A Catholic Evangelization Ministry
Pray the Rosary, Change the World!

March 2017

Medjugorje Message:  February 25, 2017

Dear children! Today I am calling you to profoundly live your faith and to implore the Most High to strengthen it, so that winds and storms cannot break it. May the roots of your faith be prayer and hope in eternal life. Already now, little children, work on yourselves in this time of grace, wherein God is giving you the grace–through renunciation and the call to conversion–to be people of clear and persevering faith and hope. Thank you for having responded to my call.

 

River of Light

 March 2017

churchOur Lady’s message for the upcoming Lenten season is focused on “faith and hope.” She says: “Today I am calling you to profoundly live your faith and to implore the Most High to strengthen it, so that winds and storms cannot break it. May the roots of your faith be prayer and hope in eternal life.” At this time of year as we move from winter into spring, we’ve witnessed the destructive force of “winds and storms”–some even hurricane or tornado-force–and how quickly and easily they can “break” even the strongest oak tree or well-built home. Our Lady is comparing each one of us to a mighty oak that will be challenged to endure severely destructive “winds and storms” during our life’s journey on this earth. She calls us “to profoundly live” our faith and “implore the Most High to strengthen it, so that winds and storms cannot break it.” How do we “profoundly live” our faith? And what are the “winds and storms” that might break it? 

Traditionally, during the holy season of Lent we add a more frequent and conscious practice of “prayer, fasting, and almsgiving” to our spirituality. This hallowed trio of religious exercises is meant to heighten our awareness and sensitize our hearts, keeping us more continually attuned to the Divine Presence within and without, increasing our overall “God-consciousness” from moment to moment. A corollary of fasting from large meals or other pleasures is the deliberate saving of money that would normally be spent on our own excesses and then donating it to the less fortunate (through a charity such as “Rice Bowl” or other organizations). In this way our individual and private Lenten practice moves out of an ascetic isolation by being joined to our communal membership in the larger Body of Christ. We can wed our Lenten prayer more closely to sacred scripture through the practice of Lectio Divina and attendance at extra weekday Eucharistic liturgies where the Word is proclaimed and explained. In addition, a daily practice of the rosary prayer and/or dedicated periods of meditative/contemplative silence will make for a “profound” living of our faith during this penitential season.  

The “winds and storms” that threaten to break the tree of our faith are many, and during the 40 days of Lent we see them in the light of the temptations Christ faced in the desert. There are the external storms that blow upon us, like illnesses, job difficulties, interpersonal problems, deaths and divorces, financial woes, children’s crises, and many others. The great threat to our faith is not so much the external events of life, but how they “trigger” our internal false self or egoic “emotional programs for happiness.” Our overblown inner needs and insecurities demanding safety and security, affection and esteem, power and control–these demonic taunts from our inner nature are where our “tree” gets shaken, usually by some “triggering” or “tweaking” outer event. We are thus “tempted by the devil” as our Lord was in the wilderness. Our Lady tells us that our “roots”–the radical grounding of our faith that will enable us to withstand any storm or wind–must be “prayer and hope for eternal life.” In prayer we develop an intimate relationship with our loving, ever-present God, and along with it, an earnest desire and joyful expectancy of sharing an even fuller love relationship with him in heaven, after the “winds and storms” of earthly life are done. As we say in the Creed each Sunday, “We look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the LIFE of the world to come.” Filled with this prayerful hope, the “tree” of our faith has strong and stable “roots that go to China”!

Our Lady concludes her Lenten message by saying, “Already now, little children, work on yourselves in this time of grace, wherein God is giving you the grace–through renunciation and the call to conversion–to be people of clear and persevering faith and hope.” Indeed Lent is an extended “work period” for us to continue to “work out our salvation with fear and trembling,” as St. Paul says. But it is also a “time of grace” in which God, through the Church, carves out a special season for “renunciation” and “conversion.” These graces are tremendous aids to our inner work, and the penitential periods of Lent and Advent are heavenly gifts designed to draw us closer to Jesus Christ through greater conformity to the pattern for living he laid down in the Paschal Mystery.

