Keeping ourselves in the love of God

Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, unto life everlasting. 

- St. Jude, 21

I never thought about "keeping myself in the love of God" until recently. It must be possible, or the Apostle here would not command it. St. Paul teaches that "it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance" (Rom. 2:4) - repentance being a cooperation between us and the grace of God. This cooperation continues as we keep ourselves in the love of God. 

How often have I dwelt on everything but the love of God! Nowhere is this love more profoundly communicated than at Calvary, where our Lord offered Himself for sinners. While meditation on the cross rightly stirs in us feelings of contrition and shame for our sins, it's work is only complete when we recognize the great love with which God has met us in Christ, at the point when we are most helpless, most unworthy of grace.

Lord, teach me how to keep myself in your love, and to trust in the mercy St. Jude tells us will come to us at our death or your return.

(personal meditation from 2013)

Mighty is your God to save!

Blessed are those engaged in spiritual combats with the vile demon,

For mighty is your God to save!

The same God who spoke all things into existence by His all-powerful Word upholds you now and through our God, we shall do valiantly!

The same God Who promised that the Seed of the Woman would crush the seed of the serpent now crushes his head in your battle through the intercession of the Holy Virgin Mother of God!

The same God who opened the Red Sea for Israel to escape Pharaoh and his armies will fight for you and grant you also a supernatural deliverance!

The same God Who gave the head of fierce Goliath in battle to little David will strengthen you against the giant evils Satan confronts you with!

The same God who gave us His only begotten Son as the priestly sacrifice to deliver us from the guilt of our sins now gives us forgiveness, healing, justification and benediction through the same sacrifice on our altars around the world!

The same God that raised Jesus Christ from the dead will raise us up with Him at the last Day, and by His resurrection power will smash all the power that death holds over us!

O death where is thy sting?

O grave where is thy victory?

Blessed be Jesus Christ Who causes us to triumph in Him!

Although wicked demons are more powerful than we are, and their lies penetrate and menace our minds, and their bitter condemnations and accusations pierce our souls, yet Christ in us is all-powerful to destroy the works of the devil. Though their merciless temptations lure and oppress us, Christ within us is the hope of glory and the strength we need to resist temptation and live in chastity, purity, and holiness.

O holy blood of Christ, cover us!

O Holy Ghost, divine breath, defend us from within!

O mighty angels, ministers of the heirs of salvation, fight for us!

O Mother of Jesus Christ, Destroyer of Heresies, crush the head of the devil!

Blessed are those engaged in spiritual combats with the vile demon, for mighty is your God to save!

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Originally posted 19 September 2017

Loneliness

And the Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone: let us make him a help like unto himself.

Genesis 2,18

Loneliness.

Even Adam, the perfect man in a perfect world with a perfect relationship to his Creator experienced loneliness.

How could this be?

Did this mean that "God wasn't enough"? 

No, for even our Lord greatly desired the companionship of His disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane where he sweat great drops of blood in agony.

Loneliness is a great mystery, one which few if any of us can say we are not intimately acquainted. 

Loneliness does not sting like a laceration or cause us to tremble as does fear; no, loneliness corners us in our interior life and reveals to us a gaping, cavernous emptiness that the Creator intended to be filled with human companionship. 

The absence of this companionship can be fertile ground for both personal growth and demonic temptation. 

When loneliness is the result of abandonment or personal rejection, the ache is intensified by the silent voices of accusation.

Surely I deserve this; my sins have caused it. 

I am most unworthy of love; I am unlovely and unlovable.

We hear the same voice accuse Christ: if you are the Son of God, command stones to be bread. If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.

The Prophet Isaias saw Him far off: 

"Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not." (Is. 53,3)

No, loneliness is the lot of all the sons of Eve.

For some, it is a crushing weight driving them to despair of hope; for others, a severe trial intensifying feelings of alienation and insecurity.

For others loneliness is the source of crippling shame.

What if others knew how much I hurt and long for another to listen patiently and enter - even briefly - into this dark valley of sorrow with me?

