What Does it Mean to be a Catholic Man?

 

I didn't become a real Catholic right away. I went through RCIA. My wife Lolita was my sponsor. At that time, I went more to learn than to actually become a Catholic. I didn't understand until much later that Catholicism is not a religion but a way of life. 

When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son. “I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go." (1 Kings 2:1 - 3 NIV)

While some, like me choose to live a life defined by Catholicism, many are born into the faith. As such, it’s no surprise that some Catholics don’t fully comprehend what the religion is about. Yes, they know the Caticisum and physical movements involved with Catholic Traditions (sign of the cross) and all the words in the Rosary. But they don't seem to grasp the true meanings behind the doctrine, traditions and prayers. So what does it mean to be Catholic?

As simple as this question may seem, it’s something that many of us don’t really know the answer to. Because being Catholic means more than just reciting the rosary, believing in saints, or going to Mass every Sunday. In fact, there is no single definition that can define what a Catholic is.

Look around you right now. God made us all different. If you asked a dozen Catholics what it means to be Catholic, you would get a dozen different answers. One article defines being Catholic as a continuous personal encounter with Christ that renews our spirit. While another says that being Catholic means sensing God’s presence and power in and around us. But these definitions do not fully encapsulate the essence of being a Catholic. To really understand what it means to be Catholic, let’s first define what a Catholic is.

Defining Catholicism

The word “Catholic” came from a Greek term that means “through the whole”. It can also mean something that is “universal”, “worldwide”, or “all-inclusive”. The first recorded use of the term was in St. Ignatius of Antioch’s letter to the Smyrneans. In there, he wrote that:

"wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."

What does this mean for us?

During Jesus’ ministry, he emphasized the importance of loving God and loving others regardless of who they are. He showed it himself when he talked with the Samaritan woman in the well, dined with sinners, and preached to the Gentiles.

This is why one of the basic tenets of Catholicism is the universality of God’s love. Catholics come from all corners of the world. We speak different languages, have widely varying cultures, and live very different lives. Yet, we are united in God’s love – a love so great that He sacrificed His only son so that our sins may be forgiven.

The Difference Between Christians and Catholics

There’s a common misconception that Catholics are not Christians. While non-Christians tend to think that “Christians” and “Catholics” are the same.

All Catholics are Christians but not all Christians are Catholics. The term “Catholic” usually refers to members of the Roman Catholic Church. While “Christians” refer to anyone who believes in Christ regardless of their religious affiliation.

There are several things that set Catholics apart from other Christians such as:
the use of symbolism in expressing our faith; such as statues, pictures, rosaries, etc. which were born out of the need to minister to those who could not read or write; practicing the Holy Sacraments as Jesus taught his disciples, having a standard liturgy, the belief in the communion of saints just as they did in biblical times.

What Do Catholics Believe In?

Every religion has its own core set of beliefs and teachings. Here are some of the tenets that define the Catholic faith:

The Trinity

One of the most basic Catholic doctrines is the Trinity: that there is one God manifested in three persons:

1. The Father, Who Is The Creator;

Catholics believe in God, the loving Father, and Creator. We believe that His love is overflowing and limitless.

2. The Son, Who Is The Redeemer

Catholics believe that God sent his own beloved Son, Jesus Christ. The Redeemer, our Lord, and Savior, who suffered and died on the cross, rose from the dead to save us from our sins, and gave us the gift of eternal life.

3. and the Holy Spirit, Who Is The Sanctifier.

Catholics believe in the Holy Spirit and the powerful presence that it gives to the church. Provided by the Lord, Jesus Christ, to the Church at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit lets us live a righteous and faithful life. It acts as a comforter, especially in times of our trials.

Christ’s Teachings

Like all Christians, the Catholic faith puts much emphasis on the teachings of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

In the Old Testament, God gave us ten commandments to follow. Jesus, in the New Testament, summed those up into two: to love God above all else and to love others as we love ourselves. Through his parables and preaching, he also taught us to practice forgiveness and mercy. These teachings form the core of the Catholic church’s dogma which every faithful must strive to follow.