In Medjugorje, Our Lady has facilitated a kind of “ongoing Lenten season” as a whole way of life geared toward a prayer-generated “conversion of heart“–her primary message there. She has graced us with the “renunciation” of fasting every Wednesday and Friday (year round), deepening our prayer life day by day, receiving the sacramental soul-food of daily Eucharist, and tending to an unending transformation of consciousness and behavior through monthly confession.  All of these spiritual disciplines help us to “work on ourselves” as our Blessed Mother enjoins, so that we may become “people of clear and persevering faith and hope,” unbroken and unswayed by the high winds and raging storms of life’s temptations and moral tempests. Our Lady’s program at Medjugorje is the Church’s Lenten agenda, as well: to facilitate our rising to higher states and stages of human consciousness, helping us to “grow in maturity to the full stature of the person of Christ” (Eph 4:13) through the marvelous evolutionary process God designed for our eventual “divinization,” as the early Church Fathers called it. Happy Lent!

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A Lenten Examen of Consciousness through a
“Non-partisan” Political Lens
 
Pope Francis has stated that it is better to be an atheist who does good than a hypocritical Christian who lives a “double life,” not practicing what they preach–not “walking the talk” of their proclaimed Christianity. These stark words are faithful to the Gospel teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ who frequently took to task the religious elite of his day–the Pharisees who considered themselves “super Jews,” just as many today in both Catholic and evangelical churches or media may view themselves as “super Christians.” Every year, the Ash Wednesday Mass readings set the tone for the Lenten season by calling us to authenticity in our Gospel witness through a keen awareness of our human tendency to hypocrisy and the pretensions of the egoic false self to merely “appear” religious for the sake of human esteem rather than truly be faithful followers of the Spirit of Christ. The core hypocrisy that we all must fight is the daily “gap” between our homemade false self and our True Self in Christ, widened by our endless capacity for self-deception.
 
How does our Church guide us, via sacred scripture and the magisterial teachings of our pope and bishops, through the holy season of Lent, to confront the demons of ego in the 40-day desert of our false self? This Lent 2017, especially, we find ourselves in a “desert” of satanic temptation as our country and our world are deeply divided along political lines, between an escalating populist movement on the Right and a frightened, angry resistance movement on the Left. Jesus invites us to “read the signs of the times” and interpret our real world issues in the light of the Gospel call to authentic godly living. As we open our minds and hearts this Lent through silent meditation and deep prayer, let us have the courage to enter into a profound examination of conscience that searches out, with honesty and thoroughness, the hypocrisies that have taken root in our lives as persons who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ.
 
To read and study the New Testament is to be unavoidably confronted with a challenge to grow and evolve beyond what is the “normal” state of fallen human nature with its “hypocrisy gap” between the True and false self. Jesus Christ calls us to transcendence and transformation: to “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48) St. Paul tells us that we who are baptized into this “new way” no longer operate as we did at lower levels of consciousness, “but you have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor 2:16) We are thus summoned to “let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 2:5)
 
The behavioral sciences have shown that the “mind” of all human beings goes through developmental stages, from birth through old age and death, and that these levels of individual “consciousness evolution” are mirrored on the larger world stage of history as the whole human race passes through these same developmental levels of evolution over thousands of years. Roughly speaking, the stages are “Egocentric” (all about “me/me/me,” age 1-3); “Magic” (finding ways I can “magically” control my world, age 4-6); “Ethnocentric/Mythic-Membership” (“My Group” is all that counts, age 8-12); “Worldcentric” (everyone matters/the Common Good, adolescence-adult); and “Integral/Unitive/Christic” (a higher stage than most humans have yet reached). Unfortunately, many people get “stuck” or “arrested” in their development at lower levels of consciousness evolution; for example, both individuals and societies can be locked into an “ethnocentric” or “mythic-membership” stage, while other segments of the culture or global population keep evolving into “worldcentric” and higher levels.
 
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Indeed, “this mind” is the crux of our problem–the chief difficulty and central challenge of living our faith in the messiness of the world: we are called, as followers of Jesus Christ, to be the “leading edge” or “growing tip” of human evolution on the planet earth.  The movement of human evolution is always toward greater love, care, compassion, inclusivity and complexity. We are charged with the monumental task of guiding humanity toward the “Omega Point” of Teilhard de Chardin’s theology, into what St. John Paul II called “the civilization of love“–the kingdom of heaven which Christ proclaimed is already “within” and “among” us–but unseen. St. Catherine of Siena said, “All the way to heaven is heaven,” but no one realizes it. Our job is to make this Reality visible and manifest as the next, higher stage of human evolution: “Christ consciousness.”  But how can we actually live so as to be “the adults in the room”?
 
St. Paul says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Rom 12:2) When Jesus called us to perfection in Matthew 5, he framed “perfection” in terms of imitating the Father’s boundless love for “the bad and the good, the just and the unjust“–charging us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father.” (Mt 5:46) This paradoxical nondualism of comprehensive love is the acid test or gold standard of Christ consciousness–and the hallmark of the next stage of human evolution: universal care for all creation, including one’s “enemy”–a radical inclusiveness without boundaries.
 