Facing ourselves alone can be frightening. Intimidating. Cruel.

Yet the promise of our Lord Who knew and understood loneliness better than any man is that we need not ever face ourselves alone.

He is with us always, and will never abandon us to ourselves. 

He loves each of us as though there were only one of us.

He sends the Holy Spirit into our hearts crying, "abba! Father!"

He makes us temples of the same Spirit.

He lovingly commits an angel to each of us which always sees the face of God.

Loneliness.

Don't be ashamed.

Don't be afraid.

Its okay to be lonely.

Its a big part of our broken human existence after the Fall.

Nothing I have written here ends the bitter pangs of loneliness for anyone.

My hope is that disclosing the universality of loneliness will make someone feel less estranged, alienated, or awkward.

Maybe we can be lonely together.

🙂  God love you.

Originally posted 26 September 2022

Faith during storms

Are you passing through a tumultuous storm in your life? These mysterious seasons seem to overwhelm us at times, and we are tempted to despair. We go to God our Creator, Christ our Redeemer, the Holy Ghost our life in grace, and pour out our hearts. We humble ourselves, confess our sins and faults, and beg for mercy. We place our trust in God and not man, reaching up to Him with childlike dependence. And yet the fierce waves relentlessly batter our little vessels, the capricious winds menace us, the cold darkness envelops us and we ask, "why, Lord? Don't you care?" Instead of consolation, we hear only silence and the echoes of our deepest doubts.

It is these times that we sit alone in the company of our fears with only naked, raw faith. Yet that faltering faith, unabetted by any consolation at all is a great praise and worship of the Triune God, who is nearer to us than our own breath though we feel completely alone and abandoned. Our Blessed Lord Himself prayed that the hour of His passion might pass from Him. It was after He surrendered to the Divine will, accepting His Cross that the Father sent angels to minister to Him.

I find that act of surrender more difficult than death. It is utterly unnatural for me to yield to what I KNOW will bring me misery. Perhaps that is why the angelic consort is so infrequently sent to me. God be merciful to me, a sinner.

Originally posted 18 February 2016

Life didn't turn out the way I expected

Life doesn't always turn out the way we expected. 

Nor the way we'd hoped.

God became man and was hated, persecuted, tortured, and crucified.

So what then can we lay claim to but the same, or worse?

Yet He has not punished us as our sins deserve, but regards us rather as children - HIS children.

Pain, misery, agonies, loneliness, and rejection all take their toll on us. We are, humanly speaking, dying from the time we are born.

Yet we are likewise called to a higher life, a new life divinized by union with Christ Jesus, the God-man. 

We struggle between this death and the promise of this divine life; we admire the beauty of creation but are admonished to detach from creatures.

What does that mean?

I don't know, and my ignorance cannot excuse me from my attachment to this world, this life, and the good things God has given me to enjoy.

As I look back on a long life that seems to have flown by like a sped-up film, God has been exceedingly good to me.

My ingratitude, pride, and lust for pleasure has blinded me to seeing what was there all along:

the goodness of God the Father endowing me with a living soul made in His image and likeness.

The mercy of God the Son sacrificing Himself for the chief of sinners, I.

The wisdom of God the Holy Ghost imparting to me supernatural grace to know and love this Triune God of all compassion and holiness.

No, life did not turn out at all like I imagined as a young man.

But that can only be for my good.

The heavenly Father Who ordains all things for my good and His glory knows best.

May He grant me faith to accept that nothing that happens to me can separate me from His eternal love and empire of mercy.

May we learn to appreciate His gifts without undue attachment to them, but through them render humble thanks to the Giver.

Lord deliver me from my own vain desires, and teach me to trust in you like a little child.

Originally posted 2 October 2020

Cast all your care upon Him

Anxiety is a form of fear. God is not the one who terrifies us, but rather a distortion of God manipulated by demons, false teachers, or a malformed conscience.

