. In the last analysis, it alone can be perceived in all its dimensions and profiles in created things, in man above all. The original happiness of man whom God created “male and female” (Gen 1:27), the spousal meaning of the body in its original nudity, all express rooting in Love. This coherent giving goes back to the deepest roots of the conscience and the subconscious, to the ultimate strata of subjective existence in both man and woman. It is reflected in their reciprocal ‘experience of the body’, it ‘testifies to their being rooted in Love’. Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, pp94-5 We pray for those who do not like us A Christian must always have a big heart and show respect for all, even for those who act as enemies, “not because they are brothers, but because brothers they must become; one must show fraternal love towards him who is already a brother, and towards the one who acts as an enemy, so that he may become a brother”. (St Augustine, “Commentary on 1 John”, 4, 10, 7) This attitude presumes a prayerful life. It distinguishes us from those who refuse to be Christ’s disciples. For “if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the Publicans do that? And if you greet only your brethren, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do that?” (Lk 6:32-3; Mt 5:45-6) Our Faith calls not merely for a correct human behavior, but for living heroic virtues daily. Trusting in everyone’s capacity to rectify his errors, charity will impel us to devote ourselves to prayer, to give good example; and to do apostolate and practise fraternal correction. If at some time we suffer through particularly painful offences, injustices or calumnies, we must ask Our Lady’s help. Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, In Conversation with God, 3:342-3 Allowing ourselves to be led The word ‘faith’ is rooted in a person’s placing himself in the care of someone who is stronger; trusting in this person’s assistance. We put our trust in God. But He wants us to rely on those He has put by our side to help us see. God frequently gives light through his creatures. (Cf J Dheilly, “Biblical Dictionary”, Barcelona) The Lord passes by so close to us that we should be able to find him and follow him. Frequent recourse to the sacrament of Penance is an excellent way to ensure we see God more clearly in ourselves and in those around us. We ask the Blessed Virgin to help us purify our mind and heart so we can find God in the circumstances of every day. “Lord, I believe in you: increase my faith. I trust in you: strengthen my trust. I love you: let me love you more and more.” (“The Universal Prayer” (Attributed to Pope Clement XI) in Belmonte and Socias (Eds), “Handbook of Prayers”, p213) Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 4:194-6 The School of Prayer The Lord will grant you the ability to discover many other aspects of the faithful response to grace of the Blessed Virgin. To know these facets of her life is to want to imitate them: her purity, humility, fortitude, generosity, fidelity ... But now I want to speak to you of an aspect that in a way encompasses all the others because it is a condition for spiritual growth — her life of prayer. Ref: Cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 174 Our Lady “What humility, that of my holy Mother Mary! She’s not to be seen amidst the palms of Jerusalem, nor -- except that first one at Cana -- at the hour of the great miracles. “But she doesn’t flee from the degradation of Golgotha: there she stands, ‘juxta crucem Iesu’ -- ‘by the cross of Jesus’ -- his Mother.” Ref: St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 507 • Our Lady of Scheir, in Bavaria. This church was built on the spot where the castle stood, which those of the house of Scheir voluntarily ceded to Our Lady, except Arnaud, who, in punishment of his obstinacy, was drowned in a neighboring lake. — Herith, de origine gentis et principibus Bavariae. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of Schier, Bavaria. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Our Lady of Scheir. Bavaria, Germany. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Mary, Mother of Vocations. (“2002 Calendar”, Rogationist Fathers)

19 April 2013 The humility of John the Baptist The whole of John’s life is determined by his mission: as the ‘voice’ that announces Jesus. His vocation will be to prepare, for Jesus, a people capable of receiving the Kingdom of God. Concurrently, he is to give public testimony of Him. John will not seek personal fulfilment through his work, but to prepare a perfect people for the Lord. John will fulfil his mission not because it appeals to him, but because he was conceived for this very purpose. This is what all apostolate is about: forgetting oneself and developing a true concern for others. He was to carry out his task to the full, even to the extent of giving up his life in the fulfilment of his vocation. Many came to know Jesus through John the Baptist’s apostolic work. Through his express indication, the first disciples followed Jesus. And many others were inwardly prepared by his preaching. One’s vocation embraces a person’s whole life; and our whole being works towards fulfilment of the divine mission. In our place and concerns, each of us has a God-given vocation. The Divine Will desires many other things which depend on fulfilment of that vocation. “Many great things depend, don’t forget it, on whether you and I live our lives as God wants.