Monday of the Third Week of Lent
These biblical passages provide aids in warfare for those who will ponder and act upon the truths they teach us. Recite them as battle cries in the heat of the conflict. Call on Jesus Christ, our Champion when the battle is fierce, turn your eyes to our victorious commander and place your confidence in Him.
Sirach,
Chapter 50, Verse 28-29
28 Happy those who
meditate upon these things; wise those who take them to heart! 29 If they put them
into practice, they can cope with anything, for the fear of the LORD is their
lamp.
The human heart is the seat of the
human will. May He illuminate our hearts to serve Him.
What
is meant by serving God? Doing the will of God in all things which He requires
of us, in whatever state of life we may be placed, and doing this with
fidelity, with unwearied zeal, and out of love for Him. (Goffine’s Devout
Instructions, 1896) When we are bored and familiar with routine work, let us
generously offer ourselves to the Lord for He indeed knows our needs and will
take care of our well-being.
Let us remember Christ’s words to
us on service, “Whoever wishes to come
after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever
wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the gospel will save it.” (Mk. 8:34-35) Life seen as mere
self-centered earthly existence and lived in denial of Christ ends in
destruction, but when lived in loyalty to Christ, despite earthly death, it
arrives at fullness of life. True discipleship is total commitment to Christ
through self-renunciation and acceptance of the cross of suffering, even to the
sacrifice of life itself.
Prayer.
POUR forth, in Thy mercy, we beseech Thee, O Lord,
Thy grace into our hearts, that, as we abstain from flesh, we may also restrain
our senses from hurtful excesses.
EPISTLE, iv. Kings v. 1 15.
In those days: Naaman, general of the army of the
king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable: for by him the
Lord gave deliverance to Syria: and he was a valiant man and rich, but a leper.
Now there had gone out robbers from Syria, and had led away captive out of the
land of Israel a little maid, and she waited upon Naaman’s wife. And she said
to her mistress: I wish my master had been with the prophet, that is in Samaria:
he would certainly have healed him of the leprosy which he hath. Then Naaman
went into his lord, and told him, saying: Thus, and thus said the girl from the
land of Israel. And the king of Syria said to him: Go, and I will send a letter
to the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of
silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment, and brought
the letter to the king of Israel, in these words: When thou shalt receive this
letter, know that I have sent to thee Naaman my servant, that thou mayest heal
him of his leprosy. And when the king of Israel had read the letter, he rent
his garments, and said : Am I God, to be able to kill and give life, that this
man hath sent to me, to heal a man of his leprosy? mark, and see how he seeketh
occasions against me. And when Eliseus the man of God had heard this, to wit,
that the king of Israel had rent his garments, he sent to him, saying: Why hast
thou rent thy garments? let him come to me, and let him know that there is a
prophet in Israel. So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stood at
the door of the house of Eliseus: and Eliseus sent a messenger to him saying:
Go, and wash seven times in the Jordan, and thy flesh shall recover health, and
thou shalt be clean. Naaman was angry and went away, saying: I thought he would
have come out to me, and standing- would have invoked the name of the Lord his
God, and touched with his hand the place of the leprosy, and healed me. Are not
the Abana and the Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of
Israel, that I may wash in them, arid be made clean? So as he turned, and was
going away with indignation, his servants came to him, and said to him :
Father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, surely thou shouldst
have done it : how much rather what he now hath said to thee: Wash, and thou shalt
be clean? Then he went down, and washed in the Jordan seven times: according to
the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored, like the flesh of a
little child, and he was made clean. And returning to the man of God with all
his train, he came, and stood before him, and said: In truth, I know there is
no other God in all the earth, but only in Israel.
GOSPEL. Luke iv. 23-30.
At that time Jesus said to
the Pharisees: Doubtless you will say to Me this similitude: Physician, heal Thyself:
as great things as we have heard done in Capharnaum, do also here in Thy own
country. And He said: Amen I say to you, that no prophet is accepted in his own
country. In truth I say to you, there were many widows in the days of Elias in
Israel, when heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there was a
great famine throughout all the earth. And to none of them was Elias sent, but
to Sarepta of Sidon, to a widow woman. And there were many lepers in Israel in
the time of Eliseus the prophet: and none of them was cleansed but Naaman the
Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, hearing these things, were filled with
anger. And they rose up and thrust Him out of the city: and they brought Him to
the brow of the hill, where on their city was built, that they might cast Him
down headlong. But He passes through the midst of them, went His way.
What practices can help us to take up our cross and
follow our King?
If we think of soldiers who do not remain in strong
physical and mental shape and who fail to practice the essential combat arts,
we know they will not be ready for battle and will be a danger to themselves
and their comrades in arms. The same is true for Catholic men; those who do not
prepare and strengthen themselves for spiritual combat are incapable of filling
the breach for Christ.
While there are many habits and devotions that a
Catholic man can form, I charge you with keeping these seven basic practices*
on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. If these practices are not (yet) part of
your life, start now!
Daily
1.
Pray every day. Each Catholic man must start his
day with prayer. It is said, “Until you realize that prayer is the most
important thing in life, you will never have time for prayer.” Without prayer,
a man is like a soldier who lacks food, water, and ammunition. Set aside some
time to speak with God first thing each morning. Pray the three prayers
essential to the Catholic faith: The Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be.
Pray also at every meal. Before food or drink touches your lips, make the Sign
of the Cross, say the “Bless us, O Lord” prayer, and end with the Sign of the
Cross. Do this no matter where you are, with whom or how much you are eating.
Never be shy or ashamed about praying over meals. Never deny Christ the
gratitude that is due to Him. Praying as a Catholic man before every meal is a
simple but powerful way to keep strong and fill the breach.
