Category Archives: Spiritual Warfare

I went on a retreat this weekend and didn’t even realize it

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I went on a retreat this weekend and didn’t even realize it.

I’ve been feeling a combination of being ‘sorry for myself’ and dealing with recurring stress and anxiety (who isn’t these days?) Much of my stress is over chronic pain (fibromyalgia, arthritis, osteoarthritis… if it’s a muscle or a joint, it hurts. And hurts really bad, too. Plus I’ve had two tooth extractions over the past month. Can anyone say “Broken down, crotchety old man?” Not to mention that I’ve been plagued for the past few months by a voice in my head that has been repeatedly putting me down.

When this happens and I want to remain at home, I often select one of Mother Angelica’s books. I’ve written about this before .

And so I opened Mother Angelica’s Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality and read a few passages on pain, meaning accepting it and the benefits of offering it up. I knew all this as I continually ‘offer it up’ for the usual devotional suggestions (reparation for sins – mine, yours, other people’s; reparations for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary; for the conversion of sinners; for saving souls…….)

And so I felt better. But I could feel even more better. So I watched a few of her classic programs on EWTN On-Demand. I caught one on using the scraps of your life. “Scraps,” according to Mother, are those things in your past that you cannot let go of. All the mistakes, the stupid, rotten, bad things you’ve done or were done to you,  traumas perpetrated against you, and so forth that still haunt you. I know all about scraps; they are the fuel for my fiction writing. I am a firm believer that writing is a form a therapy. Even if you don’t publish a word, creating stories in which you dump all the dumb things you’ve ever done or traumas you’ve experienced to flesh out characters and backstory helps your perspective on them. It also objectifies the pain. But she went on about how the scraps can be used to sanctify yourself. That the scraps of you past life can make you sensitive other people who also are carrying bags of scraps. People who are hurt often are more sensitive to other people who are hurt. 

That latter sentence is where I have some difficulty at times. I’ve seen social media memes that say something like “Hurt people hurt other people.” Meaning that hurt people often lash out at others. Their pain causes them to make others feel pain. (This is often the reason why the ‘bad guys’ in fiction often become bad guys. Something bad happened to them long ago, they never got help or justice and so their pain festered and transformed them into a ‘bad guy’ and they kill a lot of people, or rampage across the galaxy enslaving entire species or go around blowing up planets or are just truly wicked. I wrote about that on my other blog. 

The “where I have some difficulty ‘at times’” is the feeling that lashing out at others can be justified if the ‘bad guy’ never got justice, help or some kind of moral satisfaction against whoever perpetrated the evil done to him. Of course that’s wrong. The ‘bad guy’ is just creating more victims from innocent people; he is extending to others the evil done to him. It is easy to fall prey to the idea of being justified in one’s victimhood; hey, if no one helped me when I was being driven to suicide by my family long ago, why should I be considerate of others?   

OK, I went off on this topic longer that I thought I should, but I’m leaving it in. The thing is, and this is what struck me out of the blue as I was watching Mother talk about sensitivity to others and the marginalized seeking solace in one another due to the accumulated scraps from their past, is that although I didn’t really have an ally or advocate during the many times in my life when I was bullied, mocked and ridiculed or made an outcast, (or driven to consider suicide,) I really did (though I didn’t realize it until later, but that’s OK.) This may sound trite, but my allies were Jesus and His Blessed Mother. I may have mentioned this in a much earlier post (I can’t find it) but I often go to my nearby Adoration Chapel… because I felt summoned to go there. Or to attend a Daily Mass when I didn’t feel like it….because I felt summoned to go there. Same for prayers, at time…. I am just ‘not up to it’ but feel that call to pray a rosary or whatever. 

To me, that means that Jesus and Mary want me around them. Therefore, there is no need for me to ever feel like I’ve never had an advocate or an ally. Yes, it would have been nice for God to have ‘done something’ back when I was going through trials, but we all know, but often forget, that trials are there for a reason. (Mother Angelica has lots to say about that in the book I mentioned way up above. In short, they are there to prune us of our pride, self-will, self-love, and teach humility.) In God’s time, justice will be served, and not earlier. I can, right now, just take some comfort in the fact that I am not alone; besides my wife (who also seems to enjoy having me around, go figure) there is Jesus and Mary asking me to spend some extra time with them every so often. They know about the bad things that have happened to me in the past, all the scraps of my life that still haunt me and mutter in the recesses of my mind that “I’m a loser.” But in their own fashion, they will deal with the people who’ve hurt me. And what they can do about them  is far better than whatever I could have done. By some divine combination of Mercy and Justice, all will come out in the end. I just have to remain cognizant that my pains and agonies can be companions on the journey and not tormenters. I can convert them into assistants to help me to be kinder and more compassionate.

Incidentally, I watched more than just a few of Mother Angelica’s classics on EWTN On-Demand, but the other shows are beyond the scope of this post. But they all contributed to the feeling that I went on a retreat this weekend for a few hours and my head got rescrewed back on. The little negative voices that have been tormenting me these past few months have fallen silent, today. I hope they stay quiet as it may have been a case of demonic oppression, but I hesitate to give extra credit to Satan to what may have merely been low self-esteem. But on the other hand, given the voice’s persistence….

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

What I’ve done with my Marian Consecration

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Twenty-two years ago today I made myself the property and posession of the Blessed Virgin Mary when I consecrated myself to her accordng to the method and formula of St. Maximilian Kolbe and so became a member of the Militia of the Immaculata.

This has meant different things to me over the years. For the first decade or so, it was merely a pious devotional act. “I belong to Mary! Yay!” And nothing beyond that. At times, it didn’t mean much of anything and was something on the periphery of my devotional life. 

However, within the past decade it has taken on a more substantive meaning. It had partly to do with the centennial anniversary of the MI in 2017. I became more interested in what it actually meant to be an MI and consecrated to Mary. The sudden availablity of Mary’s Knight,an epic biography of St. Maximilian that I long had my eye on, but had been out of print, helped with that. It is a very comprehensive biography with incredibly detailed information, presented in narrative (it reads like a novel) form. Toss in the Complete Writings of St. Maximilian Kolbe and I was on fire.

This lead to me also consecrate this blog to Mary.

In more recent times my consecration has lead me to try and implement the teachings and life of St. Maximilian Kolbe in my blog and writing as well as to figure out how to work out my consecration in a practical, concrete form. I had written a few posts on ‘Marching Orders from Mary’ which, after a fashion, became fleshed out as a book, ‘Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics.’

BuildingaCivilizationofLoveCover81224-4.1 copy.

(This is the second version of the book, the earlier version “The Catholicpunk Manifesto,” is now unpublished and pulled from circulation; “Building…” is a revised and retitled edition. The Catholic Punk material is still present, but I’ve added several chapters on Our Lady of Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima. Why? Read on…)

I really thought that at this time in my life I should have something to show for it. “It” being my life. Or, more precisely, “it” is more like “proof” that Marian Consecration has made a significant impact and difference in my life. I wanted to show some sign that that Marian Consecration impacted my thinking and that I have something important and useful to suggest and share with others. 

