External and internal discipline: ceaseless prayer and the daily rule of prayer

 

The reading from the handbook today made reference to the dichotomy between internal and external discipline. Indeed, we can see this dichotomy play out in many areas of our life. In some cases we can point to times and seasons of our own experience, in which external discipline was applied to us and that experience helped us to become more, inwardly, disciplined. There is one common area of life that this dichotomy is relevant to all of us and that is the life of prayer.

In the Christian life of prayer there is a certain tension between the command of Saint Paul to "pray always," and the need that each individual has to have specific times of prayer during the day. The latter discipline, adhering to a schedule, a rule of prayer, is essential to every one of us and it must be, at the outset, imposed from the outside. This does not necessarily mean that someone else has to determine our schedule of prayer and what prayers we will say every day. No, rather, it means that we must decide ahead of time what we are going to do, and, with that firm decision, carry out the program as decided. For this process, one of the most beneficial things is to sit down and write out what we are going to do from day to day in our life of prayer. If we do this, our rule of prayer takes on a reality it did not have before. It becomes separate from us, outside our mind. Once it is outside our mind, it is objectively real. It ceases being simply one of our ideas. It becomes our judge, because we are now in the position of either abiding by it or disobeying it. When it is written, outside our minds, sitting on the table or readable on a screen, it becomes an external source of discipline.

But, on the other hand, there is always the command of St. Paul, "pray always." So, we have our rule of prayer that we have definitely decided on, and we put it into practice, but what about "always." Yes, according to the teaching of the Holy Apostle, we have to find some means to live consciously in the presence of God throughout our day, every moment, inside and outside our pray times. This we learn to do slowly, quietly, perhaps over many years, in which prayer is allowed to fuse with our work, and conversation with God goes on through all our circumstances, even in the midst of what would have been distractions to our earlier selves. At the point that we become used to St. Paul's ideal of ceaseless prayer, the greatest temptation arises. We can find ourselves saying, "I pray always, so it is not so important for me to fulfill the things that are written in my rule." We begin to cut back the rule for the sake of other things (interpersonal commitments [so-and-so needs my help to do x, so I will not be able to do certain parts of my prayer schedule], work obligations, even health). The invariable result is wondrous indeed, even if in a very dark manner. The habit of ceaseless prayer diminishes within us and eventually goes away. It needs the support of those periods of concentrated prayer that are provided by the external rule. It is similar to the case of written language. Words strung together have dubious meaning or no meaning at all as long as they are without punctuation. Only when punctuation is added does the whole sentence come together in coherency and indubitability.

We have to seriously apply ourselves to fulfilling St. Paul's command to pray always, but it is best if we know from the outset that this internal discipline will only be possible for us if we have the external discipline that is provided for us by a rule of prayer. I encourage all of you to sit down and with prayer and reflection draft such a rule. Yes, by all means "tweak" it over time if it proves to be too heavy or too light, but otherwise abide by it every day. It is the sine qua non for any further advancement in the spiritual life.

Чеснота бідності: бути задоволеним малим The Virtue of Poverty: to be satisfied with little

 

У сьогоднішньому читанні першого послання святого апостола Павла до Коринтян ми почули лише частину захисту свого способу життя, спрямованого проти звинувачень Коринтської Церкви. Церква Коринта — це Церква, яку заснував сам святий Павло, але з моменту свого заснування вона занурилася в різні види лжевчень, як моральних, так і доктринальних, і святий Павло, як у цьому листі, так і в наступному за ним , намагається закликати цю норовливу Церкву повернутися до справжньої Євангелії Ісуса Христа.

In the reading today from the first epistle of the Holy Apostle Paul to Corinthians, we heard just part of St. Paul’s defense of his manner of life, directed against the accusations of the Corinthian Church. The Church of Corinth is a Church, which St. Paul himself founded, but since its foundation it has drifted into various kinds of false teaching, both moral and doctrinal, and St. Paul, in this letter as well as the one that follows it, is trying to call this wayward Church back to the genuine Gospel of Jesus Christ.

З аргументів Святого Павла ясно, що Церква Коринта прийняла ранню форму лжевчення, яке зазвичай називають «євангелієм процвітання». Це фальшиве вчення стверджує, що тих, хто справді догоджає Богу, Він благословляє мирським багатством і процвітанням. Те, що це вчення хибне, доводить сама Біблія. У найдавніші віки світу найправеднішою людиною у світі, найповнішою милості Бога був Йов, вождь у землі Уц. Хоча Біблія говорить нам, що на початку свого життя він насолоджувався процвітанням, Бог свідомо дозволив, щоб усе це процвітання було відібрано в нього. Бог хотів, щоб Йов зазнав дуже великих випробувань і страждань, бідності та хвороб, щоб він міг бути вдосконаленим, перевіреним, як золото, випробуване вогнем у горнилі. Саме так святий апостол Петро описує переживання випробувань у цьому житті. Він каже: «Ви радієте, хоч тепер на деякий час вас, можливо, доведеться терпіти різні випробування, щоб щирість твоєї віри, дорожча за золото, яке, хоч і тлінне, випробовується вогнем, принесла хвалу, славу та честь в об’явленні Ісуса Христа». Наприкінці історії про Йова Бог знову відновлює його добробут як символ неперевершеного багатства Царства Небесного.

