The Spiritual Life - Jesus the Friend

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Reflections for a Spiritual Life - Cooperating with the Holy Spirit

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Fatima Messages - from the Angel of Peace

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Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows - The Seven Sorrows of Mary as seen through Art

TO THE MOTHER OF SORROWS

Most holy Virgin and Mother,

whose soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow

in the Passion of thy divine Son,

and who in His glorious Resurrection

was filled with never-ending joy at His triumph; 

obtain for us who call upon thee,

so to be partakers in the adversities of Holy Church

and the sorrows of the Sovereign Pontiff,

as to be found worthy to rejoice 

with them in the consolations

for which we pray,

in the charity and peace of the same Christ our Lord.

Amen.

The Prayer Book.


1.  The Prophecy of Simeon.

"The Presentation of Jesus" by Fra Angelico

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2.  The Flight into Egypt.

"The Flight into Egypt" by Vittore Carpaccio

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3.  The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple.

"The Loss of Jesus in the Temple" Christ the King Chapel, Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, Illinois

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4.  The Meeting of Mary and Jesus at the Way to Calvary.

by Andrea di Bartolo

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5. The Crucifixion.

by Giotto

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6.  The Descent from the Cross.

Master of St. Bartholomew Altar

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7.  The Entombment.

by Peter Paul Rubens

Messages from Our Lady of Fatima

We will be sharing the message on Fatima in a format that can be pinned on Pinterest or shared on social networks.  Our Lady's message has never been more urgent.  Please help us to save souls by sharing Our Lady's messages. 

Originally posted to World Apostolate of Fatima - Diocese of Honolulu Blog

The Most Holy Name of Mary

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Mary was a common name among the Hebrews because it recalled the memory of Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron. For this reason some scholars think this name is related to an old Egyptian word meaning beloved. This understanding certainly fits Mary of Nazareth. She was so beloved by God that she was always in the right relationship with Him. Out of love God chose her to be the mother of Jesus. Love is about the whole person, the entirety of her being, one whose very name is beautiful.

 Every September 12 we honor the Holy Name of Mary in our liturgical calendar. St. Bonaventure prayed, “Your name, Mary, cannot be spoken devoutly without bringing with it some grace." We honor Mary’s name because it is a sacrament of the person. To know Mary’s name is to know her. To speak her name with reverence is to be familiar with her who was most familiar with God. In some Asian countries she is known by names that mean one who hears our cries.

May we always honor the name of Jesus’ mother and our spiritual mother. When in need, call on Mary.

 -- Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.

The Danger of Abortion to the Family by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Today on the feast day of Mother Teresa, I share her prophetic words regarding the family.

"If there is so much disturbance in the world today, if there is so much sadness, so much killing and anxiety, it is because the family is no longer united...
father against mother, children against children...
a mother committing a murder in her own womb,
a mother who is afraid of her own child,
afraid to have to love one more child,
so afraid that she must kill that child-
the child must die so that she may live,
so that she may be free.
If a mother can kill her own child, what is there to stop others from killing one another?"

- from The Best Gift is Love.

Prayer of Saint Augustine (after Receiving Holy Communion)

"Death of Saint Monica" by Juan Barba

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O Lord Jesus, let me know myself, let me know You, 

and let me desire nothing but You alone.

Let me hate myself and love You, 

and do all things for the sake of You.

Let me humble myself and exalt You, 

and think of nothing but You alone.

Let me die to myself and live in You, 

and take whatever

happens as coming from You.

Let me forsake myself and walk after You, 

and ever desire to follow You.

Let me flee from myself and turn to You, 

that thus I may

merit to be defended by You.

Let me fear for myself, let me fear You, 

and be among those who are chosen by You.

Let me distrust myself and trust in You,

 and ever obey for love of You.

Let me cleave to nothing but only to You, 

and ever be poor for the sake of You.

Look upon me that I may love You.  

Call me that I may see You and forever possess You.  Amen.

-Treasury of Prayer by Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik, S.V.D.

WHY THE DECREASE IN CHRISTIAN POPULATIONS IN THE EAST?

The attached article on the timely topic of Christians emigrating from the Holy Land was published in SOPHIA, Summer 2015, pages 17 and 19.

Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.

            Christians are becoming an ever smaller minority in the Holy Land countries of Jesus Christ’s time.

            At the beginning of the twentieth century Christians accounted for a quarter of the population in the countries of the Near East and Middle East.  Muslims have been the majority.  One hundred years later in the second decade of the third millennium the number of Christians has decreased to less than five per cent, except in Lebanon.

            Why is the Christian population shrinking in these Muslim-dominated countries?    Researchers in Beirut and in Rome identify three reasons based on their observations.  The causes of shrinking Christian population are demographic changes, emigration, and sterner Islamization.

Demography

            Muslims multiply faster than Christians.  This is due partially because of Muslim polygamy, a fairly common practice in rural areas.

            Another contributing factor is improved hygiene and health care.  Until a half-century ago, before the use of antibiotics and advanced medical care, infant mortality in these areas was higher in Muslim communities than among the more educated Christian families.  Now Muslim families are no longer plagued by that handicap. 

