#frjohnosb

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Prayer That Obtains

“So I tell you: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. — Luke 11:9

There are many conditions for true prayer. For instance, it must be earnest. Sometimes we know we are on the line of God’s purposes when we may dare to be necessary. Prayer must be offered in the Name of Christ, i.e., it must be in harmony with the nature of Christ, which was devoted to the glory of God and the blessing of men. That Name will eliminate the ingredient of selfishness which will mar any prayer by whomsoever offered. Prayer must also be based on some promise of God, which is presented to Him as a check or note given to a bank.

All these are steps to the faith that obtains, for it is, after all, not prayer but faith that brings promises. That is why our Lord lays so much stress on receiving. Much of our prayer fails because we forget that He said, “Everyone that asketh, receiveth”; and again, “All things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that ye have received them, and ye shall have them” (Mar 11:24).

So far as one can describe the process, it seems something after this fashion. The soul reverently kneels before God, glorifying and praising Him for His greatness and goodness. It is conscious of needing some exceptional gift which is promised. In the Name of Christ, it presents the request with the confidence of a child. With the earnestness of desire and speech, it unfolds the reasons why the gift sought is so necessary. But it does not leave prayer at this point to go away in uncertainty as to what the issue shall be. By an act of the spirit, the suppliant seems to receive the spiritual or even the temporal gift; and realizes that it has received, that the special grace has been imparted, to be discovered and used under the stress of need, that the temporal gift has also been received. However, it may be kept back until the precise moment when it can be delivered, in much the same way as a present may be purchased long before the time of handing it to its destined possessor (1Sa 1:15, 1Sa 1:18, 1Sa 1:27).

This is what Christ meant by “receiving,” It has a powerful effect on prayer because it makes it much more definite. It leads to praise because we can thank God for His gift. You must take as well as pray.

Prayer

We rejoice that our Saviour ever lives to intercede as our High Priest and Mediator. Through the rent veil, let our prayers ascend to Thee mingled with the fragrance of His merit in whom Thou art ever pleased. Amen.

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Cast Down? Why?

I am depressed, so I will pray to you while I am trapped here in the region of the upper Jordan, from Hermon, from Mount Mizar. — Ps 42:6

The Lament of the soul, its cause! Many have been brought to this condition—Jacob said, “all these things are against me”; Job complained that God had refused to listen to his prayer and had fenced up his way; Elijah prayed that he might die; John the Baptist had his doubts; even our Lord Himself cried: “My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”

It may arise from physical weakness. Our nature is like a finely-attuned harp and may quickly become tangled and discordant. When we are in good health, and the zest of living is strong within us, the soul sings songs without words, and the heart suns itself in the consciously-realized love of God; but when the lamp of life burns low—the joy of the Lord, the sense of His Love is apt to decline.

It may arise from temperament. Some seem born in the dark and carry through life a predisposition to melancholy. Their nature is set to a minor key. They gaze at the lowering clouds rather than at the patches of blue. Thomas had such a temperament, yet our Lord called him an apostle! The rightness of the heart generally shows itself in the gladness of nature, but some mourn in Zion and are more prone to tears than smiles! The valley of the shadow is part of the highway to the Holy City, and the souls that are called to tread it may find the valley of Baca to be a place of springs.

Now, as to the cure. Make much of your standing in Christ! Our feelings are as fickle as April sunshine. But our standing in Jesus is unalterable. John Bunyan used to say that he had two sorts of money. That which was deposited in the bank and that he had in his pocket. The former was, on the whole, permanent, while the other was constantly changing. Thus he said it was between him and the Saviour. His feelings, like the loose coins in his pocket, were continually changing, but his capital was lodged safely in the vital keeping of Christ.

Cease introspection and live in the progress of Christ through the world. He is ever going forth to new conquests, and we must not stand as loiterers, feeling our pulse. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Canst thou not take thy place in His ever-victorious army! Miss Feeblemind, and Mr. Ready-to-halt, in the care of Great-heart, will go over the River singing!

