Anxiety over the faith or lack of faith in people we love or know

In my life as a Catholic Christian and ministry as a R.C. priest, I have had many conversations with any number of people of all ages, and not surprisingly, the practice of the faith or variations on that theme comes up the most frequently. This prompts me to reflect on many things.

Over the years, I have found the greatest anxiety seems to be felt by parents and grandparents, and about what they perceive to be the state of the faith, or lack of it, in their own children and grandchildren. This also comes up in the course of ministering to people, even when I meet them at the Tribunal, would you believe, but also in the confessional. I believe it is the Lord, the Holy Spirit, who has consistently inspired me with a particular response, which I'd like to share with you, and which I hope you will share widely among your family and friends.

One teaching of our Church which received considerable treatment while I was in seminary was what sounds something like this: "Outside of the Church, there is no salvation." It has prompted many to draw the conclusion: "You have to keep the commandments, go to church on Sunday, and pray every day, or you will go to hell." This teaching has also prompted people to think that unless one is baptized in the Catholic Church, or at least baptized somewhere, they too will go to hell.

Here are the thoughts that I believe the Holy Spirit has prompted me to share with those suffering from the above mentioned anxiety.

First, Jesus gave us a very clear instruction about how the judgement will go when we leave our body behind and find ourselves in the radiant and awesome Presence of the Most Holy Trinity. You know it well. It is Jesus' parable about what it will be like when the Son of Man comes on the clouds and gathers the nations together, separating people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. It's in Matthew chapter 25.

We could translate this into plain English this way: we are on Earth to become fully human, and the ultimate test of this is how we treat others. That's it. There will be no grueling test on our church attendance or our prayers, or our fasting and penances. God our Creator loves all his creatures, especially human beings, and He hopes that we will come to love them in the same way, and as much as He does himself. "Love one another as I have loved you." Jesus means what He said. Saint John put it this way: we have no love of God whom we cannot see if we don't love the people we can see. That's in 1 John 4:20. 

On that score, attending church and saying prayers won't make any difference; remember how Jesus criticized the Pharisees, Sadducees, Priests, and Scribes. He called them hypocrites; they were extremely religious, but still hypocrites, because they had no authentic love, compassion, or caring for their fellow man. Their faith and religious practice did them no good; moreover, it even caused them to try to prevent people from coming to Jesus. Sadly, today we can be just like them and also prevent people from freely coming to Jesus.

This prompts another question. Well, in that case, what difference does being baptized, going to church, doing penances, and praying make?

It makes a big difference, the same difference between loving someone and being devoted to them. We can love our parents by calling and visiting them, but we can do more; we can be devoted to them and assist them in their need, especially when they are sick or elderly, and "give until it hurts" as Saint Mother Teresa used to say. We can go beyond loving and being devoted to family and do that for strangers and even enemies.

As I shared with someone today, God our Creator loves all his human children. Our Church taught at the Second Vatican Council that all human beings can be saved by passing the same test we will all face, based on the quality of our love for others, which includes enemies. The difference that baptism first makes is the divine adoption: God the Most Holy Trinity incorporates us into the communion which the Father and the Son have in the Holy Spirit. We are drawn into the circle of the divine life and love.

The "rub" is that this adoption requires our participation and wholehearted development. If we do learn to know God personally and love Him, in addition to loving our neighbour and even our enemies, then we actually participate in the divine work of salvation in the world. This work of the Holy Trinity in the depths of human souls is very mysterious, and only God can see into human souls. We have no idea what is really going on in other souls; even our own soul remains mysterious to us, and we cannot even judge ourselves, as Saint Paul wrote in his letters.

So, what we need to look for, first in ourselves, and then in others, is this: am I getting to really know God personally? Do I have a relationship with Jesus as my Lord, Master, and Friend? Has Jesus begun to bring me to the Father and reveal Him to me? Have I begun to allow myself to become aware of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit within me? Am I bearing the fruit of the presence and action of God within me? In other words, am I doing the works which Jesus did? When I am at prayer and someone needs me, do I quickly arise to eagerly and gladly attend to them? When I come back from church, am I so radiant with the love of God that others come to be warmed from the warm glow of God's love radiating from me?

The faith can never be transmitted by coercion, but only by divine infection. Even then, how and when others come to discover that God is real, and that He loves them, it all remains so very mysterious because of the extreme degree to which God respects human freedom and gives us as much time as possible to come freely to know and love Him. Whenever we employ other methods to try to drag people to God, not only does it not work, but it often achieves the opposite effect. We only succeed in portraying a false or distorted image or representation of God, which turn others off and pushes them farther away from God or the Church or both, and into the peripheries; as Pope Francis called the shadows.

If we really want to help others come to know and love God, we need to pay the price, which is expensive: much persevering prayer, fasting, and personal sacrifices joyfully offered. We cannot show people we do this, unless they ask about it. The gift must be hidden, freely given, and not become and exaction, pressure, or coercion. Our devotion to the Father, to Jesus, to the Holy Spirit, and to our Blessed Mother Mary and the saints must pass the test of our authentic love of neighbour, especially those we find most difficult to love, and loving them "until it hurts". If I truly love Jesus for the passion He endured for me and all of humanity; then this love will bring me to love others as He does, even to the point of eagerly accepting sufferings for the sake of love, as the saints did and do. 