It is clear from St. Paul’s argument that the Church of Corinth has embraced an early form of the false teaching, which is usually termed “prosperity gospel.” This false teaching holds that those who truly please God are blessed by Him with worldly wealth and prosperity. The fact that this teaching is false is proved by the Bible itself. In the very early ages of the world, the most righteous man in the world, the one most favored by God, was Job, a chieftain in the land of Uz. Although the Bible tells us that he enjoyed prosperity at the beginning of his life, God deliberately allowed all that prosperity to be taken away from him. God willed that Job undergo very great trials and tribulations, poverty and disease, so that he could be perfected, proved like fire-tried gold in the furnace. This is the way that the Holy Apostle Peter describes the experience of trials in this life. He says, “You rejoice, though now for a little while you may have to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold which though perishable is tested by the fire, may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” In the end of the story of Job, God, once again, restores his prosperity as a symbol of the surpassing wealth of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Бог бажає нашого щастя, але не фальшивого щастя, яке коріниться в речах цього світу, які за своєю природою є тимчасовими, ілюзорними та порожніми. Натомість Він бажає нашого вічного щастя в оновленому світі, який не мине. Відповідно до образу купця, який часто вживається в Біблії, Бог дає нам цей світ, щоб ми могли обміняти його на те, що є більш цінним – на Царство Небесне. У цьому ми знаходимо основу для контрасту, який робить св. Павло в сьогоднішньому читанні послання. Він говорить про велике багатство і вплив християнської громади в Коринті. Очевидно, це багатство та вплив, якими громада дуже пишається. Але Павло порівнює цей спосіб життя з життям апостолів, які в той період ходили з місця на місце, з міста в місто, щоб проповідувати Євангеліє Христа. Він розповідає нам, що апостоли були бездомними, безгрошівцями, мали поганий одяг, їх зневажали всюди, де б вони не були, і були вигнанцями з чемного суспільства як євреїв, так і язичників. Проте, незважаючи на жорстоке поводження, апостоли Христові завжди були шанобливими та лагідними до всіх, кого зустрічали, навіть до тих, хто їх ображав. Аргумент св. Павла полягає в тому, що це життя, яким жили апостоли, є вищим від життя гордовитої коринтської церкви.

God desires our happiness, but not a false happiness that is rooted in things of this world that are, by nature, temporary, illusory and empty. Instead, He desires our eternal happiness in a renewed world that does not pass away. According to the image of the merchant that is often used in the Bible, God gives us this world so that we can trade it for what is more valuable, the Kingdom of Heaven. In this we find the basis for the contrast that St. Paul is making in the epistle reading today. He speaks of the great wealth and influence of the Christian community in Corinth. It is clearly a wealth and influence in which the community takes great pride. But Paul contrasts that lifestyle with the life lived by the Apostles, who at that period were going from place to place, city to city, to preach the Gospel of Christ. He tells us that the Apostles were homeless, penniless, had poor clothing, were disdained everywhere they went, and were outcasts from polite society both Jew and Gentile. Yet, despite their ill-treatment, the Apostles of Christ were always respectful and gentle to all they met, even those who insulted them. St. Paul’s argument is that this life, lived by the Apostles, is superior to that of the haughty Corinthian Church.

Дійсно, християнство єдине дивовижне серед усіх релігій світу, тому що серед нас бідність стала чеснотою. Суть чесноти бідності полягає в тому, щоб задовольнятися малим. Саме Господь Ісус, у контексті Святої Родини, навчає нас цієї чесноти. Ми можемо вважати цілком доречним для Царя царів народитися в палаці, так само як ті фігури в минулому, які заявляли про себе як Цар царів (Навуходоносор з Вавилона, Кір Великий з Персії, Олександр Македонський тощо. .), але справжній Цар царів вирішив народитися в стайні, оточеній запахом тварин, і бути покладеним в годівницю, а не в колиску.

Indeed, Christianity is alone wondrous among all the religions of the world, because among us poverty has become a virtue. The essence of the virtue of poverty is to be satisfied with little. It is the Lord Jesus Himself, in the context of the Holy Family, Who teaches us this virtue. We may consider it entirely appropriate for the King of Kings to be born in a palace, just like those figures in the past, who claimed to be the King of Kings (Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Cyrus the Great of Persia, Alexander the Great, etc.), but the true King of Kings chose to be born in a stable, surrounded by the smell of animals, and to be laid in their feeding trough, instead of in a cradle.

Чеснота бідності дуже чужа сучасній американській культурі, в якій ми живемо. Однак, щоб бути схожими на Христа та Його святих, ми повинні прийняти цю чесноту. Маємо задовольнятися малим. Ми не можемо дозволити, щоб прив’язаність до мирських речей відволікала нас від надзвичайного добра Царства Небесного. Якщо ми приймемо цю чесноту, то незабаром дізнаємося, наскільки це звільняє, тому що наша новознайдена простота дозволить нам вільно зосереджуватися на наших міжособистісних стосунках. Нашим багатством будуть наші стосунки з Богом та іншими.

The virtue of poverty is very foreign to this contemporary American culture in which we live. However, in order to be like Christ and His saints, we have to embrace this virtue. We have to be satisfied with little. We cannot allow attachment to worldly things to distract us from the surpassing good of the Kingdom of Heaven. If we embrace this virtue, we will soon learn how liberating it is, because our newfound simplicity will make us free to focus on our interpersonal relationships. Our wealth will be our relationship with God and others.  

