The CatholiCity Message
Volume IX, Number 2 – March 9, 2005
Dear CatholiCity Citizen,
Today we bring you the gift of encouragement. Along with our ailing Holy Father and over two billion of our fellow baptized Christians worldwide, including the sixty thousand-plus CatholiCity Citizens reading this message, we are one month into Lent and only a few weeks away from celebrating the passion and resurrection of Our Lord.
IT'S ALL ABOUT WEAKNESS
Many of you have no doubt experienced a "good" Lent. That is, you've been able to successfully avoid whatever foods or indulgences you've forsaken and have participated in the "extra" spiritual activities you planned. Good for you, and, good for all us–for no Christian merits grace without benefiting us all.
REGAIN YOUR FEET
On the other hand, perhaps you have struggled, even fallen woefully short of your resolutions. For you, we have a simple message: Take heart, pick up your Cross, and follow Christ. Jesus fell three times. His cross was too heavy. The burden was too overwhelming. He could not carry his cross without help. In his human nature–by his failure–He showed us the reality of his weakness. Which is more difficult–the humiliation of falling–or his struggle to regain his feet?
MODEST SUGGESTIONS
1. Begin again. You are not alone. We are with you.
2. Pray. Can you make a special trip to Church or an adoration chapel? Can you turn off the television tonight and kneel or sit in a quiet room and pray? Can you stay after Mass for fifteen minutes, or thirty, to keep Our Lord company?
3. Give alms. Get your checkbook. Open it up. Write a check for at least one more dollar than you can "afford." Or double it. Bring your gift with you next time you go to daily Mass. Or, next time you're in church, open your wallet or purse, reach in without looking at the bills, then give whatever amount you happen to pull out.
4. Fast. One working definition of fasting is Saying No to Your Body. For 24 hours, reestablish with your body that you are not a slave to its desires. "Tell" your flesh to eat bread. It will ask you for every other kind of food until midnight. Jesus' flesh asked him to "stay down" when He fell. He did not comply. Fasting is looking into the mirror of your own weakness. Take a close look. Jesus got back up because His Divine Nature gazed upon the person you will see.
5. Serve. Think of someone in your life–someone in your family, someone you work with, or a relative or a friend, and put yourself in their shoes. Imagine an act of service that would bring them joy or relief. Plan it. Do it.
6. Consume Good Stuff. Read the Bible for twenty minutes tonight before bed. Read the readings before or after daily Mass–again, this time with "passion." Call a friend and discuss the spiritual insights or thoughts you've picked up during your day. If you haven't listened to any Mary Foundation recordings yet (or in a while) there is still plenty of time to receive free copies to absorb during your drive to work or during chores. "Confession" or "The Mass Explained" are perfect for Lent:
7. Go to Your Bishop's Church. There is a cathedral in your diocese. It's probably downtown. The word "cathedral" means "chair" or "seat." Whose chair is your bishop sitting in? Christ's. Your bishop is the direct representative of Christ's kingship in your life, more so than even the pope. As an act of love, respect, and gratitude for the gift from Jesus that this man is to you, attend Mass at the heart of your diocese to offer your Communion just for him. Most cathedrals have daily Confession, too. Receive the priceless gift of absolution through the priests your bishop has appointed to the cathedral.
8. Pray seven Rosaries this week. Pray one for the pastor of your parish. Pray one for your spouse. One for your parents. One for your children and their future spouses. One for your best friends. One for your enemies. And one for your growth in humility.
9. Clean and dust, with loving care, every crucifix in your home.
10. Walk through a cemetery, read the names, and pray for their souls.
11. Call, meet with, or write to someone who has been kind or faithful or generous to you–and thank them.
LET US PRAY
We hope these suggestions inspire you to action. Perhaps the little prayer below, recited with recollection and reverence, will help us reach the spiritual destination intended for us by Our Savior on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2005. Let us begin in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...
"Dear Lord, I do not know what will happen to me now that I have read today's encouraging words, I only know that nothing will happen that was not foreseen by You and directed to my greater good from all eternity. I adore Your holy and unfathomable plans, and submit to them with all my heart for love of You, the Pope, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Help me begin Lent again. Help my fellow CatholiCity Citizens begin Lent again. Amen."
QUOTES
"Active natures are rarely melancholy. Activity and sadness are incompatible."
Christian Bovee
"Loving our neighbor is limited by the love of our self."
Saint Augustine
"Many enjoy the shade...but few rake leaves."
Jack Morton
"Today we find the once-private faculty for procreation within marriage exploited to serve the public ambitions of the godless, who target our passions to entice us to consume everything from perfume to popcorn; from tighter abs to looser laws. Sexual 'freedom' is an illusion, for the man beholden to his passions is not free to choose good and is blind to truth. As such, from pornographers to politicians, the agenda of sexual 'liberty' is the modern dictator's first choice and subtle means of enslavement, for it allows him to go about the dreary business of maintaining power unknown and unresisted by slaves who are not aware of their chains."
G.K. MacBrien
Until next time, we remain...
Your Friends at CatholiCity