Adam and Eve knew no disordered fear until they sinned and their consciences were troubled. 

St. Paul teaches, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and of sobriety." (II Tim. 1,7)

We must combat fear by faith and reason. God is love, and His perfect supernatural charity expels all fear (1 John 4,18) in the believing heart. 

Fear can assume many forms but fear associated with personal guilt is the most menacing. Here Satan, the accuser of the brethren (Apoc. 12,10) marshals all manner of condemnations against us, exploiting our wounds and weaknesses. 

To this end we have the wonderful gift of the Sacrament of Confession whereby our priests in persona Christi absolve us of our sins and Christ infuses supernatural charity into our souls. We must have confident trust in our Lord's words to the Apostles: "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained" (St. John 20,23). 

We are loved by God - what more could we ask? Yet as a father, He pities us and has enormous compassion for us knowing our lack of trust and courage intimately. He has no interest in frightening us who wish to belong to Him; it has been counted that the phrase 'fear not' or 'do not be afraid' appears 365 times in the Bible. 

St. Peter counsels us to "cast... all your care upon him, for he hath care of you" (1 Peter 5,7). Bring your fears to God Who loves you and desires to grant you peace that passes all understanding. The Psalmist feared, but obtained peace and courage through his prayers. So may we. 

"A thousand times a day cast your whole heart, your soul, your anxiety on God with great confidence, and say with the psalmist, I am yours, Lord; save me" (St. Francis de Sales).

He will.

Originally posted 8 October 2019

Men and women respond to the cross differently

Men and women respond to the cross differently, due to the nature which God has lovingly established by the complementarity of the sexes.

The Blessed Mother followed her beloved Son down the Via Dolorosa with unsearchable pity mysteriously sharing in His passion, as a sword pierced her immaculate heart. Saint Veronica met Him also with a great display of visceral compassion, wiping His bludgeoned brow with her veil. Likewise, the women of Jerusalem wept for Him profusely bringing forth from the suffering Savior words of consolation - for them and their children.

The one man who appears prominently in the carrying of the Redeemer's cross was compelled not by pity but by duty. The Romans forced the task on Saint Simon of Cyrene who, complying with their order carried the Lord's cross the final distance to Golgotha when Christ could bear it alone no more.

To women, the man might appear callous, unmoved by so great suffering, and indifferent to the condemned Messiah's plight. Yet to men, he showed his union with Christ by his wordless deed, accompanied by no emotion that the Evangelists record in the Gospels.

To men, the weeping women may seem too overcome by the cruel treatment of the Son of God to do anything worthwhile other than to weep or wipe His sacred brow. Yet both of these perspectives are skewed if accepted as such.

The woman is the heart of humanity, especially in her maternal role as nurturer and consoler. Her deeds are often taken for granted as they are performed so often in obscurity in the home. Yet her hands rock the cradle and in her turn, shape the world.

The man is bound to conquer his passions in order to protect and provide for his dependents, ruled by reason and not emotion. Failure in his duties results in the collapse of civilization itself.

Yet today we are bombarded by ubiquitous messages that demand men feel what women feel and that women rule, lead, and control men. What disorder and chaos results from such expectations!

Women, do not despise the man's way of carrying the cross of duty as though he had no choice in the matter. Men, honor the woman who suffers so deeply in the interior life, knowing that she is carrying the cross no less courageously than us.

Both the women and St. Simon show us the differences between the sexes in bearing our cross, without which we cannot be saved. Let us thank God for these differences, rejoice in the way they compliment each other in sublime symmetry, and resist the spirit of this age that demands conformity to unnatural and unreasonable expectations.

Originally posted 15 October 2019

Wounds of war

Often the wounds of war are manifested in 'bad behavior.' A combat veteran may have experienced some pretty tough things that he or she doesn't talk about much because... well, truthfully? You just wouldn't understand. Before you pass judgment on someone whom has served our country on a far away battlefield, please consider the storm that may be raging inside us. We didn't ask for this, but we didn't run away from it, either.