Marian Consecration via St. Maximilan’s method contains and outward evangelican dimension. That’s the fundamental difference between it and DeMontfort’s. With St. Maximilian’s, you become a tool of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a “pen” or “paintbrush” in her hands. You take your consecration and do something with it to change the world. And in writing that book, “Bulding a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics,” I had thought to provide some inspiration and motivation to other Catholic creatives. The book is NOT a ‘how to write,’ or ‘how to do a podcast,’ or anything else like that. It is directed at people who are creatives, have done something about it, but may need encouragement and inspiration to ‘get them through’ tough times when they might doubt their efficacy or purpose. It is also directed at people who aren’t ‘working creatives’ but who have the dream of writing or filming and so forth, but like established creatives, might need a ‘manifesto’ to help them ‘get going.’ (Not to mention page after page at the end of “creative prompts” derived from litanies to St. Max Kolbe. The prompts aren’t just for writers…)

One reason why I unpublished the original version is that it was  made known to me that calling it “Catholicpunk Manifesto” may be offputting. But that also inspired me in another way: I had gotten some ideas on expanding it. Hence, the first half is now on Our Lady of Guadalupe, Lourdes and Fatima. Why? Because in studying their messages and lessons I detected some themes that serve as blueprints for a ‘new world order’ (oh, my!) but based upon Catholic social and moral teachings. Mary, in those apparitions, has the answer to today’s slide towards cultural and social moral decadence and decline, plus the antidote to the negative and demeaning identity politics that are rampant today. I used those chapters to exhort Catholic creatives and creative “wannabes” to apply the lessons the Blessed Mother taught us in Mexico, France and Portugal. 

Again, the book is not a how-to on writing, filming or painting. It assumes you know your craft and how to perfect it. What it hopes to accomplish is to inspire you to more effectively connect your Catholic faith to your creativity and change the world.

For information on how to order, visit: ‘Building a Civilization of Love: A Call to Creative Catholics” or visit my Amazon Author Page. Direct link to Amazon: Kindle version and paperback version.

Thank you!

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena to save my parish from closure

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ATTENTION: THIS IS REALLY LONG BUT IT WOULD MEAN A LOT TO ME IF YOU’D READ THE WHOLE POST. I’M NOT ASKING FOR MONEY, JUST ATTENTION FOR SOMETHING PLEEEEEAAASSSE?????

This upcoming Saturday the 22nd of June my wife and I (and numerous others) will be starting a Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena to save our parish from closure.

We live in the Diocese of Buffalo and about six dozen parishes are recommended for closure due to the aging priesthood and an insufficient number of men coming into the priesthood. There is also an additional factor: the diocese had to declare bankruptcy to protect its assets from the numerous lawsuits stemming from the sex abuse scandal. The past 2, perhaps 3, Bishops of Buffalo failed to adequately protect young boys and girls from sexual predators in the priesthood. And so now these parishes will also be sold to pay the victims who sued the diocese.

I hope the fires of Hell burn a lot hotter for those unrepentant Catholic priests who couldn’t keep their hands off of boys and girls. Please note that I am NOT wishing Hell on anyone, this is why I said “unrepentant.” Unrepented and unconfessed mortal sins earn the guilty eternal hellfire. God’s mercy will indeed cover those priests who were sincere in repenting and confessing their sins, which I believe to be mortal. Perhaps a few could claim mitigating factors such as mental health problems or addictions, but given the deliberate nature of their actions and their duration, plus the lack of accountability by the Bishops, I think only a small few can be excused in that manner. 

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph1857:

For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.”

I find it difficult to believe that priests guilty of sexual crimes against others, especially children, are not covered by all three. 

So anyway, a  hundred thousand or so Catholics in the Diocese of Buffalo will be losing their parishes because vocations were rarely nurtured and priests who were sexual predators. 

Now we come to my parish, St. Bernadette’s. “St. Bernies” is strong, vibrant and growing. Almost every month the bulletin lists dozens and dozens of new parishioners. There are active ministries. There is Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. The collection pulls in in excess of $20,000 every week. It is not in debt and pays all its bills. Every weekend over 1,000 people attend the three Masses (1 Saturday Vigil and 2 Sunday morning.) This is not common amongst parishes diocese-wide. There is no reason to close it. It is 2 miles from one other parish and about 5 from another, but those are in good condition, too, and hardly need the addition of our parish’s members. Besides, if St. Bernadette’s were to close it would add thousands of people to those two churches and there would still need to be three priests to serve those two, so the point in closing St. Bernadette’s is lost: there wouldn’t be a saving in priestly postings.

Our priest did mention that the diocese might be in error, that the data attributed to our parish might actually belong to a failing parish, but who knows? My brilliant wife is looking over some publicly available data in the Diocesan Directory and she’s found additional numbers that cast serious doubt on the sanity of the decision to recommend closure.

Note that the diocese is only recommending these parishes for closure; the affected parishes can offer a counterproposal to the plan. If accepted, they’re saved, if rejected, they’re not. Our priest and parish staff will be working overtime to work out a counterproposal.

(Incidentally, we love our priest. He looks like Jesus, plus in every homily he fondly mentions his Mom and Rome (or Italy. I’ve never heard so much stuff about Rome in homilies. He puts the ROMAN in Roman Catholic.))

So I thought of (or the Blessed Mother put it in my brain, or perhaps St. Bernadette) saying a Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena. I wrote the following and our priest approved it for distribution in the church:

ATTENTION ALL PARISHIONERS

OF ST. BERNADETTE’S:

PLEASE JOIN IN A

“Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena to Save St. Bernadette’s.”

***June 22-August 14***

 

We all love St. Bernadette’s and will be distraught over her closing, should that happen. To help prevent this, we are calling upon the powers of Heaven and Our Lady to help keep our parish open, if that be God’s will. Let’s all join together in reciting a Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena! We can pray as individuals in ‘spiritual communion’ with each other, or together in groups in the church, our homes or over Zoom/Google Meet, etc.

The Miraculous 54-Day Rosary Novena originated in the late 19th century in Naples, Italy, when a young girl suffering from an illness thought to be incurable prayed to Our Lady for help. Mary appeared to her and promised her healing if she prayed three novenas. The girl did so, and was miraculously healed. In a later apparition, Mary specified that the full prayer should have 3 novenas in petition, and 3 novenas in thanksgiving.

OUR NOVENA TO SAVE OUR PARISH WILL BEGIN ON SATURDAY JUNE 22nd SO AS TO END ON AUGUST 14th, the day before they begin to announce the final decisions on closings. August 14th is important because it’s the feast day of St. Maximilian Kolbe, WHO HAD A GREAT DEVOTION TO ST. BERNADETTE AND OUR LADY OF LOURDES!!!

How to pray the Novena:

The novena consists of five decades of the Rosary (one set of mysteries) each day for twenty-seven consecutive days in petition; then immediately five decades each day for an additional twenty-seven consecutive days in thanksgiving, regardless of whether or not the request has been granted yet.

The first day of the novena always begins with the Joyful Mysteries (regardless of what day of the week the novena is started); the second day, the Sorrowful Mysteries are prayed; and the third day of the novena, the Glorious Mysteries are prayed. The fourth day of the novena starts all over with the Joyful, etc. and continues on in that sequence (Joyful-Sorrowful-Glorious) throughout the 54 days of the novena. The Luminous Mysteries aren’t included only because they did not exist when Our Lady taught this novena to the girl.

