Daily Rosary Meditations | Catholic Prayers

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How Saint Dominic Prayed the Rosary Sep 23, 2019

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From the earliest days of the Church the faithful had the habit of praying a series of Our Fathers, Hail Mary’s and Glory Be’s. St. Dominic was is unique in the way he used the Rosary as a powerful tool of evangelization. The great Dominican theologian, Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange writes: At the end of the 12th century southern France was ravaged by the Albigensian heresy – a heresy which denied the infinite goodness and power of God by admitting a principle of evil which was often victorious…It was at that moment that Our Blessed Lady made known to St. Dominic a kind of preaching till then unknown, which she said would be one of the most powerful weapons against future errors and in future difficulties. Under her inspiration, St Dominic went into the villages of the Albigensians, gathered the people, and preached to them the mysteries of salvation — the Incarnation, the redemption, eternal life. As Mary had taught him to do, he distinguished the different kinds of mysteries, and after each short instruction, he had ten Hail Mary’s recited… And what the word of the preacher was unable to do, the sweet prayer of the Hail Mary did for hearts. As Mary promised, it proved to be a most fruitful form of preaching.

St. Dominic went into villages, gathered people, shared with them the teachings of Jesus. After each short instruction, he had ten Hail Mary’s recited. And what the word of the preacher was unable to do, the sweet prayer of the Hail Mary did for hearts. As Mary promised, it proved to be a most fruitful form of preaching. Furthermore, Mary said this method would be one of the most powerful weapons against future errors and in future difficulties. Well we face many errors spread by the devil through the world and we face many difficulties. Maybe Our Lady is calling us to use the same method, and by accident or inspiration, that is exactly what we are doing. We invite family and friends to join us in our homes, offer hospitality, a meal, drinks, coffee, dessert, we engage in good conversation, and then we invite them to pray the Rosary with us. But we pray the Rosary in a new way that is actually a really old way – introduced by St. Dominic of sharing a short teaching from the Word of God, the teaching of Jesus, and then we pray one decade of the Rosary – and we do this five times, and then the conversation can continue by asking one another what struck us during the meditations. So you can listen to the audio Rosary I send out or you can print the short teaching, read it aloud and pray the decades in between each teaching. Whatever you like. It worked for St. Dominic and Our Lady promised it would work in the future.

St. John Paul II in his letter on the Rosary writes: The Rosary is also a path of proclamation and increasing knowledge, in which the mystery of Christ is presented again and again at different levels of the Christian experience. Its form is that of a prayerful and contemplative presentation, capable of forming Christians according to the heart of Christ. When the recitation of the Rosary combines all the elements needed for an effective meditation, (especially when family and friends are gathered together), it can present a significant catechetical opportunity which we should use to advantage. In this way too Our Lady of the Rosary continues her work of proclaiming Christ. The history of the Rosary shows how this prayer was used in particular by the Dominicans at a difficult time for the Church due to the spread of heresy. Today we are facing new challenges. Why should we not once more have recourse to the Rosary, with the same faith as those who have gone before us? The Rosary retains all its power and continues to be a valuable resource for every good evangelizer.

Padre Pio said: "Love the Madonna and pray the Rosary."

Providence and Self-Reliance Sep 22, 2019

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What prevents us from perfect Joy is Self-Reliance. When everything is going well, when we have it all under control, and there is no major crisis, we fall into the bad habit of self-reliance. We think, "I got this…" This is known as the deadly sin of Pride.

Crisis. Then something happens which removes our apparent ability to control things Some examples include: Loss of health. loss of a spouse, problems at work, in marriage, or with a kid. This crisis can leave us dazed and bewildered. We can’t make sense out of it. We can’t control or solve the problem, and everything is dark. We become lost and paralyzed. We experience anger, fear, sorrow and even despair – these are normal human emotions.