Originally posted 18 October 2020

O Lord, deliver me from the new religion of man

Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man, deliver me from the new religion of man. Keep me at thy bleeding side with Immaculate Mary at your holy cross, never trusting in my own wisdom or merits, but only in thy grace alone. May thy angelic messengers protect me, and may the Holy Ghost gird my mind with thy holy Word, enabling me to resist all the errors of this age. 

Grant to me the spirit of true humility; make me willing to suffer ridicule, rejection, mocking and persecution for thy glory and the salvation of souls. Inflame my heart with divine love for sinners, that in some small way I may cooperate with thy superabundant graces poured out in these last days to rescue those who have rejected thee and are perishing.

Amen.

Originally posted 23 October 2016

Hope when prayers are unanswered

Unanswered prayer.

Sometimes we pray out of duty.

Or from a sense of conformity with the divine will.

Bereft of any human indicators or concrete signs of our prayer being answered, we continue to plead with heaven.

Years go by.

Many years.

Hope wanes and the soul unwillingly prepares for the crushing of resignation to the fact that the prayer may never be answered.

Our lips recite the prayers out of a naked faith in the promises of God's mercy.

Yet we feel nothing, see nothing, and experience nothing but the aloofness of silence.

In the silence our doubts speak.

The doubts make a lot of sense and their voice is persuasive.

How long, O Lord? Wilt Thou forget me unto the end?

Yet we pray on.

Surely God is listening and even in His silence He is working in our hearts and in the world.

This is the God that raises the dead and makes the blind to see.

This is the God Who lavishes graces upon undeserving sinners.

This is the God we must continue to seek and petition.

Remember our weaknesses, O Lord, that we are dust.

For without Thee, we are nothing and can do nothing.

Originally posted 23 October 2018

Thankful for mercy

The grace of God in Christ just got me through one of the toughest weeks of my life. I am so thankful to Him for His mercy, patience, divine interventions, servants, timely words, gentle encouragements, faithfulness, and nearness.

What I learned (or relearned) this week:

• Whomever God has given a loving spouse is highly favored;
• We can never love the Blessed Mother of God too much;
• God is always bigger than our adversaries and always has the last word;
• God-fearing friends are worth more than any material success;
• Sharing in the sufferings of Jesus is both agony and the pledge of glory;
• Fear can warp our perceptions and cause us to spiral into grave doubts;
• If we fail to rebuke the sinner we may end up sharing his guilt;
• The LORD will never forsake His faithful servants;
• The intercession of the Saints of the Church avails much in our hour of need:
• Humility is the path to peace.

I am so grateful to the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost; for the sweet and sublime love of Mary, pure and undefiled Virgin Mother of God; for the prayers of the Saints; for the love of my wife; for the servants of God He sends to us as just the right moment to confirm His will; and even for those who rebuke us in anger and human vengeance, for even there we can learn from the Wisdom of God.

Originally posted 25 October, 2013

Suffering alone with God

There are seasons in life when a man must stand alone with God. He either believes or not. This crisis of raw faith, applied to concrete problems that can seem hopeless humanly speaking, is a burning, a testing, an agony. Even those who love you most may not understand or appreciate your sufferings through no fault of their own. God grant us that these trials are both short and fruitful for our salvation. May we say with St. Paul, "when I am weak, then I am strong [in Christ]."

Originally posted 25 October 2012

Who can understand sins?

Sometimes life takes cruel turns.

What shall we say, "we don't deserve this?"

That is the answer of pride, the inner workings of one who ignores the cruel suffering of the innocent God-Man on Golgotha's gibbet.

Yet the sting of the human experience makes itself felt to the heart.

Who can understand his own heart?

Who can truly know if his sufferings are a reaping of what he sowed in his past life, the special visitation of affliction willed by God, or just the lot of every mortal man?

If a man's conscience does not accuse him, that is no guarantee of innocence in the sight of God.

