October 29, 2006
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 29, 2006
On reading today’s Gospel’ we need to consider the existence of someone like Bartimaeus. Being blind in Jesus’ time was, to say the least, very difficult. Along with other infirmities, blindness was often viewed as a punishment from God for sinfulness. This could be for personal offences, or maybe even for the transgressions of one’s parents. A blind man would have been unable to work, and very likely would have been rejected by his family and the community. As in the case of Bartimaeus, he would have been reduced to begging, relying on the charity of passing strangers. Can any of us truly understand the humiliation, the depression, and the desperation of being in that situation?
But Bartimaeus, at this moment, does not give in to despair. He hears that Jesus is coming. His hearing not only constitutes a recognition of the words telling him what is happening, that this man called Jesus is coming, but also on some level is an understanding of the power of Jesus. Although he is blind, he can see with his heart that Jesus is more than just another man. When he cries out, it is not simply a matter of trying to get Jesus’ attention. But that he does, and Jesus responds to him. At that point, those who had earlier scolded him to be silent seem to have had a change of attitude, and now they encourage him to go to Jesus. Notice that Jesus does not go to Bartimaeus, but calls him. Bartimaeus has to make the effort – which was probably not insignificant for a blind man in a crowd – to come to Jesus. When Jesus asks him “What do you want me to do for you?”, we hear the same question posed to James and John in the Gospel last week. Jesus could not grant the request of the two apostles; they were selfishly seeking more power, or at least more glory. In contrast, Bartimaeus does not demand a cure, but initially says “Son of David, have mercy on me”. This is certainly in the self-interest of Bartimaeus, but he understands the nature of his condition. He does not want to be great; he simply wants to see. Jesus cures him saying “your faith has made you well.” Some translations give this as “your faith has made you whole”. Bartimaeus was restored to wholeness because he had faith, because he believed. But we need to also recognize that he did not cure himself through his faith, but God cured him in response to his faith.
The cure of Bartimaeus was the visible sign of God’s response to his faith. And sometimes, we need to be visible signs of God’s response to the needs of others, even if their faith is not immediately apparent to us.
God embraces, and wants us to embrace, those who have been broken by life’s tragedies. This could be a friend stricken by cancer, a neighbour suddenly unemployed, or the homeless person on the street in Ottawa. As a blind beggar, Bartimaeus was among the marginalised of his day. Like others we hear of in the Gospels, Jesus did not hesitate to interact with him, and to intervene to improve his life. As Catholics, as Christians, we are all called to show God’s love, to be God’s love,
to those who may not enjoy the same level of material blessings that we do. In his encyclical “God is Love”, Pope Benedict reminds us that “For the church, charity is not a kind of welfare activity which could equally well be left to others, but it is part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being.” We cannot be blind to the needs of those around us. We must allow God to restore our sight, so that we can recognize and help to address the issues facing the marginalised in our society. When we are dismissed at the end of Mass to “Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord”, it means just that. We are to go out to serve. Our celebration of the Eucharist extends outside the doors of the church and into the community, for we are disciples all week long, and everywhere we go. Even my own ministry to prisoners, and the various ministries that Father Tim is involved in, are connected to the liturgy, and connected to all of you through the liturgy. Our appeal today for our Parish Emergency Assistance Fund is one of the many ways that you can answer the call that all the lay faithful have to serve their neighbours. We must remember, however, that there are those who need our help that are not as visible as the homeless or the poor. Many do not cry out as Bartimaeus did. But if our eyes, and our hearts, are open, we may see an opportunity to be Christ’s presence to someone whose need was not apparent to us before. Let us ask God for the grace to recognize those opportunities, and to act on them with faith, love, and generosity.
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October 22, 2006
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Twenty-ninth Sunday, Year B, Oct 22, 2006
This story is told by Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston about a family he knew:“one of the daughters was very ashamed of her mother’s appearance because her mother’s hands were quite disfigured. The daughter would not invite her little friends over to play unless her mother was going to be away or she could convince her mother to wear gloves to conceal her hands. In public, the girl insisted that her mother wear gloves when they went out together.