There will be many "degrees" of intensity of joy and happiness in Heaven. At the lower end, we would find those who gave a little, in the middle, those who gave a lot, and at the upper end, we will find those who gave everything. 250622 I received a very insightful and precise question on this very statement. The reader doesn't think that God has "levels" of love, which would be very disturbing, and that my statement as it is does not show full communion. I appreciate the observation and question and try to answer it below in green. I hope that this will make this post and reflection better and more useful to the reader.

Dear Reader, you can feel quite free to reject this as a personal opinion on my part. Truthfully, it is the result of all my years of life, faith, learning, ministry, searching, and God's mercy. Call it an intuition. You are quite right to say that God hasn't levels of love... the Most Holy Trinity are perfect and infinite in their divine persons and in their giving of Self to us. There are, nonetheless, limitations, or levels, or degrees, as you may prefer, but they are entirely in us. 

Consider how different have been the saints, and how varied in the degrees or "intensity" of "intimacy" or "communion" they experienced with God; which also had to do with how far they gave of themselves, without any thought for themselves, in service to and love of others. Loving care and forgiveness and mercy to enemies does expand the soul. Saint Augustine taught that it is by exercising holy desire that our "capacity to receive from God" grows, which is why, he taught, that God allows us to wait for good things and blessings. While we wait and hope and trust, we "exercise our desire", and God stretches the limits of our soul, our "container"; until there is enough room to take in and receive what it is that God wants to give us.

Jesus did say to the Apostles that there are many rooms or mansions in the Father's house. There is diversity in Heaven, rather than uniformity. Souls are unique. It makes perfect sense that God would completely fill souls with divine presence, communion, and love in eternity. It also makes sense that the "volume" of our containers, our souls, varies. We can see that plainly in everyday life, in our relations with others. This is not a judgement or unfair; it is plainly the truth. We see in creation limitless variety of substance, size, colour, texture, fragrance, and so on; even in the very same variety of a thing. It is not a curse or injustice, but rather all to the glory of God. In Heaven, no one will be disappointed or discontented, because they will all experience fullness of life, communion, and joy together and in God, entirely filling their "container", their dynamic and living soul.

I hope this helps. I cannot think of a specific source for this perspective... it is a cumulative intuition after 76 years of living and faith.... Thank you, Reader, for your astute question and for responding, rather than remaining passive. May others be inspired to do the same. 

There's a saying: "Give a little, it costs a lot. Give a lot, it costs a little. Give everything, it costs nothing at all." — Archbishop Raya, Madonna House Apostolate (RIP 2005). Pope Saint John Paul II referred to Jesus' command to love as "the law of the gift"... God loves us by giving his own Self in what can be called a "divine transfusion" in his own Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist, the Blessed Sacrament, bestowing upon us a participation in the divine life; which is why to love as God loves, we must also give of ourself. 

Blessed days in the glow of the Most Holy Eucharist, the Blessed Sacrament, and on Friday, Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests, and on Saturday, the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Blessings to you and your families. 

Will the People of God raise up a cause for the R.C. Church to recognize the holiness of Maureen Rodrigues Marolly, who died in the fragrance of holiness on May 31st, 2022?

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian witnesses and writers in reflecting on life, encounters, and various situations, in a desire to enhance our understanding of what it means to be a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ at the service of the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Maureen Rodrigues Marolly 1944-2022 

Hello. You may have come across this post by accident, or you may have been conducting an Internet search. I am a retired R.C. priest of Montreal QC Canada reflecting on the above question. It was no doubt Divine Providence that brought me to the home of Maureen and her husband Clayton. Parishioners at St. Thomas à Becket had been telling me about the phenomenon of statues exuding fragrant oily liquid in the presence of people praying in a private home in D.D.O. So, trying to be a good pastor, I went to see.

Maureen and her husband, when they witnessed my interest through repeated visits, asked me their advice about managing the flow of "pilgrims" and "supernatural sign seekers". I agreed to accompany them and encouraged them to feel free to "put order" in the manner in which they opened their home in hospitality to all who phoned, knocked, or intruded on their family life. In time, they asked me for spiritual accopaniment, which I was glad to offer them. There is nothing confidential revealed in this.

During the years between 1994, when "the phenomenon" began until 2022 when Maureen died, many gave witness to the holiness of Maureen's life, her dedication to serve all who came, and her devoted life of prayer, penance, and adoration. To all appearances, her husband accompanied her in this way of life, and they were both exemplary parents and grand parents. At the time of Maureen's death, there seemed a consensus that she was now with God; that she had lived a holy and virtuous life. Some asked me about the process by which the R.C. Church recognizes the holiness of someone's life. It's like this.

First, there needs to be some evidence that the person did indeed live a holy life. Second, there needs to be a "ground swell" of prayer and support for this process to get under way. Third, there needs to be a person dedicated to put in place all that needs to happen in order for the process to begin and continue. 

From the beginning, given that I was a priest who had accompanied this couple for 28 years or so; it made sense for me to offer to receive any testimonies people would want to send me. That summer, I only received a few such testimonies by email. I myself wrote a few reports over the years. I also have some pictures the couple shared with me; including the trips to India and other places where they were called upon or requested in advance to give their testimony of faith and a report on the phenomenon. 

I received a few more testimonies in jpf and in pdf, some scans of the notebook logs kept by this couple in their home. Visitors were invited to write in notebooks their experiences of grace received through the prayers of Maureen and through their prayerful use of the mysterious fragrant oily liquid. Close to the beginning of the phenomenon, Clayton devised a large metal pan upon which all the statues were placed from which exuded the oil. The pan had a spout from which he would drain some liquid into small bottles for people to take away; always with the instruction to pray and use the oil with faith.

