During this season of Lent, it is always good for us to have the big picture in mind, and
in order to understand the big picture and the mystery of the season of Lent, we must
understand what is transpiring in today's gospel.
For our Lord we know came to preach, and to preach the truth, and that preaching of the
truth would arouse the envy of the Pharisees and the scribes, who were denouncing him as
a revolutionary to King Herod.
And so, we too in this day and age see that Christ in our very age is being denounced
to the leaders as a revolutionary.
Someone who is opposed, opposed as it were, to something that is a good, and it is something
that we must understand if we are to understand.
For indeed, envy is a very dangerous enemy of the spiritual life, and it was the envy
of the Pharisees and scribes that would ultimately culminate in the death of Jesus Christ on
the cross.
And so, in today's gospel, we learn that this is the time of fulfillment.
And so, what is it, this time of fulfillment?
It is none other than the advent of the Messiah and the kingdom of heaven in human life.
And so, we must understand what this mystery of the kingdom of God and the presence of
the Messiah means for humanity, and means for our time, and will mean for all times
to come until he comes to judge the living and the dead.
What had been foreshadowed by signs and wonders in the Old Testament.
The covenant, that which was shut to man for thousands of years, for generations, was
by the preaching death and grace of Christ open and unclosed by him.
And so, in today's first reading, we read of the time of the flood and the promise that
God would no longer, as it were, crush the sin of humanity by a flood, but rather, he
would crush sin by the flood of his grace in our time.
And so, our Lord instructs us, and indeed, the very first words of his public ministry
are to repent, that we may detest our sins we have committed and to be determined to
amend our lives for the better.
St. Jerome says of this mystery of repentance that he who desires the joy of a holy conscience
swallows down the bitterness of penance.
But we must always and everywhere understand penance in light of the big picture, in light
of the mission of Christ and his most holy mother, or we will fall into the greatest deception
of our modern era. And that deception is rampant in our time and in our age. It has wormed its way
into every aspect of human life, and indeed, even into that institute in which it has no place.
It has wormed itself into the very mystical body of Christ. And so, if we are to understand what
is the two penance of Lent, then we must understand what is the error and what is at stake.
The deception of our modern era is that it cleverly prescinds from the direct issue at stake.
It does not, as it were, address the direct question, religion or no religion. It tries
to prescind from it, and it tries to do so by an old trick, a demonic device,
of opposing Christianity in the name of Christianity itself. And this is rampant in our time,
and it is rampant in our age, and it has one purpose and one purpose only, to seduce and to
lead the masses of people from the love and fidelity that all human hearts should strive for
and all human hearts should seek, by substituting a real and positive good in her place, a good,
that the church herself approves of, and indeed, even consecrates. And we must understand what
this good is, that is opposed to Christianity in the name of Christianity. And indeed, the church
is the defender and the representative of the supernatural, that is, she and she alone manifest
the divine on the earth. Who would oppose her, who would oppose her, cannot, as it were,
oppose her with anything divine, for it is only entrusted to the church to be the safeguard
of the divine, only within Holy Mother Church. And by Holy Mother Church, we specifically mean
the Holy Roman Catholic Church. She and she alone is the possessor of the divine order, and she
and she alone has been entrusted to dispense that order till the end of time. Outside of her,
there is no God. There is no God. There is no God. There is no God. There is no God. There is no God.
