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The Problem of Pretending in the Spiritual Life Msgr. Charles Pope • October 13, 2016 • The Gospel for today’s Mass (Friday of the 28th Week) opens up some important insights on the problem of “pretending” in the Christian life. One of the difficulties in arriving at these insights is the understanding we have today of the word hypocrisy. To some extent, it seems to have lost its subtler distinctions and nuances. To most of us, hypocrisy refers to our deeds not matching our truest beliefs, to saying one thing and doing another. While this is part of hypocrisy,...

A Picture of the Spiritual Life from Job Msgr. Charles Pope • September 29, 2016 • Consider a verse from the Book of Job that was read in the Liturgy earlier this week (Wednesday of the 26th Week of the Year):God is wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has withstood him and remained unscathed? (Job 9:3)At first glance, we might read this to mean that we don’t dare talk back to God or resist Him lest He punish us, but this would be a superficial interpretation. The text surely speaks more richly, of the spiritual life and...

In this society following the Lenten requirements of our faith and fasting are not in fashion and are not encouraged. Neither the TV, nor the newspapers will encourage you to to fast during this season. The most they may do, is to report on the Ash Wednesday, and the Holy Week, culminating with Easter (i.e. the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ). What can you do, if you don't have the strong will to fast during the 40 days of Lent. There are various levels of fasting. The earliest Church fasts severely restricted all foods, but this gradually eased. Pope...

Within the Christian faith, there is a significant amount of confusion regarding what happens after death. Some hold that after death, everyone “sleeps” until the final judgment, after which everyone will be sent to heaven or hell. Others believe that at the moment of death, people are instantly judged and sent to their eternal destinations. Still others claim that when people die, their souls/spirits are sent to a “temporary” heaven or hell, to await the final resurrection, the final judgment, and then the finality of their eternal destination. So, what exactly does the Bible say happens after death? First, for...

On the Purpose of Aridity in the Spiritual Life By: Msgr. Charles PopeNone of us who commit to prayer and the spiritual life enjoy those periods during which prayer, liturgy, or spiritual reading seem dry or dull. But such moments are necessary—or so it would seem—for God permits them. If something were always pleasant, we would not be sure if we loved God or merely the pleasantries. An old saying asks if we love the consolations of God or the God of all consolation. It is the dry and difficult times that help us to determine the answer.There are other reasons for dryness...

  IN THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR SINS With submission and conformity to the will of God we should bear the evil consequences of which falling into sin is often the cause. It may be some indisposition or some more serious effect on our health brought about by over-indulgence; some sacrifice we have to make because of money spent foolishly for selfish ends; some bad turn in our affairs owing to impatient or imprudent conduct on our part; difficulty in resisting temptation and leading a good life because of a long habit of sin we have contracted -- the situation...

9.   IN DEATH AND THE MANNER OF IT We ought to carry our conformity to God's will to the point of accepting our death. That we shall die is a decree against which there is no appeal. We shall die on the day and at the hour and in the manner that God decides, and it is this particular death we should accept, because it is the one most becoming His glory. One day when St. Gertrude was climbing a hill she slipped and fell down to the bottom. She was unhurt and began to climb up again...

Learning the Language of God A reflection on the Gospel reading from Thursday, November 19th (Luke 19:41-44), by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB. In the Gospel it says, "As Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it saying, 'If this day you only knew what makes for peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes.'" I think there is a window open in which God comes to us and we can either accept or reject Him. The response we give is due to our attachments or detachments. Sometimes when we're so attached to something we...

Saturday, November 14, 2009 Fighting Temptation A meditation on the first Mass reading from November 10th (Wisdom 2:23-3:9) by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB. The first reading from the book of Wisdom is just a treasure chest. It says, “God formed man to be imperishable. The image of His own nature He made him, but by the envy of the devil, death entered the world/ and they who are in his possession experience it.” I don’t think it’s our imagination that when we come closer to God, it seems like everything goes wrong—every temptation runs head strong at us, whatever it...

Saturday, October 31, 2009 Striving for Perfection A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB. Sometimes we're so impatient to be perfect even with our own selves. We want it done yesterday. Part of our own stability and perseverance has to do with the fact that we have to be stable in our perseverance. We have to go through it and not expect perfection so quickly. It's humiliating to be humble. It's in our nature to be want to be done with it so quickly that we don't have to deal with it anymore. And yet don't we find that when...