For this cause to go forward, it needs a promoter of the cause: someone with time and energy and also devotion to apply to the tasks at hand. I regret that this task has been beyond my ability to undertake. 

I have uploaded the folder containing all these files to One Drive and it may be opened from this link: 

Cause Maureen Rodrigues Marolly 

Funeral Mass – Maureen Rodrigues Marolly – 220603

St. Thomas à Becket Parish, Pierrefonds QC Canada

Presider and Homilist: Fr. Gilles

Welcome at the doors and sprinkling: Fr. Peter, Pastor

Adrian: Words of thanksgiving to God – called forward by Fr. Gilles

Brittany: Reading 1: A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles   p. 17 (10:34-43)

Lynn, Kathy, Adamo, & Cedric: Psalm 63

Fiona: Reading 2: A Reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans p. 21 (8:14-23)

Gospel: (to be selected by Fr. Gilles) Fr. Peter          Homily: Fr. Gilles

Brittany: Final words and announcement

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles             (10:34-43)                  

 Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ - he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.  

We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

(PAUSE A MOMENT)                        The Word of the Lord

Psalm 63

Reader:            For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God.                      (Response.)

O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Response.)

 So, I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. (Response.)

So, I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name. My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips. (Response.)

You have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings, I sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. (Response.)

 

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans             (8:14-23)

 

All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ-- if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

(PAUSE A MOMENT)                                    The Word of the Lord

Alleluia. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom. Alleluia.

 

A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew                             (11:25-30)

 At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. "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 is light." The Gospel of the Lord.

Intentions:

Anthony: We pray for our Nana who always showered us with love and attention. May her soul rest in eternal peace. We pray to the Lord.

Jessica: We pray for the deceased members of the Rodrigues family; her beloved parents Bento & Annie, her sister Jeanette, her brother-in-law Anthony and her brother Diego. We pray to the Lord

Noah: We pray for the deceased members of the Marolly family; her in-laws Desmond & Alice, her brother-in-law David & her sister-in-law Carol. We pray to the Lord.

Maya: We pray for the differently abled that they live, grow and thrive with the confidence that they are welcomed, protected and encouraged. We pray to the Lord.

Matthew: We pray for those who suffer that they may find the people capable of hearing them, caring for them and loving them. We pray to the Lord.

Angelina: We pray for families going through hard times with sickness, unemployment or death, may they keep the flame of hope burning in their hearts and may your love and the love that unites them give them the strength to push forward. We pray to the Lord.

Mika: We thank you Jesus for the gift of faith that he bestowed upon our Nana, which she shared with all of us. She also shared her faith with all those who requested prayers and those who came to pray as well. We pray to the Lord.

Live homily recording and text 

Homily Prepared Notes         (published here but not used at the funeral Mass)

 We are here today to celebrate Maureen’s passing from this life into eternity because Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary and Son of God, died and rose again from the dead. Otherwise, we probably would have gathered in a Hindu temple or in some other sacred place of worship and prayer.

Maureen has brought us here and gathered us together in this place of prayer and worship to the living God, the Holy Trinity. So, we are here for Maureen, to pray for her soul, to support her in this awesome step through the thin veil separating our mortal human life from eternity, the realm of the Most Holy Trinity, and the House of the Father. Jesus declared that He has gone ahead of us to prepare a place for us there.

We are also here for ourselves and for each other. Where Maureen has gone, we will also one day go. It is essential that we realize how important it is for us to pay close attention to the way in which we are moving towards that final moment of our last breath on Earth.

We live in a society and culture that has abandoned God. People who live without God are floating in a bubble of illusion that they have unlimited power over all things. Those who believe in God understand that God alone has unlimited power over all things. When we reject God or ignore God, then inescapably we are sucked into the vacuum left by the absence of God, and even without realizing it, we step into God’s shoes and believe the illusion that we have unlimited power over all things.

That is why in our time governments have passed laws authorizing “medical aid in dying”, clinical terms for the act of euthanasia, the giving of death to oneself or to another. The illusion is that to do this thing can be an act of mercy, and people believe this because they misunderstand the nature and meaning of suffering. Our society and our culture have become allergic to any and all forms of suffering, which is unfortunate because suffering is an integral part of the human condition, and fully integrated with our capacity to live.

Women who give birth to their children understand the purpose of their labour pains and are glad to give them meaning and purpose in their desire to bring a human being into this world. Their child is bone of their bones and flesh of their flesh; as Adam declared when he first looked upon Eve, the woman given to him by God our Creator as his companion in life. Mothers retain a visceral bond to the children of their womb. Mothers are able to understand more intimately the love God our Creator has for all of his children.

Only a cruel god would allow human beings to endure suffering that has no value or purpose. Anything we suffer in this life is merely an opportunity for us to discover, unfold, and develop our hidden capacity for love, beauty, goodness, truth, and endurance. All manner of suffering is an opportunity for us to freely decide to invest this suffering with the meaning and purpose we choose to give to our life our whole life long.

On October 7^th, 1994 Maureen chose to rescue a little statue of Our Lady of Lourdes from the garbage when a neighbour offered it to her, declaring they no longer believed in this nonsense; having become what is called a born-again Christian. All those who believe in Jesus Christ as the only Son of God and our only Saviour are born again. The Holy Spirit witnesses to the truth of Jesus and empowers us to become children of God and live as children of God in this world. They are truly children of God who actually follow Jesus in their life.