There is no God. There is no God. There is no God. There is no God. There is no divine order, and we must be
thoroughly and totally convinced of that. For who, as it were, would oppose her, cannot oppose her
with anything divine. It must oppose her with something else. And so, we see that the world
opposes Holy Mother Church with that which the church herself blesses. For she cannot be opposed
with anything that is divine. And so, we see that the world opposes Holy Mother Church with that
not divine and so a positive must be opposed to her and there is only one positive that can be
imposed that can be opposed to the divine order that is man himself or is what is commonly called
in our day and age simply the human the enemies of christ and hence authentic christianity must
oppose christ and christianity either with man or with nothing and since it is foolish to think
that man can be a late late astray with nothing then christ must be opposed with man himself
because hatred is a permanent principle of reaction against christ that is unnatural
that is unnatural and always short-lived and so the bulk of humanity
naturally
not being of a malicious spirit or of a malicious disposition cannot be inspired by the principle
of hate they must be inspired by a counter good a good that is a good enough as it were to inspire
them because the human heart in and of itself seeks and needs something positive to love
and to die for and so in our modern age in our modern spirit man is opposed to christ
and indeed the divine order of the divine order of christ cannot be forced upon man
we see the very clever deception. For in opposing man in and of himself to Christ, man is being
imposed to the God-man, that is, the one who truly manifests to us human life. And so we see, as it
were, this take its mode in many ways. We must submit to the supremacy of the state above the
supremacy of the church, or we must submit to the supremacy of human feelings and emotions rather than
to the doctrine of Christ. And so everything must be guided and driven by the merely human. And what
ultimately is the practical ramifications of such a system? We can see it most clearly in the homes
of modern man, where children have become the manipulators of their parents and the tyrannical
rulers of the home.
And hence, the tyrannical rulers of the world. Why? Because the world is driven by irresponsibility and the
pursuit of pleasures. And so if we are to enter into the spirit of penance, we must understand that its purpose is
a reformation of the whole human family, but not any reformation. Reformation in Christ, that is, to transform
all human families into that whole human family.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. And without that, then we fall to the subtle trap. And what is the subtle trap that we are fallen into? And indeed, we even seem sometimes to grow during the season of Lent. That is the trap of mourning over our sins.
And before we rebel, let us understand what is meant.
By one of the great churchmans who pointed out this error.
Mourning over our sins takes precedence over the suffering which our Lord and Savior underwent on account of them.
And that is a very, very subtle difference, but an essential difference.
What happens when we are mourning over our sins? We fall into the trap of modern man. We compare our fasting with the fasting of others.
We count what this one is.
How much does this one do? What does that one do?
Always and everywhere comparing and contrasting our experience to someone else's experience
and judging them always according to that icon that we have set up as the icon of true humanity,
ourselves, not Christ.
And that is why during the season of Lent,
the primary penance and the most difficult penance the human soul can endure
is, as it were, reflection on Christ and His sufferings
so that we mourn our sins because of what they did to our Savior,
not because what they do to us, but what they did to the God-man
who loved us so much that His Father would send Him to the world
and not save us.
And not spare Him even death, the tragic death on the cross.
God is the only begotten Son of the Father
and He put aside His glory to submit to being despised,
to be cruelly treated and to put to death by those whom He had made.
And that is the greatest penance we can begin to endure during this season of Lent
so that we no longer, as it were, judge according to our own experience
according to our own feelings, according to our own emotions,
according to our own understanding of the spiritual life.
And we see that always.
What did you give up for Lent?
I don't know, what did you give up?
Comparing and contrasting.
If we are truly penitential during the season of Lent,
we would have one answer at our lips when we are asked that question.
None of your business.
None of your business.
Because we will truly be despised.
We will be doing all things for Christ.
And so, we must understand this if we are to try to acquire
that which is absolutely necessary in the Christian life.
Meditation.
And indeed, we often complicate meditation.
We often make it something that it is not.
Meditation is a simple thing for the human soul.
Indeed, it almost seems to be natural to us.
For men,
always are meditating.
Meditating on how to do this,
on how to do that.
But unfortunately,
that meditation is generally and always corrupted.
And hence,
it does not build the kingdom of man,
but it builds the kingdom of Satan.
And it makes us the pamperers and destructors of our children.
Because we do not hold them up to the ideas of Christ.
We are always worrying,
about feelings and emotions.
Not worrying about formation,
transformation into Christ.
We are not allowing our children to take the ordinary risk that is necessary
for their development as human souls.
And so, we send off men, whom we think are men,
to be fathers of families,
who are always and everywhere,
remaining boys, adolescents,
trying to enjoy the pleasures of this life.
Not entering into the experience,
of Christ's suffering,
because we do not meditate upon them.
And so, meditation is simply,
the thinking habitually and constantly of Him,
that is, our Savior,
and His deeds,
and His sufferings.
Having Him before our minds,
as the one we contemplate,
the one we worship,
the one we speak to,
when we rise and when we lay down,
when we eat and when we drink,
when we are at home,
when we are at home,
when we are at home or abroad,
when we work or when we walk,
or when we run or when we rest,
or when we are alone,
or in the presence of others.
