Chapter 4: The Tools for Good Works

Verse 1 - 21

1First of all, love the Lord God with your whole heart, your whole soul and all your strength, 2and love your neighbor as yourself (Matt 22:37–39; Mark 12:30–31; Luke 10:27).

3Then the following: You are not to kill, 4not to commit adultery; 5you are not to steal 6nor to covet (Rom 13:9); 7you are not to bear false witness (Matt 19:18; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20). 8You must honor everyone (1 Pet 2:17), 9and never do to another what you do not want done to yourself (Tob 4:16; Matt 7:12; Luke 6:31).

10Renounce yourself in order to follow Christ (Matt 16:24; Luke 9:23); 11discipline your body (1 Cor 9:27); 12do not pamper yourself, 13but love fasting. 14You must relieve the lot of the poor, 15clothe the naked, 16visit the sick (Matt 25:36), 17and bury the dead.

18Go to help the troubled 19and console the sorrowing. 20Your way of acting should be different from the world’s way; 21the love of Christ must come before all else.

Reflection

Now we begin that Chapter on the Tools for Good Works. We have heard about the kinds of monks. We have heard what qualities that abbot should have. We have heard that the abbot needs to take counsel from the community.

The first part of the tools of good works simply tells all of us that we must follow the Scriptures and the ten commandments of the Lord from the Hebrew Scriptures. It is clear that monks are followers of God and accept the Lord Jesus. We are Christian monks!

Then the tools for good works take on a tone that is perhaps more monastic or perhaps just the demands of the ordinary Christian placed more clearly in front of our eyes. The monk must learn to renounce himself in order to follow Christ.

This does imply a strong discipline and Saint Benedict spells that discipline out a bit: discipline your body, don't pamper yourself, love fasting.
For us monks today, perhaps we must listen again to these three works: discipline your body, don't pamper yourself and love fasting.

The present age does not like ascetic practices, even in the time of Lent. There is almost a fear of depriving ourselves of anything, as though somehow we will be making a bad decision if we make life any tougher than it already is.

The role of these ascetic practices is clear: so that we will be able to choose to do the Lord's will, even when it is difficult. We must start now to train ourselves and some of the best training is in this learning to discipline our bodies, learning how not to pamper ourselves and learning to love fasting.

We don't need to let anyone know what we are doing, but we ourselves must commit ourselves to these practices if we ever want to become strong monks who are able to commit themselves to doing the Lord's will.

Verse 22 - 43

22You are not to act in anger 23or nurse a grudge. 24Rid your heart of all deceit. 25Never give a hollow greeting of peace 26or turn away when someone needs your love.

27Bind yourself to no oath lest it prove false, 28but speak the truth with heart and tongue. 29Do not repay one bad turn with another (1 Thess 5:15; 1 Pet 3:9).

30Do not injure anyone, but bear injuries patiently. 31Love your enemies (Matt 5:44; Luke 6:27). 32If people curse you, do not curse them back but bless them instead. 33Endure persecution for the sake of justice (Matt 5:10).

34You must not be proud, 35nor be given to wine (Titus 1:7; 1 Tim 3:3). 36Refrain from too much eating 37or sleeping, 38and from laziness (Rom 12:11).

39Do not grumble 40or speak ill of others. 41Place your hope in God alone. 42If you notice something good in yourself, give credit to God, not to yourself, 43but be certain that the evil you commit is always your own and yours to acknowledge.

Reflection

As we go through these tools of Good Works, we find a very simple list of things to do or not to do. One would think, probably, that a serious Christian or a committed monk would already be doing these things.

How often we find that many of us are blind to the things that we find difficult! When we get angry, for instance, how many of us find it difficult to pardon the one who angered us! And we find ways inside ourselves to avoid the clear directions of the Lord Jesus and ways to avoid what the Rule of Benedict says.

Never nursing a grudge is fairly easy for some and almost impossible for others. When relationships in the monastery are hurt or conflict arises, it is no easier for us monks to reconcile than for those who live a non-Christian life. This speaks so much about our faith and our lack of depth in following the Lord.

How often a monk needs to give the kiss of peace to his brother and refuses to do so!
Most of all, each of us must learn how to put all our hope in God. We want human relationships, we want friends, we want human acknowledgement.

All of that is normal and is not evil. But when those desires interfere with our relationship with one another, we must learn to put all our hope in God. God must be for us all that we want and our human relationship must come to be an expression of putting all our hope in God.

Instead we find ourselves just like everyone else: we turn to God and try to be faithful to Him when we are in trouble. When things are going well, we trust in ourselves and in what we have accomplished!

Today let us try again to place our hope in the Lord.

