St. Paul instructs us repeatedly on kindness, for it is the bloom of charity. Indeed, Our Lord Himself demonstrates kindness throughout his earthly life. He was kind to all He came across, from little children to sinners. Throughout the history of the Church, there have been saints diverse in temperament and outlook, but at their core they were all kind. And through their kindness, they converted innumerable souls for Christ.
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We must work out our salvation with fear and trembling. We know from both reflection and Our Lord’s own instructions that there is nothing to be gained that is worth more than our own souls. Thus, we must set sanctity as our primary goal in this life, putting it far above all others. Yet at the same time, God is aware of our imperfections. He sees our failings. We see them as well. However, in His wisdom, Our Lord places this lofty goal of sanctification before us with the demand for perfection in order to inspire us to achieve holiness. Moreover, God provides the Church, a repository of grace and healing, to strengthen us on our spiritual journey. We are never left to do it on our own.
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The story of St. Augustine’s life, particularly as relayed in the Confessions, is both the story of a great saint and a man of flesh and blood. Often we speculate that only if certain external factors in our lives were otherwise, then we could be holy, too. Unlike St. Augustine, we place far too little focus on what we can do to be holy and overcome the challenges before us. As St. Augustine’s life demonstrates, holiness is not a question of what happens to us; it is a question of the choices we make to be holy.
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Praying for the souls in Purgatory is an ancient practice in the Catholic Church, dating back to the earliest centuries. The Feast of All Souls, and indeed the entire month of November, is set aside especially for this holy act. Although some deny the “middle state” of Purgatory and the need for purification, we find in Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and the immemorial teaching of the Church that these are souls who can benefit from your prayers.
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One of the most beautiful days of the liturgical year is the feast of Christ the King. Over the course of millennia, the world has tried to stomp out the rights of Our Lord and King. This is why we must continue to fight for His social rights and celebrate God’s sovereignty over both the society and the Church. The peace of Christ can only be found in the reign of Christ.
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All of the problems in society and the Church can be narrowed down to one issue: our failure to honor the First Commandment. Although this commandment is often understood in a negative way, that is, as a prohibition against worshipping idols and false gods, Jesus presents it positively in the New Testament: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind.” Deciding whether we will follow this commandment or not will determine our place in eternity. Too often we turn our hearts away from God’s will by failing to follow His precepts and instead ask, to our great peril, “What do we want?”
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As Christians, we must forgive. But what does this mean? We are called not to place limitations or restrictions on our forgiveness, but to forgive others as God forgives. Often frustration and anger serve as barriers to forgiveness. So, too, is resentment concerning the trials Our Lord has given us in life. When we resist forgiving others, we assert our will against God’s. When we commit these and a myriad of other sins, Our Lord does not seek recompense; rather he lets our sins, that is, our debts, go. This model of forgiveness is one which we must follow every day of our lives.
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During the third apparition at Fatima, those present witnessed the great miracle of the sun. Onlookers said the sun danced through the sky and gave off an array of colors. This was followed by a great moment of terror when it appeared as if the sun would collide with the earth. Why does Our Lady allow this? Because it led to the conversion of many souls. In a certain way, the reality of hell serves the same purpose of leading souls away from sin.
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The greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart. The second is to love one another. This is why it is crucial to be formed in love through the Sacred Heart of Jesus. For the One with a truly incorruptible heart is Our Lord. And through the example of His saints, we learn that this pure love can be acquired by giving up own self interests so that we may turn our hearts toward both Jesus and our neighbors.
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After World War II, Austria was partitioned, with its most Catholic portion, including Vienna, was given over to communist Russia. Through a consistent Rosary Crusade, the Russians withdrew their occupation. It is but one example of the thousands upon thousands of such crusades in history. Whether the intentions have been small or large, repairing to the Rosary has brought great blessings. The most important of these is the sanctification of the faithful.
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