Prayer

Gracious God, give me to behold the rainbow of Hope on the dark storm clouds that brood over my life: may I rest confidently on that Covenant, ordered in all things and sure, which was sealed by the precious Blood of Christ. Amen.

#DailyWalk #FrJohnOSB

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What of the Root

Peter began to speak to him, “Look, we have left everything to follow you!” Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, there is no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive in this age a hundred times as much – homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, fields, all with persecutions – and in the age to come, eternal life. — Mark 10:28-30

The principles of this world, and those of our Lord are widely different. The world is set on grasping all it can accumulation, self aggrandisement, the piling up of fortunes, the gradual or speedy climb up the ladder of fame, the gathering of hosts of friends. Looking after “number one” is the readiest way of expressing this principle of life! But it is unsatisfactory and disappointing. The soul which is the centre of its own circumference is doomed to realize that there are more forfeits than prizes, more bitterness than success, more dark hours than bright ones.

On the other side, Christ’s principle of life is to give, to trust, to bless! His measure must be always pressed down and running over. The cloak must follow the coat; the second mile must be gladly thrown in with the first. To be willing to surrender all for the sake of others, is the ordinary claim of the King on those who own Him as their Lord.

In every age there have been thousands who have gladly accepted this as their rule of life. Peter and the rest of the Apostles were the leaders of a host which no man can number, who have left all to follow Jesus. He had nowhere to lay His head, and they have been homeless, wandering in the world, with no settled abiding-place; He was poor and they have gone amongst their fellows, saying: “Silver and gold have we none, but such as we have we give.” But how great has been their reward. Before we can understand what Christ is willing to do for us, there must be not only a taking-hold, but a letting-go. We must step out from the boat, and withdraw our hand from it. It is even good, like St. Paul, to need all things, since by faith we come to possess all. Read the wonderful series of paradoxes to which he gives utterance in 2 Cor 4.

The Lord promises eternal life as the crown of all. When we kneel at the Cross, and see Jesus as our own Saviour, we have eternal life, but we cannot realise all it implies until this mortality is swallowed up of life.

Prayer

Thou hast called us to minister and witness, to go amongst men as our Saviour went, bearing in our hands the balm of Gilead. May we not be disobedient to this heavenly vision. Amen.

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Life And Death

For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. — Phil 1:21

How close life and death are! In this verse, there is only a comma between them, and every one of us stands where that comma stands, between life and death. Life is the vestibule of death, and death is close on the heels of life. The systole and diastole, the throb and beat of the pulse, the pendulum swing this way or that!

St. Paul is enamored with the joys of life. He was a toiler and a traveler and lived amid the busy throng that jostled him in the streets. The philosopher, as he passed, carrying his scrolls of learning, said: “To me to live is knowledge”; the soldier, passing, looked with contempt on the man of letters and said: “To me to live is fame”; the merchant in death, said, with pride: “To me to live is riches”; the toiling masses passed by, saying: “To us to live is toil and trouble.” Amid all these, the Apostle strikes in with no bated breath, saying joyously: “To me to live is neither wealth, labor, nor fame, nor glory, but Christ.” If you had asked him just what he meant, he would probably have replied, as Tyndale says in his translation, that “‘Christ was the origin of his life.”

If we would become partakers of the Divine Nature, we also must have such a definite experience. We can trace our natural life back to our parents, and our spiritual life must begin in the hour when, in early childhood or later, we are made partakers of the Nature of the Risen Saviour (Joh 1:12-13; 2Pe 1:4).

Christ must be the model of our life. Every man works as a model. Consciously or not, we are always imitating somebody, and every faithful follower of Christ seeks to approximate the measuring of the stature of our Lord—“Beholding, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory.”

Christ must be the aim of life. That His will may be done on earth as in heaven; that others may know and love and serve Him as we do; that He may be the crowned King of men—must be our purpose and aim. External things have no power over the one who can say: “I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me”; then we can triumph over Death itself and say: “To die is gain.”

