"You Did It to Me"

On December 11, 1979, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Here follows an excerpt of her message that day.

"Jesus makes Himself the hungry one, the naked one, the homeless one, the sick one, the one in prison, the lonely one, the unwanted one, and He says: "You did it to Me." He is hungry for our love, and this is the hunger of our poor people. This is the hunger that you and I must find, it may be in our own home...

I...[visited] a home where they had all these old parents...I saw in that home they had everything...but everybody was looking towards the door...And I turned to the sister and I asked..."How is i that these people who have everything here, why are they all looking towards the door, why are they not smiling?" I am so used to the smiles on our poor people, even the dying ones smile. And she said: "This is nearly every day...They are hurt because they are forgotten."...This is where love comes...Maybe in our own family we have somebody who is feeling lonely, who is feeling sick, who is feeling worried...Are we there to receive them?...

I was surprised in the West to see so many young boys and girls given into drugs, and I tried to find out why..."Because there is no one in the family to receive them." Father and mother are so busy they have no time...The child goes back to the street and gets involved in something...These are things that break peace.

But I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a direct war, a direct killing, direct murder by the mother herself. And we read in the Scripture, For God says very clearly: "Even if a mother could forget her child, I will not forget you. I have carved you in the palm of my hand."...That unborn child has been carved in the hand of God...

Many people are very, very concerned with children in India, with the children of Africa where quite a number die, maybe of malnutrition, of hunger and so on, but millions are dying deliberately by the will of the mother. And this is what is the greates destroyer of peace today. Because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing in between...Let us ensure this year that we make every single child born, and unborn, wanted...Have we really made the children wanted?...

We picked up [a man] from the drain, half eaten with worms, and we brought him to the home: "I have lived like an animal in the street, but I am going to die like an angel, loved and cared for." And it was so wonderful to see the greatness of that man who could speak like that, who could die like that without blaming anybody, without cursing anybody, without comparing anything. Like an angel - this is the greatness of our people.

And that is why we believe what Jesus has said: "I was hungry, I was naked, I was homeless, I was unwanted, unloved, uncared for - and you did it to Me.""

*Excerpt taken from "Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light. The Private Writings of the 'Saint of Calcutta.'" Edited with commentary by Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C.

Our Lady of Sorrows

In honor of Mary. Remembering Our Lady of Sorrows.

The Stabat Mater
(Latin for: "the Mother was standing")

At the cross her station keeping,
Mary stood in sorrow weeping
Close to Jesus to the last.

Through her heart, his sorrrow sharing,
All his bitter anguish bearing
Now at length the sword had passed.

Oh, how sad and sore distressed
Was that Mother highly blessed
Of the sole begotten One!

Christ above in torment hangs,
She beneath beholds the pangs
Of her dying, glorious Son.

Is there one who would not weep,
'Whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ's dear Mother to behold?

Can the human heart refrain
From partaking in her pain,
In that Mother's pain untold?

Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled
She beheld her tender Child,
All with bloody scourges rent.

For the sins of his own nation
Saw him hang in desolation
Till his spirit forth he sent.

O sweet Mother! font of love,
Touch my spirit from above,
Make my hear with yours accord.

Make me feel as you have felt;
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ, my Lord.

Holy Mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my savior crucified.

Let me share with you his pain,
Who for all our sins was slain
Who for me in torments died.

Let me mingle tears with you,
Mourning him who mourned for me
All the days that I may live.

By the cross with you to stay,
There with you to weep and pray,
Is all I ask of you to give.

Virgin of all Virgins blest!
Listen to my fond request:
Let me share your grief divine.

Let my to my latest breath,
In my body bear the death
Of that dying Son of thine.

Wounded with His every wound,
Steep my soul till it has swooned
In His very Blood away.

Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
Lest in flames I burn and die,
In His awfull judgment day.

Christ, when you shall call me hence,
Be your Mother my defense,
Be your cross my victory.

While my body here decays
May my soul your goodness praise,
Safe in heaven eternally.
Amen. Alleluia.

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross: "When I am lifted up, then I will draw all men to myself."

The Cross is Christ's Glory and Triumph

We are celebrating the feast of the cross which drove away darkness and brought in the light. As we keep the feast, we are lifted up with the crucified Christ, leaving behind us earth and sin so that we may gain the things above. So great and outstanding a possession is the cross, that he who wins it has won a great treasure. Rightly could I call this treasure the fairest of all fair things and the costliest, in fact as well as in name, for in it and through it and for its sake the riches of salvation that had been lost were restored to us.

