The Holy Father begins with an invitation to the Church: to intensify her journey in purifying the spirit, “so as to draw more abundantly from the Mystery of Redemption the new life in Christ the Lord”. Through this invitation, Benedict introduces Baptism, explaining that this life “was already bestowed upon us on the day of our Baptism, when we ‘become sharers in Christ’s death and Resurrection’, and there began for us ‘the joyful and exulting adventure of his disciples’”. After quoting from the writings of Paul, the Holy Father comes to a beautiful conclusion:

Hence, Baptism is not a rite from the past, but the encounter with Christ, which informs the entire existence of the baptized, imparting divine life and calling for sincere conversion; initiated and supported by Grace, it permits the baptized to reach the adult stature of Christ. (emphasis mine)

When we are baptized, we are thrown into the being of the Son, who is the “abundant life”. Therefore, the most authentic life of the “I” is never self-constructed. On the contrary, the self is most pure and mature when it is formed by the existence of the Divine Other. To separate the “self” from the Son is an ontological error that will indubitably lead to self-frustration.

But why does the Holy Father parallel Baptism with Lent? Because: “A particular connection binds Baptism to Lent as the favorable time to experience this saving Grace…[T]he Church has always associated the Easter Vigil with the celebration of Baptism: this Sacrament realizes the great mystery in which man dies to sin, is made a sharer in the new life of the Risen Christ and receives the same Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead (cf. Rm 8:11).” Benedict explains that this gift of grace must always be “rekindled in each one of us, and Lent offers us a path”.

Lent is a holy time to reintegrate one’s life with the life of Christ–to fast with Him, give with Him, and pray with Him. The love of God is infinite and how passionately He wants to hold each of us in palm of His hands, which “formed man out of the clay of the ground” (Gen 2:7). From Him our lives were molded: into Him the heart eagerly desires to ascend. And so He became one of us. How beautiful the story of God’s infinite love for His beloved creation!

At this moment, the Holy Father turns to the Gospel readings of Lent: “In order to undertake more seriously our journey towards Easter and prepare ourselves to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord…what could be more appropriate than allowing ourselves to be guided by the Word of God?” (emphasis mine)

In a couple of days, the Church will celebrate the First Sunday of Lent, during which the Gospel

reveals our condition as human beings here on earth. The victorious battle against temptation, the starting point of Jesus’ mission, is an invitation to become aware of our fragility in order to accept the Grace that frees from sin and infuses new strength in Christ–the way, the truth and the life. It is a powerful reminder that Christian faith implies, following the example of Jesus and in union with him, a battle “against the ruling forces who are masters of the darkness in this world” (Eph 6:12), in which the devil is at work and never tires–even today–of tempting whoever wishes to draw close to the Lord: Christ emerges victorious to open also our hearts to hope and guide us in overcoming the seductions of evil. (emphasis mine)

Benedict XVI articulates here the human condition: poverty. The human person is fragile, and ontologically in need of grace. Without Christ, there is no way for man to walk, no truth to embrace, and no life to experience. Any ideology without Christ, without the God of Love, is void of fulfillment or authentic meaning because it fails to truly accept the human heart in her condition of poverty. But with Christ, divine greatness offers itself to humanity. That is why Benedict stresses that to be Christian, one must follow Christ and be in union with Him. Most important, above all else the Christian is to conform oneself with Christ–be a son in the Son–who is the Incarnate Word of God: the very center of the Triune Divinity. In Him, does man taste the infinite good and beauty of God’s life, the supreme end of human hunger. Man’s poverty is redeemed by the Triune God’s divine excess of life and love.

