Fat Tuesday, Woeful Tuesday

Fat Tuesday, Woeful Tuesday 

by Mons Soseman  (with permission of Monsignor Soseman, Terry Fenwick)

A few months ago, on a Tuesday, we were celebrating, eating a lot, wondering how we could live through Lent without milkshakes, chocolates, french fries.  We thought about how we might grow spiritually during Lent.   

Today, again on a Tuesday, we are pondering how we have kept those commitments, how we have failed, and wondering if we have taken advantage of the manifold opportunities which God, in his goodness, has showered upon us.  On one Tuesday, we have thought about giving sweets, on this Tuesday, we are thinking about giving up sin.  

We are good people, made in the image and likeness of God, but since the fall of man, have a tendency toward sin, called concupiscence.  Although with God's grace we could live our lives avoiding all sin, we don't, instead we give into temptation, we buckle under the pressure of the situation, we despair of God's love for us, of His grace.  We feel unworthy to be in His presence, in communion with him.  We are unfaithful, but He has said He would never be unfaithful.  We turn from Him.

In doing so, we are like everyone else in the world, who either give into temptation, or lustily sin because they have never been taught better.  Years ago, in a book I read on Confession, the author wrote about preparation for Confession, and how we realize we are part of a communion of sin, a communion of sinners, looking to do better, calling upon God's grace to turn from doing evil.  

We must not despair when we think about our sins;  even the great St. Paul spoke of the sin which afflicted him over and over again during life, without, of course, defining it.  The great St. Isidore of Seville, who was renowned as a great saint, even during his lifetime, felt that to those who had been given much grace to become holy, even minor sins became grave.  So, this great man from his deathbed, ordered that he be carried to the Cathedral Square, in the year 636, and be put in sackcloth and ashes, publicly showing God, and the people, how sorry he was for the even little ways which he had turned away.

During these last few days of Lent, during these grace filled days of Holy Week, look for the ways in which you have turned away from God and try to root them out.

If you know you have sinned in little ways, tell God of your sorrow.  Pray the Act of Contrition, perform an act of penance, make a Confession of Devotion.  

If you have been away from Church for a while, realize that it is a hard step you take to return, but the obstacles are all your own.  Once you make that decision and return, perhaps attending Good Friday Services, making a Confession, expressing your sorrow to God,  grace upon grace will be yours.  

God love you!  

Msgr. Soseman

Pope Benedict XVI Speaks Out, "YOUCAT"

 POPE BENEDICT XVI speaks out, "YOUCAT"

This morning I heard a great interview on EWTN with Ignatius Press, "speaking out" for the new YOUCAT. YOUCAT is short for Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church. Everyone will want to know why YOUCAT is yellow and white. Some may have guessed, "Because it is the color of the Vatican flag!" You would have been correct! 

For two years, groups of 50 youth banded together to work on this new Catechism of the Catholic Church for youth, under the direction of Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, Austria, who was the editor of Catechism of the Catholic Church. The EWTN interview was exciting for me and, with 15 grandchildren, I hurried to order YOUCAT! 

I was happy to see the comments by Pope Benedict XVI on the new YOUCAT. He said much more than the following but here are a few things that are interesting: (my personal comments in the parentheses) 

"Today I recommend for your reading an unusual book . . ." (this Pope cares for the youth!) 

"Should we not attempt to translate the Catechism of the Catholic Church into the language of young people? Should we not bring its great riches into the world of today's youth?" (YES!!!!) 

"Many people say to me: The youth of today are not interested in this. I disagree, and I am certain that I am right. THE YOUTH OF TODAY ARE NOT AS SUPERFICIAL AS SOME THINK. They want to know what life is all about . . ." (this was my personal favorite! POPE BENEDICT XVI has confidence in the youth of today!) 

"This book is exciting because it speaks of our own destiny and so deeply engages every one of us. I invite you: Study this Catechism! That is my heartfelt desire." 

"This catechism was not written to please you. It will not make life easy for you, because it demands of you a new life." (this was my other personal favorite!) 

"It places before you the Gospel message as the "pearl of great value" (Mt 13:45) for which you must give everything." 

"So I beg you: Study this Catechism with passion and perseverance. Make a sacrifice of your time for it! Study it in the quiet of your room; read it with a friend; form study groups and networks; share with each other on the Internet. By all means continue to talk with each other about your faith...." (and this was another favorite! "study with passion and perseverance") 

"Of course, there are many differences even among the youth of today's world. And so now, under the capable direction of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schoenborn, YOUCAT has been produced for young people. I hope that many young people will let themselves be fascinated by this book

THE DONKEY - G. K. Chesterton

G. K. Chesterton The Donkey When fishes flew and forests walked   And figs grew upon thorn,   Some moment when the moon was blood   Then surely I was born. With monstrous head and sickening cry   And ears like errant wings,   The devil’s walking parody   On all four-footed things. The tattered outlaw of the earth,   Of ancient crooked will;   Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,   I keep my secret still. Fools! For I also had my hour;   One far fierce hour and sweet:   There was a shout about my ears,   And palms before my feet.