There are special additional prayers to begin and conclude it during all the days of petition and thanksgiving, as well as at the end of each decade. Here are two links with the instructions and prayers:

The Miraculous 54 Day Rosary Novena and How to Pray the 54 Day Rosary Novena (NOTE TO MY READERS: on the sheet, the URLs were spelled out. Obviously a link wouldn’t work and I didn’t know how to convert one to a QR code (the instructions are on my phone somewhere but I lacked the time to figure it out. Hence the next sentence:)

OR JUST DO A WEB SEARCH FOR “HOW TO PRAY THE 54 DAY ROSARY NOVENA” it’s essentially the same at any source
.

BACK TO MY READERS: My wife and I already know of several of our online friends who say they’ll join us in saying this Novena, which is awesome as they’ve never even been to western New York much less our parish!

WILL YOU JOIN IN, ALSO? I get  A LOT OF BLOG INSPIRATION while at my Holy Hours in the parish’s Perpetual Adoration Chapel, so you’ll kind of be helping Sober Catholic!

Yes, I know the Diocese of Buffalo isn’t alone in this. There are quite a lot of other diocese in the same position. So, if you refrain from helping out because of that, I’d understand. But still, I’d really appreciate it if you’d rise above rejecting help just because you’re not in this Diocese. I don’t think it would be inappropriate at all for you to add an additional, personal intention to the “Save Paulcoholic’s St. Bernadette Parish” petition! So there could be something in it for you! OH!!!!! If you want, you can email me or post in the comments the personal intentions that you might add; I’ll copy and paste them onto a doc and keep them on my phone and pray about them in front of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Bernie’s Adoration Chapel and before or after Mass.

Thanks!

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Immaculate Queen of Peace

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I was looking around for what to write about for today’s Immaculate Heart Saturday post (because I still haven’t been taking heed of the numerous reminders I set during the week to plan ahead and maybe get these and the Sacred Heart Friday posts out a few hours earlier) when I found this Prayer for the Immaculate Queen of Peace.

Most holy and immaculate Virgin, Mother of Jesus and our loving Mother, being his Mother, you shared in his universal kingship. The prophets and angels proclaimed him King of peace. With loving fervor in our hearts, we salute and honor you as Queen of Peace.

We pray that your intercession may protect us and all people from hatred and discord, and direct our hearts into the ways of peace and justice which your Son taught and exemplified. We ask your maternal care for our Holy Father who works to reconcile the nations in peace. We seek your guidance for our President and other leaders as they strive for world peace.

Glorious Queen of peace, grant us peace in our hearts, harmony in our families, and concord throughout the world. Immaculate Mother, as patroness of our beloved country, watch over us and protect us with your motherly love. Amen.

Courtesy: Catholic Online

Since today is November 11, the date the Armistice was signed ending World War I (the “War to End All Wars”) I thought it was appropriate to share this, especially with the world getting deeper and deeper into armed conflict and the words ‘World War 3” are coming up more often.

This is connected to the Immaculate Heart of Mary; she predicted the end of  WWI when she appeared to the three Portuguese peasant shepherd children at Fatima in 1917. However, she also predicted a worse one would break out if certain warnings weren’t heeded. They weren’t and WWII did. But, she also promised that “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will Triumph.”

So, it looks like we have more suffering before there’s peace. 

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

October 13th: the Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary! Part 12

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Today is October 13th, the day we recall the “Miracle of the Sun” event at Fatima in 1917. This was intended to be a warning. Our Lady said at Fatima, ‘War is punishment for sin.” World War I was raging at the time and among her warnings was that a worse war would take place if her warnings went unheeded. They were and it did. What were her warnings? One was that the Pope and all the bishops in union with him would consecrate Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Although consecrations did take place, they were either too late or improperly done. The consecration request finally was done properly in 1984 with Pope (now Saint) John Paul II. There were other warnings, such as the increasingly offensive fashion styles (conservative and almost modest by today’s standards) and about sexual sin being the chief cause of why souls go to Hell.

Those are also being ignored. You wonder how much longer Heaven will tolerate being ignored. 

As we’ve already seen with several of these “Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary” posts, the Immaculate Heart of Mary is intimately united with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On this Sacred Heart Friday, I would like to remind readers of this duality and how it can be used to at the personal level, increase your spiritual growth, and at a larger level, help combat evil in the world.

The personal level: recall the Fatima Message of prayer, penance, and especially reparation for sins. Now, combine that with the Sacred Heart devotion which essentially calls for the same thing. We return God’s love for us with prayer and acts of sacrifice in reparation for our and others’ sins. This increases the flow of grace into our souls, helps us beat back the attacks of the Devil and its minions, and sensitizes us to the sufferings of others (a natural side effect of concern for others sinning and the Hellish consequences of that.) We begin to become more aware of the humanity of other people; even those who do us harm. We see them as sick and broken. The wounded harm others when their wounds are not dressed.

The larger level: essentially an extension of the first. We become the change we wish to see in others and in reforming our own lives we can serve as examples for others. They want what we have. There is also the transformation at the spiritual level: our acts of prayer and repentance in some manner affect change in others. It calls grace down from Heaven and Mary distributes it to whom she wills.

So, I suppose one benefit of these “Alliance of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary” posts is the reminder to remember the Message of Fatima and the need to live it.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Daily Marching Orders from Mary (Be a militant, crazy Catholic and apply your Marian Consecration!)

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This Immaculate Heart Saturday post is intended to suggest ways to practically apply one’s Marian Consecration; this is the fruit of my closer studies of the writings of St. Maximilian Kolbe and Militia of the Immaculata literature and lots of woolgathering. It will hopefully help make manifest my Consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary in my daily life and society as a whole and to encourage you to join the Militia of the Immaculata (M.I.). This can be a roadmap for others in and out of the M.I. inasmuch as we ‘become the change we wish to see’ in the people around us and in the world at large. The ultimate change we seek is to win the world for Jesus. This the ultimate goal of Marian Consecration, especially for an M.I.

I used the formula of Marian Consecration developed by St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe when I consecrated myself to Mary on October 7, 2002. In doing so I became a member of the Militia of the Immaculata movement he founded in 1917. His formula differs slightly, but significantly, from the more popular method by St. Louis deMontfort. Whereas the latter is also a total dedication of yourself to Mary, that’s where it remains. You are her property, slave, subject, whatever. Kolbe’s method adds an additional evangelical level to the Consecration. You become Mary’s, but with the proviso that you are also allowing her to use you ‘like a pen (or paintbrush) in her hands’ to bring about the conversion of many to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. (Incidentally, if you wish to join the Militia of the Immaculata, and already consecrated yourself to Our Lady by deMontfort’s method, that’s good enough. You needn’t use the consecration formula of Kolbe. Registering with your country’s national M.I. Office and letting them know when you consecrated yourself adds the evangelical dimension to it.)

