Forever Starts Now

Our time here on earth is brief and eternity is forever! The rallies for religious freedom, the vigils, the stand against the HHS mandate which destroys religious liberty, the rights of conscience and in effect – truth - all of this affects each and every person.  Taking part in the battle for “life, liberty and justice for all” is not only possible, but necessary. http://standupforreligiousfreedom.com  Although we won’t be physically present, we will be standing in prayer with all attending the March 23^rd rallies across the nation! One day we will stand together before the “throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev 22:3) – now let us stand for the sake of “truth and justice and right” (Ps 45:4). Those are things that last forever.

            “… no matter who you are or what your station in life is, or what century you happen to find yourself in, you are taking part in the only drama there is or has ever been, namely, the drama of good versus evil, or of heaven versus hell; and this drama shows itself in plain acts of courtesy and duty well done and in mighty mysteries like the Passion and Crucifixion…What I do, for example at 11:25 A.M. on this Wednesday here in the library at Forty-Second Street and Fifth Avenue is helping me on toward becoming either a monster or a saint. All of my attitudes and acts find their native air in either hell or heaven…” ~ Thomas Howard

On Palm Sunday Long Ago...

On Palm Sunday March 18, 1212, the 18 year old Lady Clare secretly left her home by night and made her way to the little Chapel of the Portiuncula. A daring plan was necessary if she was to leave behind a life of nobility to follow Francis and thus began a life “immersed in the poor and Crucified Christ,”(Bl. John Paul II). She set out on  her journey just as the Church was beginning the commemoration of the Passion throughout the world.  This Sunday (18^th) marks the 800^th Anniversary of St. Clare’s consecration to Jesus Christ. Clare had her hair shorn that Palm Sunday by her spiritual father and guide and was clothed in the tunic of the Lesser Brothers.  Her unhindered generosity never wavered as she gave herself completely to “believing in the Gospel as Francis showed her”(Bl. John Paul II) thus blazing a path of sanctity that her daughters, the Poor Clares still strive to follow today. For Saint Clare and the many Poor Ladies that have preceded us, who gave themselves unreservedly to their Spouse, we give great thanks!! Living according to the Gospel never grows old! Christ never asks something that His grace does not supply … but doesn’t His asking so often surprise us?!

Meeting God in Silence

One of the most beautiful aspects of Lent in the monastery is the greater silence that is sought, both exteriorly and interiorly.  Perhaps it may seem like a restrictive practice (in that it takes self control at times), but the reality is quite the opposite. Here’s an excerpt from a recent address by our Holy Father on encountering God in silence. See the link below for the entire text – it’s worth the time to read!!

“ Augustine’s observation forever holds true: Verbo crescente, verba deficient -- “When the Word of God increases, the words of men fail” (cf. Sermon 288; 5: PL 38, 1307; Sermon 120,2: PL 38,677). The Gospels often present Jesus -- especially at times of crucial decisions -- withdrawing alone to a place set apart from the crowds and from his own disciples, in order to pray in the silence and to abide in his filial relationship with God. Silence is capable of excavating an interior space in our inmost depths so that God may abide there, so that his Word may remain in us, so that love for him may be rooted in our minds and in our hearts and animate our lives. The first way, then: to learn silence, [to learn] the openness to listening that opens us to the other, to the Word of God.” Pope Benedict XVI

http://www.zenit.org/article-34420?l=english