Maureen and her devoted husband Clayton were indeed born-again Christians in the Roman Catholic tradition and in the culture of Catholic Goa. Daily in deep faith in God they prayed the Holy Rosary with their family. On that day of their 22^nd wedding anniversary, October 7^th, 1994, in the presence of the little rescued statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, as they prayed their family Rosary, the statue began to ooze a fragrant oily liquid. Clayton put a bowl underneath it, and in a short time, people were drawn from all over to come witness this unusual phenomenon. In their faith in God, and docility to the mysterious actions of the Holy Spirit, Maureen and Clayton opened their home to all those who came knocking, people searching for meaning in their lives, looking for God, looking for relief from all manner of suffering.

The Christian faith to which Maureen and Clayton have given witness is the faith Jesus asks of all those who would follow Him: “Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. ²⁵ For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’” Matthew 16:24-25 

Of course, as one might expect, there have been those who came looking for signs and wonders. Maureen and Clayton systematically called on these people too to put aside their curiosity and pay attention to the living God who loves every human being. They relentlessly called on people to get serious and pray.

Jesus warned his disciples, as He also warns us, that those who follow Him can expect to be treated no better than He himself was. In other words, we can expect to be rejected, ridiculed, and even persecuted. Both Maureen and Clayton have had the privilege of suffering in these ways for their love of God, for their love of family and people, and for the glory of God.

Now that the Lord has received Maureen’s soul into his divine presence, we don’t know what will become of the phenomenon now in its 28^th year. It may continue or it may come to an end. Time will tell.

The real question before all of us today is this: “Where is my life going?” Maureen always knew and believed, from the time she was a little girl, that she was on a life-long journey to God, to the eternal life with God that began at her Baptism. She recognized the intimate relationship of love being offered to her by God the Father in Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and she was determined to say “Yes!” every day as Mary said to the Archangel Gabriel, and as Joseph also said in reply to the dreams God gave to guide him.

God our Father loves each and every one of us; we are all his children. At every moment of every day, in every situation, in every relationship, in our studies and in our work, in our quiet time and in our play, outside and in our homes, everywhere and at all times God the Most Holy Trinity is present to us. All that remains, at every moment, is for us to decide to welcome God into the secret places of our minds, hearts, and souls.

Praying is visiting with God. True prayer is simply a decision to visit with God, to open the doors of our mind, heart, and soul to God who is always present. Faith is simply accepting God for who He is and making room for Him in our lives.

Maureen did her best, as Clayton continues to do, to give vibrant witness to the unfathomable love of God for us, and to encourage us to waste no more time in life, but to throw wide open the doors of our lives to the living God, the Creator from whom we have come into existence, and the eternal Father to whom we are day by day returning. The Lord Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life”, and the Holy Spirit is the Consoler, the Advocate, the Defender, the Lord and Giver of life, who fills us with the vitality and love which is in God.

In spiritual communion with Maureen and with all the saints now in the presence of God in eternity, with the intercession and help of our Blessed Mother Mary and her Beloved Spouse Saint Joseph, I invite all those who would like to do so to pray in your hearts with me as I offer these words of prayer.

“Father in Heaven, You who pour into us moment by moment life and vitality, You whose very breath gives breath to our bodies as we breathe in and out, You who like to play “hide and seek” with us – remaining invisible and leaving us free to decide to seek You – we thank you today for the life of Maureen, our wife, our mother, our Nana, our sister, our neighbour and friend. We thank You for the countless ways in which You have blessed us through Maureen, through her humanity, and through her faith in You and in Jesus, your Son, our Lord. Her journey through life is now accomplished, as Jesus’ life was also accomplished as He hung upon the cross for us. Father, grant us to remain in spiritual communion with Maureen, now that she is in your House, and grant us the grace to do as she did: to welcome your presence and your love into our lives, to open ourselves to You every day and often during the day in prayer. Grant us the resolve to worship You with all our brothers and sisters in Jesus every Sunday, the Lord’s Day. Fill us anew with your Holy Spirit, that we may be aware of our sinful failures to love. We confess to You now, Father, the many times we have refused to be loved by You and have failed to love You in our family, in our neighbour, and in our enemies. We decide here and now to renew our faith in You, Father, and in Jesus your Son, our Lord. Fill us anew with your Holy Spirit, that we may no longer struggle through life alone, but may live in the joy of your peace and love, in Jesus your Son, our Lord. Amen.” 

----------------------------------------------------------------

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian witnesses and writers in reflecting on life, encounters, and various situations, in a desire to enhance our understanding of what it means to be a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ at the service of the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

----------------------------------------------------------------

© 2004-2025 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2025 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

+ + + + + + + + + + + +  

Tips on how to "navigate" our interior life among all the "voices" competing with each other in our spirit

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian witnesses and writers in reflecting on life, encounters, and various situations, in a desire to enhance our understanding of what it means to be a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ at the service of the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

----------------------------------------------------------------

This reflection is in response to my observations of parents with young children as well as adolescnets - in addition to the normal challenges of their daily routine - who are faced with our common challenges but also at times unexpected or disturbing troubles, including forms of evil.

Life is beautiful but complex, and we human beings are complex living beings with many dimensions: body, mind, heart / psyche, and soul / spirit, with physical senses - exterior and interior - varied intellectual and psychological faculties such as perception, conceptualization, cognition, memory, imagination, and so on. We also have "spiritual senses and faculties" such as conscience, the ability to say no, the ability to reason and distinguish between good and evil, and a capacity for relationship with our Creator God.