Sacraments

Catholics worship, praise, and follow God by living a sacramental life. We believe that the sacraments bring us up close and personal with God. For example, the bread and wine in the Holy Eucharist is more than just a symbol of receiving the body and blood of Christ. It’s about communing with God and being one with Him, after all, we were created in his image.

Applying The Scriptures in Our Daily Lives

To be able to follow God and live a righteous life, Catholics acknowledge the importance of reading and practicing the teachings in the Holy Bible.

Bearing Witness to God

Like how Christ endured suffering and rejections, Catholics preach the word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In a world where the values and teachings are often contrary to what God and Jesus say, Catholics speak up for what we believe to be right and true.

The Communion of Saints

This is what most people often misunderstood about us Catholics. And even some Catholics misunderstood the values of believing in the communion of saints. The latter part of the Nicene Creed also concisely sums up this belief.

But when we say we believe in the communion of saints, that doesn’t mean that we tend to think of them as equal to God and Christ. We are connected to our Christian family through the Holy Spirit. We don’t worship our brothers and sisters but we do respect them and ask them to pray for us. The Bible says that the prayer of a holy person is very powerful. Saints are holy people who can pray for us. They are an instrument for us to be more connected to God and feel His eternal love.

So What Does It Mean to be Catholic?

As mentioned, there is no single phrase or sentence that can define the Catholic faith. If you ask Catholics right now about what it means to be Catholic, you’ll surely get varying answers. But for me, being a Catholic means fulfilling the mission that Christ set for humanity: to love God and love all others. Being a Catholic is a life-long and continuous encounter with God. It’s about living our lives as Christ’s disciples and as living witnesses to His divine grace.

I grew up in a Baptist home. We (my parents, sisters and I) went to Sunday School and the adult "Church" service afterward, every Sunday. Then, again every Sunday, about 1:00pm, the Church doors were locked until about 8:00am the next Sunday. Once in a while there was a "Prayer Meeting" on a Wednesday evening. The rest of the week you were on your own to battle human temptations of what looked good, tasted good or felt good. Temptations aimed at your mind and body.

My parents told me the Church services on Sunday were to help me focus my life on the ways that Jesus taught us when he was here. I can tell you that as a kid, a re-focus once a week didn't do me much good. I got even worse when I enlisted in the Navy. The culture of the military can corrupt a man fairly quickly. If one isn't careful, it causes booze and women to flow freely. Especially when he only re-focuses his life once a week. Other temptations such as asking if God really exists, can come from surviving dangerous situations or combat when you hear the screams of the dying, and know there's nothing you can do to help.

My wife and I try to go to Mass every day now. I still sin and I can still be corrupted. Partaking of the sacrament every day has done a lot to build up my mental and spiritual strengths to fight the temptations that earthly life throws at me every day. The traditions followed during Mass, some that go all the way back to Abraham, are daily reminders of the Saints that came before me, living a life of pain, hardship and sorrow, yet they still would not betray the God that created them.

My parents didn't want me to use prayer books. They said I shouldn’t depend on prayers written by others and even less on recited repetitive prayers, such as the Rosary. Rather, I should pray from the heart. Of course, we should pray from the heart. But, we also should not be surprised to find our hearts and minds, when at prayer, sometimes need the encouragement and guidance of holy men and women who have left behind prayers that beautifully express God’s merciful love and promote the growth and development of our devotion. It is also important that in our private prayer we should use the vocabulary of faith and devotion common to all through the ages and across the globe.

Catholic prayer books, prayers we recite at Mass and other spiritual events, help us to discover how prayers drawn from the scriptures, rooted in the Liturgy, and flowing from the hearts of the holy, wise, and the learned, help us in our journey to God. They can also renew the joy and hope within us that our faith gives us through God’s love.

