Category: Step 1

Chastity

2347 The virtue of chastity blossoms in friendship. It shows the disciple how to follow and imitate him who has chosen us as his friends,134 who has given himself totally to us and allows us to participate in his divine estate. Chastity is a promise of immortality.
Chastity is expressed notably in friendship with one’s neighbor. Whether it develops between persons of the same or opposite sex, friendship represents a great good for all. It leads to spiritual communion.
Catechism of the Catholic Church



Without chastity, real love is impossible. It is required of all persons, married and single. It’s about putting sex in its rightful place and not using others for our own pleasures. The Catechism lays it all out. You can check it out HERE .

The beauty of God’s ways is that it is never too late for any of us. Some seem to get it right away, others it may take a little longer. St. Agustine was one that took quite a bit of time, and then became one of our greatest saints. You may be inclined to say like he did, “God make me chaste, but not yet.” But here’s the thing…Kingdom living, which is what God’s children are called to, is not about seeing how much we can get away with and still get in. It’s about making use of it all the minute we can, so that we have the benefit of His graces as soon as possible. Living in sin has dire consequences that effect the here and now and it’s not merely about where we will spend eternity.

Chastity, permits us to honor God’s plan for creation by allowing us to love and respect ourselves properly in line with who and whose we are, and then love others in the same manner. The enemy often distorts and misdirects our creative force (eros) in many ways. It is put there to bring together those who have a job to do in common and is meant to inspire His children towards a common goal for His purposes (with parenting being the best example) not towards each other to become stagnant there. One looks outward together and moves the individuals forward, the other at it’s most benign merely blocks the path and immobilizes. (Read more HERE)

Excellence

2427 Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for one another.209 Hence work is a duty: “If any one will not work, let him not eat.”210 Work honors the Creator’s gifts and the talents received from him.

It can also be redemptive. By enduring the hardship of work211 in union with Jesus, the carpenter of Nazareth and the one crucified on Calvary, man collaborates in a certain fashion with the Son of God in his redemptive work. He shows himself to be a disciple of Christ by carrying the cross, daily, in the work he is called to accomplish.212 Work can be a means of sanctification and a way of animating earthly realities with the Spirit of Christ.
—Catechism of the Catholic Church



◄ Colossians 3:23 ►
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

It does not matter what our particular duty of the moment is, we should always approach it with the same zeal and apply the same excellence. Our “Boss” is always the same, whether we are caring for our own family, or running a Fortune 500 company. Wherever He puts us, we need to give of ourselves completely and thereby we will sanctify our workplace…as we bring Him into it.

Peace

2304 Respect for and development of human life require peace.

Peace is not merely the absence of war, and it is not limited to maintaining a balance of powers between adversaries.

Peace cannot be attained on earth without safeguarding the goods of persons, free communication among men, respect for the dignity of persons and peoples, and the assiduous practice of fraternity.

Peace is “the tranquillity of order.”97 Peace is the work of justice and the effect of charity.98

—Catechism of the Catholic Church



Last time, we focused on the ‘church’, which is the body of Christ on earth. Today we are going to focus on Mary…mother of the Church (the body of Christ). If she is His mother, it comes to reason that she is our mother as well. The fact that she was fully human doesn’t detract from this (we are not worshiping her, we are uniting with her, to worship Him), but helps to build our totality of faith. Jesus was the Son of God AND the Son of Mary. He chose it this way for a very specific reason, to elevate His church (the merely human, to the realm of the divine). While we are here we walk two worlds, the physical and the spiritual. In the Theology of the Body, St. John Paul II did great job at explaining this.

Mary is known as the Queen of Peace. Yes…she is indeed queen of heaven and earth. The Mother of the King is always known as the Queen Mother. God the Father chose her among all women, to bring His Son to us at the incarnation, and continues to do so throughout time. Please watch the following video.

On Saturday November 21’st the feast of the Presentation of Mary, I will be doing my consecration again. It is exactly nine days from today, there is so much chaos in the world right now. I feel called to start a novena to Our Lady Undoer of knots. Please join me if you feel so inclined.


