Beauty. Tuesday, March 11. Lent 2014.

God alone is true beauty.

His creation stems from true beauty.

We were created by Him who is beautiful;

created in Beauty’s image and likeness.

Before sin,

we possessed this true beauty as well.

“Man was created beautiful, in the image of God’s beauty. In sinning, he has disfigured himself; he has become ugliness by losing his likeness to God.”

“Montfort’s vision of man is characterized by tension: he is no longer what he was; he is not yet what he ought to be. He is stretched taut between his original beauty and his present ugliness. Ugliness masks and disfigures beauty. When our eyes are covered with darkness, we cannot see the light. This is why it is hard for man to perceive what his original beauty was.”

The world seems to hold beauty to as high a standard as love.

Unfortunately, like love,

the world is looking for the wrong type of beauty.

Despite the majority vote,

beauty will not be found in cosmetics and clothes;

hair and nail color.

True beauty is found in quite the opposite.

True beauty is not found in the pretty and polished.

It is found in the gory and raw.

“An experience of truly Christian beauty must pass through the contemplation of the Crucified. The beauty of the Crucified is a disfigured beauty. It is the man of every sorrow. It is the beauty of God covered over by the ugliness of men’s sins, an ugliness hidden in the darkness of the conscience and at times disguised as counterfeit beauty.”

“Beauty attracts, ugliness repels. Man’s primordial beauty set him in a state of mutual attraction with divine communication. The ugliness of his sin leaves him lost and alone. Since he is no longer beautiful, he feels abandoned and unloved; he hides from God.”

“The crucified Christ takes on himself the sum total of human ugliness, his solitude and abandonment. He descends to the depths of humanity’s distress, which he then takes on himself. The horror of the Cross already carries the glory of the Resurrection.”

It is in God Alone:

God Alone where true beauty is found,

God Alone where we can seek our identity as beautifully created children of God,

God Alone where we should seek beauty,

God Alone where the longings of our hearts are met,

God Alone where we radiate His beauty through us. 

The Beatitudes. Monday, March 10. Lent 2014.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Matthew 5:3-12

When my dad and I were blessed enough to go to Israel,

one of our favorite spots was the mount

on which Jesus is said to have established the beatitudes. 

This Sermon on the Mount is one of the more known stories in the Bible.

Most people know the gist of the Beatitudes.

Montfort brought to light a new way of looking at the Beatitudes

and applying it to life.

The word beatitude is related to the word blessed.

The word blessed is derived from both Old English and Latin

and means consecrated by blood.

Blood means pain and suffering.

This fits the Beatitudes well when we truly take a look at them-

Blessed are the poor, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst…

But they do not end in pain and suffering:

“Each of the Beatitudes promises joy as a reward for suffering endured in love and out of love.”

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven, for they shall be comforted, for they shall see God...

“The Beatitudes contrast true happiness, which only love secures, with false worldly joys.”

Even though we know in our heart of hearts what true happiness looks like,

especially compared with the false worldly joys,

we still are more attracted to the  tangible and immediate false joys of the world.

 “I have found the One Who can give peace to your restless hearts, but you are vainly looking for Him in wealth, pleasure, and power. He is the Eternal and Incarnate Wisdom, Jesus from Nazareth. He alone is true wealth, true joy and true power. ”

We claim that we cannot find Him

but truly,

we have been looking in the wrong places.

“The Cross stands at the very heart of all the Beatitudes in the shape of poverty of spirit, gentleness, tears, mercy, etc. This is a useful reminder for…[we] are so easily misled by the ‘beatitudes’ of the world from which the Cross has been carefully eliminated.”

This picture is from when mass was celebrated in Israel where the Sermon on the Mount took place. 

Baptism. Sunday, March 9. Lent 2014.

So often, people are not willing to support something that they do not understand.

The new ice cream shop that has a two hour line at any given time?

Tangible.

Understandable.

Yummy.

The Hunger Games Trilogy?

Tangible.

Understandable.

Intriguing.

But baptism?

Godparents.

Water.

Baby.

Christian.

But that’s about it.

The significance usually stops at the tangible;

the easy to understand and grasp.

The renewal of baptismal vows usually resounds in a mumbled

something or other that might sound like ‘I do’.

But it could be ‘I don’t’ or maybe even ‘Donut’.  

For Montfort,

baptism was vital in order to:

“renew the spirit of Christianity among the faithful.”

As Montfort did parish missions,

he realized that Christians did not understand the significance of baptism.

He resolved:

“The only real remedy for this ignorance and forgetfulness was to enlighten his people in the subject of the meaning, splendor, and demands of baptism.”

People needed education on baptism.

And so too today.

Montfort beautifully wrote:

“Baptism itself wipes out original sin, gives us grace, opens Heaven to us, makes us children of God himself and the Church.”

What a beautiful reminder.  

“The question is, then, how to preserve the greatness of our baptismal life in the face of the alien value system of the world? A loving acceptance of Our Lady’s maternal role and powerful intercession. The more we have recourse to the spiritual Mother of all the baptized, the more easily she can help us journey to fidelity and to strive for perfection in Christ.”

The next time we renew our baptismal vows at mass,

I plan on clearly stating verbally and wholeheartedly,

‘I do.’

To Jesus through Mary. Saturday, March 8. Lent 2014.

One of the cool things about being Catholic

is all those who we can pray to:

Jesus, Mary, the Holy Spirit, God, the numerous saints.