Verse 44 - 62

44Live in fear of judgment day 45and have a great horror of hell. 46Yearn for everlasting life with holy desire. 47Day by day remind mind yourself that you are going to die.

48Hour by hour keep careful watch over all you do, 49aware that God’s gaze is upon you, wherever you may be. 50As soon as wrongful thoughts come into your heart, dash them against Christ and disclose them to your spiritual father.

51Guard your lips from harmful or deceptive speech. 52Prefer moderation in speech 53and speak no foolish chatter, nothing just to provoke laughter; 54do not love immoderate or boisterous laughter.

55Listen readily to holy reading, 56and devote yourself often to prayer. 57Every day with tears and sighs confess your past sins to God in prayer 58and change from these evil ways in the future.

59Do not gratify the promptings of the flesh (Gal 5:16); 60hate the urgings of self-will. 61Obey the orders of the abbot unreservedly, even if his own conduct—which God forbid—be at odds with what he says. Remember the teaching of the Lord: Do what they say, not what they do (Matt 23:3).

62Do not aspire to be called holy before you really are, but first be holy that you may more truly be called so.

Reflection

Many of us find it difficult to live in fear of judgment day even though we may indeed have a great horror of hell. Perhaps when we slow down and meditate on judgment day, it becomes clearer why we might have such a fear.

Even when we trust entirely in God's mercy and compassion, we can realize the depths of our failures to love God and to respond to His goodness and love. Probably the more we can develop this fear of judgment day, the more we can yearn for everlasting life with a holy desire.

A holy desire seems to imply that we year for everlasting life because we want to be with God, not simply because we want to avoid the sufferings of hell.

Many of us do not yet have a practice of thinking each day that we are going to die, yet this is recommended to us. As we get older, the practice seems almost natural instead of something morbid.

Basically this part of the Chapter on Good Works is reminding us to be "recollected" all the time. Many of the modern meditation techniques are trying to achieve the same thing. We need to be aware of who we are, that we are going to die and that we should be living in Christ now and our actions should come from that belief.

We are reminded that in our recollection we need to speak very little, to guard ourselves against speaking a lot, in order to keep our hearts and our minds fixed on the Lord.

Devoting ourselves often to prayer probably means that we are able to be aware of God's presence and turn to that divine presence frequently throughout the day. It surely does not mean stopping for a half hour of prayer here and there!

This turning to God in prayer will help us not satisfy the promptings of the flesh. Many of us struggle with the lusts of the flesh and spend many years to find how to continue in this struggle without losing hope. Not losing hope is at the heart of our monastic life: trust in the Lord.

Perhaps even more difficult that the struggle with the lusts of the flesh is the struggle to obey the abbot unreservedly in all that he asks of us. This obedience is put into the context of our not wanting to look holy but a deeper desire to be holy.

May the Lord help us live these teachings of our Father Benedict with great depth!

Verse 63 - 78

63Live by God’s commandments every day; 64 treasure chastity, 65harbor neither hatred 66nor jealousy of anyone, 67and do nothing out of envy. 68 Do not love quarreling; 69shun arrogance. 70Respect the elders 71and love the young.

72Pray for your enemies out of love for Christ. 73If you have a dispute with someone, make peace with him before the sun goes down. 74And finally, never lose hope in God’s mercy. 75These, then, are the tools of the spiritual craft.

76When we have used them without ceasing day and night and have returned them on judgment day, our wages will be the reward the Lord has promised: 77What the eye has not seen nor the ear heard, God has prepared for those who love him (1 Cor 2:9).

78The workshop where we are to toil faithfully at all these tasks is the enclosure of the monastery and stability in the community.

Reflection

These final tools of good work might possibly have been taken for granted among Christians at the time that Saint Benedict was writing.

Today they seem to be counter cultural in many parts of the world. Living by God's commandments is clearly seen as important. Today more and more people do not even know those commandments, even new monks coming into the monastic community.

We are invited to treasure chastity. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that chastity is the integration of sexuality. The Catechism also tells us that man either governs his passions and finds peace or is dominated by his passions and becomes unhappy.

This domination of the passions is also necessary in not harboring hatred or jealousy and in not doing anything our of envy.

Although we often think of monks as strong Christians, how difficult it is to make peace with our brothers before the sun goes down when we have had some conflict!

Anyone who has lived a serious monastic life for years come to know the strength of these tools of good works. Such a monk understands why Saint Benedict encourages us with this long list of good works and understands the joy that begins to come into one's life after many years of struggle.

Saint Benedict makes a point here to emphasize that the place of struggle is within the enclosure of the monastery and with stability in the community.

the history of the Holiday...

