Thank and pray : reflections on the postcommunions of the Sunday masses and greater feast days


A:D57-30A

THANK
and
PRAY

Reflections on the Postcommunions of the

Sunday Masses and greater Feast Days.

by Pinl idus Kempt, O.S.B.

Price twenty-five cents

a Grail Publication

St. Meinrad, n d i a n a





THANK
anil

PRAY
Reflections on the Postcommunions of the

Sunday Masses and greater Feast Days.

by Placidus Kcmpf, O.S.B.

Price twenty-five cents

a Grail Publication

St. Meinrad, Indiana



Imprimi Potest:

Ignatius Esser, O.S.B.

Abbot of St. Meinrad’s Abbey

Nihil ObstcCt:

Joseph G . Kempf, Ph.D.
Censor librorum

Imprimatur:

^ Paul C. Schulte
Archbishop of Indianapolis

November 7, 1949

These Reflections are reprinted from THE MASS
YEAR for 1951.

Copyright
,
1949

by

St. Meinrad's Abbey
,
Inc.



THE POSTCOMMUNIONS
THANK AND PRAY

After considering some of the meaning hidden

in the Collect (Oration) and the Secret (Prayer)

of the Mass, we now turn to the third prayer,
called from its position after Holy Communion, the

Post-Communion. Like the Collect and Secret, it

also is a prayer of petition, but in it the following

characteristic distinction is to be made. Whilst

in the Collect the theme of the liturgical celebra-

tion exclusively is expressed, and in the Secret the
remembrance of the Sacrifice of the Mass takes
precedence, there is usually a reference made to
the reception of the Holy Eucharist in the Post-

communion. The petition, presented in this last

prayer of the Mass, is conceived, developed, and
expressed in a manifold way. At one time it is

the theme of the day’s celebration of the Sacrifice;

at another, by the Sacrifice itself; again, by par-

ticipation in the Sacrificial Banquet; and, some-

times, by all three motives combined.

Although the prayer of petition differs and must
be distinguished from the prayer of thanksgiving,

yet, the Post-Communion, which is a prayer of

petition, is justly considered a prayer of thanks-

giving after Holy Communion and is designated
as such. By this term, petition and thanksgiving
are not exchanged for one another, but it mere-
ly expresses the fact that the petition, which is

contained in the Post-Communion, serves also to

manifest and confirm the grateful sentiments of
our heart toward God. Our gratitude is displayed
in this, that we honor the greatness and goodness

3



of our gracious Benefactor, esteeming His gifts,

using them faithfully, and striving as far as pos-
sible to make a return for them in various ways.
We can render to God all that pertains to a grate-
ful acknowledgement of benefits received, not
only by actual prayer and formal words of thanks-
giving, but also by many other acts, such as praise,
adoration, admiration and glorification, yes, even
of petition. The prayer of petition is, in the first

place, according to its intrinsic nature, an act of

veneration and glorification of God, inasmuch as

God is thereby acknowledged as the Source and
Dispenser of all gifts, as well as infinitely Powerful,

Merciful, Just and Truthful. Accordingly, by
filial and confident petition after Holy Communion
we offer to the Divine Majesty an agreeable
homage, and this homage is the gift which we
present to the Lord, Who has no need of our
goods, for the inestimable grace of Holy Com-
munion. These fervent and humble petitions, there-
fore, can really be regarded as the outcome and
testimony of our grateful disposition, and conse-
quently, they may be considered a thanksgiving
after the Sacred Banquet. Therefore, as heartfelt

thanksgiving for benefits received is the best

means of obtaining new favors; so, on the other
hand, confiding petition after Holy Communion
is an acceptable thanksgiving for the sublime

grace of the Holy Eucharist.

A survey of these petitions in the Postcommu-
nions shows that almost every gift or grace is

therein asked for from Him Whom we have just
received sacramentally.

4



Feast of the Circumcision

PURIFY FROM SIN

“May this Communion, O Lord, purify us from sin.”

Of old God said : “Be ye clean, you that carry
the vessels of the Lord” (Is. 54:11). How much
more clean must we be, who carry in our souls
the God of purity Himself. We pray for greater
purity in today's Postcommunion. “That the

Holy Eucharist remits lighter offenses, or, as

they are commonly called, venial sins,” the Cate-
chism of the Council of Trent tells us, “cannot

be matter of doubt. Whatever losses the soul
sustains, by falling into some slight offenses,
through the violence of passion, these the Eucha-

rist, which cancels lesser sins, repairs in the

same manner that natural food gradually re-
pairs the daily waste caused by the vital heat of

the system. Of this heavenly Sacrament justly,
therefore, has St. Ambrose said : ‘This daily
bread is taken as a remedy for daily infirmity.
This, however, is to be understood of venial im-

perfections only. The Holy Eucharist . . . repress-
es the licentious desires of the flesh, and keeps

them in due subjection to the spirit: in propor-
tion as it inflames the soul with the fire of

charity, in the same proportion does it necessari-
ly extinguish the fire of concupiscence.'

”

5



Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

SKY-WRITING

“That we may rejoice to see our names written in
heaven under the glorious name of Jesus.”

The purpose of advertisement is to attract
attention to the purchase of some necessary or
useful article. The more novel the form of ad-
vertisement is, the more readily does it attract
attention and buyers. One novel form of
advertisement has been the spelling of words
in the sky by smoke jets emitted from an air-
plane. But that is not new. Today’s Feast is
an advertisement for heaven. Our names are
not written in the sky, which will pass away, but
in heaven, “in the book of life of the Lamb”
(Apoc. 21:27). For, when “the seventy-two dis-
ciples returned with joy, saying: 'Lord, even

the devils are subject to us in thy name/ Jesus
said to them: 'You do not rejoice in this, that

the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice in this,

that your names are written in heaven’ ” (St.
Luke 10 : 17-20). Today we are given a “peep,” as
it were, into heaven’s great record of all its citi-

zens, and there, beneath the glorious Name of
Jesus, we see our own name written. This is
done by Holy Mother Church to prod us on to

do all that is necessary that we may one day
see it in actuality.

6



Feast of the Epiphany

OUR STAR

“That we may obtain by the understanding of a
purified mind what we have just celebrated in
solemn rite.”

The human will is a blind faculty. As eye to
guide it and lead it on to action it has the com-

panion faculty—the mind. The light of reason
and natural truth serve as light for this “seeing”

power. But for “seeing” supernatural truths,
and for stimulating the will to act and live ac-

cording to them, there is required the eye and

light of the virtue of faith. It is just this in-

creased stimulus that the sacred liturgy aims

at. “What we have just celebrated in solemn
rite,” that is, the mystery of faith that the

Holy Sacrifice brings home to us ever more
clearly and forcefully at each celebration, should

by that very action also “purify our mind” by
means of the stimulated light and fire of faith.
And a deeper understanding of the mystery
should also mean a more forcefully moved will.
The star of Bethlehem was the index finger that
beckoned and directed the Three Wise Men to
the Source of true light. What difficulties they
surmounted to obey its silent call! Do we ap-
preciate and utilize the ease with which we may
receive instruction in divine things and go to
the new Bethlehem—to the altar and Holy Mass?

7



Feast of the Holy Family

COME HOME

“That at the hour of our death Thy glorious Virgin

Mother and blessed Joseph may come to meet us.*'

When, in the Postcommunion today, we pray
that we may “ever follow the example of Thy
holy Family,” it seems that we are praying for
the impossible. Can we ever imitate Mary, our
Mother? In her Litany we salute Mary as—“Mirror of Justice”—mirror of all virtues, of
all perfection humanly possible. Now, we are
not asked to become this mirror, but to look
into this mirror often in order to see how much
we are still unlike our blessed Mother. Looking
in this mirror for many years made St. Joseph
the great saint he was. He, too, was endowed
with special graces by the Heavenly Father to
become the worthy foster-father of His only,

dearly-beloved Son. Yet, St. Joseph did

not share our privilege of receiving Jesus

into his soul in Holy Communion. There Jesus
strives to make us resemble, not Mary or Joseph,
but Himself. The more we resemble Jesus in
virtue and perfection, and especially when Mary
and Joseph see their dear Son in our souls be-

cause of the reception of Holy Viaticum, may
we confidently expect them to come at the time
of our death to lead us to Jesus, to their and

our true home.

8



Sunday within the Octave of the Epiphany

SPIRITUAL ETIQUETTE

“That we may worthily serve Thee by a manner
of life pleasing to Thee.”

When a hostess has invited friends to dinner,
whether to a formal banquet or to a simple meal,

she takes great care to have her home, and

especially the dining room, clean, attractive, and

inviting. Everything is faultless. Besides that,

she carefully dusts her memory of forgetfulness
of the “Do's” and “Don'ts” that she finds in her

book of etiquette for the proper entertainment

of guests. We not merely invite our Divine
Guest to come into our hearts, but also to be the
Divine Food of our needy souls. How meticulous
our preparation and thanksgiving for that daily

visit should be! There must be nothing in our
“soul-dining room” to offend His all-seeing eye.
The best preparation is by leading a “life pleas-
ing to Him.” For that we must check on our
“Do's” and “Dont's” as expressed in the com-

mandments of God, the commandments of the
Church, the duties of our particular state of

life, and the all-embracing law of double charity,
to God and neighbor. In order to observe these
we need, not merely a good memory, but also a
determined will to carry out in detail the smallest

of God's rules of spiritual etiquette. When we
have our Divine Guest in our souls is the best

time to say the above prayer.

9



2nd Sunday after Epiphany

NO FUNERAL

“That, being nourished by Thy divine sacraments,

we may be prepared to receive what they
promise.*'

What the divine sacraments promise ! And
what does Jesus promise to all who receive His
Sacred Body and Precious Blood worthily and
often? His words are very clear and to the
point. “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of

Man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life
in you. He who eats my flesh and drinks my
blood has life everlasting and I will raise him
up on the last day. For my flesh is food indeed,
and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my
flesh and drinks my blood, abides in me and I in
him He who eats this bread shall live for-
ever" (St. John 6:54-57, 59). The importance of
our prayer hinges on the one word “nourished"
or “quickened." To “quicken" means to revive,
to excite, to stimulate. Two of the sacraments
raise the soul from the death of original or per-
sonal sin to the life of sanctifying grace, that

is, Baptism and Penance. The others “quicken"
or “stimulate" this life of grace to higher per-

fection. Holy Communion gives us the Author
of all graces Himself, ready to impart to us as

much grace as we are “prepared to receive."
We must not tie His hands by resisting grace.