 Please feel free to come back in comments with any thoughts or questions you may have. Please also feel free to share this with close family and friends, such as with you spouse if you are married. Companions on the journey of life help us to understand ourselves as they take interest in listening to us give expression to our thoughts, feelings, experiences, questions, doubts, fears, anxieties, and deep desires.

WHAT ABOUT GOD?

Our God will always be mysterious... 3 divine Persons so close in communion that they are as one, one God, one divine being, which is an intimate communion of divine persons. This means that our relations with them, with God, will probably always also be mysterious.

That being said, there are many ways to pray, to "be with God", in the course of our busy lives, and each form of prayer offers us a different and complementary experience, a different way of "being with God, visiting with God" who is ALWAYS PRESENT. The sacraments are particularly powerful ways to "be with God" and to receive all that God wants to give us.

WHERE IS GOD AMID OUR INTERIOR "VOICES"?

In our days and nights, as we pay attention to ourselves and agree to explore our "inner world" in our mind, heart, body, and soul, we discover three kinds of "voices".

THE PRIMARY "VOICE" WITHIN US IS GOD OUR CREATOR

The primary "voice" within us often goes unnoticed simply because it is the united Voice of God embedded within us, in the centre of our soul, rooted with us from the very first moment of our conception, in our immortal soul. In our deep center, in our soul, we are forever young, because our soul is immortal. Someday, in the resurrection, God will transform our bodies - wherever they are - and make them immortal like our soul, as Jesus was after his Resurrection, and as Mary is since her Assumption into Heaven. This voice of God within us is like the instinct that guides migratory birds to their destination. 

Our spirit is naturally oriented towards God our Creator to guide us to Him. However, our human condition now, since the original sin, is like a fog making it a little more difficult to notice, to recognize, to discern God's voice within us. Not to worry, the Most Holy Trinity watches over us like good parents watch over their children and pour into us life, vitality, their love, and spiritual helps we call graces to lift us up, enlighten us, form us, and guide us along the way; always respecting our free will.

The Presence of God within us is, since our Baptism, the natural environment of our interior life. Our basic inner voice emerges from God into our own self, our own person, in the living "being" that we are with its different "components": our mind, heart, body, and soul. This voice of our individual and unique "self" sometimes echoes the truth, but often enough, it may be mistaken. That is why we live "in the school of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph", the Holy Family. We are constantly being "formed" and "guided", and the choice is always ours to make. The Word of God in the Bible is our basic diet and spiritual nourishment... we need at least a little from the Word of God every day.

THE SECOND VOICE WE NOTICE IS OUR OWN

Our first "voice" is therefore our own. As we take in the Word of God, and "offer hospitality" to the Father, to Jesus, and to the Holy Spirit; they form and develop who we are, and they give us divine light, they correct misconceptions and misunderstandings, and they guide our inner voice to keep us on the right path.

THE FIRST VOICE WE NOTICE AS INFANTS IS THAT OF OUR PARENTS... THEN, THERE ARE OTHER VOICES OUTSIDE OF US TOO

There is a second "voice"... that of others around us and in the bigger world. We at times hear echoes within us of the voice of our parents, grandparents, and other significant people; who have contributed to our formation. Their voices become part of us and part of our own inner voice.

WE NEED TO KNOW THERE IS A THIRD VOICE... THAT OF THE ENEMY OF MANKIND

There is a third "voice"... that of the "enemy of mankind" which tries to turn us away from God and lead us astray. Originally, as in Genesis, the first book in the Bible, this enemy was the demon, the devil, the rebellious angel, who is jealous of us, wants to obstruct our relationship with our Creator, and ultimately to destroy us. God permits this enemy to tempt us so that we may learn to recognize the lies and reject them, and fight against the darkness and choose to walk in the light. Parents are reflections of God the perfect Parent as they love their children and let them go out to play and to school and face the dangers in the world, because life is worth living, and they form and guide their children to recognize and choose the good and to discern and reject the bad.

BEWARE OF "DARK THOUGHTS" WHICH ARE LIES COMING FROM THE ENEMY

So, whenever you may be assailed by "dark thoughts": such as "I'm no good. I'm a failure. I'm terrified, I can't do this; so, why even bother trying." and so on, we need to recognize them for the lies that they are and to reject them. God offers us all the grace we need to do this, but it always remains up to us to use our brains, think things out, seek guidance and support, and in the end, choose the good and reject the bad.

WE HAVE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE

We have freedom to choose the attitude with which we will face any situation. When we become aware of anxiety, fear, and any trouble, challenge, or temptation, the trick is not to panic. Rather, we take notice of what is happening, admit that to ourselves: "O yes, I recognize that; or, yep, that's me all right; or hey, wait a minute, that's not true." Then, we turn our attention away from it and turn our attention instead to God who loves us. "Daddy God, look at what the sneak is trying to do to me. I reject it. Be with me. Lift me up. Show me the way." and so on....

It's like driving at night. We must never focus our attention on the headlights coming from the other direction, because we tend to go where we look, and we don't want a head-on collision. So we notice the opposing traffic lights with our peripheral vision but keep our central vision and attention focused on the road ahead. Well, it is like that as we live our interior world. We notice the bad things, the distractions, the temptations, the dangers, but we deliberately turn our central focus and attention to the Most Holy Trinity dwelling within us. We make little conversations with God and live in anticipation of the light, the guidance, the warmth, the peace, the love that they want to give us.