Independence Day is the national holiday of the United States of America commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

At the time of the signing the US consisted of 13 colonies under the rule of England's King George III. Leading up to the signing, there had been growing unrest in the colonies surrounding the taxes that colonists were required to pay to England. The major objection was "Taxation without Representation" -- the colonists had no say in the decisions of English Parliament.

Rather than negotiating, King George sent extra troops to the colonies to help control any rebellion that might be arising. The following timeline will give you a crash course in the history that lead to the signing of the Declaration of Independence and America's break from British rule.

1774 - The 13 colonies send delegates to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to form the First Continental Congress. While unrest was brewing, the colonies were far from ready to declare war.

April 1775 -- King George's troops advance on Concord, Massachusetts, prompting Paul Revere's midnight ride that sounded the alarm "The British are coming, the British are coming."
The subsequent battle of Concord, famous for being the "shot heard round the world," would mark the unofficial beginning of the American Revolution.

May 1776 -- After nearly a year of trying to work our their differences with England, the colonies again send delegates to the Second Continental Congress.

June 1776 -- Admitting that their efforts were hopeless, a committee was formed to compose the formal Declaration of Independence. Headed by Thomas Jefferson, the committee also included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Philip Livingston and Roger Sherman.

June 28, 1776 -- Jefferson presents the first draft of the declaration to congress.

July 4, 1776 -- After various changes to Jefferson's original draft, a vote was taken late in the afternoon of July 4th. Of the 13 colonies, 9 voted in favor of the Declaration; 2, Pennsylvania and South Carolina voted No; Delaware was undecided and New York abstained.
John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence. It is said that he signed his name "with a great flourish" so "King George can read that without spectacles!"

July 6, 1776 -- The Pennsylvania Evening Post is the first newspaper to print the Declaration of Independence.

July 8, 1776 -- The first public reading of the declaration takes place in Philadelphia's Independence Square. The bell in Independence Hall, then known as the "Province Bell" would later be renamed the "Liberty Bell" after its inscription - "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land Unto All the Inhabitants Thereof."

August 1776 - The task begun on July 4, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was not actually completed until August. Nonetheless, the 4th of July has been accepted as the official anniversary of United States independence from Britain.

July 4, 1777 -- The first Independence Day celebration takes place. It's interesting to speculate what those first 4th festivities were like.

By the early 1800s the traditions of parades, picnics, and fireworks were firmly established as part of American Independence Day culture.

the doubting thomases...

John 20:24-29

24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe."

26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them.

The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing."

28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me?

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."

Reflection

What gives us unshakeable hope and confidence in the face of death and defeat?

The apostles abandoned Jesus in his hour of trial and lost hope when Jesus was handed over to the Romans for execution.

They saw the cross as defeat rather than victory. They were slow to believe the reports of the resurrection until the Risen Lord appeared to them and reassured them of his presence and love.

The last apostle to meet the resurrected Lord was the first to go with him to Jerusalem at Passover time.

The apostle Thomas was a natural pessimist. When Jesus proposed that they visit Lazarus after receiving news of his illness, Thomas said to the disciples: "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (John 11:16).

While Thomas deeply loved the Lord, he lacked the courage to stand with Jesus in his passion and crucifixion. After Jesus' death, Thomas made the mistake of withdrawing from the other apostles.

He sought loneliness rather than fellowship in his time of adversity. He doubted the women who saw the resurrected Jesus and he doubted his own fellow apostles.

When Thomas finally had the courage to rejoin the other apostles, the Lord Jesus made his presence known to him and reassured him that he had indeed overcome death and risen again.

When Thomas recognized his Master, he believed and exclaimed that Jesus was truly Lord and truly God!

Through the gift of faith we, too, are able to recognize the presence of the risen Lord in our personal lives.

The Holy Spirit reveals the Lord Jesus to us and helps us to grow in knowledge and understanding of God and his ways.

Through the gift of faith we are able to proclaim that Jesus is our personal Lord and our God. He died and rose that we, too, might have new life in him.

The Lord offers each of us new life in his Holy Spirit that we may know him personally and walk in this new way of life through the power of his resurrection.

Do you believe in God's word and in the power of the Holy Spirit?

How many of us are like the doubting Thomases in the midst of God's goodness and blessings?

I just can't get over 'you'

the light that saves...

Matthew 8:28-34

28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.

29 And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" 30 Now a herd of many swine was feeding at some distance from them.

31 And the demons begged him, "If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine." 32 And he said to them, "Go."

So they came out and went into the swine; and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and perished in the waters.

33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, and what had happened to the demoniacs.

34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighborhood.

