Job 38

[1] Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind:
[2] "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
[3] Gird up your loins like a man,I will question you, and you shall declare to me.
[4] "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?Tell me, if you have understanding.[5] Who determined its measurements -- surely you know!Or who stretched the line upon it?
[6] On what were its bases sunk,or who laid its cornerstone,
[7] when the morning stars sang together,and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
[8] "Or who shut in the sea with doors,when it burst forth from the womb;
[9] when I made clouds its garment,and thick darkness its swaddling band,
[10] and prescribed bounds for it,and set bars and doors,
[11] and said, `Thus far shall you come, and no farther,and here shall your proud waves be stayed'?
[12] "Have you commanded the morning since your days began,and caused the dawn to know its place,
[13] that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,and the wicked be shaken out of it?
[14] It is changed like clay under the seal,and it is dyed like a garment.
[15] From the wicked their light is withheld,and their uplifted arm is broken.
[16] "Have you entered into the springs of the sea,or walked in the recesses of the deep?
[17] Have the gates of death been revealed to you,or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?[18] Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?Declare, if you know all this.
[19] "Where is the way to the dwelling of light,and where is the place of darkness,
[20] that you may take it to its territoryand that you may discern the paths to its home?
[21] You know, for you were born then,and the number of your days is great!
[22] "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,[23] which I have reserved for the time of trouble,for the day of battle and war?
[24] What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?
[25] "Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain,and a way for the thunderbolt,
[26] to bring rain on a land where no man is,on the desert in which there is no man;
[27] to satisfy the waste and desolate land,and to make the ground put forth grass?
[28] "Has the rain a father,or who has begotten the drops of dew?
[29] From whose womb did the ice come forth,and who has given birth to the hoarfrost of heaven?
[30] The waters become hard like stone,and the face of the deep is frozen.
[31] "Can you bind the chains of the Plei'ades,or loose the cords of Orion?
[32] Can you lead forth the Maz'zaroth in their season,or can you guide the Bear with its children?
[33] Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?Can you establish their rule on the earth?
[34] "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,that a flood of waters may cover you?
[35] Can you send forth lightnings, that they may goand say to you, `Here we are'?
[36] Who has put wisdom in the clouds,or given understanding to the mists?
[37] Who can number the clouds by wisdom?Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
[38] when the dust runs into a massand the clods cleave fast together?
[39] "Can you hunt the prey for the lion,or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
[40] when they crouch in their dens,or lie in wait in their covert?
[41] Who provides for the raven its prey,when its young ones cry to God,and wander about for lack of food?

The Eucharistic Kingdom

(Edited Sept 14)

Today we are remembering 9/11! The world and especially America experienced the evil in a very unique way. It is said that many people returned to God in those days. People generally remember that God exists when they recognize the reality of the Evil One. Other people ask why would a good God allow such a thing to happen. Saints would tell us that He only allow it when He can bring a greater good out of it. Now, every 9/11 people remember..., they ask question about good and evil, why would people cultivate such a hatred?, how about God?

Even though sometimes we don't understand everything involved, Christians know that every things work for good for those who love God. God is all good and everything that happens it is for good. The greatest evil that ever happened was the Crucifixion of God's own Son Jesus Christ. If God is more loving, more perfect and perfectionist than we are, how can he make sens of what happened to his Son? How can He allow it to happen? Where is the power of God? How does He used it and in what direction?

Man makes war to protect himself, he is willing to 'kill and crucify' in order to save his temporal life and his temporal possessions. But Jesus has taught us a different way of making war against the evil one. His general commandment was "Love one an other as I have loved you". He loved us by taking risks one after an other. He came into the world as a fragile baby at our mercy, we sent him to exile, we persecuted him, and we eventually killed him. But He who is Truth can not stay in the dead, Truth is always victorious, He rose from the dead and He is alive with the Father.