Order and peace: The cosmos, the Church and the meeting

Today's reading from the handbook was, once again, concerned with the meeting and its central importance in the life of the Legion of Mary. Today was particularly emphasized the importance of a sense of order, because the Legion's milieu is characterized by order. In this way, the Legion system shares a great commonality with the Church as a whole, but also the entire cosmos. Indeed, the very word "cosmos" signifies order. The original word appears in very, very early Greek, in which its first usage is attested as a robe. Before one goes out in public, one "orders" him or herself by putting on his or her robe. Apparently, the analogy of the entire universe as a robe was common and stretched across cultural boundaries in the ancient Near East, for, in the Psalms we read: "Long ago You (God) founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will remain. They will all grow old like a garment. You will change them like clothes that are changed, but You neither change nor have an end.

Indeed, order is fundamental to every level of Creation, because it is order alone that conveys intelligibility. Only ordered things are understandable. Only things that have form can be known. God's fundamental work in Creation was making order out of a primeval chaos. The very beginning of the Bible, the first verse of the Book of Genesis gives us the mysterious words: "In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth, and the Earth was tohu bohu...." This Hebrew expression is usually translated as something like "formless and void." Yes, in the beginning, God created everything out of nothing, but this verse is specifically talking about creating order, making the nascent universe understandable. For whom did God labor so much to make His new Creation intelligible? Whom did He appoint at once as the interpreter of all His works? The one created in His Image and Likeness. Yes, in fact, He appointed the man in the beginning to do very similar work. He placed him in the Garden in order to tend and care for it. There is a very great distinction between farmers and gardeners. Farming is what the man inherited after falling into sin. It is toil, as God warned the man it would be when He said, "cursed is the ground because of you. Thorns and thistles will it bring forth for you. Of the sweat of your face you will eat of it all the days of your life." Gardening, on the other hand, is about "cosmos," that is, order and arrangement.

As one made in the perfect likeness of God, many spiritual authors have speculated on the circumstances and conditions of the various homes of the Most Holy Mother of God, most especially that home she created and maintained for the Lord Jesus and St. Joseph in Nazareth of Galilee, the very same home in which the Incarnate God grew up among human beings as fully human. The spiritual writers agree that this home was a place of profound order and, therefore, a place of profound peace. There is an essential connection between order and peace, because, again, only order is intelligible, and we only feel peace in the midst of circumstances that we understand. That which is unintelligible is always threatening. True peace always springs from order. The inverse is never true. Peace never brings forth order, but always order, peace. It is important for us to realize this, because order is a thing that must be strived after. We must work for it. Only having exerted the effort can we reap the harvest of peace. According to the testimony of the spiritual writers and mystics, the Most Holy Mother of God exerted great effort, worked diligently, and her house was a house of peace that sprang from its harmony and order.

The handbook's vision of the Legion meeting is such that the meeting is intensely ordered, everything set within very specific parameters. If all things in the meeting are kept within their assigned limits, the byproduct, just as it was in the Holy House of Nazareth, is peace. Herein is a mystical connection. The meeting is like a mystical evening in the Holy House, in the company of the Holy Family. In spite of all of the martial language in which it is described the martial experience of the meeting gives way (at some point in its practice) to that of the family. The experience becomes very similar to that pictured in the Holy Trinity icon so much beloved by Eastern Christians in which the front of the table is left open, so that the one who prays before the icon can approach the table and share the fellowship of the Three Divine Persons.

Наші випробування мають кінцеву мету Our trials have ultimate purpose

Дорогі брати і сестри у Христі—

Сьогоднішнє євангельське читання є нагадуванням про дві важливі істини нашого християнського життя. По-перше, це нагадує нам, що Бог може і бажає допомогти нам з усіма труднощами нашого життя, і що жодні труднощі, які ми маємо, не є для Нього занадто великими. По-друге, читання Євангелія нагадує нам, що Бог дійсно бажає труднощів, через які ми проходимо з Його власних співчутливих причин, щоб ми зростали в чеснотах, якими ми повинні володіти, щоб бути подібними до Його Сина, Ісуса Христа, і жити вічно в Царстві Небесному.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ—

Today’s Gospel reading is a reminder of two important truths of our Christian life. First, it reminds us that God is able and willing to help us with all the difficulties of our lives, and that no difficulty, which we have is too great for Him. Second, the Gospel reading reminds us that God indeed wills the difficulties, which we pass through for His own compassionate reasons, so that we grow in the virtues that we must possess in order to be conformed to His Son, Jesus Christ, and live forever in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Коли шторм обрушився на учнів у човні на Галілейському морі, навіть ці досвідчені рибалки швидко запанікували. Шторм був надзвичайно сильним, такого рибалки ще ніколи не відчували (хоча Галілейське море відоме раптовими та сильними штормами). Щоб навіть посилити почуття паніки у рибалок, вони побачили те, що, на їхню думку, було привидом, який ходив по воді. Тим не менш, бурю втихомирює Ісус лише Своєю присутністю. Як тільки Він увійшов до човна, сильний вітер стих.

When the storm beset the disciples in the boat on the Sea of Galilee, even these experienced fishermen quickly panicked. The storm was unusually strong, such that the fishermen had never experienced before (even though the Sea of Galilee is known for sudden and violent storms). To even increase the fishermen’s sense of panic further, they saw what they thought was a ghost walking on the water. Nevertheless, the storm is calmed by Jesus through His presence alone. As soon as He enters the boat, the violent wind ceases.