That is the essence of belonging to Mary: you become a soldier in her Militia. While you do not take up actual weapons of war, you do allow her to supply you with the graces needed to go on missions for her.
In essence, you take up spiritual weapons to establish the Reign of the Sacred Heart. The Kingdom of the Sacred Heart includes the Social Reign of Christ: the institution of a just and moral social order based upon Traditional Catholic Social Justice Teachings; rooted in Scripture, Tradition (Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy) and exemplified by the governance of St. Maximilian in Niepokalanow (including during the Nazi Occupation), the life and teachings of St. Teresa of Calcutta and Therese of Lisieux, Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, and Popes Leo XIII, Pius XI and St. John Paul II. Servant of God Dorothy Day emphasized the preference for such weapons by Christians in the 1930s and 1940s, when the world was ravaged by the World War II and its precursors, the Spanish Civil War and Japanese invasions of China. In winning the world for Jesus, we use our Marian Consecration by being “Christ-bearers;” since we belong to Mary we become like her in bearing Christ to others. True Marian Devotion always ends with Jesus, not Mary, and thus we help fulfill Mary’s desire to lead others to her Son. 

To expand on this, an M.I. emulates St. Maximilian Kolbe in his role as the Prophet and Sign of the Civilization of Love and Apostle of a New Marian Era. (The ‘Civilization of Love’ and ‘New Marian Era’ are two phrases describing the same future culture.) This implies that we incorporate the Fatima Message of prayer, penance and reparation, since Fatima is a prophetic message that parallels Kolbe’s. The Fatima Apparitions prophesied the future establishment of the New Marian Era. We also seek to make use of the Message of Lourdes (daily recitation of the Rosary and a focus on Mary as the Immaculate Conception as the source of healing of the world’s ills, and not just medical and physical, but the political divisions that result in war and cultural clashes.) We can also call to mind the lessons of the Apparition of Our Lady at Guadalupe. There, an entire society was converted from barbaric paganism (human sacrifice was rampant) that was influence by the demonic over to Catholicism. Their new Catholic faith helped heal their society from its past and Guadalupe can serve as a lesson for the wholesale conversion of modern Western society.   

As soldiers of Mary, we assist her in crushing the head of Satan and in destroying heresies. By heresies, I don’t think this only refers to traditional things such as doctrinal and dogmatic errors, but also combatting the influence of Satan in society by the pervasiveness of immorality, the normalization of sexual deviancy and political extremism of the Left and Right.

We use our talents, such as they are, in accordance with our state in life.

We surrender ourselves in love without reserving anything from her, enabling her to use us to bring others to her and thus onward to Jesus. This is how the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart is established; first in the hearts of humans and then by means of their will and actions, society. Everyone ‘becomes the change they wish to see’ and therefore society is renewed and transformed. We see this in the Act of Consecration to the Blessed Virgin as written by St. Maximilian Kolbe (and the boldface type is the part I emphasize that shows this ‘be the change you wish to see’ tactic):

O Immaculata, Queen of Heaven and earth, refuge of sinners and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy to you.  I, (your name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet humbly imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as your possession and property.  Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and body, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases you.

If it pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish what was said of you: “She will crush your head,” and, “You alone have destroyed all heresies in the world.”  Let me be a fit instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  For wherever you enter, you obtain the grace of conversion and growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

V. Allow me to praise you, O sacred Virgin.

R. Give me strength against your enemies.

Satan knows this, and is vigilant and always ready to attack Mary’s Knights and Ladies. We defend ourselves through our consecration, prayer (especially the Rosary), Mass, and the Sacraments, and reading Sacred Scripture and the Catechisms.

Continuing with the concept of emulating St. Maximilian Kolbe, we acknowledge him being also the “Patron of Mass Media.” So, in this contemporary age we use such means as are available to us: blogs, social media and creative works like novels, short stories, poetry and visual arts to spread the aims and means of the Immaculata. Kolbe had observed long ago that the visual arts, such as cinema and theatre, were being used to spread immoral ideas amongst the populace. Rather than shun such media as evil, he embraced the technology and the concept and worked to use it to spread moral values. His publishing empire included newspapers and magazines and books, and eventually a radio station. His friary of Niepokalanow never produced literary or cinematic works, but I believe they were eventually planned.

Taking St. Maximilian’s suggestions of using cultural expressions to advance the cause of the Immaculata, we can visualize a future social order rooted in the Social Kingship of Christ and its various forms. This recalls the main ‘title’ for St. Maximilian: “the Prophet and Sign of the Civilization of Love and Apostle of a New Marian Era.” He was the ‘Sign’ of this Civilization in his governance of the Niepokalanow friary, especially during the Nazi Occupation in his handling of refugees and making use of friary resources to assist the local population survive. He implemented his ideas of a just social order in hospitality and service to others. But, focusing on cultural tools, we can use creative works: fiction, such as novels and shorter works; and for those inclined, videos to illustrate how the Social Kingship would look like. Do you think that Distributism is the ideal economic system? Great! Create stories in which Distributism is that model. Do you believe that Monarchism is the ideal political system? Fine! Create stories featuring a Catholic Monarchy and how it would wield power. This latter example is interesting and intriguing given numerous Catholic prophecies (from approved apparitions and private revelations) involving a future “Great Catholic Monarch” and his realm existing during this ‘New Marian Era.’ 

Given St. Max’s interest in science, we should eventually endeavor to show that Religion and Science are two sides of the same coin. Divine Revelation occurs in two forms: God’s self-revelation through Sacred Scripture and the revelation of Himself through His works (the Universe and the means He used to create and sustain it.) Truth does not contradict Truth. Scientific research and investigation should be guided by moral principles. No more doing things just because we can; we should only proceed if the research can be seen to benefit the human condition in moral and ethical ways. In short, our humanity is enhanced, not sacrificed. This may include, when possible, space exploration and perhaps eventually colonization (remember that St. Max invented a plausible spaceship! [See Complete Writings!] So, perhaps stories involving space exploration of our Solar System and the Cosmos at large are in order! This fits wonderfully for those of us who have a predilection for science-fiction!

Of course, Distributism, Monarchism and science-fiction are suggestions based on my interests. You may have other ideas to creatively explore.

The thought occurred to me that if science rejected its militant atheistic bent, then we may make even greater progress in scientific achievements. God desires us to know Him better, therefore if we approach scientific exploration with the idea of knowing God better through His handiwork, well then perhaps He may open our eyes to things. Cures! Cheap Fusion power! Rocket propulsion that opens up the Solar System to humanity! 

So, if you’re an M.I. with a talent for creativity, get started! Start writing or filming!! Is it crazy? Sure is! Read what Steve Jobs said about this (and yes, I know the Founder of Apple Computers was controversial in some regards and angered many by his behavior at times. Please recall the next to last petition in the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” You can’t forgive Steve? He ‘trespassed’ against you? Be careful…)

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” 

So be the crazy Catholic misfit and rebel soldier of Mary and change the world by showing how things can be. Cause trouble. Mother Angelica did! There are enough blogs and essay sites where people write non-fiction about Catholic culture, economics and politics. But what will it look like? Theory is one thing, the practical aspects will convince people. Show them how things can be! Disrespect the secular status quo. See things differently. Don’t listen to those who say “You can’t write that! No one will publish it!” So try self-publishing! Be a rebel! Push the cause of the Immaculata forward! Pray before writing, research as much as necessary so you at least appear to know what you’re talking about and then get to it!