If a man confesses his sins as he understands his personal guilt, yet overlooks some fault concealed by personal blindness, will he yet be judged accordingly? 

The Psalmist prayed,

Who can understand sins? from my secret ones cleanse me, O Lord: [14] And from those of others spare thy servant. If they shall have no dominion over me, then shall I be without spot: and I shall be cleansed from the greatest sin. (Psalm. 18,13-15, DRV)

I will not be judged by any man.

To God I belong, to Him I stand or fall, to Him I must give account of my short, sinful, miserable life.

To those who hate me: what I have done to offend you is wrong and is my own fault. If you choose to pardon me, we shall glorify God together.

If you choose to resent me, I will love you just the same and pray for God's blessing upon your soul.

Originally posted 2 November 2019

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners

Who do they think they are, that make a pretense of reforming and updating the church, as though it were a mere human instrumentality that can be improved by man's ingenuity, as though there were some defect in the Gospel received from antiquity? Who is it that pretends to set aside the preaching of the cross, which St. Paul calls "the power of God" (1 Cor.1:18) for an "updated" Gospel that is no Gospel at all? 

And what is this preaching of the cross? That man is condemned already because of his sin and unbelief, and that God has accepted the priestly sacrifice of His only begotten Son on the cross to redeem and justify those who believe and obey. 

All the blathering on about evolution, anonymous Christians, and speculations about God owing all His creations some debt of ordering them to beatitude are all distractions from the central truth:  Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. If you are not a sinner, this message is not for you. If you are, rejoice, because the Gospel has come to you today. May you say say with the Apostle, "for I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe..." (Romans 1:16)

Originally posted 9 November 2012

Broken fathers

I last saw my dad and grandfather in the late 1960s.

My mother's father died before I was born.

I've tried to be a good husband and father but fallen miserably short.

These were men I could not always admire but certainly loved.

I can't say I understand their challenges, faults, or their times. 

I don't.

Yet I am willing to accept them and love them as they are [were], broken men negotiating with life the best way they could with what they had.

That's all I ask for myself.

Before you judge and condemn me, stop just a half-second and consider where and who I come from.

I'm nowhere near the man I ought to be, but I'm not the man I used to be, either.

God be merciful to me, a sinner. 

Originally posted 11 November 2018

Holy fear is indispensable

We are living in times of exceptional wickedness. It is far too easy to acclimate our souls and our consciences to the filth, debauchery, idolatry and diabolical evil all around us.

In such a time, holy fear is indispensable for the salvation of our souls. Without it, we are probably doomed to embrace that which God Almighty hates and thereby condemn ourselves to eternal damnation.

O Lord our Maker and our only hope for deliverance from our sins, grant in Thy mercy that we may fear Thee as we ought, and in humility flee to Thee for strength against the flesh, the world, and the devil. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Originally posted 21 November 2019

A father's tears

This was something I scrawled on the back of a military document on 28 August, 1997. Some of military life is hidden discreetly from the general public (a good thing). There are sacrifices we make that exact a deep emotional price. This one recalled the abandonment of my father and the anguish in spending so much time away from my little Johnny whom I would never abandon, but who was too young to understand that at the time.

Originally posted 25 November 2021

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God. (Isaias 40,1)

If you are in pain tonight, in the midst of a dark and seemingly relentless trial, persecuted, calumniated, lied to or about, in a hospital bed or facing a divorce, have been abandoned or are in deep grief over some loss, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

If your heart is breaking because of rejection, abuse, or because of personal guilt, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

If you are facing Christmas with a burden of seemingly hopeless debt, unable to put food on the table, let alone presents under the tree, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Your Creator Who formed you in the womb of your mother, Who fully intended for you to be here, Who watches over you with unfathomable tenderness and fatherly pity, whispers to you even now: "you are mine."

Simply pray in childlike simplicity, "I am Yours Lord, and yours I wish to be."

Then just be quiet and wait upon your loving Redeemer. He will never leave you nor abandon you. He is nearer to you than your own breath.

