September 4, 1998 (P.S.: Sept. 5,7,8,9,10,14,15,17,19,21,22,23,26,28,29,30)
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Today the Church celebrates the feast day of her blessed saint, Blessed Sister Dina Bélanger (1897-1929), the Canadian version of Blessed Sister M. Faustina Kowalska of Poland (1905-1938). Both holy nuns went to Heaven at the age of 33 and both wrote an astonished autobiography. Having lived an ordinary life with extraordinary love, she died, or rather entered fully into the Divine Heavenly Family, on September 4, 1929. She was beatified on March 20, 1993 in Rome. Sr. Dina was born in Quebec on April 30, 1897. After studying with outstanding achievement at the Convent of St-Roch, Bellevue Boarding School and the Conservatory of Music in New York, she entered the Congregation of the Religious of Jesus and Mary in 1921.
Pope John Paul II commended her saintly life on March 22, 1993 as follows: "Dian Bélanger has left us a shining example of intimate dialogue with Christ in which she engaged with all the delicacy of her sensitive nature; she was musically gifted and this undoubtedly prepared her to welcome the divine presence and predisposed her for inexpressible praise."
Regarding her autobiography [The Autobiography of Dina Bélanger, 3rd Edition revised and up-dated (Montréal: Religious of Jesus and Mary, 1993)] , Fr. Franciois-Marie Léthel, Carmelite, noted: "This Autobiography is one of the most flawless jewels in the spiritual writing of the XXth century. This first impression received on reading it is the captivating beauty of the Mystery of Jesus as well as of Christian holiness which is the deepest communion with this Mystery. Whoever reads and re-reads this text, written by a saint who was at the same time an artist, is left with the same basic impression: How beautiful it is! It is like the treasure or the precious pearl of which Jesus speaks in the Gospel."
The back cover of The Autobiography of Dina Bélange further reads: "By her prophetic testimony, written at the request of her superiors, Dina speaks to the young, to parents, to priests, to consecrated souls, to artists and to the sick, in a word to all those who, in looking upon her, find themselves exposed to Love, which alone can transform a life and restore it to true joy."
May the Most Holy Trinity and Its
whole Family of Holy Angels and Saints be with us always!
Yours sincerely in Christ and Our Heavenly Mother,
The editor
P.S.1 (Sept.5) Today we remember the anniversary "ultimate triumph" of Mother Theresa's life as an active contemplative. It was a year ago today that she entered into Heaven to receive her crown and to live happily ever after, forever and ever, in loving union with the Most Holy Trinity and all the Holy Angels and Saints.
Many of us are aware of her heroic active mission -- serving the poorest of the poor. But not many are aware of her contemplative life -- from where she received her immeasurable strength. It is known that she attended the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass every morning and spent at least one Holy Hour praying before the Blessed Sacrament. That is why she said that she would not go anywhere without the Mass.
P.S.2 (Sept.7) Today is Labor Day in Canada. Let us continue to pray, to care and to work for the poor and struggling - economically, socially, emotionally, and/or spiritually, etc. - in varying degrees as according to our special calling.
P.S.3 (Sept.8) Today is the birthday of Our Heavenly Mother! Let us each give her a special birthday gift. It could be a simple act of charity to someone. It could be a promise of prayer, e.g., to say five decades of Holy Rosary every day for her intentions. Perhaps something greater? Just give our dearest Mother in Heaven whatever you feel would please her most today.
Mother Theresa was once asked: "How much should we love Mary?" Her reply was: "As much as Jesus loves Mary, His own Mother." As a suggestion, give your very dearest Mother in Heaven a gift that would make her shed tears of joy in a surprise.
P.S.4 (Sept.9) Referring to the Sept. 5 message, the term "ultimate faithfulness" may be more fitting than "ultimate triumph" in depicting Mother Theresa's entrance into Heaven. She used to say, "The most important thing is to be faithful, not successful." Apparently, in God's eyes, faithfulness and success means the same thing. Further, if Mother Theresa had a choice, she would have chosen to remain on earth to continue serving the poorest of the poor. Her ultimate triumph consists simply in faithfully serving them and helping them carry their cross.