So we have to assess and weigh options. We try to understand what is going on, then make a plan to solve the problem. It is normal to ask “What is going on? Why is this happening?” Ultimately there are two options:

Option 1: Chaos and Despair Everything that happens is the result of billions of humans making free choices, like everyone trying to drive through an intersection at once with no lights, and random chaotic forces in nature. In the end it is all just chaos. The world and my life are governed by nothing but random chaos: We come from chaos, our lives are full of chaos, and we descend back to chaos after death. In response to chaos we can try to control everything, or despair from being overwhelmed by fear and anxiety which leads us to numb the fear and pain through distraction by means of entertainment, pot, alcohol, etc.

Option 2: Trust in the Providence of God: God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, of all that is visible and Invisible. He orders all things for good (even the free, stupid and sinful decisions of men, even the apparently chaotic forces of nature). Romans 8:28 "We know that in everything God works for good for those who love him."

The constant witness of the saints confirms this truth:

In letter, John of the Cross writes: “Do not let what is happening to me…cause you any grief, for it does not cause me any…Men do not do these things, but God, who knows what is suitable for us and arranges things for our good. Think nothing else but that God ordains all, and where there is no love, put love, and you will draw love out… Letter 26

St. Catherine of Siena said to "those who are scandalized and rebel against what happens to them": "Everything comes from love, all is ordained for the salvation of man, God does nothing without this goal in mind."

St. Thomas More, shortly before his martyrdom, consoled his daughter: "Nothing can come but that that God wills. And I make me very sure that whatsoever that be, seem it never so bad in sight, it shall indeed be the best."

Dame Julian of Norwich: "Here I was taught by the grace of God that I should steadfastly keep me in the faith... and that at the same time I should take my stand on and earnestly believe in what our Lord shewed in this time - that 'all manner [of] thing shall be well.'"

Our Response to the Providence of God: Faith, surrender, and to rest in the providence of God. John of the Cross encourages us to view all the struggles and difficulties of life as coming from the hand of God, for the persons good.

This is the Remedy to all our problems: Be responsible, and do things to change your situation for the better. But don't fall into the trap of self-reliance or control. Instead, turn to Jesus and Mary in prayer. Give thanks for every moment, and live in the present. Abandon all future moments to God, since you cannot predict them. And lastly, pray the Rosary constantly.

The Virtue of Charity (Part II) Sep 21, 2019

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We must begin with the distinction between hope and charity because I have hope and very little charity. Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of Heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the Holy Spirit.

Hope is the desire for one’s own happiness. And since nothing in this world is perfect, lasting or enough, then our hope is the proper love of self that motivates us to do what we need to achieve perfect and lasting happiness through union with God and heaven.

Hope as the desire for happiness propels us to get rid of our vice and sin which destroys union with God, and practice virtue, spend time in prayer, receive the sacraments, learn what Jesus revealed through Scripture and Tradition and so on…so that we can reach union with God.

With hope I want my good, my happiness and so I stop doing the things that destroy happiness (sin) and I make a habit out of those things that bring lasting happiness. With hope I desire my own happiness.

Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. With hope I want my good, my happiness. Charity is based on wanting the good, the happiness of someone else.

With Hope I say, “I want my good.” With charity I say, “I want your good.” Italians have a beautiful way of saying I love you, they say “Ti voglio bene.” I want your good. In the theological virtue of charity, we are saying to God, I love you; I want your good; I want to do something to make you happy O Lord. I am good about desiring and striving after my own happiness. I am bad at charity. I rarely think of doing something just for the good or the happiness of God.

Since I don’t think about the love of God as much as I should maybe we should begin with basics. The first way we can love God is by keeping the commandments. Jesus said If you love me you will keep my commandments. John 14:15 But Jesus knows the 10 are just an outline of the complexity of life so he went on to say in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:21)

It is pretty easy to keep the broad strokes of the 10 Commandments. How are we doing on the finer points? Are we loving God when it comes to pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, gluttony, lust, gossip, judgmental thoughts and words, what we consider small lies, drunkenness, pornography? If we want to be clear on how to love God, we should read paragraphs 2083-2557 of the CCC.

In 1 Cor 13:4 Paul gives us a good short list of what we should do to love God: Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous; love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offence and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.