Подібно до рибалок у човні, ми також є учнями Христа та членами Його Тіла, Церкви. Таким чином, ми можемо бути впевнені, що які б негаразди ми не зазнали в нашому житті, Господь допоможе нам пройти через них без шкоди. Якщо ми будемо просити Його в молитві, наш Бог відповість нам благодаттю, достатньою для подолання перешкод, які постають у нашому житті. Поки ми перебуваємо в спілкуванні з Господом через благодать і молитву, нам не потрібно боятися жодних обставин нашого життя. Насправді ми можемо бути впевнені в Божому милостивому намірі щодо нас і Його постійній допомозі.

Like the fishermen in the boat, we too are disciples of Christ and members of His Body, the Church. Thus, we can be confident that whatever turmoil we experience in our lives, the Lord will help us to pass through it without harm. If we ask Him in prayer, our God will answer us with the grace that is sufficient to surmount the obstacles that our lives present. As long as we are in communion with the Lord through grace and prayer, we need not fear any of the circumstances of our lives. In fact, we can be sure of God’s gracious intention towards us and His constant help.

Проте, як ми сказали на початку, ми повинні постійно усвідомлювати, що Бог бажає труднощів. Бог хоче, щоб ми переживали певні негаразди, печалі та зриви в нашому житті, тому що Він знає, що без них ми не будемо зростати в чеснотах, які ми повинні мати, щоб бути вдосконаленими у своїй подібності до Христа. Усе, що Він робить у нашому житті, – на добро, і ми повинні прагнути постійно це усвідомлювати.

Nevertheless, as we said at the beginning, we must be constantly aware that God wills the difficulties. God wants us to experience certain troubles, sorrows, griefs and disruptions in our lives, because He knows that, without them, we will not grow in the virtues that we must have in order to be perfected in our likeness to Christ. Everything that He does in our lives is for good, and we must strive to be constantly aware of that.

Існує різниця між позитивною і дозволеною волею Бога. Бог Вседобрий, тому Він не може однозначно бажати зла. Моральне зло, яке ми спостерігаємо навколо нас у цьому світі, не є позитивним бажанням Бога, тому що це гріх, і Бог не може мати нічого спільного з гріхом. Тим не менш, Бог дозволяє наслідків усіх цих моральних вад. Чому? Ну, Бог не такий, як ми. Ми допускаємо речі, які ми не можемо запобігти. Але Бог міг запобігти будь-чому. Ні, Він допускає наслідки всього морального зла у світі, тому що Він повертає ці наслідки до доброго, співчутливого результату. Наш досвід зла в нашому житті, як природного, так і морального зла, призначена для нашого блага. Це дозволено Богом, щоб ми росли і ставали досконалішими.

There is a distinction between God’s positive and permissive will. God is all good, so He cannot positively will evil. The moral evils that we observe all around us in this world are not positively willed by God, because they are sin and God cannot have anything to do with sin. Nevertheless, God permissively wills the consequences of all these moral evils. Why? Well, God is not like us. We permit things to happen, which we cannot prevent. But God could prevent anything. No, allows the consequences of all the moral evils in the world, because He turns those consequences to a good, compassionate outcome. Our endurance of the evil in our lives, both natural evil and moral evil, is intended for our good. It is permitted by God, so that we grow and become more perfect.

Брати і сестри, нам потрібно молитися в часи біди, смутку і горя. Саме вступаючи в розмову з Господом про обставини нашого життя, ми ближче розуміємо шляхи Бога і зростаємо. Аналогія з гімназією завжди вигідна. Щоб прогресувати в тренажерному залі, вам потрібен опір. Загальноприйнятий вислів: «на Місяці не наростиш м’язів». Справді, всі ми потребуємо опору труднощів у нашому житті, бо через нього ми досягаємо сили та витривалості справжніх воїнів за Царство Небесне. Водночас нам потрібна Божа сила й розрада, щоб витримати наші випробування, і Бог дає нам це в молитві.

Brothers and sisters, we need to pray through times of trouble, sorrow and grief. It is by entering into conversation with the Lord about the circumstances of our lives that we come to understand more clearly the ways of God, and we grow. The analogy with the gymnasium is always profitable. To make progress in the gym, you need resistance. The common expression is “you can’t build muscle on the Moon.” Indeed, all of us need the resistance of difficulty in our lives, because by it we attain the strength and toughness of real soldiers for the Kingdom of Heaven. At the same time, though, we need God’s strength and consolation to endure our trials, and God provides that for us in prayer.

The Legion: A leaven in the lump of the Church

Today, in the reading from the handbook assigned for spiritual reading, we began a lengthy section devoted to the importance of the meeting in the life of the member of the Legion of Mary. This constitutes an exceedingly good time to focus our meditation once again on the Legion meeting's quasi-liturgical nature. The reason this is so is because the Legion's life in the life of the Church is an analogy. Just as the Christian's personal fruitfulness and spiritual health are dependent on his or her attendance at Church services, so too does the legionary's fruitfulness and spiritual health depend on his or her attendance at the weekly meeting.

As we have already pointed out in several other places, the Legion's meeting is first of all a prayer meeting, and not only a prayer meeting, but one that is based on an ancient Vespers service. We can simply restate the argument once again. Cast your eyes momentarily on the structure of the Office of Vespers in the Roman Rite. There, you find a service that consists of the usual beginning, psalmody, a short reading, the Magnificat (the Song of the Most Holy Mother of God), a litany and concluding prayers. This structure is very clearly present in the Legion meeting, except that five decades of the Rosary replace the psalmody. The Vespers is one of the constituent services during the day, which make up what is called The Prayer of the Church, or the Liturgy of the Hours. This daily round of services is intended to sanctify time in the this world of decay, while the Mass, on the other hand, does not belong to time, but raises us up above and beyond time to the realities of the Kingdom of Heaven.

