Ang Halaga ng palagiang Pagsisimba

Hesus, nananalig ako sa iyo.

“Kumain siya at uminom at siya’y lumakas” – ito ang sinabi ng unang pagbasa tungkol kay Profeta Elias na sa simula’y halos mawalan na ng pag-asa dahil sa matinding pagod na kanyang nadama sa kanyang mahabang paglalakbay. Pinakain siya at pinainom ng isang anghel at dahil dito, nakapaglakbay pa siya nang mahaba patungo sa Horeb, ang bundok ng Panginoon. Kung paanong nagdulot ng pambihirang lakas kay Elias ang ipinakain at ipinainom sa kanya ng anghel, gayon din ang idinudulot ng pagkaing ibinibigay ng Panginoong Hesus sa atin: “Ang sinumang kumain ng pagkaing bumaba mula sa langit ay hindi mamamatay. Ako ang pagkaing bumaba mula sa langit. Mabubuhay magpakailan man ang sinumang kumain nito. At ang pagkaing ibibigay ko sa ikabubuhay ng sanlibutan ay ang aking laman.”

Pinalalakas tayo ng kinakain natin. Pinapawi nito ang ating gutom at uhaw hanggang sa susunod na kainan. Dahil batid natin ang kapakinabangang dulot ng pagkain at inumin kaya tinitiyak nating hindi tayo lumiliban sa oras ng pagkain…hindi tayo nagpapalipas ng gutom. Subalit kay dali para sa atin ang isantabi ang pagtanggap ng banal na Komunyon! Palibhasa, hindi natin kaagad agad nakikita ang idinudulot nitong pakinabang sa atin. Parang walang naidudulot na mabuti para sa atin ang pagtanggap sa katawan ni Kristo. At dito tayo nagkakamali. Sa oras ng ating kamatayan, matutuklasan natin ang maraming kabutihan na idinulot sa atin ng mga banal na Misa na ating dinaluhan. Sa oras ng ating kamatayan, ang mga Misa na taos puso nating dinaluhan ang siyang magdudulot sa atin ng aliw at pag-asa. Ang isang Misang dinaluhan natin habang nabubuhay tayo ay higit na makakatulong sa atin sa oras ng ating kamatayan kaysa maraming mga pamisang iaalay para sa atin matapos nating pumanaw.

Sinabi ng ating Panginoon kay Santa Gertrudes: “Makatitiyak ang sinumang taimtim na dumalo sa banal na Misa na ang dami ng mga Santo na isusugo ko sa kanya upang aliwin at ipagtanggol siya sa oras ng kamatayan ay magiging kasukat ng dami ng mga Misang taimtim niyang dinaluhan sa buong buhay niya.” Huwag nating kalilimutan na ang oras ng ating kamatayan ang magiging pinakamalaking laban natin sa buhay. Sa oras na iyon, ibubuhos ni Satanas ang lahat ng nalalaman niyang panlilinlang upang makuha niya ang ating kaluluwa. Kaya nga kakailanganin natin ang lahat ng makalangit na tulong para ipag-adya tayo mula sa lahat ng masama dahil diyan nakasalalay ang ating kaligtasan.