Reflection

Do you ever feel driven by forces beyond your strength? Two men driven mad by the force of many evil spirits found refuge in the one person who could set them free.

Mark’s and Luke’s gospel accounts describe this force as a legion (Mark 5:9 and Luke 8:30). A legion is no small force – but an army of 6,000 is strong! For the people of Palestine, hemmed in by occupied forces, a legion, whether spiritual or human, struck terror!

Legions at their wildest committed unmentionable atrocities. Our age has also witnessed untold crimes and mass destruction at the hands of possessed rulers and their armies.

What is more remarkable – the destructive force of these driven and possessed men, or the bended knee at Jesus' feet imploring mercy and release?

God's word reminds us that no destructive force can keep anyone from the peace and safety which God offers to those who seek his help.

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. ..Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your habitation (Psalm 91:7,9).

Jesus took pity on these men who were overtaken by a legion of evil spirits. The destructive force of these demons is evident for all who can see as they flee and destroy a herd of swine.

After Jesus freed the demoniacs the whole city came out to meet him. No one had demonstrated such power and authority against the forces of Satan as Jesus did. They feared Jesus as a result and begged him to leave them.

Why would they not want Jesus to stay? Perhaps the price for such liberation from the power of evil and sin was more than they wanted to pay.

Jesus is ready and willing to free us from anything that binds us and that keeps us from the love of God.

Are you willing to part with anything that might keep you from his love and saving grace?

Why are you afraid?

Matthew 8:23-27
23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.

25 And they went and woke him, saying, "Save, Lord; we are perishing." 26 And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

27 And the men marveled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?"

Reflection: What is stronger than fear, even the fear of death? Scripture gives an answer: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).

The Wisdom of Solomon tells us that “love is stronger than death” (Song of Songs 8:6). Jesus' sleeping presence on the storm-tossed sea reveals the sleeping faith of his disciples.

They feared for their lives even though their Lord and Master was with them in the boat. They were asleep to Christ while he was present to them in their hour of need.

The Lord is ever present to us. And in our time of testing he asks the same question: Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?

Do you recognize the Lord’s presence with you, especially when you meet the storms of adversity, sorrow, or temptation?

Whenever we encounter trouble, the Lord is there with the same reassuring message: “It is I, do not be afraid”.

only the Father reveals...

Photo owned by boffo1234567 of Flickr

Photo of Saint Peter owned by lant_70's of Flickr

Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19
13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesare'a Philip'pi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?"

14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Eli'jah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Reflection

Today in many churches of the East and West, the Apostles Peter and Paul are commemorated. Both were martyred in Rome in the first century.

They tirelessly worked for the spread of the gospel, not only to the people of Israel, but to all the nations as well. They risked their lives in the process and gladly poured out their blood in loyalty to their Master, the Lord Jesus Christ.

As Paul so eloquently stated in his second epistle to Timothy, they courageously fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7).

How firm is your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ?

At an opportune time Jesus tested his disciples with a crucial question: Who do men say that I am and who do you say that I am? (Matthew 16:13).

Jesus was widely recognized in Israel as a mighty man of God, even being compared with the greatest of the prophets, John the Baptist, Elijah, and Jeremiah. Peter, always quick to respond, exclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.

No mortal being could have revealed this to Peter; but only God. Jesus then confered on Peter authority to govern the church that Jesus would build, a church that no powers could overcome.

Jesus played on Peter's name which is the same word for "rock" in both Aramaic and Greek. To call someone a "rock" is one of the greatest of compliments.

The ancient rabbis had a saying that when God saw Abraham, he exclaimed: "I have discovered a rock to found the world upon." Through Abraham God established a nation for himself.

Through faith Peter grasped who Jesus truly was. He was the first apostle to recognize Jesus as the Anointed One (Messiah and Christ) and the only begotten Son of God.

The New Testament describes the Church, the people of God, as a spiritual house or temple with each member joined together as living stones (see 1 Peter 2:5).

Faith in Jesus Christ makes us into rocks or spiritual stones.

The Lord Jesus tests each of us personally with the same question: Who do you say that I am?

fraternal bonding...

"Lord, I am not worthy, but only say the word..."

Photo owned by Exploring Orthodoxy of Flickr

Matthew 8:5-17 5

As he entered Caper'naum, a centurion came forward to him, beseeching him 6 and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress."

7 And he said to him, "I will come and heal him." 8 But the centurion answered him, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.

9 For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, `Go,' and he goes, and to another, `Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, `Do this,' and he does it."

10 When Jesus heard him, he marveled, and said to those who followed him, "Truly, I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth."

13 And to the centurion Jesus said, "Go; be it done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed at that very moment. 14 And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever; 15 he touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and served him.