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 755) Do we bring people around us closer to God? Do we give good example in our work, at home? Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:58-9 The use of holy water to conquer the devil “You ask me why I always recommend, with such insistence, the daily use of holy water. I could give you many reasons. But there could be none better than that of the Saint of Avila: ‘From nothing do evil spirits flee more precipitately, never to return, than from holy water.’” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 572) John Paul II exhorts us, when we pray, to think more about the last petition of the “Our Father: Lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from Evil — from the Evil One. Do not let us give in, Lord, to the infidelity towards which the one who has been unfaithful right from the beginning entices us.” (“General Audience”, 13 August 1986) The best way to show that we want to replace the devil’s ‘non serviam’ with our personal ‘Serviam: I will serve you, Lord’, is by a special effort to improve in our faithfulness to what we know God wants of us. Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:36 Imitating Our Lord: Love with deeds God’s love is not simply an emotion or feeling, but something that leads Our Lord to perform deeds that show it. So our love for our neighbor must be a love that appears in deeds. Seeking material goods as the only goal is proper only to Christians who have allowed their faith to influence their daily lives in the least. “Let us not love in word or speech”, says Saint John, “but in deed and in truth.” (1 Jn 3:18) “Just as love leads us to want the best for those we love and to do good to them, so the order of charity should lead us to want, above all, that people should be united to God, and to endeavour to bring this about. We have to realize that the most sublime good, the definitive good, consists in union with God. Apart from God no other partial good has any meaning.” (F Ocariz, “Love for God, love for men”) Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 3:531-2 Our Lady “The holy Virgin Mary, Mother of fair love, will bring relief to your heart, when it feels as if it’s made of flesh, if you have recourse to her with confidence.” (Cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 504) The Apostolate — “Unity. Unity and submission. What do I want with the loose parts of a clock — even though they are finely wrought — if they can’t tell me the time?” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 962) • Confirmation of the Feast of the Conception of Our Lady, by the Council of Trent, in the year 1545. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Confirmation of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (Council of Trent 1545). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Council of Trent confirms the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. 1545. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of Lyons, France (1643). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • “Notre Dame de Lyons”. France. 1643. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)

18 April 2013 The best of our life is for God The book of “Genesis” (4:3-5) records that Abel offered to God the first fruits of his works and the finest of his cattle. God was pleased. In contrast Cain, his brother, did not offer his best harvest. Abel was ‘just’, that is, holy and pious. It is not the intrinsic quality of Abel’s offering that makes it better; but his dedication and generosity -- his intention. Thus, God looked favourably on the victims Abel sacrificed. According to an ancient Jewish tradition, God sent down fire to consume them as a sign of his acceptance. (“The Navarre Bible”, note to Heb 11:4) In our lives, too we must offer the best to God -- our time, our goods, our life. We cannot give him the worst, the surplus to our needs, what makes no real demand on us or what we don’t need. The whole of our life is for God, including its best years. When we want to make an offering to God let us use the most precious things. Man is not just a body or merely a soul. As matter and spirit, he must show his faith and love of God in visible acts. How pitiful are those who find time for everything except for God -- for talking to him in prayer or visiting the Blessed Sacrament which takes only a few minutes. Pitiful too are those who spend for so many things but are selfish