November: The Month of the Holy Souls

A couple of weeks ago, Pope Francis said that the Church in heaven, the Church on earth, and the Church in purgatory form “one big family.”  While we were reminded on All Saints Day that there are those who already see God face-to-face, All Souls Day reminded us that there are still those who are being purified of their sinfulness and earthly attachments to enter eternal life.  November is known devotionally as the “Month of the Holy Souls” — the month that holy mother Church asks her children to pray for the souls of the faithful departed.  The readings of this month focus on the “Last Things” and gives priests the opportunity to preach and catechize on this subject.  It is also a fine occasion for us to talk about purgatory: that it exists (no, Vatican II did not “do away with it”); what it is; what it is not; and what it means for us in this present life.

“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (CCC 1030).  While the word “purgatory” is not mentioned explicitly in the Holy Bible, the Catholic Church did not simply invent this doctrine.  Like the doctrine of the Trinity and the Incarnation, the concept of purgatory is present in Scripture even though the term [formulated by the Church] is not.  Some implicit references are 2 Macc. 12:43–45; Matt. 12:32; 1 Cor. 3:15; and Rev. 21:27.  Furthermore, graffiti in the catacombs indicates the early Christians were offering prayers for their beloved dead.

One myth about purgatory is that it is a “second chance” for those who did not live good enough in this life.  However, a person is judged immediately at the moment of death.  Those who die in [unrepented] mortal sin go to hell.  Those who die in the perfect state of grace go to heaven.  The problem is that most people do not die in the perfect state of grace.  There may be attachment to sin in the soul or unrepented venial sin on the soul.  God grants the person eternal life through the merits of Jesus Christ (and according to how the person responded to saving grace), but because they need to be purified of “all that is not of God”, God purifies them to make them ready for eternal life.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI taught that “the fire which both burns and saves is Christ himself, the Judge and Saviour. The encounter with him is the decisive act of judgement. Before his gaze all falsehood melts away. This encounter with him, as it burns us, transforms and frees us, allowing us to become truly ourselves. All that we build during our lives can prove to be mere straw, pure bluster, and it collapses. Yet in the pain of this encounter, when the impurity and sickness of our lives become evident to us, there lies salvation. His gaze, the touch of his heart heals us through an undeniably painful transformation 'as through fire'. But it is a blessed pain, in which the holy power of his love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God” (Spe Salvi, 47).  We must pray that Christ purifies the souls of our deceased loved ones (and of all souls), not only that they may fully participate in the joy of all the angels and saints, but that we ourselves may receive healing in our loss as we continue on our earthly journey in Christ — the journey to our heavenly homeland.

St. Leo the Great: "Who was he? What made him so great?"

When the Catholic mission of St. Leo the Great was established by the Diocese of Galveston-Houston in 1968, Bishop Nold most likely chose the patron saint Pope Leo I because Centerville was the county seat of Leon County.  The Spanish word “león” is derived from the Latin declension of the name “Leo” as well as the Latin word for “lion.”  However, the connection is unclear of the 5^th century pope to Martín De León (of Texas history) or to the yellow wolf (“león”) of this region.

Leo was born in Tuscany in the early 400s.  He was elected pope in 440 after serving as a deacon in the Roman Church under Pope Celestine I.  Leo’s chief aim, as Successor of St. Peter, was to work for the unity of the Universal Church.  The two heresies called Pelagianism and Manichaeism threatened to tear the Church apart.  Pelagianism taught that Original Sin did not taint human nature and that the human will could choose the good without God’s grace.  Manichaeism, a Gnostic movement that had infiltrated Christianity, held that the human body and material creation was essentially evil (created by the evil god, satan) and that only spiritual creation was good (created by the good God).  These heresies risked diminishing the doctrine of the Incarnation and the need for a divine Savior.

In order to lead Christians to the truth and to protect them from error, Leo wrote (what is called) the “Tome”, which explained the two natures of Jesus Christ: human and divine.  Leo’s language was adopted by the Council of Chalcedon in 451, which taught that Jesus Christ, as one divine Person, is both true God and true man.  As true man, he has a human body and a rational soul, consubstantial with us in all things but sin, and Son of the Virgin Mary.  As true God, He is eternally consubstantial with God the Father and eternally begotten by the Father.  Leo was also protector of Rome from barbarian invasions.  In 452, he managed to stop Attila and the Huns from attacking Rome.  Attila allegedly saw a giant man (perhaps St. Peter or St. Paul) in priestly robes holding a sword behind Leo threatening punishment, and so Attila withdrew his forces.  In 455, Leo was able to dissuade the Vandals from murder and arson when they sacked Rome.