Lastly, His Holiness exhibits a theme of “victory” in this synopsis of the Gospel. Christ is victorious and that is a cause for joy. He is the the shepherd who “feeds his flock…gathers the lambs… [in his arms, and] carrying them in his bosom…[he leads] the ewes with care” (Is 40:11). He is our hope. When, in every direction, temptation pulls human hearts away from their God, may all remember Jesus Christ, who has emerged victorious and is always willing and wanting to “open also our hearts to hope and guide us in overcoming the seductions of evil”. Followers of a victorious king, may we, His humble subjects, serve Him with joy, zeal and unbroken fidelity. There is something so much greater than sin, and it is Love. That alone is credible, satisfying, and infinite: all else trembles at His feet.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

I love the season of Lent. It is the perfect time to get one’s life in order. It is the perfect season to reflect upon our relationship with God in an even deeper way than usual. We have many disciplines to help us, especially the practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. To be clear, it is important that we pray at all times and in all seasons, not just in Lent. Likewise, it is good for us to fast and habitually practice small mortifications, small penances, small acts of loving reparation, throughout our lives even outside of Lent (and outside of Fridays throughout the year). And, it’s never a bad time to give alms; “now” is always the perfect time. But in Lent, the Church lays a special emphasis on these practices to help us through our desert journey. In Lent, we travel with Jesus (and with all of the saints who have gone before us) into the wilderness, toward the joy which Easter brings.

And so, we begin our Lenten pilgrimage. My prayer is that we exit Lent changed people; that when Easter comes, we will be more closely united to Christ than ever before. If you haven’t read it yet, I would highly recommend prayerfully reading over Pope Benedict XVI’s Message for Lent this 2011. It is a moving letter, with many insights so beautifully written. The text may be accessed online at the Vatican website, here: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/lent/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20101104_lent-2011_en.html.

Three other things I would like to emphasize for your consideration this Lent:

(1) Go on a retreat. I think it is a good practice to go on a retreat once a year, and Lent is a perfect season for a retreat.

(2) Meditate deeply on Scripture. If Scripture reading is not a regular practice in your life, then there is no better time to start than now. Why don’t you make a Lenten resolution to spend just 5 minutes a day prayerfully immersing yourself in Scripture. I’d recommend taking up one of the Gospels. I have always been fond of the method recommended by St. Josemaría Escrivá: “If you wish to get close to our Lord through the pages of the Gospels, I always recommend that you try to enter in on the scene, taking part as just one more person there.”¹

(3) read a book for spiritual reading, perhaps only a few minutes (5 or 10) a day. A great one, if you haven’t already read it, is Scott Hahn’s Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and their Biblical Roots, available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Signs-Life-Catholic-Customs-Biblical/dp/0385519494/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299642080&sr=1-1.

1. St. Josemaría Escrivá, “The Strength of Love” (homily given 8 June 1968), in Friends of God, 227-241 (Princeton: Scepter, 2002 [1977]), 227.

Wired with Sound

The average college-aged male spends between 4 and 14 hours a day in electronic media.  If you add-in sleep, our time for work, and personal interactions, there’s not much time for anything else.

I often find myself having to really focus on paying attention to people in everyday surroundings; avoiding the temptation to multi-task while I’m around others.

Entering Into the Silence: Reflection

The silence of the church is so different than the constant sensation we find outside.

Coming from such a sound and media-saturated environment, it’s hard to get settled into the silence.  Why do we find it so difficult?

Silence offers us the opportunity to be alone with ourselves, which is sometimes difficult on a college campus with roommates, classrooms, lounges, cafeterias, and football games.  When we’re not being bombarded with media, the silence affords the chance to reflect on what we’ve done, who we are, what we’re going to do.  Reflection helps us to know ourselves.  But, reflection only gets us so far.  It is primarily in relationship that we discover who we are.

From Reflection to Prayer: Silence with a Purpose

Reflection moves from self-evaluation into personal prayer when we place ourselves before the Lord who is always present.  “In this silence, unbearable to the ‘outer’ man, the Father speaks to us his incarnate Word” (CCC 2717).  God is everywhere, but the parish church is a privileged place for this encounter because Jesus is personally present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist, whole and entire: His body, blood, soul, and divinity.  God is present…personally present!