Prayer

The mountain peaks of the Christ-life that we would live call to us, but they often seem too steep and high for us to reach, but Thou knowest and hast infinite compassion for Thy children. Fulfill in us the good pleasure of Thy will, and realize in us the ideals Thou hast taught us to cherish. Amen.

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Saint John of Matha

Saint of the Day

St. John of Matha (1154-1213) was born near Provence, France to noble and pious parents, and was dedicated to God from his birth. He learned the arts of a nobleman and advanced in Christian virtue, tending the sick and giving alms to the poor. Through his study of theology at the University of Paris he discerned a call to Holy Orders and became a priest. On the day of his first Mass he had a vision which encouraged him to devote his life to ransom Christians who had been captured by Muslims and forced into slavery. After time spent in prayer and fasting, he went to Rome to gain the Pope's approval for a new religious order dedicated to this purpose. Pope Innocent III deliberated and ordered a fast, afterwards concluding that John's mission was inspired by God. He gave his approval for the foundation of the Order of the Holy Trinity, or the Hospitaler Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of Captives (Trinitarians). The habit of the order, a white scapular with a two-toned blue and red cross on the chest, was chosen according to what St. John saw in his vision. St. John of Matha and the Trinitarians collected alms and traveled to Moor-controlled areas, ransoming and encouraging many Christian captives. His feast day is December 17.

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St. Adelaide of Burgundy

Saint of the Day

St. Adelaide (931-999 A.D.) was the virtuous daughter of King Rupert II of Burgundy, France. She became the Queen of Italy after being given in marriage to the future King of Italy. When her husband died, she was imprisoned for refusing a second politically-driven marriage. However, when the German Emperor Otto came to rule Italy, she accepted his rescue and offer of marriage. They had four children, the future Otto II and three daughters, two of whom became nuns. Pope John XII crowned Otto the Holy Roman Emperor in 962 A.D., and Adelaide was crowned as the Holy Roman Empress. When her son, Otto II, succeeded her husband as Emperor, she was driven from court by her jealous daughter-in-law. When they both died, Adelaide returned to court to rule the empire as regent Queen until her grandson was of age. She used her position, power, and influence to help the poor, evangelize her people, and to build and restore monasteries and churches. She afterwards retired to a convent in Germany, spending her remaining days in prayer. St. Adelaide is the patroness of princesses, empresses, second marriages, widows, parenthood, brides, exiles, and abuse victims. Her feast day is December 16.

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God’s Providential Care

So do not be overly concerned about what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not worry about such things. For all the nations of the world pursue these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, pursue his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. — Luke 12:29-31

At the time when our Lord spoke these words, the fields of Palestine were carpeted with wildflowers, and the air was redolent with their fragrance, bespangling the pastures, clustering in the hedgerows, and hiding in the woodland glades. Theirs was as careless a life as that of the birds which were flying overhead. “They toil not, neither do they spin.” For some plants, like the exotics of the greenhouse and nurseries, there must be extreme care and expense in their cultivation, the provision of heat, and the experienced skill of the horticulturist. But our Lord was not alluding to these, but to the flowers of the grass, which grow amid the wilds of nature, or in the gardens of the poor, and to Him these were very beautiful.

This prodigious growth teaches us that God loves beautiful things and expends thought and skill in their production. He might have made the world without a daisy and human life without the beauty of childhood. But since He clothed with beauty the short-lived flowers of the wilds; the ephemeral insects of a summer day; the shells of the minute creatures that build up the solid fabric of the rocks—surely this prodigality, this lavishness, this prolific superabundance of creativeness, must mean that He can and will withhold no good thing from them that trust Him.

Of course, we must fulfill our part! We are not to be careless and improvident; we must undoubtedly sow and reap and toil and spin, but when we have done all, we must rely upon our Heavenly Father whose good pleasure it is to give, believing that it is vain for us to rise early, and sit up late, and to eat the bread of sorrows, for our God will give us all that we need, even while we sleep. He will not allow His trusting children to starve or to go unsheltered, unclothed, and unshod. “Fear not, little flock,” says the comforting voice of the Good Shepherd, “for it is your Father’s pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Prayer

Gracious Lord, grant to me, Thy poor, needy creature, sometimes at least to feel, if it is but a small portion of Thy strong affectionate love, that my faith may become more vigorous, my hope in Thy goodness may be increased, and that love, once kindled within me, may never fail. Amen.

