It is a blessing to continue to walk with Venerable Fulton Sheen in listening to his wisdom. Here are some thoughts from a few of the quotes from the first two weeks of February.

February 8: “Council involving right and wrong should never be sought from a man who does not say his prayers.“
Why would Bishop Sheen say this? Surely it simply isn’t because he is a Catholic Bishop? I think a yes and no is the best answer. As Christians we believe there is a Divine wisdom that informs the soul of each person and this wisdom is grown through a knowledge of Jesus Christ and God’s plan of redemption and salvation. But it also means that the person looks to something greater than their own desires and whims. And as we see in the quote below, this something greater is founded in love of neighbor…love of the other where the good for all is the highest good.

February 4: “Love is the key to the mystery. Love by its very nature is not selfish, but generous. It seeks not its own, but the good of others. The measure of love is not the pleasures it gives – that is the way the world judges it – but the joy and peace it can purchase for others.”
As we mature in a relationship….our prayers to God…the selfish desire for love begins to disappear and the unitive aspect of love begins to grow deeper and more completely in all relationships. The infatuation of love which often consumes the young heart and twist the desire of mutual and joyous affection into a placing of the other on the pedestal of worship must through generosity seek to honor and dignity of the other to become true love where joy and peace reign.

February 10: “Grace does not work like a penny in a slot machine. Grace will move you only when you want it to move you, and only when you let it move you. The supernatural order supposes the freedom of the natural order, but it does not destroy it.”
The actions of love and salvation don’t happen without the buy-in of our call to find our true self. There is a natural desire in the heart of every person to the unity of love. It cannot be demanded upon command but is the participation of two in the perpetual covenant of love. The mutual love, the “supernatural order” of love invites the equal and mutual participation in the covenant of marriage but also in submitting to the will of God in binding hearts to the Most Sacred Heart of his Son in the great act of sacrificial love.

February 6: “You cannot always depend on prayers to be answered the way you want them to be answered but you can always depend on God. God, the loving Father often denies us those things which in the end would prove harmful to us. Every boy wants a revolver at age four, and no father yet has ever granted that request. Why should we think God is less wise? Someday we will thank God not only for what he gave us, but also for that which he refused.”

The passions of the moment, the desire to move God and His grace to bend to our will can become the one-sided conversation of prayer that too often happens in our lives. Bishop Sheen reminds us of how prayer must be a conversation of listening and speaking and then listening more. God whispers…the world shouts and screams. God is patient…the world demands immediate and complete attention. God is gentle…the world is harsh. The world is not bad…but we, as Christian disciples, are called to bring the virtues, the works of mercy and the movement of love into the world where God’s persistent love slowly changes our hearts and the heart of the world.

February 13: “A divine trick has been played on the human heart as if a violin teacher gave his pupil an instrument with one string missing. God kept a part of man’s heart in Heaven, so that discontent would drive him back again to Him Who is Eternal Life, All-Knowing Truth and the Abiding Ecstasy of Love.”

St. Augustine of Hippo wrote in speaking of our desire for God’s presence in our life, “Our hearts are restless until the rest in You.” This is the “divine trick” of love but it is also found in the blessing of unitive love between people. The agape love of seeking the best in a brother or sister, to desire the best for a friend, to draw out the best of a spouse or child in sacrificial and gracious love. In my own “yes” to love in the vocation of priesthood I know the peace of resting in the heart of God’s love because my heart was restless until I answered with my true and complete“yes” to the invitation to love and life.

I hope you are all continuing to enjoy “The Wisdom of Fulton Sheen”

God Bless
Fr. Mark.

In marriage the sacramental gift of love is united to the graces given in each Sacrament received and is especially transformed in the gift of Eucharistic love, the gift of self to one another as man and woman. Cardinal Kasper writes, “The Christian faith does not find its orientation in a system of intellectual propositions. Its point of references is always a concrete person, namely, Jesus Christ. People found this intolerable and irritating: how can this man, who we know to be the son of Joseph and his mother we know, make such a claim, presenting himself as the Son of God? The Gospel tells us that they “murmured.” Later on, Paul was to write that the message of the cross was a scandal to the Jews and a folly to the Gentiles (1 Cor 1:23).” (P 49 “Sacrament of Unity” Walter Cardinal Kasper) The point of reference, the person of Jesus Christ, is also the point of reference in any marriage and in reality to each and every Sacrament we participate in during our life of discipleship.