Many years passed and the little girl grew up. Her mother grew old and died. At the wake the daughter arrived early, carrying in her pocketbook a pair of gloves to put on her mother’s body. But her dad stopped her and said, ‘You know, there’s something you really need to know. When you were just a baby, we had a terrible fire in our home. The nursery was in flames. Your mom went in and put the flames out with her hands, and her hands were terribly burned. That was why they were so scarred and disfigured. But she never wanted you to know because she didn’t want you to feel guilty or in any way responsible for what had happened to her.” (Columbia/October 2006, p. 11).
How sad that throughout her mother’s life, the daughter never realized that these very wounds on her hands, of which she was ashamed, were the greatest proof of her mother’s love for her. How very sad for Christians to go through life without ever realizing the meaning of the wounds of Christ. In the First Reading we heard: “The servant of the Lord has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted” (Is 53:4). The servant of the Lord suffered and died for us. The wounds on Christ’s hands, feet and side are the greatest proof of his love for us. How very sad for Christians to go through life without appreciating the personal love of Christ, the Suffering Servant, the Son of Man, who “came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10: 45)
In the new Compendium of the Catechism, we read in question #117 “Who is responsible for the death of Jesus?” Is it the Jews? What does the Church teach? . . . I quote: “every single sinner, that is, every human being is really the cause and the instrument of the sufferings of the Redeemer; and the greater blame in this respect falls on those above all who are Christians and who the more often fall into sin or delight in their vices.”
The wounds on the hands and feet and side of Jesus are caused by me and you, by my sins and your sins. But these are wounds that should inspire love not guilt. Remember the mother in the story? She didn’t want the daughter to know the cause of her scarred hands so her daughter would not feel guilty. But if the daughter had known, would she not have appreciated her mother’s love all the more?
Well, Christ wants us to know the cause of his wounds – my sins and your sins – so that the following truth will be branded and burned into our hearts – how much he loves us. We must continually personalize, internalize and actualize our Christian faith. If we only say “Christ died for humanity,” – that’s too impersonal and abstract. It is one of the lamentable paradox of our modern times of extreme individualism – how few individuals actually feel personally loved by God. But remember that St. Paul said? “Christ loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). Every Christian can say the same thing: “Christ loved me and suffered and died for me.”
Each one of you, look at the Stations of the Cross, look at the Crucifix, read the Passion in the Gospels, and say it again and again and again until you really believe it: “Christ suffered for me; Christ loved me and gave himself for me.” Until you believe it, Christianity for you will remain a fairy-tale without any effect in your life or any power to help you.
It is also very sad when Christians waste our miseries and afflictions, and go through an entire lifetime never realizing that Christ is communicating with us through our sufferings. In our scientifically and technologically advanced culture, we have satellite dishes pointed to the heavens, in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, scanning the stars listening for possible radio wave communications from aliens. But when Christ speaks to us through the beats of our own heart – sometimes agonizing beats — we’re deaf! The television is on and the radio is playing and we can’t hear; we’re so exhausted with over-work and so numb from our mindless entertainments and distractions that we don’t feel what’s going on in our own hearts..
As a child, did anyone ever tease you, exclude you from games, not share with you, push you, call you names, hurt you in any way? The same things happened to Jesus. If it happens to you, then you will understand that Jesus is speaking to you, letting you feel in your heart the kind of things he suffered for love of you!
Has a husband or wife ever felt a bit neglected, unappreciated or at times unloved by his or her spouse? Has anyone’s heart ever been broken in a romantic relationship? Christ is speaking to you! The Bridegroom of the Church knows exactly how you feel, because his heart was crowned with thorns of mockery and ingratitude, and he is saying to you: “My daughter, my son, now you know something of how my heart suffered for love of you.”
Are you burdened by the aches and pains of illness or old age? Then Christ is speaking to you, saying, “My friend, I have given you this sliver from my Cross, so that you will appreciate the weight of the burden I carried for love of you.”
In today’s Gospel, Jesus invites James and John to share in his sufferings: “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able” (Mk 10: 38-39).
What about you? Are you willing to share in the sufferings of Christ? If you are, you will discover a miracle of transforming joy, as Christ says to you, “Look at my scarred hands, my wounded side, and let it sink into your heart and know once and for all how much I love you.”