The Rosary started out as a school for me. It was a place to start learning the Bible. The mysteries of each of the decades are the major important events in the Bible. By following the mysteries I'm following the life of Christ. By memorizing the Rosary, I'm permanently embedding the life of Christ in my heart mind and sole. By praying the Rosary I'm receiving strength of mind and heart to overcome the daily temptations of life. I'm also praising God and asking for his forgiveness. Today, the Rosary is something that helps me to filter out all the earthly things in my life and concentrate on communing with God.

Today, a custom I follow when praying the Rosary is to meditate on each of the mysteries while my mouth proclaims the Hail Marys and my fingers traverse the beads. Meditation to me consists of focusing my mind, heart and sole on the mystery and renewing my personal commitment to the point that is embedded in the mystery. For example, lets take the first mystery, the Annunciation. the announcement of the birth of Jesus to Mary:

Mary at that time was betrothed to Joseph. In those days men and women were betrothed when they were engaged to be married. This usually took place a year or more before marriage. From the time of betrothal the woman was regarded as the lawful wife of the man to whom she was betrothed ( Deuteronomy 28:30 ; Judges 14:2 Judges 14:8 ; Matthew 1:18-21 ). The year of engagement was so that the husband could go away and build a house for his new family. In those days, normally, if a woman became pregnant during the engagement, she was considered a whore and taken to the edge of town and stoned to death.

Mary knew the consequences of her pregnancy but she still said “I am the Lord’s servant, May your word to me be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:38).

Mary's actions are what is conveyed to me in my meditation. No mater what the consequences, I must fulfill the Lord's word to me.

It helps me to understand the Lord's words in the Bible if I know the circumstances surrounding the words. The mysteries in the Rosary is a good place to start studying and researching those circumstances.

I don't always achieve meditation, it's not easy. It takes a lot of mental and spiritual strength filter out all the earthly stuff from my heart mind and sole. It helps to read about the history of the mystery, and to learn about the culture of the society around the mystery. All of that helps me to understand what God is trying to teach me through the Rosary...And the daily readings.

To the Critics of Change

I never thought much of my spirituality and how it affected the people around me. Especially my family, relatives and friends. I always thought it was strictly between myself and God; at least that is what I was taught in a Baptist Church Sunday School when I was young. 

 Growing up as a young boy no one ever called me a name, or degraded me in any way because of my "religion" or my "religious practices." I never had to defend myself against harsh religious comments. I can't say that we all "respected" each other's religion; about sixth grade and below, we didn't really understand things such as religion and religious practices; Seventh grade and above, guys were more interested in girls and cars and girls were more interested in guys and their cars. Religion wasn't one of the personal characteristics most of us were interested in. As an adult however, it seams to be just the opposite. Religion and the religious practices of a person are very important to that person's family, to the point that a change in a person's religion or religious practices causes such an outrage in that person's family; that the person becomes ostracized from his or her family. I guess some families toss out Matthew 5:43-48:

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?  And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." 

I grew up in a Baptist world, where Sunday mornings were devoted to Sunday School. An hour of stories about floods, seas parting, prisoners in cells with lions, and a young boy who killed a giant with a sling-shot and a rock. It was my imagination that let me visualize those stories in ways that helped me to understand and even visualize the unseen ‘God’ that my Sunday School teacher always talked about. As I grew from a boy to a man the US Navy helped me to explore not only the society and culture that I was a part of but also societies and cultures around the world. That and the wonderful woman I married, caused me to want to discover more about myself and how I fit into God’s grand scheme of things.

Much of that discovery and learning about myself and the Lord came through Catholic religious practices that I learned and later participated in with my wife. I no longer had to wait until Sunday to enter God's house to pray, I could go to Mass every day and in my present parish, I can go to a chapel that is open all the time and be alone with the Lord. You see, I'm not as strong as the Protestants who only have to go to Church once a week, I need the presence of the Lord every day.  

After my retirement I joined Knights of Columbus (KoC). The KoC is a Catholic Men's fraternity empowering Catholic men to live their faith at home, in their parish, at work and in their community. Through fellowship with other Catholic men and their families, both in my local community and around the world, I was able to see Catholicism through many different eyes and circumstances. I also had a chance to work in our local community along with men from other religions and walks of life. That opened my eyes to the importance of ‘love your neighbor’ and being respectful of others. 