10



3rd Sunday after Epiphany

ONE BREAD
“Make us worthy to enjoy the fruits of these great
mysteries.”

Quoting St. Alphonsus: “The divine King is

accustomed to reward royally all those who enter-
tain Him well.,, The fruit of the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass is Holy Communion. Jesus comes
into the soul of the recipient under the form

of material food, bread and wine, to show us
how His Sacred Body and Precious Blood act
upon our souls spiritually. Holy Communion is
the “common-union” of Christ with the members
of His Church as well as between the members
themselves

;
for, it is “the sign of unity, the bond

of charity, the symbol of concord” (Council of

Trent). By His Incarnation Jesus united Him-
self to mankind in general. By Holy Communion
He unites Himself to each individual that re-
ceives Him. According to St. Augustine, “those,
who receive our Lord frequently, assume His
nature.” They are, as it were, transformed into
Him. There is a difference between the spiritual
(divine) food we receive in Holy Communion
and the ordinary food of the body; the latter is

less powerful than our nature and is assimilated
by it ; the former is more powerful than our na-
ture, and, consequently, converts our nature into

its own. Holy Communion also unites us to
one another. “We, though many, are one body,
all of us who partake of the one bread” (I Cor.
10 : 17 ).

11



Uth Sunday after Epiphany

REFINED TASTE

“Free us from the fascination of earthly things and
ever give us new strength by their heavenly
nourishment.”

Give a bright object to a babe in its crib and

it will instantly put it into its mouth to “taste”
it. Its sense of taste seems to be the judge of the

“goodness” of things. Besides using the word
“taste” in its meaning of “the sense by which
certain attributes (savor, flavor) are ascertained

by the taste buds on our tongue,” we also use it
to indicate “the power of discerning and appre-
ciating fitness, beauty, order in the fine arts.

Thus, for instance, we say that a man shows
“good taste’ in selecting his clothes, a woman,
her hat and dress, the hostess, in her invitations
and social evening, and so on. It is the “pleasing
fascination of earthly things” that is apt to with-

draw our soul from tasting spiritual pleasures
and delights. The frequent reception of the
“Bread of Heaven” should not dull, but rather

stimulate our “taste” for higher, supernatural

things. But, too often, frequent or daily recep-

tion of this “heavenly nourishment” becomes dis-

tasteful to us, and we, like the Jews of old, who
were fed by the manna from heaven during their
sojourn in the desert, long for the “garlic and

onions” of the Egypt of this world. Hence we
need to ask God to “free us from the fascination
of earthly things’ and to refine our taste ever

more for those of heaven.

12



5th Sunday after Epiphany

SAVED!

“That we may receive the grace of salvation, the
pledge of which we have received in this sacra-
ment.”

If a soul is saved, ALL is saved; if a soul is
lost, ALL is lost. Salvation means the irrevocable
union of the human soul with God in eternal
bliss. When the freed soul, on leaving the prison
of the body, stands before her all-knowing Judge

and hears from His lips the -comforting words:

“Well done, good and faithful servant, because

thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will

set thee over many, enter into the joy of thy

Master” (St. Matth. 25:21)—all is saved. For
all eternity the happy soul will bless the three
Divine Persons for their work in her. She will
praise the Father for creating her; the Son,

for redeeming her ; the Holy Spirit, for sanctify-

ing her. All these are “graces,” that is, free gifts

of God. All that the soul has done was to accept
these graces and use them for the attainment of
the end for which they were conferred. She has
merely done her duty. But, in order to enable

her to perform her duty faithfully and persever-
ingly the Savior's love has invented the means
and the assurance of perseverance in Holy Com-
munion. He assures us : “He who eats this
Bread (My body) shall live forever” (St. John
6:59). Can we, then, thoughtlessly disregard
this means and assurance of final perseverance
and of eternal salvation?

13



6th Sunday after Epiphany

HUNGER’S SEASONING

“That we may ever hunger after those things by
which we truly live.”

“There is no sauce in the world like hunger,”
Cervantes assures us. Hunger acts as a season-
ing to our appetite, and, by stimulating the di-
gestive juices, makes the most common food
tasty. To the crowds that flocked to the Savior,
Jesus said : “Amen, amen I say to you, you seek
me, not because you have seen signs, but because

you have eaten of the loaves and been filled. Do
not labor for the food that perishes, but for that

which endures unto life everlasting, which the

Son of Man will give you” (St. John 6:26-27).
That “Bread from heaven” Jesus gives us daily
in Holy Communion. This divine Food should
stimulate rather than satisfy our spiritual hun-

ger by increasing love in our souls. For, our
degree of love is our degree of perfection and

the measure of our happiness here below in our

land of exile, and will also be the measure of

our bliss in our true home above. We poor pil-
grims travel in a vicious circle. We do not re-
ceive Holy Communion oftener because we do not
“hunger” for it with increasing longing, and our

spiritual appetite is not stimulated because we
do not receive this spiritual Food oftener. Daily
reception, as worthy as possible, will take care
of both. Try it and see.

14



Septuagesima Sunday

IN ETERNITY

“In seeking, may they receive It forever.”

Today's Postcommunion continues and devel-

ops the thought of last Sunday. A stimulated
spiritual longing should cause the faithful to

“seek after” the true Bread from heaven. This
Divine Food not only increases and perfects the
spiritual life of the human soul, but it also pre-
pares the soul for her vital step from time into
eternity. Our earthly life is spent in time. Time,
coming to us moment by moment, like small drops
of water, falls into the mighty river of the cen-
turies. It may be considered either as past or as
coming, since the present moment lasts but a
moment. Eternity, on the contrary, is stable,

motionless. It is an everlasting present, an eter-

nal “now.” We are in time, God is in eternity.
When He unites Himself to us by means of Holy
Communion we, as it were, leave passing time,
and pass over into motionless eternity. More
than that. Each twenty-four hours we unite
ourselves to our eternal God, so that, when our
last moment of time comes, and we do not have
the opportunity of receiving Him then as Holy
Viaticum, we shall be joined to Him through
the Holy Communion received in the morning's
Mass.

15



Sexagesima Sunday

GOOD PLEASURE

‘‘That we may serve Thee worthily by a life well
pleasing to Thee.”

At the baptism of Christ in the Jordan the
Heavenly Father broadcast from heaven: “This
is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased”
(St. Matth. 3:17). Of Himself Jesus said: “I
do always the things that are pleasing to him
(the Father)” (St. John 8:30). Again He says:
“My food is to do the will of Him who sent me,
to accomplish His work” (St. John 4:34). His
mission was to do the will of His Heavenly Fa-
ther: “I have come down from heaven, not to do
my own will, but the will of Him who sent me”
(St. John 6:38). God has promised us grace to
do His Will and a reward for doing it as faithful-

ly and as perfectly as possible during our earthly
life. He has not promised us grace to do our
own “sweet (?)” will, much less a reward for
doing it. And, what satisfaction do we get out
of doing our own will? It is still the tempting
fruit that grows on the tree of pride—beautiful
to look at, but filled with all bitterness within.

If we are wise we shall unite our will, through
Christ, with our Heavenly Father's Will. Then
we shall not only be doing our Heavenly Father's
Will, but our own (united with His). Yet more,
God will do our will, as He does each time we
approach the communion rail—He comes half
way.

16



Quinquagesima Sunday

SOUL-PANACEA

“That we may be safeguarded by this celestial
Food against all misfortune.”

In the spring of the year wise mothers give

their children a tonic to free their tender bodies

from the poisons accumulated during the winter
months. Holy Mother Church offers a soul-tonic

each day of the year in Holy Communion. Sin
is the sickness, or even death of the soul. When
the poison of sin has been removed from the
soul by the sacrament of penance, the soul is in-

deed pure, but weak. It needs a strengthening

food to build up its powers of resistance to the

germs of passions and temptations in the future.
A healthy body is the best remedy against dis-
ease. So it is with the soul. A weak will easily
consents to temptation and thus succumbs to

spiritual disease or death. A firm, healthy will
can easily fight off the enemies to its superna-

tural life, health, and growth in love of God.

That is what the “Heavenly Food” of our Lord's
Body aims to do. But, just because our soul
is a spiritual substance and her ills are not so

easily felt or discovered as those of our mortal

bodies she is often neglected. We eat several
times a day in order to keep up and increase our

bodily strength. How often do we feed our soul ?
We may communicate only once a day. But let
us do so every day.

17



1st Sunday of Lent

SPRING CLEANING

“Changing us from our old life, may this saving
mystery bring us into a union with Thy Divine Life.”

Besides the weekly, thorough cleaning of her

house, the diligent housewife sets aside a time in

fall and in spring for a more thorough cleaning
of the whole house from attic to cellar. This
process is known as fall or spring “house clean-
ing/' Holy Mother Church at this season invites
her children to do the same with the spiritual
house of their soul. Besides the daily cleaning

of this “inner room" by an act of perfect con-
trition, made after the evening examination of
conscience, and the weekly cleansing by the sac-

rament of penance, she also sets aside a time in

fall and spring, Advent and Lent, when she in-
vites her children to do a more thorough cleans-
ing and ordering of the Lord's abode. The “old
life" of sin must be thrown out and the “new
life" of grace be introduced more fully. This

process becomes one of substitution, putting the

love of God in the place of love of self. God
replaces self, but only gradually. It has been

said that “self" will die a quarter of an hour

after we do. Hence, if we center all our atten-
tion on the Guest of our soul, and try to please

Him in everything that we think, say, and do,
self will die of starvation and neglect. It will be

merely a framed picture of our soul's youth.

18



2nd Sunday of Lent

ADJUSTABLE MOUNTAINS

“That we may serve Thee by a manner of life
that is pleasing to Thee.”

To wish that you had lived at the time of

Christ, so that you might have seen Him in His
glory on Mt. Tabor, as mentioned in the Gospel

of today’s Mass, is an idle wish. Of all men liv-
ing at that time, only three were witnesses of the

transfiguration, and does your present manner of
life and state of soul give you any assurance that

you would have been a Peter, a James, or a John?
These three privileged Apostles saw Jesus in His
manifested glory, you have just received Him in
His veiled humility. Your soul is His Mt. Tabor.
You must furnish Moses and Elias. Moses, to
whom God gave the two tablets with the ten
commandments inscribed upon them, reminds
you of the duties common to all men—to keep
these same commandments. Elias symbolizes the
special duties of your particular state of life.