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Glorying In Infirmities!

But he said, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may reside in me. — 2 Cor 12:9

The apostle seems to have enjoyed beautiful revelations of God. Not once or twice, but often he beheld things that eye hath not seen and heard words that ear cannot receive, and God felt he needed to have a make-weight lest he should be exalted beyond measure (2Co 12:7).

What the thorn or stake in the flesh as it is impossible to say with certainty. He may have suffered from some distressing form of ophthalmia. We infer this from the eagerness of the Galatian converts to give him their eyes (Gal 4:13-17) and from his dependence on an amanuensis. His pain made him conscious of weakness and very sensitive to infirmity. It kept him near to the majority of those to whom he ministered, who did not live on the mountain heights, but in the valleys, where demons possess and worry the afflicted. Be willing that your visions of Paradise should be transient, and turn your back on the mountain summit, where the glory shines, as our Lord did, to minister to souls in anguish (2Co 12:4; Mat 17:14-18).

On three separate occasions, the Apostle sought the Lord for deliverance from his infirmity and finally received the assurance that though the thorn could not be removed, sufficient grace would be given to enable him to do his life work, and he was more than content. On the one hand, there was the buffeting of this messenger of Satan. Still, on the other, there were the gains of meekness, humility, and more extraordinary grace than would have been possible if he had not needed it so sorely—and he gladly accepted an infirmity for which there were such abundant compensations.

Do not sit down baffled by your difficulties and infirmities, but run from them to claim Christ’s abundant grace and strength, that at the end of life you may have done all that was set you to do, and more, because the greatness of your need made you lean more heavily on His infinite resources. “He giveth power to the faint, and they that have no might He increaseth strength.”

Prayer

Help us, O Lord, to look on the bright side of things; not on the dark cloud, but on Thy rainbow of covenant mercy; not on the stormy waters, but on the face of Jesus; not on what Thou hast taken, or withheld, but on what Thou hast left. Enable us to realize Thine all-sufficiency. Amen.

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Our Lady of Guadalupe

Saint of the Day

St. Juan Diego, a humble Aztec peasant, saw the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Hill of Tepeyac near present-day Mexico City on December 9, 1531, the feast of the Immaculate Conception at the time. After a request by the bishop to prove her identity, Our Lady asked Juan Diego to gather the roses which he found growing on the hill, which were neither native to the area nor in season, and take them to the bishop. Juan Diego did so and placed the roses in his tilma (or cloak). Upon opening the tilma to reveal the miraculous roses to the bishop, there was something even more miraculous present—an image of the Virgin Mary dressed as a pregnant Aztec princess. The various design elements on the tilma read like a codex to the Aztecs, revealing to them the truth of the Catholic faith preached by the missionary priests. Millions quickly converted to the Catholic Church as a result. This apparition and image is venerated under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the first Marian apparition in the New World, and the only one where Our Lady produced an image of herself. The perfectly preserved tilma is venerated at her basilica and shrine in Mexico City. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of the Americas, the New Evangelization, and unborn children. Her feast day is December 12th.

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The third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is the Latin word meaning “rejoice.”

This Sunday is so named because “Rejoice” is the first word in the entrance antiphon for today's Mass taken from Philippians 4:4,5: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice!

#Advent2022

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Co-operating With God

We are coworkers belonging to God. You are God’s field, God’s building. — 1 Cor 3:9

In this chapter, the Apostle describes the Church as a garden or vineyard, in which the Divine Spirit is ever at work, superintending, directing, inspiring, and calling to cooperate with Him all His servants, whether they be Paul, Apollos, or Cephas; or as a vast temple, rising through the ages, requiring laborers to lay the foundations, others to build the walls, and others to put the final touches in the light of an accomplished purpose. In each case, the design, the successive stages of advancing progress, the engagement of the workers, the direction of their labors, and their reward are entirely with the Master-Builder. It is not our work, but His; we are not responsible for the results, but only to do His Will; He repays us with generous rewards, but there our responsibility ends. When the Garden stands in the mature beauty and yields the prolific fruitage of autumn; when the Building is completed and stands in symmetrical glory amidst the wrecks of time, those who have co-operated will stand aside, and “God will be All in all.”