He is the Way. He showed us the way to make true war against evil. We need to go to the School of the Eucharist (this link is a rap song by Fr. Stan Fortuna...see video...quite interesting:) )in order to know how to built a 'civilization of love' and bring peace in the World.




"You have to make your life essentially, totally eucharistic."
St. Josemaria Escriva, The Forge, #826

This picture caught my attention few months ago. I made it my desktop picture. It helps me to meditate on the mysteries of the Cross, the Eucharist, and the Sacred Heart and our human heart. This is our King and this is how He conquers. It reminds me of the importance of the Crucifix in the Church or in our homes. It pains me when I realize where/when/how I failed, but it is also comforting because it shows the great Mercy of God. It reminds me be merciful to others, to make efforts to do God's will in all things everyday. Eucharistic life is about everyday sanctity. EWTN has an interesting show about this: Eucharistic Journey.

By looking at it I realize what true love is. How true love conquers. It reminds me that Eucharist I receive is the heart of Jesus. It reminds me to check my heart to see if I can feel any fire. The fire that Jesus brought into the world. The fire that Christians are supposed to spread around the world. Of course this is only possible when one is in a state of grace.


When Peter attempted to defend Jesus with a sword, Jesus stopped him. Pope John Paul II has asked forgiveness for sins of the crusaders. True love conquers by the cross; by sacrifice. I like to call our great saints Generals of God. They have conquered by offering their lives as sacrifices for their brothers and sisters. They did not do it their ways, but the way of Jesus. They conquered like Jesus and in Jesus. Now many Holy Orders are like armies aligned behind the Cross of Christ. It is in those Holy Orders or Movements that we are at/become our best in being Christians.

In those spiritual organization we learn more about Reality. We grow to know what real evil is. There is a very very interesting topic on CAF about spiritual warfare. Some times we seem not to be aware of the fact that we are constantly at war.

The Eucharistic Kingdom is built on self-sacrifices. It is not at all easy to sacrifice ourselves. We need to pray unceasingly in order to be able to 'believe' and to follow Jesus until the end. We need the help of each other, the help of the Church and of Angels.

Too many times we wonder why things go wrong, why even simple things seem harder to be done. We have to remember the disciples falling asleep failing to pray with Jesus at the critical point of his life.

I think demons put all their weight in preventing even a simple act from being done if it is to be done with love and in the name of Christ. He knows that that simple act can turn out to be the mustard seed. Think of how much resistance Jesus accountered. Think of his experience in the Garden of sorrow. But we know that He has conquered the world, this should be the reason for our joy, our courage, and our hope.

With the help of our allies (angels, saints,...) we should engage in a proper holy war against the right enemy: the one who is the Liar, the Murderer, and the Accuser from the Beginning!

Christus vincit,
Christus regnat,
Christus, Christus ímperat.

Christ is the victor, Christ is King,Christ is the ruler of the world.

May good times come,

May the peace of Christ come,

May the kingdom of Christ come.

.

The whale, Prayer, and the Interior Castle

Yesterday gospel told us the story of Martha and Marie and their two ways of relating to Jesus. Martha was so busy that she needed her sister's help, and she let Jesus know about it. But Jesus told her that Mary had chosen the rigth thing: staying at the Lord's feet.

Today I rediscovered a french show I used to watch when I came to Canada. This show helped me to keep my faith for sometime. And then I started College, very busy, I started forgetting about it until I lost appetite for it. I think at one point I became as busy as Martha. My view of serving God had changed. Mary's way is the contemplative way: prayer, meditation, and then work. But we can guess that Martha's way was the opposite. That's what happen when we neglet prayer. We become weak, in fact the 'contemplative' way become unattractive. Instead we think that there are things to get done first and then we will go to the Lord. But those things keeps increasing until we feel that we don't have time for prayer anymore. Actually all that time is feeled with our own worldly things that we excuse and tell ourselves that they are part of God's plan... But the fact is, when prayer is lost we loose strength in all spiritual things. We may even loose spiritual life at the end.