How To: Silent Personal Prayer

First, place yourself in the presence of God: “Lord, I know that you’re here, I know that you’re present, I know that you see me, that you hear me, that you love me.  I adore you profoundly.”  Or…more simply: “Okay, Lord, here I am.”

Second, thank God for who He is and what he’s done in your life.  What are you thankful for today, this week?  Thank Him for creating you; for sending His Son Jesus; for setting us free from sin.

Awkward Silence

Silence can be awkward.  But so can conversation.  Awkward silences are okay with God.  A “respectful silence in the presence of the ‘ever greater’ God” is good (CCC 2628).  Even my best friends are frequently those with whom silence isn’t awkward.  It’s okay to just be in the silence with God.  One who prays is never alone.

The Laud examined is: “The Angels Ask the Reason for Christ’s Pilgrimage to This World”.

Reading this poem for the first time, I was struck with the underlying reason of God’s coming to the earth. It was because of love. In the Franciscan tradition, especially within the theology of Bonaventure, Christ came into the world not primarily due to the sin of man, but because in Christ is the fullest actualization of the created order. Now, obviously due to sin, the “form that the incarnation takes will be thoroughly shaped by that fact”; but, the point is that the “one cause of the incarnation…is the limitless love…of God” [1]. Jacopone seems to agree.

Another message from these stanzas is about the unitive offering of Christ. By coming down, man can come up: in Christ, there is a mystical passage into God being. A deep relationship that transforms the human person is accessible in an unheard of way through God’s Son, who establishes peace between man and God, brings them together in a common joy. He shows us and accomplishes what is the human person’s deepest potentiality: adoration of God–”the act of submission to God will be mine”.

After reading these stanzas, I first questioned if Jacopone was in fact right that Christ came to teach man. In some circles today, Christ is diminished into a mere teacher of morals–something that is just nonsense without question. But, I do not think that is what Jacopone is aiming at. Christ’s teaching is centered on transformation and relationship. The teaching of Christ is love–it is a new way of being and life; by teaching man how to love, He is simultaneously offering a joyful and sacred place where man can enter into: “Remain in my love” (Jn 15:9). It is a lesson–love–that is more than a message: it is also a gift of elevated personality and ontology. This is why, if we follow His teachings, we follow not merely ethical laws, but we follow Christ into relationship and abide with God in joy.

These stanzas also illustrate the Franciscan emphasis of poverty. Very briefly: we cannot come to know Christ if we ourselves are full. We must come to Christ empty. Only then can we be in a state of receptivity. The Lordship of Christ is a Kingdom of kenotic energy and love. Additionally, when one is humbled, then is one more capable to see the necessity and dignity of the other–every other.

I think this last set of stanzas is particularly beautiful. The Word Incarnate is truly word. He is the book of life and the words within that book are His blood–that which is man’s finest nutrition and so source of growth, conservation, and energy. It is a book for all, not limited to a certain elect, but for every heart that God has crafted for love. I think it should be our prayer that all of us better read this book, better share it with others, and work to publish it daily and anew in our lives–that is, humbly be Word in our very being and live in love with God and neighbor.

——-

[1] Hayes, Zachary. “Bonaventure: Mystery of the Triune God”. The History of Franciscan Theology. Ed. Kenan Osborne. St. Bonaventure: Franciscan Institute, 2007. 93-94

[T]hough he [Christ] was in the form of God, [he] did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness…he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth. (cf. Phil 2:6-11)

In this passage, the writer interweaves Old Testament faith and culture with the Gospel of Christ. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger explains that in this hymn the “apostolic Church takes up the words of promise in Isaiah 45:23: ‘By myself I have sworn, from my mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow.” In the interweaving of Old and New Testaments, it becomes clear that, even as crucified, Jesus…is himself God by nature. Through him, through the Crucified, the bold promise of the Old Testament is now fulfilled: all bend the knee before Jesus, the one who descended, and bow to him precisely as the one true God” [1]. The theologian eventually concludes that it is therefore in adoration, in this humble bowing down and kneeling to, that man partakes in the most authentic human culture: the culture of truth that loves the Creator and King. Hence adoration and prayer, which culminate in the Liturgical sphere, have a distinctively cosmic element; creation itself is most true and noble when everything that is becomes itself, and ergo gives praise to her God. Thus, if we look at this through an ontological and anthropological lens, we can conclude with Ratzinger: “The humble gesture by which we fall at the feet of the Lord inserts us into the true path of life of the cosmos” [2].

