|
Medjugorje
Message: May 25, 2015 Dear children! Also today I am with you and with joy I call
all of you: pray and believe in the power of prayer. Open your hearts, little
children, so that God may fill you with His love and you will be a joy to
others. Your witness will be powerful and everything you do will be
interwoven with God’s tenderness. I am with you and I pray for you and your
conversion until you put God in the first place. Thank you for having
responded to my call. |
|
Published
by the Marian Center of San Antonio / A Catholic Evangelization Ministry Our Lady’s message in this month of Father’s Day and of the Sacred
and Immaculate Hearts is a perfect illustration of how she exerts her
motherly, feminine energy in a harmonious, fruitful collaboration with the
fatherly, masculine energy of her Son. The Two
Hearts beat together in tandem
strength and life-giving power for all of us, teaching us to enflesh both of their unique charisms. June 25th is the 34th anniversary of Our Lady’s
apparitions in Medjugorje. Throughout these years,
the Queen of Peace has relentlessly hammered on the message: “Pray,
pray, pray!” as the sole path to our “conversion
of heart.” She has continually taught
us the necessity of living her own “Mother-Principle” or “feminine energy” which is openness and receptivity cultivated
through prayer. In this way, we become the fertile
ground awaiting the “seed” of God’s word for our life; we become the welcoming
womb awaiting the Divine “insemination” that will bring Christ to birth
in our world once more in a wholly new way. Since the Church is the “Bride of Christ,” we are all called to this “feminine/mother” role in our spirituality, regardless of our biological gender. It
is a role focused more on “being” than on “doing”—more on silent, still, self-emptying, passive,
listening wakefulness and interior readiness than on outer-directed
action or self-chosen activity to “change the world.” By cultivating our own feminine capacity for passive, open
receptivity, Our Lady affirms that we will also enjoy the “power of prayer” when, into our open hearts,
God will “fill us with His love.” At this point, the vital,
active, “masculine” principle of the Indwelling Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—will also be manifest in our life in
forceful, outgoing, influential ACTION . . . the “Doing” now joined with the “Being.” Our Lady says, “You
will be a joy to others. Your witness will be powerful and everything
you DO will be interwoven with God’s tenderness.” Notice that while Our Lady’s words convey the masculine/fatherly power and
influence we will experience, they do not imply
aggressiveness, anger, or violence. Rather, when the love of God is poured into us through the channel of
our (“feminine”) open-hearted receptivity in prayer, Our Lady says that all our actions
will be imbued with “God’s tenderness.” Not the stern, authoritarian, intimidating, or terrifyingly “just”
qualities of a “Macho” God! Instead, it is the “joy” and tender compassion of our God of Love that will be “interwoven” with “everything
we do.” (Pope Francis’ “Jubilee of Mercy” and “Church
of Mercy” reflect this radical level of
Gospel conversion.) The word “interwoven” speaks beautifully to the “seeding” aspect of a divine quality that
is being thoroughly sown into the whole fabric of our “spiritual DNA.”
When and how can we realize this
wonderful “impregnation” by God making us
vessels full of joy
and tenderness toward others in “everything we do”??? Our Lady concludes her message with a revealing statement: “I
am with you and I pray for your conversion until you put God in the first
place.” In other words, however
“converted” we might think we are, “until we put God in the first place,”
this conversion has not yet “crystallized” in our life—and so, Our Lady keeps praying for us. We must each consider what more is needed in terms of our daily
prayer practice, so that our conversion of
heart might become more REAL. What would it mean to truly “put God in the first place” in my life? In this month of Corpus Christi, as we
celebrate the Body and Blood of Christ given to us in the Eucharist, let us
ask if, at
every Holy Mass, we both “pray
and believe in the power of prayer” when the bread and wine are consecrated and transubstantiated on
the altar? If so, we are opening ourselves in receptivity to the Body,
Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ entering us and filling our BEING, there to radically transform our DOING in the world when we leave the sacred liturgy, so that “our witness will be powerful and
everything we do interwoven with God’s tenderness.” May it be so!
June Musings . . .
Month of the Holy Eucharist . . . and of the Two Hearts—Sacred
and Immaculate . .