16 That evening they brought to him many who were possessed with demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick.

17 This was to fulfil what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, "He took our infirmities and bore our diseases."

ReflectionIn Jesus’ time the Jews hated the Romans because they represented everything the Jews stood against – including pagan beliefs and idol worship, immoral practices such as abortion and infanticide, and the suppression of the Israelites' claim to be a holy nation governed solely by God's law.

It must have been a remarkable sight for the Jewish residents of Capernaum to see Jesus conversing with an officer of the Roman army.

Why did Jesus not only warmly receive a Roman centurion but praise him as a model of faith and confidence in God?

In the Roman world the position of centurion was very important. He was an officer in charge of a hundred soldiers. In a certain sense, he was the backbone of the Roman army, the cement which held the army together. Polybius, an ancient writer, describes what a centurion should be: "They must not be so much venturesome seekers after danger as men who can command, steady in action, and reliable; they ought not to be over-anxious to rush into the fight, but when hard pressed, they must be ready to hold their ground, and die at their posts."

The centurion who approached Jesus was not only courageous, but faith-filled as well. He risked the ridicule of his cronies by seeking help from an itinerant preacher from Galilee, and well as mockery from the Jews.

Nonetheless, he approached Jesus with confidence and humility. He was an extraordinary man because he loved his slave. In the Roman world slaves were treated like animals rather than people. The centurion was also an extraordinary man of faith.

He wanted Jesus to heal his beloved slave. Jesus commends him for his faith and immediately grants him his request.

Are you willing to suffer ridicule in the practice of your faith?

And when you need help, do you approach the Lord Jesus with expectant faith?

new monks of my community

The birth of a new monk is always a blessing to a community. In the holy rule of Saint Benedict, it says that a newcomer in a community is always a blessing to its members. However, it is always not easy to have one as it takes a lot of trials, challenges and difficulties that square with the struggles in a newcomer to be able to eventually become one and be born a monk in a monastery.

As of this writing, our community is blessed with at least three newly-born monks. One is a Canadian, another is an American and the other one is Vietnamese.

From the three, the eldest in terms of length of stay, is Dom Bruno Boyko, OSB. I guess I already featured him here in my blog sometime last year when he came for a visit and observe our way of life. He used to carry the name of Dunstan but eventually that name has been forgotten by almost everyone else in the community as he is now fondly called by our community brothers as Dom Bruno, OSB after he started his novitiate some months ago. Dom Bruno is a forty-eight year old hardworking Novice.

The second one who's been with us for a visit three years ago to observe our monastic life is Dom James Rhoades,OSB. Dom James is a former monk of St John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, a monk in Simple Vows at St.John's but decided to seek an inner kind of lifestyle in a more contemplative setting. He seems to be doing very well with the brothers of my community.

I met Dom James three years ago and found him endowed with some potentials for a contemplative way of lifestyle. That was three years ago and just very recently, I learned that he came back to my community to formally join and live with us.

Right now, he is under probation in our community and will have to complete a number of years before he gets finally accepted and profess his Solemn Vows. On the night of June 24th, and during the recreation of the community brothers on the occasion of the Solemnity of Saint John the Baptist and the Solemn profession of Dom Francis' monastic Vows, Dom James renewed his Simple Vows infront of the Abbot superior and the community.

Dom James reads his Profession Chart of renewal of his Simple Vows infront of the Abbot and the community of the Abbey of Christ in the Desert. Dom James is in his early forties

The third one is a very young (in terms of length of stay) Vietnamese postulant. His name is Jonathan. He is fluent in English as he had lived most of his life in the US. He arrived last week and that makes him the youngest of the monks (in terms od length of stay) in my community. Brother Jonathan is twenty-nine years old.

To these three fine gentlemen of God: I wish you all the best and my prayers are with you for perseverance.

My dear friends, please join me in my prayers for these three young monks in my community that they may strive to persevere in their monastic vocation and live a holy life under the guidance of the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict.

Dom Francis professes his Solemn monastic vows...

Yesterday was a triple celebration in my community as the day was the Solemnity of the birth of Saint John the Baptist, the day we commemorate the founding of my monastery ( it was founded in June 24, 1964 ), and the celebration of the Solemn monastic profession of our brother Dom Francis Martinez Muro, OSB.

The day was filled with blessings when we all of our communoty brothers shared the joys of these blessings with Dom Francis and his invited family members and relatives as well as his friends and friendsof the monastery. The celebration of the profession was a solemnly conducted and a banquet at our refectory shortly followed afterwards.

The day did not end , not until after the community witnessed a celebration of talents that converged in an evening recreation of monks with Dom Francis and his guests.