Originally posted 13 December 2019

Christmas is from Christ

So I'm walking through a shopping area... and have heard the radio... Christmas music without Christ and the Nativity? Empty. Its like tens of thousands of people cheering in a stadium, but there are no players on the field. Like serving all the great complimentary dishes but no turkey on Thanksgiving. Its all sweetness and sugar, icing and topping but nothing substantial at the base. This secular Christmas is a moral and spiritual flop.

Praise be to God for sending His only Son to save sinners!

Hark the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled"

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

"Christ is born in Bethlehem"

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored

Christ the everlasting Lord!

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of a Virgin's womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with man to dwell

Jesus, our Emmanuel

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings

Ris'n with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Originally posted 17 December 2014

Grief is not an enemy

We cannot perpetually avoid grief. Eventually it manifests itself in our souls, even against our will. It cannot be put off or gone around, but only gone through. Grief is nature's way of allowing the soul to feel the full weight of it's loss. 

Grief deferred often returns in unexplained waves of deep and relentless sadness. It must accomplish it's work in order for the soul to be healed. The mystery of grief cannot be fully understood by human words, ideas, and rationale. It can only be absorbed by the soul patiently and with trust in the Creator Who allows such unfathomable pain to overwhelm us at times.

Grief is not an enemy; grief is a process portending to wholeness. When Lazarus died, "Jesus wept" (St. John 11:35). 

Personally, I hate grief because it often invades the emotions like an intruder at specific triggers. For me, Christmas is one of those triggers.

Yet in my rational mind, I accept that grief must perform her entire and comprehensive work for the soul to reach perfection. By the gift of faith, I also must accept that not everything will be explained to us on this side of the curtain separating life and death. May God grant us the grace to accept the work grief comes to do within us, and in His infinite compassion, provide us with sympathetic companions.

Originally posted 28 December 2017

Come home, beloved!

The Holy Ghost and the devil both accuse of sin. The Lord in order to lead the soul to true contrition, faith in God's mercy in Christ, penance and eternal life. The demon accuses to bring the soul to despair of justification, as he accused Christ on the cross, "if you are the Son of God..."

The accuser of the brethren reviles us, "you are a failure! How could you sin this way?!!" The Holy Ghost pleads, "come home, beloved!"

Originally posted 1 January 2022

Prayer against the demonic abuse of children

Almighty God, Commander of the heavenly armies and supreme ruler of the nations, look with pity upon those child victims who even now are in bondage to the servants of Satan and subject to their abominable and vile abuses, and quickly send Thy vengeance upon their tormentors.

Unveil Thy arm in the sight of the nations and strike the seat of this demonic power with Thy might; plunge into hell all those wicked spirits who refuse Thy mercy and persecute Thy Church.

As Haman plotted of old to destroy Thy chosen people in exile, and Queen Esther interceded to deliver them, and he fell himself into the trap he laid for Israel, so now O Lord our God hear the intercession of the Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ Who crushes the seed of the serpent; send Thine angelic hosts upon the earth with holy fire to expose and trap Thine enemies. Route them by Thy power and scatter them over all the earth.

Gracious God our Father, we beg Thee to uphold, defend, and protect Thy servants whom Thou hast raised up for this great deliverance from the spirit of antichrist; ruin the wicked plans of those who plot against Thee and Thine Anointed One.

Send the spirit of Thy fear upon every soul on earth; make them to tremble and to know they are mere men and Thou art God alone; spare not these abusers of infants and babes, who adore the demon and hate Thee and Thy holy Church; strike them down in the sight of all mankind, that all may fear Thee and adore Thee alone.

We acknowledge in deepest grief and sorrowful humiliation that we sinners are unworthy of receiving these petitions, yet for the sake of our Divine Redeemer's sorrowful passion, we dare to ask even this.

Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered!

Maranatha!