As a great Missionary Sister of Charity, she had been faithfully serving Christ in the spirit of St. Paul: "For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, so that I may share abundantly in your boasting in Christ Jesus." (Phi 1:21-26)
Thank you, dear Mother Theresa, for your profound faithfulness in serving Christ among the little ones!
P.S.5 (Sept.10) Two days ago, on September 8 - the birthday of Our Lady, Rt. Rev. Mitrophoric Archpriest Prof. Petro B. T. Bilaniuk, S.T.B., Dr. Theol., Dr. Phil., C.D.S.P., D.D., L.F.I.B.A., passed away. He is survived by his beloved wife and four sons. Petro Borys Tereshkovych Bilaniuk was born in Zalishchyky, a small modern town in Western Ukraine on August 4, 1932. He married Dr. Franziska Maria Theresia Limbach, Ph.D., in 1960 and was ordained a Ukrainian priest in 1981. Prof. Bilaniuk is remembered, among other things, as an intellectual genius and a dedicated theological teacher. One of his ingenious works is Studies in Eastern Christianity in five volumes (1977, 1982, 1983, 1989, 1998). He also wrote many articles for various encyclopedias, including four for the New Catholic Encyclopedia and eleven for The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Religion.
Fr. Bilaniuk had a profound understanding and devotion to Mary, the Mother of God and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. In fact, it was he who coined for her the term "Pneumatophora" [i.e., Carrier (in the feminine gender) of the Holy Spirit]. Prof. Bilaniuk had been teaching at the Faculty of Theology, University of St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, from 1962 until he took ill three years ago. He was also the professor who taught the editor Eastern Orthodox theology from 1981 to 1992. Besides, Fr. Bilaniuk had been the founding theological advisor of Theology of Energy Research Education from 1985 to 1996.
Thank you, dear Fr. and Prof. Bilaniuk, for your great faithfulness in serving Christ among us! May the Most Holy Trinity (whom you called the Divine Family), together with the Pneumatophora and the rest of the Family of Heavenly Angels and Saints be with you always, forever and ever! You always enjoyed attending and organizing Sunday parties for students. Now in Heaven you can truly rest and party with the whole Divine Heavenly Family in their unending Divine Family Party, for all eternity!
Rt. Rev. Prof. Petro B. T. Bilaniuk's wake is next Monday and Tuesday, September 14 and 15. It begins with special prayers at 7:00 p.m. at St. Nicholas Church, 4 Bellwoods Ave., Toronto. His funeral Mass is on Wednesday, September 16, 9:30 a.m. at the same church.
Please remember Fr. Bilaniuk in your devoted prayers. Thank you very much.
P.S.6 (Sept.14) Today the Church celebrates the Triumph of the Cross. As we know, the cross and the crown are simply two sides of the same coin. Where there is no pain, there is no gain; where there is no greater cross, there is no greater crown.
However, there is a proper way of carrying the cross, i.e., the way Jesus Himself has recommended: "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." (Mt 11:28-30) Notice that Jesus has used the words "all" instead of "some" in addressing this message to us. He advises us also to be truly simple and humble, etc.
One normal way through which we would attain closer to the way of Jesus is a lot of daily prayers. Besides praying at home, go to daily Mass. Spend some time before the Blessed Sacrament in sacred quietude. Join a prayer group. And once in a while, go to confession. If we still cannot find peace, go to a retreat and open our heart to an experienced spiritual director.
P.S.7 (Sept.15) Today the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Besides being known as our most sorrowful Mother, she is also known as the most sorrowful Daughter of God the Father, the most sorrowful Mother of God the Son, and the most sorrowful Spouse of the Holy Spirit.
