#paxabbey

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“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive. — Matt 7:1-2

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For the love of Christ controls us, since we have concluded this, that Christ died for all; therefore, all have died. And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised. So then, from now on, we acknowledge no one from an outward human point of view. Even though we have known Christ from such a human point of view, now we do not know him in that way any longer. So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away – look, what is new has come! And all these things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. In other words, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” — 2 Cor 5:14-20

An ambassador may live in a foreign country, but he does not belong to it. He is there to represent his own country, and no opportunity of helping forward her interests is allowed to pass. We have to represent Christ to the world. The word “constrain” suggests a constant pressure, an urge, as when water is forced down a particular channel. St. Paul says: “I act as I do because I am under a mighty constraint; I can do no other; I am not master of myself. Do not wonder at what may seem to be unusual and extravagant. Attribute my eccentricity to Christ—His love actuates me and bears me along.”

What is meant by “the love of Christ?” Is it His to us, or ours to Him? It is impossible to divide them thus, for they are one. As the sunlight strikes the moon and is reflected from her to the earth, so the love we have for Christ, or to man, is the reflection of His love for us. All love in our cold and loveless hearts is the emanation and reflection of the Love which began in Him, was mediated to us in Calvary, and is reflected from us as sunlight from a mirror.

The love of Christ does not constrain all Christian people because they do not understand the profound significance of the Cross, but when the soul once appreciates that and passes through the gate of death into the life of God, it begins to feel the constraining love of Christ. The pivot of our life must be the Risen Christ: “We no longer live unto ourselves, but unto Him who rose again.” We sometimes hear people described as eccentric—out of the center. A man is ex-centric to the world when he is concentric with Christ. It is thus that we become a new creation. When by faith we are united to Jesus Christ in His Cross and Grave, the transition is made. We pass over into the Easter life. He has reconciled us unto Himself and given us the ministry of reconciliation—therefore, we are ambassadors. We have to proclaim forgiveness to the sinful, the loosening of their chains to those who sit in prison houses, and the near approach of salvation to all (Isa 52:7-10).

Prayer

This empty cup for Thee to fill; This trembling heart for Thee to still; This yielded life to do Thy will, O Lord of Love, I bring Thee. Amen.

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My soul pursues you; your right hand upholds me. — Ps 63:8

There are three notes in this Psalm that betoken the stages of the soul’s growth: “My soul thirsteth for Thee”; “my soul shall be satisfied”; “my soul followeth hard after Thee.” We may pass through a wilderness of spiritual drought, the night of the soul, and the seasons of dryness and depression that are apt to occur. In some cases, such as when Elijah asked to die or when John sent his despairing question to Christ from his prison, it is the result of physical or mental overstrain. But at such times, let us still speak of God as “‘my God.” Nothing can sever you from His everlasting Love. You may not have the glad consciousness of it, but you must never surrender your belief. Bless Him as long as you live, and lift your hands in prayer.

But we can never be satisfied with what we have attained. God is ever moving forward! Let us follow hard after Him.

Prayer

Living or dying, Lord, I would be Thine. Draw me day by day nearer to Thyself, until I am wholly filled with Thy love and fitted to behold Thee face to face. Amen.

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Fr. John Kelmy is Celebrating the 5th Sunday of Lent.

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Love’s Confidence!

So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, look, the one you love is sick.” — John 11:3

The lapse of years made it possible for the Apostle to draw aside the veil that curtained the happy friendship and fellowship of Christ in the home at Bethany. It was the one green oasis in the rugged wilderness through which He passed to the Cross!

There were diversities in that home: Martha, practical, energetic, and thoughtful for all that could affect the comfort of those she loved and served; Mary, gifted with spiritual insight and tender sympathy; Lazarus, probably a man of few words, quiet and unobtrusive, but Jesus loved each one (Joh 11:5).

The sisters never doubted that Christ would speed at all hazards to save Lazarus after the breathless messenger had brought the tidings of his sickness. Anything less than infinite Love would have rushed instantly to the relief of those troubled hearts; Divine Love alone could hold back the carelessness of the Savior’s tender heart until the Angel of Pain had finished her work. He wanted to teach His disciples never-to-be-forgotten lessons, and He was also eager for the spiritual growth of the sisters' faith.

This chapter might be more genuinely known as “The Raising of Martha,” for our Lord enabled her, matter-of-fact and practical as she was, to realize that He was the Resurrection and the Life. He insisted that her faith was an essential condition in the raising of her brother to life. The emphasis is on the word “thou” (Joh 11:40). Our Lord always needs the cooperating faith of some genuine heart to be with Him when He works a miracle, and He chose the least likely of the two sisters to supply the pivot on which He could rest the lever of His Divine help. As she withdrew her objection to removing the stone, her faith suddenly became capable of claiming the greatest of Christ’s miracles.