PRACTICE BRINGS FAMILIARITY AND GREATER EASE

The more we try to practice these things, the more familiar with God and his ways we become, and the more God reveals us to ourselves and we get to understand ourselves more and more. We become more and more grateful for the gift of our life, and we become more and more open and kind to others.... We will still have anxieties, but we bring them to God and He changes them into peaceful action. We still have fears, but God changes them into knowing that He loves us....

                                                   Pax + Caritas,       Fr. Gilles

----------------------------------------------------------------

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian witnesses and writers in reflecting on life, encounters, and various situations, in a desire to enhance our understanding of what it means to be a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ at the service of the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

----------------------------------------------------------------

© 2004-2024 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2024 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

+ + + + + + + + + + + +  

Queenship of Mary, Mother of God - August 22nd, 2024 - What do we do in the face of many personal trials and troubles and of all the evil in the world?

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian witnesses and writers in reflecting on life, encounters, and various situations, in a desire to enhance our understanding of what it means to be a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ at the service of the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

----------------------------------------------------------------

This reflection is in response to heartfelt cries for help from the parents of young families - in addition to the normal challenges of their daily routine - who are faced with unexpected and frightening troubles which, when they accumulate, can take on an appearance of evil.

I understand that you and your family are anxious because of all that has happened and is happening to you. I believe that you and and your spouse have yet to discover the full dignity and capacity you have received from God our Father to live as his children in the world. Jesus has commissioned all of us, and this includes each of you, to go out and labour confidently as his missionary disciples in the world. As we try to live in God, the Holy Spirit makes us "light for the world" and "salt for the Earth". I know you are comforted and encouraged by the presence and visit of the priest. I think you don't fully realize that Jesus gave not only to bishops, priests, and deacons, but to us all  a share in his authority over the darkness, to dispel it, because He is victorious over sin, death, and the evil one. Jesus wants all of us to become, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his missionary disciples to carry the light of his love into all the dark places in the world.

There is no such thing as "evil eye", which is an idea, image, or feeling left over from pagan times when people had no understanding of the order that exists in the universe under God our Creator and Father. That is only one among many images, ideas, or phenomena which make up what we can call the "shadows" where evil lurks, waiting to pounce on unwary victims. You must know and understand that there is no true power in the universe apart from the power of God. To his creatures, like the angels (which includes the rebellious or disobedient angels which we call demons), He has given a share, but only a partial share, in his power. His human children, that's us, He has made free, and the demons have no power over us except through fear, if we give in to it. 

Italy is one place where, like in Haiti, there persists what is called syncretism, which is an attempt to mix Christianity with the old pagan beliefs and superstitions. This never works because by making room for pagan beliefs and superstitions, we never actually put all our trust in God. Pagan ways only have power over us through fear. When we surrender ourselves to fear, or give in to fear, or focus on fear, or allow ourselves to become obsessed with fear; then we open the door of our mind, heart, body, imagination, and soul to the darkness. When we accept to play the role of victim, then we can experience bad things that we don't need to experience. 

There are already enough bad things in life without opening the door to the darkness through fear or playing with any of the various occult practices: ouija board, tarot cards, fortune tellers, reading tea leaves, seances, spells, witchcraft black of white, etc. etc. One of the most dangerous and wide open traps rapidly spreading throughout the world right now is every form of pornography. This includes what maskerades as art but in fact denigrates the dignity and beauty of the human body and person. Every form of porn or false art denies the beauty, goodness, and truth embedded in our human nature by God our Creator, and tries to distract our attention away from our true identity and dignity as children of God and tries to seduce us to another way of living, which in the end can only lead to loneliness and death. The proof is everywhere around us in the wholesale slaughter of the innocents in the womb. 

More innocent lives have been ripped from the womb and deprived of their right to be born and live than all the victims of wars and violence throughout the world in the 20th century, which is hard to believe but true. We cannot assign blame to women who have abortions without asking: "Where are the men? Why are the men not taking responsibility for themselves, and why are they abandoning the women they pretended to love and care for? What happened to the mothering and fathering of children that has produced human beings so insecure in themselves that they need to have recourse to sex in a desperate attempt to feel some human warmth and intimacy; however shallow and fleeting?

God our Creator and Father made our human sexuality as only one part of our human life. It is beautiful and powerful and adds colour to life, in addition to generating new life. It is designed to "cement" husband and wife to each other, to strengthen them against all the trials and troubles of life.Whenever we use our sexuality outside of the bond of husband and wife, the power of sex binds us to other things: selfishness, situations and combinations that are not part of God's plan for human life and happiness, exploitation, violence, and the destruction of the innocence of children and youth. 

We must renounce ALL these things, all these forms of evil and the occult, and all degraded forms of sex and false and empty intimacy, and get them out of our houses, purge all our electronic devices, and put all of this trash out of our minds, imaginations, and memories, confess having used them, or even having entertained such thoughts and ideas. We renounce all these forms of darkness and evil when we renew our baptismal promises every Easter. We also do it at the beginning of every Holy Mass and also every time we pray the prayer that Jesus, Our Lord, taught us... the "Our Father". 

We need to go in the opposite direction of the fear, the dark images, the dark feelings, the temptations, the threats, the shadows where evil lurks trying to intimidate us, and instead go in the opposite direction and walk towards God our loving Father, and keep deciding to put our trust in Him and in his Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only Saviour of the world.