The manner in which you keep God’s command-
ments and fulfil the duties of your state of life
designates the height of your spiritual mountain
—the degree of your perfection. This mountain
is “adjustable.’’ Each time your Savior deigns
to descend upon it He should find it higher, more
perfect. That is due Him in thanksgiving for
this Holy Communion, and as a preparation for
the next.

19



3rd Sunday of Lent

OUR CORPORAL

“Mercifully absolve us, O Lord, from all guilt,
and deliver us from all evil.”

Christ is no magic charm to be used against
dangers and threatening evils. He is no relic,
like a particle of the skeleton of a saint, that will

keep all harm away from us. He is a living Per-
son, the God-Man, Who has just entered 'our souls
in the sacrament of the living, in Holy Commu-
nion. This Sacrament does not remit grave sin,
as the words of the prayer—“absolve” and
“guilt”—might lead us to suspect. No, having
purified our souls in the cleansing waters of

grace of the sacrament of penance or confession,

having starched them with a firm resolve with
God’s grace to sin no more, and having ironed

them smooth with the hot iron of intense and
true love, we receive our Eucharistic Guest and
God upon this well-prepared corporal. What we
ask for in the Postcommunion prayer is—that
Jesus may forgive our hidden sin, as David
prays in Psalm 18 : “From my secret sins cleanse
me, 0 Lord” (v. 13). Further, we ask this Divine
Healer to heal the effects of our past sins in our

soul, the greatest of which is that weakness,

which makes it liable to fall into sin again and
all too easily. Against this “evil” also we ask to
be strengthened by the Food of the Strong that

we have just received.

20



Jfth Sunday of Lent

FAITHFUL MINDS

“That we may ever receive Thy holy Sacrament
with faithful minds."

At first glance we may think that "faithful
wills" should have been used in this prayer in-

stead of faithful "minds," for, fidelity is defined

as "careful observance of duty or obligation."

Now, it is the will that acts, that performs du-
ties. However, it acts because of the motives sug-

gested by the mind. These motives may be those
of reason or of faith, and, accordingly, we act
in a natural or a supernatural manner. It is in

this sense that we may understand the word
"faithful", that is, to be "full of faith." Our
holy faith is not merely the assent of our mind to
revealed truth, but also and above all, the acting

of our will according to it. Faith gives us the

only true motives for right action. It will profit

us little if our mind accepts the teachings of the
Catholic, true faith, if our will does not use its

motives for action to reach the object and end
of our faith—God. God comes to us that we may
go to Him. He comes, not merely to enliven our
faith, but above all to move our will to action.
The best and easiest way to do this is to strive
to unite our will with His. He ever does the
will of His heavenly Father most perfectly.

21



Passion Sunday

OUR SHIELD

“Defend with ever-ready assistance those whom
Thou hast refreshed with Thy sacraments.”

The two principal weapons of the Roman
soldier were his two-edged sword and his shield.
The sword was his offensive weapon, by means of
which he wounded, killed, or routed his enemy.
His shield served him as a defensive weapon to
protect any part of his body from the enemy’s
deathly weapon. Christ is our all-protecting

Shield. This Shield hung battered, broken, and
apparently useless on the Cross after His death.

Hell had, seemingly, scored a marvellous victory.

But, three days later, this shield bore the marks
of every glorified body—agility, subtility, clarity,
and impassibility. It is this living Body in its
glorious state that we receive in Holy Commu-
nion to serve as our best defensive weapon
against the legions of hell. “For our wrestling
is not against flesh and blood, but against the
Principalities and Powers” (Col. 2:15) and they
truly fear Him in us. The remembrance of this
comforting fact should “refresh” or stimulate

our weak heart to ever-increasing courage, whilst
at the same time “Our Shield” gives us the “con-
tinued support” we need, and teaches us the way
to victory.

22



Palm Sunday

HERE AND THERE

“May our vices be purged away and our just
desires be fulfilled.”

The one “just desire” in every human soul is
to reach the end of her creation—union with
God. The pain of loss, the greatest pain of a
damned soul, is her constant striving towards
God, that meets only with an eternal failure or

rebuttal. But, the desire of union with our soul

is also, and infinitely greater in God. He cannot
wait, as it were, until our union with Him in
heaven takes place. Therefore the eternal love

and wisdom of the Son of God has provided a
means in Holy Communion for the closest union
with our souls whilst we tarry in this land of
exile. The union of His Sacred Body and Pre-
cious Blood with our own body is but a means of
a still closer union with our soul. The intensity
of that union depends on the perfection of our

soul, the extent to which we permit or make
possible this intimate union. Every Holy Com-
munion received should find our soul more per-
fect, more capable of a still closer union, whilst
at the same time It perfects our soul by the abun-
dance of grace bestowed. Every action that we
perform should be directed to rendering us bet-
ter prepared to receive our Divine Guest, and
each reception of Him should augment and sta-
bilize our union with Him.

23



Easter Sunday

OF ONE MIND

"Make us to be of one mind and heart, whom
Thou hast fed with Thy Easter Sacrament.M

The closest union possible in our physical life
is that which exists between the food that we eat
and our bodies, for, its vital elements go over
into our very flesh, blood, and bone. However,

whenever we partake of the Sacred Body and
Blood of Christ, we do not change Him into
ourselves, but He changes us into Himself, that
is, He makes us share in His divine life through
grace. Although He is in this way the link or
bond of union between all who receive Him,
each person still retains his own individuality.
Does Jesus thereby give us the secret of being of

"one mind” with all our fellowmen? We may
retain our own opinion, but we must refrain
from trying to force it upon others. To "give in”
does not mean to "give up.” It means to have
respect for and to give credit to the opinion of

one’s neighbor. How many family quarrels and
how much public strife could be avoided if the
opponent’s views were given due credit and fol-

lowed as far as possible. A quarrel, like the bor-
ing bookworm, needs opposition. Remove the op-
position and it will die of inertia. Just try and

see. The soul of "one mind” celebrates a per-
petual Easter, for she possesses Christ within

herself, not only as long as the Sacred Species

last, but forever.

24



Low Sunday
TAKE AS NEEDED

“Make this most holy Sacrament a remedy for us,
both in the present and in the future.”

After the germs of a disease have been con-

quered and expelled from the human body by
medical treatment, the body is often left in a

weakened condition until it has regained its

strength by proper food and care. The same
might be said of the human soul. After the
germs of temptation have been conquered and

the disease of sin routed by contrition and con-
fession, the soul is left in a weakened state. She
will find a “remedy” in the Holy Sacrament of

the Altar, in Holy Communion. According to
Denis the Carthusian, the Holy Eucharist is “an

aromatic and health-restoring medicine, to heal

anew the injuries suffered and the wounds re-
ceived.” How consoling the thought is that, in
the Bread of the Strong, we have so powerful a
means of protection against the facility and dan-
ger of sinning, of being separated from God and
of forfeiting His grace. Thus, as a supernatural

Food, the Holy Eucharist imparts perfect health

of soul and refreshment of heart. It strengthens

the spiritual life; for it increases sanctifying

grace and the supernatural virtues, above all-
charity, but also faith and hope, purity and de-

votion, humility and meekness, patience and per-
severance. In this way It impels to good works
and bestows on us fervor to devote ourselves
with generosity to the service of God.

25



2nd Sunday after Easter

SEE MY GIFT!
“That we may ever glory in Thy gift.”

When a bright present is given to a little child
on its birthday, it holds it up to everyone it meets,

exclaiming; “See my gift!” Jesus gives us the
greatest gift that an omnipotent God can give
when He gives us Himself completely in Holy
Communion. Each reception of Him might be
called a birthday feast for us. We can receive
Him worthily only if our soul is living, that is, is
in the state of grace. To our living soul the
Giver of Life comes in order to preserve and in-

crease our life of grace by a gift of additional

sanctifying grace. But, how can we “glory” in
His gift? He is invisible in His greatest gift, the
Holy Eucharist, and even more so when we have
received Him and He has entered into our soul.
Must we, then, go about with a placard with these
words, suspended from our neck, “I received Holy

Communion this morning?” No! But we do so
by the holy use we make of our bodily senses that
have been sanctified by this Gift. Our eyes, that
looked upon the Sacred Host, must not be turned
to gaze upon sinful objects. Our hands, folded be-
neath the paten or communion cloth, must keep
pointing heavenwards, that is, our actions must
be performed to glorify God. The feet that have
carried our body to God’s house and to the holy

table must no more wander on dangerous or for-
bidden paths, but keep on the narrow, straight,

steep road to heaven. Thus we ever glory in God’s
Gift.

26



3rd Sunday after Easter

OUR SUPPORT

“Be a life-giving food to our souls, and a life-

saving help to our bodies.”

Our daily experience proves the truth of St.
Paul's words that our “flesh lusts against the spi-

rit” (Gal. 5:17). It is foolish to make the human
heart the bloody battlefield where body and soul

try to “fight it out” to victory. It is much more
sensible to make our heart the conference table
where our soul and body talk over our condition

and strike “a good bargain.” The soul begins:
“I am the principle of life to you, my body. When
I leave you, you are a corpse. But I also have my
own life, that of union with God by sanctifying
grace. You can deprive me of that supernatural
life by enticing my will to consent to forbidden
pleasures, thus offering me the cup of poison, or
the deadly weapon for committing spiritual sui-
cide. We are destined to live together here and
hereafter. If you will keep your five senses in

check, so that I may preserve and perfect my
supernatural life here, you will one day be glori-
fied and share the bliss of heaven with me. But
if not, if you want to make me your slave now
and enjoy forbidden pleasures (that last only a
moment and do not really satisfy), then you and
I shall have an eternity in which to repent of our
folly. What do you say?”

27



hth Sunday after Easter

OUR LIFE LINE

“That we may be cleansed from sin and rescued
from all dangers.”

We are in constant danger to both body and
soul. Germs from within and accidents from
without can injure our health of body, or even de-

prive us of life itself. Our soul's health and life
is also constantly menaced by the germs of sin
within itself and the attacks of the evil spirit

from without. We are immersed, as it were, in
a sea of trials and ills that threatens to submerge

us beneath its angry waters. But there is One
watching us from the shores of eternity. He
daily throws out the life line—Himself, that we
may cling to Him and be saved from spiritual ills
and death. But, if we fail to grasp that life line,
if we fail to grasp His nail-pierced, saving Hand,
and, in consequence of our neglect, go down into
the depths, whom must we blame? St. Peter
wished to perform the acrobatic feat of walking
on the water. When he asked Jesus, “Lord, bid
me come to thee over the water,” all went well
until his faith sank and he with it. Jesus at once

stretched forth His hand and took hold of him,
saying: “0 thou of little faith, why didst thou
doubt?” (St. Matth. 14:28, 31). If we have a
lively faith, we shall not merely clasp our Life
Line, but never let anything separate us from
Him.