I am not the only one who thinks that Steve Jobs can inspire you to be a better Catholic (as well as achieve mighty deeds as a Knight or Lady of Mary.) Watch this when you can.

This is a weird way to conclude, but although Steve Jobs was not a Catholic, nor even a Christian, (he was Buddhist of a sort,) I do believe that if things were somehow different during his formative years he would have made an interesting one. I cannot help but think that during this hypothetical Catholic life of Steve Jobs, he would have been drawn to St Maximilian Kolbe by his life and creative vision. St. Maximilian was certainly a crazy misfit, troublemaker and dreamer. Jobs would have looked at St. Max’s M.I. movement, his writings on Marian Consecration and concluded that this would be an effective way to change the world. Whether he would have still invented the Apple computer, the iPod, iPad and iPhone is a whole different area of speculation. He quite possibly would have, but with his Catholic Faith and Marian Consecration through St. Maximilian, sustaining and inspiring him in ways superior to his Buddhist beliefs.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Let’s start a Triduum of Monthly Marian Consecrations!

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The idea: Popularizing a Triduum of Monthly Marian Consecrations.

What’s a Triduum? A Triduum is three consecutive days on the liturgical calendar commemorating or celebrating a feast day. We used to have many back in the olden times before Vatican 2. We’re really down to just the Easter Triduum of the evening of Holy Thursday  through Easter Sunday. They’ve kind of gone the way of octaves. And Holy Days of Obligation, once you think of that. Did you know that the Catholic Church once had thirty-six Holy Days of Obligation?

Why? Consecration to the Blessed Virgin is important. Devotion to Mary is a sure sign of predestination (not in the Protestant sense of the word but rather that God knows in advance who will be saved and who won’t, because He is omniscient and exists outside of linear time. Foreknowledge of who will be saved doesn’t mean prior determination of the saved. And devotion to Mary has the advantage of bestowing greater receptivity to graces which flow to us through her; just like if you study hard in school you are ‘predestined’ to go to a good college. Huh? Studying hard makes you receptive to learning and knowledge; hence getting into a better college, OK? ) And souls dedicated to Mary are never lost. 

Why a Triduum? Because it’s neat. It’s a cool word. Next time you go to Church and find yourself amongst other Catholics, just try and work the word ‘triduum’ into a conversation. See how people look at you.  Also, it reinforces one’s dedication. Three straight days every month heightens and focuses one’s attention and devotion. Also, as far as I know, a Triduum of Marian Feast Days has never been a devotion so this could go viral and bring a lot of readers to the blog and who can maybe perhaps PayPalMe. HAHA. LOL. In all seriousness, I think it’s a pretty good idea and I wonder why nobody’s thought of it before.

OK, Marian Consecration is a good thing and a ‘triduum’ sounds old school Catholic and people look at you weird. But three days? You’ve got specific Marian feast days or titles in mind? Because I’m sensing that you do. I sure do! Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Our Lady of Fatima. Those are on the 11th, 12th and 13th of the month.

Yeah, but they’re not on the same month. Isn’t Lourdes in February, Guadalupe in December and Fatima in May? Yeah, but I heard tell that some people do a monthly conseration or dedication on the 13th of every month in honor of the Fatima Apparitions as a way to foster living out the Fatima Message. Also, I have this little Guadalupe prayer book from a monastery in Oregon (they don’t print it anymore; the one I have dates from 1959) where there’s a monthly consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe on the 12th of each month.

So I got to thinking…

Why not string them all together?

And there you have it! Readers of this blog and whomever they share this post with can consecrate themselves every month to Mary under her titles of Our Lady of Lourdes, Guadalupe and Fatima!

 I also think it’s not a coincidence that those apparitions are associated with dates that are right in consecutive order. That must mean they are of considerable importance? They are! Why? And how so? Read on!

Our Lady of Lourdes is associated with healing. Spiritual healings, physical healings, all sorts of healings. Seventy of the medical ones have been declared miraculous (out of the thousands claimed.) Our Lady also told the seer, St. Bernadette Soubirous, messages concerning repentance from sin.

Our Lady of Gudalupe is associated with the pro-life movement (given that she appears pregnant in the Sacred Image on the Tilma of St. Juan Diego.) She is also associated with the largest voluntary mass conversion of people to Catholicism. Fourteen years after the Protestant Revolt in Europe which stripped millions from the One True Faith, millions of pagans in Mexico replaced them through her intercession! And if you read up on the Tilma, you’ll learn of the tremendous symbolism of the images depicted on it; symbols significant to both the Aztecs and the Spanish. Her words to St. Juan Diego practically clamored for the unity of the Americas, of all the peoples living on it. No class conflict or cultural segregation; but a unity of European and indigenous peoples.

And at Fatima, Our Lady messaged about repentance from sin, pray the Rosary, make sacrifices in reparation for sin, and that war is punishment for sin (the most grievous kinds were sins of the flesh, i.e. sexual sins and immodest attire.)

So, repentance, conversion, prayer;  and if you dig just a little deeper, there’s pro-life advocacy, pacifism, chastity, cross-cultural unity rather than conflict, Catholicism as the alternative to paganism and the demonic…. See what I’m getting at?

Repentance, conversion and prayer are the antidotes to the scourge of abortion and contraception, to the endless war that is now threatening to go nuclear, sexual depravity now championed as ‘normal,’ and an increasingly pagan culture developing in the ‘post-Christian West’ that is careening towards the demonic paganism similar to that of the Aztec Empire the Spanish destroyed and the Catholic Church healed through Our Lady’s intervention.

We need Mary’s maternal intervention and her intercession in our lives and society. If we can consecrate ourselves every month under these three titles of Our Lady, then perhaps miracles will occur and the general race to the cultural and moral bottom we are descending into will stop. Or if not, then perhaps some of us will somehow escape the Chastisement certain to come (unless it’s already here and going on.)

Spread the word!

So here are the three Acts of Consecration. You can see in the one to Guadalupe the seeds of this idea. It suggests making that consecration  on the 12th of each month, as well as being mindful of Our Lady’s  messages at Lourdes and Fatima.

 

Act of Consecration to Our Lady of Lourdes (to be said every month on the 11th):

Holy Mary, Mother of God, Virgin Immaculate, you appeared 18 times to Bernadette at the grotto in Lourdes to remind Christians of what the truths in the Gospel require of them. You call them to prayer, penance, the Eucharist and the life of the church. To answer your call more fully, I dedicate myself, through you, to your Son Jesus. Make me willing to accept what he said. By the fervour of my faith, by the conduct of my life in all its aspects, by my devotion to the sick, let me work with you in the comforting of those who suffer and in the reconciliation of people that the church may be one and there be peace in the world. All this I ask, confident that you, Our Lady, will fully answer my prayer. Blessed be the Holy and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us. St. Bernadette, pray for us.

And so today, may Mary, the Mother of God, the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Lourdes intercede for us and lead us closer to her son, Jesus.