. & of our Fathers in the Faith June 7: Solemnity
of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ For (non-Catholic) Christians who
regard the bread and wine of Holy Communion as “symbolic” rather than
“literally” the TRUE Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ (transubstantiated through the priestly
consecration prayer at Mass), it is good to consider the words of Sacred
Scripture (below) by which Our Lord
first scandalized His followers who were repelled by His
uncompromisingly “literal” use of a word meaning “chew” or “gnaw” when
referring to His own flesh as “true”
food to be eaten. They fell away from Him because of this “hard teaching,” and yet He did not
“back-pedal” on His words or try to soften them as “symbolic” language; the “Twelve”—our
Apostolic Church fathers—remained faithful to this gospel Eucharistic
teaching and to the True Presence of Christ in the
Blessed Sacrament, instituted by Our Lord at the Last Supper with the
mandate: “DO THIS in memory of me.” This “great sacrament of unity” is given to us as a perpetual institution—the “source
and summit of our faith”—in every Holy Mass: “Amen,
amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my
Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that
which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world….I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the
desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that
one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is
my flesh for the life of the world….Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of
Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my
flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last
day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my
flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him…the one who feeds on
me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from
heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread
will live forever.” …Then
many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?”….As a result of this, many
of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer
accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to
leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the
words of eternal life.”
– John 6:32-68 + + +
+ + +
+ +
+ + +
+ + How Do We
Understand Eucharist? The Eucharist inserts us as living
cells into the Mystical Body of Christ. We are…a “holon.” The word
holon
comes from the Greek word for “whole” and refers to a self-contained unit
that contains within it numerous interrelated parts. Through the gift of the
Eucharist we become holons within the greater holon of Christ’s Mystical Body. That means that each of
us has within us the whole program of divine transformation. The Spirit of
God, like the soul in the body, fills the whole body including every organ
and every cell. The Spirit dwelling in each cell of the Mystical
Body puts at our disposal all the spiritual gifts we need to be transformed
into the mind and heart of Christ and into full participation in the Kingdom
of God. The Kingdom of God is not a geopolitical or physical location. It is
the state of consciousness that Jesus enjoyed as the Word made flesh.
It is Christ’s experience as a human being of the Eternal Father as Abba. – Fr.
Thomas Keating, OCSO + +
+ + +
+ + +
+ + +
+ Understanding the
Eucharist as the internalization of God’s love leads to the centrality of the
Eucharist as the basis of catholic life. The truly catholic personality is
one centered around the mystery of the Eucharist. In receiving the Eucharist each
person receives the whole Christ—head and members—so that the entire body is
present in each member. In this way each person who partakes of the
Eucharist is made into an ecclesial person, and all persons are internal to the
very being of one another. The Eucharist signifies that each member is not
external to the other members but rather internally related to the other
members of the Body of Christ. Our relationship to Christ is our relationship
to one another…. The Eucharist, therefore, is the sacrament of evolution because every act of
Eucharist is an act of making a new future through a new divine presence, a
new relatedness, a new freedom to love. It requires death to the old self that refuses to embrace another and openness to the other as part of oneself.
Whole-making is the desire to be part of a greater whole, and Eucharist
sacramentalizes the whole. – Sr.
Ilia, Delio, OSF + + +
+ + +
+ + +
+ + +
+ + Non-Dualism is a Eucharistic way of
seeing that goes beyond the differences or conflicts or separate parts of a
whole to a
vision of the underlying unity or wholeness of the Christ in all creation.
– Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM +
+ + +
+ + +
+ + +
+ + +
+ + + Earth:
Our EUCHARISTIC Planet The resurrection of the body
means that the Real Presence of the Absolute is realized in the world in all
its ordinariness.
The world of mountains and rivers, of bread and wine, of friends and enemies,
is all held and displayed in the universal monstrance, the Showing, the
phenomenalization of the Absolute. This
is…what the Mysteries, in their various forms and traditions, are trying to
tell us. Can we recognize the presence of the
Absolute in the ordinariness of the world? Do we know what is going on when bread is broken for
supper? I want to see all our
connectedness as expressions of the Absolute. I want to perceive Earth
as a Eucharistic Planet, a Good Gift planet, which is structured
as mutual feeding, as intimate self-sharing. It is a great Process, a
circulation of living energies, in which the Real Presence of the Absolute is
discerned….It is living as an integral Body, as the Glory
Body of the Real. This is eucharistic
ecology, and it is the ideal of all spiritual traditions. The life of the Whole continues
because all parties give themselves to it by giving themselves to each other.