In the first centuries of the Church's existence, after Our Lord's Ascension into Heaven, Christians were absolutely convinced of the necessity of attending the Church's services. The reasoning was simple and Pauline. The Church is the Body of Christ. The health of any part of that Body depends on it communion with the rest of the Body. Any time that a part of the Body is separated from the Body, that part withers and dies, because it no longer has the life of the Body in it. No only that, but the health of any part of the Body is dependent on the degree of its participation in the Body. Those parts that have good circulation thrive and grow strong, while those parts that have poor circulation fall into sickness. Based on this simple reasoning, the Early Christians were convinced of the necessity to stand as often as possible in the presence of the Lord in the Church's services. What makes this even more amazing is the fact that, for much of this period, being present at Christian services was a life and death decision. Every member of the liturgical assembly knew people who had been killed for their faith in Christ. The remembered them in the context of the services and they asked for their prayers. They stood there with the knowledge that they too might meet the same fate. Naturally, those liturgical assemblies were small, intimate matters in which everybody knew everybody else and knew them well. They were conscious of one another's presence, those who were physically present in the synaxis and those who were spiritually present, although they had already entered the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Legion's meeting is an analogy of the Church's pure liturgical life. It is before an altar. It is a small, intimate matter, and although it is not quite a life and death decision (at least here in the United States), it is a commitment to following Christ under the leadership of His Holy Mother. Thus, it does not replace the Church's services, but augments them. In most parishes, the weekly services gather hundreds of people together. It is no longer a small, intimate and committed group bound together in common purpose. Many attendees at weekly Mass are unconvinced that their fecundity and health depend on their communion with the Church. They come to punch their ticket for another week, but live their lives from Sunday to Sunday in forgetfulness of God. The purpose of the Legion and its meetings is not judge such, but to help them. In the first centuries of the Church, the small meetings of Christians were a leaven in the lump of the whole of human society. Eventually, that leaven transformed that society into a Christian civilization. In an analogous way, the Legion now stands in the position to be a leaven in the lump of the Church.

By way of this analogy, we can see how important the Legion's weekly meeting is in the life of the individual legionary and how important his or her life is in the life of the Church. The Legion continuously strives to increase its legionaries communion with the Body of Christ. This is the reason why what is called praetorian membership is so recommended, because it increases the circulation of the individual legionary in the life of the Church through the Church's services, the daily Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours.

БОГ ХАРЧУЄ НАС БАГАТЬМА СПОСОБАМИ GOD FEEDS US IN MANY WAYS

 

БОГ ХАРЧУЄ НАС БАГАТЬМА СПОСОБАМИ

GOD FEEDS US IN MANY WAYS

Брати й сестри у Христі—

Сьогодні, коли ми чуємо оповідання про харчування тисячі людей, ми повинні роздумувати над шляхами, якими Господь наш харчує нас. У Євангелії від Святого Йоана, Господь наш Ісус Христос нам каже, «Я—хліб життя, Яке зійшло з неба.» Природно, коли Господь Ісус сказав, «Я –хліб життя,» Він звернувся до таїнства Євхаристії, тому що у святкуванні Божественної Літургії ми причащаємося Тіла, Крови, Душі й Божества Ісуса, Господа нашого.  Але, у багатьох інших шляхах, Господь Ісус кормить нас іжею, яка підсилює нас для подорожі до спасіння у небесному царстві. 

Today, when we hear the story about the feeding of the thousands, we should think about the ways, in which our Lord feeds us. In the Gospel According to St. John, our Lord Jesus Christ tells us, “I am the bread of life, which came down from heaven.” Naturally, when the Lord Jesus said, “I am the bread of life,” He referred to the Eucharist, because in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, we partake of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity and Jesus, our Lord. But, in many other ways, the Lord Jesus feeds us with the food, which strengthens for the journey to salvation in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Мабуть, ми повинні роздумувати про найбільш видимий шлях, яким Він годує нас. Він харчує нас матеріальною, тілесною їжею. Людські істоти є композитивними. Бог створив нас, щоб бути комбінацією тілесних і душевних частин. Отже, всі речі, які підтримують нашу тілесну природу є дарами Господа Бога. Він нам дає їх, щоб уживати їх як засоби до нашої вічної долі. Звичайно, Він нам дає всі речі, щоб служили нам, і часто наша помилка є тою, щоб робити їх метами у собі.

Perhaps, first, we should think about the most obvious way, in which He feeds us. He feeds us with the material corporeal food. Human beings are composite. God created us to be a combination of corporal and spiritual parts. Therefore, all things, which support our bodily nature are gifts of the Lord God. He gives them to us to use as means to our eternal destiny. Naturally, He gives all these things to us to serve us, and often our mistake is to make them ends in themselves.

Він годує нас Його таїнствами. Починаючи з хрещення, добросердечний Господь знову будує нашу природу. Він чинить можливим для нас, щоб вибирати добро, і зливає у нас благодать і чесноти. Особливо, через таїнство хрещення, ми приймаємо дари мудрости, справедливости, мужности і поміркованости, і ці чесноти є тими, які нам допомагають, щоб жити у цьому світі, терплячи спокусу і страждання.  Тоді, миропомазання подає нам печать Святого Духа, -- і ця печать дозволяє нам, щоб стати повно конформованими до Христа у Його володінні всіх речей, пророцтві й священстві. Тоді, також, таїнство Євхаристії нам дає відпущення наших гріхів разом з участтю у житті Бога Самого.

