Mass and Heaven

The Mass is a celebration of heaven on earth!

Until recently, Churches were designed to remind us that we were entering Heaven. As we walk into older churches we are surrounded by windows and paintings that depict the angels and saints. Christ is at the center in the tabernacle. And all the elements that Scripture speaks of as being in the heavenly liturgy are on display, not only in the building, but in the celebration of the liturgy: candles, incense, an altar, the hymns that are sung, the Holy, Holy, Holy, the scroll that is brought forward in the Book of Gospels, the lamb on the throne-like altar, the prostrations and kneeling of the saints before the Lord. All these things are described in the Book of Revelation’s depictions of the heavenly liturgy. None of these things are in our churches or the liturgy for arbitrary reasons.

Yes! We are in the heavenly realms and the heavenly liturgy and so we see and experience heavenly things. Hearts aloft!

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Temptation

What is temptation? Temptation is the work of Satan to drag you to Hell. And Satan can read you like a book and play you like piano. Do not exaggerate his power, but do not underestimate it either.

Some of his subtlest work is done in the area of religious observance. There, he can cloak himself quite easily in the lamb’s clothing of piety, but, wolf that he really is, distort it, either through excess or defect, thereby destroying you with what is good. Beware what some spiritual writers call the “traps of the pious.” Consider some examples:

• He can discourage you with prayer by saying, “If only you would pray a little longer, God will give you what you seek.” But the deception is that if we can pray a little longer, then we can never have prayed enough. Thus though we pray, we only feel guilty and inadequate. And since we can never have prayed “enough,” prayer increasingly turns into a burdensome task; God becomes a cruel taskmaster demanding longer and more precise prayers. Or prayer becomes a superstitious endeavor whose outcome we somehow control by the length and type of our prayers. Jesus counsels us that the Father knows what we need and that we should not think that merely multiple words and pious actions are necessary. We may need to persevere in prayer over time, but God is not a cruel tyrant demanding endless incantations.
• Satan can take the beautiful practice of praying the rosary, or attending daily Mass, or other devotions and slowly incite in us a feeling of smug superiority, elitism, or pride. Gradually, others are thought to be less devout, even in error, because they do not do or observe what is optional or encouraged but not required. What is beautiful and holy is thus employed to incite ever-growing pride and cynicism. A most extreme form of this comes from those who take the beautiful and powerful devotion to our Lady of Fatima and allow Satan to set them against even the Pope and all the world’s bishops by claiming that they failed, either ineptly or willfully, to properly consecrate Russia. And thus one of our most beautiful and informative apparitions can engender in some people distrust of the Church and disunity from her, from multiple popes, and even from Sister Lucia herself. It is an astonishingly crafty work of the evil one to take what is good and religious and corrupt it in the minds of some.

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Love

Pope Francis emphasizes "the center" "from which everything must radiate and to which everything must return": love for God and love for brethren. Jesus did not hand down formula or commandments, "but two faces, actually one, the face of God reflected in many faces, because in the face of every brother, especially the smallest, most fragile and helpless, person in need is the very image of God". The beatification of Mother Assunta Marchetti, a Scalabrini, an example of this "love of t two faces, which is in reality just One".


"In the light of the word of Jesus, love is the measure of faith, and faith is the soul of love. We can no longer separate our religious life, our life of piety, from service to brethren , those real brothers and sisters we meet. We can no longer separate meeting God in prayer, in the Sacraments, from listening to the other, from being close to their lives, their wounds. Remember this: love is the measure of faith. How much do you love? We should all answer that question".  This was Pope Francis' reflection speaking to pilgrims gathered in St Peter's Square for the Angelus. The pilgrims estimated up to 50-60 thousand, filled the square spilling over onto the large Via della Conciliazione, boulevard.


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Silent Witness

The most important thing we can do with suffering is to be quiet.


Pope Francis said in his homily at Mass on Thursday that the kingdom of God, already present among us, never attracts attention to itself but rather is cultivated though silent holiness in everyday life.

“The Kingdom of God is humble, like the seed: humble, but it becomes great by the power of the Holy Spirit,” the Pope told those at the chapel of the Vatican’s Saint Martha guesthouse for his Nov. 13 Mass.

“It is up to us to let it grow in us, without boasting about it: let the Spirit come, change our soul and carry us forward in silence, in peace, in tranquility, in closeness to God, to others, in worship of God, without spectacle.”

The Roman Pontiff centered his reflections on the day’s Gospel reading from Luke in which the Pharisees ask Christ when the kingdom of God would come. In response, Christ tells them it is already there, and reveals that when the Son of Man returns it will be like lightening in the sky.

Rather than being noisy and trying to be part of the crowd, the kingdom of God is like a seed that grows underground, always going deeper without attracting attention, the Pope explained.

“The Kingdom of God is not a spectacle. The Lord never says that the Kingdom of God is a spectacle. It is a celebration,” which is something different, he observed.


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Calm

The Spirit of God is a spirit of peace, and He speaks and acts in peace and gentleness.

Underscore those words: the motions of God are delicate touches; they don't make noise; and they can penetrate our spiritual consciousness only if we have within us a sort of calm "zone," and tranquility.

So says a priest named Jacques Philippe, in a new book of note: In the School of the Holy Spirit.

In other words: don't cause yourself trouble. Don't let agitation inside make it difficult to hear His still, small Voice (I Kings 19:12).

How to reach the calm zone?

It is a gradual process, this priest points out. We have to work at it. We have to desire it. We have to orient toward it. We have to keep at it, in all situations. We have to pray for it.

And we have to achieve the ability to block out troublesome thoughts (which so often come from the enemy -- or should we say: the Agitator).

If we don't seek peace of mind actively,  "in all circumstances," we lose direct contact with the Lord.

In spite of everything, make this effort. (An effort it is!)

But what results.

In short, we have to practice peace of mind, and the heart follows. We have to hold it as a goal. When we don't we react to situations in a human, agitated, hasty way, we maintain inner tranquility.

Fighting fire with fire causes a mess (note the scorching, note the soot), as well as interior consternation.

"It isn't easy," writes the priest, "but by practicing hope in God, abandonment, humility, and the acceptance of our inner poverty through an unshakeable truth in God's Mercy, we will reach peace little by little."

Don't you hate that feeling of losing that? Of disturbance? Of anxiety? Yet, it happens every day all day, even at night. The devil's playground (or battlefield) is the mind. As John of the Cross said, "Take care to preserve your heart in peace; let no happening of this world upset it." When you have peace, you have faith. Watch God answer wondrously!

Stop being a perfectionist.

Perfection does not exist on earth.

Struggle does (and joy in those struggles!).

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