Originally posted 4 January 2021

Crisis of manly courage

What we have seen since November 3rd [2020] are the fruits and symptoms of a collapse of manly virtue in our society. Three failures stand out: the failure of state legislatures to assert their Constitutional authority to redress massive and audacious election fraud; the failure of the Supreme Court to adjudicate the Texas law suit; and today, the Vice President taking the easy way out when the Republic itself is at risk.

These three institutions caved to pressure from a quasi-violent political party dominated by radical feminism and antichristian morality. It was a true test of virility and patriotism; none of their challenges were free of risk, even serious risk - of death. Yet they all punted the responsibility of duty in preference to an easy defeat and a comfortable cowering into submission to tyrants who, in the long run will abuse them most of all.

This loss of manly virtue has been eroding our social fabric for decades as fatherhood has itself been both assailed and abandoned. Four in ten baby boys are born today to women who are not married. And that failure of manhood has far-reaching consequences for society as a whole. Today men are more likely to be addicted to pornography than to enlist in the service of their country.

Nature abhors a vacuum and into this vacuum step women - some with the very best of intentions - to lead and to act on behalf of the common good in positions traditionally held by men. I do not blame these women. But if men were behaving like men they would be more content developing the full potential of God-given femininity and our society would be stronger for it.

Now we have a situation where men actually can rally behind a bold and courageous leader but have abandoned him for the greener grass of a false sense of security. This is a national humiliation. The men - of all strata of society - who are seeking the soft landing of encroaching socialism in order to escape the rigorous demands of responsible liberty are abandoning our women and children to the most merciless of all tyrannies. President Trump took on the entire world on our behalf - and won, resoundingly, and almost single-handedly in more ways than we will ever fully comprehend. Yet when push came to shove, the men of state government, the men of the Supreme Court, and even his own right hand man failed him for a lack of courage.

I do not know what comes next in this saga of the American story. I do know this: unless we recover authentic manly virility, we are finished. If there isn't anything worth fighting and dying for, then there isn't anything worth living for, either.

Donald J. Trump did his part.

What about us?

Originally posted 6 January 2021

All 

The peril of resentment and the divine way of clemency

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled... (Hebrews 12,14-15)

A root of bitterness when nurtured by resentment and sustained anger cannot be contained, and as the Apostle St. Paul teaches here springs up and defiles others. We may think we are merely righteously indignant or justifiably angry over some serious transgression or trespass, but such a view is shortsighted and excludes the mandate of Christ the Lord:

"But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences." (St. Matthew 6,16)

A bitter root may be caused by the devil taking advantage of some wound in our hearts. He feeds us lies in order to intensify the grudge that will spread its toxins in our web of relationships. The pain we feel is very real; the grudge we hold rarely inflicts the hoped for damage on the object of our wrath, but rather bars us from divine pardon and harms those closest to us. 

The root of bitterness takes hold in our hearts because of pride; we presume that we are undeserving of the harm we have received, and on a purely human plane, this may be true. However the eyes of faith look beyond the immediate cause to the will of God. If God has allowed some evil to afflict us in His mysterious providence, we are to consider it a share in the cross and suffering of our Redeemer Who innocently endured the agony and torments of crucifixion in order to save us. We are to at least will to forgive, even if abiding in such merciful regard for our tormentors seems impossible. Without the assistance of supernatural grace, it may be impossible. Yet Christ commands us to forgive lest our sins remain unforgiven. 

This Christ teaches us to love our enemies and to do good to those who offend us. This spreads not the harmful toxins of resentment, but the liberating odor of divine sweetness. It demonstrates trust in Him Who loved us even when we were His enemies (Romans 5,8-9). 

The wounds we have received are real. They may cause us deep hurt that lasts for very long periods of time. Yet our Lord knows this and cares for us in our misery. He does not cruelly threaten us with the withholding of forgiveness if we fail to forgive others, but rather lavishes His saving mercy upon us first in the initiation of overtures toward us, His beloved. He offers us Himself: body, blood, soul and divinity in the Most Holy Eucharist. He loves us without condition or merit; He is love itself.