You are God's chosen race, his saints; he loves you, and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. The Lord has forgiven you; now you must do the same. Over all these…, to keep them together and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it is for this that you were called together as parts of one body. Always be thankful. (Galatians 3:12)

The Virtue of Charity Sep 20, 2019

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Today and tomorrow we will reflect on the virtue of Charity because I do not understand it at all; even more, I don’t live charity toward God and neighbor. So here we go. The two chief characteristics of God’s love are selflessness and sacrifice. Consequently, in the virtue of Charity, our love must embody these two attributes. Of course, the fact that we must be selfless does not imply that we can never consider our own needs and desires. The virtue of hope is founded on fulfilling one’s own need: “I want to get to Heaven; I need to get to Heaven.” Hope is the desire for supernatural good insofar as it will make oneself happy. This is totally appropriate, but it also needs to be complemented by charity, which is the desire for supernatural good insofar as it’s something that’ll make God and neighbor happy.

To have a proper understanding of selflessness, we need to first distinguish between two kinds of love. Love itself can be a difficult idea to get a handle on, given how many kinds there are and how often we use the word “love” with no reflection on its precise significance. The broadest definition of love is: To want some good for someone. Pretty much every time someone uses the word “love” it involves a movement towards some good thing for some person. But there are two ways to want some good for someone. The first way is wanting some good for yourself. Phrases like “I love coffee,” “I love the mountains,” “I love the Kansas City Chiefs,” all describe this first kind of love. It’s based on wanting one’s own happiness. But there’s another kind of lovewhich involves wanting some good for someone else. So, for example, if I were to say, “I love my son; I’d do anything for him,” it would indicate that what I desire is for my son to be happy. Examples of this second love are the way all parents are supposed to love their children, the way Mother Teresa loved the poor, or the way we should all love our enemies. It doesn’t refer to concern for our own enjoyment, but rather a willingness to work for someone else’s fulfillment.

Again, these two loves, the first of which is self-focused and the second of which is other-focused, are complementary. Ideally, one should experience both. Consider the love between a husband and wife. When the man says, “I love you,” to the woman, he normally means a) “You make me happy,” and b) “I will try to make you happy.” If, on the other hand, all love were to be reduced to the first kind of statement, that is, to self-focused love, then the love doesn’t mean very much, and it’ll eventually collapse just as soon as one of the parties doesn’t feel like he’s getting anything out of the relationship.

Living out Charity always demands sacrifice. If you’ve ever made someone else’s happiness a priority, you know it isn’t easy. In fact, the proof of charity is measured by sacrifice. If we have a selfless love for God and neighbor, we’ll be willing to suffer in order to serve them. That’s the ultimate test of love, as Our Lord Himself states, “No one has greater love than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

What does all this mean practically? How can we concretely practice a selfless and sacrificial love? Well, the first step is to stop thinking about our faith, our religion, and our lives as Catholics as if it was just about us. We have to keep in mind that our number-one purpose in life is to serve God, to please Him. So we shouldn’t evaluate our spiritual life based on whether we get anything out of it. Many people do this; they quit praying, or going to confession, or going to mass, because “it wasn’t doing anything for them.” That’s an indication that they’re lacking the virtue of charity, that their relationship with God is fundamentally selfish.

Moving from Vice to Virtue Sep 19, 2019

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We have reflected on the three powers of the soul: the intellect, will and passions. The passions are the God-given desires, feelings, or emotions designed to propel us toward what is good and away from what is evil. There are eleven fundamental passions: Love, desire, joy, hate, aversion, sorrow, hope, despair, fear, courage and anger. Because of Original Sin we have a fallen human nature. Now, instead of our feelings and desires propelling us toward good and away from evil they do just the opposite – we have a strong attraction to sin and an aversion, a dislike for the things of God. This is one reason it is so hard to spend time in prayer and we would almost like to do anything else. This condition puts us in great danger. God will not force us to choose him. We must freely choose friendship with him. But in our fallen state, we have this aversion to the things of God and a strong attraction to sin. If we do not reverse this trend it will grow stronger until we see God at death, at which time we still have an aversion to Him, and we might reject Him. Well, how could someone see God and not want him? The rich young man in Matthew 19, the Samaritan Village in Luke 9 and the Pharisees upon seeing with their own eyes Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, all rejected Him. Why? Because they had the habit of an aversion for the things of God and a stronger attraction to sinful things of this world. Vice is to be attracted to sin and an aversion to good, to the things of God. Virtue is the habit of being attracted to good and an aversion to evil. So how do we change our vice to virtue – that is the point to today’s meditation.

