The New Streets of Calcutta

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CALCUTTA, the city of the “poorest of the poor”, said Blessed Mother Theresa.

But they no longer hold this distinction. No, the poorest of the poor are to be found in a very different place…

The new streets of Calcutta are lined with high-rises and espresso shops. The poor wear ties and the hungry don high heels. At night, they  wander the gutters of television, looking for a morsel of pleasure here, or a bite of fulfillment there. Or you’ll find them begging on the lonely streets of the Internet, with words barely audible behind the clicks of a mouse:

“I thirst…”

‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ (Matt 25:38-40)

I see Christ in the new streets of Calcutta, for from these gutters He found me, and to them, He now sends.

 

True Tales of Our Lady

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SO few, it seems, understand the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Church. I want to share with you two true stories to shed light on this most honored member of the Body of Christ. One story is my own… but first, from a reader…


 

WHY MARY? A CONVERT’S VISION…

The Catholic teaching on Mary has been the most difficult doctrine of the Church for me to accept. Being a convert, I had been taught the “fear of Mary worship.” It was instilled deep within me!

After my conversion, I would pray, asking Mary to intercede for me, but then doubt would assail me and I would, so to speak, (put her aside for a while.) I would pray the Rosary, then I would stop praying the Rosary, this went on for some time!

Then one day I prayed fervently to God, “Please, Lord, I beg you, show me the truth about Mary.”

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It Is Time…

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Ag0ny In The Garden

AS a senior citizen put it to me today, "The news headlines are unbelievable."

Indeed, as stories of increasing pedophilia, violence, and attacks on the family and freedom of speech descend like a heavy rainfall, the temptation is to run for cover and see all as gloomy. Today, I could barely concentrate at Mass… the sorrow was so thick. 

Let’s not water-down reality:  it is gloomy, though the occasional ray of hope pierces the gray clouds of this moral storm. What I hear the Lord saying to us is this:

I know you are carrying a heavy cross. I know you are heavily burdened. But remember, you are only sharing in my Cross. Therefore, I am always carrying it with you. Would I abandon you, My beloved?

Remain as a little child. Give not into anxiety. Trust in me. I will supply your every need, whenever you need it, at the right moment. But you must go through this Passion—the whole Church must follow the Head.  It is time to drink the cup of My suffering. But as I was strengthened by an angel, so too, will I strengthen you.

Be of courage—I have already overcome the world!

Do not be afraid of anything you are going to suffer... remain faithful until death, I will give you the crown of life. (Rev 2:9-10)

On the 'morning-after' pill…

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THE United States has just approved the ‘morning-after’ pill. It has been legal in Canada for over a year. The drug prevents the embryo from attaching to the wall of the uterus, starving it of blood, oxygen, and nutrients.

The little life simply dies.

The fruit of abortion is nuclear war. —Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta 

The Dam is Bursting

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THIS week, the Lord is speaking some very heavy things in my heart. I am praying and fasting for clearer direction. But the sense is that the "dam" is about to burst. And it comes with a warning:

 "Peace, peace!" they say, though there is no peace. (Jer 6:14)

I pray it is the dam of Divine Mercy, and not Justice.

Mary: The Woman Clothed with Combat Boots

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Outside St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans 

 

A FRIEND wrote me today, on this Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with a spine-tingling story: 

Mark, an unusual incident occurred on Sunday. It happened as follows:

My husband and I celebrated our thirty-fifth wedding anniversary over the week-end. We went to Mass on Saturday, then out to dinner with our associate pastor and some friends, we later attended an outdoor drama “The Living Word.” As as anniversary gift a couple gave us a beautiful statue of our Lady with the baby Jesus.

On Sunday morning, my husband placed the statue in our entry-way, on a plant ledge above the front door. A while later, I went out on the front porch to read the bible. As I sat down and started to read, I glanced down into the flower bed and there lay a tiny crucifix ( I have never seen it before and I have worked in that flower bed many times!) I picked it up and went to the back deck to show my husband. I then came inside, placed it on the curio rack, and went to the porch again to read.

As I sat down, I saw a snake in the exact spot where the crucifix was.

 

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Look to the Star…

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Polaris:  The North Star 

MEMORIAL OF THE QUEENSHIP OF
THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY


I HAVE been transfixed with the Northern Star the past few weeks. I confess, I did not know where it was until my brother-in-law pointed it out one starry night in the mountains.

Something in me tells me I will need to know where this star is in the future. And so tonight, once again, I gazed up at the sky mentally noting it. Then logging onto my computer, I read these words a cousin had just emailed me:

Whoever you are that perceive yourself during this mortal existence to be rather drifting in treacherous waters, at the mercy of the winds and the waves, than walking on firm ground, turn not away your eyes from the splendor of this guiding star, unless thou wish to be submerged by the storm.