28



5th Sunday after Easter

RIGHT DESIRES

“Grant us both to desire what is right, and to

obtain what we desire.”

Scarcely is a child born into this world when
it curls itself into a question mark and cries out

:

“Why ? why? Why am I here?” Its newly-
opened eyes, that look up to heaven, and its little

arms, stretched out to grasp it, give the true an-

swer. In order to reach that happy end its Cre-

ator places “desires” into His new creature. Be-
fore the awakening of reason, the desire for the

necessary food, drink, and rest to enable its lit-

tle body to grow and mature, although uttered
in code, are interpreted and fulfilled by the child's
understanding and loving mother. At the dawn
of reason, these desires for “good things” are

increased. When the light of faith dawns in the
infant soul, this also has her own desires. Some
are right, or good ; others are wrong, or evil. If

God grants us to desire what is “right,” there is
no doubt but that we shall “obtain what we de-
sire,” for He desires only our temporal and eter-
nal good. The commandments of God, the com-
mandments of the Church, the duties of our
state of life, and the voice of God speaking with-
in us, which we call the “voice of conscience,” tell
us exactly what is right, and therefore, what we
may and should desire. But they also tell us what
is wrong and what we must avoid even in desire.

29



Feast of the Ascension

DIVINE LIFE

“That what we have received in this visible sacra-
ment may profit us by its invisible grace.”

As we learned in our catechism: “The sacra-
ments are sensible signs, instituted by Christ, by
means of which the graces of the Holy Spirit
are communicated to us.” They are seven in
number, the greatest of which is the Holy Eucha-
rist. For, in this sacrament we receive, not mere-
ly the grace of God, but the Giver of all grace

Himself. In the Holy Sacrament of the Altar

Jesus comes to us in the form of bread to re-
mind us of the invisible effect that It produces in
our soul—the sustaining and perfecting of our
supernatural life of grace. The desire of our first
parents, Adam and Eve, was—to share in God's
divine Being and Life. On this desire the tempt-
er based his suggestion that, by eating of the
fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil,

they should be like God. In this way satan led
them to sin and death. In the Holy Eucharist,
however, that, which satan deceitfully and mali-

ciously suggested to our first parents, has become

a reality. The worthy reception of Holy Com-
munion causes God to remain in us and we in
Him. As the only-begotten Son of God, generat-
ed by the father, lives His divine life, so also His
children on earth, adopted through grace, live

through the Son of God, because, by receiving
Him, we become one spiritual body with Him.

30



Sunday within the Octave of the Ascension

GIVING THANKS
“That we may ever continue in the spirit of
thanksgiving.”

Breathing is not merely a sign of life, but also

a necessary exercise to preserve it. Through the
nostrils the fresh air is inhaled, deprived of its

life-preserving contents in the lungs, and then

is exhaled again. Because breathing is so neces-

sary for our bodily life it is also natural. We do
it mechanically, automatically. We seem to notice
it only when we have some difficulty in this vital
exercise. The soul also has its supernatural life
which needs its own exercise of breathing in or-
der to preserve her life. She inhales God's grace

and exhales her own sins and faults. But there
is another vital function of our soul that we so
easily forget, yet, which should be as constant as

the breathing done by our body—that of giving
thanks . All that we have comes from God. He
gives continually. Hence we, the receivers of
these constant gifts, should also thank Him con-
tinually for every gift, for every breath we draw.
He gives, we thank. He gives, we thank. That is,
or should be, the constant breathing exercise of

our soul, and the deeper, the better. And yet

—

to take a familiar example—God gives the food,
so tastily prepared by our good cook, we eat it,
enjoy it, wipe our fingers and mouths with our
immaculate napkin, and rise to say

—
“Let's take

a little smoke!'' To say “thanks” (grace) might
choke us. And what do we do after we have
dined on the Body of Christ?

31



Pentecost Sunday

PURIFYING FLAME

“Purify our hearts and sprinkle them with the dew
of His interior grace.”

Our thoughts today go back to the first Pente-
cost when the Holy Spirit descended on the Apos-
tles in the form of fiery tongues. Fire purifies
and consumes. It does not rest (go out) until it
has consumed everything within its reach, trans-
forming, as much as possible, all things into it-
self. We ask the Divine Guest of our heart to
send the Holy Spirit to “purify” our hearts. We
ask also for His “heavenly dew.” Physicists as-

sure us that if the immense quantities of heat
that are radiated to the earth’s surface by the

sun had been allowed to accumulate, our earth

would have been destroyed long ago. This dis-

aster has been averted by the earth cooling off

during the night and producing one of the most

beautiful and most mysterious of all earth’s

phenomena, and one of nature’s greatest bless-

ings to man—the dew. It is the heavenly dew of
the Holy Spirit’s grace that does to our soul what

the refreshing dew does to plant life on the earth.
Aristotle was one of the first to observe that
dew appears only during a calm, serene night.
Dew forms only when the skies are clear. When
our soul is clear and calm we may expect this
condensation that will cause all the virtues to

grow and blossom in the garden of our hearts.

32



Trinity Sunday

BOON COMPANIONS

“May the reception of this Sacrament be of profit
to our health in body and soul.”

Our body is so closely united with our soul,
the principle of its life, that both mutually react

upon each other. When the body is ill, the cause
may lie in the soul rather than in some disease
germ in the blood stream. Take, for example,
the habit of worrying. “Worry,” says Dr. James
Joseph Walsh, “is the worst thing for high blood

pressure, and nothing is more serious than the
patient's own worry about his condition.” Again,
deep sadness, poignant grief, and gloomy mel-

ancholy may deprive us of the desire to take
needed nourishment, or upset the little food we
have already stored in our “little pantry.” That
is the dark side of the picture. Let us look at the

bright side. Peace of soul and joy of heart also

react upon our boon companion, our body, im-

parting to it health, vigor, energy, just as the

bright sun does after a dark, dreary night. Must
not, then, the daily reception of the triune God
of joy and peace and light also affect our body?
We do well to pray for this happy effect. How-
ever, merely to ask for this blessing, is like stand-

ing before a showcase that houses deliciously
prepared food. We must also do our part—go in
and help ourselves.

33



Feast of Corpus Christi

DIVINE BEINGS

“Grant us to be filled with the eternal enjoyment

of thy divinity.”

We celebrate today the Feast of Corpus Chris-
ti, the Feast of the Body of Christ, because the
gathering clouds of sorrow of Good Friday damp-
ened our joy at the commemoration of the insti-
tution of the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thurs-

day. It is a feast of great solemnity and deep

joy. But, there is one fact we must not lose sight
of today or any day. We call it the “Feast of
the Body of Christ.” In Holy Communion we
receive, not only Christ's most sacred Body and
most precious Blood, but also His divinity.

Christ's human and divine nature are insepara-
ble. Just as our visible body with its manifold

needs often makes us forget about our invisible,
spiritual soul, with her even greater needs, so in

Holy Communion we are apt to lay too much
stress on the “visible” Host rather than consider

that It is but the means whereby our invisible
God comes into our needy, spiritual soul to make
her share in the life of His divinity. That union

and bliss is the beginning of the “eternal enjoy-
ment of His divinity.” Each reception of Holy
Communion should make that union more per-
fect, and our bliss deeper and fuller until our

soul, like that of some of the saints, dies for very
homesickness for heaven.

34



Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

OUR METRONOME

“Detach our hearts from the empty vanities of

this world.”

The metronome is a small, pyramidal instru-
ment, whose metal pendulum, like an index fin-

ger, swaying to and fro with clockwork precision,

beats exact time according to the position of the

movable gauge upon it. Placed upon the home
piano it helps little John or bigger Mary to get
the “feel” of music time or rhythm. To get the
rhythm of Divine Love our Blessed Savior loans
us His own most Sacred Heart in Holy Commu-
nion. He places us upon it, as it were, that we
may get the “feel” of it and keep exact time with
it. In this, as in all other matters, the well-tried

rule holds good: Practice makes perfect. Our
heart may be jittery, not to say “ragtime-ly”
with regard to (or because of) the “vanities of

this world.” What our Divine Physician of souls
aims at is, to give a steady beat to our little met-

ronome, our heart, for that is both a sign of

health and strength. To reach that happy goal
we must fix our attention and desire upon the
stable things of the spiritual, supernatural world,

characterized by God's own divine essence, which
is unchangeable, an everlasting “now.” Daily

practice in learning these divine Heart throbs
should make our own little heart beat in unison
with that of Jesus.

35



2nd Sunday after Pentecost
PETRIFIED HEARTS

“That the more often we receive this Sacrament,
the more surely may its salutary effects increase
within us.”

The constant dripping of water will wear away
the hardest stone; friction will wear away the
hardest material. That is the law of nature
around us. With our body and soul the law
seems to be in reverse. By constant exposure our
body can become hardened and almost insensible
to changes in temperature. The hand that daily
wields a heavy tool will become very callous. Un-
fortunately our soul follows the same law. Re-
peated acts of religion, such as praying, assisting

at Holy Mass, receiving Holy Communion, and so
on, can become so mechanical, that we must often
examine our conscience after these acts to find

out whether or not we have really performed
them. This is due principally to our wilful dis-

tractions at these holy exercises. The devil knows
this all too well and, to deprive us of the spiritual

fruits we should reap from these exercises, is
always at hand to draw away our mind and heart
to other enticing things. In this respect we have
but to imitate the example of our Eucharistic

Guest. His daily coming into our soul is not a

matter of routine, but each time He comes as
though it were His first visit and He gives Him-
self completely and most ardently to us. If we
merely imitate His example at each reception of

Him, each one will “more surely increase its

salutary effects in us.”

36



3rd Sunday after Pentecost

TIED HANDS

“May they atone for our sins and fit us to share
in Thy everlasting mercies.”