Furthermore, kneeling itself is a Christological gesture. In the Acts of the Apostles, the writer records Stephen’s martyrdom, and details that as they were stoning this loyal disciple of Jesus Christ, “he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lord do no hold this sin against them’” (7:60). Surely, this verse reminds one of Christ, who, in Luke’s Gospel, kneels in Gethsemane. Thus, Luke is showing that the kneeling of the first martyr is his entry into the prayer of Jesus. Something ontological, even mystical, is taking place here. When man abandons himself in his entirety, causing his knees to buckle, he falls to the ground, the dirt of which the first man was made. But in this descent of man to the ground, there is the humility of the God-man, Jesus Christ. In this descent of man to the ground, man encounters the prayer of Jesus Christ, and by acknowledging and crying out to the King of Kings, man is lifted into the clouds–into the realm of God Himself. Ultimately, the truest position for the human person that expresses his nature in relation to God is on one’s knees, looking up to the Crucified Lord and in that humble gaze of God’s glory, he tastes that blood and water–the elements of the Sacramental economy–from Jesus’ side that set man free, inundate him with grace.

Kneeling inserts man into the position of Him who is at the center of history, Jesus of Nazareth. How beautiful this Christological component of kneeling! It is no wonder that, according to a story of the Desert Fathers, the devil, appearing to “a certain Abba Apollo…looked black and ugly, with frighteningly thin limbs, but most strikingly, he had no knees“. Referencing this myth, Ratzinger declares that the very “inability to kneel is seen as the very essence of the diabolical” [3]. This is not an attack on any sort of physical inabilities that some unfortunately may suffer. The devil has no knees because he lacks so much that proper worship is literally impossible for him. May this serve as a reminder to us the harm and danger of sin, which deforms human nature–the knees of the soul, we could even say.

All of this reminds me of a quote by Pope John XXIII: “Man is never so great as when he is kneeling”. In an interview with Peter Seewald, Joseph Ratzinger addresses this very quote: “I believe that this attitude, which was already one of the primitive forms of Old Testament prayer, is something essential for Christians”. [4] But why is it so that this action and position is essential? What is the practical implication and understanding? In a society with philosophical structures that fail to see interiorly, it may appear that kneeling or standing–especially in the Sacred Liturgy, for-instance–don’t really matter, as long as one is merely “prayerful”; some may even propose kneeling to be archaic and now unnecessary. However, I disagree. We have noted the cosmic and Christological dimensions of kneeling, which should suffice to silent those groups that deem kneeling unimportant. Nonetheless, a critical look at the position is also revealing. In Ratzinger’s words: “It is the most impressive physical expression of Christian piety, by which, on one hand, we remain upright, looking out, gazing upon him, but, on the other, we nonetheless bow down” [5].

Lastly, any sort of discussion of kneeling is bound to remind one of its place and significance in the Liturgy, the culmination of prayer–as has already been stated. It is a miserable circumstance that kneeling, in some places, is losing its importance within the Mass. As the surest expression of abandonment and praise, what a perfect place for man to express his awareness of the reality that is the Divine Liturgy. Ratzinger writes powerfully:

It may well be that kneeling is alien to modern culture–insofar as it is a culture, for this culture has turned away from the faith and no longer knows the One before whom kneeling is the right, indeed the intrinsically necessary gesture. The man who learns to believe learns also to kneel, and a faith or a liturgy no longer familiar with kneeling would be sick at the core. Where it has been lost, kneeling must be rediscovered, so that, in our prayer, we remain in fellowship with the apostles and martyrs, in fellowship with the whole cosmos, indeed in union with Jesus Christ Himself. [6]