Unlike many Protestants who ‘converted’ I came to see Catholicism as a continuation of the beliefs of my childhood. I came to see the Mass as bringing back the ancient traditions of the Old Testament, the beginning of the Church and the works and actions of our beloved Saints. I did not start following Catholicism as a replacement to Baptist practices and traditions but as a fulfillment of those practices and traditions. The core beliefs of both Catholics and Protestants are the same. No part of Catholicism is outside of the Word of God. The Bible I read is the same Bible that my parents bought for me when at the age of 18, when I was Baptized into the Baptist Church.

My beliefs are the same as they were when I left home at the age of 18. The only difference is that I began to follow the ancient traditions as laid out in the Bible. I worship the same God today as I did when I was 18. But because I changed "religion," Words such as "idol worshiper" and "Mary worshiper" have been used by those who I hold in very high esteem. 

Nothing, could be further from the truth. Catholics do not worship idols nor do we worship Mary. We worship the way Jesus did, through prayer and living life according to the law as set down in the 10 Commandments. The “Mass” began when early Christians gathered together in their homes to share a meal in memory of Jesus, as he had asked them to do on the night before he died (“The Last Supper”). There is no "obligation," we attend Mass because we love God. We Catholics get together to pray, read the Scriptures, and share the meal as it is written in Acts 2:42-47:

"They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." 

There is is nothing in the Catholic Mass that is not in the Holy Scriptures. There is nothing in the Catholic Mass that is used out of the context that it was used in the Holy Scriptures. 

The life values I have now, have been born out of war, predigest, destruction,  love, kindness and sharing. I respect everyone and their view of how I live and worship, even if I don't agree with their assessment. when I was very young, patience was one of the things I lacked and a temper was something I had in abundance. Today I have an abundance of patients and the strength and guidance from God to use it wisely against the temper I once had. So, bring on your judgements of me but also know that I leave judgement to God. I will continue to live the religious practices, traditions and spiritual mannerisms I have learned from the Catholic Church, prayer and research. I leave it to the Lord to defend His religious practices, traditions and spiritual mannerisms as they are lived out in my life. 

Through the Catholic Church, it's architecture, art, history and philosophy; I have come to know and believe in two families; my earthly one, consisting of my parents, sisters, my wife's family, friends and my spiritual family, consisting of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Pictures of my earthly family come from cameras, pictures of my spiritual family were made by Master carvers and artists. Both are made by humans.
 
The Rosary - nothing seems to say Catholic more than the Rosary. I've heard many say that it isn't found in the Bible. That's true, very true, the word Rosary is in fact not found in any Christian Bible. But, the Bible is in fact in the Rosary. Again, artwork created for those who could not read or write. The Rosary contains the New Testament, from the birth of Jesus to his death, resurrection and beyond. I use it every day as an aid in prayer, it helps to "make the world around me go away", so that I can speak and listen more reverently and clearly to Jesus. If non-Catholics would just listen to the words or read the Rosary, especially the last sentence of the "Hail Mary," they would know that we are not praying to Mary or anyone else, we are in-fact praying only to God.  
 
My commitment to God did not happen over night. It happened over many years of searching self and soul; searching the earthly world and the spiritual world; searching various religious practices, cultures and ways of life. I have called on St. Peter, St. Paul and a few other saints who were once as human as I am now, in just the same way I still call on my Dad and Mom who have both passed away, for advice. Catholicism as I know it, is not a religion, it's a way of life. A way of life defined not by anything earthly, but by a God that is open to everyone, a God who is compassionate but demanding unquestioned faith and belief.  
 
My self and soul search goes on and will keep going on; the earthly world tries to pull me in one direction, the spiritual world tries to pull me in another direction. I put no boundaries between my worlds, I try my best not to judge anyone in either world. I do my best to leave judgement to God.
 