The Holy Sacrament of the Altar is a sacra-
ment of the living, that is, we must be in the
state of grace in order to receive our living Sa-

vior. Although it is He who forgives all sins,
truly repented of and confessed, He does not do
so by means of His sacramental presence in our
sinful souls. A soul, dead in original or personal
sin, is raised to supernatural life by the sacra-

ments of the dead, holy baptism and penance. To
receive Holy Communion in the state of grave
sin would not forgive that sin, but only add an-

other grave offense to the poor soul's standing

score. But, an empty vessel may be far from
being clean and most unworthy of receiving a

precious substance. Such is the case with our

poor soul. Emptied and cleansed from the filth

of sin by heartfelt contrition and a sincere con-

fession, our soul needs still further purification

and adornment to make it more worthy of receiv-
ing our Divine Guest. It is here that we are at
fault. We tie the hands of our Guest by not
letting Him in a moment accomplish by His al-
mighty power and mercy what we could never
accomplish by our own efforts. 0 Lord, make me
clean, and whole, and beautiful, and thus show
Thy mercy!

37



Jfth Sunday after Pentecost

SWEET AND STRONG

“May the Sacrament we have received be our
sure defense.”

David exclaims : “Taste and see how good the
Lord is ; happy the man who takes refuge in him”
(Ps. 33:9). This “tasting” of the Lord was only
by means of divine consolation, help and deliver-
ance that he experienced in his time of trial and

suffering when he fled “from the face of Saul
and came to Achis, the king of Geth” (I Kings

21:10), and escaped only by feigning himself

mad. God rescued and freed David from the
greatest dangers and sufferings because he

feared God and was just. In the Old Law union
with God was possible only by faith, love, and
prayer. More intimate is the union of the faith-
ful of the New Testament who are united with
God not merely by faith, love, and prayer, but
also by the sacramental bond of Holy Commu-
nion, where they really “taste and see how good
the Lord is.” By eating the Flesh of the Son of
God, the sweet, living Bread of Heaven, the

Bread of Angels, they receive, not merely the

grace and comfort of God, but God Himself. As
God did to David of old, so Jesus comes to be
“our sure defense,” for, “if God is for (and in
us) who is against us?” (Rom. 8:32). However,
Jesus produces these wonderful effects only in

those who receive Him in a worthy manner, mak-
ing their disposition of soul as inviting as pos-

sible.

38



5th Sunday after Pentecost

OPEN EYES

“Deliver us from the snares of our enemies.”

When predicting Peter's denial of Him, Jesus
said: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has desired

to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I
have prayed for thee, that thy faith may not fail”
(St. Luke 22:31-32). The cleaned wheat remains

in the sieve ; the chaff and dust fall through, are

gathered up and burned. Satan is still up to his

old tricks. He lays snares for unwary or over-
confident souls in order to catch them on their
way to heaven. To detect his tricks we need the
“single” eye of faith that looks through all sham
and hypocrisy at Eternal Truth. “Pride goes be-
fore destruction” (Prov. 16:18), but humility is

the solid foundation for the lighthouse of faith

by which we see and safely avoid the “snares of
our enemies.” To keep the light of faith ever
burning brightly in our soul, Jesus, Eternal

Truth, comes to us daily as our Light and Guide
and Helper in every need. If we listen to Him,
follow Him, cling close to Him, we are safe. But,
when pride makes us over-confident in our ability
to detect and avoid the wily serpent along life's
highway, we are headed for certain destruction.
Pride is the cataract that blinds the eyes of our

soul and causes us to fall into the deadly trap.

39



6th Sunday after Pentecost

CLEAN AND STRONG

“Make clean our hearts and be our sure defense.*'

On Holy Thursday the celebrant of the Mass
consecrates two large hosts. The second of these
he places in an empty chalice which is later car-
ried to the repository. This, with wine and water,
he will consume in the Mass of the Presanctified
on Good Friday. The empty chalice may well re-
mind us of our souls into which Jesus comes in
Holy Communion. It must be pure and empty,
that is, free from grave sin. But even this purity
can be increased by acts of heartfelt sorrow,

just as the priest purifies the clean chalice at

mass before he pours in wine and water at the
offertory. But, besides purity, the soul also needs

strength. For our Savior says: “When the un-
clean spirit has gone out of a man, he roams

through dry places in search of a resting place,

and finds none. Then he says, T will return to my
house which I left;' and when he has come, he
finds the place unoccupied, swept, and adorned.

Then he goes and takes with him seven other spi-
rits more evil than himself, and they enter in and
dwell there” (St. Matth. 12:43-45). However, we
need have no fear, for “when the strong man, ful-
ly armed, guards his courtyard, his property is

undisturbed” (St. Luke 11:21). Our will becomes
stronger by an ever closer union with the Divine

Will.

40



7th Sunday after Pentecost

OUR EMMAUS

“Lead us from the wrong ways unto the right

way."

Heaven is our Emmaus towards which we are
travelling every moment of our life. A straight
line is the shortest distance between two points.

The straight, narrow path to heaven is, there-
fore, also the shortest and surest. Christ came
to teach us this true way to eternal life by word
and example, as we see it outlined in our guide-
book to heaven—the holy Gospels. But he does
more. He merely joined the company of the two
disciples on the road to Emmaus. He joins us to
Himself most intimately in Holy Communion.
Must not, then, we also recognize Him in this
Bread and our “heart burn within us?” Un-
fortunately we too often listen, as Eve did, to the
wily serpent who suggests : “Why do you always
eat the bitter fruit of obedience to God's law?

Why not get a little pleasure out of your short
life on earth? Why not tour the country of sin-
ful pleasures a bit and travel your own way and
at your own speed? But, can sinful pleasure ever
bring happiness to our pilgrim soul ? There are

more obstacles on the roundabout way, that we
want to take, than on the narrow way that leads
to true peace and happiness. There is an ex-
hilarating joy of success in surmounting ob-
stacles that gives us ever new strength and
courage.

41



8th Sunday after Pentecost

HEALTHFUL EXERCISE

“May this heavenly Sacrament be to us a renewal
of both soul and body.”

An old Latin proverb puts as man's goal—“A
sound mind in a sound body." But our mind
is only a faculty or power of our soul. For us it
should read

—
“A healthy soul in a healthy body."

The health, life, and death of our soul, however,
depend upon our free will. For, by our will we
either admit God with the supernatural life of
grace into our soul, or drive Him out by grievous
sin. Hence our goal should be

—“A healthy,
strong will, in a healthy body, if the latter helps

the former." Vigorous bodily health may be a
hindrance rather than a help to the life and per-

fection of our soul. Good health too often blows
us up like a balloon and causes us to soar up into

our own little heaven of forgetfulness of our soul
and its health and needs. Then it is that our kind
Father punctures this balloon with the thorn of

suffering in order to bring us back to earth and

to look up to Him, or rather, upon Him present
in our soul. It almost seems to be an axiom that

—the greater the saint, the poorer his or her
health, when we read their lives. Bodily suffer-
ings, furthermore, help us to practice many vir-
tues, our soul's daily set-up exercises, such as

patience, trust in God, and so on. It has been

said: “Rheumatism has kept many people on
the right path of life."

42



9th Sunday after Pentecost

ONE IN ONE

“Make us to be of one mind and one heart in
Thy service.”

Our life’s program must be to put our “flesh”
on the “shelf,” that is, to raise our life from

the natural to the supernatural plane. If we take
the letter “h” from the word “shelf” and let it
stand for “humility,” we shall have a true pic-
ture of what remains

—
“self.” Humility is the

truthful acknowledgment of what we are in the
sight of God. We can look at self from below,
from a human viewpoint, or from above, from
God’s viewpoint. His viewpoint is expressed in

Christ’s prayer at the last supper for all the

members of His mystical body : “I pray for those
also who through their word are to believe in
me, that all may be one, even as thou, Father, in
me and I in thee; that thy also may be one in
us” (St. John 17:20-21). Our true self, then,
consists in forming a minute particle of the im-

mense Body of Christ, the Church, and, just as
the atoms of our mortal bodies are united most
closely and work together most harmoniously, so
we also, as atoms of Christ’s mystical body, must
be closely united to and work with all the other
atoms, all the other members of the Church. Just
as one and the same Christ animates the soul of
each member of His mystical body, so we also
should do our part in making this union of His
members complete and perfect.

43



10th Sunday after Pentecost

SPIRITUAL TASTE BUDS

“Whose strength Thou ceasest not to revive in this
adorable Sacrament.”

It has been said that in our “age of condensa-

tion” man's genius will soon concentrate in a few
pills or tablets all the vitamins that our bodies

need each day. What a boon to our busy and
over-worked housewives and cooks ! No more
cooking, no more washing of dishes, and so on.
But, that would not be very much to our “taste.”
In order to seek food God gives us an appetite,
and in order that we may enjoy the food we eat,
He has placed “taste buds” on our tongue. We
may say the same of our soul. Into it God has
placed an appetite, a strong desire for Him that
He alone can satisfy. This is the greatest pain of
a damned soul—this ardent longing for union
with God which will never be satisfied. But God
does more than that. He not only satisfies our
spiritual hunger but also fills our soul with

sweetness. At Benediction, Holy Mother Church
applies to the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar the

words of the Book of Wisdom: “Thou gavest
them bread from heaven . . . having in it all that
is delicious” (16:20). This ever-increasing de-

sire for the Food of our soul, coupled with the
ever-growing sweetness of taste, should cause us

to renew our soul's strength from day to day.

44



Feast of the Assumption

SOS TO MARY

“Through her prayers to be delivered from all

the evils that now threaten us.”

The Blessed Virgin Mary has been called the
“neck” of the Mystical Body, the Church. By
using this figure of the human body we may say
that Christ is the Head, Mary, the Neck, and

all the faithful, whether in heaven, purgatory, or

on earth, are the limbs or members, From our
Head, through the Neck, the life of grace flows

into all the members. The Head, Neck, and the
souls in heaven are, as it were, above the clouds,

where there is everlasting sunshine, eternal hap-
piness. But the poor souls in Purgatory, and we
poor mortals on earth, have much to suffer and
bear up with. Although Mary has been taken up
into heaven in body and soul, she has not thereby

lost connection with nor interest in the church

suffering and the church militant. At the foot of
the Cross she received charge of all the souls for

whom her Son died. Like Him she is eager to
assemble all her children around her bright

throne when their term of exile here below is
over. For each she pleads constantly at the
throne of her Divine Son, our Savior. Through
her prayers, then, we may confidently hope to be
delivered from all that threatens us, provided
that we keep up constant contact with her by
prayer.

45



11th Sunday after Pentecost

HEAVEN’S INFIRMARY

“That we may glory in the fulness of this heavenly
remedy.”