Justice

752 In Christian usage, the word “church” designates the liturgical assembly,141 but also the local community142 or the whole universal community of believers.143 These three meanings are inseparable. “The Church” is the People that God gathers in the whole world. She exists in local communities and is made real as a liturgical, above all a Eucharistic, assembly. She draws her life from the word and the Body of Christ and so herself becomes Christ’s Body.
Catechism of the Catholic Church


In paragraph 1931 of the Catechism it states…”No legislation could by itself do away with fears, prejudices and attitudes of pride and selfishness which obstruct the establishment of truly fraternal societies. Such behavior will cease only through the charity that finds in every man a neighbor and brother.” We can’t expect it to, in fact any government that tries, is impeding free will. This is not to say that we shouldn’t have laws, we need to protect human life and protect our freedoms. But so many these days are looking to the government to do the church’s job . As we often hear, a government that gives you everything is a government that can take it all away. The church should never be under the subjugation of such a government.

So as we stand here fighting to maintain our political freedoms, we need to join up forces to increase the body of Christ as well…His Church! It’s the only real answer to all of society’s ailments. Yet, it’s the exact opposite of what we see happening. Communism (and all its varied branches), which is essentially an atheistic political governance, is spreading like wild fire. The reason can only be because we Catholics have not done our job properly. It is now time to change that. We can’t leave it simply to the hierarchy, or to ‘professional Catholics’…but it’s the duty of all of us, to reach those closest to us, in a way that only we can. That requires that we allow the ‘dogma’ to live loudly within us. Stay strong!!!

Piety

2816 In the New Testament, the word basileia can be translated by “kingship” (abstract noun), “kingdom” (concrete noun) or “reign” (action noun). The Kingdom of God lies ahead of us. It is brought near in the Word incarnate, it is proclaimed throughout the whole Gospel, and it has come in Christ’s death and Resurrection. The Kingdom of God has been coming since the Last Supper and, in the Eucharist, it is in our midst.

The kingdom will come in glory when Christ hands it over to his Father:
It may even be . . . that the Kingdom of God means Christ himself, whom we daily desire to come, and whose coming we wish to be manifested quickly to us. For as he is our resurrection, since in him we rise, so he can also be understood as the Kingdom of God, for in him we shall reign.86

Catechism of the Catholic Church



Through pious eyes, we can glimpse at the kingdom that is already at hand, and see the holiness that already exists right here and now, even if sometimes those same eyes are filled with tears due to all of the decay that has been brought about by man’s sinfulness, and yet we still proceed with a heart filled with hope. We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!

“But piety is not naiveté, and impiety sees wrongly. As the pious walk along the valley floor, they see evil but know the dawn will appear and be triumphant. Their penetrating glance of faith captures luminous rays hidden from the human retina. The impious see evil and now that goodness does not always win. They contemplate how by late afternoon the sky will darken, and soon the night’s firmament will be void of star.” –Mary’s Mantle Consecration.

Prudence



1806 Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it; “the prudent man looks where he is going.”65 “Keep sane and sober for your prayers.”

66 Prudence is “right reason in action,” writes St. Thomas Aquinas, following Aristotle.

67 It is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation.

It is called auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); it guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. The prudent man determines and directs his conduct in accordance with this judgment. With the help of this virtue we apply moral principles to particular cases without error and overcome doubts about the good to achieve and the evil to avoid.
—Catechism of the Catholic Church



“If a worthwhile solution–however small–appears on the horizon, prudence will join fortitude and say, “It is not time to surrender for any reason. It is time to fight with all of your weapons at hand and to excite your energies into play.” ” –Mary’s Mantle Consecration

This has an almost prophetic tone addressing all that we are going through as a nation. Get those rosaries out and don’t stop praying.

This morning while praying my rosary, a thought popped in to my head. “Jesus came to us (the world) through Mary, and we need to go through her to be fully united with Him.” At another time I had gotten the thought that Jesus came through Mary for His first coming, comes through her for our personal reception of Him, and again will come through her for His final coming.

To be consecrated to her, simply means to be united to her in “birthing” Him to the world. These ‘end times’ that we are living through are not scary with them by our side!!! Immaculate Heart of Mary pray for us. Bring us to your Son in a fuller way. Teach us to pray and obey as you did!!!

Understanding

312 In time we can discover that God in his almighty providence can bring a good from the consequences of an evil, even a moral evil, caused by his creatures: “It was not you”, said Joseph to his brothers, “who sent me here, but God. . . You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.”

178 From the greatest moral evil ever committed – the rejection and murder of God’s only Son, caused by the sins of all men – God, by his grace that “abounded all the more”,179 brought the greatest of goods: the glorification of Christ and our redemption.

But for all that, evil never becomes a good.

–Catechism of the Catholic Church



Ok, so we know this, right? As Catholic Christians we know that God who is all Good…doesn’t orchestrate bad things to happen, but we also know that He does indeed permit them at times when a greater good can come through it. Our job…that one thing that has been assigned to us, does not change according to changing circumstances. 