He feeds us through His Mysteries. Beginning from Baptism, the generous Lord rebuilds our nature. He makes it possible for us to choose the good, and pours into us grace and virtues. Especially, through the Mystery of Baptism, we receive the gifts of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, and these virtues are the ones that help us live in this world, enduring temptation and suffering.  Then, chrismation gives to us the seal of the Holy Spirit, -- this seal allows us to become fully conformed to Christ in his government of all things, His prophethood and His priesthood.  Then, as well, the Mystery of the Eucharist  give us the forgiveness of our sins together with a share in the life of God Himself.

Але, це не є тільки шлях, яким Бог харчує нас. Він також нам дає харчування у Його Святому Письмі. Читання Святого Письма дійсно харчує нас, тобто воно нам дає життя, тому що це нам дає особистий контакт з Господом Богом, Який є Життя.  У Святому Письмі, Бог говорить нам, і ми маємо нагоду, щоб запитати Бога про ці речі, які турбують нас.  Коли ми читаємо Біблію, Бог просвічує наш розум, щоб розуміти більше і більше про Господні справи з нами. Тож, Він надихає нас, щоб подякувати Йому за ці всі чудові речі, але Він також приведе нас, щоб запитати про напрямок нашого життя і наш шлях до досконалости і участі у небесному царстві. 

But this is not the only way that God feeds us. He also gives us nourishment in His Holy Scriptures. Reading Holy Scripture truly feeds us, that is, it gives us life, because it gives us personal contact with the Lord God, Who is Life.  In the Holy Scriptures, God speaks to us, and we have the opportunity to ask God about those things that trouble us. When we read the Bible, God enlightens our mind to understand more and more about the Lord’s dealings with us.  So, He inspires us to thank Him for all these wonderful things, but He also leads us to ask concerning the direction of our life and our way to perfection and participation in the heavenly kingdom.

Бог нам дає всі речі для харчування, але, так як наша матеріальна їжа, щоб асимілювати її прямо і добре, ми мусимо жувати. Ми потребуємо призначити період, кожного дня, в якому роздумувати над Святим Письмом, Святими Таїнствами і богослужінням Святої Церкви.  Ми повинні зосереджуватись на тому, що ми розуміємо, бо наше розуміння буде рости через дію благодаті.  Ми повинні молитися Богові, уживаючи ці речі, які ми розуміємо, як фундамент особистого розважання, пізнаючи те, що Бог розмовляє з нами особистим способом через Святе Письмо і цілу традицію Церкви.  Навіть якщо ми вибираємо сюжет нашого роздумування випадково, цей сюжет є ще згідно Божої волі, бо Святий Дух—Цар Небесний є всюди і все наповняє. Він є навіть у наших розумах і серцях.

God gives us all these things for nourishment, but, just like our material food, in order to assimilate in properly and well, we must chew. We need to set aside a time, each day, in which to meditate on Holy Scripture, the Holy Mysteries and the services of the Church.  We should focus on what we understand, since our understanding will grow through the action of grace.  We should pray to God, using these things, which we understand, as the foundation of personal reflection, recognizing that God speaks with us in a personal way through the Holy Scripture and the whole Tradition of the Church. Even if we choose the subject of our meditation at random, that subject is still according to the will of God, since the Holy Spirit—the Heavenly King is everywhere present and filling all things. He is even in our minds and hearts.

Generosity and gratitude

Today's reading from the handbook concerning the secret bag hinges upon the virtue of generosity. According to the Fathers of the Church, the source of the virtue of generosity can be found in God the Creator. God gratuitously creates man in His own image and likeness. In turn, man is moved to gratitude by this free gift, and, because of his gratitude, mirrors God's generosity in his own actions. Then, those generous actions create gratitude, which spurs generosity in others. The mirroring action of generosity and gratitude continues on and on until the end of time.

One particularly famous example of this mirroring action comes from the Scriptures, from the Book of the Acts of the Holy Apostles. In that book, certain prophets living in Antioch prophesy that a universal famine is going to come upon the world. St. Luke goes on to note that the famine did, in fact, happen during the reign of the Emperor Claudius. But, at that point, when the famine was first prophesied, the Church in Antioch decides to take up a collection to support the Church in Jerusalem. Collections of this kind were then also done in all the Churches, which Paul and Barnabas and John Mark, as well as the other apostles, founded in the Mediterranean basin. It is clear from the account that the collections are acts of generosity, but they spring from gratitude, because the new Gentile Churches were deeply grateful on account of the faith and hope that they had received through the original Mother Church of Jerusalem.

If we go to literature and hagiography to discover generosity and gratitude, we find that this mirroring is found at all times and in every place, in every culture, and it has certain undeniable effects. In order to understand those effects, we should look first to the greatest paradigms of Christian generosity, the martyrs. The martyrs, overcome by gratitude and love for God, freely decide to lay down their lives for Him. This, the greatest act of generosity, spurs further mirroring in creation around the martyrs, which leads to an endless cycle. In gratitude and admiration for their generous acts, we offer our prayers to the martyrs. They respond to our prayers with generosity, pouring out miracles upon suffering mankind. Mankind returns to the martyrs with greater gratitude and greater generosity in prayer and love of God, and, in response, once again, the outpouring of gifts continues and increases.

