Here are two interesting articles about the mystic Fr. Magin Catala who arrived here in Monterey 210 years ago. He is now up for beatification and his story may interest those in CA (particularly San Jose) and pregnant women, as he was known to intercede for them. You can read more about him and his prophesies for California here – California “Holy Man” up for Sainthood after Largely Unknown Astonishments.
Category Archives: catholic faith
7/29/04 – Fr. Magin Catala: An American Padre Pio?
7/8/04 – The Ordinariness of the Saints
Steven at Flos Carmeli has a great post today entitled The Holy Family–An Ordinary Life–The Ordinariness of the Saints I love this piece! It reminds me of something a priest once told me, that God is able to use our faults and weaknesses as means to reaching greater virtue and sanctity. For example, St. Francis de Sales had a fiery temper yet he became known as the “gentle saint”.
Steven also makes an excellent point in reminding us that we need to stop trying to be someone else and be the saint that God has called us to be. It is one thing to admire and receive encouragement through the example of historical saints but it is important to draw from it a lesson that we can use in our own life. Not to duplicate their lives but to draw inspiration on how to strive for holiness in our own unique life and circumstances. But Steven says it better than I could so here is an excerpt.
…Too often, it seems, we may do the same with Saints’ lives. We look upon their extraordinary accomplishments and then embellish them so that they become not so much role models as distant figures of impossible faith and piety. We neglect their ordinariness. We admire them, but we can come up with an extraordinary plexus of reasons why we couldn’t possible emulate them in any way. How often have I heard, “Oh, I couldn’t be like St. Therese, she was so holy from such a young age.” So who is asking you to be like St. Therese? We already have one of those, and there are those in the world who would maintain that one is more than enough. (I used to be among them–no longer).
4/24/04 – Book: God Alone Suffices
We received a book to review from the In the Arms of Mary Foundation. It is called God Alone Suffices by Slawomir Biela. Brian read it and really enjoyed it. Here’s his review:
If there is one book specifically designed to help lay people develop an authentic spiritual life, God Alone Suffices is that book. After reading it twice I could not help but compare it to the spiritual classic Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre de Caussade.
Author Slawomir Biela bases his book on the question: “Who or what do you rely on?” Placing this question within the context of family life, work and friendship he challenges the reader to confront their world of “reliance and illusions”. With great clarity and simplicity the author unmasks those things that we normally rely on, to show that a life of holiness ultimately calls us to rely on God alone.
God Alone Suffices is thoroughly practical and inspiring. It is grounded in the spirituality of the great doctors of the interior life: John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila and Therese of Lisieux. This book will challenge you to re-evaluate your spiritual life and help you grow closer to God. I highly recommend it. It is available through the website In the Arms of Mary.org.
3/19/04 – St. Joseph Prayer
A blessed Feast Day to you! St. Joseph is very dear to our family, particularly to Brian. Here is a beautiful Prayer for Fathers from Pope John XXIII.
St. Joseph, guardian of Jesus and chaste husband of Mary, you passed your life in loving fulfillment of duty. You supported the holy family of Nazareth with the work of your hands. Kindly protect those who trustingly come to you. You know their aspirations, their hardships, their hopes. They look to you because they know you will understand and protect them. You, too, knew trial, labor and weariness. But amid the worries of material life your soul was full of deep peace and sang out in true joy through intimacy with God’s Son entrusted to you and with Mary, his tender Mother. Assure those you protect that they do not labor alone. Teach them to find Jesus near them and to watch over him faithfully as you have done.
2/26/04 – A Review of “The Passion of Christ”
Last night Brian and I saw the Passion of the Christ. I am still speechless. It had been so hyped up that I wondered if it would be as moving as everyone says. It went above and beyond. Yes, it was violent but no more violent than other movies of historical nature (ie. Schindler’s List or Saving Private Ryan. (And why, may I ask, is that violence permissible while the Passion’s is reprehensible??). But the violence is secondary; it is the story of Christ that shines above all else. I was moved to tears – I would have been literally sobbing if I hadn’t fought it back. Instead I reached for Brian’s hand and we cried silently together.
There are so many aspects of the movie that moved me, I don’t know if I could express it all now. However, the major points are the following:
1. The depth of Christ’s love. Not only the depth of his love for us but the length He went to in order to share that love. It was hard to be angered at the Jewish rabbis or the Roman soldiers when it was my personal sins that sent Jesus to the cross. Each blow brought back to mind sins I have committed and the vice I still live with. But even more so, it struck me of how deep Christ’s love is and how superficial mine is. I want to love Christ more, not just intellectually knowing him or having an emotional, fickle love for him, but a deep love that permeates my being.
2. The value of the cross. How often do I complain about this and that or roll my eyes when I have to deal with so-and-so again. God gives me countless moments of grace throughout my day and I’ve thrown them away with my (interior and exterior) complaining.
3. The relationship between Jesus and Mary. The Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary were united in the sorrowful passion. My heart was renewed in my love for Our Lady. And in a lighter moment, I loved the scene with Mary when Jesus was building a table. You could see the tender love they had for each other as Mother and Child. It also brought out a playful, affectionate side to Jesus. In other Jesus movies I’ve seen Jesus is either very stern or flippantly joking.
4. The power for the Mass. It was a power punch to see the parallel between the Passion of Christ and the Mass. I don’t think I can attend Mass again without the images of Jesus replaying in my head. And even more so, there have been many times I have not gone to daily Mass for legitimate reasons. But how hard have I been trying to make daily Mass (and Holy Hour and daily visits etc)? If Jesus went through all that to give me the grace of the Mass, what am I willing to do to receive those graces? And what better way to deepen my love for Christ than to receive him more often and more fervently in the Holy Eucharist?
5. The seduction of evil. The portrayal of the devil was powerful. This morning I was supposed to do something I didn’t want to and as my mind was rationalizing it away I pictured the devil whispering those excuses in my ear. That was a wake-up call and I quickly accomplished the task God desired me to do.
6. Christ thirsts. Christ thirsts for souls and we are the tools that will bring those souls to Him. And there are souls hungry for Christ. The sound of crying and sobbing during the movie emphasize that. Afterwards even some “tough guys” were shaking as they smoked their cigarettes outside. It reminds me to pray for the conversion of sinners, especially those I love, whom are far from Christ, and those who have no one to pray for them. I can’t help but ask myself how can we better help to extend Christ’s Kingdom, whether in the little daily things or the bigger ministry things. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: “If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world ablaze!”
7. Applying all this to my life. This movie was powerful but emotions are quickly forgotten and old ways are eager to reign again. I don’t want to be like Peter, who one moment says he will never leave Jesus’ side, and the next moment he denies ever knowing Christ. This Lent is a perfect time to work on the areas in my life that need attention. And there are ample opportunities to grow closer to Christ through the Mass, Confession, Stations of the Cross, Scripture study, the Rosary, Holy Hours, etc.
There is so much more that can be said but I’ll leave it at that for now. If you’ve already seen the Passion, your comments are welcome. If you haven’t yet, may you be blessed when you do!