Today Holy Mother Church gives us another
dose of heavenly medicine. (See 8th Sunday) To
the two disciples, sent by St. John the Baptist to
Jesus, He said: “Go and report to John what you
have heard and seen : the blind see, the lame walk,
the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead

rise, the poor have the gospel preached to them”
(St. Matth. 11:4-5). Contact with the Savior’s

human body meant the cure of bodily ills, even
the touching of the tassel of his cloak healed the

woman who had been suffering from hemmor-
hage for twelve years. Why are these things
changed now? The same, healing Savior comes
into our poor, weak soul and makes it well and
strong, even robust with spiritual health. Why
does He not cure our body of its innumerable ills
and ailments as well? Has He lost His power?
Not at all. Apparently it is not in His plan.
Bodily illness should not be a hindrance but a

help to spiritual perfection. Robust, physical

health can make us forget God and our eternal
destiny. But when illness puts us flat on our back,
we must look up to heaven (unless we refuse to
open our eyes) we see things in their proper light
and perspective. Yes, earth is heaven’s infirmary

where ills of the body should help to make our
soul robust in sanctity.

46



Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

RIGHT OF SANCTUARY

“That, freed from present dangers, we may attain
to the joys of eternal life.”

"In the middle ages, persons fleeing from

justice or persecution had what was know as "the
right of sanctuary,” which was based on the in-
violability attached to things sacred. Thus, a

person fleeing to a church found there a safe

refuge from his "present dangers.” We have the
right of sanctuary in the Immaculate Heart of

our Blessed Mother, given to us by Jesus, our
Elder Brother, on the Cross. We are in danger of
falling into sin through selfish, stubborn pride or

flabby weakness. Pride goes before the fall. Be-

cause we trust to our own strength, which is in
reality weakness, we shall lose no time in fleeing
to this sanctuary as soon as our souks eh^my
approaches. The prince of darkness was never
permitted to enter this sanctuary of light, Mary’s
Immaculate Heart. Furthermore, he well knows
her power over him, the old serpent, whose head
she has crushed. Therefore he does everything in

his power to keep us from fleeing to her. In this
sanctuary, too, we may have a foretaste of the
joys of heaven, but the price for living there is

to imitate Mary’s virtues.

47



12th Sunday after Pentecost

SPIRITUAL MILLIONAIRES

“May it profit us to the atoning of our sins."

Actual grace is a free gift of God, given to us

in order to glorify Him by doing His holy Will.
Sin is the abuse of grace, the doing of some-

thing that He has forbidden, that is contrary to
His Will. When the malice of sin is forgiven by
contrition and absolution in the sacrament of

penance, there still remains the honor and glory

to be paid to God of which our evil deed has
robbed Him. Sin is an infinite offense, because
it is gauged by the dignity of the person offend-

ed. Man, a finite being, could never atone for his
infinite offense. For that he needs the infinite
atonement that is offered by the Son of God
Himself. In order to pay the temple tax Jesus

told Peter: “Go to the sea and cast a hook, and
take the first fish that comes up. And opening
its mouth thou shalt find a stater ; take that and
give it to them for me and for thee” (St. Matth.
17:26). The Sacred Host, placed on our tongue
each morning in Holy Communion, is like a
white-gold coin that enables us to pay ever more
and more of our debt of atonement to our heav-
enly Father for our past sins by restoring to

Him and increasing the glory of which they
robbed Him. We receive in order that we may be
able to give the more.

48



13th Sunday after Pentecost

HAND OVER HAND

“That it may dispose us more and more towards
our eternal salvation.

”

Eternal salvation consists in seeing God face
to face and being most intimately united to Him
forever. It depends upon the grace of final per-

severance, of our soul being in the state of sanc-

tifying grace when she leaves our body at death.
That depends upon ourselves, not upon God.

Christ has merited all the graces we need to be
saved. He offers them to us. We can accept or
refuse them. The sacramental graces are not like
a staircase, by means of which we can ascend to
heaven with little effort; still less are they an

escalator. They are neither like a ladder by
which we ascend with a little more effort. They
are rather like a rope, let down to us from heaven,
by means of which we must work our way up
with effort, hand over hand. In the beginning
this is somewhat difficult to our weak will. But
as it grows stronger, the climbing becomes
easier. This is the case especially when, by the
daily reception of Holy Communion, our will be-
comes more closely united to the Will of the Di-
vine Guest of our soul. He comes to bring heav-
en to earth, to strengthen and toughen our will,
and thus to strengthen our hope of final perse-
verance in grace.

49



Hth Sunday after Pentecost

THE ETERNAL RIDDLE

“Lead us to the fruit of everlasting salvation.”

Perhaps in the bright light of eternity our lim-

ited and darkened understanding will be able to
solve the eternal riddle—why a human creature
insists on being damned. God has done all that is
necessary for each human soul to be saved. He
offers salvation to the soul for the price of doing

His Will for a few eyewinks of fleeting time.
The doing of it is not hard, and it alone brings
true peace and satisfaction. Yet man, His stub-

born creature, will use his free will, not to choose

salvation by doing God's Will, but will assert his

independence (base slave of passion!) by doing

his own sweet (?) will. Is it worth it? Has, yes,
can sin bring real satisfaction and true pleasure ?

Unless the soul's conscience is already dead or in

a coma, that image of God will endure untold tor-
ture after the beastly body has enjoyed a moment
of forbidden, sensual pleasure. And, that one

grave sin may mean an eternity of torture. Why
not tell the tempter off and give God a trial?
Why not test the truth of the words of Eternal
Truth: “My yoke is easy, and my burden light''
(St. Matth. 11:30) Why not use sacramental
and actual grace to make sure your salvation?

50



15th Sunday after Pentecost

LOST MOTION

“That the graces flowing therefrom may inspire
all our actions.”

The inventive and active mind of man is ever
at work trying to shackle the subtle robber of
time, known as “lost motion.” Time makes
money; hence each moment lost means money
lost. From the simplest gadget to the most com-
plicated machine every part must work smoothly
and coordinately. The same holds for the spiri-
tual machinery of our soul. One act of the will
succeeds another just as one heartbeat is fol-

lowed by another. These acts of the will may be
good, bad, or indifferent, according to the inten-

tion with which and end towards which they are
made. The bad we must avoid, and the indiffer-
ent we make into good acts by a good intention,
by an act of love of God. That is what we ask
our Divine Guest to give us—that His heavenly
Gift, He, Himself, working in us, and not the
impulses of our nature, may inspire all our ac-
tions. “Inspire” means to breathe into, to put
a soul into, as God did of old to Adam. “He
breathed into his face the breath of life, and man
became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). Jesus should
be the “soul” of all our actions.

51



16th Sunday after Pentecost

TWO EQUAL ONE

“That our bodies also may obtain help both in
the present and future.”

One soul and one body form one human being.
Body and soul are most intimately united during
this mortal life and are destined to be so also
during the next, during our freely-chosen, eter-

nal life. Consequently they must react upon each
other. A sad, depressed, worried soul, will make
the body feel tired, weary, worn-out; whereas a

cheerful, joyous soul will act like a spring tonic

in toning up its mortal container. On the other
hand, the pains, ailments, and sufferings of our

mortal frame also leave their painful effect upon
the sensitive soul that lives within it. As our
soul should rule the body, our first effort should

be to see that this queen is all that she should be

with regard to God. Then she will be beautiful,
healthy, and happy. This happiness will be com-

municated to her loyal subject, the body, and if

this subject complains of any ills, she will know
how to heal or bear them. Therefore we ask
our Divine Guest “to purify our souls” and to

“give us new life” in His Sacrament, that we
have just received, so that we may find help
therein even for the needs of our bodies.

52



17th Sunday after Pentecost

SEEDS OF WEEDS

“May our sinful passions be subdued and our
eternal salvation be assured.”

After God had created Adam He “put him into
the paradise of pleasure, to dress it and to keep

it” (Gen. 2:15). This duty must have been one
of pleasure since there were no weeds to be

pulled. But, after Adam had eaten of the for-
bidden fruit, and had let its seed fall into the

ground, the virgin soil produced “thorns and

thistles.” Since the day of that first sin weeds

seem to thrive better than plants and flowers on

our poor, cursed earth. Yet, the material weeds

are but a symbol and reminder of the far more
harmful weeds of our soul—our passions. These
also seem to thrive more than the flowers of
virtue, their direct opposite. This may be due
to many causes. One of the strongest is, no
doubt, that the devil is their gardener and applies

ceaseless care and abundant fertilizer. The Di-
vine Gardener, now resting in the garden of our
soul, would cause the virtues to crowd out and
practically kill the noxious weeds of our passions
if we would listen to his directions and follow His
example, yes, let Him work in our souls as He
longs to do. He will not force us to do and be
good. If the effort used to cultivate the weeds
were spent in fostering the flowers, then . . . !

53



18th Sunday after Pentecost

NOT WORTHY

“Make us worthy to receive it.”

When we are about to receive Holy Commu-
nion, the priest turns toward us with the cibori-

um in his left hand, and, raising a small Sacred
Host above it, says: “Ecce Agnus Dei—Behold,
look at the Lamb of God!” That look reminds us
of the fact that we, a mere handful of dust, are
about to receive the infinite Lord of heaven and

earth. Then we bow our head, strike our breast,
and say with the priest : “Lord, I am not worthy
that Thou shouldst enter under my roof!” No,
we shall never be worthy, that is, deserve to re-
ceive Him because of any merit of our own. But
that does not mean that we cannot make our-
selves less unworthy of each reception of Holy
Communion. We are told that St. Aloysius, who
had the happiness of receiving Holy Communion
only once a week, spent three days of preparation

for His Savior's “entering under his roof” and

then three days in thanksgiving for this unmerit-

ed favor. We shall do well to thank our Divine
Guest from the time of reception until noon, and
then begin our preparation of heart for tomorrow
morning's reception of Him. This merely means
to make all our thoughts and actions tend to that
worthy goal as we go about the performance of
our duties. Our Guest will bless each effort we
make in this regard.

54



19th Sunday after Pentecost

OUR WALKING STICK

“Make us hold fast to the keeping of Thy com-
mandments.”

