Our Lady of Czestochowa

Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa, the Black Madonna. The missionary and miraculous icon of Our Lady resides at The Pauline monastery at Jasna Gora. In 1717, the image was ceremoniously crowned and Jasna Gora became the center of a Marian devotion in Poland. Having been to the Shrine, I can attest that it is a beautiful and moving place.

St. John Paul II: “Jasna Gora is the Shrine of the nation. One must put their ear to this holy place to feel the heart of the nation beating in the Mother’s Heart. And it beats, as we know, all the tones of history, all the sounds of life”.

As with Poland so here in the USA, may then”heart of the nation beating in the Mother’s Heart”, may Our Lady of Czestochowa, pray for us.

Hesychia: necessary for monk and lay person

Throughout the history of Eastern monasticism, there has always been an understanding of silence and solitude that has been called โ€œhesychiaโ€. Hesychia refers to a state of inner stillness and stability that is increasingly able to discern the presence of God in the length and breadth of the everyday. It involves an attitude of listening that focuses the heart, regardless of what one happens to be doing. But the truth is, such silence does not come cheap. It requires practice, a type of spiritual practice that leads one through many levels of growth. This has its analogy in athletic practice, where to reach excellence demands self-sacrifice, personal commitment, making mistakes, and hours and hours of work. (thanks to NS)

The Dormition of the Mother of God

๐—›๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜† ๐—œ๐—œ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐——๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—บ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฏ๐˜† ๐—ฆ๐˜. ๐—๐—ผ๐—ต๐—ป ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐——๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐˜€

“๐‘‡๐‘œ๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐ธ๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘ค ๐ด๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘š ๐‘ค๐‘’๐‘™๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘ƒ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘’๐‘š๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘› โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘๐‘’๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘๐‘’๐‘™๐‘™๐‘’๐‘‘, ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘‡๐‘Ÿ๐‘’๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐ฟ๐‘–๐‘“๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘‘, ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ ๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘‘๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘›. ๐น๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘›๐‘œ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘”๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘’๐‘ฅ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘‘, ๐‘™๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐ท๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’ ๐ผ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘๐‘๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘‘๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘”๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘†๐‘๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘ก; ๐‘ค๐‘’ ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘›๐‘œ ๐‘™๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘”๐‘’๐‘Ÿ ๐‘ก๐‘’๐‘™๐‘™ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘–๐‘, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘๐‘–๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘‘๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘ , ๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘ฆ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘”, “๐ผ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘œ๐‘“๐‘“ ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘–๐‘, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘™ ๐ผ ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘–๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘Ž๐‘”๐‘Ž๐‘–๐‘›?” (๐‘†๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘”๐‘  5:3) ๐น๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐‘–๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘ƒ๐‘Ž๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘’, ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘›๐‘œ ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘  ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘ฆ – ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘Ÿ๐‘๐‘’๐‘›๐‘ก ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘“๐‘Ž๐‘™๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘™๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘Ž ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘ฃ๐‘’๐‘ก๐‘œ๐‘ข๐‘ ๐‘›๐‘’๐‘ ๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ก ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘’ ๐‘ข๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘’๐‘ž๐‘ข๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ž๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘Ž๐‘™ ๐‘๐‘’๐‘Ž๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘ . ๐‘‡โ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘›๐‘™๐‘ฆ ๐‘†๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐บ๐‘œ๐‘‘, ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘–๐‘  ๐บ๐‘œ๐‘‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘Ž๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘Ž๐‘  ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐น๐‘Ž๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’๐‘Ÿ, ๐‘“๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘š๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐ป๐‘–๐‘š๐‘ ๐‘’๐‘™๐‘“ ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘ก๐‘œ ๐‘Ž โ„Ž๐‘ข๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘› ๐‘๐‘’๐‘–๐‘›๐‘” ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘‰๐‘–๐‘Ÿ๐‘”๐‘–๐‘›, ๐‘“๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘š ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘–๐‘  ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘Ÿ๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘–๐‘™; ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘ ๐‘œ ๐ผ, ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘Ž๐‘š โ„Ž๐‘ข๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘›, ๐‘Ž๐‘š ๐‘š๐‘Ž๐‘‘๐‘’ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘’ – ๐ผ, ๐‘คโ„Ž๐‘œ ๐‘Ž๐‘š ๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘™, โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘›๐‘œ๐‘ค ๐‘๐‘’๐‘๐‘œ๐‘š๐‘’ ๐‘–๐‘š๐‘š๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘™, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ ๐‘ก๐‘Ÿ๐‘–๐‘๐‘๐‘’๐‘‘ ๐‘œ๐‘“๐‘“ ๐‘š๐‘ฆ ๐‘ก๐‘ข๐‘›๐‘–๐‘ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘ ๐‘˜๐‘–๐‘›. ๐น๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ ๐ผ โ„Ž๐‘Ž๐‘ฃ๐‘’ ๐‘ก๐‘Ž๐‘˜๐‘’๐‘› ๐‘œ๐‘“๐‘“ ๐‘๐‘œ๐‘Ÿ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ข๐‘๐‘ก๐‘–๐‘œ๐‘›, ๐‘Ž๐‘›๐‘‘ ๐‘๐‘ข๐‘ก ๐‘œ๐‘› ๐‘กโ„Ž๐‘’ ๐‘Ÿ๐‘œ๐‘๐‘’ ๐‘œ๐‘“ ๐‘‘๐‘–๐‘ฃ๐‘–๐‘›๐‘–๐‘ก๐‘ฆ.”

