YEAR OF FAITH

The Queen of Heaven Visits Adele Brise

Adele Brise with students

On October 9, 1859, the life of a Belgian immigrant named Adele Brise was forever changed. It was on that day she received her third apparition of the Blessed Mother, who identified herself as the Queen of Heaven. Our Lady’s specific request of Adele was to pray for the conversion of sinners, offer her Holy Communion for the conversion of sinners, make a general confession and to gather the children, teaching them what they needed to know for salvation.

On December 8, 2010, 151 years later, Bishop David Ricken released a statement declaring with moral certainty, the apparitions and locutions received by Adele Brise were worthy of belief, although not obligatory among the Christian faithful. Why is it that Our Lady’s message has taken center-stage now, after 150+ years of having a quiet, humble following? At Champion, the sun did not spin (as happened at Fatima) and no miraculous spring was found (as at Lourdes). The appearance of Mary to Adele was not extravagant but was simple; it was to encourage Adele in her faith and to respond to a call of catechesis. So what does a message meant for a Belgian immigrant in 1859 mean for us today? One would only need to look around to find the answer.

Societal Understanding

Statistics indicate for most of the Catholic faithful weekly participation at Mass is not a priority. CARA suggests that 23% of all Catholics attend Mass on a weekly basis while only 17% of those born after 1981 attend Mass weekly. [1] CARA also indicates “About one in eight Catholics (12 percent), participate in Reconciliation once a year and an identical proportion do so several times a year. Two percent report that they participate in Reconciliation at least once a month.” [2] From this, we can conclude the engagement of the Church’s sacramental life on the part of the Catholic faithful is lacking.

In addition to the decline of Catholics practicing their faith, every person is immersed in a culture where sin is readily accepted, including abortion, contraception, pornography, homosexuality, etc. As a nation we can still need to listen to and heed Our Lady’s message. Given the need for our society’s conversion, the reemergence and public spotlight placed on the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help 150+ years following the apparition calls us to realize the need for our personal conversion and reliance on the sacraments.

The Message and Mission for the New Evangelization

Our Lady told Adele she was the Queen of Heaven who prayed for the conversion of sinners and that she wished for her to do the same. On the morning of October 9, 1859, Adele Brise had attended Sunday morning Mass with her sister and a local neighbor woman. [3] Our Lady affirmed her reception of the Eucharist but told her to do more, she had to make a general confession and offer her communion for the conversion of sinners. Following this, Our Lady exhorted Adele to gather the young children and teach them their catechism, how to make the Sign of the Cross, and what they needed to know for salvation.

The message which called Adele to a life of prayer became the basis of the ministry she was to undertake. She rooted herself in the Eucharist and unveiled herself in the Sacrament of Penance. Before she could begin the mission, she had to have an inner conversion in order to effectively bring others to that point of conversion called for by the Blessed Mother. Paul VI said “modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses”. [4] Adele became a witness by the life she led.

Through the foundation of a tertiary order, her life became a life of availability for all people. When she died on July 5th, 1896, it was only a few years later that the tertiaries disbanded. Unlike Bernadette Soubirous or Lucia dos Santos, Adele was not called to a contemplative life within a cloister, but to an active life in the Church. She was to be a contemplative in action. As a result, the tertiary order supplied Adele with the maximum capacity to fulfill her mission, by dedicating her entire life to this calling.

After rooting herself in prayer and drawing closer to the Eucharistic and forgiving Lord, Adele was then able to carry out her mission, to teach the young people. Adele’s life of prayer and action stands as a witness to the Church today. She is indeed a model for the New Evangelization. By looking at how Adele lived and responded to the call of Our Lady to bring souls to Christ, we in turn are entrusted with the same mission. Despite the demise of the tertiary order, the mission has been entrusted to the Church at large.