If piety and orthodoxy, as well as orthopraxy, have any importance for Christians, then may we kneel. May we kneel in adoration of Christ the King, the perfect Mediator Dei, from whose being the entire universe was formed. May we kneel as we gaze into the Heart of God’s only Son, and in that gaze, soar the heavens above the dirt of the earth. May we kneel in thanksgiving, praise, and petition to the Almighty One. Indeed, may we kneel because we are in love, and in that falling to one’s knees, fall deeper into that Vastness of Being, the Trinity.

______

1. The Spirit of the Liturgy (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2000), 174

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid., 193 (emphasis original)

4. God And the World (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2002), 410

5. Ibid., 409 (emphasis added)

6. Spirit of the Liturgy, 194

Mysterious Hunger

“Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless, if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it.”

Pope John Paul II wrote those words almost 31 years ago, yet they still resonate with us today.  But why?  Why does love make the world go ‘round?  Why do we sacrifice so much for even a glimmer of it?  Why do we sell everything once we have found it? Why are we hard-wired for love?

Wonder

It is not fear or lack of meaning that opens us out toward these ‘why’ questions.  Love itself brings us to these questions, to this wonderment over our existence, what we are here for.  It is only where “love is missing…[that] the question of meaning lacks the air it needs to catch fire.”  Indeed, “the experience of love is the birthplace of wonder, the first step along a new journey toward the fullness of meaning…Wonder can be born only in the matrix of love.  Even the amazement that fills us when we behold the marvels of creation makes sense only in light of the experience of love” (Called to Love).

The Great Awakening

If love awakens one to the experience of wonder and the question of meaning, it is in our response to that love that “puts in our hands a compass to guide our quest for meaning to the goal of true happiness” (Called to Love).   Though the danger of turning toward self-love always remains, “love is a guide that leads us beyond ourselves and toward transcendence…takes us out of ourselves and ushers us into a fullness of life that is bigger than our tiny selves.  The heart of experience, then, is the wonder awakened by the revelation of love.  Love opens the very roots of the human person to the encounter with the other, to transcendence, and to newness of life” (Called to Love).

Faith as Response to Love

When we experience love we are called to love, called to respond and return love for love.  Yet, love cannot be demanded or measured, cannot be prodded or proven.  This foundation of human experience calls for a response of faith/trust in the act of receiving love and faith/trust in the act of giving love in return.  In the response of faith/trust to love, we are moved beyond ourselves, beyond what we can construct, create, conjure, or prove.

This wonderment and call to respond to love moves us from our initial experience of love to our experience of our existence as a gift of love.  We experience our very existence as a gift of love and this too calls us to respond…but to Whom?  Who is responsible?  This love calls us out in faith to the One who made us.  Indeed, the natural “human experience of love points toward a fullness that comes to light only in the encounter with Christ.  Wonder culminates in faith’s response to Christ’s revelation of the fullness of love” on the Cross (Called to Love).

Why?

Why are we built this way?  Because we were created in the image and likeness of the Triune God, Who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Lover, Beloved, and Love.  The Holy Trinity is an eternal exchange of love.  We were created in God’s image and likeness, and so we are created in love and called to love.  Praise the Holy Trinity!

In an excerpt of some retreat notes, the Saint writes on the power and beauty of prayer:

[Prayer] is the only means of purifying us, of uniting us to God, and of allowing God to unite himself to us and be glorified in us. We must pray to obtain the apostolic virtues; pray that we may use them to help others, and pray also that we may not lose them while serving others.

