"Silence is a sword in the spiritual struggle. A talkative soul will never attain sanctity. The sword of silence will cut off everything that would like to cling to the soul. We are sensitive to words and quickly want to answer back, without taking any regard as to whether it is God's will that we should speak. A silent soul is strong; no adversities will harm it if it perseveres in silence. The silent soul is capable of attaining the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God works in a silent soul without hinderence."

St. Faustina's Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul

Give Meaning and Purpose to Every Moment With Selflessness and Joy

+J.M.J.+

We are here for a purpose. God created us for a purpose, not a general purpose, but a purpose for each day, each moment and each millimoment. We should be giving meaning and purpose to every single moment of our lives. How do we do that? We must take our eyes off of ourselves and focus them on God and what His will is for each small situation we are placed in. Satan tempts us to take our eyes off Our Lord by getting us to put them on ourselves.

I have been blessed to experience this in a very real way this week. I drew a mortification this week ( a small sacrifice to offer as prayer for another soul). The mortification is to refrain from using mirrors and looking at my reflection in windows or anything reflective. I thought it would just be a struggle that I would continuously get to offer up. I did not expect to gain so much wisdom about our spiritual warfare by doing it. Satan tempts me by literally and physically putting my eyes on myself in the mirror. This seems like a small thing, but Satan has such a firm grip on small parts of our lives, parts that if we let God into them, it would make a huge difference. I came to this realization as I was washing my hands. What do I usually do while I wash my hands? I stare at myself in the mirror. As I stare I either space out or find every flaw on myself as I can. BUT, today I couldn't do that. I asked God, as I was washing my hands, what the point of not looking in the mirror was. It was then that Our Lord revealed to me that I was not giving purpose to the moment when I stare at myself in the mirror. What was I doing? I was washing my hands, but I was not paying attention to that at all- I was not giving meaning and purpose to the moment! It dawned on me- I AM WASHING MY HANDS! PRAISE GOD! I have running water and soap. Jesus showed me that by taking my eyes off myself I was able to totally glorify God in the smallest of acts- give meaning and purpose to that moment. In that moment, God was calling me to glorify Him by washing my hands- that was His will for me! By doing God's will in everything we do we will become great saints! God is not calling us to focus on ourselves, but to "pray without ceasing"(1Thes. 5:17)! Be in constant communion with Him, and to do everything whole-heartedly as a gift for God! St. Catherine of Sienna said "When I eat chicken, I eat chicken. When I pray, I pray". Do everything with purpose! "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving"(Col. 3:23-24)

Praise God for His many gifts and graces, and may Mary hold us in her arms.
OLO Perpetual Help- Pray for us!

-Meghan

The Importance of Marian Devotion

JMJ

Many might ask why is Marian devotion necessary? Why can't we just go straight to Jesus? Well simply (and honestly) put, we don't know how to live our lives directly for God. Mary is God's master creation. She is the perfect example of how to live a life fully devoted to God. She lived every second of every day of her life with eyes directed to the Heavens, and when God came to her and told her that she was to be the mother of His Beloved Son (Himself Incarnate), she did not hesitate for a second. She proclaimed herself the slave (commonly but not quite accurately translated as "handmaid") of the Lord. So why wouldn't we want her help learning how to live a life devoted to God.

But aren't you taking your eyes away from the Lord and putting them on her?
No. Every action she made in her life directed the eyes of those around her on her Son, Jesus. She directed the eyes of the shepherds and magi to her son in Bethlehem when they came to venerate Him. She began his ministry in Cana when she told the wedding party that her Son would supply the wine for the party. On the cross she directed the eyes of on-lookers to her Son's suffering through her meeting with Him on the Way of the Cross, and through her sorrowful gaze during His scourging and crucifixion. Today her motherly love calls religious people everywhere to gaze as lovingly as she does at His Face.

She gave us the Rosary. But what is the point of the Rosary? The structure of the Rosary is built around the life of Jesus, and of what His life and loving sacrifice has done for her and for us all. The "Hail Mary" is the most frequent prayer of the Rosary. As Dr. Edward Sri puts it, the "Hail Mary" is a Marian prayer focused around the Incarnate Lord Jesus. Pope John Paul II tells us that the most important word of the prayer is the name of Jesus. He calls it the "hinge" of the prayer.

Lastly, Jesus, on His cross, deemed it necessary to tell John (who represents all of humanity) "This is your mother". This was one of His last proclamations. It is that important.

Our Lord gave us the wonderful gift of such a loving mother as Mary for a specific purpose: to look at our merciful Lord hanging on His cross as lovingly as she did.

Remember to pray unceasingly for peace!
Our Lady of Perpetual Help pray for us!

JMJ

A Day a Prem Dan: Kolkata, India

At Prem Dan, we started the day with basic chores like washing clothes and cleaning the floors. I really enjoyed this earthy experience. It was so simple, yet incredibly necessary. There was no washer or dryer, only water, soap, hands, and feet. We stomped on the clothes and then rinsed them out. We then hung them on the roof terraces to dry in the sun.

After washing clothes, I had a few minutes to walk around outside. I looked at all the people: the sick, the missionaries, and the nuns. I couldn’t believe how beautiful life was inside Prem Dan. Whereas outside I witnessed neglect and total disregard for so many people, inside I saw a complete giving of one’s love to another. The sick were given the respect they deserved and the love they needed. Humanity was uplifted and was shown that there was a purpose. Missionaries knelt down to massage the deteriorated muscles of the sick.

