I wanted to follow up on my last post about the "Apostolic Pardon" and go into a bit more depth on just exactly what an indulgence is. We use it in everyday life in our own society and nobody seems to have a problem with it. As a matter of fact, many people who find themselves in prison, appeal for mercy and an indulgence (pardon) of some sort.
Months before my father died last year, I explained to him this amazing gift of the "Apostolic Pardon" and told him to desire it when death approaches even if a priest did not arrive in time. During his final days on earth, I stood at the end of his hospital bed and reminded him of our conversation. I am so glad I did.Now I wish to share it with you...
On yesterday's Women of Grace Live radio program, I shared a teaching on di
scerning God's will, much of which came from by book Full of Grace: Women and the Abundant Life. Here are the Seven Steps to Discerning God's will, in case you missed the program or didn't get a chance to jot them down. You can also listen to the program in it's entirety at the podcast link here. God bless you!
1. Is the prompting fully in line with Sacred Scripture, the Ten Commandments, and the teachings of the Church? There is no contradiction in God.
2. Is the prompting proceeding from virtue or the flesh? “What is my motivation?”
3. Has this prompting been confirmed in other ways? God confirms His will for us in a variety of ways.
How Does God Speak To Us?
A. Through other people
1. Directly - someone speaks the prompting to us
2. Indirectly
a. a homily at Mass
b. radio
c. television
d. something we read
B. Scripture
C. Events of the day
4. Has the prompting withstood the test of time? There is a difference between enthusiasm and zeal.5. Am I going through an emotionally difficult time or am I suffering from mental instability?
6. Have I sought the counsel of others -- my spouse, provincial, superior, bishop, spiritual director?
7. Is the prompting or inspiration of grace in conformity with my state in life? There may be sacrifice, but there will not be conflict.
When I came back to the Faith in 1981, one Scripture passage became the rudder of my spiritual life. It is Ephesians 1: 3-4. Through the years, this passage has spoken to me in many ways and has sustained me through many trials.Verse 4 , however, is particularly relevant for this time of the year, and was echoed by Pope John Paul II in a Christmas reflection. It states this, "God chose us in him before the world began to be holy and blameless in his sight, to be full of love." Those first five words tell us something about ourselves that is amazing and astounding -- each one of us was distinctively and individually chosen by God to have life.
As we approach the solemnity of Christmas tomorrow, we would do well to ask the Holy Spirit to help us enter into the mystery we are celebrating. Implicit in the glory of the birth of Christ, is His death. It is already present, as it has been since His conception in the womb of Mary, in His flesh.A season of joy, to be sure. A season of wonder, most definitely. A season of magnanimity, most assuredly. For this is the season that proves God's love for us. His Son has been sent for one mission, and one mission only, to pour Himself out for us.
The Incarnation is the Redemption begun. It is consummated at the conception and culminated at the crucifixion. As we gaze upon the Christ Child lying in the creche, how can we ignore that He is already on the bed of wood?
It is this we celebrate: that in the midst of our depravity, God sent His Son in the fullness of time, born of a woman (Gen. 3:15; Gal. 4:4). It is in this that we find cause for rejoicing.
Carol Houselander, an English author of the last century, asks us to focus our attention on this reality during the Advent season. It is not too late to ponder the cause of our joy in these last hours before Christmas day.
Writing in Reed of God, Houselander offers us these words for meditation and contemplation. She invites us to consider the role of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, as we consider the coming of the Christ Child:
The Incarnation of Jesus Christ has forever changed the destiny of mankind. Through His birth, death, and resurrection, the chains of death are broken, the gates of heaven are flung open wide, and eternal life has been restored to man. However, accepting the salvation Christ has won remains an individual decision to be made by each human being.I remember well when I made that decision for myself. It all started with a woman who shared her faith in Jesus Christ with me.
Though she was going through an emotionally difficult time, she was certain God had a plan for her in the midst of it. Her trust stood in stark contrast to my own faith experience which had not recovered from my college years. Like living water flooding the landscape of my soul, her words and her witness brought me new life and led me back to Catholicism.
St. Teresa of Avila shows us it is never too late to get serious about our prayer life. Born Dona Teresa Sanchez Cepeda Davila y Ahumada, Teresa was an active child with a big imagination and great sensitivity of heart. Little Teresa and her brother Roderigo were intrigued by the lives of the saints and the martyrs, and often sought to imitate their holy example.
Writing in “Mother of the Redeemer,” Pope John Paul says this about the call of woman in the world today:
The figure of Mary of Nazareth sheds light on womanhood as such by the very fact that God, in the sublime event of the Incarnation of his Son, entrusted himself to the ministry, the free and active ministry of a woman. It can thus be said that women, by looking to Mary, find in her the secret of living their femininity with dignity and of achieving their own true advancement. In the light of Mary, the Church sees in the face of women the reflection of a beauty which mirrors the loftiest sentiments of which the human heart is capable: the self-offering totality of love; the strength that is capable of bearing the greatest sorrows; limitless fidelity and tireless devotion to work; the ability to combine penetrating intuition with words of support and encouragement.1
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