It doesn't matter what we label ourselves as, Protestant, Catholic, Jehovah Witness, Methodist, ... What matters, to God, is how we live. Do we follow Jesus and his disciples? Or do we judge each other on how we go about our daily lives, how we as individuals worship? Do we throw away the Bible and peck at each other over "our" individual interpretation of individual passages of a very large book?

God made us all different, maybe we should accept the differences and accept each other as brothers and sisters the way Jesus accepted his disciples and all those who believed and had faith in him. "Catholic" is only a label, how and what I believe and have faith in along with how I worship is my way of life. It is between me and God. 

Lastly, through my research, Catholicism teaches me that I should not only "love" all of humanity, but that I should also respect everyone's race, age, sex, career, culture, customs, traditions, character, religion and their points of view. Essentially, as a Catholic, I should respect every aspect of every person's life. "Catholic" means universal. It is OK to respectfully disagree with someone but not OK to disrespect them or any part of their being. 

So, bring on your criticisms of how I live my life. I'll just pass them on to the Lord and let Him deal with them.

Forgiveness and Contemplation in Prayer

One obstacle to praying for forgiveness is the struggle to forgive. Whenever someone hurts us in a serious way, there is a spiritual wound that remains. As we begin to pray, we commonly find ourselves going back over these wounds again and again. What is most frustrating is that many times we thought we had already forgiven the person who hurt us. But when the memory comes back, we can sometimes feel the anger and the pain all over again.

What do we do with the wounds so that they no longer impede our ability to pray? The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains, “It is not in our power not to feel or to forget an offense; but the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion and purifies the memory in transforming hurt into intercession” (CCC 2843). What this means is when wronged, we naturally feel pain and remember the hurt, but surrendering that pain to the Holy Spirit can change its shape — from bitterness to mercy — and cleanse memory by converting grievance into prayer for the one who caused it.

To pray for those who have hurt us is difficult. In scriptural terms, those who hurt us are our enemies, and this is true even when they are friends and close family members. Christ commands us to love our enemies and to do good to those who persecute us. Betrayal, abandonment, indifference, scandal, abuse, scorn, sarcasm, ridicule, detraction, and insult — these are all bitter things to forgive. The Lord grieves with us and for us when we suffer these things. He has permitted us to suffer them for a profound reason.

The Lord explained to His disciples that those who hunger and thirst for the sake of justice, those who are merciful, and especially those who are persecuted for righteousness and for the Lord are blessed. Their mysterious beatitude makes sense only when we see through the eyes of faith the injustice and persecution they have endured. Somehow, trusting in God in the midst of such things makes them in the likeness of Christ. Trusting in God means to pray for those who harm us, to seek to return good for evil. When this act of trust is made, the power of God is released in humanity. For two thousand years, this is what every martyr for our Catholic faith has revealed to the Church.

Why God Permits the Persecution of Those He Loves

In his mysterious wisdom and profound love, when the Father allows someone to hurt or oppose us in some way, He is entrusting that person to our prayers. When our enemy causes us to suffer unjustly, our faith tells us that this was allowed to happen so that we might participate in the mystery of the Cross. Somehow, like those who offered their lives for our faith (our saints), the mystery of redemption is being renewed through our own sufferings.

We have a special authority over the soul of someone who causes us great sorrow. Their actions have bound them to us in the mercy of God. Mercy is love that suffers the evil of another to affirm his dignity so that he does not have to suffer alone.

Whenever someone hurts us physically or even emotionally, he has demeaned himself even more. He is even more in need of mercy.

From this perspective, the injury our enemies have caused us can be a gateway for us to embrace the even greater sufferings with which their hearts are burdened. Because of this relationship, our prayers on their behalf have a particular power. The Father hears these prayers because prayer for our enemies enters deep into the mystery of the Cross. But how do we begin to pray for our enemies when the very thought of them and what they have done stirs our hearts with bitterness and resentment?

Here we must ask what it means to repent for our lack of mercy. The first step is the hardest. Whether they are living or dead, we need to forgive those who have hurt us. This is the hardest because forgiveness involves more than intellectually assenting to the fact that we ought to forgive.