The following photos are just but few of the numerous ones taken during the Profession ceremonies and the evening recreation and party.

the birth of John the Baptist

Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist. Only three times in the Church’s year do we celebrate birthdays. December 25th is the most obvious birthday we commemorate.

Daily Mass goers know that on September 8 we mark the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but we mark it rather quietly in comparison to the solemnity with which we celebrate her Immaculate Conception nine months earlier.

Today, June 24th, we celebrate the birth of the famous son of Zechariah and Elizabeth. The Archangel Gabriel had said to Zechariah about the son his elderly and presumably barren wife would conceive, “Many will rejoice at his birth!” (Lk 1:14) and today we join that in that jubilation.

Jesus would later say, “Among those born of women no one is greater than John” (Luke 7:28), and the Church’s liturgical calendar puts that truth into prayer: after Jesus, no one born of woman has a greater celebration associated with his worldly visible debut than John the Baptist.

It’s important to ask why the Church has always considered this feast so important. I think the fundamental answer is because the Church first considers the life of John the Baptist so important and second considers the events of conception, gestation and birth highly significant aspects of his life.

John’s vocation to give witness to the Lord, to go before him to prepare his way, began not when he appeared at the Jordan in camel’s hair, but in the womb. Before he was conceived, the Archangel Gabriel told his father, “Even before his birth, he will be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Lk 1:15).

We saw an effect of this at the Visitation, when John leaped in the womb of his mother pointing out the presence of the prenatal Lamb of God within Mary (Lk 1:44). What God said to Jeremiah in last night’s first reading, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations” and to Isaiah in today’s, “The Lord, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him,” could just as easily be said about John.

He was formed in the womb and consecrated to be a prophet to the nations in order to bring God’s people back to Him, and he was already carrying out that consecrated mission from his earliest days.

These truths about a consecrated mission from the womb, however, apply not just to Jeremiah, Isaiah and John the Baptist.

The truth is that the Lord knows every one of us that intimately before he forms us in the womb. We can all exclaim with the words of today’s Psalm, “Truly you have formed by inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb!” None of us is a number, a census statistic, to God.

Just like John the Baptist had a vocation and a mission from before he was born, each of us is formed by God with a divine destiny and given a vocation and mission in this world to achieve that destiny and help others achieve their own.

While there will be specific differences between your and my mission and John’s, there are several characteristics in common.
•Like John’s, our mission is given by God as part of God’s plan for us from the beginning.
•Like John, the Lord fills us with the Holy Spirit at our baptism to help us accomplish this mission.
•Like John, we are called to recognize who God is, that he is so great and holy that none of us is worthy to loosen the straps of his sandals (Mk 1:7; Lk 3:16; Acts 13:25). This recognition makes the Lord’s desire to stoop down and wash our feet even more mind-blowing (Jn 13:5).
•Like John, we need to recognize that we’re not the Messiah, that we’re not God. That means that we, like John, recognize that we don’t call the shots — God does — and we trust in His will.
•Like John, we need to make straight the paths for God to rule in our life. For John, that meant going out into the desert to pray, fasting on locusts and wild honey, dressing in a way that symbolized his interior repentance and reparation. For us, it means going away from our distractions to pray, living a penitential and reparative life and adorning ourselves with sacrificial love.
•Like John, after we’re living a converted life, we are called to summon others to conversion. John did it at the Jordan River. We’re called to do it at the Acushnet River, and in our homes, in our schools, in our workplaces. We have the mission to help prepare the way for Christ to come into the lives of those around us.
•Like John, we’re called on to decrease so that Christ may increase in others lives. In the lives of parents, especially those whose children are being called to the priesthood or religious life, there is a great need for this humility so that the Lord’s influence in the lives of those we love may grow.
•Like John, we’re called to point others to the Lamb of God. John did it when he saw Jesus at the Jordan. We’re called to do it by pointing people to Jesus in the Eucharist.
No matter what our state of life, or age, or sex, each of us is called to imitate John the Baptist in these areas.
As we read in today’s Gospel, at John’s birth everybody wondered aloud, “What will this child become?” That is the question people have at the birth of every child.

It was asked at our birth by our parents and many others. The parents present here this morning, in one form or another, have asked it hundreds of times about their own children. Zechariah and Elizabeth would never have dreamed in their little village of Ain Karim that, here in New Bedford, more than 2000 years later, we would be remembering their son’s birthday.

Even with all the miraculous occurrences surrounding his conception, little could they have foreseen the role he would play in salvation history — his life, his martyrdom, his being the precursor of the Son of God in birth, in preaching and even in death.