That is why I recommend to you some practices for you and your spouse and your children as a family. Don't try to do all those things by yourself, if you are the wife and mother, but tell your husband that you need his support and leadership as head of your home. If you who are reading this are the husband and father, please also don't try to do these things by yourself, but first chat with your wife, and let her know that you don't want to do anything without her consent and support. You each have a part to play. It is up to each of you to decide to practice faith and putting trust in God through prayer and practicing silence, meditation, and the peace given by the Holy Spirit deep within us, but only if we want it. 

God never imposes, but only offers. It is up to us to want it, to ask for it, to do it, to receive it, and to accept it; to live it. This is how, by dwelling in love and in God, it is God Himself who pushes away the darkness from inside of us. The darkness outside will remain until the end of time at the final victory of Jesus Christ; we need to understand that life will always be a battle between light and dark, and the battle line runs through the middle of our mind, heart, body, and soul. 

God wants us to do battle and have the satisfaction of participating in the victory Jesus won; remember that first He suffered and died, and only then did He win the victory. God our Father wanted to demonstrate to all of humanity that even when evil would do its worst against Jesus, even killing Him; still, evil could not have a definitive victory. It was through dying that Jesus overcame death itself. It was by taking all the bad effects of sin on Himself that Jesus overcame sin. In the end, all that remains is the powerful and victorious love of God. 

Here, then, are the practices I encourage you to do together.

--------------------------------

Priests are generally glad to visit your family and home, but please remember that God wants you to do your part; you cannot expect the priest to solve all your problems without doing your part to take responsibility for yourselves, your lives, your marriage, your family, your home, and every aspect of your lives.

In the meantime, don't wait, but, first of all, the best you can all do as a family is to go to confession regularly, all of you, in order to allow darkness not to get any foothold within you. No matter how often we must confess a similar sin, we refuse to give up or be discouraged, and by continuing to confess, we practice putting our trust not in our own power to be perfect but in God's mercy and love. 

Second, obtain some holy water in a jar from the church (for the purpose of going through your entire house sprinkling it generously and abundantly, and praying the Rosary at the same time - see "fourth").

Third, pray together as a family. You could pray the Rosary together every day for a month, and it could become a good daily habit. (If your girls are to learn to live with God, you need to show them by doing it yourselves and also doing it with them.)

Fourth, while praying the Rosary, go around the house sprinkling the holy water in each and every room, closet, and cupboard, sprinkling with clean hands into all the corners of each space.

Finish with joining hands and praying in thanksgiving to God: one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.... Then, give each other the sign and kiss of peace. Our Father wants us to be filled with his peace and joy; even in the face of troubles, threats, dangers, and sufferings.

How to pray the Rosary by meditating on the Mysteries of the Rosary - events in the life of Jesus and Mary, which the Holy Spirit uses to make connections with our own daily lives....

After praying the prayers connected to the Crucifix, the first bead, the next 3 beads, and the last bead, before starting the first decade, read the text for the first mystery in the set of mysteries you have chosen. Then pray each prayer in the decade, contemplating the mystery as you say the prayers. Do this for each decade. At the end, pray the "Hail, Holy Queen", the "Prayer to St. Michael", and any other prayer(s) you may wish to add.

By praying together as a family, the Lord Jesus will definitely be with you and drive away any dark influences.

I and all the bishops, priests, and deacons - including and especially Pope Fancis - are with you all in spirit. The role of the priest is to lead and show the way, but each baptized person must then actually walk in the way... and Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life." To see the way He walks and walk in it, to perceive Him as the truth and take it into us to absorb it, and to receive Jesus with the Father and the Holy Spirit and have their life within us... for all of this, we need to look at Jesus, begin to notice that He looks at us with love, let Him touch our hearts, let Him bring his light into our mind, let the Holy Spirit fill us with the peace that comes from the love of the Father and the Son.... 

All other ideas, fears, troubles, trials, feelings... they are all distractions trying to make us forget to keep looking to Jesus, to keep welcoming Him into us.... Don't be fooled by the superficial trials of life... they are only opportunities for us to practice putting our trust in God while we do our best to do what is in our power to do. What isn't in our power, that's what we put into God's hands, trusting that He will take care of his part, when and how He decides to do that. Our part is to hope and wait with confidence; while continuing to do what is ours to do, especially to pray and visit with God often during the day as we go about our occupations.

God doesn't want us to suffer going through life as though we were alone, or as orphans... but instead to make room for God in our mind and heart as we go about our occupations; knowing He is looking on us with love all day long and all through the night.... 

Please show this to your spouse, chat together, ask God to guide you, and decide what steps you will take. Then, let your priest know what you are doing together about all of this. Good priests who are good shepherds are glad to know what the faithful are doing to walk in the ways of the Lord, and are glad to offer counsel and encouragement. As you prepare and take good steps, know that the whole Church, the Bride of Christ, the entire Body of Christ consisting of all the baptized, all the ordained, and all the religious, are constantly praying for you all and with you in the Holy Spirit, 24/7! 

In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,

Fr. Gilles

----------------------------------------------------------------

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian witnesses and writers in reflecting on life, encounters, and various situations, in a desire to enhance our understanding of what it means to be a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ at the service of the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

----------------------------------------------------------------

© 2004-2024 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2024 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

+ + + + + + + + + + + +  

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano - What is the meaning of his excommunication by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican? Friday, July 5th, 2024

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian witnesses and writers in reflecting on life, encounters, and various situations, in a desire to enhance our understanding of what it means to be a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ at the service of the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

----------------------------------------------------------------

How do we handle conflicts?