A reflection on the first Mass reading for October 16, 2009 (Romans 4:1-8) by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB.When we heard the letter of St Paul to the Romans yesterday, that last sentence struck me: “Blessed the man whose sin the Lord does not record.” If the Lord is so gracious as to not record the sins of a man, can we be as gracious to ourselves? It’s good to repent and to know our sinfulness, but when the knowledge of our sins consumes us and we’re so busy recording everything we’ve done it weighs us down. And then we start...

Saturday, October 10, 2009 Childlike Trust A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB. On October 3rd, we celebrated the feast of Blessed Columbia Marmion.* What strikes me most about him is that in every situation he was in, (and we know that the latter part of his life was very difficult as he was having to move his monks during World War I), he never once doubted that Christ was in the midst leading him. Isn’t that what we’re hearing constantly in the Gospels—that childlike trust in God? I was thinking about that clarity of children. I remember my sisters...

Being Content A reflection on the Mass readings for September 18, 2009 (1 Tim 6:2c-12; Luke 8:1-3) by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB. In my reflections this morning, the word ‘contentment’ kept coming up. I first thought of this word in relation to what St. Benedict says in Chapter 7 of our Holy Rule where it reads: “The sixth degree of humility is that a monk be content with all that is mean and poor and in all that is enjoined on him esteem himself a sinful and unworthy laborer saying with the prophet ‘I have been brought to nothing and...

A reflection on the Gospel reading for June 8, 2009, (Mt. 5:1-12) by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB. When I read the Gospel of the Beatitudes earlier this week, what was rather striking to me was that it didn’t say: "blessed are those who were poor in spirit, blessed are those who had mourned, or blessed are those who were meek." No it says, “blessed are those who are...” That little active verb ‘are’. It’s the present moment that they’re doing it. They aren’t looking at the past and saying, “O gosh I was that way.” Nor are they looking in...

A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB. “You are the salt of the earth.” (Mt. 5:13) Salt can be used for healing and our lives can bring great healing by being who we are and living it fully. I heard a similar message in the letter to the Corinthians where St. Paul says, “Our word to you is not ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ was not ‘yes’ and ‘no’... but ‘yes’ has been in Him.” (2 Cor 1:18f) 'Yes' implies an openness. When someone says ‘yes’ it’s as if the door has been open wide...

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the 1939 publication of St. Josemaría’s spiritual masterpiece, The Way. It has been and remains a source of inspiration and spiritual growth for millions of people all over the world, having sold over 5 million copies in 50 languages. In 2006, Bishop Javier Echevarría, Prelate of Opus Dei, wrote an introduction for the English edition of this book that is published by Random House/Doubleday in the United States (click here for more information). We present that introduction here. INTRODUCTION TO THE WAY BY BISHOP JAVIER ECHEVERRÍA (©Reprinted here with permission of Doubleday Publishers)...

The Catechism of the Catholic Church on the subject of contemplative prayer: 2709 What is contemplative prayer? St. Teresa answers: "Contemplative prayer [oracion mental] in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us."6 Contemplative prayer seeks him "whom my soul loves."7 It is Jesus, and in him, the Father. We seek him, because to desire him is always the beginning of love, and we seek him in that pure faith which causes us to be born of him and to live in...

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE THE TENDENCY OF OUR CORRUPT NATURES, PROMPTED BY THE DEVIL, TO INDULGE IN RASH JUDGMENT, AND THE REMEDY FOR THIS EVIL SMUG SELF-SATISFACTION is responsible for another great disorder, which is rash judgment. This vice, which we not only encourage in ourselves, but infuse into others, springs from and is nourished by pride; and in proportion to our acceptance of it is our growing conceit and danger of further delusions by the devil. For by degrees we assume for ourselves what we detract from others, foolishly imagining ourselves exempt from the sins for which we so readily condemn...

Folks, I want to share with you an interview I conducted with a lay Catholic Contemplative Catholic person I know. The contemplative person asked me not to protect his/her anonymity for reasons that will be immediately stated. I hope you find the interview, if not edifying, at least informative. Good morning! Please, state your name for the record. You know, I would rather not. Why not? Well, because I don’t want to attract attention to myself at church or at my secular job and I want to avoid misunderstandings. My fellow parishioners, coworkers, and neighbors may not know how to...

DON'T LOOK BACK AT 'SODOM' ONCE WHAT YOU'VE DONE HAS BEEN CONFESSED, CLEARED When we convert -- when we actively go to Jesus -- we leave worldliness.  We leave transgressions. The spiritual blinders lift. We see "backstage" in the dynamics of life and there is no going back -- or shouldn't be. Too often, however, a part of us remains stuck in history. Are you hung up on the past? Do you spend time hovering over what you once did (before conversion) -- past mistakes? Do you have trouble forgiving yourself (even after correcting the impulse that led to...