Communication with Visitors* Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on us! September 1 (P.S. Sept. 8, 12, 14-15, 26) Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, How is your summer? It is nice to communicate with you again. During the summer, it seems that many of us have both been blessed and troubled. On the one hand, we have to give thanks to God for all the blessings. On the other hand, we too have to give thanks to God for the divine wisdom which He has given to us in dealing with these troubles, in particular in terms of the virtues of poverty, chastity and obedience (to God). With regards to the recent blackout in Ontario and New York, etc., the virtue of poverty has a lot to teach us, i.e., either we learn to practice such virtue or we may face more blackouts in the future. Further, with respect to the divine sexual codes broken by our political leaders, the virtues of chastity and obedience have this to teach us, i.e., either we begin as never before to practice the virtues of chastity and obedience, or we may face many curses of Biblical proportions. The revealed Word of God has warned us accordingly. Let us hope that these sacred messages were given just to the people in the Old Testament: "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments… And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God… But it shall come to pass, if thou will not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and His statutes… all these curses shall come upon thee , and overtake thee: …. The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke… because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken God… The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and fiery heat, and with drought…" (Deuteronomy 28: 1-22). In any case, there are two ways to learn about the noble virtues mentioned, the easy way and the hard way. Let us also hope that we would learn from the easy way, as many peoples and saints have done so in history. If the problems of modern or postmodern world were to be solved, they would be solved not only through sound intelligence, science and management, but especially through fervent prayers and the heroic practice of poverty, chastity and obedience which most people have still much to grasp. Certainly, the numerous examples of many can teach us, especially those of the saintly religious in the Church. By the way, the organizers of WOCPEC II, i.e., The Second Worldwide Overseas Chinese Pastoral Evangelization Convention (held from September 2 -5) are asking for prayers. Let us pray that God's will be fully done in and through the Conference. Your very sincerely in Christ and Our Heavenly Mother, Editor P.S. (Sept. 8) Happy Birthday, Our Dearest Mother in Heaven! Today is the Feast of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, Our Mother in Heaven. It is a first fulfillment of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, as the Entrance Antiphon reads: "Let us celebrate with joyful hearts the birth of the Virgin Mary, of whom was born Christ Our Lord." As some of our dear readers may have noticed, the ecumenical site has moved closer to the Marian one. Without doubt, the ecumenical site would like to be nearer to the site of Our Heavenly Mother, following her more closely. Alleluia! By the way, the organizers of WOCPEC II in Los Angeles would like to thank all our dear sisters and brothers in Christ who have prayed for the Convention. Apparently, it was a great blessing from the Lord. Alleluia! P.S. (Sept. 12) Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary According to St. Louis de Monfort, there are three levels in our devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. The first consists in fulfilling our Christian duty, praying to Our Lady now and then. It is like visiting Jesus and talking to her Mother once in a while. The second, following the example of Christ, consists in giving to her with more perfect feelings of esteem and love, of confidence and veneration. It also, on our part, includes praying the five decades of Holy Rosary daily. The third is to intimate the little Jesus (in His childhood) as His little brother or sister. It consists in giving one's self entirely to Jesus through Mary, doing everything by Mary, with Mary, in Mary and for Mary, so that "we may do it all the more perfectly by Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus and for Jesus" (Preparation for Total Consecration according to Saint Louis De Monfort, p. 79). P.S. (Sept. 14-15) Feast of the Triumph of the Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows The head of a retreat centre by the name of Mater Dolorosa (i.e., Mother Sorrowful) once made a remark with respect to Our Lady of Sorrows: "She is perhaps the strongest woman ever, for she does not walk away from the cross." As a result, Our Heavenly Mother is now crowned as the Most Beloved Daughter of God the Father, the Most Beloved Mother of God the Son, and the Most Beloved Spouse of the Holy Spirit. She too has become the undisputed Queen of the whole Universe and the Queen of all the Holy Angels and Saints, etc. "For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed" (Lk 1:48). Alleluia! We