Regnum Christi

“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Washington hosted a parade last Saturday.  Billed as something positive for women, it was a sophomoric and often crude affair:  profanity, blasphemy, anger, screaming.

Washington will host another parade this Friday.  Billed as pro-life and positive for women and other humans, it will be a happy and joyful affair:  happy young people, positive signs, singing, lots of baby pictures. Continue reading →

My conversion to Christ is ongoing. Our Savior’s Love for us is so hard to put into words. What we know — and, can try to express — is that Christ and the Father and the Holy Spirit made each soul unique and unrepeatable. We are made by God to reflect the immense Love of God for sinful man.  He is patient and kind to sinners, so much so that He expects that we who live in His graces ought to extend the same patience and kindness to others, beginning with our very selves.

Do we really believe in our Redemption? Are we gentle and kind with ourselves so that, in turn, we are gentle and strong toward the souls God places in our paths? These shorter days of winter can give us pause to reflect on the price paid for our salvation and on our own readiness to help save souls. Continue reading →

We hear today how two towns received light. Light for me has been a sign of the presence of God. Christ himself calls himself the light of the world. Light illumines the darkness and allows us to see. It doesn’t change the what’s there but reveals it. At times, we try hide our fears and wounds in the darkness. Christ is the light that takes them out of the darkness. He illumines them, not to shame us, but to be able to see them as He does. Light also gives us security, because we can see what is there. It gives us a sense of understanding. Christ is the one through whom we need to see our reality and then we will understand. His love for us is the light that we have to let shine on us, so that we also can be testimonies of his love for others.

Today is inauguration day.  The United States gets a new President.  This makes 45 new Presidents in our history.

We get a new President every four or eight years – unless something terrible happens.  Thanks be to God, that doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.

A minor miracle is that we are one of the minority of nations in which this change of leadership occurs without a coup, military intervention, dissolving of the legislature or imprisonment of political opponents.

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. — Psalm 9:9

This isn’t to suggest that we are without politicians who have earned prison time.  Even in the land of the free and home of the brave, people enter political service poor and leave a few years later wealthy.

There will be a parade, happy crowds, cheering, inspirational words and lots of parties. There also will be angry protestors, demonstrations and confused news commentators.

Those who like our new President have high expectations:  lower taxes, strong national security, great health care, abundant energy, less intrusive government and a chicken in every pot.

Know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. — Psalm 140:12

Those who hate our new President have low expectations:  the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, millions of illegal immigrants are jailed, global warming floods Malibu Beach, minorities are enslaved and school lunches halted.

Both sides of the expectations equation will prove wrong.  A new President can make a difference, but he can’t turn our nation into the Garden of Eden.  On the flip side, he also can’t turn it into Death Valley.

The Psalms offer some insight, because they remind us that it is God – not wee politicians or we the people – who in the end can solve our problems, comfort our hearts, satisfy our souls.

Let’s take that to prayer today.

“He must grow greater, I must grow less.” (Jn 3: 30)

After making my first Profession of Religious Vows, a very holy priest reminded me, “Remember, Br. Michael, that you are a donkey.  You are carrying Christ in your heart and Christ will always be the protagonist.”  This is so true!  The inspiration to do good comes from Christ, the grace and strength to actually do it comes from Christ, and the positive results come from Christ blessing the effort.  He does ask for our collaboration, and although this is important, we need to always remember who is the protagonist!

I suppose all of us have an obsession of one kind or another; for some it is fishing, for others it is pictures of grandchildren, and for me it is ecclesial documents.  The Congregation of the Clergy released the most up-to-date document on priestly formation this past Dec. 8, 2016.  It is called the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis, or in more user-friendly terminology, The Gift of the Priestly Vocation.    It would be great to give a summary of the entire document but what caught my eye was the fact than an impressive eight numbers were dedicated to minor seminaries.  That is major support for minor seminaries. Continue reading →

Our community WhatsApp chat is made of cork board. Like a digital WhatsApp chat, it keeps us up to date on practical news, like van organization to and from class and daily schedule changes, and it’s also a place to share prayer intentions, motivations, and notes of gratitude. Yes, we really do call it our WhatsApp chat. (In Greenville we had a paper Facebook wall…)

This morning I found this message there:

It says: “Jesus at our age surely went to the sinagogue to learn the Torah… He who was Wisdom! Let us unite ourselves to him, to his hidden life, and love him a lot. Happy return to classes!” Continue reading →

In a few days, Donald Trump will take the oath of office and become the 45^th president of the United States.  Expect parades, demonstrations, parties and protests.

Not everyone in America is on the same page.

To some, this change of administrations marks the end of hope and change.  To others, it is the end of an eight-year nightmare.

In reality, it is a moment in the ongoing history of nation with the highest of ideals that is populated by humans who always fallen well short of perfection. Continue reading →

Isaiah uses the image of light to explain Israel’s call to give witness to the nations of God’s presence. They are no longer servants, but rather witnesses of God’s love, because God was coming to live in them. John the Baptist sets us a marvelous example of witnessing to God’s love. God touched John and left him burning so much that He needed to tell everyone about Him. John tells us very succinctly what his experience is: The Lamb of God who will take away our sins. He saw in Jesus the Son of God who in the sacrificial lamb offers himself for us out of love. John experienced God’s presence and left him burning. He burns with the light of God and shines in the darkness witnessing to God’s love and mercy. He saw, or was able to experience God, because He was waiting for God’s light to shine on him. John wants us to believe. He wants us to be attentive to God’s presence in our lives. John was convinced that God was among us in Jesus, because of His experience of God. Follow the example of John, waiting eagerly for God’s embrace in our lives, so we can reveal God’s love by being his light for others.

“My greatest happiness is to be before the Blessed Sacrament, where my heart is, as it were, in Its center.” — St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Several years ago, as I was coming out of a Parish youth activity in Northern Virginia, a fifteen seater van full of kids pulled up and the mom rolled the window and asked, “Fr. Michael, would you mind just staying here with these kids for 5-10 minutes?  I really need to make a visit to Jesus in the chapel!”  She looked a little frazzled and tired, so I agreed, and tried to do a catechism competition to keep them engaged.  Ten minutes later, she came out with a big smile on her face and thanked me from the heart.  She had filled her spiritual tank and was ready to go!