Always Christ.
And if we can acquire this spirit of meditation,
then sin disappears,
because our actions will always,
we will try to always, as it were,
have them in conformity to the actions of Christ,
who tells us very clearly,
what is the essence of His life.
I did not come to crush the sinner,
but that he may have salvation.
And when we get involved in this back and forth,
wondering,
this one more spiritual than I am,
is that one more spiritual than I am?
We destroy the work of Christ,
and hence, we destroy the human family.
And so, in this month that begins today,
the month of March,
let us dedicate it to truly acquiring
those dispositions of Saint Joseph,
the head of the Holy Family,
who always and everywhere,
constantly reflected upon Him,
whom He knew was to come,
and in His humility,
sought to bow out of the mystery,
when He saw it transpiring.
To which He was reminded by an angel,
that God had foretold of Him also,
who was to be the head of the Holy Family,
and so He was always thinking of Christ,
and that is why He was able to defend Christ
and the Blessed Virgin Mary,
because He was always thinking of them,
and He discerned
that it was not time for Herod
to lay hands on the sacrifice,
and so,
He outfoxed the fox,
or as our Lord properly described Him,
as the vixen,
to indicate all the vices,
that His mentality
was perpetrating on human society,
all the vices,
that as the leader of the nation,
He was transforming the children of His nation,
to follow and to practice.
Our life is a life of suffering,
not our sufferings,
but the sufferings of Christ,
and in so far,
and as in deep He has called us into those sufferings,
then we are true lovers of the Saviour,
but it is not for us to determine
to what depth and to what level
Christ has called us,
as individual members of His body,
into His suffering.
That is the realm of the supernatural,
that is the realm of Christ and His Most Holy Mother,
it is not for us to judge and to discern,
for often we judge and discern,
not according to what is really transpiring in the soul,
but according to what we believe,
should be transpiring in the souls of others,
not what Christ and His Mother believes,
but what we believe.
And so,
we are constantly disunifying the human family,
because we never,
like Saint Joseph,
reflect upon the real mystery of our salvation,
the mystery in which the God-man took upon humanity,
to show us the height that grace can transpire upon us.
So,
we are constantly disunifying the human family,
because we never,
like Saint Joseph,
can transform us to,
and what we are truly to aspire,
that mystery,
that was always before the mind,
in the heart of Saint Joseph.
And so,
he would carry out,
to the highest order,
that mission entrusted to him,
the protection of the life of Christ,
and of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
in the soul of the believer.
That is why,
Saint Joseph,
and the Church,
because he knew,
there is no life in the human soul,
unless it is a life,
that strives and seeks the sufferings,
not of themselves,
but insofar as those sufferings can be united,
to the sufferings of Christ.
And every time,
we try to compare,
what did you give up for Lent?
I don't know,
what did you give up?
We diminish,
the sufferings of Christ,
and we communicate to our children,
to pursue the pleasures of this world.
Not the pleasure they were created to enjoy,
the vision of God for all eternity,
but the perversion of our modern world,
and the destruction of their souls.
And that is the big picture.
And that is why it is necessary,
absolutely for us,
to not focus so much on what we give up,
but what we have lost,
and to try to gain it back.
For we all know,
that we fall into these faults,
failings and sins,
as Scripture says,
seven times a day.
We all know it.
But yet,
we are always trying to transfer it to each other.
We judge the reactions of others,
to our actions,
as the cause of our action.
Always seeking,
through envy,
to diminish the life of Christ in the world.
That is what,
the Pharisees and scribes did.
Oh,
He came to put me out of business.
And every human being,
whether they have the highest,
responsibility in their land,
or the lowest,
is always seeking to exalt himself,
over other human beings.
And yet,
the Church teaches us very clearly,
that there is only one thought,
that can unify the human family,
and that is,
the thought of Christ.
That He must be in our minds and in our hearts,
and if He is not,
then we are striving after windmills,
and phantoms,
because we cannot gain,
what the human family was called to acquire,
that is,
the Christ.
And so,
in the name of a good,
humanity,
man,
we have lost,
the real good,
the God-man.