Marriage is not an intellectual proposition. It is a relationship formed between and man and a woman with the desire for an eternity of love. A lifelong commitment to service and sacrifice, to love and blessing seen in the covenant between God and His people brought into the living reality of the two becoming one. And yes, I know that some will say this is “an intellectual proposition” on its own, but in reality it is an act of faith where the cross becomes a shared gift and sacrifice where walking along is no longer a possibility but where the marriage walks with Jesus and takes up the cross to follow him.
When we proclaim in the vows of sacramental love the truth of God’s plan for a lifelong covenant between the man and the woman the world does begin to murmur the doubts, fears and the scandal of the audacity of such a gift. But, the claim comes with the promise of grace shared and given in the presence of Jesus Christ. The world may doubt the praise but we join together in faith…the world my fear the sacrifice but we embrace the gift…the world my shout at the scandal but we rejoice and are glad in the truth of God that His Kingdom is present in the joy we share.
“When a man and a woman in marriage mutually give and receive each other in the unity of “one flesh “, the logic of the sincere gift of self becomes a part of their life. Without this, marriage would be empty; where as a community of persons, built on this logic, becomes a communion of parents.” (“The Civilization of Love” Pope Saint John Paul II) The free will of the mutual gift of one to the other relies on the loving sacrifice where we are called to empty ourselves to grow ever greater in receiving the other. The “murmuring” of doubt and fear above become the murmuring of love between the couple in becoming one in the hope of grace. The receiving of one to the other and through the other is the recognition of the joyful unity of trinity.

In marriage the sacramental gift of love is united to the graces given in each Sacrament received and is especially transformed in the gift of Eucharistic love, the gift of self to one another as man and woman. Cardinal Kasper writes, “The Christian faith does not find its orientation in a system of intellectual propositions. Its point of references is always a concrete person, namely, Jesus Christ. People found this intolerable and irritating: how can this man, who we know to be the son of Joseph and his mother we know, make such a claim, presenting himself as the Son of God? The Gospel tells us that they “murmured.” Later on, Paul was to write that the message of the cross was a scandal to the Jews and a folly to the Gentiles (1 Cor 1:23).” (P 49 “Sacrament of Unity” Walter Cardinal Kasper) The point of reference, the person of Jesus Christ, is also the point of reference in any marriage and in reality to each and every Sacrament we participate in during our life of discipleship.
Marriage is not an intellectual proposition. It is a relationship formed between and man and a woman with the desire for an eternity of love. A lifelong commitment to service and sacrifice, to love and blessing seen in the covenant between God and His people brought into the living reality of the two becoming one. And yes, I know that some will say this is “an intellectual proposition” on its own, but in reality it is an act of faith where the cross becomes a shared gift and sacrifice where walking alone is no longer a possibility but where the marriage walks with Jesus and takes up the cross to follow him.

When we proclaim in the vows of sacramental love the truth of God’s plan for a lifelong covenant between the man and the woman the world begins to murmur the doubts, fears and the scandal of the audacity of such a gift. But, the claim comes with the promise of grace shared and given in the presence of Jesus Christ. The world may doubt the praise but we join together in faith…the world my fear the sacrifice but we embrace the gift…the world my shout at the scandal of eternal love but we rejoice and are glad in the truth of God that His Kingdom is present in the joy we share.
“When a man and a woman in marriage mutually give and receive each other in the unity of “one flesh “, the logic of the sincere gift of self becomes a part of their life. Without this, marriage would be empty; where as a community of persons, built on this logic, becomes a communion of parents.” (“The Civilization of Love” Pope Saint John Paul II) The free will of the mutual gift of one to the other relies on the loving sacrifice where we are called to empty ourselves to grow ever greater in receiving the other. The “murmuring” of doubt and fear above become the murmuring of love between the couple in becoming one in flesh in the hope of joyful grace. The receiving of one to the other and through the other is the recognition of the joyful unity of trinitarian love within the marital embrace. If we return once more to the reality of the person of Jesus Christ alive and within the embrace of love we begin to experience the joyfulness of love and how the sacrificial blessing have their foundation in the gift of of the cross that becomes the invitation to gracious love.. It is the movement of grace and peace that fills the lifelong unity with the daily experiences, the small moments and the little acts of intentional gifts of shared life.
It is not to say there is never disappointment, heartache or sufferings in the marital life, but in the sacramental decision of covenantal love, we know there is more and even these moments deepen the unity of familial grace.
“The natural dynamisms of love—affection, love in a strict sense, and sexuality—are seized by the power of Jesus Christ, bridegroom of the church, and are opened to the depths of the nuptial mystery.” (P. 80–81 “The Nuptial Mystery” Angelo Cardinal Scola) Love truly is a mystery and each word that is spoken reflects the personal encounter between two people reflecting the glorious love God has shared with us through His son our Lord Jesus Christ. We are seized by the power of love. It is allowing our hearts and souls to be seized by God and by the other which the thickness of loves seeps ever deeper into our heart. Each moment of shared love is an intimate act of offering, sacrificing and emptying to be filled to the greater in taking our heart and placing in the heart of the beloved. Jesus reminds us in the Eucharistic sacrifice to “do this in remembrance of me” (Lk 22:19) to be broken and shared in love, we too are called in the sacramental gift of love to do this: to be broken, to be shared, to live the fullness of love.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