For me,

that can be almost overwhelming.

Who do I pray to?

Who do I leave out?

I don’t want to hurt that saint’s feelings…

Serious thoughts here people…

Montfort proposed this idea that

it doesn’t necessarily have to be a pick and choose when praying.

Montfort might be best known for his platform:

Consecration to Jesus through Mary.

Jesus came to us through Mary. 

We go to him through Mary. 

“Those who embark on this journey are to be formed by Mary and to work ardently in Her Son’s service. Its aim is the establishment and spread of the reign of Mary in our souls, in order to ensure the perfection of Jesus Christ’s reign.”

Sure, we can pray directly to Jesus, absolutely,

but take a look at the example that Mary set:

“Perfect model of the apostolic spiritual life is the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Apostles…she remained intimately united to her Son and cooperated in an entirely unique way in the Savior’s work.”

How beautiful.

She is the perfect example.

She was fully obedient and fully united with Him.

What an incredible goal to strive for.

And the reward?

“The more a soul is united to Mary and in communion with her virtues, dispositions and intentions, the more Christ can grow in it, as in Mary, and fulfill is work of grace.”

To Jesus.

Through Mary.

Apostles. Friday, March 7. Lent 2014.

“I feel a tremendous urge to make our Lord and his holy Mother loved,

to go in a humble and simple way to teach catechism to the poor in country places

and to arouse in sinners a devotion to our Blessed Lady.”

Apostolic mission was at the heart of Montfort’s life journey.

He spent years dedicated to parish missions.

Each parish he went to,

he left a glimpse of Christ.

This journey was not an easy one.

In fact, it was one with many hardships and trials.

“O my God, for your Gospel, I want to suffer in town after town, thousands of insults and evils. If, by my life and the blood in my veins, I can only destroy a single sin, if I can touch only a single heart, all my pains will be worth it.”

Montfort was willing to suffer for the Gospel for, to him,

“love of neighbor was fused with the love of God Alone to become one Love,

one source of energy and life.”

What if today we lived our life as that of a apostolic missionary?

Not necessarily standing on the corner preaching

or going door to door

or handing out flyers

but

acting in a manner such that

every person you come in contact with today

gets a glimpse of Christ?

Yes, even in 5 o’clock traffic.

The world would be different if each person left your presence having seen 
Christ in you.

Angels & Demons. Thursday, March 6. Lent 2014.

Yesterday my professor said something along the lines of,

“Since this life is so wonderful, I can only imagine what the next life will hold!”

I’d like to say I agree with her

but I don’t always feel that way.

Most times it feels like life on Earth is a never-ending rut.

And I get caught in that rut

and I fail to see why we should all be filled with joy.

The Battle is won.

Good has and always will prevail over evil.

That is where the joy is found.

That is where the rut is broken.

Where humility overcomes pride.

“What Lucifer lost by pride, Mary won by humility. What Eve ruined and lost by disobedience, Mary saved by obedience. By obeying the serpent, Eve ruined her children as well as herself and delivered them up to him. Mary by her perfect fidelity to God saved her children with herself and consecrated them to His divine majesty.”

It is then our duty to do our best to replicate this humility and obedience,

this faithfulness to God.

This is an overwhelming task.

De Montfort called the angels “models of the human race” and here's why:

“The total obedience of the angels, their complete adherence to God Alone.”

The angels were, at a time, given the same choice that we are given at every moment.

God or the devil.

The angels have made their decision.

We have examples of both.

The angels rejoicing in Heaven with God

and the fallen angels sweltering in the fires of Hell.

The example is clear.

The choice is clear.

Yet, often times, we still need some help and encouragement on this journey.

The angels in Heaven can provide that assistance. 

“The role of the angels is that of messengers of God, and in that sense, intermediaries between God and human creatures…

Therefore, all people should respect guarding angels and pray to them.”

The angels are in Heaven.

They are adorers of God.

“The celebration of the angels puts us in communion with them, the adorers of God.”

Everything.

It all circles back to the same thing.

The purpose of our existence.

Our reason for creation.

God, how can I adore you?

Ash Wednesday. 2014.

Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.

Fortunately, my sister and I clarified with the middle school kids on Monday night

that these are the ashes from the palms used on Palm Sunday of the previous year,

not the ashes of the deceased.

The relief washed over their faces like a tidal wave.

There is still an element of mortality present though.

Our bodies will die.

Our souls have the opportunity for life everlasting.

With all credit due to Christ.

We truly are nothing without him.   

Especially when we give up chocolate.

Then we reeeeally need Christ.

We have an opportunity these days of Lent

to become even more dependent on Christ.

De Montfort adopted a motto for his life,

‘God alone’.

His life and writings used God alone as the focal point.

Lent is a brilliant time to reinstate God alone in our lives.

Removing something from our lives allows more room for God.

“My God…I adore you and acknowledge you

as my sovereign Lord and Master upon whom alone I depend.”

De Montfort knew that we must free ourselves from our worldly idols

and from our own egos

in order that we might fully experience and comprehend adoring God alone.

 “True adoration is a gift from on high

and takes the form of responding in love to the revelation,

in Christ, of the true face of God.”

“To adore this presence means to become involved in the disappearance from the world of idolatries 

and ideologies that become the means of oppressing the children of God.”

Lent for us can be like Narnia for the Pevensie kids.

Entering a new world,

with new opportunities.

Letting go of the things of this world,

and adoring the God who so loves us.