Sinabi ni San Juan Maria Vianney: “Kung nalalaman lamang natin ang halaga ng Banal na Misa, tiyak na magsusumikap tayo na dumalo at makinabang tayo dito.” At sinabi pa ni San Pedro Julian Eymard: “Kilalanin mo, O Kristiyano, na ang Misa ang pinakabanal na gawain ng Relihiyon. Wala kang magagawang anupaman upang higit na purihin ang Panginoon o higit na tulungan mo ang iyong kaluluwa  kaysa taimtim na pagdalo sa Misa.” Kaya nga nararapat lamang na ituring nating mapalad tayo tuwing may pagkakataon tayong makadalo sa Misa. Si Santa Maria Goretti, isang labindalawang taong gulang na bata, ay naglakad ng labinglimang milya para lang makapagsimba sa araw ng Linggo. Si Padre Pio ay nagdiwang ng Misa kahit na siya’y nilalagnat at dinudugo. Sa ating sariling buhay, dapat nating ituring ang banal na Misa na mas mahalaga kaysa iba pang mga bagay. Sabi ni San Bernardo: “Higit na pakikinabangan natin ang pagdalo sa isang Misa kaysa anupamang kawanggawa o paglalakbay sa buong mundo para lamang marating ang mga banal na lugar.” Dapat unahin natin ang pagsisimba kaysa iba pang mga libangan na pinag-aaksayahan natin ng oras ngunit hindi naman nakatutulong sa ating kaluluwa. (Nauubos ang oras mo sa COC…matutulungan ka ba niyan sa oras ng iyong kamatayan? Mabibigyan ka ba niyan ng buhay na walang hanggan?) Matuto tayong maglaan ng oras at magsakripisyo kung kinakailangan para makapagsimba at makapagkomunyon. Sinabi ni San Agustin: “Binibilang ng mga anghel ang lahat ng ating mga yapak kapag pumupunta tayo sa simbahan upang dumalo sa Misa at dahil diyan ay gagantimpalaan tayo ng Diyos sa buhay na ito at sa kabila.” Kaya kunin natin ang lahat ng pagkakataon para makapagsimba at tumanggap ng Banal na Komunyon. Mabubuhay kaylanman ang sinumang kumain ng Tinapay ng buhay!

Ave Maria Purissima, sin pecado concebida!  

The Means to Renew the Face of the Earth

The Lord said, I have come to light a fire on the earth and how I wish it were blazing. How can priests light the world with the fire of the Holy Spirit and so be instruments in renewing the face of the earth? St. Anthony Claret has this to say:

"The prophet asked the Lord: Emitte Spiritum tuum, et creabuntur, et renovabis faciem terrae. Lord, send your spirit upon your priests, and they, filled with this Holy Spirit, will hasten everywhere, like the apostles, and the face of the earth will be changed completely. For the moral earth does the same thing that the physical earth does: if it is well cultivated it yields abundant fruits, but if it is not cultivated it yield nothing but weeds and thorns. Thus people, if they are well cultivated, produce choice fruits of virtue, but if they are abandoned to themselves, they produce nothing but errors and vices. Hence we must work to form good clergy, who are the laborers in the Lord's fields, and we must ask the good Lord of the harvest to send good laborers to his inheritance.

The means assigned to change the face of the earth promptly and easily are the following:

The 1st means is to form good, virtuous, and well-educated priests, and we have no doubt that this will be achieved if we put into practice the means indicated in the present little work.

The 2nd means are missions, which should be repeated every three years in parishes great and small, lasting for a varying number of days, according to the needs of the people.

The 3rd means is that on all Sundays and Feast days of the year, the pastors should preach or read some talk, and teach Christian doctrine and the way to make mental and vocal prayer.

The 4th means is instructing girls and boys in catechism, morals, and religion. Radical reform must begin with the children.

The 5th means is not to allow boys and girls to receive the Eucharist without making a First Communion, preceded by a preparatory retreat, and followed by enrollment in a confraternity, so that they may continue receiving the sacraments monthly or every 2 or 3 months.

The 6th means is to revive those confraternities that are already established in parishes but have fallen off, and have them fulfill their statutes exactly, beginning with a few good and more fervent souls.

The 7th means is to keep Sundays and Feast days holy, not only because God commands it, but also that they may be devoted to spiritual gatherings, frequenting the sacraments and pious reading, so that everyone may keep God's law and pray.

The 8th means is to strive to spread good books.

The 9th means is to practice the 14 works of charity or mercy.

The 10th means is to exhort those who can do so to attend Mass daily, to say a 3rd part of the Rosary, to direct all they do to the greater glory of God, to suffer all afflictions with patience, to walk always in the presence of God, and to receive the holy Sacraments frequently.

St. Anthony Claret, The Well-Instructed Seminarian, Vol 11, Chap. III, 5.