So how do you get virtue? How do you get your feelings to pull you the right way? There are two complementary techniques: The first is resisting misdirected feelings. This is sometimes called checking thepassions, or, more commonly, “fake it till you make it.” If you do the right thing, over and over, eventually your urges will get in line. Most people don’t start out liking exercise, but if they keep at it they begin to look forward to their morning run. People usually don’t start out enjoying prayer, but if they pray anyway, day after day, they get to the point where they can’t do without it. The same goes for abstaining from bad behavior you’re inclined to: if you have a habitually dirty mouth, you’ll want to say horrible things when you get angry – but if you resist that urge long enough, you’ll get to the point where you’re accustomed to clean speech, and where you hate the sound of profanity and vulgarity.

The second technique is to mentally focus on pleasing aspect of what's good and displeasing aspects of what's bad. This is sometimes called commanding the passions. You can use St. James’ image, about how a small flame – unworthy talk – can burn down a whole forest of good. Whatever image works to help you realize how deadly gossip is, use that, focus on that, picture that. And eventually your desire to gossip will wane.

In any case what you want to remember is that your emotions are, to some degree, under your control. They are voluntary “either from being commanded by the will, or from not being checked by the will.”So it doesn’t work to just say, “Well, that’s just the way I feel,” or “There’s nothing I can do about how I feel.” The whole point of virtue is that there is something you can do about how you feel, which means you can come to delight in both the fruits and the process of acting well.

Then read, reflect, and resolve. If you practice meditation and a resolution every day, you will grow in your desire for God and the habit of choosing Him. If you don’t, you will grow in your aversion for God and you will choose sin and reject God. Now you choose!

The Joy of Virtue Sep 18, 2019

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The connection between joy and the commandments is counter-intuitive to many people in modern culture. And yet that connection is laid out plainly in the Scriptures. The very first Psalm describes the just man as one to whom God’s law is delightful: “the law of the Lord is his joy he finds pleasure in the Law of God” (Psalm 1:2). Not his “obligation,” but his joy. Christ Himself reaffirms this connection for His disciples: “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete” (John 15:10-11). Why is the commandment of the Lord a source of joy? Because joy comes from fulfilling our design, and God’s commandment reveals our design.

When my children were somewhere between one and two years old, they all developed a taste for the woodchips that cover the ground at most of the local playgrounds. Whenever I caught them putting a woodchip in their mouth, I take it away and say, “Don’t eat that.” That’s my law: don’t eat woodchips. Of course, they didn’t get it, and thought I was being mean. But that’s just because they didn’t understand their own internal structure as well as I do. I knew they would get more pleasure, more delight, from not choking to death or trying to digest a massive splinter. And my law, even if they didn’t’ realize it, expressed the way they are made and the way to be happy. So it’s no surprise to me that God’s first law to His children in the Garden of Eden was, “Don’t eat that; it could kill you.” And it’s no surprise that they didn’t understand, and disobeyed, and that the disobedience made them miserable. Because there’s an intrinsic relationship between a) God’s commandments; b) human design; and c) joy.

Let me give one more example: The Church, reflecting on the nature of human sexuality, understands that our design is such that marriage, sex and babies must go together and in that order. Furthermore, the sexual union of the spouses and their fertility must not be ripped apart. The self-gift of sexuality will be distorted and frustrated if we deliberately do something to rip fertility out of the act. This is a truth of our design, and it can be expressed in a commandment: contraception is immoral. Not owing to my own intelligence or virtue, but thanks to a good friend who gave me a book on the Churches teaching on Marriage and contraception, and because I have faith in Christ and His Church, we never used contraception in our marriage. And I can honestly say that my kids have probably given me as much joy as anything else in my life. Which means that now, I don’t just understand or obey the commandment – I rejoice in it. The Church’s law on contraception has been a source of joy. Again, the main point: God’s commandment expresses our design, and acting according to our design gives lasting, permanent joy.