The New Evangelization

Pope Paul VI first wrote about the need for a New Evangelization in Evangelii Nuntiandi and John Paul II wrote about it extensively throughout his papacy. In their writings, both popes describe today’s society as being marked by: an age of defiance to Church authority, a decline in the sacramental life of the Church (especially in Mass attendance and Reconciliation), a breakdown in the family, secularization, and atheism. [5] Noticing these problems, John Paul II wrote his first encyclical Redemptor Hominis calling mankind to rediscover its Redeemer.

John Paul II would develop his vision of the New Evangelization over the course of his pontificate. The hallmark of his program for the New Evangelization is quite simple: man needs to encounter the Lord in both Word and Sacrament. By drawing near to Scripture, the Mass, and the Sacrament of Penance, one is given the necessary grace to persevere in the spiritual and moral life. Under the papacy of Benedict XVI the Church continues to call her faithful people to evangelization.

In September, 2010, Benedict XVI initiated the Pontifical Council for promoting the New Evangelization through his motu proprio, Ubicumque Et Semper. Pope Benedict realized the need for catechesis and evangelization was still prevalent and like his predecessors, he continues to make evangelization a priority. The Pontifical Council encourages the use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and is exploring new ways of evangelizing in the third millennium. [6] With the convocation of the Synod for the New Evangelization on October 7, 2012, the Church continues to understand how it can relay the faith to the next generation.

We can learn from Adele Brise and the message she received from the Queen Heaven. The message and mission Adele Brise received in 1859 proposes to the Church a program for the New Evangelization. It was a program effective 150 years ago and can still be effective today. The New Evangelization does not necessarily call us to have better materials or to reach out in new and different ways. [7] Rather, one needs to return to the source of all life–the same wellspring which Adele drew from—the Sacraments of Eucharist and Penance coupled with personal prayer. Catechists first need to be formed in the spiritual life so they truly believe what they confess before being able to relay the faith to others. Re-echoing Paul VI, they must first be witnesses of the Christian life before they can be teachers. If we are not living a joy-filled life as Christians, marked by our prayer, who is going to want to learn about or imitate what forms our way of life.

Taking Our Lady’s Message to Heart

Everybody is busy no matter what their vocation in life is. In the midst of our daily schedule, it might be difficult for us to pause for quiet prayer and reflection. At times scheduled events on Sundays, like a child’s soccer game, calls a person to realize their priorities and to find time at some point to participate in the Sunday Eucharist. It is at moments such like this that we are being called to fidelity to Our Lady’s message, of prioritizing our celebration of the sacraments. By making sacrifices to attend the Mass, you will be teaching your family about the importance of the sacraments and how they are the foundation of the Christian life.

Secondly, to fully respond to Our Lady’s call, does not mean you have to go and sign up to teach catechism classes, but if you feel that is one way you could respond, then please do. Remember the message and mission was twofold—prayer and catechesis—contemplative and active. Be sure to take moments to pray each day and pray for the conversion of yourself and for those around you. In this way you will be heeding Our Lady’s request to pray for the conversion of sinners. Lastly, teach others by your life. At the end of Mass the deacon (or priest) can dismiss the people with several options, two of which reflect this: “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life” and “Go and announce the gospel of the Lord.”

The Church in her great wisdom sends us forth, knowing the Eucharist has shaped and formed us, and now commissions us to share the good news. This is what Adele Brise did in her life and we can do so by sharing the faith with all we meet, simply by living our Christian values. On this anniversary of Our Lady’s apparition to Adele Brise, may we come to a better understanding of how to live Our Lady’s message in the age of the New Evangelization.

