On Fatherhood

 "...you have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba (Father)."  Romans 8,15

The baptized person certainly receives this spirit of adoption as the Lord and His apostles teach; yet this spirit must be accessed not only through the will but first through the intellect.

For millions of us in these dark times the figure of father is distorted, weakened, and obscured by relentless attacks from the so-called progressives, the media, and in the end, by the demon himself, whom our Lord named "the father of lies." Fatherhood is made superfluous by the state which subsidizes out-of-wedlock births; fatherhood is lampooned by the media which makes him the butt of jokes and the punchline of dark humor. Social commentators label any expression of virility as 'toxic masculinity' and replace the order of the family as constituted by the Creator with a synthetic democracy of equals.

Those who have grown up abandoned by their fathers or had them ripped from their lives by divorce carry within their intellect the trauma of this primal loss. Some have never even known their fathers or have been abused by common-law live-in substitutes who had no claim on their filial obedience. For so many of us, the idea of father is complex and troubling, evincing a multitude of thoughts and emotions that marshal our fears and restrict our trust. Is God a father like one of these I have known?

To us, Divine Providence has given Blessed Joseph, foster father of the Son of God. 

This gentle yet virile man among men was a descendant of the great King David which slew wicked Goliath; who accepted the virginal conception of Christ in the womb of Mary despite all inclinations to put her away quietly. This Joseph who modeled fatherhood for the formation of the human intellect of the God-Man is likewise given to us as a figure of the divine fatherhood to which St. Paul refers in the above quoted passage from Romans.

But we are not limited only to knowledge about Joseph; we are invited to engage his power as an intercessor here below who is so powerful in heaven. We are given such tender of examples of his fatherhood as we find in this ancient and much cherished prayer:

"Oh, St. Joseph, I never weary contemplating you and Jesus asleep in your arms; I dare not approach while he reposes near your heart. Press him in my name and kiss his fine head for me and ask him to return the kiss when I draw my dying breath."

St. Joseph is also the patron saint of a happy and holy death as he merited decease in the luminous presence of Jesus and Mary. How much he has to offer our generation of fatherless and father-wounded pilgrims! No matter how terrible (or completely missing) our experience of fatherhood may be, the Holy Spirit is willing and able to heal those memories through contemplation of Blessed Joseph. 

Lastly, those of us who are fathers may also have discovered our weaknesses and deficiencies too late to mitigate their evil effects on our families, particularly our children. We cannot go back. What is done is done. But we can own those faults and in humility accept responsibility for them. We can do what is in our power to minister graces to our families by living in the example of Blessed Joseph. The harsh condemnations, accusations, cold silences and rejection of the values we raised our children with are now a heavy and agonizing cross, but a cross we never carry alone. God is with us in Christ our Savior Who shoulders these crosses with us in fathomless compassion. And our holy Mother the Church bids us in sweet invitation, "ite ad Josef" (go to Joseph).

Originally posted 13 August 2023

Deliver me from craven, servile fear O Lord

 Fear is not in charity: but perfect charity casteth out fear, because fear hath pain. And he that feareth, is not perfected in charity.

[Timor non est in caritate : sed perfecta caritas foras mittit timorem, quoniam timor poenam habet : qui autem timet, non est perfectus in caritate.]  1 John 4,18

On its face, this passage especially taken in the context set forward by St. John in the 4th chapter of his first epistle seems very simple and direct: fear - the belief that some severe harm is coming to us or could come - is incompatible with the charity (Greek: agape) that God has towards us. He that yet fears the wrath or vengeance of God is somehow deficient in his reception of divine love.
As simple as it is - it is not easy. For each of us well knows our undeserving status, in which we can lay no claims at all to the divine mercy of almighty God. The evidence of this divine love is the sacrifice which Christ offered to the Father for us sinners. Yet when I look upon the crucifix and see the agony of my Redeemer, rather than rejoice in how loved I am by this Holy Savior, I am appalled at what my sins have done to Him Who was completely innocent and deserving not only of my love but my unquestioning obedience.
God please help me to look past my innumerable faults and trespasses and receive this divine caritas which You not only lavish upon me daily - hourly - moment by moment - but are offended when I do not sufficiently trust in it.
Deliver me from craven, servile fear O Lord that I may boast only in Thy divine generosity. St. Joseph, please obtain for me the grace of childlike trust in the goodness of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

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The greatest grace we can receive is to trust in God

Our loving God sees our sorrows and torments and takes no pleasure in them. He loves us perfectly, and He loves also those with whom we disagree. He knows our struggles and failures, and is always ready to forgive, heal, and restore.

 The greatest grace we can receive is the grace to trust in God. All other benefits and benedictions are secondary to this most desirable of all spiritual and temporal treasures. O the struggles to attain this trust! Cease from striving and let the goodness of His divine love come to you in stillness and silence. His own peace ('shalom' - supernaturally imparted goodness, consolation, prosperity, contentment) is His gift to us. Perhaps our circumstances won't change immediately; but our inner disposition can in the will to trust with childlike dependence. 

 To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed.

 Psalm 24, 1-2

Originally posted 22 February 2017

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