Bending Our Will
Lent is a time when we can shatter the deceptions of Satan by holding fast to the righteousness of Christ. Lent is a time for seeing that all of creation is good for guiding us to a greater knowledge of God.
— from The Little Way of Lent
Sawing off One's Cross
They tell the story of a group of devout people
who were on a cross-carrying pilgrimage. The
going was rough and there was much moaning and
groaning. One of the pilgrims found his cross
just too heavy to carry, so he cut off a part and
shortened it.
After days of walking, the pilgrims approached
the promised land of everlasting joy and peace in
God's presence. But they still had one obstacle
to overcome. Between them and heaven was a
yawning abyss. How could they get to the other
side?
Someone thought of the idea of each one using his
cross as a bridge. And would you know it? The
crosses were just the right length to span the
gap.
So, all the cross-bearers walked across except
the one who had sawed off his cross to make it
lighter.
Saint of the Day: St. Agnes of Bohemia
Agnes had no children of her own but was certainly life-giving for all who knew her.
Agnes was the daughter of Queen Constance and King Ottokar I of Bohemia. At the age of three, she was betrothed to the Duke of Silesia, who died three years later. As she grew up, she decided she wanted to enter the religious life.
After declining marriages to King Henry VII of Germany and Henry III of England, Agnes was faced with a proposal from Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor. She appealed to Pope Gregory IX for help. The pope was persuasive; Frederick magnanimously said that he could not be offended if Agnes preferred the King of Heaven to him.
After Agnes built a hospital for the poor and a residence for the friars, she financed the construction of a Poor Clare monastery in Prague. In 1236, she and seven other noblewomen entered this monastery. St. Clare sent five sisters from San Damiano to join them, and wrote Agnes four letters advising her on the beauty of her vocation and her duties as abbess.
Agnes became known for prayer, obedience and mortification. Papal pressure forced her to accept her election as abbess; nevertheless, the title she preferred was "senior sister." Her position did not prevent her from cooking for the other sisters and mending the clothes of lepers. The sisters found her kind but very strict regarding the observance of poverty; she declined her royal brother’s offer to set up an endowment for the monastery.
Devotion to Agnes arose soon after her death on March 6, 1282. She was canonized in 1989.
Comment:
Agnes spent at least 45 years in a Poor Clare monastery. Such a life requires a great deal of patience and charity. The temptation to selfishness certainly didn’t vanish when Agnes walked into the monastery. It is perhaps easy for us to think that cloistered nuns "have it made" regarding holiness. Their route is the same as ours: gradual exchange of our standards (inclination to selfishness) for God’s standard of generosity.
Quote:
"Have nothing to do with anyone who would stand in your way and would seek to turn you aside from fulfilling the vows which you have made to the Most High (Psalm 49:14) and from living in that perfection to which the Spirit of the Lord has called you" (Clare to Agnes of Bohemia, Letter II in Murray Bodo, O.F.M., Clare: A Light in the Garden, p. 118).
A Short Prayer to Mary The Queen of Sorrows
MOST afflicted Mother of grace and mercy, by that great love which induced thee to assist with unshaken firmness at the foot of the Cross, at the last agony of thy beloved Son, and by all the sufferings there endured by thy virginal heart, I beseech thee to assist me with thy especial patronage at the hour of my death, that so, through thy assistance, I may die the death of the just, and come happily to enjoy in Heaven the fruit of the Wounds of Jesus my Redeemer.
Here say seven Hail Marys in memory of the Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin, adding after each Hail Mary the little verse:
Sancta Mater istud agas,
Crucifixi fige plagas
Cordi meo valide.
Holy Mother, pierce me through;
In my heart each wound renew,
Of my Saviour crucified.
Pius VII, by his Brief of December 1, 1816, has granted to all the faithful who, with a contrite heart, recite the seven Hail Marys with the verse above named, three hundred days' Indulgence, to be gained once a day, and to all who shall recite them daily for a month, a Plenary Indulgence. [Ibid.]
<tt>PRAYER IS:
~~~surrender to the influence of the Holy Spirit,
becoming calm, recollected in order to grow
docile as He prays in us........
~~~making way for Someone greater than we, letting
the Son's joy and love for the Father awaken
in us and fill us to overflowing........
~~~allowing the Spirit-the Son's love for the Father
-to spring from heart to lips....Authentic prayer
must echo the Son's love..........
~~~placing ourselves at God's disposal for a moment
or two, so that He can accomplish in us what He
has always wanted to do...but we've never given
Him the chance.......
~~~most simply, being 'with' God. Believing in
His loving presence even when not feeling it,
and trying to be present to Him in faith, in
loving attention, in mysterious oneness.......</tt>
<tt>by Fr. Gabriel O´Donnell, OP</tt>
THE CRUCIBLE OF SUFFERING
Author Unknown
I will not leave you comfortless. . John 14:18
Nowhere has God promised anyone, even His children, immunity
from sorrow, suffering and pain. This world is a "vale of
tears," and disappointment and heartache are as inevitable as clouds
and shadows. Suffering is often the crucible in which our faith is
tested. Those who successfully come through the "furnace of
affliction" are the ones who emerge "like gold tried in the
fire."
The Bible teaches unmistakably that we can triumph over
bereavement. The psalmist said: "Weeping may endure for the night,
but joy cometh in the morning" (Psalm 30:5).
Self Pity can bring no enduring comfort. The fact is, it
will only add to our misery. And unremitting grief will give us
little consolation in itself, for grief begets grief. Ceaseless grieving
will only magnify our sorrow. We should not peddle our sorrows and bewail
our bad fortune - that will only depress others. Sorrow, or
mourning, when it is borne in a Christian way, contains a built in
comfort. "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be
comforted" (Matthew 5:4).
There is comfort in mourning because we know that Christ is
with us. He has said: "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end
of the world" (Matthew 28:20). Suffering is endurable if we do not
have to bear it alone; and the more compassionate the Presence, the
less acute the pain.
March 2
I am the resurrection and the life; all lasting life emanates from Me. People search for life in many wrong ways: chasing after fleeting pleasures, accumulating possessions and wealth, trying to deny the inevitable effects of aging. Meanwhile, I freely offer abundant life to everyone who turns toward Me. As you come to Me and take My yoke upon you, I fill you with My very life. This is how I choose to live in the world and accomplish My purposes. This is also how I bless you with joy unspeakable and full of glory. The joy is mine, and the glory is mine; but I bestow them on you as you live in My presence, inviting Me to live fully in you.
John 11:25 Jesus said to her, " I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies."
" Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, 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." From Jesus Calling
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