And so,
we must try,
especially during this season of Lent,
by trying to always,
and it is difficult,
there isn't one saint,
or doctor and father of the Church,
who has a sentimental view,
of the spiritual life.
Indeed,
St. Alphonsus de Liguori says,
flat out,
that if a soul tells you,
it's always in rapture,
when it enters into prayer,
or into the Christian life,
there is something wrong with that soul.
He talks about the boredom,
of the spiritual life,
which we know to be,
an effect of original sin.
And he said,
God does not judge us,
by that.
He judges us,
by whether we give to Him,
what we have promised to give to Him.
He doesn't judge it,
based on our feelings and emotions.
He won't judge one parent,
on whether their children always felt good.
He will judge them,
on whether those children were raised,
as citizens for heaven.
Period.
He doesn't want to see,
all the lessons,
in music,
only in so far,
as they sanctified,
a gift,
that He had given the child.
He doesn't want to see,
all the activities,
that the child was involved in,
except,
if they were part,
of his Christian formation.
He wants to see,
that child in heaven.
And no child,
can enter into heaven,
unless that child,
learns from those responsible,
that is every one of the adults present,
in this church,
and in the world.
Only,
if they learn from them,
the value of suffering,
and the detriment of pampering,
will that child,
have an opportunity for heaven,
and the parent.
Period.
And without that driving us,
then we are all,
on the way to destruction.
And we are quite literally,
on the brink of the precipice.
And we need as it were,
to think,
of the sufferings of Christ.
To truly understand,
that as members of His mystical body,
we are called to the same slaughter,
He underwent.
Because it was the slaughter of love.
And if a child isn't permitted,
to take certain risks,
in their development,
then may God help us,
when they become,
the parents of our children.
Because the violence of today,
will seem,
like joy,
compared to the violence of tomorrow.
Enthusiasm,
is not the way of Christians.
Suffering is.
Christ is.
And it is high time,
the members of the mystical body,
really came,
to understand that.
Because our world,
is collapsing around us,
because Christ love,
is not only not present,
but is being driven out,
every moment.
And it's being done so,
because Christians,
have become pacifists,
in the face of Satan,
who is nothing,
because,
compared to Christ and his mother.
Who cowers,
at the very mention of their name.
And you can add to that,
Joseph.
He cowers.
And we're afraid.
We're afraid,
to mention those names in public.
We're absolutely,
positively afraid,
because,
we have been pampered.
And been taught.
If we don't offend,
we won't be offended.
You cannot be a Christian,
and not expect,
to be offended,
and,
to be offensive.
It doesn't mean,
we deliberately try,
to do so.
But if you're going,
to speak of Christ,
then you're going,
to be opposed.
If you're going,
to speak of his love,
and his sufferings,
you are going,
to be opposed.
What they did to me,
they will do to you.
I am only,
to you.
I am only,
to you.
I am only,
to you.
I am only,
to you.
I am only,
to you.
I am always,
a scandal,
to the worldly thinking.
It's what our Lord told us.
But don't worry about it.
If you love,
your neighbor,
as I love them,
then the worst thing they can do to you,
is take away the life,
of the body.
But don't fear it,
for I have crushed the doors,
of death.
I have absorbed death,
into the divine, and indeed I have made it
the very portal by which you enter into eternal life
if it is a death rooted in Christ.
And so let us truly strive
by always thinking of our Lord and his sufferings
why we are called to suffer
and that our sufferings are not our sufferings.
They are the sufferings of Christ
extended in the mystical body until the end of time.
And when we don't embrace them
we try to usurp to ourselves
what is Christ's suffering.
When we try to escape our sufferings
we try to usurp to ourselves
what is Christ's.
All that is good is his.
And if it is good, it must be given back to him.
And so, if we want
as it were
to diminish the tyrannical rule
of the children who run this present world
let us do it in the manner of the God-man
by suffering for them
even at the point of our deaths
so that we truly can cooperate
in the mission of the child and the mother
to renew the face of this earth
which is in so dire need of renewal.
And no renewal can come
through the exaltation of man
at the expense of the exaltation
of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
Or to be the rec hung from the Lamb.
Thou art a 3-year poses
benedict العجو
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