Come to the Feast

For the past 3 Sundays, we have been listening to parables that likened the Kingdom of God to a vineyard in which the Lord invited us to work and collect for him the harvest. However, lest we say that religion is an oppressive toil for a God who is nothing but a taskmaster, the Lord gives us a parable that likens the His Kingdom to a wedding feast. Instead of hearing the command, “Go and work in my vineyard,” we hear today a very cordial invitation: “Everything is ready. Come to the feast.” It is a feast that the Lord prepared for us on His holy mountain – a feast of “juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.” It is an invitation too good to resist. First of all, the one who prepared and invited us to this feast is the Lord our God. Better than an English Royal Wedding, the affair is the wedding Feast of God’s Son to His Bride, the Church. Who of us would ever think that he is worthy to be invited as a wedding guest to the marriage of the Lamb and of his Bride? This is indeed an honor too great to pass.

And yet, the surprising thing of all is that so many refuse this invitation because they think they have better things to do: one went to his farm and another to his business. And this is the problem of our modern world: it has measured life according to a paradigm of achievements or accomplishments that it has forgotten the value of feasts. Things have become too bland for a world that has assumed the likeness of a corporation which is higly concerned with mechanical productivity. And so to keep the physical well being, it simply provides for us the gym where play has become an individualistic routine of exercises. We think that time will be used more wisely in work than in accepting the invitation to “Come to the feast.”

And this is a pitiful situation because we do not know the joy we are missing. Being too preoccupied with our own affairs, we fail to appreciate the graces that God lavishes upon us and also the beauty of the eternal life to which He invites us. As St. Faustina remarked in her diary: “O Jesus, I see so much beauty scattered around me, beauty foir which I give You constant thanks. But I see that some souls are like stone, always cold and unfeeling. Even miracles hardly move them. Their eyes are always fixed on their feet, and so they see nothing but themselves.” (Diary 1284.)

God gave us 6 days to work and requires us to return to Him the 7^th. He wants to us stop working on the 7^th so that we may learn to lift our eyes from being fixed to ourselves and look around to see the wonderful things God has done for us. As He rested on the 7^th day to declare the goodness of what He has done, so should we imitate Him in declaring: “:Lord, You are truly good. Everything You have done is good!” Sunday is not a rest day so that we can think about ourselves. It is a rest day so that we can think about God. This is God’s day. This is God’s feast. This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in him!

For once, let us not think about ourselves. For once, let us think about God. Let us trust that we do not lose when we offer this day to Him. Let us trust enough that because we return this day to Him, “God will fully supply whatever you need in accord with the glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Only by doing so that we shall appreciate life for what it truly is. We shall realize that life is more than the food we eat and the clothes we wear. We shall realize that it is a blessing – it is grace upon grace. We shall realize that we are destined for something greater, for something eternal. And then we shall be grateful. “You have surrounded my life with Your tender and loving care, more than I can comprehend, for I will understand Your goodness in its entirety only when the veil is lifted. I desire that my whole life be but one act of thanksgiving to You, O God.” (Diary, 1285.)

Our Lady of La Sallete on the negligence of the Sunday Obligation and Blasphemy

on September 19, 1846, the Blessed Virgin appeared to two shepherd children Maximin and Melanie. She appeared with profuse tears falling from her eyes because of a grave message she brought mankind:

"If my people do not obey, I shall be compelled to loose my Son's arm. It is so heavy that I can no longer restrain it.

"How long have I suffered for you! If my Son is not to abandon you, I am obliged to entreat Him without ceasing. But you take no heed of that. No matter how well you pray in the future, no matter how well you act, you will never be able to make up to me what I have endured on your behalf.

"I have given you six days to work. The seventh I have reserved for myself, yet no one will give it to me. This is what causes the weight of my Son's arm to be so crushing.

"The cart drivers cannot swear without bringing in my Son's Name. These are the two things which make my Son's arms so heavy."

"...Do you say your prayers well, my children?

"Ah! my children, it is very important to do so, at night and in the morning. When you don't have time, at least say an 'Our Father' and a 'Hail Mary,' and when you can, say more.

"Only a few rather old women go to Mass in the summer. Everyone else works every Sunday all summer long, And in winter, when they don't know what else to do, they go to Mass only to scoff at religion. During Lent, they go to the butcher shop like dogs."