The goal isn’t just to experience joy as an outcome of following God’s law, but to experience joy in the process of following God’s law. And the only way that happens is when you have virtue. Consider an example of growing in excellence and delight precisely by being docile to instructions that may not seem to make much sense at first: learning to play piano. When you start to take piano lessons, the whole thing feels artificial and restrictive. You have to hold your hands a certain way, repeat unpleasant-sounding scales over and over, learn how to correlate little black dots with letters with the keys, etc... None of it feels related to what you want to do on the piano, which is just play music you like. But if you stick with it, if you submit to “the rules” of music and piano training, one day you might wake up and find yourself an artist.

5 Reasons to Practice Patience Sep 17, 2019

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Many of you know I have been suffering for 41/2 years an unexplainable muscular skeletal issue that affects my breathing. Today, I am worn out with it. So I have been reflecting on my need for the virtue of patience. The virtue of patience enables us to bear physical and moral sufferings without being overwhelmed by sorrow. If we suffer well our reward in heaven will immeasurably surpass the pain in this life but we may be in danger of losing our reward because we fail to exercise the virtue of patience. In fact, we suffer even more than we would have, because we don’t conform our will to the will of God. Patience harnesses the emotions of anger and sorrow to help us take advantage of the good of suffering that purifies us of disordered attachments, increases our Faith, Hope and Love which is our capacity to receive the life of God, and leverage our suffering to help save souls and change world events. Paul writes in Col. 1:24 I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake. And in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the Church.

5 reasons to practice the virtue of patience:

1. Patience helps us conform our will to the loving will of God, who knows better than we the things that are good for us and therefore sometimes sends us suffering and tribulation.

2. The recollection of the suffering of Jesus and Mary, incomparable models of patience, and the sincere desire to imitate them.

3. The necessity of making reparation for our sins by the voluntary and virtuous acceptance of suffering in atonement for our sins.

4. To respond to the invitation of Jesus to help him save souls and change world events for good by uniting our suffering to His as Paul said in Col. 1:24

5. The prospect of an eternity of happiness that awaits us if we know how to suffer in patience. The suffering passes, but the fruit of having sanctified our suffering will never pass.

5 Degrees of Patience:

1. Resignation without complaint or impatience to the crosses God sends us or permits to come to us.

2. Peace and serenity in the face of affliction, without any of the sadness or melancholy that accompanies mere resignation.

3. Acceptance of one’s cross for the love of God and to help save souls

4. Complete and total joy, which leads one to give thanks to God for being associated with him in the mystery of the Cross.

5. The folly of the Cross, which prefers suffering to pleasure and places all one’s delight in external suffering by which one is configured to Christ. As St. Teresa of Avila used to say: “To suffer or to die.”

5 Ways to Grow in Patience:

1. Constantly beg God for the gift of patience.

2. Foresee the difficulties we shall encounter on the path of virtue. St. Thomas recommends this practice to all Christians, and especially to those who have not yet acquired the habit of working with fortitude. In this way one gradually overcomes one's fear, and when difficulties actually arise, one will overcome them much more easily because one has anticipated them.

3. Accept with a generous spirit the little annoyances of daily life.

4. Meditate frequently on the passion and death of Christ.

5. You can do anything for the one you love so if you want to be better at bearing suffering then increase your love for God and accept your suffering as a way to love Him more.

To be be Cheerful or Joyful in suffering is a necessary requirement of Patience. We must preserve cheerfulness and serenity in trial. It’s not enough to endure - we must endure cheerfully.

Joy and Humility Sep 16, 2019

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Joy is the response to something experienced as good, and it invites rest in that good. The final piece of knowledge we need for real joy is self-knowledge, namely, the knowledge that can provide the foundation for humility. In Joseph Pieper’s words, “Humility is man’s estimation of himself according to truth. And that is almost all there is to it.”

Joy depends on our knowing the truth about ourselves, I think, for at least four reasons. Knowing who and what we are is helps us to: a) cultivate gratitude; b) not think about ourselves too much; c) appreciate the magnificence of other things; d) resist the urge to feel as though our salvation depends upon ourselves.