 

Act of Consecration to Our Lady of Guadalupe (to be said every month on the 12th):

O most Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God, I (Name,) although  most unworthy of being thy servant, yet moved by thy wonderful mercy and by my desire to serve thee, consecrate myself to thy Immaculate Heart, and choose thee today, in the presence of my Guardian Angel and the whole heavenly court, for my especial Lady, Advocate and Mother, under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the name given to the heavenly image left us as pledge of they motherly kindness. I firmly resolve that I will love and serve thee always, and do whatever I can to induce others to love and serve thee. I pray thee, Mother of God, and my most kind and amiable Mother, that thou wilt receive me into the number of thy servants for thy child and servant forever. Assist me in all my thoughts, words, and actions at every moment of my life, that every step and breath be directed to the greater glory of God; and through thy most powerful intercession obtain for me that I may never more offend my beloved Jesus, that I may glorify Him in this life, and that I may also love thee, and enjoy thee, in the company of the Blessed Trinity through eternity in holy Paradise.

In order to live this consecration as another St. Juan Diego, I promise to renew it frequently, especially on the twelfth day of each month; and mindful of thy messages to us at Lourdes and Fatima, I will strive to lead a life of prayer and sacrifice, of fidelity to thy Rosary and of reparation to thy Immaculate Heart. Amen.

 

Act of Consecration to Our Lady of Fatima (to be said every month on the 13th):

O MOST Holy Mary, Virgin Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, in accordance with thy wish made known at Fatima, I consecrate myself today to thine Immaculate Heart. To thee I entrust all that I have, all that I am, to thy blessed charge and special keeping and into thine Immaculate Heart. For this day, for every day of my life, and at the hour of my death, I commend my soul and body.

To thee do I entrust all my hopes and consolations, all my trials and miseries, my life and the end of my life, that through thy most holy intercession and thy merits all my actions may be ordered and disposed according to thy will, and that of thy Divine Son.

Reign over me dearest Mother, that I may be thine in prosperity, in adversity, in health and in sickness, in life and in death. Grant that I may have no other spirit but thy spirit, to know Jesus Christ and His Divine and Holy Will; that I may have no other soul but thy soul, to praise and glorify the Lord; that I may have no other heart but thy heart, to love God with a pure and burning love like thine.

My beloved Mother, my glorious Queen, I am all thine and all that I have is thine. Amen.

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

National Eucharistic Revival: A Grassroots Response to God’s Invitation

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The Bishops of the United States are launching us on a three-year long Eucharistic Revival. I first heard about it in a recent issue of the Militia of the Immaculata-USA monthly magazine Knight of the Immaculata. (This may initiate a PDF download in some browsers.)

Why is this being done? From the he US Bishops site especially set up for it: National Eucharistic Revival:

Revival’s in the Air!
AN EXCITING JOURNEY AHEAD:
Our world is hurting. We all need healing, yet many of us are separated from the very source of our strength. Jesus Christ invites us to return to the source and summit of our faith—his Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist. Watch the video to learn more about the exciting journey ahead and how you can be a part of it!

Scandal, division, disease, doubt. The Church has withstood each of these throughout our very human history. But today we confront all of them, all at once. Our response in this moment is pivotal.

In the midst of these roaring waves, Jesus is present, reminding us that he is more powerful than the storm. He desires to heal, renew, and unify the Church and the world.

How will he do it? By uniting us once again around the source and summit of our faith—the Holy Eucharist. The National Eucharistic Revival is the joyful, expectant, grassroots response of the entire Catholic Church in the U.S. to this divine invitation.

It takes time to kindle a living, loving relationship—and a relationship with Jesus Christ is no exception. That’s why the Eucharistic Revival allows three years for discernment, encounter, and grassroots response on the diocesan, parish, and individual levels.

The Timeline:

It begins this June 19, 2022, the Feast of Corpus Christi “Launch of the Eucharistic Revival.” (It actually started with the Novena to the Body and Blood of Our Lord, which I totally forgot to do. Go figure. I blew it already!)

Then the “Diocesan Year of Eucharistic Revival” begins Monday, June 19, 2022 and lasts until June 11, 2023.

After that it moves to the Parish level with the “Parish Year of Eucharistic Revival” from June 11, 2023 – July 17, 2024.

And then there will be a National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Indiana from July 17 – 21, 2024. I have never been to a Eucharistic Congress. I’ve heard of them and known that some amazing things happen at them. These are not recent, they go back over a century, with the first International Eucharistic congress happening in 1881. I would love to attend this one! Indianapolis isn’t that far away! It isn’t an ‘International’ one, but this is as close as I’ll get.

When that is done, there begins the “Year of Going Out on Mission,” from July 17, 2024 – Pentecost 2025. 

Three years. Equal to the number of year Our Lord openly preached on Earth. If we get behind this, we can work wonders in our country and in the World. There’s no reason why you can’t participate in some manner. Get started by learning about the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist. A majority of Catholics only think it’s a symbol. It is not. It is literally the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the form of bread and wine. If you receive Holy Communion and don’t believe this then your are receiving Him unworthily. St. Paul teaches that this brings condemnation on oneself. If you’ve done this because you just didn’t know, then your culpability is lessened. But you must believe that He is truly, Really Present in the Eucharist. 

Read up on this. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a great place to start. I may look up some great, informative sites on the Real Presence and post them this weekend. Another awesome practice to do is Eucharistic Adoration. Just spend some time, when you can, in silent prayer and reverence before the Lord. If the parish you attend does not have Eucharistic Adoration, then go to Mass early and Adore Him reposed in the tabernacle. Or stay later after Mass. If your parish is like a gabfest in the church before Mass and it’s difficult to pray, then perhaps charitably and kindly talk to the priest about suggesting to people that they take their conversations outside, or somewhere else on the parish grounds that’s more appropriate. Perhaps he can tie it in to the Eucharistic Revival; that the parish’s contribution is to be transformed into a house of prayer before each Mass, so that people can ‘get to know’ Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament by means of quiet prayer. And maybe after three years it’ll stay that way!

I’m excited. It is something to provide a focus for over the next three years. Get behind it! The Mass (said correctly, with proper reverence and solemnity) and Adoration is the closest thing we have to Heaven on Earth!

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

Did you know that the Catholic Church once had thirty-six Holy Days of Obligation?

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A Holy Day of Obligation (HDO) is a day on the Catholic Church’s Liturgical Calendar when Catholics are obligated to go to Mass; their significance lies in honoring Our Lady, Our Lord, and major saints. All Sundays have been obligatory in addition to the HDOs (except when lifted by the Bishop in certain times) but nowadays, depending upon the country you live in, only a half a dozen or so other days are HDOs. Did you know that the Catholic Church once had thirty-six Holy Days of Obligation, in addition to Sunday Mass?

Here is a list of all thirty-six. I am posting this because in these perilous times, we need to increase our piety and connections to the Church Triumphant. Although the obligation has been removed, (and in many cases, the dates have been moved around in 1955 through 1962), you can still attend Mass or view it online. Perhaps even just pray novenas to whomever is honored or some other devotion to them. The current HDO’s are in black, suppressed ones in red. What is notable is that all Twelve Apostles were honored with an HDO. Pope St. Pius X reduced them in number in 1911.