The corollary reality, which we also observe is that the generosity-gratitude mirroring perfects the saints in their humanity. They seem to become more and more human, even as their sufferings increase. What does this mean? Certain human beings become admired as models by others, because it is perceived that their virtues have made them more perfect manifestations of human nature. Thus, just as the Lord Jesus, being the perfect man, is the model for all, so too the saints become models for others, because they are perceived as more human through their love and generosity. In the opposite way, literature shows us examples of greedy human beings, who become progressively less and less human, until they devolve into a bestial and demonic state. There are famous examples of greedy people in literature, who become less and less human in the course of the story (e.g. Midas, the king of Lydia).

After the Lord Jesus, there are few better examples of generosity and gratitude than St. Nicholas of Myra. Many are the anecdotes from his episodic life, which show him doing acts of kindness to others, on account of his great love of God: redeeming girls from lives of prostitution by throwing wallets full of gold through their windows at night; hearing the prayers of sailors in danger at sea and appearing to them to give them peace and calm the storm, even though this incident was still during his earthly life and was accomplished by the rarity of bilocation; miraculously reassembling the bodies of the boys being pickled in the salting tub, raising them from the dead and bringing those guilty of murder to justice, to name just a few. Most human beings would look upon the example of Saint Nicholas and affirm that he is more human than any of us. And this holds true even for those who would not believe the literal details of the story.

But what about generosity that is unseen and unsung? This is, after all, precisely what the secret bag is. There is much in Christian Tradition that suggests that this is precisely the generosity that yields the greatest mirroring effect. Because it is seen only by God, it is directed to God the Creator, and is rewarded only by God with an increase in virtue that is unaccountable and inexplicable by any other. Thus, it is designed like a token, a particle of the generosity of the saints, which is the mirror of the generosity of the Lord Jesus, Almighty God, Who entered this world and took on human nature, suffered the pains of human nature to reclaim the human race from the realm of Death and destruction. Just as it took God's special revelation to make our redemption known, so too the saints' long-suffering generosity was hidden from the eyes of all but revealed by God's design.

When you put your hand in the secret bag, recall that you are participating in the mirror chain of generosity and gratitude that goes back through the ages to the Creation of the world. Your generosity is hidden, because the majority of God's largesse is hidden. What He has revealed is only to begin that mirroring process. In the same way, that which is hidden of our acts of generosity, He can make known if, in His wisdom He desires it to lead to gratitude and emulation. Yet, either way He rewards, because what He sees is the work of His Son. 

НІМИЙ ДУХ ЗУПИНЯЄ НАС, ЩОБ НЕ ГОВОРИТИ ПРАВДУ THE DUMB SPIRIT KEEPS US FROM SPEAKING THE TRUTH

 

Сьогодні, у євангельському читанні, ми чули, «А як вони виходили, приведено до нього німого, що був біснуватий. Коли ж він вигнав біса, німий почав говорити, і люди дивувалися, кажучи: «Ніколи щось таке не об’являлося в Ізраїлі!»»

Today, the Gospel reading told us, “As they were leaving, some people brought a man to Jesus. The man was unable to speak because he was possessed by a demon. But as soon as the demon was forced out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel.”

Німий демон є тим, що зупиняє нас, коли ми повинні говорити. Цей дух має протилежний ефект Святого Духа у нас, Хто нам дає «слово й мудрість, якій ніхто з наших противників не зможе протиставитись і перечити.» (Лука 21 :12-5) Любов нам наказує, щоб говорити, наприклад, коли треба дорікати гріхом, заохочувати інших людей у вірності, і молитися за інших у спокусі.

A mute demon is one who keeps us from speaking when we ought to speak. This spirit has the opposite effect of the Holy Spirit in us, which gives us “a mouth and wisdom, which adversaries will not be able to contradict or confound.”(Luke 21:12-5) Charity requires that we speak out, for example, to rebuke sin, encourage others in faithfulness, and to pray for others in temptation.

Практика любови є особливо важливою у наших сучасних випадках, тому що ми живемо у культурі й Церкві, які є більше і більше винними гріха—заперечуючи знану правду. Ми чинимо цей гріх, заперечуючи знану правду, коли ми аргументуємо проти речей, які ми знаємо правдиво, пробуючи встановити «анти-правду», яка є ви́гіднішою для нас. Це є гріхом нашого віку. Неможливе, щоб числити всі приклади. Ми знаємо те, що чоловіки не можуть одру́жуватись з іншими чоловіками, і жінки не можуть вийти заміж  за інших жінок, але наша світська культура аргументує «шлюбну рівноправність», проти диктатів природи. Наша світська культура аргументує те, що людина може вибирати її стать, хоча ми знаємо те, що є протилежним до природи і Слова Божого, яке нам каже, «сотворив Бог людину на свій образ; на Божий образ сотворив її; чоловіком і жінкою сотворив їх.» Ми, наша світська культура, аргументує те, що можна мати «смерть з гідністю,» хоча така річ ніколи не існувала у історії світу. Ми аргументуємо те, що ми маємо право до дітогубства, хоча це є протилежним до природи і Божого закону. Світська культура і сучасні авторитети у Церкві аргументують дуже ревно, що Іслам є «релігією миру,» хоча це ясно фальшиве до чого-небудь, хто прочитав Коран і Сунну.