First, gratitude. Gratitude and a sense of entitlement are diametrically opposed. Have you ever heard someone say “Thank you!” after his insistent demands have finally been met? It doesn’t sound like gratitude – it sounds more like “Well, it’s about time!” You’re not grateful for what you think you’re owed. Gratitude is due to what is given gratuitously. It’s not due to what you claim by right.

In fact, you don’t have any absolute rights. Not before God. Because in your native state, you don’t even exist. You’re a sliver of non-being that God took notice of and brought to life – and non-being has no claims on being. Remember Our Lord’s words to Catherine of Sienna: “Do you know, daughter, who you are, and who I am? If you know these two things you will be blessed. You are she who is not; whereas I am He who is.”

And not only are you absolutely dependent upon God for your existence, you are a sinner! Apart from God, you’re nothing, and then when God lets you participate in being, what do you do? You turn away from Him, you insult Him by preferring to slide back into evil and sin, the shameful non-being of privation.

You aren't owed anything, so everything is a gift.

That brings us to the second way self-knowledge causes joy: it encourages us not to think too much about ourselves. We aren’t a big deal, so we shouldn’t think a great deal about ourselves. Narcissism doesn’t just mean thinking a lot of oneself, it also means thinking about oneself a lot. That’s disproportionate to the truth – you should think the most about the most important things, and you yourself aren’t one of them. So humility doesn’t mean constant self-disparagement: as C.S. Lewis says, if you meet someone who’s really humble, you’ll notice that person “will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.” That’s as it should be. Satan wants us to think more about ourselves than about anything else, for the simple reason that it’s not good for us and it makes us miserable.

When you know you’re little, you appreciate the magnificence of other things, you refocus your attention on the grandeur of the world beyond yourself. Chesterton tells the story of two boys: one became a titanic giant and the other became as small as a grasshopper. The one who became a giant became bored with everything – the wonders of the world were all toy-sized and unimpressive. The one who became tiny was able to have astonishing adventures everywhere. He appreciated everything, now that he saw how big and rich it all was, but to do that he had to become small first.

Humility is simply a sense of scale, and because you no longer dominate every scene, you can appreciate things for what they are. But it also takes the pressure off.You’re not in control, you’re not the major mover in the universe. God is. Which also means you can take peace in leaving your very salvation up to him.

This was the secret of St. Philip Neri, one of the most famously joyful of all the saints. It’s recorded that one time he gave a very delightful illustration of how to be miserable and how to be happy:

Our Lady of Sorrows Sep 15, 2019

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Redemptive Suffering and the Sacrament of Anointing CCC 1499 By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed, she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the people of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ. Romans 8:17, “If we are children (of God) we are heirs as well: heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, sharing his sufferings so as to share his glory.” 2 Corinthians 4:17, “The troubles which are soon over, though they weigh little, train us for the carrying of a weight of eternal glory which is out of proportion to them.” Colossians 1:24, “It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church.” Why does Jesus want us to participate in His suffering? Our suffering can be good for us Our suffering can be good for others CCC 1500 Illness and suffering have always been among the gravest problems confronted in human life. In illness, man experiences his powerlessness, his limitations, and his finitude. Every illness can make us glimpse death. 1501 Illness can lead to anguish, self-absorption, sometimes even despair and revolt against God. It can also make a person more mature, helping him discern in his life what is not essential so that he can turn toward that which is. Very often illness provokes a search for God and a return to him. 1505, During his lifetime, Jesus healed many who were sick. “But he did not heal all the sick. His healings were signs of the coming of the kingdom of God. They announced a more radical healing: the victory over sin and death through his Passover. On the cross Christ took upon himself the whole weight of evil and took away the ‘sin of the world,’ of which illness is only a consequence. CCC 1505 ends with, “By his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive Passion.” CCC 1506 Christ invites his disciples to follow him by taking up their cross in their turn. Matthew 10:38, “Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me.”) By following him they acquire a new outlook on illness and the sick.” CCC 1508 Reminds us that we should pray and do all we can medically to be healed. “But even the most intense prayers do not always obtain the healing of all illnesses. Thus St. Paul must learn from the Lord that “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness,” (2 Corinthians 12:9) and that the sufferings to be endured can mean that “in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his Body, the Church.” (Colossians 1:24). Cross-Reference 618 speaks of Our participation in Christ’s sacrifice: The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ…the possibility of being made partners in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery is offered to all men. He calls his disciples to take up their cross and follow him, for Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example so that we should follow in his steps. In fact Jesus desires to associate with his redeeming sacrifice those who were to be its first beneficiaries. This is achieved supremely in the case of his mother, who was associated more intimately than any other person in the mystery of his redemptive suffering. (cf. Mk 10:39, Col 1:24) The Christian Meaning of Human Suffering What do people need to know in suffering? God is all good, all knowing, and all powerful Evil and suffering are not more powerful than God Nothing can happen to you or a loved one that is beyond the power of God to turn it to the greatest good.