All through human industry, there is this cooperation between God and man. He stores the cellars of the earth with gold or coal, and it is for man to excavate it; He fills the hedgerows and woodlands with wild fruits and flowers, it is for man to cultivate them; He fills the earth with iron, copper, and other priceless treasures, it is for man to work them into all manner of useful implements. In every harvest field, garden, orchard, industry, and employment of natural law for civilization, there is this combined effort of God and man. God’s energy works according to laws, which man must study as the key to the unlocking of the forces which he uses to flash his messages, guide the airplane or motor, or speed him across the ocean.

In the Church, the same law prevails. God has given the Word, but the company of preachers has been needed to proclaim it. The Words of inspiration burn with the fire of God, but man is called in to translate them into every language under heaven. The saving power of Christ waits to heal and bless, but He needs the cooperation of the human hand and life as the medium through which His virtue passes. Those whom God calls into fellowship in serving others may count on Him to supply all their needs (1Co 3:21-23).

Prayer

Heavenly Father, show me how I may work with Thee, and in what direction are Thy energies going forth that I may walk and work in fellowship with Thyself. Amen.

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November 29: Dorothy Day

Dorothy Day Obl.S.B. (Benedictine Oblate) was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 8, 1897, the third child of Grace and John Day. Her nominally religious family moved to the San Franciso Bay area and then to Chicago where she was baptized in the Episcopal Church. She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana and became interested in radical social causes as a way to help workers and the poor. In 1916, she left the university and moved to New York City where she worked as a journalist on socialist newspapers, participated in protest movements, and developed friendships with many famous artists and writers. During this time, she also experienced failed love affairs, a marriage, a suicide attempt, and an abortion.

Dorothy had grown to admire the Catholic Church as the “Church of the poor” and her faith began to take form with the birth of her daughter Tamar in 1926. Her decision to have her daughter baptized and embrace the Catholic faith led to the end of her common law marriage and the loss of many of her radical friends. Dorothy struggled to find her role as a Catholic. While covering the 1932 Hunger March in Washington, D.C. for some Catholic magazines, she prayed at the national Shrine of the Immaculate Conception that some way would open up for her to serve the poor and the unemployed. The following day, back in New York, she met Peter Maurin, a French immigrant and former Christian Brother, who had a vision for a society constructed of Gospel values. Together they founded the Catholic Worker newspaper which spawned a movement of houses of hospitality and farming communes that has been replicated throughout the United States and other countries.

At the Catholic Worker, Dorothy Day lived a life faithful to the injunctions of the Gospel. Often the newspaper quoted G.K. Chesterton’s famous observation that Christianity hadn’t really failed — it had never really been tried. Day’s life was spent trying. She was shot at while working for integration, prayed and fasted for peace at the Second Vatican Council, and addressed the 1976 Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia. Her pilgrimage ended at Maryhouse in New York City on November 29, 1980, where she died among the poor.

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The tradition for the first Sunday of Advent includes lighting the candle of hope. This candle of hope symbolizes promises delivered through the prophets from God and the hope we have in Christ. God crafted an excellent rescue plan that he lays out in Scripture.

#Advent2022

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The Psalm Of The Doorkeeper

Certainly, spending just one day in your temple courts is better than spending a thousand elsewhere. I would rather stand at the entrance to the temple of my God than live in the tents of the wicked. — Ps 84:10

This psalm has been a favorite with God’s people of all ages. When Carlyle was leaving, in doubt and despair, his quiet mountain home at Craigenputtock for the untried tumult of London, he quoted this Psalm for comfort to his brother and himself, saying: “I turn my thoughts heavenwards, for it is in heaven only that I find any basis for our poor pilgrimage on earth. As surely as the blue dome of heaven encircles us all, so does the providence of the Lord of Heaven. ‘He will withhold no good thing from those that love Him.’ This, as it was the ancient Psalmist’s faith, let it likewise be ours. It is the Alpha and Omega, I reckon, of all the possessions that can belong to man.”