also sing as part of the hymn entitled Immaculate Mary, normally the third verse of the very background hymn which we are listening to now: "Your name is our power, your virtues our light. Your love is our comfort, your pleading our might. Ave, Ave, Ave Maria! Ave, Ave, Ave Maria! " Many say: "We can go directly to Jesus. Why do we have to go through Mary, unnecessarily so?" Ladies and gentlemen, do we not know that the vast majority of the greatest popes, saints, founders and members of old religious orders and new fast-growing ecclesial movements, including sinners and situations which have miraculously changed in great blessings, have all been due to the awesome intercession to Our Heavenly Mother, apparently the Mediatrix of all graces in accordance to the pleasure of Our Lord Jesus Christ (this sentence may need to be read twice, slowly)? All in all, Our Heavenly Mother is "the Edge" given by God to all of us, freely. Take it or not, appreciate it or not, it is completely up to our very own discernment, choice, prudence, or wisdom. Just as the concern of most people in our society today, the Lord is concerned too about the importance of "an edge" in making a significant difference in our life. Alleluia! P.S. (Sept. 26) Feast of the North American Martyrs Some dear sisters and brothers have been wondering what our clear position is on the issue of same-sex marriage. As it really takes the spirit of martyrdom to speak out or to be politically incorrect these days, here is our succinct position. Following the teaching of the Church, we condemn all sins of the flesh, which include those of the same-sex, self-sex, pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, sex with minors, sex with animals, as well as the inordinate sex with the five senses, etc. And in the spirit of St. Padre Pio (whose Feast is on September 23) and of St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael, (whose Feast is on September 29), we remind those who are involved in such sins of the flesh to take their body seriously as the temple of the Holy Spirit. "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If any one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are." (1Cor 3:16-17) At the same time, with respect with the virtue of purity, we remind them to take advantage of the "edge" (as mentioned) which God has given us, i.e., the awesome intercession of Our Heavenly Mother. As we know, nobody can remain long in the sins of the flesh if he or she prays the whole Rosary fervently on a daily basis. As our society is overwhelmed with unchaste human energies, praying five decades a day in many cases are not really sufficient. One may need to frequent the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion too. By the way, one can find as many as 11 definitions of wisdom in Introduction to the Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, IV. Metaphysics (by H. D. Gardeil, O.P., 1967, pp. 6-10): (1) skill or wit as wisdom; (2) intellectual wisdom; (3) the art of governing as wisdom; (4) virtue or the wise conducting of one's life as wisdom; (5) contemplation of God or the intellectual ascent towards the highest being as wisdom; (6) our eternal salvation as ultimate wisdom; (7) infused wisdom as the gift of the Holy Spirit; (8) theological wisdom; (9) metaphysics as human wisdom; (10) wisdom as God's very essential attribute; (11) Christ as God's incarnate Wisdom. And to this list, we add (12) false wisdom. Indeed, to those who promote same-sex marriage, we have the following to say: Please do not continue to practice (12) by misusing (1), (2) and (3), while leading yourselves and others away from (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10) and (11). Dear Holy Mother of God, Padre Pio, St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, as well as our dear eight North American Martyrs, in whom God is fully present, pray for us! If the above bold statement does make any sense, it is a gift of God. Alleluia! * Fr. Michael Lapierre, S.J., and the editor John Cheng are currently taking part in this monthly column. While the latter is writing in January, March, and May, etc., the former is doing so in February, April and June, etc. As usual, we take July and August as our summer holidays. The background hymn is a version of "Immaculate Mary". Thank you. A Spiritual Insight: As we know, the Sacrament of Confession or Reconciliation with God (and with each other too) is such a great gift of God that only the devil would want to destroy it. It is something to embrace with the greatest of trust, enthusiasm and joy, and not something to be in the slightest of ways afraid of. Together with the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the majority of all depressions in the world would disappear if people would wisely take advantage of these two immense Gifts of Agape (i.e., Love of God). To promote the Sacrament of Reconciliation which is so much neglected but yet very much in need still by most of us, the Site is now on the top, to the left. Alleluia!
September 1 (P.S. Sept. 8, 12, 14-15, 26)
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
How is your summer? It is nice to communicate with you again.