He calls to us also to help our brethren. In many cases, those who have received life from Christ are still bound with grave clothes, old habits, and evil associations that cling to them and impede their progress, and He bids us, “Lose him and let him go.” He asks for our cooperation in emancipating those who have been held fast in the power of the Evil One.

Prayer

O God, we rejoice that we can turn to Thee amid great anxiety and commit all our troubles to Thy sure help. As Thou art with us in the sunlight, be Thou with us in the cloud. Sustain us by Thy near presence, and let the comforts of Jesus Christ fill our hearts with peace. Amen.

#DailyWalk #FrJohnPax

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The Exalted Lord

In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the sovereign master seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. — Isa 6:1

We live in troubled times, but always in human history, when outward events seem most distracting and distressing. God’s servants are drawn into the secret place of the Most High and are shown the reassuring vision of God’s overruling Providence and the ordered regularity of His eternal reign. When the land passed through dark distress and revolution was imminent, Isaiah beheld the stability of God’s Throne.

“It was high and lifted up,” far above all other authority, power, or dominion in heaven, on earth, or under the earth! It was crowned with Love—“above it stood the Seraphim.” Seraph is derived from fire, and the Seraphim stands for radiant love. If the Throne stands for stability, judgment, and power, then above all these attributes, and over-arching Him who sits there, is Love. This is the loftiest conception possible to mortals—Love Supreme. The Lamb that was slain is amid the Throne.

The one man who was chosen out of all Israel to see was Isaiah. In all humility, he ascended the Temple steps, hustled by the crowds that went there as a mere religious form. Any of them appeared to need a revealing vision more than he did, but it was the man who had seen, who now saw the Lord; it was the one saint in all Israel who appeared to be most in touch with God, who was brought into still closer contact. The rest saw only the Temple, the high altar, and the ritual, but he saw the “skirts of glory” filling every cranny of the holy place.

Let us not be satisfied with the outward and sensuous, with ritual however splendid, with sermons however magnificent! Those who are humble and persistent in their quest for God will hear notes that other ears cannot catch, will detect a Presence that evades ordinary sight, and will enter the realm of the spirit, which is closed to the outward observer.

The world may be tumultuous; the floods have lifted their voice, but the Lord on High is mighty, and He shall overcome, for through Death, Resurrection, and Ascension, He is Lord of lords and King of kings!

Prayer

We cannot understand the meaning of the darkness and tumult around us, but we know that Thou art Love and Thou dost reign. May we see Thee raised above principality and power, might and dominion. Glory and blessing, honor and power be unto Thee, O Son of God, who art the Man amid the sapphire Throne, Amen.

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Jesus As King

Then Pilate said, “So you are a king!” Jesus replied, “You say that I am a king. For this reason, I was born, and for this reason, I came into the world – to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” — John 18:37

Our Lord’s Royalty is suggested by the opening paragraphs of St. Matthew’s Gospel, which emphasizes His descent from David; the wise men asked for Him who was born King of the Jews, and Herod feared His rivalry. Throughout the Gospel narrative, stress is constantly laid on the fact that He was King of the Jews and King of Israel, and it ends with the regal claim that all power and authority in heaven and earth had been entrusted to Him.

Jesus never abated His claim to Kingship but always clarified that His ideal differed from the current among the Jews. His conception of Royalty was borrowed from Psa 72:4, where the King is said to judge the poor of the people and save the children of the needy. It was the collision between His idea of Kingship and that of the Pharisees which brought Him to the Cross.

For us, the lesson is clear. We must begin with the recognition of the royal claims of Christ to our homage and obedience. He only becomes Saviour, in the whole meaning of the word, when He has been crowned as King in our hearts. With invariable precision, He is described, first as Prince, then as Saviour, and that order cannot be altered without injury to our soul-life (Act 5:31; Rom 10:9; Heb 7:2). The entire content of the New Testament is changed when we view the Royalty of Christ as the chief cornerstone, not only of that structure but of the tower of character.

Let us not be afraid of Christ as King. He is meek and lowly and full of understanding of the problems of our life. He shared our life and was so poor that He had to trust in the kind offices of a friend to supply His physical needs and in the palm branches of the peasant crowd for His palfrey and the carpeting of His royal procession. Still, as we watch it pass, the lowly triumph swells in proportions until it represents the whole race of humanity. The generations that preceded His advent, and those that follow, sweep down the Ages of human history, proclaiming and acclaiming Christ as King. (Rev 15:3-4).