when it comes to expenditure on God or on other people. Giving always dignifies and ennobles the heart of the giver. Meanness, on the other hand, becomes ingrained and leads to an envious soul, like that of Cain: he could not bear Abel’s generosity. “We should offer the Lord the sacrifice of Abel. ... a sacrifice of hearts that have one love alone -- you, my God. A sacrifice of minds that have been shaped through deep study and will surrender to your Wisdom; of childlike souls who will think only of pleasing you. “Lord, receive even now this sweet and fragrant sacrifice.” (Cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Forge”, 43) The best of my life, work, talents, and possessions are all for you, Lord. Even of those I might have had. For you, my God, totally and unconditionally everything you have given me in life. Please teach me to deny you nothing, to offer you always the best I have. We ask God that we may learn to give him our best in all circumstances. Let us pray that there may be many sacrifices like those of Abel, the generous offerings of men and women who give themselves to God from their youth; and of hearts that at any age give what is asked of them, without haggling, without counting the cost. Let us ask Our Lady to teach us to be generous as she was with God, in big things and little things, in youth and in maturity. That we offer, as Abel did, the very best we may have at any time, and in all circumstances of our life. Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 3:299-300, 305 Charity unites, pride divides St Paul wrote to the Christians of Ephesus: “I beg you to lead a life worthy of the vocation to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, with forbearing for one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Cf “The Navarre Bible, Captivity Epistles”) He lists the virtues: humility, gentleness, longanimity; various manifestations of charity, the bond of unity in the Church. “The temple of the King is not ruined, or cracked or divided: the cement of the living stones is charity.” (St Augustine, “Commentary on Psalm 44”) Charity unites, pride separates. The first Christians showed their love for the Church through a charity which overcame all barriers. One of the earliest Apologists, in the second century, described the behaviour of the first Christians as follows: “they love one another, they do not despise widows and they rescue orphans from those who treat them with violence; and he who has, gives unbegrudgingly to him who has not.” (Aristides, “Apology”, XV, 5-7) However, the greatest charity was directed towards strengthening the brethren in the faith. The ‘Acts of the Martyrs’ recount in almost every page specific details of this concern for fidelity of the others. Truly “it was Love that enabled them to make their way through that corrupt pagan world”. (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Friends of God”, 172) Love for the brethren and the pagans. Let us have recourse to our Mother Mary. “May she, the Mother of love and unity, bind us closely, in order that, like the first community born from the Cenacle, we may be ‘one heart and one soul’. May she, the ‘Mother of Unity’, in whose womb the Son of God was united to humanity, inaugurating mystically the nuptial union of the Lord with all men, help us to be ‘one’ and to become instruments of unity, among Christians and among all men.” (John Paul II, “Homily”, 24 March 1980) Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:352-4 • Grant of plenary indulgences, by Urban VI, to whoever visit the Church of Our Lady of Loretto. — Balingham on the Calendar. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Grant of Plenary Indulgences to whoever visit Church of Our Lady of Loretto (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Pope Urban VI grants plenary indulgence to those who visit the Church of Our Lady of Loretto (l4th Century). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Pope Urban VI grants Plenary Indulgences to all visitors of the Church of Our Lady of Loretto / Loreto. 14th century. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)

17 April 2013 Conversion, God’s Gift Conversion is fundamentally a turning away from sin and a return to the Living God, to the God of the Alliance: “Come let us return to the Lord, for it is he who has torn, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds” (Hos 6:1) is the invitation of the prophet Hosea. He insists on the interior character of true conversion. It should always be inspired and moved by love and knowledge of God. And Jeremiah, the great master of interior religion, prophesied an extraordinary spiritual transformation of the members of the People of God, through the action of God: “I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord. They shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.” (Jer 24:7) Conversion is a gift from God which man must ask for with fervent prayer and which was merited for us by Christ, ‘the new Adam’. Sin and death entered into the world through the disobedience of the first Adam and dominate man. But, “If death began its reign through one man because of his offense, much more shall those who receive the overflowing grace and gift of justice live and reign through the one man, Jesus Christ.” (Rom 5:17) The Christian, strong with the strength which comes to him from Christ, moves farther and farther from sin, that is, from the sad reality of the original disobedience. This occurs to the degree to which Grace abounds through the merits “of one man, Jesus Christ” (Cf Rom 5:15). Conversion is thus an almost gradual, effective and continuous transition from the ‘old’ Adam to the ‘new’ one, who is Christ. Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, p130 Giving good example This apostolate of giving doctrine makes us return many times to the same ideas. We must endeavour to present Our Lord’s teaching in an attractive manner. The crowds today also wander “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mk 6:34), without a guide; don’t know in which direction to go, confused by so many short-lived ideologies. No Christian should remain passive nor feel inhibited in this great task of doing apostolate. We must not make excuses. (‘I’m no good.’ ‘I can’t.’ ‘No time.’) Apostolate is the Christian vocation, and God gives us the grace to correspond. Are we really a ray of light amidst so much darkness? Or are we bound by laziness or human respect? We will be more apostolic if we sincerely consider, in the presence of God, that the people whose paths we have crossed had a right to expect from us the help to get to know Jesus better. How have we fulfilled this Christian duty? Let us hope they will not reproach us, in this life or the next, for having deprived them of that help in words such as — “... I don’t have anyone to plunge me into the pool ...” (Jn 5:7); I had no one to give me a little light in so much darkness. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb 4:12); reaching the very depths of the soul, to the source of men’s life and behaviour. A great ignorance about Our Lord persists after 20 centuries, even among many Christians! The Second Vatican Council teaches that Revelation came about with deeds and words intrinsically blended. (“Dei Verbum”) The works of Jesus are those of God done in his name; simple people saying, “We have seen strange things” (Lk 5:26). “The man who has the mission of saying great things (all Christians have this sweet obligation) is equally obliged to practise them.” (Cf St Gregory the Great, “Pastoral Care”, 2, 3) Our relatives, colleagues, and friends, must find us loyal, sincere, cheerful, optimistic, good at our job, resilient, pleasant, courageous. Simply and naturally, we must make known our faith in Christ. Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:199-200 • Our Lady of Arabida, in Portugal, where an image is seen which an English merchant used to carry about him. Finding himself one day in danger of shipwreck, he saw this image surrounded with a great light on top of the rock of Arabida, which induced him to build a little hermitage there, in which he spent the remainder of his days. — Triple Couronne, n. 16. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of Arabida, Portugal (16th Century). (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady of Arabida (Portugal). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • “Nossa Senhora” / Our Lady of Arabida. Portugal. 16th Century. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of the Tears. (www.starharbor.com/santiago/m feasts.html) • Our Lady of Manaoag. Manaoag, Pangasinan PHL. Moveable feast -- Third Wednesday after Easter 17 Apr 2013]. (www.miraclehunter.com/marian_apparitions/calendar/index.html)

16 April 2013 St Bernadette Soubiros, virgin On this day, in 1879, just after 3:00 o’clock PM, Sister Marie Bernarde, a Crucifix tightly clasped to her breast, left this life as a Sister of Nevers at St Gildard. (G Menotti, “Lourdes”, p16) Thirty years later, her body was exhumed and found to be quite incorrupt and flexible. Her body, clothed in the habit of her Congregation, reposes in a crystal casket near the high altar in the Mother House at Nevers. (C C Martindale, “St Bernadette”, p74) ‘... into the whole world’ Our Lord’s Resurrection is a call to apostolate. Each of his appearances ends with an apostolic command. To Mary Magdalene, Jesus says: “Go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and to your Father” (Jn 20:17); and to the other women, “Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee and that they shall see me there” (Mt 28:10). The disciples of Emmaus reported that same night that Jesus is alive. (cf Lk 24:35) “Afterwards he appeared to the eleven as they sat at table ... he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation’” (Cf Mk 16:14-5). The Apostles began to preach “repentance and forgiveness of sins ...” (cf Lk 24:44-7) What