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October 15, 2006
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Twenty-Eighth Sunday, Year B, October 15th, 2006
First, sex, now money! The two most unpopular topics for homilies in the Catholic Church – that’s what Jesus has been talking about in the Gospel – last week, sex (marriage and divorce) and this week, money – Woe to you rich people! “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” From the global perspective, that means that for most of us here, it is going to be extremely difficult to get into heaven. Shouldn’t that concern us just a little bit?
Jesus’ teaching on wealth and poverty is one of the most important themes of the New Testament that is almost completely ignored in contemporary North American society. But how can we ignore the words of the one who said that a person cannot serve two masters; we must choose – God or money ((Mt 6:24)? And He also said that God’s word is smothered and choked in us by wealth (Lk 8:14). And He also said that the poor, not the rich, are blessed (Lk 6:20).
St. Paul added that “those who want to be rich are falling into a temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction . . . some people (in their love for money) have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains” (1 Tim 6:9-10). The words of Holy Scripture actually teach the spiritual misery of wealth and the freedom and attractiveness of poverty.
I was planning to tell you something shocking that happened during our mission trip to El Salvador. I was going to build up to it and be very dramatic, but due to time constraints I have to get right to the point. I was going to confess to you that in El Salvador . . . I met the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life, and I fell in love with her! We met her at the hospital for malnourished children. But we also met her at the soup kitchen for homeless seniors. And St. Francis of Assisi fell in love with her in the 13th century, and told his friends about it, that he was going to be a knight in the service of this great Lady . . . and what is her name? . . . Lady Poverty.
St. Francis had discovered a great secret known by Jesus and his apostles, but forgotten in every age including our own – the mysterious attractiveness of poverty – that’s why he gave her a title – Lady Poverty. Most people in our times are terrified of poverty, as if she is an ugly old hag who kills everything she touches. But there are places in our world where we can see the beauty of Lady Poverty: from the slums of Calcutta to the plains of Kenya to the cantones of El Salvador; from the fishing villages of Newfoundland to St. Jacob’s Ontario(the Mennonites?) to Madonna House in Combermere, to some humble homes in Ottawa. Those who visit any of these poor places say the same thing – they are astounded by how happy the people are. They are poor, but if their basic needs are being met, they are happy – much happier than we are! How is that possible? The two months I spent in El Salvador in 2001 were two of the poorest and happiest months of my life. That doesn’t make sense, because we all know, from the media and advertising, from TV and newspapers, from our unconscious assumptions to our daily conversations – we all know that you have to be rich to be happy . . . Right?
Every time I go to El Salvador I want to bottle the atmosphere, to smuggle in their secret– the happiness of the poor who have faith – and bring it back to Canada. But I can’t put it in my suitcase next to the locally grown coffee, because it’s intangible. It’s the closeness to God that comes from poverty, the happiness of those who are not afraid to be human, and in our relationship with God to be poor, naked, weak, vulnerable, needy, dependent – and to discover the joy of being safe and loved and embraced just as we are.
The secret of poverty teaches us that you don’t have to try so hard to impress others; you don’t have to worry so much and fight so hard to be “successful.” You can lower your shield and drop your sword. You are loved just the way you are, for who you are, created in God’s image. Knowing this in one’s heart is one of the great blessings of being poor. But the secret of the beauty of Lady Poverty, and the happiness of the poor, is hidden from “the rulers of this age” and from most people in our society, as it was from the rich man in the Gospel, who “went away grieving (he was sad!), for he had many possessions” (Mk 10: 22). Woe to the rich who are so unhappy, for it is so very very difficult for us to trust in God and to enter the kingdom of God.
Jesus had a very specific invitation to the rich man in today’s Gospel: “Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me” (Mk 10: ). Jesus calls only a few people to absolute, total material poverty. But all of the disciples of Jesus are called to some sort of poverty, otherwise we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. I think it’s safe to say that Jesus is calling all of us here to simplify our lives and share more with others –not out of guilt, but out of love and gratitude. If you notice, in the Gospel, Jesus looked at the rich man and loved him. We are called to share more with others in response to God’s love for us.