Near lunchtime, I noticed a man lying on one of the cots in the main room. The man was very scrawny and struggling considerably for breath. I sat next to him. He was shirtless and wore only a rag around his waist. The man was breathing sporadically. His breath smelled horrific, like a decomposing body. He was motionless, and his eyes were glazed over. His chest froze still for maybe 20 seconds and then pulsed several times as the he sucked for air with all his might and then exhaled. This repeated itself continuously, but his respirations became less and less frequent.

“Who was this man? What kind of life did he have? How could anyone ever end up in such poor shape?” As I pondered these questions, I hated the answers that came to mind. All I could imagine was misery and torment for this man. I sat still, weeping. I wanted to feel his suffering. I wanted to experience some of his pain. I wanted someone, anyone to relieve him of the anguish he was experiencing. I grew nauseous pondering the unfair aspects of life. It seemed so unjust.

I pulled myself together as I was obviously being of no help to this man. I was uncertain how much more time he was going to survive. With only several breaths a minute, the man was trying with all his might to remain alive. I imagined he was praying without words. In unexplained desperation, I called to one of the missionaries in my group from across the room. His name was Digger. I asked him to pray with me. So, I reached into my pocket with my left hand to fish around for my rosary and took the man’s bony hand with my right. Digger and I together started praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the man in bed.

“Eternal Father, we offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion…”

We prayed this over and over again for the entire 50 beads of the Rosary. Throughout the entirety of the prayer, the man continued to struggle for breath. It seemed as if any moment would be his last. I squeezed his hand and we said the last words, “Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.” Upon finishing the last words of the prayer, the man breathed his last in a sigh of relief.

            Digger and I remained still. Tears swelled in my eyes. Staring at the man however, was comforting. There was no more suffering. There was no longer a struggle. There were no more worries, and the room was quiet. There had been justice delivered to this man, by Christ. This man had no attachments to this world before he left it. He did not need anything and wanted nothing. He had held on as long as he could, and was swept away in Peace. I began to weep, experiencing a multitude of emotions. I felt sorrow. I felt hope. I felt joy for this man.

            Digger stood up and went to inform the nuns.

            I prayed and pondered over this experience throughout the entirety of the mission. Each day brought with it certain intensity and often a circumstance in which it was difficult to give love. Whether it was cleaning up feces or urine or feeding some of the patients, it was not always easy to give my love to any particular individual: patient or missionary.

            I learned a little about poverty that day, however. I learned that we are all called to be like this man in some sense. This man had nothing. He desired nothing but eternal life. How many of us can say that we desire nothing that this world has to offer, but only that love with which Jesus Christ shares with us? Victor E. Frankl, in his book Man's Search for Meaning, says you cannot starve a fasting man." The man Digger and I prayed for had not owned anything in his entire life, not even the clothes around his waist. Although he maybe had not chosen this life of fasting, it purified him by God's Grace. He was not unlike the millions of other people in this world that have experienced the same kind of poverty. As unfortunate as it was and as unjust as it seemed, there was beauty to be recognized. He was still a human being, and deserved the gift of love to uphold his human dignity. Freedoms can be taken away, but real love is infallible. It is a choice made with Jesus. Every human is capable of giving and receiving this love through Jesus Christ. Through this experience, Christ showed me how much this love was lacking so often in my day-to-day life in the United States. My outlook on love was distorted. I saw it only as a pleasurable emotion. I thought it was dependent upon the feelings inside of me – the powerful, good feelings we experience at times. I learned that real love requires much effort. It is a virtue that involves sacrifice, responsibility, and total commitment to another person. - JMJ  Michael Preszler

Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

†JMJ†

Besties! I am incredibly excited because I have found a new Patron Saint! He is not yet (he soon will be, COUNT ON IT) canonized as a saint, but I had a great new revelation on Tuesday that he is praying for me and has been for some time!

Archbishop Fulton Sheen is a new hero of mine. His thundering Irish accent and theatrical presentation of truth make for an incredibly captivating role model. I look up to him and his powerful drive to teach the catechism of our Faith. The first I ever heard of this man was by chance when someone at the Newman Center directed me to an article in a magazine last semester (I believe it was Envoy Magazine). I didn't pay too much attention to Sheen until the other day when I "randomly"decided to watch some of his YouTube videos...

Temptation

Click on the links for Temptation Part II and Part III

He had TV shows in the 50s and 60s that actually competed with comedian Milton Berle's show, and Frank Sinatra's show as well, for ratings! Incredible for a Catholic, even at that time. Everyone seemed to love this man, he had more non-Catholic viewers than Catholic viewers (der w-what!?) That's unheard of today. Obviously he stole my attention immediately!

Wasting Your Life

Click on the links for Wasting Your Life Part II and Part III

I really can't explain my connection with the man to the extent that I feel inside, so I will simply say that I relate to his intensity, his passion, and even some of his struggles. He was a man after God's heart; his deep love for his audience and the nation is so evident from his extreme emphasis on the relevant issues of the time! But that is not to say that his teachings were out-dated because each and every talk I've listened to applies directly to the issues of TODAY. He not only taught the truth but he warned his listeners of what was to come in the future; the intensely secular world we live in today. His prophesy couldn't be more correct. He was a true evangelist, a forerunner for the New Evangelization, and we should be asking for his intercession as we work for the Lord, to win the souls of our brothers and sisters in Christ!

Bye now and God Love You!

Josh Garrels - Break Bread

Check this song out by Josh Garrels. It's awesome!

JMJ - Michael