During the summer, it seems that many of us have both been blessed and troubled. On the one hand, we have to give thanks to God for all the blessings. On the other hand, we too have to give thanks to God for the divine wisdom which He has given to us in dealing with these troubles, in particular in terms of the virtues of poverty, chastity and obedience (to God).
With regards to the recent blackout in Ontario and New York, etc., the virtue of poverty has a lot to teach us, i.e., either we learn to practice such virtue or we may face more blackouts in the future. Further, with respect to the divine sexual codes broken by our political leaders, the virtues of chastity and obedience have this to teach us, i.e., either we begin as never before to practice the virtues of chastity and obedience, or we may face many curses of Biblical proportions. The revealed Word of God has warned us accordingly. Let us hope that these sacred messages were given just to the people in the Old Testament:
"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments… And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God…
But it shall come to pass, if thou will not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and His statutes… all these curses shall come upon thee , and overtake thee: …. The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke… because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken God… The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and fiery heat, and with drought…" (Deuteronomy 28: 1-22).
In any case, there are two ways to learn about the noble virtues mentioned, the easy way and the hard way. Let us also hope that we would learn from the easy way, as many peoples and saints have done so in history. If the problems of modern or postmodern world were to be solved, they would be solved not only through sound intelligence, science and management, but especially through fervent prayers and the heroic practice of poverty, chastity and obedience which most people have still much to grasp. Certainly, the numerous examples of many can teach us, especially those of the saintly religious in the Church.
By the way, the organizers of WOCPEC II, i.e., The Second Worldwide Overseas Chinese Pastoral Evangelization Convention (held from September 2 -5) are asking for prayers. Let us pray that God's will be fully done in and through the Conference.
Your very sincerely in Christ and Our Heavenly Mother,
Editor
P.S. (Sept. 8) Happy Birthday, Our Dearest Mother in Heaven! Today is the Feast of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, Our Mother in Heaven. It is a first fulfillment of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, as the Entrance Antiphon reads: "Let us celebrate with joyful hearts the birth of the Virgin Mary, of whom was born Christ Our Lord."
As some of our dear readers may have noticed, the ecumenical site has moved closer to the Marian one. Without doubt, the ecumenical site would like to be nearer to the site of Our Heavenly Mother, following her more closely. Alleluia!
By the way, the organizers of WOCPEC II in Los Angeles would like to thank all our dear sisters and brothers in Christ who have prayed for the Convention. Apparently, it was a great blessing from the Lord. Alleluia!
P.S. (Sept. 12) Feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary
According to St. Louis de Monfort, there are three levels in our devotion to Mary, the Mother of God. The first consists in fulfilling our Christian duty, praying to Our Lady now and then. It is like visiting Jesus and talking to her Mother once in a while. The second, following the example of Christ, consists in giving to her with more perfect feelings of esteem and love, of confidence and veneration. It also, on our part, includes praying the five decades of Holy Rosary daily. The third is to intimate the little Jesus (in His childhood) as His little brother or sister. It consists in giving one's self entirely to Jesus through Mary, doing everything by Mary, with Mary, in Mary and for Mary, so that "we may do it all the more perfectly by Jesus, with Jesus, in Jesus and for Jesus" (Preparation for Total Consecration according to Saint Louis De Monfort, p. 79).
P.S. (Sept. 14-15) Feast of the Triumph of the Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows
The head of a retreat centre by the name of Mater Dolorosa (i.e., Mother Sorrowful) once made a remark with respect to Our Lady of Sorrows: "She is perhaps the strongest woman ever, for she does not walk away from the cross." As a result, Our Heavenly Mother is now crowned as the Most Beloved Daughter of God the Father, the Most Beloved Mother of God the Son, and the Most Beloved Spouse of the Holy Spirit. She too has become the undisputed Queen of the whole Universe and the Queen of all the Holy Angels and Saints, etc. "For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed" (Lk 1:48). Alleluia!