While our species as a whole is clearly several steps or stages away from this “leading edge” of consciousness evolution, there have always been isolated pockets of individuals called “saints” who reach this level known as “the mind of Christ.” But all of us who claim to be Christian are called to this level and to be this “leading edge” of evolution by truly LEADING our world on the trail Jesus blazed for us by his life, passion, death and resurrection–the Paschal Mystery path we explore every Lent and seek to live throughout our life. 
 
As we examine our conscience and consciousness this Lent, the following 7 questions related to our current contentious political landscape may help us discern just how well we are “leading” our world as the “leading edge” of spiritual evolution into “the mind of Christ” and where any possible “hypocrisy” or lack of authenticity in our witness might be found:
 
1)  Does my expressed political allegiance conform to the biblical and ecclesial calls (through Moses/Yahweh/the prophets/Jesus/apostles/the bishops of Rome and the Church) to care for the stranger and reach out to refugees–to widows/orphans of war, and to all who are homeless or displaced from their native land by violence or oppression? To offer hospitality to strangers whom scripture says are often “angels unawares“? (Heb 13:2) Does my political affiliation reflect the trustful perspective of the bible’s 365 verses commanding us to “Be not afraid,” or does fear of the “other” outstrip my faith?
 
2)  Does my expressed political allegiance conform to the gospel and ecclesial teachings on egalitarianism or human equality beyond all divisions and unjust discrimination based upon ethnocentric groupings like gender, race, class, culture, religion? (there being “neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for all are one in Christ Jesus“–Gal 3:28) Do I stand for equally respectful treatment of all people?
 
3)  Does my expressed political allegiance give priority to those Our Lord identified in Matthew 25: the hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned, and “least” of society? (a “preferential option,” commanded by Church teaching, for the poorest and most vulnerable, “from womb to tomb.”)
 
4)  Does my expressed political allegiance conform to the biblical prohibition of verbal assault or ridicule of another person as a form of “murder“? In my political rhetoric do I loudly and proudly exclude from my favor/preference those who are black, brown, OR white? Those who are the highly-educated “elite” OR the less-educated “ignorant”? The “lazy” poor OR the “corrupt” wealthy? The “crazy” conservatives OR the “loony” liberals? Bigotry is bigotry and prejudice is prejudice regardless of its “target” group. It is always the expression of a lower, regressive “ethnocentric” or “mythic-membership” level of consciousness–NOT the “leading edge” of Christ consciousness to which we are called. Jesus himself modeled the transcending of this “group-think” (“Facebook-feeding-frenzy”) level of consciousness by crossing all borders of separation between various “in-groups,” associating himself in friendship, healing and teaching ministry with people of every stripe and even from opposing sides of the sociopolitical spectrum. He exemplified “unconditional positive regard” for ALL human beings without exception or exclusion of any. Our Lord did this, even as he courageously challenged what was objectively sinful in people’s behavior, calling out injustice and upholding truth whether popular or not.
 
5) Does my expressed political allegiance conform to the biblical and ecclesial teachings on care for the earth and environment as the creation of a God who deemed it “very good” and commanded our vigilant human stewardship of the planet, prohibiting the destruction or exploitation of its vital resources for selfish profit or convenience?
 
6)  Does my expressed political allegiance conform to the biblical call to a values-driven life based on clear discernment of Truth about good and evil, right and wrong, just and unjust? Or has an extreme form of relativism infected my worldview with the denial of any absolute or universal truth and an “anything goes” morality that is hypersensitive to all standards of truth as victim-mongering “oppression”?  Having lost any recognition of the objectively Good, True and Beautiful, this apathetic relativism called “lukewarmness”  (and condemned by Jesus in Rev. 21) has led our world–through its deconstruction of all norms and standards of objective truth and excellence–into a morass of personal and social degradation. The offspring of this extreme relativism include a creeping Nihilism (belief in the meaninglessness of life) and Narcissism (total self-centeredness as life’s only goal)–two deadly malignancies that are destroying human civilization from the inside-out.
 