I thank all of you who have been so generous in sharing with the poor by donating food and clothing and other stuff to be sent to El Salvador through Canadian Food for Children. We don’t want to over-burden anyone; that’s why we did not ask for any money. We’re asking you to save your money for a rainy day . . . October 29th, for the Emergency Assistance Fundraising Concert! (There’s information in the bulletin and we’ll hear more about it next week).
Each one of us has a personal call to a different level and kind of poverty, but all of us are called to simplicity of life and sharing more with others. I know I have a long way to go before I am poor like Jesus Christ and the apostles, and people like St. Francis of Assisi or Catherine Doherty of Madonna House or Dr. Simone of Canadian Food for Children. But in all honesty, my life is much simpler now than it was six years ago, and I am much happier. And when I think about my future, I don’t daydream about an early retirement with lots of cash so I can be like the rich fool in the Gospel of Luke who said to his soul, “rest, eat, drink, be merry!” and who died that night (Lk 12:16-21). What actually excites me and what I look forward to is growing in poverty, so that I can grow closer to God, and have more peace and joy.
Let us journey together on this epic quest, this great pilgrimage and adventure to discover the attractiveness of Lady Poverty, the happiness of a simple life, and the blessedness of the poor, so that we can join with our poor brothers and sisters throughout the world, and with songs of joy and shouts of victory, march arm in arm into the kingdom of heaven!
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October 8, 2006
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Twenty-seventh Sunday, Year B, October 8, 2006
At the high school last week, we had three Thanksgiving Masses, and I mentioned that Thanksgiving dinner with family can be a reminder of paradise and a foretaste of heaven. But then the question is: “what if your in-laws are from hell? and someone asked me, “what about broken marriages and dysfunctional families?”
Yes, I know all about that. But even in the midst of family problems we can still choose to be positive and be thankful to God. I still enjoy getting together with my mixed up family. And everything is fine as long as the priest doesn’t preach or mention marriage. It is no secret that my father lives with his common-law wife of 13 years, my brother with his girlfriend and my sister with her boyfriend – so they’re a little bit sensitive about Church teaching on marriage. The only religious thing the priest is allowed to say at family gatherings is. . . “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Bless us O Lord and these thy gifts we are about to receive . . . “
I mention my own family so people will know that I am not here to judge anyone who is divorced and re-married, or living together without being married in the Church. At the same time, I must preach the fullness of the Gospel as taught by Jesus Christ.
Everyone is well aware that marriage is in crisis in our society. Not only do many marriages fail, and many young people choose not to get married at all, but we also live in a time of such idolatry of freedom and personal pleasure that we as a nation, in the words of Benedict XVI, have had “to endure the folly of the redefinition of spouse” (Ad limina to Ontario bishops, September 2006).
At the same time, however, we in the Church must also give thanks to God for the many beautiful Christian marriages and families that enrich the Church and society. If we Catholics want to be a light to the world, an example to others, a sign of hope, an oasis of civilization in these barbarous times (like the monasteries were in the “Dark Ages”) then we must begin with ourselves. If we want to help restore marriage and family in our times, then we must commit ourselves as Catholics to live marriage as Jesus teaches us in the Bible and through the Church.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says something very clear and very unpopular: “whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery.” I do not say these words to make people feel judged and rejected by the Church. I say it because it is the teaching of Jesus Christ.
One of the most difficult things I do as a priest is to meet with couples who want their children baptized – couples who are divorced and re-married, married outside the Church or not married at all. And in the kindest and gentlest way possible I try to explain to them the teaching of Jesus Christ and the Church on marriage, including the teaching that they must refrain from receiving Holy Communion until their marriage is “blessed” or convalidated in the Church. I will do my best to explain this teaching, not because it directly applies to many people here. But so that you as Catholics will better understand Church teaching and be able to communicate it to others.
The Church is sensitive to the sufferings of those whose marital situation does not permit them to receive Communion. In 1994, our Pope as Cardinal Ratzinger wrote that this teaching is not “a matter of discrimination but only of absolute fidelity to the will of Christ who has restored and entrusted to us anew the indissolubility of marriage as a gift of the Creator” (Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church Concerning the Reception of Holy Communion by the Divorced and Remarried Members of the Faithful, #10). He adds that “it will be necessary for pastors and the community to suffer and to love in solidarity with the persons concerned” (#10). How true!