This exercise of charity is especially important in our contemporary circumstances, because we live in a society and a Church that is increasingly guilty of the sin of impugning the known truth. We commit the sin of impugning the known truth when we argue against things that we know perfectly well are true, trying to establish a “counter-truth” that is more convenient to us. This is the sin of our age. There are so many examples that they cannot be numbered. We know perfectly well that men cannot marry men, and women, women, but our society argues for “marriage equality” against the very dictates of nature. Our society argues that the human being can choose his or her gender, even though we know that this is contrary to nature and the Word of God, which tells us, “in the image of God He made them. Male and female he created them.” We, as a society, argue that there is the possibility of “death with dignity,” even though such a thing has never been observed in the history of the world. We argue that we have a right to infanticide, even though such is contrary to nature and God’s law. Society and the contemporary authorities in the Church argue with great zeal that Islam is a religion of peace, even though this is clearly false to anyone who has read the Quran and the Sunnah.

Ми повинні екзаменувати наше життя про всі часи, коли ми заперечували те, яке ми знали правдиво. Ми повинні нотувати всі часи, коли було треба, щоб говорити у захист правди, але ми не говорили. Ми повинні нотувати також всі часи, коли було треба дорікати гріхом, але ми нічого не зробили. Ми повинні запитати, коли ми не заохочували один одного до вірности у християнському житті, і коли ми не молилися за тих, які страждали через спокусу, хоча ми знали про їхню спокусу.

We should take a look at our own lives. We should examine our lives for all those times that we ourselves, personally, have fought against what we know to be true. We should make note of all the times that we should have spoken out in defense of truth, and did not. We should make note as well of all those times that we should have rebuked sin, but did not. We should ask ourselves if we have failed to encourage one another to faithfulness in the Christian life, and if we have failed to pray for those that we knew were suffering temptation.

В імені Господа Ісуса, нам треба вигнати німого духа, який зупиняє нас, щоб не говорити правди, яка може нести спасіння для наших братів і сестер. З любов’ю, нам треба повести інших до Господа Ісуса у Його Тілі, нашій Католицькій Церкві, тобто інструментом спасіння, який Христос заснував для всіх людей. Ми мусимо просити Святого Духа, щоб збільшувати нашу любов до інших, для того, щоб бажати їхнього спасіння так, як нашого спасіння. Ми мусимо бажати їхнього спасіння достатньо, щоб говорити.

In the name of the Lord Jesus, we need to cast out the dumb spirit, which keeps us from speaking the truth that can contribute to the salvation of our brothers and sisters. With charity, we need to lead others to the Lord Jesus in His Body, our Catholic Church, the instrument of salvation, which Christ founded for all mankind. We must implore the Holy Spirit to increase our love for others, so that we desire their salvation as much as our own, so that we desire their salvation enough to speak out.

Casting down the mighty and raising up the lowly, filling the hungry and sending the rich away empty-- the God of astounding reversals is here to save us

At a certain point in the Legion meeting, the Catena Legionis is recited. It is the Magnificat, the Song that the Most Holy Mother of God sang at the time in which she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth and the infant St. John the Baptist was sanctified in the womb of his mother by the sound of Mary's voice.

In this place and application, the Magnificat is called the Catena Legionis, because it is the chain, which unites the Legion together. It is the source of the Legion's identity, the shared battle chant. It begins with the proclamation of the Lord's greatness and continues with a calling to mind of all the things that He has done for His people. In the final verses of the song, it is clear that God's great works on behalf of His people are understood in a series of astounding reversals: "He casts the mighty from their thrones and raises the lowly/ He fills the starving with good things and sends the rich away empty." Here, we find a terse statement of what can be seen to be God's complete, Scriptural program. As St. Paul puts it, "God has chosen the weak of this world to shame the strong." Again and again, in the whole story of human history, God waits until all reasonable, earthly hope is lost. Then, He intervenes for the salvation of His people. He behaves in this way in the interest of faith. In this way, everyone must confess the miraculous nature of the deliverance that is affected.

Today, the Byzantine Church commemorates the event, 2 July 458, when the miraculous robe of the Most Holy Mother of God arrived in the harbor of the city of Constantinople. The robe's arrival was the culmination of a journey that began in Nazareth over a year earlier. All the people of the city went down to the Golden Horn to meet the ship. Then, Patriarch Gennadios took the relic in a long procession through the city and deposited it in the treasury of the Vlachernae Palace.

From the very first, the robe was a sign to the city and to the world of the astounding reversals that the True God likes to work in human history. The most famous example of such a miraculous reversal was the salvation of the city from the threat posed by the Slavic fleet in 836. At a time when the imperial capital was virtually undefended because of another war in the east, the Slavs, led by Oleg of Kyiv, decided to attack Constantinople in early October. A prayer vigil was organized in the Church dedicated to the Mother of God in the Vlachernae Palace. There, in the early morning hours, the people had a vision of an army of angels arriving led by the Most Holy Mother of God. They saw her walk up into the sanctuary and stretch forth her hands, spreading her robe protectively over the entire city. At that very hour, a terrible storm arose at sea and destroyed the Slavic fleet.

Since that event in 836, the story of Constantinople's miraculous salvation was told and retold across Europe from one end of the continent to the other. As a result, images of the Mother of God covering mankind with her mantle proliferated widely. Germany in particular became especially devoted to Our Lady's Schutzmantel (Protective Robe).

Let the Catena be a continuous reminder to us that our God is the God of astounding reversals. Whatever difficulties the praesidium or the Legion at large may face, we can be confident that those difficulties will vanish like smoke in response to sincere prayer. We can be confident that God will only allow our apostolate to suffer setbacks, so that we can grow in virtue, because we are enwrapped in the protective mantle of His Holy Mother.