Without a doubt, Saint Claude’s spirituality of prayer is intense. It is a means, and what he identifies as the only means, of purification and unification with God. This understanding of prayer is mystical, that prayer is a certain transportation of the soul into the arms of God. Saint Catherine of Siena, for-instance, explains that through prayer, the soul tastes truth and goodness, and “unites [itself] with God”.[1] This mystical theology of prayer is also how the Catechism of the Catholic Church defines prayer—using the words of St. John Damascene: “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God” (CCC 2559). If prayer is about the transportation of the soul above, then the object of prayer is not just God, but more specifically, it is the presence of God. Prayer cultivates the Most High present within one’s own existential make-up. Prayer enhances the life of God within us by bringing us closer to Him: prayer awakens man.

The Saint continues, considering the counsel of Saint Paul to pray without ceasing: “[This] seems sweet to me and in no way impossible. It includes the practice of the presence of God…We always have need of God, therefore we must always pray”. Likewise and furthermore, the greatest charity is the giving of Jesus Christ to others. Not only, then, do we pray in order to be with God, but we pray to overflow with God: prayer, thence, becomes a way of being gift: “How can we help our neighbor? By prayer and good works. Preaching is useless without grace, and grace is only obtained by prayer. If conversions are few, it is because few pray.”

One cannot consider prayer without its component and fullness within the Holy Mass. Saint Claude goes so far as to write that “God is more honored by a single Mass than he could be by all actions of angels and men together”. He continues that it is in the Mass, in this “adorable Sacrifice”, that man can “find all things: graces, riches spiritual and temporal, favors for body and mind for life and eternity”. With such an understanding of the Eucharist, is it any wonder that the Saint also writes about the necessity of the Sacrament?

My daily Mass and Communion is my only hope and resource. Jesus Christ can do very little if he cannot uphold me from day to day. He will not fail to reproach me if I begin to relax; each day he will counsel me and give me new strength; he will instruct, console, and encourage me and give me all the graces for which I pray. [Emphasis added.]

These words ought to inspire the Christian of today. In the Holy Mass, the participating individual is able to encounter the authenticity of a hope that transforms and renews, to receive and be received into the communion of Jesus Christ and therefore eat the greatest nutrient of the human person: the bread of life (cf. Jn 6). To encounter Jesus Christ is a central component of the Liturgical life. By encountering Him, our souls are lifted and renewed, and our senses are opened and strengthened by the powers of faith, hope, and love. By encountering Jesus Christ we enter into the communion of creation that longs for the closeness of the Creator, in whom man’s true source of happiness rests. The Holy Mass is that place where the personality of the human person reaches its fullest expression in the adoration and reception of her God.

I was greatly touched in considering the thoughts that Jesus Christ has of me when I hold him in my hands: the dispositions of his Heart, his desires and plans for my soul. What sweetness and grace a pure and detached soul receives in this Sacrament.

I would now like to end with a brief passage the Saint wrote on charity and service to others:

God is in the midst of us, and it seems that we do not recognize him. He is in our neighbor and desires to be served, loved, and honored in him, and he will reward us more than if we served him in person…Let each one see Jesus Christ in his neighbor.

Religion has always been about the other, that is, some sort of divinity. However, in Christianity, the whole structure of the other is transcended and illuminated. Christianity is, in the first place, about being close with the Most High, the God of Love. In that communion with the Creator, however, man is received into the communion of creation; thus, because Christianity is about the Ultimate Other, who is the God of Jesus Christ, it always concentrates on the other. Christianity is therefore a religion of excess, of being radically and extensively pro-life. For true life is one of excess and fullness. Only from God can such spring forth into the human heart.

May these words on service inspire us to dive deeper into relationship with others, and to look into their eyes and see not a reflection of oneself, but, aided by light of faith, adore the eyes and presence of Christ.

Saint Claude la Colombiére, pray for us!

The primary Gospel message that Gregory is preaching on is Christ the Good Shepherd (Jn 10). He is speaking to encourage the flock to truly be flock, and by that he means true followers of the Heavenly Shepherd: “Ask yourselves whether you belong to his flock, whether you know him, whether the light of his truth shines in your minds. I assure you that it is not by faith that you will come to know him, but by love”. To be a sheep of the Good Shepherd is if to, not surprisingly, follow Him—and this requires love.