St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Today in the Latin Church is the commemoration of Carmelite St. Teresa Benedicta – Edith Stein. Addressing himself to the young people gathered for the canonization in 1998, Pope John Paul II recounted the saint’s decision to reject a possible “way out”…”Do not do it! Why should I be spared? Is it not right that I should gain no advantage from my Baptism? If I cannot share the lot of my brothers and sisters, my life, in a certain sense, is destroyed.”

The image by Father Peter Willm Gray.

St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, pray for us.

Blessed Stanley Rother

Today is the Feast of Blessed Stanley Rother, martyr.

As Pope Francis said on the occasion of his beatification in 2017, “โ€œ[Yesterday], in Oklahoma City, the missionary priest, Stanley Francis Rother, killed in hatred of the faith for his work of evangelization, and work to promote the human dignity of the poorest people in Guatemala, was proclaimed Blessed. May his heroic example help us to be courageous witnesses to the Gospel, committed to working [on] behalf of the dignity of man.โ€

St Mary Magdalen

The emphasis in the spiritual life is on our searching for God. It is difficult not to admit this from the abundance of scriptural sources and the the witness of the saints. We know the accent of seeking when St Benedict makes this the key vocation matter inย his Holy Rule. Sometimes I wonder, however, if it is more of realization that we doย not find Him, but He has found us. Do we believe that God seeks us? Perhaps it is the experience of both of God seeking us, and we Him. I am thinking of the poem of Francis Thompson, “The Hound of Heaven.”

Nevertheless, St. Gregory the Great describes in terms applicable to anyone seriously engaged in the search for God: ย “At first she sought but did not find, but when she persevered it happened that she found what she was looking for. When our desires are not satisfied they grow strongerโ€ฆ Holy desires likewise grow with anticipationโ€ฆ Anyone who succeeds in attaining the truth has burned with such a love.”

Back to St. Benedict. His first idea for his school is that prayer should be central to those who seek God. Like the saints teach us, you canโ€™t find the Lord without spending time with Him, listening to Him, learning from him and praising Him. Motherย Church givesย various methods of prayer: in her liturgies like the Sacrifice of the Mass (Divine Liturgy)ย and the Divine Office, in Eucharistic Adoration,ย lectio divina, the Holy Rosary, silence, quiet works of charity, and just simply opening your heart and mind to God, giving Him praise and asking for His help and intercession. Then there is obedience to all of the above and to our spiritual director, the way of humility and the experience of community.

We donโ€™t find God alone, but with and through others; so withย St. Mary Magdalen, may we search and find God. May the Magadeln pray for us.

Father Kino’s heroic virtue recognized

On July 10, 2020, the Pope acknowledged the heroic virtue of the Servant of God Eusebio Francesco Chini (Kino), a priest of the Society of Jesus. Thus, the sainthood cause moves ahead.

Kino, as we know him, was born on 10 August 1645 in Segno, Italy and died in Magdalena, Mexico on 15 March 1711. He was a trained mathematician wanted to imitate the great Saint Francis Xavier. The Jesuit Provincial sent Father Kino to serve as a missionary in what was known as New Spain now Arizona, southern California and Mexico. Kino was called the Horseback priest because his travels covered more than 50,000 square miles on horseback.ย 

At the time of Father Kino’s work the Spaniards forced the native peoples, in particular the Sonoran Indians, to be slaves in the mines. Father Kino was known to oppose the slavery and compulsory hard labor. In today’s atmosphere Kino would be roundly rejected the religious left and secularists. However, Kino contributed to the welfare of others through Catholic Faith, missionary work, education, economy, farming, map making, and constructing.

As a priest he taught others about the truth of Jesus Christ, the need for the Church and her sacraments, and personally baptizing 4,500 people.

His agricultural work draws my attention because it taps into to the care of the person and society. Agriculture also links other things together: faith, reason, science, nutrition, and common sense. Some standards have changed since Kino’s work 400 years ago, but we can see the lines of care and concern for the health of people he interacted with as a missionary. Kino introduced seeds, fruits, herbs, grains, and animal husbandry (beef, sheep, and goats).

Kino now carries the title of Venerable Servant of God. We await a miracle attributed to his intercession. I am looking forward to his beatification someday soon. Father Kino had a generous spirit and a generative character; it is clear to me that his humanity was expansive because of his love of Christ.ย 

St Benedict

Today is the summer feast of the Holy Patriarch Benedict.

It is a day to heed the advice of Benedict: seek the Lord and listen to him. It is also a day to celebrate the feast with beer made by monks.

Benedict’s vision for monastic life is that the monk/nun live in community. One’s life in a stable, permanent community locates and lives the reality of the Lord’s Incarnation. We are keenly reminded that in Benedict’s experience human interaction shows an experience of Christ: the abbot holds the place of Christ; Christ in the guest, in the young monks, and in the seniors. Ultimately, no one is excluded in the Benedictine vision monastic life: every human interaction the monk/nun meets the Lord, in the flesh. This is keenly true for the Oblate and every other person.

I am remembering the words of Saint John Paul II had for the sons and daughters of Benedict: “May every Benedictine community present itself with a well-defined identity, like a โ€œcity on a hill,โ€ distinct from the surrounding world, but open and welcoming to the poor, to pilgrims and to all who are searching for a life of greater fidelity to the Gospel!”

As with all solemn feasts in the Tradition of the Church there is an octave. It is a way to continue to enjoy and relish and to attend to the graces of the feast! Over the next 8 days how will you celebrate St Benedict? What grace will you beg from the Holy Spirit? How will you live the charism bequeathed to us by Benedict and his children through the ages?