Notes:

[1] http://cara.georgetown.edu/CARAServices/FRStats/mattend.jpg
[2] http://cara.georgetown.edu/CARAServices/FRStats/reconciliation.pdf, p. 57
[3] It is interesting to note the historical record does not say she was accompanied by her parents. Given the liturgical timeframe, Saturday anticipatory Masses were not the norm and fasting before Mass was required. As a result, either Lambert or Catherine Brise attended Mass earlier in the morning, or they had fallen victim to the lackadaisical practice of the faith that prompted Our Lady’s message to Adele.
[4] EN, 41.
[5] Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi (Washington DC: United States Catholic Conference, 8 Dec 1975); Pope John Paul II. Ecclesia in America (Washington DC: United States Catholic Conference, 22 Jan. 1999); Pope John Paul II, Novo Millenio Ineunte, (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 6 Jan 2001).
[6] Pope Benedict XVI, “Ubicumque Et Semper,” Vatican: the Holy See, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_letters/documents/hf_ben-xvi_apl_20100921_ubicumque-et-semper_en.html (Accessed April 5, 2011).
[7] An article from America Magazine recently focused on this question, specifically the necessity of memorization in religious education as a foundation from which prayer then would subsequently follow. See: David Impastato, “Faith by Heart,” America Magazine, September 10, 2012, accessed online (October 7, 2012), http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=13564
Image credit: National Catholic Register

 

Welcome to Borneo, Sabah..The Land Below The Wind to  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton as representatives of Queen Elizabeth II in conjunction with the celebration to mark the 60-year reign of the Queen. We, Sabahan peoples are very excited yet proud and grateful because you choose our country and we are happy to see you here in Malaysia. 

Enjoy the Majestic Danum Valley Conservation Area, Lahad Datu, Sabah which very beautiful and undisturbed rainforest.

We love both of you and God Bless You...

 __________________________________________________

AT A TIME OF GREAT SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS, FORGET ARGUMENTATION AND ELEVATE ABOVE THE TERRAIN WITH GOD

We live at a time of obvious spiritual blindness, a blindness caused by sin, arrogance, anger, and lack of prayer -- for it is only through prayer with unitive contemplation (of God) that we transcend and can see (beyond sidelines) the larger picture.

You might also call it peering "backstage" (spiritually).

Do you see what is really transpiring, or what is paraded about as reality?

While everyone stares at the dramatics of "news" and other forms of media (as if every little development is of historic mega-consequence), most are oblivious to the real reasons and powers behind many events. We are on all sides too often immersed in the superficial. What seems so "big" to us may not be so very big in the scheme of eternity.

With prayer, we transcend in a way that allows a "birdseye" view of the landscape and it's like driving down a highway:

When we're wearing spiritual blinders, our vision is blocked by buildings or trees; we see very little into the distance; there is only what is very near.

With prayer (and fasting), on the other hand -- and dramatically -- we rise above the brush, the forest, the fence, the barricade, and have more the vantage point of a plane in the sky.

We can see a larger mosaic. We can see far beyond a single patch of forest. We see a number of scattered towns and villages. We can see formations of clouds and potential storms for hundreds of miles -- a good thing. We have a much fuller picture of what we are passing and where we are headed. We note the traffic in the distance. It is the terrain from a plane instead of a train. This is prayer.

To transcend is also to detach. It is to take yourself from material matters and emotions that spring from pride and circumstances that cause you tension (for here you have a first-warning signal) and see with the eyes of Heaven.

Leave to God what causes you anxiety.

Just plain walk past it.

See all around you but take matters one step at a time.

Don't rush, rush, rush.

It is a first sign (anxiousness, with confusion) of the evil one.

Focus on love.

Today, you hear much political rancor; much is self-righteous; and there are serious issues (such as genetic engineering and war and abortion). But don't let the devil (who plays all political parties) strip you of love. "Son of man, you live in the midst of a rebellious house," says Ezekiel 12. "They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house."

It is love in all circumstances that grants the greater vision to see beyond the pettiness of those who otherwise will cause you aggravation and to see their good and it is to take a deep breath before responding to insult. Silence is the taste of grace.

The Eucharist brings us the larger vision with intuition and the other day a priest mentioned how after distributing the Host one day he suddenly found himself looking down on the pews as if from the ceiling. He was no longer on the ground. He was elevated! He actually saw things from above. When the Host is elevated, so is our vision.

It is wisdom.

An opposite of wisdom is control: trying to manipulate, which also brings myopia (as does any obsession).