Gratitude Flows from Contemplating the Truth Sep 14, 2019

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Thomas Aquinas wrote that the greatest of all pleasures consists in the contemplation of truth. Now every pleasure assuages pain as stated above: hence the contemplation of truth assuages pain or sorrow, and the more so the more perfectly one is a lover of wisdom. And therefore in the midst of tribulations men rejoice in the contemplation of Divine things and of future Happiness.

So the act of careful reflection on ultimate truth is pleasing, and the truth God has revealed enhances that pleasure immeasurably. Furthermore, the only adequate response to a consideration of the goodness of God, and to His boundless extravagance towards us is gratitude.

Gratitude can refer either to a feeling of appreciation or to a display towards our benefactor – and where the display is absent the feeling will quickly evaporate. In other words, when you stop saying “thank you,” your pleasure in the things you’ve been given won’t last.

What have you been given? Well, of course, there’s what we all have in common: goods of the body (life, food, clean water, a roof over your head, safety and security); goods of the mind (friends and books and music and memory); and goods of the spirit (you have God’s divine life dwelling within you making you truly a son or daughter of God, a partaker in the divine nature, you have a knowledge of the Father’s love, and the prospect of heaven). God gave all this freely – some of it cost Him a slow, torturous death – just so we could enjoy it.

But here’s a first suggestion for cultivating gratitude: make your own list. Many of us, when we hear the phrase “count your blessings,” count like a toddler – we maybe thank God for three or four things, and then we quit. Try this instead: take half an hour and a pen and a piece of paper and write down the top twenty or thirty things you’re most grateful for. Then hang on to that list for a while. Keep it in your purse, or your pocket. I’ve done this with a lot of groups, and I always find it makes a complaining or self-pitying attitude much harder to justify throughout the day.

Since we tend not to be grateful, we don’t acknowledge our gifts or say “thank you.” This is, according to Aquinas, a failure in justice: we owe God an explicit recognition of His divine generosity. So why do we fail? What are the primary sources of ingratitude?

I think the obstacles to habitual thankfulness can be categorized under two headings: a) dissatisfaction with our spiritual condition; b) dissatisfaction with our worldly condition.

Dissatisfaction with our spiritual condition. Of course, in one respect, dissatisfaction with our spiritual condition might be interpreted as the proper guard against self-complacency. We do have a lot of work to do in getting rid of vice and being more conformed to Christ, and there’s no sense denying it. On the other hand, focus on our own faults can easily become so consuming that it prevents a more primordial awareness of how much the Lord has done for us – and for the world – already.

Dissatisfaction with our worldly condition. If we’re always looking for more money or more health or more security or more praise, we won’t be grateful. If we say “I just need to make it through today, or to the weekend, or the end of the semester, or the next couple years” or “I just need to get a job, or a house, or make it to retirement” or “I just need to get the kids to bed, or get the kids ready for school, or get the kids to college, or get the kids through college,” – as though achieving any of those things would bring us peace and contentment, we won’t be grateful.

Let me suggest two practices for growing in gratitude and happiness.

First, the greatest way to thank God is to go to Mass and receive the Eucharist. Eucharist literally means a sacrifice of Thanksgiving. Second, begin your day by thanking God in prayer.

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