Moreover, to arrive at this conclusion, Gregory first read and interpreted the following passage: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own – by which I mean, I love them – and my own know me. In plain words: those who love me are willing to follow me, for anyone who does not love the truth has not yet come to know it”. Gregory, here, is drawing upon the Biblical tradition of knowledge, namely, that it is something more than a mere acknowledgement of a fact, that it, instead, involves an interior transformation and even a certain relationship with the truth. Thus, when we come to know God, we thereby come to love the truth—which He is—and so enter into discipleship.

The question, then, seems to be, “How do I come to know God?”. Gregory answers this question by tracing the path that the Son took. It is through love that man comes in communication with God. For the flock of Jesus Christ is a flock inundated with love, and that is the mark of Christianity, of being Christian (cf. Jn 34-35). The whole persona of Jesus is love. He is God Incarnate, the personification of Love. He came “to serve and give his life as a ransom” (Mk 10:45). Therefore, to come to know God requires that we come to know the mediator of God, Christ Jesus. This, in turn, necessitates a conformation-in-being with Jesus. And how one comes to this is through love: serving and giving his life to others. Living for the other is the atom of the Christian compound, so to speak.

Gregory quotes from the First Letter of John to emphasize the importance of love in knowing God: “anyone who claims to know God without keeping his commandments is a liar” (1 Jn 2:4). In a later passage, John writes: “Whoever is without love does not know God” (1 Jn 4:8). Just as God came down into the human condition through love, so man comes to know God through love, of which God Himself is the source and fount.

Thus, love really is a mystical power. By entering into life, into the “sheepfold through me [Jesus] he [one] shall be saved; he shall go freely in and out and shall find good pasture. He will enter into a life of faith; from faith he will go out to vision, from belief to contemplation, and will graze in the good pastures of everlasting life”.

The God of Love calls us to a life of love. When we therefore live charitably, generously, and gratuitously, we begin to follow His incarnate Son—the Bridge into the Divine. Love is the ingredient of mysticism, of coming into contact with the Infinite, of experiencing the closeness of God’s presence face-to-face.

The Pope closes his homily with beautiful words of inspiration that, still today, should be a source of encouragement for Christians: “Let us stir up our hearts, rekindle our faith, and long eagerly for what heaven has in store for us. To love thus is to be already on our way. No matter what obstacles we encounter, we must not allow them to turn us aside from the joy of that heavenly feast.” The excerpt accordingly ends with a message of joy. There is a certain, unique joy of knowing Christ. It is a joy that liberates, a joy that conveys true life, and a joy that nourishes the divine source of the human person. It is a joy that only comes from God, and it is a joy that is accessible only through love.

Thus, just as Deus Caritas est, may we, in turn be love, and so be with God, and allow our souls to experience their primal wings and soar the heavens with the Divine, once again.

Life Rosary – Meditations and Prayers is a meditation and instructive aid for those praying the Rosary. It does NOT replace your Rosary beads, but rather helps you focus on the mysteries of the Rosary.

Fr. Frank Pavone from Priests for Life has shared additional prayers and meditations to compliment and focus your attention on life and human dignity. Each day of the week includes special prayers for mothers, the unborn, for forgiveness, governments, and the world.

Our Pro-Life Rosary app is priced at $1 to help raise money for pro-life causes. All of the proceeds go to support pro-life initiatives and organizations, including Priests for Life. Our first iPhone app is free and was downloaded 25,000 times in 6 months. With your help in promoting this latest app, we could raise $25,000 or more for pro-life initiatives this year!

Please help us spread the word about this app to your friends, parish and diocese. Share this post on Facebook and Twitter.

Screenshots from Life Rosary – Meditations and Prayers

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The USCCB’s Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities encourages us, alongside the Scriptures, to petition the Lord for mercy and justice.