Similarly, few parents who bring their child to be baptized have any idea of God’s incredible plans for their children. And God has even greater plans for children being baptized than he did for John the Baptist! After Jesus said in the Gospel that John is the greatest born of woman, he added, “but the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Lk 7:28).

Each of us is consecrated by God in the womb of the Church (the baptismal font) to be not just his forerunner, but his son or daughter, and to live forever with him in his eternal kingdom of God. We may or may not become famous in this world, but God intends us all to be quite famous in the next. That’s his desired answer to the question parents in every generation ask about their children, “What will this child become?”

That’s God’s desire. That’s our calling and our mission. God will give us all the help he knows we need to achieve that destiny — which also includes Crosses! — but whether we achieve it or not depends on us. All of us have known young people who were enormously gifted academically, athletically or musically, but who wasted their talents and amount to very little in any of those areas.

The same thing happens with the spiritual talents and gifts God gives us. Some of us develop them fully; some of us waste them. Even though John was filled with the Holy Spirit from before he was born, he still lived a life of great self-denial so that he would never deny God. He responded to his mission with fidelity and allowed God’s work to continue in him.

That’s what we are called to do with respect to our lives and to the lives of our children. What we become in response to our divine destiny is dependent on our choices, on whether we develop or waste the tremendous gifts and calling God gives each of us. Today’s celebration is meant to remind us that each of us is capable of the fidelity we see in John the Baptist if only we respond to God’s graces as he did!

The celebration of a birthday is a time for all of us to reflect on the meaning of life. This celebration of John the Baptist’s birth brings us to reflect not just on the meaning of his life, but the meaning of our own.

When Elizabeth said, “His name is John” and Zechariah wrote it on the tablet, they probably didn’t realize that one day that name would have a prefix. Little did our parents realize when they brought us to be baptized that God’s plan is for us one day to have that same prefix.

The same goes for every child parents bring to the font. All of us are meant to have our name preceded by the most glorious prefix possible: “saint.” But to be given that honor and induction into the eternal hall of fame, we must live up to the title, a word that means “holy.” We become holy on the day of our baptism and are called to live in that holiness in each of our choices, by living in constant communion with God and God’s will..

Today, John the Baptist on his birthday gives us a present, the gift of his intercession for us that we may be faithful to the mission God has given each of us from the womb, remain in holy communion with God, and collaborate with him to bring or help others maintain their holy communion with God.

And just like he did 2000 years ago, he points out to us the path to holiness by pointing us to Jesus in the Eucharist, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

As we prepare to receive Jesus now, we thank Him for the gift of our life and the gift of those we know and love. We ask Him for the help so that we, like John, might allow Him to increase in our lives and bring us to the eternal destiny for which we were born.

Entering the narrow gate...

photo owned by Iosif Solomon of Flickr

Today's Gospel (Mt 7:6.12-14):

Jesus said to his disciples, «Do not give what is holy to the dogs, or throw your pearls to the pigs: they might trample on them and even turn on you and tear you to pieces.

So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you: there you have the Law and the Prophets. Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many go that way.

How narrow is the gate that leads to life and how rough the road; few there are who find it.

Reflection

Today, Jesus makes us three important recommendations. We shall, however, pay attention to the last one: «Enter through the narrow gate» (Mt 7:13), in order to attain the plenitude of Life and be always happy, while avoiding going to perdition and be forever doomed.

If you look around you and around your own existence, you will easily verify that whatever is worthwhile is costly, and that all things having a certain level are subject to the Master's recommendation: as the Church Fathers have said with wisdom, «by way of the Cross all mysteries contributing to our salvation are fulfilled» (St. John Crysostom). In her deathbed, an elderly woman who had suffered much in her life, told me once: «Father, if you do not savour the Cross, you do not desire Heaven; if there is no Cross there is no Heaven».

All this contradicts our falling human nature, even though it has been redeemed. For this reason, in addition to facing up to our natural tendencies, we shall have to go against the tide because of our environmental upbeat founded on materialism and the uncontrolled relish of our senses, that —at the price of not-being— long for getting more and more each time, to be able to enjoy the maximum pleasure.

When we follow Jesus —who said «I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life» (Jn 8:12)—, we realize that the Gospel does not condemn us to a boring and unhappy life in darkness; on the contrary, it promises and gives us the true happiness.

We only have to review the Beatitudes and look at those who, having entered through the narrow gate, have been very happy and have made others happy too, while obtaining —for having believed in and waited for He who never let us down— the reward of self-denial: «Many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life» (Lk 18:30).

The Virgin's “yes” is accompanied by humility, poverty, the Cross, but also by the prize to fidelity and generous surrender.