Scientists go to a tree and try to figure it out instead of simply asking for understanding from the One Who created it. A window in an ivy tower may be obscured by ivy.

Fear of eternity leads many to blindness.

The call of life is the call to find the truth in ourselves. Life is a time to develop and sharpen the feelings, sensitivities, and sensibilities of Heaven. When we wear spiritual blinders, we grope in the dark which is often caused by disbelief which leads to fear. When we fear, we are rooted in a negative. To be negative is to express a denial; it's characterized by absence (as in "absence of light"). It is to lack optimism.

For when we do not believe in the supernatural reality of God we fear what we see as the blackness of death.

 We are blind also when we are discouraged. We are blinded when we are intimidated by the task before us.

We're blinded by jealousy; we're blinded by pride; we're blinded by lust; we're blinded by greed. We're blinded by unforgiveness. We're blinded by stress. We're blinded by the minutiae of the world (including, often, politics). We're blinded by any sin which brings the Prince of Darkness.

And so it is that our times are ones of great spiritual myopia.

We know this because it causes shock when a priest suggests that the shooter in Colorado was influenced by Satan (as he was) or a politician in Romania declares that a lewd singer/dancer is a disciple of the devil (despite all evidence that such is in fact the case).

See what is true and declare it.

The eyes open with prayer, fasting, and taking one day (or, as a viewer has noted, one step) at a time.

"Thank you so much for the lesson on the joys of weariness," wrote Rory Page of Clinton, Montana. "I learned one of my most profound lessons when we visited Yellowstone National Park three weeks after having gall bladder surgery (which came after a week in the hospital to calm down my pancreas). I was doing much better but was still weak but we wanted to go to the bottom of the lower falls. To get there you have to walk down 375 stairs. Well, going down was nothing! But, as we got ready to head back up the stairs, I got to the bottom and looked up; I had an absolute panic attack and tried to think of how difficult it was going to be to have someone carry me back up -- an embarrassing rescue. However, I caught my breath and tried to calm myself. It was then that it came to me that I only had to take one step at a time. That I didn't have to see the 300-plus steps still in front of me but only see the next one I had to take. I knew that I could stop and take a rest -- even sit down if I had to. So, off I went; head down, one step at a time.  It was one of the best lessons I ever learned and I have definitely applied it to other situations that seem impossible.  Thank you for reminding me of my weariness and how blessed we are when it comes" (and is overcome).

Resources: Spiritdaily

A Religious/Political Manifesto

A Religious/Political Manifesto

“Not to oppose error is to approve it, and not to defend the truth is to suppress it.” –Pope Sr. Felix III

Fueled by these words I’ve (at last) found my courtroom voice.  For the record, (not just for the sake of argument), here’s my political manifesto based on my religious beliefs.

1.  I oppose abortion. Innocent babies being killed in their mother’s womb is inhuman, similar to the Holocaust.  Life begins at conception not at “post viability” of 20 weeks as the Supreme Court in Roe v Wade decreed. Pregnancies are a gift from God, no matter the circumstances of their origin.  Babies have a right to life as much as any of us and the right to life outweighs any woman’s choice. (Is it just me or is it objectively ridiculous that the right to "privacy" has stretched to cover abortion?) A law or Court that justifies any form of murder, especially the most helpless, weak and vulnerable of human beings is unjust. 

Two weeks after conception, I heard my baby's heart beat.

2.   I oppose homosexual marriages.  Marriage is a sacred union between man and woman.  This is Catholic Church teaching based on the natural law that man is fundamentally different from woman. Case in point: two women cannot biologically create offspring together and two men cannot replace the love of a mother.  A married man and woman with irrevocable vows is the foundation of a family, which is the basic unit of society.  Homosexual unions are intrinsically disordered and are not in the child's best interest. Even if such unions favored by human law and human votes,  they are not sanctioned by God’s law and cannot supersede natural law.