I was reading the first chapters of the "Dark Night" and I was surprised on how they relate to the Interior Castle, this story of Marth and Mary, and today gospel of prophet Jonah. Those chapters describe what happen when a soul is about to enter the dark night of a soul. It seems that a soul like Martha who really love the Lord can be mistaken in certain ways to a point when it realises that it has lost Him. But because it loves Him, it will not get lost. It will eventually find the way back and this time it will be more "purified of its imperfections" as St. John of the Cross explains.

The three nights in the big fish for Jonah can be considered a dark night. He got afraid of testifying, and the three nights made him stronger enough to do his job. They striped him not of the fear but of the reasons of his fear. His imperfections were removed. But we can undestand that this would not have happen if he had prayed enought to be above his fears. In one of the previous post I mentioned how St. Francis de Sales explains the necessity of prayer.

1. Prayer opens the understanding to the brightness of Divine Light, and the will to the warmth of Heavenly Love--nothing can so effectually purify the mind from its many ignorances, or the will from its perverse affections. It is as a healing water which causes the roots of our good desires to send forth fresh shoots, which washes away the soul's imperfections, and allays the thirst of passion.

2. But especially I commend earnest mental prayer to you, more particularly such as bears upon the Life and Passion of our Lord. If you contemplate Him frequently in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with Him, you will grow in His Likeness, and your actions will be moulded on His. He is the Light of the world; therefore in Him, by Him, and for Him we shall be enlightened and illuminated; He is the Tree of Life, beneath the shadow of which we must find rest;--He is the Living Fountain of Jacob's well, wherein we may wash away every stain. Children learn to speak by hearing their mother talk, and stammering forth their childish sounds in imitation; and so if we cleave to the Savior in meditation, listening to His words, watching His actions and intentions, we shall learn in time, through His Grace, to speak, act and will like Himself. Believe me, my child, there is no way to God save through this door. Just as the glass of a mirror would give no reflection save for the metal behind it, so neither could we here below contemplate the Godhead, were it not united to the Sacred Humanity of our Saviour, Whose Life and Death are the best, sweetest and most profitable subjects that we can possibly select for meditation. It is not without meaning that the Saviour calls Himself the Bread come down from Heaven;--just as we eat bread with all manner of other food, so we need to meditate and feed upon our Dear Lord in every prayer and action


The above comments point directly to Mary at the feet of Jesus. If we remember that Mary Magdalena was the one who was saved from being stoned to death we can see that she most likely undestood how to get healed. She undestood the importance of prayer better than Martha.

Those comments also point to the Interior Castle. St. Teresa says that 'prayer' is the door to this castle; meaning that we can't know ourselves unless we pray. Praying is connecting with Truth and Life (Jesus). Entering this castle is important because we really undestand what is going on around us. St Therese described it wonderfully that she shows that it is the building in which we live. The more we live in, the more our lives will be fulfilled. But she explains that the first rooms are filled with obstacle that prevent us from seing the Majesty of God inside. Only a big desire to know Truth can defeat those 'reptiles' as she calls them.

But if we stay outside our own house (our soul and live in confusions, etc) and we don't care to do something about it, we face the clear consequences. That's why Jesus responds:

“An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earththree days and three nights.

We will see the miracle of Jesus. We will undestand what it means. Because we will wish we can get out of the belly of the whale, and we will only get out throught the prayer in the name of the cruxified Jesus. God explains it to St. Catherina of Sienna in Treatise on Divine Providence:

"Do you not know, dear daughter, that all the sufferings, which the soul endures, or can endure, in this life, are insufficient to punish one smallest fault, because the offense, being done to Me, who am the Infinite Good, calls for an infinite satisfaction?

"However, I wish that you should know, that not all the pains that are given to men in this life are given as punishments, but as corrections, in order to chastise a son when he offends; though it is true that both the guilt and the penalty can be expiated by the desire of the soul, that is, by true contrition, not through the finite pain endured, but through the infinite desire; because God, who is infinite, wishes for infinite love and infinite grief.