Prayer is the foundation of all that we do in defense of human life. Our efforts—whether educational, pastoral, or legislative—will be less than fully fruitful if we do not change hearts and if we do not ourselves overcome our own spiritual blindness. Only with prayer—prayer that storms the heavens for justice and mercy, prayer that cleanses our hearts and our souls—will the culture of death that surrounds us today be replaced with a culture of life.¹

I’d like to focus on three points in the pastoral plan that every one of us can take action.

Pray for life at every Mass

Parishes should include in the petitions at every Mass a prayer that ours will become a nation that respects and protects all human life, born and unborn, reflecting a true culture of life.²

As a new Catholic I was impressed by the prayers for life offered daily at Mass. If your parish does not participate in this request from the USCCB, please consider adding it to the book of petitions or speak with your pastor about including prayers for life at every Mass.

Remember parents in your prayers

Parishes should give special pastoral attention and offer special prayers for those who have suffered the loss of an unborn child due to miscarriage, abortion, or other cause.³

As one who’s suffered the loss of a child through miscarriage, I may not fully understand the torture of those that choose death for their child, but I do empathize with the pain of loss. And as the men and women who participate in the Silent No More campaign can attest, the pain is excruciating. Let us not forget the parents who live with their “choice”, that they too may be reconciled with our Redeemer.

Pray for life during Liturgy of the Hours, Stations of the Cross, Rosary, Novenas, Prayer Vigils, etc.

The Liturgy of the Hours as well as paraliturgical services also offer opportunities for the celebration of life and instruction in the moral teaching of the Church.⁴

When Christians gather for prayer, take this time to pray for life. Priests for Life, for example, has a great list of meditations to compliment the Stations of the Cross.

The Venerable Pope John Paul II exhorts us to pray for life daily in Evangelium vitae:

A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer.⁵

In honor of this exhortation, let us join with the prayers of the faithful. To get started, take a few moments to pray through the prayers below. May these words become the prayers of our hearts.

Prayers for Life

Lenten Pro-life Prayer⁶

Father of all mercy,
We thank you for this season of grace and light.
We know that sin has blinded us.
Draw us ever closer to you, in prayer and penance.

Since you, O God, are light itself,
Give all your people a clearer understanding
Of what is sin, and what is virtue.

Grant in particular that we may see, as never before,
The profound dignity of every human life,
Including the vulnerable unborn children.

Give us grace to defend
Our brothers and sisters in the womb
By our prayers, our words,
And our self-sacrificing actions.

We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen’s prayer for life

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph I love you very much. I beg you to spare the life of the unborn baby that I have spiritually adopted who is in danger of abortion.

A prayer to end abortion

Heavenly Father have mercy on our nation and the world.
Through the light and truth of Your Spirit, return our society
to a system of justice that holds all life sacred.
I pray for the children who today will be returned to You
by the martyrdom of abortion.
May the sufferings and blood of these holy innocents,
be united with
the Most Precious Blood of the Lamb,
Who won for us salvation.
May they help obtain through You, Author of all life
an end to the slaughter throughout the world.
In the most powerful Name of Your Son our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Pro-Life Rosary Meditations and Prayers on your iPhone

Caritas et Veritas is also pleased to make available the first pro-life application available on the iPhone or iPod Touch: Life Rosary – Meditations and Prayers. In addition to the mysteries of the Rosary, this application includes prayers and meditations from Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life. Each day of the week includes special prayers for mothers, the unborn, our government, and the world.

We would greatly appreciate your support in getting the word out about this application. Please consider leaving a review and rating on iTunes and sharing the application with your friends.

1. USCCB Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities on Prayer
2. USCCB Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities on Prayer
3. USCCB Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities on Prayer
4. USCCB Pastoral Plan for Pro-Life Activities on Prayer
5. Pope John Paul II, Evangelium vitae, no. 100
6. Priests for Life