Hollywood tour!

My three-day stay in California was, for me, a chance and an opportunity to visit Los Angeles' Hollywood and other nearby places and attractions in California.

Actually, the reason for flying California was for me to attend to my Philippine passport that I needed to renew at the Phil. Consulate office in Willshire, LA.

The Phil Consulate has its new scheme being implemented in Phil. passports. This new scheme requires me to make a personal appearance and have my biometrics done at their office.

This new scheme will improve and faciliate passport check and scrutiny in entering other countries. Magnetic passport, as what they called it, will be the new face of Philippine passports.

After my passport renewal thing, I was toured by Dom Marcus and his parents, who had not yet left the US after Dom Marcus' Solemn profession. They were making a tour of LA and its neighboring places.

The chance of me getting toured and accompanied by a confrere with his parents made my visit to California an enjoyable and a pleasurable one.

I stayed with Dom Marcus and his parents for my overnights. Since Celine and her husband randy and their baby Mayumi are based in Orange County, they got a suite in one of the County's hotels nearby Celine's pad. Celine is Dom Marcus' parents' niece.

The Promenade in 3rd Street Los Angeles

me at the Promenade


Lax rounds with my confrere Marcus driving



at Tom Bradley International Airport at LA with Fr Mao, a Claretian priest who was going back to the Phils on the day I arrived at LAX

lining up for Fr Mao's luggages to be checked-in

while waiting for Fr Mao's flight to Manila, I had an early supper at a nearby restaurant inside the airport with my confrere Marcus and his friend Jojie, an LA-based Pinoy immigrant

photos of an early morning road trip from Orange County to Wilshire St for my passport renewal.





at the Philippine Consulate Office





while waiting for my number to be called

after my passport renewal application,the road trip to Hollywood: Los Angeles' tourist attractions, began



Hollwood's Trolley tours

Walt Disney's Music Center and Museum

at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels









Inside the famous Cathedral; its architecture and its artworks















at Hollywood Blvd.











later at night, back at Orange County and had dinner with Dom Marcus' parents and Celine with her husband randy and their daughter Mayumi

on the third day, Dom Marcus drove me to LAX for my 12:20PM flight back home sweet home: New Mexico





at Albuquerque Sunport, New Mexico

how can these things happen?...

Today's Gospel (Mk 4:35-41):
One day when evening had come, Jesus said to them, «Let's go across to the other side». So they left the crowd and took him away in the boat he had been sitting in, and other boats set out with him.

Then a storm gathered and it began to blow a gale. The waves spilled over into the boat so that it was soon filled with water. And Jesus was in the stern, asleep on the cushion.

They woke him up and said, «Master, don't you care if we sink?». As Jesus awoke, he rebuked the wind and ordered the sea, «Quiet now! Be still!».

The wind dropped and there was a great calm. Then Jesus said to them, «Why are you so frightened? Do you still have no faith?». But they were terrified and they said to one another, «Who can this be? Even the wind and the sea obey him!».

Reflection

Today —in these days of «stormy weather»— we find the Gospel being held up to questioning. Humanity has gone through dramas which, like violent waves, have broken over individuals and entire peoples, particularly during the 20th century and the troubles of the 21st.

Sometimes we can't help but ask «Master, don't you care if we sink?» (Mk 4,38); If You really do exist, if You are our Father, how can these things happen?

Before the horror of the memory of the concentration camps of the Second World War Pope Benedict asks «Where was God when this was happening, Why did He stay silent? How could He tolerate such excessive destruction?».

It was a question that the people of Israel asked in the Old Testament: «Why are you asleep? (…) Why do you hide your face from us and forget about our plight?».

God will not answer those questions: of Him we can ask everything except why; we have no right to demand explanations. In fact, God is there and is talking; the problem is us, because we do not put ourselves in His presence and therefore cannot hear His voice.

«We cannot decipher God's secret —says Pope Benedict XI—. We can only see fragments of it and are in the wrong if what we are trying is to become judges of God and History.

As such we would not be defending humanity, but rather would be contributing to its destruction».

Therefore, the problem is not whether God exists or is here with us or not. The problem is that we live as if He didn't exist. Here is God's answer: «Why are you so afraid? How can you not have faith?» (Mc 4,40).

This Jesus said that to His disciples; He also said it to Saint Faustina Kowalska: «My daughter, do not be afraid, I am always with you even when it looks as though I am not».

Let us not ask Him questions, but rather let us pray and accept His will and... then there will be less dramas, and, amazed, we will say «Who is He whom even the wind and the sea obey Him?» (Mc 4,41)

—Jesus, we put all our trust in you!