I don’t have much time to fully explain this teaching in a short homily (you can read more of this document on our website under “latest”). It is very hard to explain because in our individualistic culture we have lost a sense of marriage as a sacrament of the Church and a public reality.
By way of analogy, consider the sacrament of Holy Orders: I cannot lay hands on my head and ordain myself a priest, nor can I declare myself free to marry because I want to leave the priesthood, because priesthood is a sacrament of the Church and a public reality. I must respect the authority of the Church to regulate the sacraments. I understand that some people in disastrous marriages know in conscience that there never was a true marriage. Nonetheless, marriage is a sacrament of the Church and a public reality, so the divorced and remarried must respect the authority of the Church to regulate this sacrament as well. And these people may receive Communion again once they have obtained an annulment and have had their marriage “blessed” or convalidated in the Church.
Our Pope as Cardinal Ratzinger made another point: “The sacrament of our union with Christ is also the sacrament of the unity of the Church (#9). You cannot separate them.
Imagine the vertical and horizontal dimensions of our relationship with God. The sacrament of our union with Christ is the vertical dimension. The sacrament of the unity of the Church is the horizontal dimension. Ratzinger (Pope Benedict) is saying that if we are not in communion with the Church (horizontal) and living according to her teachings (especially if our state of life objectively contradicts Church teaching) then we cannot receive the sacrament of our union with Christ (vertical). Admittedly, this teaching is not easy to explain to modern ears.
Finally, there is a strong pastoral reason why the divorced and remarried must refrain from receiving Communion. As John Paul II put it in his Apostolic Exhortation The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World: “if these people were admitted to the Eucharist, the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding the Church’s teaching about the indissolubility of marriage” (#84) – if the divorced and remarried were permitted to receive Communion without going through an annulment and a convalidation, it might create the impression that life-long marriage isn’t that important after all.
Both John Paul II and our current Pope have made it very clear that we want these people to share in the life of the Church. Holy Communion is not the only reason we come to Church. If it were, we would tell all those children under 7 years old, “Get outta here!” and all the members of the RCIA who are preparing to become Catholic, “Get outta here!” All of us must be aware of the other ways of participating in the life of the Church through: 1)“sharing in the sacrifice of Christ in the Mass, 2) spiritual communion, 3) prayer, 4) meditation on the Word of God, and 5) works of charity and justice” (#6).
I know my family is not the only one that is complicated. The breakdown of marriage in our times affects everyone. We must be merciful to all those who suffer as a result – pray for them, reach out to them and be willing to suffer with them – while at the same time being faithful to the teaching of Jesus Christ and the Church on the indissolubility of marriage. There are resource we can share with extended family and friends who may need more information on annulments (such as this pamphlet on the pamphlet rack) or this one on the convalidation of marriages. Many people in our parish have already experienced the joy of having their marriage blessed in the Church, and I know that there are many more awaiting the same joy. As pastor, I will do whatever I can to help. As a community, let us pray for those in any kind of marital difficulty and be willing to suffer in love for each other, since we are all members of one family in the Church. A Happy Thanksgiving to all.
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October 1, 2006
Posted in Homilies
at 9:00 am
Twenty-sixth Sunday, Year B, October 1st, 2006
It was July 18, 1830. A 24 year old nun (novice) named Sister Catherine Laboure was sound asleep at the Motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity in Paris. Suddenly she was woken up by someone calling her name. She looked up and saw standing a few feet away “a little boy about five years old – blue-eyed, golden-haired – dressed in shining white garments” (her guardian angel) (The Miraculous Medal by Mary Fabyan Windeatt, p. 2) who said to her, “Come to the chapel. The Blessed Virgin is waiting for you.”
Her guardian angel led her to the chapel. All the lights were on but it was empty. Then she heard the rustling of silk and “her eyes grew wide with wonder. Coming down gracefully toward the armchair was the most beautiful lady she had ever seen … (wearing) a yellowish-white dress and a blue veil.” She sat down in the priest’s chair. Then Sister Catherine ran up, knelt before the chair and put her hands on the Blessed Virgin’s knees! And for two hours she talked with Mary, who was as real as you and I are today.