Luke 10
41“Martha, Martha, the Lord replied, “you are worried and upset about many things.  42But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”

We are to consistently and faithfully put our Christian faith into practice. Living in the present moment, watching for moments of grace, listening for His voice, and acting as He calls us to.




Boldness

851 Missionary motivation. It is from God’s love for all men that the Church in every age receives both the obligation and the vigor of her missionary dynamism, “for the love of Christ urges us on.

“343 Indeed, God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”;344 that is, God wills the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the truth. Salvation is found in the truth.

Those who obey the prompting of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of salvation.

But the Church, to whom this truth has been entrusted, must go out to meet their desire, so as to bring them the truth. Because she believes in God’s universal plan of salvation, the Church must be missionary.
–Catechism of the Catholic Church

Yes…the church (all of us) must be missionary (one who promotes the faith)…and who is in more dire need of this right now than those in our very own circle. I think it is often even the ones already in church, in the pew right next to us that are in need of being fully drawn in. We must start with those closest to us and work our way out. How do we reach them? Pray and obey, you’ll be shown the way! At times us simply living our lives openly and sincerely without fear, will do it. We just need to be attentive to opportunities. Where ever you spend your time, there are people that need the Good News…think of Facebook as a missionary field. 😀 The darker the times, the greater the need.

We must acquire a great zeal for souls and need to work together to build up the Kingdom…

“The kingdom of God is at hand”

541 “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying: ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe in the gospel.'”246 “To carry out the will of the Father Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth.”247 Now the Father’s will is “to raise up men to share in his own divine life”.248 He does this by gathering men around his Son Jesus Christ. This gathering is the Church, “on earth the seed and beginning of that kingdom”.249 (Catechism of the Catholic Church)

Mortification

2015 The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle.68 Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes:

He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end. He never stops desiring what he already knows.69
Catechism of the Catholic Church



We are so often enthralled with the Resurrection, the bare cross with the white drape over it, that we shun the crucifix. The empty cross would be meaningless without the bloodied body of Christ just moments before. Although Jesus indeed did pay it all, we still must share in His passion. “Take up your cross and follow me” was not a suggestion, but a duty of the Christian life.

We each have our own personal crosses and it’s satan’s biggest thrill to cajole us into stepping down from it. To finding an easier, more enjoyable path than the one the Lord has willed for us.

Our crosses come along with our ‘steps’…each ordinary little step we take in obedience, requires a little bit of ‘dying’ to self. In step 1, we are targeting mind, body and spirt. Offering it up to the Lord and listening to how He leads us. Embracing His will over our own.

Is he leading us to give up alcohol, or sugar for instance? That’s a cross my friend. Our flesh will want to retaliate, the more dependent we had become on the thing we are trying to give up the more painfully we’ll feel the crucifixion. But stick to it, with the Resurrection in mind.

The first thing to ‘give up’ of course is outright sin. Those big dust particles that block the way of His grace reaching us. Then with that hurdle cleared, His grace will compel us forward, always bringing us higher and higher into a deeper state of holiness where we’ll see clearly all the little things that we’ve been doing that hinder our progress. His grace accompanying us through each step!

Discipline

The Illumination of Conscience



1776 “Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment. . . . For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. . . . His conscience is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.”47


… 1779 It is important for every person to be sufficiently present to himself in order to hear and follow the voice of his conscience. This requirement of interiority is all the more necessary as life often distracts us from any reflection, self-examination or introspection:

Return to your conscience, question it. . . . Turn inward, brethren, and in everything you do, see God as your witness.5
Catechism of the Catholic Church



We’ve been hearing a lot about an ‘illumination of conscience’, this is what the Lord wants for us, whether it’s coming in one fell swoop over society, we gradually come upon it, or we merely happen on to it as we draw our last breath. It will happen. This illumination like a lamp that is lit in a dark room, not only shows us the true beauty that we have been surrounded by, but will also show the dust that we’ve allowed to accumulate.

The more dust and dirt in our little room, the more anxiety and sadness we’ll experience at seeing how much has stood in our way of seeing things clearly. But God is a loving and forgiving God…He will not only show us the true beauty in our midst, He will help us clean up the messes that we’ve allowed to grow. This my friends is why we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation…Confession. We need to be willing to part with the dust (our sins) in order to embrace the true beauty before us (the Kingdom of Heaven).

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 3:2

Please watch the following video about “What You Don’t Know but Need to Know about Confession and Joy”