Fr. Mark

“Dear families, you too should be fearless, ever ready to give witness to the hope that is in you (cf. 1 Pet 3:15), since the Good Shepherd has put that hope in your hearts through the Gospel. You should be ready to follow Christ towards the pastures of life, which he himself has prepared through the Paschal Mystery of his Death and Resurrection. Do not be afraid of the risks! God’s strength is always far more powerful than your difficulties!” (#18 “The Bridegroom is With You” Pope St. John Paul II)

Our Holy Father reminds us of the dynamic and fruitful blessings of marriage and family even when we endure heartache and suffering in the relations. He offers to ideas to ponder where marriage and family are a “challenging mosaic” and must be filled with “missionary creativity” in the sacramental gift of life. Each family is different and faces different challenges and blessings…the “challenging mosaic” is an understanding of how our hopes and dreams begin to conform to the loving of another deeply, intimately and fully where we strip bare the facade of worldly desires and allow ourselves to be exposed in complete love. It is the mosaic of children with their unique and holy gifts. We also recognize within the family is the classroom of faith and from faith comes the forgiveness and reconciliation practiced in Christian charity.

This week we are celebrating National Marriage Week and the Church rejoices in the gift of marriage and the wonder of family flowing forth from this gift. We also recognize the challenge of marriage and the wounds and hurts that can come from this intimate relationship where the baring of the soul and the opening of our hearts to another can leave us vulnerable and open to great suffering. Yet, as Pope St. John Paul II reminds us we are called to be fearless in following the vocation of relationship and love offered to us.
One of these great mysteries is how we live in this unity of love. In my ministry in Worldwide Marriage Encounter I have seen the grace of God work with such powerful blessing in the married couples who choose to hear and be with each other in hope that my heart also breaks to recieve the grace and blessings as a priest in relationship with my bride the Church.

It is in the challenges of our brokenness and hurt where we discover the grace of God’s healing mercy within our relationship in sacramental love. We prepare ourselves for this sacrifice by offering and receiving the blessing of love. It is in the recognition of a sacrificial love, where suffering will be present side-by-side with joy that we begin to see and know the depth and truth of God’s love for us through the cross of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Pope Francis reminds us that no family is without the need for healing, “I thank God that many families, which are far from considering themselves perfect, live in love, fulfill their calling and keep moving forward, even if they fall many times along the way. The Synod’s reflections show us that there is no stereotype of the ideal family, but rather a challenging mosaic made up of many different realities, with all their joys, hopes and problems. The situations that concern us are challenges. We should not be trapped into wasting our energy in doleful laments, but rather seek new forms of missionary creativity. In every situation that presents itself, “the Church is conscious of the need to offer a word of truth and hope… The great values of marriage and the Christian family correspond to a yearning that is part and parcel of human existence”. If we see any number of problems, these should be, as the Bishops of Colombia have said, a summons to “revive our hope and to make it the source of prophetic visions, transformative actions and creative forms of charity”.” (#57 Amoris Laetitia: The Joy of Love, Pope Francis)