"Infinite grief I wish from My creature in two ways: in one way, through her sorrow for her own sins, which she has committed against Me her Creator; in the other way, through her sorrow for the sins which she sees her neighbors commit against Me. Of such as these, inasmuch as they have infinite desire, that is, are joined to Me by an affection of love, and therefore grieve when they offend Me, or see Me offended, their every pain, whether spiritual or corporeal, from wherever it may come, receives infinite merit, and satisfies for a guilt which deserved an infinite penalty, although their works are finite and done in finite time; but, inasmuch as they possess the virtue of desire, and sustain their suffering with desire, and contrition, and infinite displeasure against their guilt, their pain is held worthy.

"Paul explained this when he said: If I had the tongues of angels, and if I knew the things of the future and gave my body to be burned, and have not love, it would be worth nothing to me. The glorious Apostle thus shows that finite works are not valid, either as punishment or recompense, without the condiment of the affection of love."

"I have shown you, dearest daughter, that the guilt is not punished in this finite time by any pain which is sustained purely as such. And I say, that the guilt is punished by the pain which is endured through the desire, love, and contrition of the heart; not by virtue of the pain, but by virtue of the desire of the soul; inasmuch as desire and every virtue is of value, and has life in itself, through Christ crucified, My only begotten Son, in so far as the soul has drawn her love from Him, and virtuously follows His virtues, that is, His Footprints.

"In this way, and in no other, are virtues of value, and in this way, pains satisfy for the fault, by the sweet and intimate love acquired in the knowledge of My goodness, and in the bitterness and contrition of heart acquired by knowledge of one's self and one's own thoughts. And this knowledge generates a hatred and displeasure against sin, and against the soul's own sensuality, through which, she deems herself worthy of pains and unworthy of reward."

Many fantastic movies have been produced trying to illustrate the drama of souls, but I wonder if no director or producer ever discoverd the Interior Castle to make something visual out of it. Something more illustrating and undestandable than Constantine or more true than the Lord of the Ring or the Matrix.

Perfect Joy

In the following video, St. Francis of Assisi says: "Blessed is he who does good to others and desires not that others do good to him". When I read things first, I felt revolted that he said that a person can desired not that people do good to him. It sound uncharitable because if we love people and we would like them to be good or to see their goodness, we should somehow be frustated if they are not good, even to us. Not out of selfsheness, but because we would like them to be good and charitable people.

I tought seriously about St. Francis words because they seem to speak to me. Sometimes we are precisely frustated by others' ungoodness and we try to show it thinking that they will notice that their attitude is not charitable and that they will try to correct it and be good. But here St. Francis propose a different attitude. Instead of expecting others to be good. How about not even questioning their state of goodness. It may sound like not caring, but when I looked at it, it is actually the best way we escape the temptation of being judgemental. It is not a surprise that it is the same Francis who said that we should "preach the Gospel (and somehow, only) use words if necessary". What he tried to say was. We should live according to the Gospel, and if someone whould question us about why we live this particular way, then we should use words and explain why. This way we can preach the Gospel without sounding judgmental or even being judgmental.

So we should not care too much about expecting others to be good to us, because after all, how do we know if they are not being good to us. Sometimes they may be, and we may not noticed it. But some other time they may really be bad to us. In both case we can find perfect Joy when we worry only about what comes out of our hearts. And we make sure what ever comes of it is love and is for the good of others, however it may look like. Like St. Augustine said: "Love and do what you want...". And since if we really love, we can not want a bad thing, then we will only do good things.




At the end St. Francis teaches as how to descover or recover perfect innocence which gives us perfect Joy. And this is the good news, the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. This is how we can find, share, and enjoy his peace even in middle of sufferings or other unlikely situation. A christian can always Joyfull not matter what he has experienced or he is experiencing. Somehow, we can be Joyfull even when we are not Happy.