The dynamic interconnections sustain all participants. This view of the
world…the Eucharistic Planet, a view of the world as the Real Presence of the
Divine or Absolute, a view of the world as a single living Body, in
which the various members freely give themselves as food to one another—this
view of reality has been around a long time. It has surfaced in almost every
culture in one form or another. A number of ancient traditions described the
unity of the world as a living body of a single divine person….The Cosmic
Theandric Person is a universal image of the
organic unity in which we all share. A sense of the Eucharistic
Planet, of the Real Presence of the Divine in the world, is something we need now for the protection
of the planet…. On the basis of the Gospel we can say
something quite constructive and exciting that will give us a vision of the
wholeness of the planet. The core of the story is the communitarian life taught
by and instituted by Jesus. Instead of taking as the norm of
Reality those things that are outside
one another, he takes as standard and paradigm those who are in
one another. His prayer, his vision, is “that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, are in me, and I in
thee, that they also may be in us…that they may be one even as we are one. I
in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly
one.” (Jn 17:21-22)
This is the heart of what Jesus is about.
He meant that this is how Reality is fundamentally
constructed: this is how it is, and we are to wake up and know it, realize it. This basic insight, vision,
revelation, was developed in the church in terms of two great dogmas,
which, however, haven’t perhaps been sufficiently appreciated as the
structural models that they are. The two great dogmas, from which everything
can be derived, are the Trinity and the Incarnation.
And
they are encapsulated in the single sacrament of Holy
Communion, the Incarnation of the Trinity—the mutually
feeding, mutually indwelling community, in which all members
give themselves to one another as food, for the sake of abundant LIFE. The cosmos, too, is communitarian—a
single body of mutually feeding processes, much more like beings that are
in one another than like
beings that are outside one another…. It is a Symbiotic Cosmos, and it is the
artistic self-expression of the Trinity….This is the right idea, the
idea of the universe as the self-expression, or incarnation, or artwork,
of the Trinity….There is no way that the artist cannot be present in that
work. This reinforces the claim that the model for the universe is a community
of beings in one another, rather than a collection of beings outside
one another. The cosmos is an “incarnation” of the Trinity. The cosmos has all the marks of the
Trinity: it is a unity;
it is internally differentiated but interpenetrating; and it is dynamic,
giving, expanding, radiant. And, as a work
of art, the cosmos…does not exist for the sake of something else, something
beyond itself; it is not useful, it is not instrumental; it
is an end in itself, self-justifying, valuable in its own right and in its
very process. This is foundational for the ecological virtue that is
the moral dimension of the Eucharistic Ecology. As the artwork of God, the
cosmos has value in itself, and that entitles it to certain rights. –
Beatrice Bruteau + +
+ + +
+ + +
+ + +
+ + + Feasts of
the Two Hearts: June 12th & 13th The term “Sacred
Heart of Jesus” denotes the entire mystery of Christ, the totality
of his being and his person. Devotion to the Sacred Heart calls for a
fundamental attitude of conversion and reparation, of love and gratitude,
apostolic commitment and dedication to Christ and his saving work. The
Sacred Heart of Jesus is considered the chief sign and symbol of that love
with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father
and all human beings without exception. (CCC
478) The mysterium
of the Heart of Jesus is projected onto and reverberates in the Heart of his
Mother, who is also one of his followers and a disciple. The memorial of
the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a celebration of the complex visceral
relationship of Mary with her Son’s work of salvation, from the Incarnation
to his death and Resurrection, to the gift of the Holy Spirit. “Do you fear to slight the
incomparable goodness of the Heart of Jesus, your God and Redeemer, if you
invoke the charity of his Mother’s Heart? Do you not know that Mary
is nothing except in, through and by Jesus? Do you not know that
Jesus
is everything and that he can and does accomplish everything through
her? Do you not know Jesus made Mary’s Heart as it is, and that he
willed it to be the fountain of light, of consolation, and of every grace
for those who will have recourse to it in their needs? Do you forget that not
only does Jesus reside and dwell in Mary’s Heart, but that he is in
truth the heart of her Heart and the soul of her soul; and that therefore
coming
to the Heart of Mary means to honor Jesus and to invoke her Heart is
to invoke Jesus?” – St. John Eudes + + +
+ + +
+ + +
+ + +
+ + Father’s Day: June 21 A day of gratitude to God for the Father-Principle
at work in our life, and to those who have shared it with us. What is the “Father-Principle”? “Father” is the Active principle we see in the rapid outgoing movement of the
sperm cell assertively attempting fertilization and the seeding of new life.