In the absence and distance, the true believer's heart turns to God. He believes that he has direct access to Him and that his prayer will be accepted (Psa 84:8). David, as the anointed King, had the right to ask that God, who was his Shield, should look upon his face. Still, we have even a better plea, for we may request that God would look upon the face of His own glorious and beloved Son and accept us in Him (Psa 84:9).

Let us imitate this man's humility and be willing to take the lowest place (Luk 14:10-11), but we must be on our guard against being proud of our humility. Some people take the back seats, and they may be asked to come to the front. They mistake the Lord’s words. It is said that there is always room at the top; it is equally true that there is plenty of room at the bottom, and if men and women will gird themselves with a towel and wash the feet of the disciples if they are prepared in the literal sense to be doorkeepers and to give themselves in service, they will be allowed to do their work with little praise save that of the King Himself.

To all such lowly souls God gives grace and glory (Psa 84:11). With both hands, He will provide and show again. Only we must practice the habit of taking. Grace is the bud of which Glory is the flower. If God has given the one, He will not withhold the other. Psa 84:12). If anything is withheld from us, we may be sure that it is not absolutely for our good. No good thing will the Father withhold, but He will not give us scorpions, however beautiful their appearance, nor stones, though painted to resemble bread.

Prayer

Teach us to abide with Thee in our daily calling and to realize that each sphere may be a temple for priestly service. Amen.

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The Sleepless Watcher

May he not allow your foot to slip! May your protector not sleep! Look! Israel’s protector does not sleep or slumber! The Lord is your protector; the Lord is the shade at your right hand. — Ps 121:3-5

This psalm has been called the Traveller’s Psalm. When the pilgrims started forth from their distant homes to go up to the Temple, not one of them could forecast his experiences before he reached home again. There were perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils in the wilderness, perils in travel from wild beasts. It was well, therefore, that they should commit themselves and their dear ones to the care of One who neither slumbered nor slept. It is not enough for the body to be kept; we need the soul to be kept from all evil, as we go out into the world with its microbes of temptation, or come back to the luxury and comfort of our dwelling. There is temptation everywhere; not for one moment are we absolutely immune.

There is a difference between slumbering and sleeping. The mother or nurse watching the child may sometimes get a few moments of slumber; it is not very restful, yet there is a brief pause of unconsciousness. But this never comes to God. Not for one moment does He slumber, or ceases His watchful care of us. God keeps us by besetting us behind and before, and lays His hand upon us (Psa 139:5). As a sentry goes to and fro before the palace given to his charge, so God’s peace, like a sentinel, keeps watch and ward around the soul. We speak of the castle-keeper, the inner circle of defence; so God’s Presence is our Keep. We think also of the safe, around which the fire may play, but cannot touch its contents; so the child of God may walk in the midst of peril and temptation, but God is round about him; he is inside the secret place of the Most High, and no weapons formed against him can reach that inner sanctuary. Let us hand over the keeping of our souls to Him as to a faithful Creator (1Pe 4:19).

The closing words of this Psalm remind us of Joh 14:1-6. There will be one last going out and coming in, when the house of our life shall be left vacant, and we shall go forth to the Father, to the House of many mansions, to the great company which awaits us on the other side. Then in the transition between this world and the next, and amid all the mysteries that shall crowd upon us, we need fear no evil, for whatever Eternity may bring to us, we shall always be sheltered and kept by Almighty care.

Prayer

Almighty God! Thou knowest that I have no power of myself to keep myself. Keep me outwardly in my body and inwardly in my soul, that I may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul. Amen.

#DailyWalk #FrJohnOSB