Prayer

O God, may our hearts indite good matter, that our mouth may speak of our King. While we adore Him as Wonderful, may He become to us the Prince of Peace. Enable us to put the government of our lives upon His shoulder, and of His government and our peace, let there be no end. Amen.

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Stilling Life’s Storms

He calmed the storm, and the waves grew silent. The sailors rejoiced because the waves grew quiet, and he led them to the harbor they desired. — Ps 107:29-30

This psalm contains five beautiful pictures of life. First, we see the travelers who have lost their way (Psa 107:4-9); following, prisoners and captives who sit in darkness (Psa 107:10-16); then we see a sick room (Psa 107:17-22); next, a terrific storm at sea (Psa 107:23-32); and finally, the lovely picture of a desert land being turned into a fertile landscape (Psa 107:33-38). The refrain, calling upon men to praise the Lord for His goodness, is repeated four times, and the Psalm closes with the genuine thought that all who are wise will give heed to the various dealings of God, as shown in these Acts of His loving-kindness.

In all lives, there are periods of tumult and storm. Angry billows whirl about us, and it seems we shall never reach the harbor of peace and rest. Some give themselves up to such experiences as a fate they cannot avoid or attempt to drown their fears and dull their senses to suffering and danger. But faith cleaves its way through the murky mists and driving cloud-wrack and establishes a sure connection with the throne of the Eternal Father. This is what the New Testament calls the anchorage of the soul, and however severe the storm that sweeps over the earth, the soul that shelters there is safe. “Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them out of their distresses.”

At this moment, you may be passing through a storm of outward trouble. Wave after wave beats upon you as another follows one calamity until it seems as though the little bark of your life must be overwhelmed. Look up to God and cry to Him. He sees you and will not allow you to be engulfed.

Or you may be experiencing inward sorrow. Your affections have been misplaced; the one you love has deceived and failed you, and the sky is now dark and stormy. The one resort of the soul, when it is hard driven, is to look up to Him who holds the winds in His fist, the waters in the hollow of His hand, and who cannot forget or forsake those who cry to Him.

Prayer

O God, we will praise Thy Name for Thy goodness to us and for Thy beautiful works to the children of men. May Thy gentle voice hush our fears and still life’s storms into a great calm. Amen.

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The Indwelling Spirit

Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever — John 14:16

The gift of the Holy Spirit was due to the intercession of our Lord, and St. Peter refers to it when he says: “Having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit” (Act 2:33). In 1Jo 2:1. the word Comforter is translated as Advocate—“One who makes us strong by His presence, as Helper, Guide, and Instructor.” Think what this means, to have always beside us, not a vague influence, but a Divine Person, who waits to be our strength in weakness, our peace in trouble, our wisdom in perplexity, our conqueror in temptations, our consoler in sorrow. The Lord meant that the Holy Spirit should be to us all that He had been. This is the meaning of Another. There are two Advocates or two Paracletes. When the One ascended to the glory, the Other descended into the hearts of His disciples. “He abideth with you and shall be in you.”

“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” Christ had been speaking of sending Another; now He says, I am coming Myself so that we learn that He is so indissoluble One with the Holy Spirit, Whom He sends, that the coming of the Spirit is His coming. Do not look for the Spirit apart from Jesus. As the sun comes in the light, so does Jesus come in the Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit, we shall not think of Him, but of Jesus to whom He bears witness, and when our hearts are taken up with the Lord, we may know that we have received Him, who is the Gift of gifts.

Open your whole nature to the entrance of the Holy Spirit. Unlock every door, uncurtain every window, that entering He may fill you with the glorious indwelling of the Father and the Son. “I will prepare a “mansion,” Jesus said, and, ��We will make the holy soul Our Mansion.”

“‘He shall teach you all things.” His lesson book is the life and words of our blessed Lord. We may think that we are fully informed of all that He has said, but as we study the Bible, the Holy Spirit brings us back to them repeatedly, continually revealing new light and undreamt of depths. Never let a day pass without reading some of the words of Jesus under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer

Thou hast not left us comfortless, O God. May life be renewed in its springs by the gracious operation of Thy Holy Spirit dwelling within us and leading us from grace to grace. Amen.

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The Wise Use Of Money

Each one of you should give just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace overflow to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work. — 2 Cor 9:7-8

We must not look on money as our own, for on every coin you may discern the letters: dg., By the Grace of God. Therefore money is God’s gift to us. “Both riches and honor come of Thee. David was right when he said, after his people and he had made a noble gift to God’s work: “Of Thine own have we given Thee.”