            In the socio-cultural realm, Christians place strong emphasis on the education of their children, and this accounts for a somewhat lower birth rate.  World statistics indicate that groups with a greater educational and cultural achievement, in this case Christians, have fewer children.  Christian families used to average three or four children, and Muslims eight to ten.  The figures are lower now, and the gap continues to grow.

Emigration

            Worsening social and political factors have caused increased Christian emigration.  Christians occupy an inferior position in Islamic society.  This is stipulated both in the Qur’an and in historical tradition. 

            According to Islam a Christian is one who pays taxes and is tolerated, but in a position subordinate to Muslims.  The Qur’an actually calls for the “humiliation” of Christians (sura IX, verse 29), although the term has been interpreted differently throughout history by various Muslim rulers.  In most, but not all, Muslim countries Christians have been allowed to worship freely, but were subject to diverse humiliations.  In times past they had to cede to Muslims passing by, or travel on foot while Muslims were permitted to ride horses.

            In the modern era Christians in Muslim lands have worked for equal rights.  In fact, in nineteenth century Egypt under Mehmed Ali Pasha, and in Turkey after Ataturk’s revolution of 1923, Christians were trusted with important roles in the modernization of Muslim countries. 

            While some Muslim and Israeli political leaders pay lip service to equal rights for Christians, the reality is often the opposite.

Islamization

            Re-Islamization and intolerance have sprung up again and been re-fueled with the current crisis in the Arab world caused by the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.  In this era it must be understood objectively that Israel was not founded in a just and equitable manner.  For the first time in world history a state was born from nothing at the expense of another people, whose identity was cancelled as its territory was confiscated.  Because of a troubled conscience following the Shoah, the West facilitated the population of a new state with Jews from outside the area, mostly from Europe.  Consequently the Muslim world perceived Israel as a Western and Christian creation.  Unfortunately the identification of “Western” with “Christian” persists in Muslim society.

AN IMPORTANT ANNIVERSARY OVERLOOKED

by Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.

The 1,700th anniversary of the Edict of Milan came and went with hardly a notice.

         A most important event in Church history, promulgated February 3, 313, the Edict of Milan granted Christians freedom from three centuries of persecution.  Thereafter the Christian faithful, for the first time, enjoyed the same religious liberties that other religious groups had.  The Christians gained legal protections that allowed them to build houses of worship and had their confiscated possessions restored.

        The signing of the Edict of Milan by Emperor Constantine heralded the official recognition of Western Christian civilization and the free societies we enjoy today.

        The extent and severity of the persecution suffered by the early Christians are practically incomprehensible to the modern mind.  Countless Christians were tortured and killed under the emperors Nero (who had Peter crucified in 64), Domitian, Marcus Aurelius, and Septimus Severus.  The atrocities abated under Severus Alexander (208-235) who was sympathetic to Christians, only to flare up again under the emperors Maximus Thracian, Decius, and Valerian (253-260).

        With Diocletian (299-311) and his contemporaries, Galerius and Maximian, the persecutions peaked.  Under Diocletian alone an estimated half million Christians were killed.  The last persecution occurred under Licinius (308-324), but the move toward greater liberty had begun.  In 311 an Edict of Tolerance was issued. Although property was being confiscated, this was corrected by Licinius and Constantine, then Roman emperors of East and West respectively, with the Edict of Milan in 313.

        Diocletian's intent was to transform society following years of ineffective leaders, wars, foreign attacks, and deep-seated economic problems.  However, he was criticized by the Christian author Lactantius for assuming monarchical powers not granted him by the Roman constitution.

        Diocletian's persecution of Christians began after his pagan priests blamed Christian court officials for making the Sign of the Cross in a court ceremony.  Then the emperor ordered all Christians in government and military service to sacrifice to pagan gods or be dismissed.  Ordinary civilians were excluded.

        Eventually the death penalty was inflicted against Christian bishops and priests.  Churches and Bibles were confiscated and burned.  Then ordinary citizens were forced to violate their Christian beliefs or suffer martyrdom. 

        Life in the post-Constantine Church was not all smooth sailing. but it was not subject to the corruption myths that emerged during the Renaissance and Reformation and Enlightenment.

        Questions about whether the Roman Empire surrendered to Christianity, or whether Christianity prostituted itself to the empire have long been disregarded by competent historians, except in fictitious potboilers like Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code.

        Constantine was far from perfect, but neither was he a corrupter of the Church nor an intolerant zealot who obliterated all worship that was not Catholic.  Paganism was not rapidly stamped out by state repression, but gradually disappeared as people abandoned the pagan temples in response to the superior appeal of Christianity. 

        Constantine conferred secular powers and privileges on bishops, but this was in the interests of justice and liberty.  The bishops had reputations for honesty and resistance to bribery.

        In later times close involvement between State and senior Church officials led to abuses, but the blame for this can hardly be laid on Constantine.

        Constantine is to be remembered for being the protagonist in fostering the advent of Christian civilization in the West.  The path for Christians was never smooth.  Persecutions continued.  But the liberty Constantine won allowed the Church to flourish for centuries to come.  Actually the Christians were the first to develop the notion of religious liberty.

        As society becomes increasingly secular, will future 

anniversaries of the Edict of Milan -- and similar important events -- be so blithely overlooked?