Saintliness is the Measure of Christian Life . . . Vatican Information Service

SAINTLINESS IS THE MEASURE OF CHRISTIAN LIFE

VATICAN CITY, 13 APR 2011 (VIS) - During this Wednesday's general audiences,

Benedict XVI concluded the cycle of catechesis he has dedicated over the

course of two years to the many saints who "with their faith, with their

charity and with their lives, have been beacons for many generations, and

are thus also for us".

 "Often we are led to believe that sainthood is reserved to a few chosen

ones", the Pope said. Nonetheless, "saintliness, the fullness of Christian

life, does not consist in the achievement of extraordinary feats, but in

uniting oneself with Christ... in making His disposition ... His behaviour

... our own. ... The II Vatican Council, in the Constitution of the Church,

speaks clearly of the universal call to sainthood, affirming that no-one is

excluded".

 However, a holy life, the Pope continued, "is not principally the result

of our efforts, as it is God ... who renders us holy, and it is the action

of his Spirit which animates us from within, the same life of Christ

resurrected which is communicated to us and which transforms us ...

Saintliness is therefore ultimately rooted in baptismal grace, in being

introduced to the paschal mystery of Christ, by which His Spirit, His

resurrected life, is communicated to us. ... But God always respects our

freedom and asks us to accept this gift and to live with the demands it

brings, asks that we may allow ourselves to be transformed by the action of

the Holy Spirit, conforming our will to the will of God".

 "How can it be that our way of thinking and our actions become the thought

and action of Christ?" asked the Pope. "Once again, the II Vatican Council

offers us clear guidance; it tells us that Christian holiness is none other

than charity, fully experienced". However, in order that charity might,

"like a good seed, grow in the soul and there bear fruit, the faithful must

listen gladly to the Word of God and, by its grace, carry out His will

through their works, participate frequently in the sacraments, above all the

Eucharist and the Holy Liturgy; they must constantly apply themselves in

prayer, in the abnegation of their selves, in the active service of their

brothers and in the exercise of every virtue. ... For this reason the true

disciple of Christ is characterised by his charity both toward God and

toward his neighbour".

 "The Church, during the Liturgical Year, invites us to commemorate an

array of saints who have fully lived in charity, and have loved and followed

Christ in their everyday lives. They show us that it is possible to follow

this path. ... We are all called to saintliness: it is the very measure of

Christian life".

 Benedict XVI concluded by inviting us all to open ourselves "to the action

of the Holy Spirit, which transforms our life, so that we too may become

tesserae in the great mosaic of sainthood that God creates throughout

history".

"The Glory of God is a human being fully alive!” 

St. Irenaeus, the great second-century theologian

"Be Holy! Be Saints!" Pope Benedict XVI

Holiness is Always in Season  (my review for Amazon)

Holiness is Always in Season is another beautiful book written by Pope Benedict XVI. Ignatius has been publishing books that are so very beautiful you don't want to put them on bookshelves; you want to keep them out where everyone can see them. Seriously, these last few books written by Pope Benedict XVI are covered with gold! Okay, not real gold, but they truly are some of the most beautiful books I have ever seen and then, inside, the words are like liquid gold. This Pope Benedict XVI is a great Theologian and a great writer. 

Holiness Is Always In Season surprised me, as I thought it would be about a topic, obviously Holiness, with lots of heavy reading, but not so. Instead of a topic, it is a Garden of Saints and, within each chapter, done by seasons and months, are the Saints of that month. A Twelve Month Garden, each month filled with different Saints, dozens of Saints, to take you through the year, where Holiness is Always in Season! These Saints are our models and teachers in the way of holiness. The world of the saints is a world of wonders, and Pope Benedict XVI helps us to enter this world. 

Do yourself a favor and go to the "LOOK INSIDE!" on the Amazon page for this book and see the layout. You will gasp at the site of the cover and, if you like to read about Saints, you will enjoy every word. 

The Introduction is worth reading to tempt you to buy the book. Find the Intro in the "LOOK INSIDE!," written, of course, by Benedict XVI; and written as poetry, with reference to "Oh, when the saints go marching in, Lord, how I want to be in that number!" 

Then the Holy Father will take your hand and put it in Blessed Mary's maternal hand as we pray that the Queen of All Saints will lead us toward our heavenly homeland . . . 

At the "LOOK INSIDE!" see the list of all the Saints in January - find your own birthday month - I found mine and saw the Saints I know well in July, my month. I like this book. I had mine the day it came out. 

Pope Benedict XVI wrote: "Holiness never goes out of fashion; on the contrary, with the passage of time it shines out ever more brightly, expressing man's perennial effort to reach God." 

Mother Teresa of Calcutta wrote: "Holiness is not something for the extraordinary; it is not a luxury of the few. Holiness is the simple duty for each one of us." 

Christ taught us all, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." 

The Church teaches us, "All the faithful, whatever their condition or state in life, are called by the Lord to that perfect holiness." 

Let us begin, it is Spring!