People in authority in the Church and in society are much like you and me.

In the face of a difficult situation, we generally want to give other people the benefit of the doubt.

If it's serious enough or it keeps happening, then, we must take a closer look, and even investigate the situation ourselves or ask someone else to do it. This may or may not lead to clarity and to appropriate action. The more complicated the situation, the more time and effort are needed to clarify it and take steps toward the most desirable resolution. 

When complaints accumulate against a person, or when we ourselves come to a well deliberated conclusion that we must intervene, that's usually when we do it.

Each case is unique and there aren't really any cut and dry policies in our lives, and it's pretty much the same with our Church. At certain times in the past, Church authorities deemed it necessary to make judgments and excommunications more frequently, because there were open attacks on the Church or the truths of the Gospel and the Word of God, or the Church itself as the living organism founded by our Lord Jesus Christ on Peter and the Apostles. 

There have been eras in history when people looked at issues more in a black and white perspective, but with the extremely rapid development this past century in the social sciences, as well as the pure sciences, this has enhanced our understanding of the complexities of human life and behaviour. As a result, the Church now tends to be more circumspect and cautious, rather committed to investing more time and focused attention to details, and even reluctant to be shooting off frequent condemnations. In our lifetime, the shooting off of condemnations hasn't been anything resembling common practice; so, this latest excommunication seems unusual, but it really isn't.

Sooner or later, we must all render accounts, and those who make more noise are likely to attract more attention. There is another dimension to this; the personal dimension. So far, we've really only considered the issues, right and wrong, truth and falsehood.

The difference between the ways of the Lord and those of the enemy of humankind

There is also the difference between the ways of the Lord and the ways of the enemy of humankind, which of these we have been integrating into ourselves, and by which of these we live our lives and relations with others.

The enemy makes everything black and white, cut and dried, with no room for nuance, and quick to assign blame and condemn. It is the way of war and the culture of death.

The ways of the Lord reflect the awesome attributes of the Most Holy Trinity. There is truth, but also goodness and beauty. There is justice, but also mercy. God is never quick to judge, but always slow to condemn and eager to save.

When Church authorities, especially those of the Vatican, approach someone against whom there have been complaints or who stands out in criticizing the Pope or the Church itself - as Archbishop Vigano has consistently done since his retirement - the authorities are interested not only in the issues to be clarified, but equally in the attitude, words, behaviour, and actions of the other person.

Will the other approach peacefully, openly, with a docile spirit and willingness to accept the authority of the Church and manifest eagerness to obey and do the will of God? Such a person manifests a soul that is integrating the ways of the Lord into their own life, a life of holiness; a soul that is living in the Kingdom of God.

On the contrary, a person who is belligerent, condemning others left and right, accusing everyone, giving the impression that only THEY have the truth, and that everyone should be obeying THEM; well, such a soul is manifesting itself as caught up in the ways of the enemy of humankind, and the kingdom of this world, and most likely under the influence of the prince of this world; the same one who tempted Jesus in the desert.

What exactly is an excommunication?

Jesus declared that the only sin that cannot be forgiven is the sin against the Holy Spirit, which simply put, is the sin of a soul setting itself up against God, accusing God, closing itself off from God, pushing God aside and trying to take God's place as it were. As long as the gates of the mind, heart, and soul are closed to God, then it stands to reason that his grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love cannot enter into such a soul. It is basically condemning itself.

So, a declaration of excommunication is simply the Church declaring that such a soul has already cut itself off from God and the Church. Therefore, it would be sacrilegious for them in their rebellion to take the sacraments, because they are not in a proper disposition of soul. The excommunication is not a condemnation but an act of justice and mercy that is made in the hope that it will shake the person up and open them up to repentance and conversion.

Secular society, which has adopted the closed perspective of the enemy, sees everything in black and white; therefore, it is almost incapable of understanding the above dynamic and how the Church is ever seeking to help souls open themselves up to the truth, the goodness, the beauty, the justice and mercy of God, and to give God the first place in our lives; rather than setting ourselves up on any kind of personal throne or chair of authority.

Being ordained a deacon, priest, or bishop, or being appointed archbishop or cardinal, is a heavy burden of responsibility which only God's grace can help us carry. It is the same with the daily grace of Marriage. Those who accept daily their grace of vocation are able to carry themselves with humility before God, and are eager to show everyone else kindness and understanding, patience and goodness, mercy, forgiveness, and love, unconditionally; just as God shows each of us all these graces unconditionally and liberally. 

So, you can see from all this, that we are very much in need of having sympathy for one another, of showing kindness and understanding to one another, but also of standing up for the truth, for goodness, for beauty, for justice and mercy. We also need to do this with a calm and peaceful disposition, with only love towards those who disagree with us or cause trouble of any kind. For this we need the grace of God, the power, presence, and action of the Holy Spirit within us, enabling us to stand fast against any and all attacks against God and his purposes in the world and in Creation.

----------------------------------------------------------------

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian witnesses and writers in reflecting on life, encounters, and various situations, in a desire to enhance our understanding of what it means to be a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ at the service of the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

----------------------------------------------------------------

© 2004-2024 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2024 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

+ + + + + + + + + + + +