HOLY DAYS OF OBLIGATION

and

SUPPRESSED FESTIVALS (former HDOs)

ALL SUNDAYS and Feasts of each of the Twelve Apostles

January 1 Circumcision of Our Lord/Mary Mother of God

January 6 Epiphany

February 2nd Purification/Candlemas

Feb 24: St. Matthias

March 19th St. Joseph, Spouse of the BVM

March 25th Annunciation

May 1st SS Phillp and James

May 3rd Holy Cross

June 11th St. Barnabas, Apostle

Easter Monday

Easter Tuesday

WhitMonday -(Monday after Pentecost, a/k/a WhitSunday)

WhitTuesday-(Tuesday after Pentecost a/k/a WhitSunday)

Corpus Christi

Ascension Thursday

June 24th Nativity of St. John the Baptist

June 29 SS Peter and Paul

July 25th St. James, Apostle

July 26th St. Anne (Mother of the BVM)

August 10th St. Lawrence

August 15 Assumption

August 24th St. Bartholomew, Apostle

September 8th Nativity of the BVM

Sep 21: St. Matthew

September 29th St. Michael the Archangel (Michaelmas)

October 28th SS Simon and Jude, Apostles

November 1 All Saints

November 30 St. Andrew, Apostle

December 8 Immaculate Conception

December 21st St. Thomas, Apostle

December 25th Christmas

December 26th St. Stephen, Protomartyr

December 27th St. John the Evangelist, Apostle

December 28th Holy Innocents

December 31 St. Sylvester

The Principle Patrons of One’s Country, City, etc.

SOURCE: an old out-of-print prayer book of mine referred to these; I subsequently double checked with online references including Wikipedia, Catholic Encyclopedia (on New Advent) and a sedevecantist site (typically bad for contemporary issues, but useful for pre-Vatican II information.)

I have a new book! "The Sober Catholic Way" is a handbook on how anyone can live a sober life, drawn from over 17 years of SoberCatholic posts! It's out now on "Amazon," "Apple Books," "B&N" and and others!"!

My two other books are still available! "The Stations of the Cross for Alcoholics" and "The Recovery Rosary: Reflections for Alcoholics and Addicts" (Thank you!!)

A Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace, and Creation I: to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin

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And so begins the First of the Nine Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation, and this one is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Servant of God Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. It runs from June 20 — June 28, 2020. I will not post this every day as the prayers and intentions are the same for each day. I’ll just leave it here for nine days; if I need to blog in the interim, I will just blog a reminder afterwards. For the background, please read this post (especially if you need to learn about who Bob Waldrop, the creator of this Novena, was, and why I am introducing it to you.) Or go here: A Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation.

Don’t worry if you jump in at some point later in the 81 days. To paraphrase Bob “just pick up whenever you happen to join in.”

AFTER THIS SENTENCE, THE WRITING IS ALL THAT OF BOB WALDROP, not me, Paulcoholic.

…

Novena of Novenas for Justice, Peace, & Creation I: to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin (June 20 — June 28, 2020)

“Getting Started:

Begin each novena prayer with a time of quiet prayer. You may find it helpful to pray some repetitions of the Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner), a decade of the Rosary, the Chaplet of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, or a time of spiritual reading or lectio divina that will prepare your mind and your heart for the prayer to come. This could be a time for a daily examen, where you consider your actions of the day and how they relate to God’s call in your life.”

General Intentions: For the redemption of structures of violence, oppression, exploitation, and despair with beauty, goodness, mercy, and peace. Reparation for sins against life.

The First Work of Justice and Peace: Live simply and justly in solidarity with the poor and marginalized and be a good neighbor. Make no war on them, rather, be one with them in spirit, truth, and love.

Act of Caring for Creation: Pick up trash in a public place.

God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me. + Let us pray together in peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, help the helpless, strengthen the fearful, comfort the sorrowful, bring justice to the poor, peace to all nations, and solidarity among all peoples. Give us strength to stand against the demonic powers which prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.

Open our eyes to see the beauty, joy, redemption, and goodness which comes through obedience to your Son our Lord. Teach us to be a refuge of hope for all who are oppressed by injustice and violence.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for those who serve the poor and who accompany them in their journeys; may we who keep this sacred commemoration experience the joy and love of the grace of your Son; may His most Sacred Heart, together with yours, pierced with sorrow for the evils of the world, be a sure refuge of hope in a time of trouble for all who are oppressed by injustice and violence.

The Magnificat of Mary. My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior; for He has looked with favor on His lowly servant. From this day all generations shall call me blessed.

The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name. He has mercy on those who fear Him in every generation.

He has shown the strength of His arm, He has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of His servant Israel for He has remembered His promise of mercy, the promise He made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.

Dorothy Day: Dorothy Day, friend and partner of the poor, guiding spirit for the Catholic Worker, home always open to the unwanted, early, often lonely, witness in the cause of peace and conscience, eloquent pattern of gospel simplicity, Dorothy Day, disciple of the Lord, may we continue your gift of self to the needy and your untiring work for justice and peace. Help us to follow your example and dedicate our lives to the creation of structures of beauty and goodness, wisdom and mercy. Amen.

Peter Maurin: Peter Maurin, Holy Fool, teach us to give and not to take, to serve and not to rule, to help and not to crush, to nourish and not to devour. As we create a new society within the shell of the old, remind us that ideals and not deals, creed and not greed, are what makes humanity humane. Amen.

Prayer to St. John Chrysostom on behalf of the U.S. Catholic bishops.

Most Glorious and Venerable St. John Chrysostom,
Grace shining forth from your lips like a beacon
has illumined the universe.
It shows to the world the treasures of poverty;
it reveals to us the heights of humility.
Teaching us by your words, O Father John Chrysostom,
intercede before the Word, Christ our God, to save our souls!

Pray for the bishops of the United States of America,
who do not teach or practice the Catholic faith in its fullness,
that God will deliver them to orthodoxy,
and reform their ways of living,
so that as exemplars of orthopraxis, they will protect all life,
from the moment of conception to the time of natural death.

Teach them true solidarity with the poor, so that they
understand the consequences of their moral abandonment
of entire nations of human beings to a collective fate of cruelty and violence
because they were in the way of the American Empire and
its gluttonous lust for oil, supremacy, and blood.

As you refused to obey the aristocratic commands of your era,
help our bishops turn away from the political demands
that cause them to preach a false gospel of moral relativism regarding war and peace.

Having received divine grace from heaven,
with your mouth you teach all people to worship the Triune God.
Instruct our bishops with the wisdom of the Gospel,
so that they repent of their material cooperation with the objective evil of unjust war,
and call all people, in authentic word and deed, to live in solidarity, peace, and justice.

All-blest and venerable St. John Chrysostom,
we praise you, for you are our teacher, revealing things divine!
Pray for us that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

O God, Who by the preaching and teaching of Saint John Chrysostom
has given us an example of fortitude in the face of persecution and political corruption,
grant that we who reverence his life and ministry may also imitate
his example of fidelity to wisdom, truth, justice, and beauty,
through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Our Father . . . Hail Mary… Glory be. . .

Thoughts for the journey. Today many swords pierce the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Injustice, oppression, violence, war, murder, the rape of Creation — all these and more are sins and structures of sin against justice and peace. We know that within our hearts are the seeds of the problems the world faces.