3.  I oppose sterilization and contraception.  And paying for it under guise of a so-called “tax.”   The marital act has two purposes: 1. Unitive—the couple becomes one flesh and 2. Procreative—the marital act creates the possibility of conception.  These two functions cannot be separated, and thus each act of sexual intercourse must be open to the possibility of new life. God, not scalpels/condoms/pills (or petri dishes and scientists), decides whether conception takes place or not. 

Public funds have no business interfering with private sexual matters, particularly when its purpose of preventing pregnancy can be achieved by self-control and abstinence. Additionally, preventive pregnancy is not a disease.  Health diseases require medical treatment or procedure.   Federal government classifying sterilization and contraception as “health issues” at the expense of taxpayers is a misuse of its powers. I concur with the dissenting opinion of the HHS case, that Congress has the power to regulate commerce, not create commerce.  How is it logical exactly that "regulating children" falls under the "regulating commerce" powers of Congress?

4.   I oppose euthanasia.   There is no such thing as a “right to die” or right to terminate life.  Life and death belong to God. Even if a life is wrought with pain and suffering, it is every human being’s duty to preserve life.  The value of suffering, while not patently clear to many in this earthly life, will make sense with Christian faith, in eternal life.   When the government protects anyone who actively assists in causing the death of another, it aids and abets the crime of murder.   And I truly wonder: if I cast a vote for euthanasia,  does that make me an accomplice in the eyes of Divine Justice? 

5.  I oppose the death penalty.   No man can judge ‘proof beyond reasonable doubt about a fellow human being’s sin and deprive another of life as a consequence. That matter is left solely for God’s justice. Each person is made in the image and likeness of God, deserves the worth and dignity of a child of God and the chance to live out the term of his life.  Every person is entitled to the opportunity to repent of his sins, giving society the divine opportunity to forgive as Christ did.

6.  I oppose the persecution of religious freedom.  The State is not superior to the Church.  The US Constitution has never deemed it so.  A government that dictates its citizens to violate their conscience is a communist or fascist state.  The establishment of a dictatorship was not the intention of the founding fathers of the United States of America.  If America does not return to its Christian history, its future will follow the crisis of secular Europe and communist Russia and China.   (Perhaps I should interview some of my former clients who fled Russia, China and Cuba to seek asylum from the US because of cruel political persecutions and publish it to get a convincing picture.)

Similarly, the Philippine Constitution was written to prevent the arbitrary and oppressive government of dictatorship.  The country’s freedom was granted through a miraculous intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary, after she was publicly invoked by the Church and the people during the political revolution of 1986.  If the Philippines turns its back on its Catholic roots, an undermined Church will not be able to summon the people to oust another corrupt, tyrannical or secular form of government and leave Filipinos in the hands of a godless regime.  (Perhaps we should read the martial law cases filed against former dictator Ferdinand Marcos to remember the horror.)

7.  I oppose uncurbed free speech that promotes immodesty, profanity and obscenity.  I reject the entire pop culture that profanes the sacred name of “Jesus Christ” as a curse word and manipulates a gullible audience into accepting sins of immodesty and impurity as norm.  The deceptive glare of television and movies has dimmed the light of right and wrong in many souls. Free speech has never been unrestrained in judicial history. Though the contemporary standards of “obscenity” has nose-dived in recent years, God’s laws on purity and virtue have remain unchanged.   That is only the standard to uphold.

That said, I do not condemn people who commit sin (I am a sinner myself); I do not hate people who believe otherwise; and I can love errant politicians and opposing voters alike.  But I will pray for their conversion and if they are Catholic, I will pray even more fervently that they understand why politics and religion cannot be separate.  We have only one soul and our Catholic faith, as entrusted to the Catholic Church, ought to shape it for eternity.  Naturally, politics (and everything else in our lives) follows our beliefs.

Archbishop Chaput made so much sense when he said: “The right to pursue happiness does not include a right to excuse or ignore evil in ourselves or anyone else. When we divorce our politics from a grounding in virtue and truth, we transform our country from a living moral organism into a kind of golem of legal machinery without a soul.”