Had there been no cross, Christ could not have been crucified. Had there been no cross, life itself could not have been nailed to the tree. And if life had not been nailed to it, there would be no streams of immortality pouring from Christ's side, blood and water for the world's cleansing. The legal bond of our sin would not be canceled, we should not have obtained our freedom, we should not have enjoyed the fruit of the tree of life and the gates of paradise would not stand open. Had there been no cross, death would not have been trodden underfoot, nor hell despoiled.

Therefore, the cross is something wonderfully great and honorable. It is great because through the cross the many noble acts of Christ found their consummation - very many indeed, for both his miracles and his sufferings were fully rewarded with victory. The cross is honorable because it is both the sign of God's suffering and the trophy of victory. It stands for his suffering because on it he freely suffered unto death. But it is also his trophy because it was the means by which the devil was wounded and death conquered; the barred gates of hell were smashed, and the cross became the one common salvation of the whole world.

The cross is called Christ's gory; it is saluted as his triumph. We recognize it as the cup he longed to drink and the climax of the sufferings he endured for our sake. As to the cross being Christ's glory, listen to his words: 

Now is the Son of Man glorified, and in him God is glorified, and God will glorify him at once.

And again:

Father, glorify me with the glory I had with you before the world came to be.

And once more:

Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from Heaven: I have glorified it and will glorify it again.

Here he speaks of the glory that would accrue to him through the cross. And if you would understand that the cross is Christ's triumph, hear what he himself also said:

When I am lifted up, then I will draw all men to myself.

Now you can see that the cross is Christ's glory and triumph.


*Taken from the LOTH, Office of Readings
*From a discourse by Saint Andrew of Crete, bishop.

Pro-life activist and business owner murdered in Michigan

On 9/11, a day which we should be remembering the tragic events that occurred in 2001...another tragic event occurred. Not only was this man killed, but another lost his life as well prior to Jim Pouillon being murdered. Please pray for these victims, and more importantly pray for the man who killed them. May his heart be turned toward Jesus! Please though, say a quick prayer for all involved if you are reading this.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed Art thou among women,
and Blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners,
Now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Holy Mary watch over us!

Something Great For God

I realized something today. That I’ve wanted to give myself to something greater since I was little. I just didn’t know what that ‘something’ was.

As a child even, I remember being inspired to do something great. I wanted to give myself over to accomplish a great feat. I felt that I could be a missionary in the most unheard of parts of the world. And if not that, even in looking at careers when I was a bit older, I wanted to do something totally awesome. I felt like I had to go all out, or go home. A philosophy which sometimes is a great thing, but also hinders me in life I’ve realized. But I looked at being an EMT, or working in the emergency room itself, being a policewoman, a firefighter, joining the army, etc. It’s obvious all of these are service oriented careers, and I wanted to do a great service.

Now, I realize, that ‘something’ greater, though I couldn’t see it before, that desire, can be fulfilled by being the spouse of Jesus Christ. It is truly doing something Great, for God. It is more than I could have dreamed for myself, but Jesus has been leading me to it my entire life. And I still seem to have that missionary spirit…I want to travel, to see, to help, to serve the People of God, and in doing bring Jesus to them, and see Jesus in them.

I’ve noticed whenever I’ve gone on a missionary type trip, It’s when I’ve felt the most ALIVE. And I experienced that to even greater lengths when I visited a round of holy religious sisters. That trip awoke in my heart a desire that I didn’t know I had long had. I knew I belonged with a community of women religious. People as devoted to Jesus as I wanted to be. It’s hard to describe, but, it’s like they were made of the same fabric, they ‘fit’ with who I felt God was leading me to. Those who ultimately are in our same vocation, I think, have that effect on us.

Now my task lies in finding that specific community, where I will feel it is home. I keep trusting, praying, and searching, confident that God will light up the darkness ahead of me. Just light enough, so that I can take the next step, but also dark enough that I allow Jesus to take me by the Hand, and lead me while He lights the way.

Fishers of Men Part 2 of 2

"My dear young friends...may you step forward and take up the responsibility which your faith in Christ sets before you! Young men and women of America, I urge you: open your hearts to the Lord’s call to follow Him in the priesthood and the religious life. Can there be any greater mark of love than this: to follow in the footsteps of Christ, who was willing to lay down His life for His friends?"

- Pope Benedict XVI, Papal Mass in NYC, 2008

Fishers of Men Part 1 of 2

This Video is amazing. Open your heart, and take a look. If you feel called to do something Great for God as a man, perhaps the Catholic Priesthood is for you? And a woman, ever think about religious life? Man or woman, take a look at this video. It's truly inspiring.