I don’t have time to relate their whole conversation, but Mary did say that God was going to give Sister Catherine a mission, and she added, “there will be bad times to come . . . the whole world will be turned upside down by misfortunes of all kinds . . . do not fear . . . In all your troubles, come to the foot of the altar (in those days the altars also included the Tabernacle; in telling Catherine to come to the altar, Mary is saying “come to Jesus!”) (Catherine Laboure by Rene Laurentin, p. 42).
A few months later, on November 27th, Catherine received her mission from God. While at prayer in the chapel, she saw the vision of the Miraculous Medal and heard a voice say, ‘A medal must be on this model, and those who wear it after it has been blessed, and who say this short prayer (“Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee”) will receive many graces and will enjoy the special protection of the Mother of God’ (Laurentin, p. 47)
I am sharing this story with you because October is a Marian month, so I wanted to say a few words about the Rosary and the Miraculous Medal (the medal as a means of grace to grow in holiness and the Rosary as a powerful weapon in spiritual warfare). First, let’s take a closer look at the Medal as depicted on our banner (the front of the medal) and this painting (the back of the medal).
The Miraculous Medal has been called a “Bible for the poor” (“a miniature icon . . . a richly concentrated catechesis” (Laurentin, p. 204)). It has also been said that “the essential is on the reverse side, the hidden side” (Laurentin 204). You see here (at the top) the Cross – the sign of our salvation: that’s how Jesus saved us, by dying for us on the Cross (Note: if we wear a Miraculous Medal, we are also wearing a Cross).
Q for children: What is this at the foot of the Cross? (Letter “M”) and what does it mean? (Mary stood at the foot of the Cross). The “M” is interwoven with the Cross, to show us that Mary and Jesus are inseparable; she also suffered for us and prays for our salvation. And what are these two hearts at the bottom? (Jesus and Mary) and which is which? (Sacred Heart of Jesus crowned with thorns; Immaculate Heart of Mary pierced with a sword). These hearts on fire with love are signs of how much God loves us.
The front of the medal shows how the love and grace of God spreads throughout the world. Mary is “full of grace;” she obtains for us graces from God, symbolized by the light coming from her hands. Jesus not only came into the world through Mary once; He continues to come to us through Mary in the form of grace. And remember what Sister Catherine was told about the medal? “Those who wear the medal after it has been blessed, and who say this short prayer (“Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee”) will receive many graces and will enjoy the special protection of the Mother of God.”
From today’s Scripture: “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets!” It is God’s will that all His people be prophets and saints. God will not deny the grace to be a saint to those who fervently and persistently ask for it. Those who ask receive! This is one of the most urgent messages of the Miraculous Medal: “Ask! Ask! Ask!” Ask for grace from God through Mary. If we want to be holy and happy we should take advantage of every means given us by God. One of those is devotion to Mary through the Miraculous Medal and the Rosary.
A few words about the Rosary in spiritual warfare. We heard in the Gospel about someone casting out demons in the name of Jesus. And we see on the front of the medal the demon, the serpent, Satan being crushed under Mary’s feet. It has been said that the mere sight of a Rosary frightens the demons, but not a Rosary that hangs from a car rearview mirror as a superstitious good luck charm. The only Rosary that is useful in frightening demons and giving peace to our homes is the Rosary that people actually use for prayer.
On October 7th, the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. On this date in 1571, the Christian fleet won a miraculous naval battle over the Muslims in Lepanto, Greece. The Muslims at the time were a serious threat to Christian Europe. Pope Pius V ordered prayers for the success of the Christian fleet, especially the Rosary, and each man in the battle had been given a Rosary. During the battle, the wind miraculously shifted in favour of the Christians, and they won a stunning victory.
The prayers of the Rosary can also help us with many of our spiritual battles within ourselves. In today’s Gospel, Jesus counsels us to cut off our hand or foot, or tear out our eye, if any of them are leading us to sin and hell. If our eye is leading us into lust, if our hand is greedy and grasping, leading us to take more than we need while others go without, if our feet are not spending enough time at home or doing our duty, but leading us into idle pursuits or bad friendships – one way we can “cut off” the inclination to sin is to turn to God, to ask for help from the Mother of God, to wear a Miraculous Medal in faith, to pray the Rosary.
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