In the best sense of the word, Jesus and Mary are the two most sensitive persons in the world whose greatest sorrow seem to be directly related to our sins and eternal salvation. Many times in the past, according to the personal witness of many Saints, they appeared in great tears of sorrow, begging us to pray for the conversion of hardened sinners and to do reparation for all the crimes committed against God and one another. To be sure, if only we can see what they see and feel what they feel, we would have done the same, begging one another in tears of sorrow to do the same. Since we may never see and feel what they see, we may as well trust the channels they have chosen for us. This is where the Magisterium comes in --- to help us discern true mystics from false mystics, true visionaries from false visionaries.
Indisputably, one of the true mystics and visionaries is St. Bridget of Sweden. It is through her that God has revealed to us an excellent way: a) to share the sorrows of our most sorrowful Mother, as well as to console her; b) to do reparation of our sins; c) to help convert hardened sinners, etc.
We know who our true friends are when we are in sorrow. We know who really love us when we are not well. For an authentic way to prove that we really love and care for our most sorrowful Mother, click here .
P.S.8 (Sept.17) For more information on the life of Rt. Rev. Prof. Dr. Petro B.T. Bilaniuk, chick here.
P.S.9 (Sept.19) Someone was asking about Theology of Energy and the other writings of the editor, as well as the completion of the website.
First, the editor would have promoted his works at every opportunity if he were not the editor. Now, he has to maintain a healthy balance constantly between being the editor and being a writer of a special subject. As the scale is tipping the other side, he would soon start sharing more Theology of Energy and his writings with our readers.
Further, because of its size, this website may take quite a few more years (or decades) to complete. In a way, it will never be completed, since materials are slowly but continuously added to it. As we may have seen, only a small proportion of its contents is filled or red-asterisked.
Thank you for understanding.
P.S.10 (Sept.21) Regarding the completion of the website mentioned:
P.S.11 (Sept.22) We forgot to say thank you yesterday. So, thank you!
P.S.12 (Sept.23) What is your MD index today?
Today, according to the Toronto Star (p. B8), the Toronto UV index reads 3.8. Perhaps we should also ask about the index of our own Milieu Divin (i.e., Divine Milieu).
While the UV index shows the level of unwanted physical energy over us, the MD (Milieu Divin) index shows the level of the most beneficial Divine Energy permeating and surrounding us. For further information on Divine Milieus, click here. As part of the desktop publishing novelty, this may be a rather bold way through which the editor begins sharing Theology of Energy more with our visitors. Praise God!
[The UV index values indicates the exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays, varying from minimal 0-2, low 3-4, moderate 5-6, high 7-8, very high 10. The UV index is provided daily by Environment Canada.]
P.S.13 (Sept.26) Today the Church celebrates the feast of Sts. Jean de Brébeuf, Issac Joques and companions: "Father, you consecrated the first beginnings of the faith in North America by the preaching and martyrdom of Saint John and Saint Issac and their companions. By the help of their prayers may the Christian faith continue to grow throughout the world." (Opening Prayer for today's Mass) Thank God for the unceasing concern and intercession of the whole Family of Saints for us! The perfect praying for the imperfect! No wonder, despite all our imperfections, the Church on earth has continue to grow unceasingly throughout the world.
P.S.14 (Sept.28) That is how the editor in this marathon task takes his holiday or copes with his schedule every now and then, i.e., by mounting the contents a few days ahead. In this way, he may miss mentioning any important personality or event, e.g., Mandela's visit to Toronto last Friday. For a better quality, oftentimes research writings may have to be delayed too, e.g., asking our visitors to wait or click on some thing at a later date. Thank you for understanding.
P.S. 15 (Sept.29) Today the Church celebrates the feast of our dear Holy Archangels, St. Michael, St. Gabriel, and St. Raphael. These are the only three Holy Angels whom the Church has officially allowed us to honour by name. Traditionally, the Church has always treated all the Holy Angels as part of our Christian Family, whether in Heaven or on earth. Let us be open to this time-tested collective wisdom of the Church. We as pilgrims may need them more than we want to admit. For a wonderful litany to the Holy Angels, click here, and for a beautiful prayer to our personal Guardian Angel, click here.
P.S. 16 (Sept.30) Here is a question for October 1: ""What is an awesome similarity between various top exploring scientists today and most traditional canonized mystics?" Thank you.