We know that we get some pleasure out of our grievances. The irrational pleasure we can sometimes take in these distracts us from what God Himself desires us to do. What happens when all that pleasure is gone, when all we have left is the Cross? Saint John of the Cross sees our poverty in the midst of great afflic­tion as the greatest union with Christ crucified possible in this life: “When they are reduced to nothing, the highest degree of humility, the spiritual union between their souls and God will be an accomplished fact. This union is most noble and sublime state attainable in this life.” In the face of our grievances we must realize this solidarity with Christ and cleave to His example with all our strength.

Living by the Cross means choosing, over and over, whenever angry and resentful memories come up, not to hold a debt against someone who has hurt us. It means renouncing secret vows of revenge to which we have bound ourselves. It means avoiding indulging in self-pity or thinking ill of those who have sinned against us. It means begging God to show us the truth about our enemy’s plight.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

Here, human effort alone cannot provide the healing such ongoing choices demand. Only the Lord’s mercy can dissolve our hardness of heart toward those who have harmed us. We have to surrender our grievances to the Holy Spirit, who turns “injury into compassion” and transforms “hurt into intercession” (CCC 2849).

As with every Christian who has tried to follow Him, the Cross terrified Jesus. He sweat blood in the face of it. We believe that it was out of the most profound love for us and for His Father that He embraced this suffering. Because of this love, He would not have it any other way. Overcoming His own fear, He accepted death for our sake and, in accepting it, sanctified it so that it might become the pathway to new life.

Precisely because Jesus has made death a pathway of life, Christians are also called to take up their crosses and follow Him. They must offer up their resentment to God and allow their bitterness to die. Offering the gift of our grievances to God is especially pleasing to Him. It is part of our misery, and our misery is the only thing we really have to offer God that He wants.

This effort is spiritual, the work of the Holy Spirit. In order to forgive, we must pray, and sometimes we must devote many hours, days, and even years to prayer for this purpose. It is a difficult part of our life-long conversion. Yet we cannot dwell very deep in our hearts, we cannot live with ourselves, if we do not find mercy for those who have offended us. Living with ourselves, living within ourselves, is impossible without mercy.

There are moments in such prayer when we suddenly realize we must not only forgive but must also ask for forgiveness. A transformation takes place when our attention shifts from the evil done to us to the plight of the person who inflicted it. Every time we submit resentment to the Lord, every time we renounce a vengeful thought, every time we offer the Lord the deep pain in our heart, even if we do not feel or understand it, we have made room for the gentle action of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit does not take the wounds away. They remain like the wounds in the hands and side of Christ. The wounds of Christ are a pathway into the heart of every man and woman. This is because the hostility of each one of us toward Him caused those wounds. Similarly when someone wounds us, the wound can become a pathway into that person’s heart. Wounds bind us to those who have hurt us, especially those who have become our enemies, because whenever someone hurts us, he has allowed us to share in his misery, to know the lack of love he suffers. With the Holy Spirit, this knowledge is a powerful gift.

Once the Holy Spirit shows us this truth, we have a choice. We can choose to suffer this misery with the one who hurt us in prayer so that God might restore that person’s dignity. When we choose this, our wounds, like the wounds of Christ, no longer dehumanize as long as we do not backslide. Instead, the Holy Spirit transforms such wounds into founts of grace. Those who have experienced this will tell you that with the grace of Christ there is no room for bitterness. There is only great compassion and sober prayerfulness.

Saint Thomas Aquinas on Mercy and the Gift of Counsel As we go further into the discussion of Saint Thomas Aquinas on mercy, he explains that the Holy Spirit’s gift of counsel is a special prompting, or impetus, in the heart that brings every act of mercy to perfection. The gift of counsel, explains Saint Thomas, allows us to know and to understand the misery in the hearts of others. Once we know and understand their misery, we can bind ourselves to them in prayer so that those who have hurt us might feel the mercy of God in their misery, that they might find a reason to hope, a pathway out of the hell in which they are imprisoned.