St. John Paul II shares this wisdom, “The love of spouses and parents has the capacity to cure these kinds of wounds, provided the dangers alluded to do not deprive it of its regenerative force, which is so beneficial and wholesome a thing for human communities. This capacity depends on the divine grace of forgiveness and reconciliation, which always ensures the spiritual energy to begin anew. For this very reason family members need to encounter Christ in the Church through the wonderful Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.” (#14 “The Bridegroom is With You” Pope St. John Paul II) The decision to love is discovered in the first decision to accept and love the other in who they are: the good, the bad, the joy and the sorrow. It is awakening the willingness to communicate who we are, even when we are not at our best…even when we sin. God calls us to be healers in relationship. We cannot be in relationships unless we share the gift with God and our spouse, children and entire family.
As we celebrate National Marriage Week, let us take time to renew our marriage and seek God’s divine mercy in our relationships of love.
God bless
Fr. Mark.

“There are two ways of waking up in the morning. One is to say, “good morning, God” and the other is to say, “good God, morning”!” (January 20)

Each time I read and ponder the above quote from Bishop Fulton Sheen is smile inside. When I awake in the morning one of my first cogent thoughts is the greeting…”good morning, God!” The reality of the day might then begin to sink in as my thoughts race towards the work and business of the day where the second phrase may come to mind. Happily for me, although I don’t always show it, I am a fairly positive and optimistic person. I seek to find my trust in the will of God working with Him and through Him in my call to the priesthood.
I am also a realist in the knowing of my own faults and failings and that of my bride the Church. To be optimistic in our care for one another doesn’t preclude the knowledge and experience of how messed up things can be. But is an optimism and joy coming from a relationship of love with a God who is merciful and seeks us to come to him.
Which brings us to….

“Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do… But how much love we put in that action.” (January 26) Bishop Sheen reminds us that we are called to love not just in words but in the actions in our life. It is in some ways the phrase we hear at times…it is not about how much time you spend with a person it is what you do during this time together.
Our modern age calls us to distraction. There is not one of us who is not affected by distraction. It may be the television, the cell phone, the tablet, or the noise surrounding us daily in our lives. Are we paying attention to the person in front of us? Are we listening with both ears? Do we choose to love by being present?
God asks us to be present. In our prayer we seek to lessen the distractions be opening our ears and eyes of our soul to hear him speak. We know in faith…God is present always and everywhere. If love begins at home, then our home is the Church and we visit in attentive joy and blessing. It isn’t the big things but the small graces we share and family…or as St. Theresa of Calcutta put the same thought in different words, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”

“Love cannot remain by itself – it has no meaning. Love has to be put into action, and that action is service.” (January 27)

The quote follows the one above reminding us of the call to relationship. One of the greatest joys I have learned through my ministry in Worldwide Marriage Encounter, is the call of service of husband and wife. This often goes against the cultural independence where we are called to “do what makes you happy” and finds so many of us searching for momentary pleasure rather than the abiding peace and joy that comes through the sacrificial service of our family, friends and yes, even our enemies.
St. Paul shares this bit of wisdom in his First Letter to the Corinthians where he writes, “If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal” (13:1) Service and care for others is an active gift of self. Husband and wife choose to share who they are to the fullest extent. Yes, many times, as perfectly as we desire and yet we find the abiding peace, joy and love when we move away from the egoistic and selfish action and embrace God’s call to sacrificial love.

“Because God is full of life, I imagine each morning Almighty God says to the sun, “Do it again;” and every evening to the moon and the stars, “Do it again;” and every springtime to the daisies, “Do it again;” and every time a child is born into the world asking for a curtain call, that the heart of God might once more ring out in the heart of the babe.” (January 30)

I remember watching a friend with his child. He was lying on the ground and holding his little boy above him. It was one of those great and joyous moments where he was tossing his son into the air and catching him. The squeals of delight from the little guy filled everyone with happiness and life. His wife warned him that his son had just finished eating and to be careful….but the warning went unheeded as the exuberance of the moment took hold in him as father of this joyous bundle of love….and then it happened in the middle of a squeal of joy…a steam of food came out and onto the father who said something not so filled with joy and….
I think what Bishop Sheen is trying to remind us is that, God, like my friend, will toss the child in joy tomorrow. God will look at the messiness, the failings, the hurt of the world and will…to put a book end on this post…sing out “Good Morning, World” and great each one of us by name. Calling us into a life of hope, joy and love where our faith intersects with his gift of life.

God Bless
Fr. Mark

(All quotes from “The Wisdom of Fulton Sheen”)