“Mother” is the Passive principle
of the silent egg waiting in the dark stillness of receptivity—a fecund, fertile ground preparing for the
cultivation of new life. In this image from biology we see the generative
power of both “Father” and “Mother”—the great, God-given energies to ACT and to BE ACTED UPON. These two principles of “Father” and “Mother”
are the unique and equally indispensable powers of creation/originality
and of submission/receptivity—both required for the
generation of LIFE. The child born of a union of the “Father-Priniciple”
and the “Mother-Principle” is a Reconciling-Principle,
blending the Active and Passive energies of the two parents in a totally
unique and never-before-seen way. As a child grows into maturity, there
is a visceral need for the Blessing
of the Father-Principle in the form of support and encouragement
for ACTIVELY going out into the world, confidently acting upon life rather than merely reacting to it, with inner
security and confidence in one’s God-given powers of creativity, originality,
initiative, virility, courage and strength to move forward and make efforts in new, life-giving ways—creating in partnership with God.
Ideally, each person’s own biological father provides this Blessing
of the Father-Principle, but in many cases this vital support and
confidence-building are lacking and must come from another source, like a
teacher, priest, relative, friend, or even from a mother or other woman
exerting her own inner “Father-Principle”
for the balance and good of the child. Our Catholic Christian tradition
rooted in the Gospel provides us with a spiritual “Father-Principle” and “Mother-Principle”
in the form of the Holy Trinity and the Blessed
Virgin Mary. Our Lady, given to us by Jesus on Calvary, continually
teaches the “Mother-Principle” that
in the dark, silent stillness of PRAYER
we must cultivate the “ground” of openness and receptivity that is
necessary for the “Father-Principle”—God,
the Indwelling Divine Presence—to fill us, “inseminate” us, and animate our
active lives in the world. Each human being, made in the image and likeness of God, is to be a reconciling
blend of the Father-Principle and the Mother-Principle. (The Gospel
story of Mary and Martha illustrates the common situation of the dominance of one Principle over another
within a person, regardless of biological gender. As St. Teresa of Avila
said, “Mary and Martha must join”
in each of us. Jesus also demonstrated both parental principles in his
tender, maternal care for Jerusalem over whom he wept as “a mother hen trying
to gather her chicks beneath her wings.”) Let us prayerfully consider who
has filled the role of “Father-Principle” in our life, and
express our gratitude for these special men (and/or women)!
|
|
|
|
Mark Your
Calendar!
|
June 7 |
Corpus Christi Sunday
(Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ) |
|
12 |
Sacred Heart of Jesus |
|
13 |
Immaculate Heart of Mary |
|
15-17 |
Summer Institute: Is Anyone Ever Really Single? The Call to
Authentic Sexuality with Dr. Richard Gaillardetz,
Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI, & Dr. Donna Freitas;
Oblate School of Theology, Whitley Theological Center; 285 Oblate Dr.; $90 +
lodging/meals; call (210) 341-1366 x 212 |
|
21 |
Father’s Day |
|
24 |
Birth of John the Baptist |
|
25 |
34th
Anniversary of Medjugorje Apparitions |
|
26-27 |
UIW Pastoral Institute
Ministry & Education Conference: Answering
Pope Francis’ Call: Becoming a Church of Mercy with Dr. Marti Jewell of
U. of Dallas; University of the Incarnate Word, 4301 Broadway; $50 incl.
lunch; call (210) 829-3880 |
|
29 |
St. Peter & St. Paul,
Apostles |
|
To reject the contemplative
dimension of any religion is to reject the religion itself,
however loyal one may be to its externals and rituals. This is because the contemplative dimension
is the heart and soul of every religion. It initiates the movement into higher states of
consciousness. The great wisdom teachings of the Vedas, Upanishads, Buddhist
Sutras, Old and New Testaments, and the Koran bear witness to this truth.
Right now there are about two billion Christians on the planet. If a
significant portion of them were to embrace the contemplative dimension of
the gospel, the emerging global society would experience a powerful surge
toward enduring peace. If this contemplative dimension of the
Christian religion is not presented, the Gospel is not being adequately
preached. – Fr.
Thomas Keating, OCSO |
|
Copyright, Marian Center of San Antonio. All rights
reserved. No part of this newsletter may be reproduced without permission.
|