St. Leo the Great entered into eternal life on November 10, 461.  He is the patron saint against snakes and naughty children (good news for Centerville teachers!).  He and only one other pope, St. Gregory I, have merited to be called “great” in the history of the Church (with possibly the addition of John Paul II in our lifetime).  His life, teaching, and patronage reminds us that even here in Leon County, we are called to proclaim Jesus Christ as true God and true man, the only Savior of the world.  With Christ’s grace and the intercession of St. Leo, we not only protect ourselves against serpents and little rascals, but against the enemies to our salvation — allurements of the world, the flesh and the devil.  We are all called to holiness and courage in our faith, and when we are discouraged or attacked, we do not give up, but we remember St. Leo’s advice from his Christmas Day sermon:  “Christian, Remember your dignity.”

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" A Question of Faith

Sunday's readings can be found here.

When we were young and full of imagination, we all used to dream of what we wanted to be when we grew up.  We would say things like, “When I grow up, I want to be a policeman” or “When I grow up, I want to be a doctor.”  Regardless of whether or not our dreams were fulfilled, the question still remains for us in terms of our Catholic faith — no matter what our age!  What do we want to be when we grow up?  The answer should be: a saint.

The feast of All Saints is a reminder to us that it is, indeed, possible to be a saint.  We do not mean this in a sanctimonious kind of way; we mean it in the most authentic way possible.  As we reflect on the Church Triumphant in heaven, we, who are the Church Militant on earth, look at their lives while they lived on earth and try to imitate their examples.  Some non-Catholics downplay the role of Catholic saints and may say, “Well, you can follow the life of a saint, but I follow the life of Jesus Christ.”  We also and above all follow the life of Jesus Christ.  But we look to the saints who lived their lives in Jesus Christ on earth to be examples to us of how we should live.  The saints show us concrete ways of living out the Beatitudes in our various states of life.  They show us examples of heroic virtue and holiness.  

For example, what does it mean to be a holy priest?  I look to the example of St. John Vianney, Don Bosco, St. Josemaría Escrivá.  What does it mean to be a holy wife, a holy mother?  Look to the example of the Blessed Virgin, St. Monica, St. Gianna Beretta Molla.  What does it mean to be a holy husband, a holy father?  Look to the example of St. Joseph, St. Thomas More and others.  These saints not only encourage us to holiness by their examples, but we have to trust that they pray for us in heaven as part of the Communion of Saints — that they are interceding for us before God the Father, through God the Son, and in God the Holy Spirit.  They want us to have what they had in this life: intimate relationship with the Holy Trinity that was radiated in charity for neighbor.

Even if we have done things in our life that are not Christ-like (that are not saintly) and even though we fail to live up to the upward calling in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14), we do not despair or give up.  We only look to such saints as Magdalene, Augustine, Francis, Ignatius of Loyola and others to show us that it is not too late to allow Christ to turn our lives around.  We can always make a good confession and begin again anew.  And with God’s help and grace, we can still be what we were always called to be — a saint!

A Personal Relationship Must Endure

A little over 15 years ago, I was received into the Catholic Church when I was in the 8th grade.  Before then, I had attended Baptist and other churches in the Tyler area.  My experience of Evangelical Christianity that I most appreciate is the constant emphasis of the need to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Of course, we as Catholics believe this too and always have believed this (even though our language about prayer life is different).  I think sometimes we shy away from using this kind of language about our faith – our relationship with Christ – because we have scruples of sounding too “Protestant.”  However, the substance of our faith – the motivation of our prayer – is that we believe God is not static (like an uninterested blob in outer space) but that He is essentially personal and relates to us in a personal way.

So, if our relationship with God is personal, what do we make of the “Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge” from last Sunday’s gospel (Luke 18:1-8)?  At first read, this parable seems a bit unkind.  As is often the case in the gospels, our Lord uses extremes to show us how God relates to us personally and how we should respond.  A widow in the ancient world was often powerless and vulnerable.  She represents us who are weak and dependent on God for everything.  Christ, in His intimate knowledge of human nature and in perfect humility, applies the unjust judge to God; He knows that in all times and in all places, people often blame God for the miseries of this life.  Nevertheless, the unjust judge [God] finally listens to the widow [us] and grants her [our] desire.  So, what does this curious parable tell us about a personal relationship with Christ?

We all know that we need to pray and that we need to pray more.  But the reality is that prayer is hard.  Sometimes we feel great about assisting the Mass, going to Eucharistic Holy Hours, praying our rosary — and sometimes the last thing we want to do (or can do) is pray.  We are too busy.  We do not always get what we ask for.  We do not always feel good.  Nevertheless, if we truly consider prayer a part of our relationship with the Lord, we know we need to do it anyway.  Just as constant dialogue is important to a healthy marriage or to a good friendship, so constant dialogue is essential to our most vital relationship — our relationship with God.