Look at the star, call upon Mary. … With her for guide, you shall not go astray, while invoking her, you shall never lose heart … if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary; if she shows you favor, you shall reach the goal. —St. Bernard of Clarivaux, as quoted this week by Pope Benedict XVI

“Star of the New Evangelization” —title given Our Lady of Guadalupe by Pope John Paul II 


 

The Harvest of Hardening

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DURING a discussion this week with family, my father-in-law suddenly interjected,

There is a great division occurring. You can see it. People are hardening their hearts to the good…

I was taken aback by his comments, as this was a “word” the Lord had spoken in my heart some time ago (see Persecution:  The Second Petal.)

It is fitting hearing this word again, this time from a farmer’s mouth, as we enter the season when combines begin to separate the wheat from the chaff. 

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The Calm…

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Fork Lake, Alberta; August, 2006


LET us not be lulled asleep by a false sense of peace and comfort.  The past few weeks, the words continue to ring in my heart:

The calm before the storm…

I sense an urgency once again to keep my heart right with God at all times. Or as one person shared a "word" with me this week,

Quick—circumcise your hearts!

Indeed, this is the time to cut away the desires of the flesh which are at war with the Spirit. Frequent Confession and the Eucharist are like two blades of a pair of spiritual scissors.

Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered… In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world. (John 16:33)

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. (Rom 13:14)

Not Abandoned

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Abandoned orphans of Romania 

FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION 

 

It is hard to forget the images of 1989 when the brutal reign of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu collapsed. But the pictures which stick in my mind most are those of the hundreds of children and babies in state orphanages. 

Confined in metal cribs, the unwilling prisioners would often be left for weeks without ever being touched by a soul. Because of this lack of body contact, many of the children would become emotionless, rocking themselves to sleep in their soiled cribs. In some cases, babies simply died from lack of loving physical affection.

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Food For The Journey

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Elijah in the Desert, Michael D. O’Brien

 

NOT long ago, the Lord spoke a gentle but powerful word which pierced my soul:

"Few in the North American Church realize how far they have fallen."

As I reflected on this, particularly in my own life, I recognized the truth in this.

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. (Rev 3:17)

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Confession Passè?

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AFTER one of my concerts, the hosting priest invited me to the rectory for a late supper.

For dessert, he went on to boast how he hadn’t heard confessions in his parish for two years. “You see,” he grinned, “during the penitential prayers in Mass, the sinner is forgiven. As well, when one receives the Eucharist, his sins are removed.” I was in agreement. But then he said, “One only needs to come to confession when he has committed a mortal sin. I’ve had parishioners come to confession without mortal sin, and told them to go away. In fact, I really doubt any of my parishioners have really committed a mortal sin…”

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Confession… Necessary?

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Rembrandt van Rijn, “The return of the prodigal son”; c.1662
 

OF course, one can ask God directly to forgive one’s venial sins, and He will (provided of course, we forgive others. Jesus was clear on this.) We can immediately, on the spot as it were, stop the bleeding from the wound of our transgression.

But this is where the Sacrament of Confession is so necessary.  For the wound, though not bleeding, may still be infected with “self”. Confession draws the puss of pride to the surface where Christ, in the person of the priest (John 20:23), wipes it away and applies the healing balm of the Father through the words, “…may God grant you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins….” Unseen graces bathe the injury as—with the Sign of the Cross—the priest applies the dressing of God’s mercy.

When you go to a medical doctor for a bad cut, does he only stop the bleeding, or does he not suture, cleanse, and dress your wound? Christ, the Great Physician, knew we would need that, and more attention to our spiritual wounds.

Thus, this Sacrament was his antidote to our sin.

While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not despise these sins which we call “light”: if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession. —St. Augustine, Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1863

Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church. Indeed the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit.—Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1458

 

 

Never Too Late

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St. Teresa of Avila


A letter to a friend considering the consecrated life…

DEAR SISTER,

I can understand that feeling of having thrown away one’s life… of having never been what one should have been… or thought one should be.

And yet, how are we to know that this isn’t within God’s plan? That He has permitted our lives to go the course they have so as to give Him much more glory in the end?

How wonderful is it that a woman your age, who normally would be seeking the good life, the baby boomer pleasures, the Oprah dream… is giving up her life to seek God alone. Whew. What a testimony. And it could only have its fullest effect coming now, at the stage you’re at. 

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I BELIEVE it was Johann Strauss, who in his time said

The spiritual climate of a society can be judged by its music.

That would also be true of what lines the shelves of video stores. 

God's Chisel

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TODAY, our family stood on God’s chisel.

The nine of us were taken on top of Athabasca Glacier in Canada. It was surreal as we stood on ice as deep as the Eiffel tower is high. I say "chisel", because apparently glaciers are what carved earth’s landscapes as we know it.

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