2.
Examine your conscience before going to sleep. Take a few moments to review the
day, including both your blessings and sins. Give God thanks for blessings and
ask forgiveness for sins. Say an Act of Contrition.
3.
Go to Mass.
Despite the fact that attending weekly Mass is a Precept of the Church, only
about one in three Catholic men attend Sunday Mass. For large numbers of
Catholic men, their neglect to attend Mass is a grave sin, a sin that puts them
in mortal danger. The Mass is a refuge in the Spiritual Battle, where Catholic
men meet their King, hear His commands, and become strengthened with the Bread
of Life. Every Mass is a miracle where Jesus Christ is fully present, a miracle
that is the high point not only of the week, but of our entire lives on Earth.
In the Mass, a man gives thanks to God for his many blessings and hears Christ
send him again into the world to build the Kingdom of God. Fathers who lead their
children to Mass are helping in a very real way to ensure their eternal
salvation.
4.
Read the Bible. As St. Jerome so clearly tells us,
“Ignorance of the Sacred Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” When we read God’s
word, Jesus is present. Married men read with your wife and your children. If a
man’s children see him read the Scriptures, they are more likely to remain in
the Faith. My brothers in Christ, this I can assure you: men who read the Bible
grow in grace, wisdom, and peace.
5.
Keep the Sabbath. From the creation of Adam and Eve,
God the Father established a weekly cycle ending with the Sabbath. He gave us
the Sabbath to ensure that one day out of seven we will give thanks to God,
rest, and be refreshed. In the Ten Commandments, God asserts anew the
importance of keeping the Sabbath. With today’s constant barrage of buying and
selling and the cacophony of noisy media, the Sabbath is God’s respite from the
storm. As Catholic men, you must begin, or deepen, keeping the holiness of the
Sabbath. If you are married, you must lead your wives and children to do the
same. Dedicate the day to rest and true recreation and avoid work that is not
necessary. Spend time with family, attend Mass, and enjoy the gift of the day.
Monthly
6.
Go to Confession. At the very start of Christ’s
public ministry, Jesus calls on all men to repent. Without repentance from sin,
there can be no healing or forgiveness, and there will be no Heaven. Large
numbers of Catholic men are in grave mortal danger, particularly given the
epidemic levels of pornography consumption and the sin of masturbation. My
brothers get to Confession now! Our Lord Jesus Christ is a merciful King who
will forgive those who humbly confess their sins. He will not forgive those who
refuse. Open your soul to the gift of our Lord’s mercy!
Confession[3]
In the
beginning God asks Adam, where are you? Adam had sinned and so he hid from God?
After Cain killed Able God asked him, “Where is your brother? Yet again
according to catholic tradition Saint Peter was fleeing from crucifixion in
Rome at the hands of the government, and along the road outside the city he
meets the risen Jesus and this time it is Peter who asks the question in Latin
"Quo vadis?" “Where are you going?” to which Jesus replies, "Romam eo
iterum
crucifigi" ("I am going to Rome to
be crucified again"). Peter thereby gains the courage to continue his
ministry and returns to the city, to eventually be martyred by being crucified
upside-down. Confession is our own turning like Peter around to walk with our
Lord: to carry our cross with Him and to suffer with Him if need be. Confession
is something you do with your mouth and with your mind, heart and actions. Confession
should always be individual, spoken and specific. It is customary for devout
Catholics to go to confession frequently and the saints have recommended that
we go at least once a month. Yet in recent years some parishes have seen a
decline in the number of confessions. It is not that we are having a decline in
sin; it is because our hearts have become worldly. Will we have the hearts to
see our Lord as He passes us by and even say to Him “Quo Vadis”: have we become
so worldly that we have lost a sense of sin? Has our no-fault culture convinced
us to keep walking in the opposite direction of our Lord thinking “I’m OK,
you’re OK, no matter what choices we have made. Yes, God loves us just the way
we are, but he loves us too much to keep us fat, dumb and happy. We need to
experience his forgiveness so that we can heal and grow. “It is better to confess one’s sins than to harden one’s heart.”
(Pope St. Clement I)
7.
Build
fraternity with other Catholic men. Catholic friendship among men has a
dramatic impact on their faith lives. Men who have bonds of brotherhood with
other Catholic men pray more, go to Mass and Confession more frequently, read
the Scriptures more often, and are more active in the Faith. Proverbs tells us:
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” (27:17). I call on each of
our priests and deacons to draw men together in their parishes and to begin to
rebuild a vibrant and transforming Catholic fraternity. I call on laymen to
form small fellowship groups for mutual support and growth in the faith. There
is no friendship like having a friend in Christ.
Aids
in Battle[4]
The Word of God useful for our warfare with evilThese biblical passages provide aids in warfare for those who will ponder and act upon the truths they teach us. Recite them as battle cries in the heat of the conflict. Call on Jesus Christ, our Champion when the battle is fierce, turn your eyes to our victorious commander and place your confidence in Him.
·
To
this end the Son of God appeared that He might destroy the works of the Devil.
1 Jn 3: 8
·
Be
steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that
your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
·
That
at the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven, on earth and
under the earth, and every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is
in the glory of God the Father.
·
Disarming
the Principalities and Powers, He displayed them openly, leading them away in
triumph by force of [the Cross]. Col 2: 15
·
Now
has come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God.
Daily
Devotions
[1]
Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896.
*Let
us be faithful to these practices as Naaman was faithful to wash himself seven
times in the Jordan to cleanse himself of leprosy at the instruction of the
prophet Elias.
[3] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic
Customs and their biblical roots. Chap. 28. Confession.
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