But you say: “I earn my money by the sweat of my brow.” Granted, but “thou shalt remember the Lord thy God; for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth.” God enables us to keep our situations, delivers us from paralyzing disease, maintains the balance of reason, and renews our daily strength. Is it not our constant profession that we have devoted to Christ all that we are and have, and indeed this consecration, if it means anything, means that concerning all that belongs to us, we would say to our Lord: “What wouldst Thou have me to do?”

We must provide for our own (1Ti 5:8). It is also suitable to hold a certain amount as capital to increase business and labor employment. When a man uses his wealth rightly, taking no more than a legitimate profit for his time, experience, and responsibility, and allowing his employees to share with him in the overplus, he is doing more real good in the world than if he gave away his property by distributing a pound each to a vast number of beggars. We are to be stewards of the Lord Jesus. This is His comparison (Mat 25:14).

To guard against the love of money, we should be careful to give a stated proportion to the cause of Christ. It may seem needless to insert this caution for those who should use all for Christ. But our hearts are so fickle that we sometimes imagine that we are giving away a larger share of our income than is the case unless we are accurate in adjusting the balance between Christ and ourselves. One can't assign to another the proper proportion, but whatever we fix, it should be rigorously deducted when we receive our income or wages. In the first place, give yourselves to Christ, and then all else will fall into line (2Co 8:5).

Prayer

Help me, dear Lord, to walk in the footsteps of Thy holy life. Please teach me how to gain by giving, and to find by losing, according to Thy word. Amen.

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Glorifying God In Our Recreations

“Everything is lawful,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is lawful,” but not everything builds others up. Do not seek your own good, but the good of the other person. Eat anything that is sold in the marketplace without questions of conscience, for the earth, and its abundance are the Lord’s. If an unbeliever invites you to dinner and you want to go, eat whatever is served without asking questions of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This is from a sacrifice,” do not eat because of the one who told you and because of conscience – I do not mean yours but the other person’s. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I blamed for the food that I give thanks for? So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. — 1 Cor 10:23-31

Recreation is preferable to Pastime, for as one realizes the priceless moments, with all their opportunities getting fewer, one is averse to hearing people talk of “killing time.” But “recreation” is a good word, and we all need to find some way of re-creating the exhausted grey matter of the brain, which is being used up in lengthy applications to study or work.

We must not be the “dull boys” of the adage, but as Christians, our faces should shine like the morning sun; we should be quick, bright, intelligent, and in no danger of being reckoned among the “back numbers,” of which the piles are generally shabby and dusty!

“All things edify not” is one of the first conditions of healthy recreation. There is no limit but this to the pastimes in which a Christian person can indulge. He may play manly games, row, skate, swim, drive a motor, sail the ocean, or scale the mountain snow! The more, the better, so long as they are recreative and are not the end but the means to the end of healthy manhood and womanhood. That is, they must edify, and build up physique, muscle, and brain, to be used afterward in the central business of life. Nothing is a greater curse than when people neglect their real business to get to their sports and games. Then, so far from edifying, these, in turn, begin to pull down and destroy.

Probably the words “edify not” put in a plea on behalf of others. We are not to do things that in themselves may be lawful and innocent enough but which might have a prejudicial effect on those watching every movement of our life.

“Do all to the glory of God.” So many seem afraid of joy! They fear if they are too happy, God will send some trouble and make weight. How different is the command in Deu 26:11 and Phi 4:4. Even when things do not appear to be good, let us dare to be thankful in all things and give praise for all. All our Father’s gifts are good, whether the wrappings or packing cases in which they come to hand.

Prayer

May the Holy Spirit so fill us with Christ our Lord, that there may be no room in our life for anything inconsistent with His perfect purity and love. Amen.

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“Pray then like this:

Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

Matthew 6:9–13

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Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life. — Rom 6:4

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But so that we don’t offend them, go to the lake and throw out a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a four drachma coin. Take that and give it to them for me and you.” — Matt 17:27

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O God, you are my God! I long for you! My soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

— Ps 63:1

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It was a great week away from this noisy world. It was rewarding to take the time to fast, pray, cry, reflect, and see all of nature without distraction. As I fulfill my religious obligations, I process and recenter before returning to the world to continue God’s Work.

Seeing my brother Christopher Mary taking his final vow during the Pax Abbey Convocare was breathtaking. I was privileged to concelebrate this solemn Mass on this joyous occasion with our Abbot William.

The solemn profession of the Benedictine vows of stability, obedience, and conversion to a monastic way of life is a commitment to live faithfully as a monk until death.

Ora et Labora…

Memento Mori…

Fr. John Kelmy OSB