The CatholiCity Message

Volume XII, Number 10 – October 1, 2008

"In times of aridity when I am incapable of praying, of practicing virtue, I seek little opportunities, mere trifles, to give pleasure to Jesus; for instance a smile, a pleasant word when inclined to be silent and to show weariness. If I find no opportunities, I at least tell Him again and again that I love Him; that is not difficult and it keeps alive the fire in my heart. Even though this fire of love might seem extinct I would still throw little straws upon the embers and I am certain it would rekindle."
Saint Therese Lisieux, "The Little Flower"

Dear CatholiCity Citizen,

Most of you realize that today is the feast of one of the most popular saints in the history of the Church, Saint Therese. There is scarcely a Catholic church in a country which does not have a statue portraying this young French woman holding a bouquet of roses. Those of you with devotion to her know that she is a reliable friend. We strongly recommend the life-changing experience of reading her autobiography, "The Story of a Soul," which is available at any realworld or online Catholic bookstore. You can even download the e-book free-of-charge from Project Gutenberg here:

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/16772

"In all the universe, in the all the world, there is nothing like a High Catholic Mass--except, of course, a low Catholic Mass."
G.K. MacBrien

1. SHORT COURSE ON MIRACLES
Because the human will is free, God does not compel any of us to convert to Christianity or submit ourselves to His will. "God does not force us to accept the truth," as Pope John Paul II explained in Crossing the Threshhold of Hope. The greatest miracle, in this sense, is the conversion of a soul, because it requires the participation of a free-willed human being in the life of grace. On the other hand, because God desires union with us, He is always and in every way making available for us the graces needed for conversion, virtue, and sanctification, even for those who do not believe He exists. That's why the best prayer for the potential convert to pray is:

"If you exist, show me. If you are God, help me. If Jesus is your son, have Him touch my soul."

Paradoxically, events which are more popularly considered "miracles" are, from our human perspective, "easy" for God to accomplish. We refer here to the kind of miracles that Jesus performed (and through His agents and agency, continues to perform), such as restoring sight to the blind or raising the dead back to life. That is, miracles that are supernatural events which defy or suspend the laws of nature. There are cases in the history of the Church, for example, of saints raising the dead back to life. There are countless cases of cancer being healed, crippled people walking and so on--and only a tiny percentage of these have been recorded at places like Lourdes in France. We remember the firsthand account of a missionary who experienced an astounding "multiplication of food" while serving meals to thousands of poor people in Mexico even though they brought only enough food to serve hundreds. "We kept reaching into the boxes and the food never ran out until all the people had been fed," he explained.

The universe itself could not resist God's command to bring it into existence because the universe did not have the will to resist. The water Jesus walked on could not draw Him into its cold grasp because it did not have the will to defy Him. If God desires to preserve the lifeless body of Saint Bernadette from corruption for decade after decade to this very day, her corpse cannot resist.

Miracles are not merely hard for us; they are impossible. Miracles are not difficult for God; they are possible. This is why we should be bold and even outrageous in asking for miracles when we pray, especially for friends and relatives (and ourselves) when we face horrible situations, devastating medical conditions, and seemingly overwhelming odds.

We will not pretend to fully understand why it is that most of the time God appears to refuse our requests for miracles. Thousands of books have been written on the subject. Yet none of us should pretend that miracles are not possible. None of us should allow ourselves to get into the foolish habit of not asking for miracles because they seem to occur seldomly.

Many of you have experienced the "minor" miracle of asking God for a gift, especially through the intercession of one of His saints such as Saint Therese or Saint Anthony or Saint Jude or Saint Joseph, and having that gift being given, and given in such a way that the only rational explanation is that God actively intervened to change the course of events. We know from experience that these so-called minor miracles, for those of us who have living a life of faith into adulthood, are actually quite common. For those of us with, as Saint Paul calls them, "eyes of the heart," we perceive God's active intervention into the events of our lives every day.

So ask, and you shall receive. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and the door shall be opened to you. The only tragedy is to not ask, not seek, and not knock. Let's start together, right now. Bring to mind the miracle (or miracles) that you need in your or your family or friend's lives now, and let us pray together, all 70,000 of who access this email. We believe you will like this simple prayer, which we begin in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...

"Dear All-Powerful and Loving Father in Heaven,
We ask You now, at this singular moment in time, together and with humility, and if it is in accord with Your perfect will, to grant all the miracles requested today by myself and each of my brother and sister Citizens of CatholCity. In our boldness, as little children ask their fathers without reservation, we join our voices to the prayers of all of our relatives who are in heaven with You, along with the intercession of their countless angels, especially our and their guardian angels. We know, through the chain of baptism going back in human history all the way to Your mother, Mary, and the twelve apostles, that all these glorified souls and perfect angelic beings multiplies our voices into millions chanting one beautiful song, transforming our request for miracles into a beautiful symphony of love, trusting in You, loving You, desiring to love You more, in time through eternity. Shock us with Your generosity. Astound us with the speed of Your reply. Console us with the Wisdom of Your Will. Amen."

QUOTATION

"Jesus needs neither books nor Doctors of Divinity in order to instruct souls; He, the Doctor of Doctors, He teaches without noise of words."
Saint Therese of Lisieux

"The paradox in Therese is the power of her powerlessness since it calls forth the might of God. The appeal of weakness is for divine strength to work in and through it. When we acknowledge our weakness, no longer demanding the right to be in control of our lives, divine power becomes infinitely available to us."
Margaret Dorgan

"I feel in me the vocation of the Priest. I have the vocation of the Apostle. Martyrdom was the dream of my youth and this dream has grown with me. Considering the mystical body of the Church, I desired to see myself in them all. Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I understood that the Church had a Heart and that this Heart was burning with love. I understood that Love comprised all vocations, that Love was everything, that it embraced all times and places... in a word, that it was eternal! Then in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my Love... my vocation, at last I have found it... My vocation is Love!"
Saint Therese of Lisieux

Thank you for being a part of our work. Please avail yourselves of the tools for evangelization below--the books, the CDs, and, remember, forward this CatholiCity Message to your friends who might benefit from the powerful group prayer. We remain yours...

Yours in Christ,

Your Friends at CatholiCity