The little child needs a perambulator to steady

its unsteady steps and to learn how to walk.
Again, when man's “pegs” or legs grow weak, he
must look for support in a third leg, a wooden
leg, a cane. By means of this staff he can sup-
port himself and continue to walk about without

the aid of another person. God's commandments
are designed to be such a perambulator and walk-

ing stick. By means of them we should learn how
to walk on the way to God, and by means of them
our soul should get that support that she needs

to keep steadily on the straight way. God always
plans the best and easiest for us. But we are
so self-centered, so obedient to the hard dictates

of our self-will, that we too often refuse to enter
into God's plan, thus making life a drudgery, not
to say a crucifixion. Whether we want to or not,
we must obey His commands if we wish to have
peace of soul now and eternal bliss hereafter.
Why not, therefore, cast aside the stick of our
own will, that will one day break and pierce our
soul, and in its stead take and “hold fast” to the
walking stick that our loving Father offers us

for our support and joy?

55



20th Sunday after Pentecost

REMEMBER AND DO

“Make us ever ready to obey Thy commandments.

"

Let us admit it frankly—we have a poor mem-
ory and a weak will. Each evining, as we do our
daily home task on our decimal table, that is,
examine our conscience on how we have observed
God's ten commandments during the past day, we
find that we so easily forget our daily duties, or,
if we do recall them, that we do not have the
strength of will to perform them. Knowing this
weakness, during His earthly life Christ taught

us by word and example how to serve His and our
Heavenly Father. In the Gospel of each Mass we
have a reminder of His words and deeds. But
He does more. He also gives Himself as Food
to our soul each morning to strengthen our will
in putting the Gospel lesson into practice. If ten

commandments are too many to remember and to
observe when the occasion arises, we have our
Savior's own words that they may be reduced to
two—love of God and neighbor. “Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with
thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind. This is

the greatest and the first commandment. And the
second is like it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself" (St. Matth. 22:37-9). If we would
pour out our love of self on our neighbor we
should have no difficulty in loving God.

56



21st Sunday after Pentecost

STEP UP

“That what we received on the tongue we may
follow up with a pure mind.”

God “steps down” that we may be able to “step
up.” Jesus steps down from heaven upon the al-
tar and changes the offered host into Himself.

From the altar in the Sacred Host He steps still
further down “upon our tongue” in order to unite
our soul most intimately with Himself. The pur-
pose of this union is in order to enable us to

“step up” or ascend the steps or degrees of the

love of God by means of which alone we can go
to Him. For that we need a “pure mind” to act
as a lamp or light to the feet of our blind will.

The purer this light is, the more it will attract
our wandering feet and keep them on the steep,
narrow path that leads to eternal life. In the

Book of Proverbs we read: “Who hath ascend-
ed up into heaven, and descended?” (30:4) Fa-

ther Faber gives us the answer when he speaks
of Mary's sanctity and purity, which at the age
of fifteen, had become so constrainingly beauti-
ful, that these constraints reached even to the

Eternal Word Himself. And “He yields to the
force of their attraction, and anticipates His
time, and hastens with inexplicable desire to
take up His abode in His created home.”

57



Feast of Christ the King

OVER THE TOP

“That we may be able to reign with Him in His
heavenly court."

Patriotism, or the love of one's country, is a

fire that smolders in every human breast. The
threat to the honor, liberty, or welfare of one's

country serves as fuel to cause this fire to glow

with intense heat, producing those heroic deeds

that serve as capital letters in the written history

of a country. Following their country's sacred

flag and encouraged by their dauntless leaders,

soldiers overcome all obstacles and difficulties in

their path and “go over the top" to victory.

Christ is King and Commander-inChief of all
who volunteer to bcome His loyal subjects and
courageous soldiers. He has planted His stan-
dard, the Holy Cross on Mt. Calvary. By dying
on the Cross He “went over the top" and con-
quered sin, death, and hell. At each Holy Mass
He raises that standard anew and renews that
glorious victory. But He does more, more than
any earthly commander can do. Besides showing
us how to fight successfully by His own peerless
example, He comes into our soul to direct in
person our warfare against the same enemies
that He conquered on Calvary, and also to give
us the strength and the courage to do our part,

to “go over the top" to victory—to heaven.
58



22nd Sunday after Pentecost

DAILY EXERCISE

“That what Thou hast commanded us to do may
be a help to our weakness.”

Some people each day need a set of “setting
up” exercises for their bodies by means of va-

rious mechanical devices. That holds especially

for those who lead a sedentary life and spend
most of the day in' an office or work room. But
the busy housewife and the industrious farmer

find all the exercise that they need for every mus-

cle and limb of their body. Our soul has a like
need of exercise according to its nature. Its fac-

ulties—mind, memory and will—like the limbs of
the body, need daily, strenuous exercise. This

is provided for us by what God has “commanded
us to do.” Exercise, however, is obtained not

merely by work, but also in recreation. Thus, the

exercise prescribed by God is not meant to be. a
burdensome task, but rather a means of true
spiritual joy because it makes us lighthearted
and happy by means of the joy of a good con-
science. If we were to put the effort that is re-
quired to offend God into trying to please Him,
our task would be much lighter. Then we should
realize the truth of Bishop Keepler’s words : “The
truth is that joy is a constituent of life, a neces-

sity of life; it is an element of life’s value and
life’s power.”

59



23rd Sunday after Pentecost

BREAKING RECORDS

“Thou wilt not allow us to be overcome by human
dangers since Thou hast gladdened us with a
share in Divine Life.”

In our day the breaking of records has be-

come a mania. Almost every day the inventive
mind of man discovers new “stunts” that he can
perform to beat his neighbor. And when, after
very strenuous efforts, at times coupled with the

risk of his life, a man does set a new record of
speed, agility, endurance, and the like, it will last

only until his jealous neighbor excels and breaks
this record. The reward for all this strenuous
effort and deadly risk is the mere applause of
men that lasts only as long as the clapping of
their hands lasts. Yet, what men do for the
praise of their fellowmen, we must do for the
approval and reward of God. We must not let our
striving to break our former record of goodness,

by striving to attain a higher degree of per-

fection in the service of God, be diverted by any

“human dangers” connected therewith. Man can
kill our body, but he cannot kill our soul. We
alone can and must decide the fate of our own
soul. The thing that gladdens our soul and makes
us face any danger in connection with saving it,

is the fact that in each Holy Communion we
“share in the Divine Life” ever more fully and
are united to God ever more closely.

60



2Uth Sunday after Pentecost

A SURE CURE

“Whatever is diseased in our hearts may be cured
by the gift of its healing power.”

The sick, the blind, the lame, the deaf and
dumb, and even the dead were objects of Jesus'

special pity and love, which He showed by re-
storing the afflicted to robust health and reju-

venated life. He continues that mission of mercy
to this very hour. Although the Blessed Sacra-

ment does not restore diseased bodies to health,
It does cure diseased souls. From Adam, our first
parent, we inherit the germs of our passions
that can grow into a dangerous malady, which
unless checked in due time, will cause the death

of our soul by grave sin. It is often not until our

body is laid low by some grievous illness that we
realize that we have been the incubator of dis-
ease germs. The same may be said of our soul.
Often we do not realize its tendencies until we
have incurred the disease of sin. This is due to

one of the germs we have inherited from our
proto-parent—blindness to supernatural truths
and values. We “see, but do not understand.”
Hence we ask the Divine Physician in our soul to
heal it of the ills and diseases that exist there,
but of which we are unaware. He will do so if
we let Him.

61



Feast of the Immaculate Conception

HEAVEN TOUCHES EARTH

“Heal in us the wounds of sin from which thou
didst preserve one alone.”

When the heavenly substance of the human
soul comes from the hands of the Creator and
touches the earthly material offered by the par-
ents to form the body,

f
it immediately receives a

mortal wound, it suffers the spiritual death of
original sin. But there is no rule without its ex-
ception. That exception we celebrate today. The
death of original sin is removed by the baptism
of water, of blood, or of desire. If, after baptism,

the soul becomes guilty of grievous sin, she com-
mits spiritual suicide. Man often commits mortal
sin because he cares too little for and thinks too

lightly of venial sin. He says: “Oh, it is only a
venial sin!” It is true that a hundred venial sins,

or more, will never add up to form a grave of-
fense against God, but they will go far to break

down the resistance of the human will, and will
greatly strengthen the evil tendencies towards

sin, the evil seeds still slumbering in our soul af-

ter original sin has been removed. This is taking

a selfish view of sin, as it affects us. But with
regard to God, it is like slapping our father or

mother in the face and saying : “I know you don’t
care!” Don’t they?

62



1st Sunday of Advent

DUE REVERENCE

“That we may prepare with due reverence for
the coming festival of our redemption.”

A proverb tells us that “Familiarity breeds
contempt.” We are creatures of routine, and re-
peated actions too readily form in us the habit of
doing things mechanically, thoughtlessly. In

this way we not merely deprive God of the due
honor and respect that we owe Him, but we also
rob ourselves of the merit we should earn by
showing due reverence to His august Majesty. At
the beginning of her liturgical year our thought-

ful and wise Mother, therefore, rouses us from

our routine and coldness and invites us to put

“heart” and “heat” into our acts of adoration

and devotion. Jesus, Who “is the same, yester-
day, and today, yes, and forever” (Heb. 13:8),
does not make His coming into the human
heart in Holy Communion a matter of routine.
Each time He comes as though it were the first,
with all the ardor and longing of His Sacred

Heart. But His love attempts are foiled by the
lack of proper dispositions in the recipient. What
he needs is to approach the communion rail with
a lighted candle in his hand—the light of faith
that is replenished and intensified at each ap-
proach to God's holy altar. Trim your lamp!

63



2nd Sunday of Advent

REFINED TASTE

“Teach us how to spurn earthly things and to love
those of heaven.”

It is not correct to say that “we are what we
eat.” It is true that the vital elements of the

food that we eat three or more times each day
furnish our body with the energy necessary for

life to continue in it and for the body to grow
and to become perfect. However, we are not
changed into the “spinach and hash” that we eat.
It is the same with the Divine Food that we par-
take of each day. There, too, we are not what
we eat. Our Blessed Savior says : “You will not
change me into you, but I will change you into
myself.” He might have added: “If you will let
me.” Just there lies the difficulty. That is why
we are still so human after partaking so often of
this Divine Food. Jesus, in Holy Communion,
changes as much of us into Himself as we let
Him. If we ask Him to give us a refined taste
that “spurns earthly things and seeks heavenly

ones,” our body will not tip the scales unduly

whilst our soul is dying with spiritual hunger.

Saints have lived on Holy Communion alone.
This example is for admiration, not imitation.

But it teaches us where to place the emphasis and
how to satisfy life's essentials.

64



3rd Sunday of Advent

ATONE FOR SIN

“That these divine aids may help us to atone for
sin and prepare for the coming feast.”