This redemption begins in my heart and your heart. It all starts, as they say, with the man — or the woman — in the mirror.

If we want to see a better relationship of Christ and the world, we must ask first about our own personal relationship with Jesus. Is he the Easter Bunny? Someone who makes us feel good, but who is remote and not really involved? A cultural construct? A topic in a religious education course?

Or is Christ a living reality in my life?

We are in this for the long haul, and it will be a long haul. We will not wake up on the 82nd day after 81 days of nine novenas and discover that we have prayed and worked ourselves into a new world of justice and peace that cares for Creation as God intended for all of us. There is much more work and prayer to come.

If we think we can do this in our own strength, we are wrong.

If we are going forward in the work of justice and peace, the place to start is with an examination of our own lives. How do my sins of omission and commission create and support structures of injustice and oppression? How do I participate in and profit from the social sins and unjust wars of this age? What must be redeemed in my life so that I live in solidarity with those our society has pushed to the edge and further, into the abyss? How can I change my life so that I promote peace, rather than demanding war? Can I end (or minimize) the ecological harm I cause to Creation by my lifestyle?

Have I abandoned Christ for secular saviors? Do I bury myself in the busy-ness of life and ignore God’s call?

As you pray these novenas for the next 81 days, let this be a time when your personal relationship with Christ blooms and flowers. Our prayer for everyone who takes up these novenas is that their hearts will be open to the reality that Christ is alive and he loves each and every one of us. He gave his life to save us and our societies from sin and oppression. He lives today and is at your side every moment of every day to enlighten, strengthen, and free you. OK, I am paraphrasing Pope Francis here, but I think the point is clear: the journey of justice and peace is a journey with Christ.

If we are to change the world, each of us must begin with himself or herself as we ourselves become the change we wish to see in the world. That change is the fruit of the Spirit that grows from our personal relationship with Christ.

Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin:

Dorothy Day was an early advocate of women’s rights who wrote for radical leftist newspapers in the early years of this century. She was a bohemian as they said in those days — but when she looked in her heart of hearts, she found it empty. By the grace and providence of God, she found our Lord and was baptized into the Catholic Church. Thus began a journey which led to the founding of the Catholic Worker movement, together with Peter Maurin and the other first Workers.

It’s clear from their writings that both Dorothy and Peter experienced a tender and intimate relationship with Christ. This relationship was the source of all that they were able to do for the cause of justice and peace. Dorothy was not a stranger to activism; for years she had struggled in the streets as part of the great social battles of the first years of the 20th century — women’s suffrage, the 40 hour week, the right to join a union, justice for workers.

Peter Maurin, a French peasant who came to the United States via Canada, taught that it was a great blessing to assist the rich in coming to the assistance of the poor. Too often, “never the twain shall meet,” and certainly, in this day and age, communication between the poor and the rich is as bad as it has ever been. Communication requires that each person who wants to be heard and understood must see and hear the “Other” as a human person. It’s not easy, and it takes practice.

The program that Peter and Dorothy offered to the world was direct, personal involvement with other human beings. They called us to open houses of hospitality, to engage in clarification of thought so we would understand what needs to be done, and to found agricultural communities as the seeds of new villages. They believed in the importance of the Eucharist, the Rosary, and many traditional devotions — because their work responded to their lively interior relationship with Christ. They were suspicious of the imperial State. They wanted the Catholic Worker movement to be an organism, not an organization, that drew its strength from the Eucharist and the real presence of Christ in the lives of the workers.

As the United States empire entered a time of great triumph, they called for establishing the seeds of a new society within the “collapsing ruins of the old. ” They taught that the poor should be fed by Christians, not by large government bureaucracies. Peter wrote many “Easy Essays” — short little works, almost poetry in their simplicity, each one packed with intense theological concepts about the human person and how we relate to one another in community. He also reminded us of the nobility — and the necessity — of manual labor (something we’d often like to forget in this day of convenience and instant gratification).

Dorothy and Peter worked to create and live structures of beauty and goodness. In the midst of the slums of New York, they provided hospitality to the poor while working for social justice. They learned that the works of mercy and the works of justice and peace are one and the same, different aspects of the same journey, all going the same direction.

Long before it was a theological mantra, the “preferential option for the poor” was a living reality in the life and work of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin. They were informed critics of current events, prophetically looking for the truth in the signs of their times, and finding Jesus in the poor, rejected, and marginalized.

Their example inspires us today to consider how we can ensure fair distribution, subsidiarity, economic opportunity, justice, and food security for everyone everywhere. As we open our eyes, our minds, and our hearts to the Spirit’s guidance, we can discern our response to the signs of these times. We then can see the structures of sin that bind us in poverty and war, and name the demons which oppress us.

We can buy farms and dedicate them for the purpose of raising food for the hungry. We can organize microenterprise co-operatives in every city to provide opportunity for the poor. We can look at our own individual situations, and adopt lifestyles of simplicity and frugality, rejecting the culture of materialistic conspicuous consumption in favor of a life of living simply, that others may simply live. We can minimize our use of fossil fuels and thus remove one of the major causes of war. We can buy our food directly from farmers, and stop funding the destruction of the family farm community. We can discern the cry of the widow and orphan in our own neighborhoods, and be the hands and feet of God in relieving distress and creating justice. We can open our own hearts to the reality of life in Christ, and embrace him as savior and friend.

Dorothy Day used to quote St. Catherine of Sienna — “All the way to heaven is heaven.” May this be our prayer, in Jesus’ holy name.

Caring for Creation

Our act of reparation during this 9 day novena, and going forward, is to pick up trash in a public place. You won’t have to look far, but I think there are extra blessings for picking up trash in low income neighborhoods. Trash is endemic everywhere. It is a sign of our careless attitude towards the gifts of this Earth that God has so freely given us. Much trash is useful — many items can be recycled or repurposed, but often we think only of our selfishness and do not take the time or the care to do the right thing by Creation and reduce our impact on the planet by recycling. Examine your conscience! Do you sin against God’s Creation by your casual attitude towards waste? Now is the time for actual works of penance, which is why we pick up trash in public places.

Courtesy: Bob Waldrop, St. Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House

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(Paulcoholic, back. Thank you for reading and praying. Just a few thoughts of my own, here, on some of the language Bob used, particularly referring to the US as an “empire,” within a pejorative context. Well, it is painful, but the United States IS an Empire. While an Empire in and of itself is not a bad thing, ours is costly. Excessive tax dollars are spent on maintaining a military presence overseas we can hardly afford; money that could be spent domestically on infrastructure, healthcare, education and other things. In my thinking, there is little reason why we should still be maintaining military bases in Europe. They can potentially defend themselves. NATO served its purpose as the defense of the West against any potential Soviet/Warsaw Pact invasion; after the fall of the Communist alliance NATO should have been mothballed and the European nations taken upon themselves some form of collective defense, if needed. While engaging in military action against terrorists might have seemed a good idea in the early 00s, in reality continued action in the Middle East has only served to create more terrorists. I’m uncertain as to the solution, but the way things are going there and domestically, I think we should cut our losses and our troops recalled. )

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