they preach and testify to, are not mere speculations but salvific facts they have personally witnessed. The death of Judas brought the need to complete the number of twelve apostles. One condition is the candidate must be a witness to the Resurrection. (Cf Acts 1:21-2) “The Christian vocation is by its very nature a vocation to the apostolate” (Second Vatican Council, “Apostolicam actuositatem”, 2) and “all the faithful, from the Pope to the child who has just been baptized, share one and the same vocation, the same faith, the same Spirit, the same grace ... They all have an active and appropriate share in the single mission of Christ and of the Church.” (Cf A Del Portillo, “Faithful and Laity in the Church”) We cannot be prevented from exercising the right in fulfilling this duty. Nor can we remain silent. So much ignorance is around; error, too. Numerous people go through life lost and confused because they don’t know Christ. We must communicate daily to all, the doctrine and the faith. “No one after lighting a lamp puts it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all ... Let your light shine before men, so they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (cf Mt 5:15-6) “At the end of his time on earth, Christ commanded: go out and teach. He wants his light to shine in the words and behaviour of his disciples, and in yours, too.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Furrow”, 930) Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:329-31 Hear His voice today: “Harden not your hearts.” (Ps 95:8) This prayer is relevant and necessary, but it is particularly recommended in the course of the forty days ‘that we hear the voice of the living God’. It is a penetrating voice, when we consider how God speaks in Lent not only with the exceptional richness of His Word in the liturgy and in the Church’s life; but above all with the paschal eloquence of the Passion and Death of his own Son. He speaks with His cross and with His sacrifice. In a certain sense, this is his last discourse in His dialogue with man, ... with his mind and with his heart, with his conscience and his conduct. The heart means man in his inner spirituality, the very center of his likeness with God. The interior man. ‘The man of conscience.’ Our prayer during Lent aims at awakening of consciences, arousing them to the voice of God. A man who has a hardened heart and a degenerate conscience is ‘spiritually a sick man’, even though he may enjoy the fullness of his powers and physical capacities. Everything must be done to bring him back to having a healthy soul. Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, p131 Last Things — “Listen to me you who are up to your neck in science: your science cannot deny the reality of diabolic activities. My Mother, the holy Church, for many years — and it is also a praiseworthy private devotion — required the priests each day at the foot of the altar to invoke St Michael — ‘against the wickedness and snares of the devil’.” (Cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 750) • Our Lady of Victories, in the Church of St Mark, at Venice. This is the famous image which the Emperors John Zimisces and John Comnenus carried in a triumphal car; it is now borne in procession at Venice to obtain rain or fine weather. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of Victory / Victories. Church of St Mark, Venice. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of Victories in the Church of St. Mark, Venice. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady of Victory (celebrated in the church of St Mark, Venice). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)

15 April 2013 The Holy Mass, a renewal of Calvary The Holy Mass and the Sacrifice of the Cross are one and the same sacrifice, although separated in time. Re-enacted is the total loving submission of Our Lord to his Father’s will. This unbloody offering is identical to the sorrowful and bloody circumstances on Calvary: Christ’s oblation. The Priest and Victim are one. The external manifestation of the Passion and Death of Jesus proceeds in the Mass, sacramentally, by means of the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. In the Mass, the priest serves as the instrument of Christ, the Eternal and High priest. Christ offers himself in every Mass. “... even though it is celebrated privately by a priest, every Mass is not a private action, but the action of Christ and of the Church. In the sacrifice that she offers, the Church learns to offer herself as a universal sacrifice, and applies the unique and infinite redeeming virtue of the sacrifice of the Cross for the salvation of the whole world.” (Cf Paul VI, Encyclical, “Mysterium Fidei”, 4, 3 Sept 1965) How do we attend and take part in the Mass? “Are you at Mass with the same dispositions that Our Lady had on Calvary? Do we realize that here it is the presence of the one and the same God and the consummation of the same sacrifice?” (St Jean Vianney [The ‘Curé d’Ars’], “Sermon on Sin”) A total identification with God’s will, perfect love, an offering of oneself, a desire to co-redeem. Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:185-6 Listening to God If we turn to Sacred Scripture we will see that humility is absolutely necessary when we are making ready to listen to God. “Where there is humility, there is wisdom.” (Prov 11:2) Humility means looking at ourselves as we really are, honestly and without excuses. And when we realize we are worth hardly anything, we can then open ourselves to God’s greatness: there, our greatness lies. How well our Lady, Jesus’ Holy Mother, understood this! She, the most exalted of all God’s creatures that have existed or ever will exist upon this earth! Mary glorifies the power of our Lord, who “has put down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly” (Lk 1:52). And she sings of how this divine providence has once again been fuflfilled in her: “because he has regarded the lowliness of his handmaid, henceforth all generations shall me blessed” (Cf Lk 1:52). Mary becomes transformed in holiness in the depths of her most pure heart on seeing the humility of God: “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.” (Lk 1:35) The Blessed Virgin’s humility is a consequence of that unfathomable depth of grace which comes into operation with the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity in the womb of his ever Immaculate Mother. Ref: Cf St Josemaria Escrivá, “Friends of God”, 96 Full of grace “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit; each tree is known by its own fruit. ... figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, the evil man out of his evil treasure produces evil; out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Cf Lk 6:43-9) Jesus teaches us through this double comparison: of the tree giving forth good or bad fruits, and of the man speaking from the depth of his heart — that nothing can substitute for sanctity. A man simply gives what is in him, no more and no less. St Bede elaborates — “The treasure of a soul is the same as the root of a tree. A person with a treasure of patience and charity in his soul produces beautiful fruits: he loves his neighbour and possesses qualities Jesus recommends; loves his enemies, does good to whoever hate him, blesses those who curse him; prays for the one who slanders him. “But the man who has a source of evil in his soul does the exact opposite; he hates his friends, speaks badly of the one who loves him, and does all the other things condemned by the Lord.” (St Bede, “Commentary on St Luke’s Gospel”, 2:6) The Holy Spirit filled Our Blessed Mother’s heart with graces. No life ever gave or will give forth such sweet fruit as Our Lady’s life has done except for Christ’s. All graces come and keep coming to us through her; above all, Jesus, too the blessed fruit of her most pure womb. Her lips pronounced the greatest, most pleasing and tender praises of God. At the Annunciation, “the messenger greets Mary as ‘full of grace’; he calls her thus as if it were her real name. He does not call her by her proper earthly name, Miryam (Mary), but by this new name — ‘full of grace’.” What does this mean? Why does the archangel address the Virgin of Nazareth in this way? “... the Gospel context, which mingles revelations and ancient promises, enables us to understand that among all the ‘spiritual blessings in Christ’ this is a special ‘blessing’. In the mystery of Christ she is present even ‘before the creation of the world’, as the one whom the Father ‘has chosen’ as Mother of his Son in the Incarnation. Furthermore, together with the Father, the Son has chosen her, entrusting her eternally to the Spirit of holiness.” (John Paul II, Encyclical, “Redemptoris Mater”, 25 March 1987, 8) Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 4:607-8 Recovery “We have to love the Blessed Virgin Mary more. We will never love her enough. “Love her a lot! It shouldn’t be enough for you to put up pictures for her, and greet them, and say aspirations. You should learn to offer her, in your strenuous life, some small sacrifice each day, to show her your love, and to show her the kind of love that we want the whole human race to proclaim for her.” Ref: St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Forge” 527 Supernatural Life — If you lose the supernatural meaning of your life, your charity will be philanthropy; your purity, decency; your mortification, stupidity; your discipline, a lash; and all your works, fruitless. (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 279) • In the year 1011, the Blessed Virgin gave the white habit to the blessed Alberic instead of the black which he wore. — See his Life. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady gave Blessed Alberic the white habit. (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html) • Our Lady of Kieff. Russia. 1010. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)