7)  Does my expressed political allegiance conform to the Christian ideal of mercy and forgiveness as the basis for universal salvation? When others espouse viewpoints and actions rooted in a lower level of consciousness than “the mind of Christ,” do I respond with the words of Jesus by loving and praying for these “enemies” of Christ consciousness, saying, “Father, forgive them for they KNOW NOT what they do“? Do I seek to engage all viewpoints with compassion and a sincere desire to understand and include, making the higher levels of consciousness known, attractive and available to all? Or do I return evil for evil in harsh rhetoric, mockery, derision, ridicule and hate speech that adds fuel to the flames of discord and showcases my own hypocrisy as a professed Christian?
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 As we can see from the above examen, offenses against the “Christ consciousness” to which we are called is completely non-partisan. In our human condition, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23)–whether on the “Right” or the “Left” of the political aisle. As we proceed through the coming weeks of Lent in the midst of our hostile and contentious national arena, may we imitate the humility and gentleness of our Lord as we prayerfully pause to reflect upon the “log” within our own eye and not the “splinter” in our neighbor’s, seeing what is on “our side of the street” to sweep in the chaotic mess that we’ve all helped to create. May we be given the grace to “see as God sees,” looking with love and gratitude upon all His good and glorious creation, through the eyes of an ever-evolving Christ consciousness. This is the only practical way forward, for as Einstein wisely stated, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
  Proposed U.S. Political Actions in Need of Prayerful Discernment
for Conformity to the “Mind of Christ”
 
+  Privatizing Medicare and Cuts to Social Security and Medicaid
+  Building a Wall on the US border with Mexico
+  Banning Muslims from entering our country
+  Banning refugees fleeing war/death in other countries
+  Lowering taxes for the 1% wealthiest Americans, raising taxes for others
+  Weakening or removing environmental protections of the EPA
+  Selling American wilderness areas to corporations for business use
+  Killing off of predatory species of animals
+  Rollback of LGBT civil rights and marriage equality
+  Alienation of countries that have historically been American allies
+  Slashing funding for public education
+  Slashing funding for the Nat’l Endowment for the Arts (public radio
     & television)
+  Removal of regulation on the sale of guns to mentally unstable persons
+  Removal of environmental and other regulations on multinational
     corporations
+  Elimination of the minimum wage
+  Weakening or dismantling labor unions
+  Suppression of scientific research on climate change, fracking, etc.
+  Nuclear arms buildup and increased military spending
+  Protecting the practice of “big money” financing political campaigns
+  Violating the Geneva Conventions
+  Normalizing of KKK, Nazi Party, and “Alt-Right” white supremacists as
     high-level advisors
+  Repeal of the Affordable Care Act
+  Eliminating ethical oversight of government
+  Construction of oil transport pipeline at Standing Rock Sioux Indian sacred
     land
+  Suppression of a free/adversarial press, cornerstone of American
     democracy
 
If prayerful discernment leads you to take action in regard to any of the above proposals:
 
+ Write to your senator or congressman via email or postal mail;
+  Make phone calls to your elected representatives in Austin and Washington;
+  Pay a personal visit to your senator or congressman at their state or federal
     office;
+  Attend “Town Halls,” peaceful demonstrations and other nonviolent
     communal gatherings
+  Write a letter to the President of the United States expressing your views;
+  Read the writings of Gandhi, Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Jr., and other
     inspiring leaders of nonviolent resistance.
 
“Faith without works is dead.”  (James 2:17)

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Wisdom from Pope Francis

Refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity. They are children, women and men who leave or who are forced to leave their homes…The flesh of Christ is in the flesh of the refugees…. The faithful response is not to build a wall or to discriminate against Muslims, but to open our hearts and our homes to refugees of all faiths in recognition of our sacred call to protect and nourish life. There is a global epidemic of animosity and violence toward strangers, immigrants and refugees who are often considered a threat. We must move from attitudes of defensiveness and fear to acceptance, compassion and encounter….How often in the Bible the Lord asks us to welcome migrants and foreigners, reminding us that we too are foreigners!….A person who thinks only about building walls, and not building bridges, is not a Christian. This is not the gospel….Hitler didn’t steal the power, his people voted for him, and then he destroyed his people.

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Mark Your Calendar
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To reject the contemplative dimension of any religion is to reject the religion itself, however loyal one may be to its externals and rituals. This is because the contemplative dimension is the heart and soul of every religion. It initiates the movement into higher states of consciousness. The great wisdom teachings of the Vedas, Upanishads, Buddhist Sutras, Old and New Testaments, and the Koran bear witness to this truth. Right now there are about two billion Christians on the planet. If a significant portion of them were to embrace the contemplative dimension of the gospel, the emerging global society would experience a powerful surge toward enduring peace. If this contemplative dimension of the Christian religion is not presented, the Gospel is not being adequately preached.

– Fr. Thomas Keating, OCSO

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