Forgive those that have wronged you and look past their deeds to God Who rules and reigns over all and Who knows what we need before we ask. Resist the temptation to ascribe motives to your offenders, for while it may be evil, that is not something we can know with certainty and we are forbidden to judge another's internal forum. Who knows what evil may have been visited upon them?

Nothing is more Christlike than to pardon offenses, to forgive, to offer clemency, even to the undeserving. May God grant us childlike faith to believe this wonderful truth which will save not only us but those we love when put into practice.

Originally posted 7 January 2020

In one thing I am confident

The older I get and the more I study, the more I realize I really don't know at all. One thing I am confident in: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, (and I say with St. Paul) of whom I am chief. The cross of Christ is the power of God unto salvation. Unless my faith and doctrine proceed from and lead to this font of eternal goodness, I am as lost as the most unenlightened pagan.

Unless we become like little children, we cannot be truly converted. In this way, the child is the teacher and all the earth stands in awe at the mysterious wisdom and goodness of God, who chose to reveal Himself to men not as a terrible destroyer, but as an innocent baby completely dependent on His human parents. Such knowledge is far, far above me.

Originally posted 12 January 2012

The naturalness of sorrow

My sorrow is above sorrow, my heart mourneth within me.

[Jeremias (Jeremiah) 8:18]

Modern men often equate sorrow with something alien, like an emotional bacteria or virus that the soul must immediately expunge.

The truth is that the soul needs to pass through such seasons to maintain her health. There are occasions in life - whether we are victims or perpetrators - where the only appropriate response is a deep, inward sorrow; a grieving over some loss or a profound regret over a wrong decision or bad action. These are the proper responses of a healthy soul, awakened to the supernatural life of grace, willingly stirred in conscience by all the evil around us which at times finds us as its object.

The mad rush to obtain psychological counseling and even chemical treatment can circumvent the normal and natural motions of the spiritual soul which was created by God to grieve at times with profound sorrow.

Men rush to label every normal foray into sorrow as depression or even mental illness. And no wonder, since so few pastors explain the healthful and expedient work that only contrition, sorrow, and interior brokenness can effect in the arduous and continual work of spiritual conversion.

Lastly, it is not good for the person experiencing sorrow to be alone too much. Sorrow can be shared, and even entered into with appropriate empathy. But never tell the grieving soul not to cry, or that its not that bad, or other such superficial responses. Affirm the hurt; acknowledge the bitterness of the wound. But just being there for the one in sorrow is to provide the support they really need and want - and is itself a silent witness to hope.

Originally posted 11 January 2019

Intoxicating wine of divine charity

Our Lord's first public miracle was the changing of water into wine at the wedding in Cana. Our Lady's heartfelt compassion for the plight of the newlyweds led her to intercede for them and their guests with her divine Son. The merit of the spouses is never mentioned in the text; the glory of God is revealed in the Son's power over nature and in the compassion of His Mother. The married couple is the recipient of a gratuitous miracle for a divine end.

The wine cheered the happy guests rejoicing in the newly married spouses' honor. Therefore, the miracle's practical effect was upon the wedding guests, and fittingly so as the faithful and loving witness of Christian spouses can have an intoxicating effect on their children, their fellow Christians, and even on the greater society. The mystery of Christ's love for the Church is reflected in the vows and lives of the married spouses. Christ elevated the dignity of marriage to the level of a sacrament whereby He confers grace upon the husband and wife through their fidelity to their matrimonial vows.

Our Blessed Mother Mary is concerned for each and every marriage in the world. Her intercession then and now avails much for the changing of the water of unhappy tears into the wine of divinely inspired love between husband and wife. In this morally hazardous time of ours when so many marriages are hurting or ended, our Lady pleads for us with her divine Son, "they have no wine." May we heed her Motherly mandate: "whatever He says, do." Christ is listening to His beloved Mother interceding for us and He is willing to change our marriages into intoxicating signs of His love for His bride the Church.

Originally posted 14 June 2014