We also sing as part of the hymn entitled Immaculate Mary, normally the third verse of the very background hymn which we are listening to now: "Your name is our power, your virtues our light. Your love is our comfort, your pleading our might. Ave, Ave, Ave Maria! Ave, Ave, Ave Maria! "
Many say: "We can go directly to Jesus. Why do we have to go through Mary, unnecessarily so?" Ladies and gentlemen, do we not know that the vast majority of the greatest popes, saints, founders and members of old religious orders and new fast-growing ecclesial movements, including sinners and situations which have miraculously changed in great blessings, have all been due to the awesome intercession to Our Heavenly Mother, apparently the Mediatrix of all graces in accordance to the pleasure of Our Lord Jesus Christ (this sentence may need to be read twice, slowly)?
All in all, Our Heavenly Mother is "the Edge" given by God to all of us, freely. Take it or not, appreciate it or not, it is completely up to our very own discernment, choice, prudence, or wisdom. Just as the concern of most people in our society today, the Lord is concerned too about the importance of "an edge" in making a significant difference in our life.
Alleluia!
P.S. (Sept. 26) Feast of the North American Martyrs
Some dear sisters and brothers have been wondering what our clear position is on the issue of same-sex marriage. As it really takes the spirit of martyrdom to speak out or to be politically incorrect these days, here is our succinct position.
Following the teaching of the Church, we condemn all sins of the flesh, which include those of the same-sex, self-sex, pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, sex with minors, sex with animals, as well as the inordinate sex with the five senses, etc. And in the spirit of St. Padre Pio (whose Feast is on September 23) and of St. Michael, St. Gabriel and St. Raphael, (whose Feast is on September 29), we remind those who are involved in such sins of the flesh to take their body seriously as the temple of the Holy Spirit. "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If any one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are." (1Cor 3:16-17) At the same time, with respect with the virtue of purity, we remind them to take advantage of the "edge" (as mentioned) which God has given us, i.e., the awesome intercession of Our Heavenly Mother. As we know, nobody can remain long in the sins of the flesh if he or she prays the whole Rosary fervently on a daily basis. As our society is overwhelmed with unchaste human energies, praying five decades a day in many cases are not really sufficient. One may need to frequent the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion too.
By the way, one can find as many as 11 definitions of wisdom in Introduction to the Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas, IV. Metaphysics (by H. D. Gardeil, O.P., 1967, pp. 6-10): (1) skill or wit as wisdom; (2) intellectual wisdom; (3) the art of governing as wisdom; (4) virtue or the wise conducting of one's life as wisdom; (5) contemplation of God or the intellectual ascent towards the highest being as wisdom; (6) our eternal salvation as ultimate wisdom; (7) infused wisdom as the gift of the Holy Spirit; (8) theological wisdom; (9) metaphysics as human wisdom; (10) wisdom as God's very essential attribute; (11) Christ as God's incarnate Wisdom. And to this list, we add (12) false wisdom. Indeed, to those who promote same-sex marriage, we have the following to say: Please do not continue to practice (12) by misusing (1), (2) and (3), while leading yourselves and others away from (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10) and (11).
Dear Holy Mother of God, Padre Pio, St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael, as well as our dear eight North American Martyrs, in whom God is fully present, pray for us!
If the above bold statement does make any sense, it is a gift of God. Alleluia!
* Fr. Michael Lapierre, S.J., and the editor John Cheng are currently taking part in this monthly column. While the latter is writing in January, March, and May, etc., the former is doing so in February, April and June, etc. As usual, we take July and August as our summer holidays. The background hymn is a version of "Immaculate Mary". Thank you.
A Spiritual Insight: As we know, the Sacrament of Confession or Reconciliation with God (and with each other too) is such a great gift of God that only the devil would want to destroy it. It is something to embrace with the greatest of trust, enthusiasm and joy, and not something to be in the slightest of ways afraid of. Together with the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the majority of all depressions in the world would disappear if people would wisely take advantage of these two immense Gifts of Agape (i.e., Love of God). To promote the Sacrament of Reconciliation which is so much neglected but yet very much in need still by most of us, the Site is now on the top, to the left. Alleluia!