Quotes from the Third Century

Just thought I would pass on a couple of great quotes from a Bishop in the early Church named Cyprian:

"I ask you to these facts known to the rest of our fellow bishops...Let all our people fix their minds not on death but rather on immortality; let them commit themselves to the Lord in complete faith and unflinching courage and make their confession with joy rather than in fear, knowing that in the contest the solider of God and Christ are not slain but rather win their crowns."

"This seems a cheerful world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair garden, under the shadow of these vines. But if I climbed some great mountain and looked out over the
wide lands, you know very well what I would see - brigands on the high roads, pirates
on the seas; in the amphitheaters men murdered to please applauding crowds; under all roofs misery and selfishness. It is really a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. Yet in the midst of it I have found a quiet and holy people. They have discovered a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasures of this sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the Christians - and I am one of them. "

Prayer and Joy are the Christians greatest weapons!

Snow in August

We love to talk about the weather! I remember growing up and wanting to be a weatherman. That was a dream around my house. My dad and I would talk about the weather for hours on end. Many people are like this, in fact its one of the most basic conversations a person could have with another...."So, nice day were having, huh?" or, "Man, it is going to be a hot one today!" or "How about that storm last night?"

God, being the Creator of nature, likes to get us talking about the weather. on August 5, during the papacy of Pope Liberius (352-366ad) there was a man who had vision that snow would fall on a place in room where the Lord wanted the Pope to erect a church in honor of our Lady. The Roman patrician's name was John. His wife and him, had no error to their family and vowed to make the Blessed Virgin Mary their heiress. Pope Liberius and the patrician John had similar dreams on the same night and then woke to find an outline of snow on Esquiline Hill in Rome.

I don't know if you check the weather in Rome often, but today's forcast for Rome is 88 degrees Fahrenheit with 100% humidity. A miracle happen in Rome some 1700 years ago! Snow in August! Pope Liberius accepted the sign from God and erected a basilica on the spot which would one day become known as The Basilica of Mary Majors. The legendary events have become known as the story of Our Lady of Snow.

I sure wouldn't mind to have a visit from Our Lady of Snow this august!

Mental Prayer: Friendship with God

This morning, I walked in and knelt down in the dark parish church. As I was trying to pray, I found a few others running about the parish or flipping through the pages of the Liturgy of the Hours. I prayed for 30 minutes, meditating on and then speaking to our Father in heaven about the Gospel of reading of the day. The Holy Mass begins and after a dramatic and encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist, I knelt down to pray a thanksgiving after Mass.

As I knelt down to say thanks, I felt the breeze of those who were scurrying by me to go pray before the tabernacle for the next 30 minutes the beautiful prayers of the Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Rosary. As Catholics, we are really good with vocal prayers like the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, or praying all the prayers on the back of holy cards. We memorize prayers and say them with great fervor. And these prayers are powerful, especially since they are endorsed by the Church. I pray the Liturgy of the Hours, the Rosary, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet daily and still I find a desperate need for personal and quiet time with our Lord, speaking to Him as a friend.

The type of prayer I am speaking of is what many of the saints have called "Mental Prayer." St Teresa of Avila said, "Mental Prayer in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friend; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us." We see Moses approaching God in this way, "The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." (Exodus 33:11) And when our Lord says, "No longer do I call you servants...I have called you friends." (John 15:15)

Friendship with God is necessary for the Christian Life, but how do we go about praying in this way. Here is a simple method to help with you pursuing friendship with God

1) Find a good place to prayer - This could be a prayer corner in your room, but the best place to pray is in the church before the Blessed Sacrament
2) Recognize God's Presence - This can best be done by making some sort of act of faith
3) Read a spiritual passage - The best would be the Gospels or other sections of the Bible.
4) Put yourself in the scene
5) Speak to God about what you experience in your prayer - This is the most important part. This is the actually Conversation with Christ!
6) Say a prayer asking for mercy for your weaknesses and sins (this could also be done at the beginning...humility is a good thing!)
7) Make a concrete resolution and write it down!

Now, this is only a method. Prayer could be as simple as walking in and knelling before Our Lord and just looking at him and allowing him to look back at you, this simple glance of love could be worth a million words. There are many more methods by great saints such at St Benedict and St Ignatius. And if you are still struggling to find this friendship with God take the advice of St Josemaria Escriva, "You don't know how to pray? Put yourself in the presence of God, and as soon as you have said, "Lord, I don't know how to pray!" you can be sure you've already begun."

Amen!