Someone might say, “Well, God knows what we need before we ask, so why bother?”  True, but we still need to ask.  Why?  Because prayer helps us clarify our desires, our petitions, our needs.  And sometimes, the answer we get is “No”, so constant prayer helps us to accept when God’s will is not our will.  From what has been gathered from her letters, Blessed [Mother] Teresa of Calcutta experienced almost no consolation from her prayer for almost 50 years, yet she persevered.  Her perseverance in prayer is what kept her focused on her mission and ultimately what made her a saint.  And if we persevere in prayer, God has the power to make us a saint too.  We only have to want it.

Not Just for Old Nuns!

In 1571, Pope St. Pius V used this weapon to defeat the Turks in the victory of Lepanto.  In the twentieth century, the popes used this weapon to defeat Hitler, and before the turn of the century, this weapon brought down the Berlin Wall.  This weapon is not the firearm or the canon or even the nuclear bomb.  This weapon is the most holy rosary!

However, many people have in their minds an image of praying the rosary that looks something like this: a pious little old woman, kneeling down, rattling off prayers before a crucifix, while beads of the rosary slip through her fingers.  While there are certainly examples of this in the ambiance of our faith, we have to get out of our minds that the holy rosary is something only for old nuns — or even a form of prayer that is not practical for modern people.  Maybe even we have tried the rosary and “not gotten anything out of it.”

Firstly, the rosary is a practical prayer for modern people.  We all agree that “A family that prays together stays together.”  The holy rosary is a practical prayer that should be prayed by the family (or a couple) everyday.  It only takes about 15-20 minutes when it is prayed vocally.  A family could pray just one or two decades in the beginning and gradually work up to the whole rosary.  It can be done in the family sitting room, the dinner table after supper, or even in the car for long drives.

Secondly, the holy rosary is a scriptural prayer.  Almost all the prayers – the Our Father, Hail Mary – come directly from Sacred Scripture.  Furthermore, once you have practiced praying the rosary (because like anything, to pray it well will take practice!), you will get past the vocal prayers to start to meditate on the mysteries of Christ’s life — which are directly from the Holy Bible!  Praying the holy rosary everyday means you are praying with Scripture everyday!

Finally, the holy rosary is a powerful prayer.  The saints of the last millennium all prayed the holy rosary with deep fervor, countless miracles and conversions have happened, and lives have been changed.  Personally, when I started praying a daily rosary when I was a senior in high school, God started to speak to my heart and call me to His holy priesthood.  Some people in my life have had conversions when I prayed the rosary for them.  And praying the rosary everyday has ensured at least some daily scriptural meditation in my hectic life.

This prayer is not for little old ladies, it is not for pansies, and it is certainly not only a prayer of ages past.  This is our weapon against the world, the flesh, and the devil — and when we pray this prayer well and daily, we continue to give the victory to our Lord Jesus Christ through his most Blessed Mother, the ever-virgin Mary.  May the holy names of Jesus and Mary be praised now and forever. Amen.

The Pro-Life Movement is Making a Difference

A couple of weeks ago, two more abortion clinics (abortion mills) closed, which make a total of 44 abortion facilities closed this year.  Locally and historically, the ‘Planned Parenthood’ facilities of Bryan, Huntsville and Lufkin are among those closed this year thanks to the work of our pro-life state legislators and Texas Right to Life.  Little by little, our prayers and peaceful activism are making a big difference in the lives of mothers and babies not just in Texas but across the nation.

Nevertheless, we need to be persistent because the battle is far from being over.  It is easy to talk about the need for the legal guarantee to the right to life, but it can be difficult to take a public stand.  That is why I think it is important to muster up some courage and keep the tradition of once a year having a public event in which we pray and show the local community that we as pro-life individuals are ready to make a sacrifice to build a culture of life.

            For the last two years, with the help of others, I have coordinated the Life Chain in Centerville.  I have gone around to different Christian communities in the area and spoken to the Centerville Ministerial Fellowship to get the support of other Christians.  I have also invited parishioners from St. Thomas More in Hilltop Lakes and St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Buffalo to join us to make this an event for all of Leon County.  Both years we have had over 45 people participate in the Life Chain — a peaceful, prayerful witness at the intersection of Highway 7 and Interstate 45.

 Together let us stand up for life and pray that our country will be less of a culture of death and more of a civilization of love.