It is by this same gift that Christ knew our hostility to God and allowed Himself to be wounded unto death by it. He wanted to bear this dehumanizing force in our nature so that it might die with Him. This way, when He rose again, He could free from futility all that is good, noble, and true about each of us.

Likewise with us, this same gift allows us to extend Christ’s saving work into the hearts of others. In particular, the gift of counsel allows us to understand the dehumanizing hostility others have unleashed on us and by understanding it in faith, to offer it to God in love. When we do this, our mercy, perfected by the Holy Spirit, makes space in the hearts of those who have hurt us, space into which God’s love can flow. It is the saving mercy of God, His love suffering our misery, which is the only hope for humanity.

BY: ANTHONY LILLES

Monthly Reflections for June

  June has been the Month of the Sacred Heart ever since the feast was instituted in the 19th century.

Credit: CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

June is known as the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus most simply because the solemnity of the Sacred Heart is celebrated during this month. This year, the solemnity falls on June 16. The date changes each year because it is celebrated on the Friday after the Corpus Christi octave, or the Friday after the second Sunday after Pentecost.

However, other reasons exist as to why June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart.

The feast dates back to 1673, when a French nun who belonged to the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary (Visitandines) in eastern France began to receive visions about the Sacred Heart.

Jesus appeared to Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque and revealed ways to venerate his Sacred Heart and explained the immense love he has for humanity, appearing with his heart visible outside his chest, on fire, and surrounded by a crown of thorns.

These different ways include partaking in a holy hour on Thursdays and the reception of the Eucharist on the first Friday of every month.

Jesus told Sister Margaret Mary: “My Sacred Heart is so intense in its love for men, and for you in particular, that not being able to contain within it the flames of its ardent charity, they must be transmitted through all means.”

These visions continued for 18 months.

On June 16, 1675, Jesus told Sister Margaret Mary to promote a feast that honored his Sacred Heart. He also gave Sister Margaret Mary 12 promises made to all who venerate and promote the devotion of the Sacred Heart.

He said: “I ask of you that the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi be set apart for a special feast to honor my heart, by communicating on that day, and making reparation to it by a solemn act, in order to make amends for the indignities which it has received during the time it has been exposed on the altars. I promise you that my heart shall expand itself to shed in abundance the influence of its divine love upon those who shall thus honor it, and cause it to be honored.”

Sister Margaret Mary died in 1690 and was canonized by Pope Benedict XV on May 13, 1920.

The Vatican was hesitant to declare a feast to the Sacred Heart, but as the devotion spread throughout France, the Vatican granted the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to France in 1765.

In 1856, Pope Pius IX designated the Friday following the feast of Corpus Christi as the feast of the Sacred Heart for the universal Church. Ever since, the month of June has been devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and his immense love for us all.

On the current calendar, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a solemnity, the highest-ranking feast in the liturgical calendar, although it is not a holy day of obligation.

These are the promises the Sacred Heart of Jesus made to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
2. I will give peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.
5. I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in my heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.
9. I will bless those places wherein the image of my Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.
10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
11. Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my heart.
12. In the excess of the mercy of my heart, I promise you that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the first Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.

This story was originally published by Francesca Fenton on June 19, 2022, and was updated on May 31, 2023 on Catholic News Agency

Novena Prayer to the Sacred Heart

Efficacious Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

I. O my Jesus, you have said: 'Truly I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. ' Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of...... (here name your request) Our Father... . Hail Mary... . Glory Be to the Father... .

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

II. O my Jesus, you have said: 'Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. ' Behold, in your name, I ask the Father for the grace of...... . (here name your request) Our Father... Hail Mary... . Glory Be To the Father... .

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

III. O my Jesus, you have said: 'Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away. ' Encouraged by your infallible words I now ask for the grace of... . . (here name your request) Our Father... . Hail Mary... . Glory Be to the Father...

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of you, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, your tender Mother and ours. 
Say the Hail, Holy Queen and add: St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us. 
-- St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Padre Pio recited this novena every day for all those who requested his prayers.