         I oppose all these grave errors because absolute freedom without moral limitation makes every form of evil a free-for-all. 

*If you agree and need a voice, please feel free to repost or circulate.

*If you oppose my views, you may (or may not) be heard –depending on whether you follow the rules for commenting or not.  Civilized debates can be done here.  But if you copy anything from this blog post for the purpose of critiquing, rebutting or opposing it, you should know: It’s protected by US copyright laws, not permitted by the writer, not qualified as fair use and would be illegal.

IT MAY SEEM PECULIAR, BUT SOME OF LIFE'S GREATEST GRACES COME ONLY AFTER A TEST OF WEARINESS

One of the most exciting aspects of life is weariness. That sounds strange, doesn't it? Yet, you heard right. One of the most exciting aspects of life is weariness. And it is strange -- to state that a "negative" can be a positive.

But life is full of negatives that can be turned into positives and weariness can be a special fount of grace.

Let us explain:

In life, the greatest accomplishments -- and, ultimately, the greatest joys -- come only after a trial of weariness. Often, intense weariness. True? It takes all the energy we have to accomplish something. This means it is worthwhile!

Think: the greatest project you've ever been involved with. Think: childbirth. Think: the toughest challenge or course. School. Jobs. Even illness. We all have our "Mount Everests." We all know the feeling of climbing and climbing and halting and catching our breath and starting again and feeling we can't go on and fearing failure but pushing upward. At the top, exhilaration!

For often, the best and longest-lasting fruits are wrought through trials that include exhaustion, disappointment, discouragement, even desperation. In a word, weariness. You wanted to give up. You won when you didn't. Consider the weariness that Lindbergh fought as he flew over the Atlantic and how, at his weariest, he was encouraged by voices from the other side. Think of the early settlers. Think about those who dug the Erie Canal by hand. Weariness usually means you are working hard; you are fighting the good fight. 

It's part of the tests of life: for all of us, there are times in life when we just want to throw up our arms and say, "I can't take it anymore. I'm exhausted. I'm too tired. I can't go on! I'm weary, to the bone."

Yet, this is exactly the time to regroup, pray, rest for as long as feasible, and then forge forth; what you'll find is that grace will suddenly come to and propel you.

Look at what Jesus said: "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12: 9). Note that at His weariest point on the Cross ("Father, take this cup..."), the ground shook around Him. The last weariness is death when we release our spirits. What glory! Or go back further into Scripture: "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (Isaiah 40:30-31).  Hear what He said to His disciples: "So you had not the strength to keep awake with Me one hour?"

Now, it also says in Scripture that we need to focus on what is immediately before us. Sufficient for today are the tests. Don't expend time fretting over what is farther down the road. This helps us pass the test of weariness. It's when we try to gulp in the entirety of the challenge all at once that we become intimidated, discouraged. (Yet, words again from the Bible: "Do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own," Matthew 6:34.)

The Lord's grace is sufficient for any test and weariness is like a long fast. It has power. With it, we can transcend the limits of nature. Just make sure you're not bringing the hardship on yourself! The Lord never gives more than you can handle. Also, He always gives a second wind. He breathes it into us. This is the Holy Spirit.  Be prudent, yes; plan; but don't let the extent of an ordeal  overcome you.

Pray without ceasing.

Pray instead of fretting.

When you are praying you are not worrying (if you are praying from the heart). What a key to life that is.

Rest when you need to and pray always and think of possibilities, not problems. Pray throughout weariness for it is when (see Jesus in the desert) the devil comes. 

Worrying solves nothing. Yet, how much energy so many of us spend doing just that? That is unnecessary weariness. Transcend it through prayer. Plan for the future but live day to day. 

And remember: if you're not being made weary by something, you may need a bigger goal! 

For life is a struggle -- a wondrous one -- right to the very glorious end.

[resources: Michael H. Brown's A Life of Blessings]

From: Spirit Daily