In as far as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a
sacrifice of propitiation or atonement, it calms

and appeases the righteous anger of God, disarms

His justice, and induces the Lord to regard sinful

man with favor and mercy. The effect of the
atoning power of Holy Mass, is, therefore, to
cause God no longer to be angry and to punish,
that is, it favorably disposes Him to remit wholly
or in part the punishment due guilty man. This

reconciliation and the remission of punishment

on the part of God are effected in virtue of
Christ’s vicarious service or payment offered to
His Heavenly Father for this purpose; for the

ransom purchased by Christ with His Blood on
Mt. Calvary for the atonement and satisfaction

of sin is always being presented anew to the
Father, and this for particular persons, that He
may turn away from them their well-merited
punishment and again impart to them His mercy
more bountifully. In this way we prepare the
crib of our hearts “for the coming feast,” the
birth there of the Infant Savior. Because He is
an all-seeing God, we must not stop at appear-
ances, but go down to the very bottom of our
soul-crib and remove all the remnants of sin.

65



Uth Sunday of Advent

GOOD WILL

“That the frequent reception of this sacrament

may advance the work of our salvation. *’

In a few days the angels will again broadcast
their joyful message: “Glory be to God in the
highest and peace on earth to men of good will.”
God will be glorified by man if he attains his
eternal salvation. He will reach that end if he
keeps God's commandments, if he does God's Will.
Peace is possible to the heart of man only on that
condition. Jesus has done all that is necessary to

procure the salvation of every human soul. It is
now up to the individual to accept and properly
use the graces acquired by the Savior and offered

to him to reach this happy goal. Salvation, then,
considered from man’s point of view, is a matter
of good will, of a determination to cooperate

with Christ in the redemption of one's soul. It

is our will-power that Holy Communion will
strengthen and thereby “advance” and make more
certain the work of our salvation. One of the
most cruel tortures to be inflicted on a prisoner

is to bind him hand and foot, and then place near
his head, close enough that he may smell but not
near enough to eat, most tempting food, and then

—let him starve to death. The Divine Food for
your starving soul is as near to you as the near-

est tabernacle. Your hands and feet are not tied.
But, perhaps you are lacking in good will.

66



Feast of the Nativity—I Mass
KEEPING COMPANY

“That by worthy conduct we may deserve to be
admitted into His company.”

Again in the three Masses on Christmas day

we note a progressive union. This is expressed
by the words—fellowship, new life, immortality.
First, we are to attain to true fellowship with the
Infant Savior by “worthy conduct.” The Latin
word “conversatio” (conversation, conduct)
means—frequent use, frequent staying in a place,
friendly interchange of views, talking. We might
include all these meanings in the well-known ex-

pression
—

“keeping company.” We go to the
home of a friend, we greet him, we stay with him
for a longer or shorter period of time, and ex-

change views and ideas by means of intimate,
friendly conversation. We do that easily and
naturally, without effort in the case of our

earthly friends. But when our Divine Friend,
the Infant Savior, comes to the house of our soul

for that very purpose, we seem to be entirely
changed. We receive Him coldly, mutter a few
phrases mechanically, and soon forget about Him
entirely. This is no “worthy conduct”—no proper
“company keeping” with our truest Friend and
loving God, and does not deserve intimate fellow-
ship with Him. Why not surprise, as it were, our
new-born Savior by changing from that mechan-
ical coldness, to intimate ardent union with him
TODAY?

67



Feast of the Nativity—II Mass
NEW LIFE

“May the new life from this Sacrament ever revive
us, O Lord.”

Our first Christmas gift was the greatest that
even an almighty God could give—Himself. His
birth in the lowly stable at Bethlehem on the
first Christmas night is not a mere matter of
history. This historic act repeats itself in each

Holy Mass in which this same God is born again,
only in a different way. The purpose of His com-
ing is the same—to impart new life to us, a
greater share in His own divine life by means of
sanctifying grace. Jesus is the same, the purpose

of His birth in our souls in Holy Communion is
the same, only the manner and effects of His
birth in this new Bethlehem (our soul) should
be different, should be more perfect, more com-
plete. That is our part in His new birth—to
prepare the crib of our hearts ever more per-
fectly for His coming, that He may share His
life more fully with us. Each reception should
mean a new and higher degree of grace. That is
our gift to Him. To each of us He says: “My
son (or daughter), give me your heart (Prov. 23:
26), that I may work in it according to my in-
finite Love. How perfect I would make you in a
short time if your will were one with mine, if

your own self-will would not tie my hands.”

68



Feast of the Nativity—HI Mass
LIVE FOREVER

“That He may Himself also be to us the Giver
of immortality.*’

Our soul, because it is a spiritual substance, is
not subject to the laws of disintegration and cor-

ruption that rule our bodies. When the soul at
death leaves the body, leaves time and goes into

eternity, the body will return to dust as God told
Adam: “In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat
bread till thou return to the earth, out of which

thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and into dust

thou shalt return” (Gen. 3:19). But at the day
of the general judgment “the trumpet shall

sound, and the dead shall arise incorruptible . .

.

and this body must put on immortality” (I Cor.
15:52-3). Then our body will be, as it were,
the crystal clear, cellophane wrapper, through

which the beauty of our soul will shine to glorify

and gratify God. And, in what will this beauty
consist? In our likeness to the Infant Son of

God. At each birth in our soul in Holy Commu-
nion the sweet Babe of Bethlehem impresses His
image more deeply on our soul, the more deeply
we let Him, by making our stiff and stubborn will
as pliable in His Hands as molding clay in the
hands of the sculptor. The Father has predes-
tined us “to become conformed to the image of
His Son” (Rom. 8:29). Let us, then, strive to
bear ever more and more in us the likeness of
the heavenly (man)—the God-Man, Jesus.

69



Sunday unthin the Octave of the Nativity

BREAD AND WINE

“May our vices be purged away and our just
desires be fulfilled.”

Holy Mass is both sacrifice and sacrament. The
Sacred Species of bread and wine remind us of

the salutary effects of the Sacrament on our

needy soul. Into the wounds of the traveller,
who had fallen among robbers, the good Samari-
tan poured oil and wine

;
wine, to cauterize the

wounds, and oil of olives to heal them. The fiery
wine of Christ's Precious Blood should cauterize

the wounds caused in our soul by sin. But, still
more is needed. The soul is weak, and, like, the
body, can rebuild its wasted tissue only by means
of nourishing food. The Sacred Body of Christ,
our Good Samaritan, should help our weak soul
not merely regain its lost strength, but also to

attain a state of better health and greater per-

fection not enjoyed before the fall into sin. Hence,

just as the Communion is an essential part of the
Holy Sacrifice, the reception of Holy Communion
should also form an essential part of our daily,
devout assisting at it. Just as hunger for sub-

stantial food is natural to our body, so the long-

ing for God, for union with Him, is natural to
our soul. St. Augustine assures ns that “our

heart is restless until it rests in God.”

70



Mass for the Dead on the Day of Burial

PAY DAY

“That If (this soul) is still soiled by any earthly

stains, they may be wiped out by Thy merciful
forgiveness.”

In the Mass for a departed soul the priest and
those assisting at the Mass forget themselves
and give all their thought to and supplications for

the dear departed one. This we see very clearly
in the threefold “Lamb of God, who takest away
the sins of the world,” to which we add the three-
fold petition

—
“give them rest, give them rest,

give them eternal rest.” So also, forgetful of our
own many needs, we now implore the Divine
Guest in our soul that all earthly stains may be
wiped out of the departed soul by His merciful
forgiveness. But, is that not a futile prayer?

At the moment when the soul left the body, that
now lies before us in the coffin, God’s hands of
mercy were tied and strict justic assumed com-
mand. Every cent of the debt due on forgiven

sin must be paid. In fact, it has been paid al-
ready by the infinite merits of Christ. We now
ask Him to apply a portion of these merits to
the departed soul, thus to satisfy Divine Justice

and permit the soul to enter into eternal bliss,
if she is not already enjoying it. What a force-
ful reminder for us to pay all our debts in time
by offering up the Sacrifice of Atonement for
this end as often as we assist at it. In Purgatory
we can only suffer; here we can atone and in-
crease our merit at the same time.

71



MASS YEAR REFLECTIONS

Each year the Reflections from THE MASS YEAR
are printed separately in pamphlet form. Below is
the list :

—

LITURGICAL ESSAYS by Benedictine Monks, 25*
Some of the symbols and ceremonies of the Church are

the subjects of these essays which demonstrate the beauty
and the influence of the Liturgy on the spiritual life of
the Faithful.

DIGEST OF THE LITURGICAL SEASONS, compiled
from the works of Dom Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B., by
Bernard Beck, O.S.B., I.T.D., %5<?

The Six Seasons of the Church Year are explained and
a brief history of each given.

ROUSE THY MIGHT by Sister M. Gonzaga, 254
Reflections on the “Collects/’ the greater petition prayers

of the Church, contain meditation material for Sundays
and the greater Feasts.

NEWNESS OF LIFE by Flacidus Kempf, O.S.B., 154
Reflections on the “Intreits” for the Sundays and great-

er Feasts will help attune your soul to sing more in
harmony with the Church.

FRUITFUL DAYS by Flacidus Kempf, O.S.B., 254
Reflections on the “Communion Chants” of the Sundays

and greater Feasts will foster greater devotion toward
the reception of Holy Communion as an active participa-
tion in the Holy Sacrifice.

CHRIST'S FACE by Placidus Kempf, O.S.B., 254
Reflections on the “Gospels” of the Sundays and greater

Feasts are the best way to mirror the Face of Christ ha
our daily lives.



POSTSCRIPTS TO THE EPISTLES by Placidus Kempf,
O.S.B., 254

Reflections on the “Epistles” of the Sundays and greater
Feasts are after-thoughts for applying St. Paul’s sugges-
tions to your own lives.

TELLING SECRETS by Placidus Kempf, O.S.B., 254
Reflections on the “Secrets” of the Sundays and greater

Feasts bring more quickly to mind the needs buried deep
in the heart as the Priest more solemnly presents the
petitions of the Faithful.

TUNE YOUR HEART by Placidus Kempf, O.S.B., 254
Reflections on the “Offertory Chants” of the Sundays

and greater Feasts are meant to fill your heart with the
proper dispositions for offering the Holy Sacrifice with
the Priest.

Order from:

—

The GRAIL

St. Meinrod, Indiana