st ignatius of Loyola: ad majorem Dei gloria

Today on this fine saturday we celebrate the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who happens to be one of the patron saints for the upcoming World youth day.

He is, as they might say, a big gun in the church, especially having been raised to the honor roll, the highest honor roll, canonized a saint for the ages, a heavenly helper for intercessory prayer.

St. Ignatius, the spanish saint, is the founder of the Jesuits, that motely crew that was supoosed to be the right arm of the Pope in preaching and teaching and sanctifying.

Thoguh the Jesuits have been through some tough times, St. Ignatius remains steadfast in his prayer for us all.

The saint is known for the little saying, Ad Majorem Dei Gloria, for the greater glory of God. This was the call sign he used to determine whether he should give his life to something, a particular task or decision or not.

If it gave glory to God then he would dive right in. This was his way of discerning his course of action in life. And we see where it got him...there is a St. in front of his name which is far better than any other prefixes w emight imagine or desire.

Today most people rather than saying and thinking and praying ad majorem Dei gloria go around mumbling to themselevs ad majorem mei gloria, be it to my greater glory and thus we find ourselevs in quite the pickle of a society or should I say the brine, vinegary and salty, not unlike Sodom and Gomorrah.

Oh yes that famous passage from Sacred Scripture, words from the lips of our saviour come to mind, "remember the wife of Lot."

She too thought it best to go through life with the call sign, "ad majorem Mei gloria...(Genesis 19:15-26).

The choice is ours as it always his. Our Heavenly Father will not take that choice from us but our choices do have consequences. The question is will those conseuence lead the greater glory of God for only then will we arrive at true glory itself.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloria (might make a great tatoo but i know for a fact it makes for a greater life lived.)

life of a prophet

Jeremiah 26:1-9;Psalm 69 Lord, in your great love, answer me;Matthew 13:54-58

The words spoken to Jeremiah, "Whatever I command you, tell them, and omit nothing. Perhaps they will listen and turn back, each from his evil way..."

What was the people's response to the words of Jeremiah, ""you must be put to death!"

The life of the prophet was never a life of luxury. The intimacy they had with God was often at a price. In order to bear the burden of such intimacy and such closeness with God they often forfeited close ties with others, often forfeited a life of "normalcy."

How often in our life we long for closeness with God; we all want spiritual consolation and that "feeling" of closeness that lingers but how many of us want to pay the price of admission into that closeness. How many of us are sincere and genuine in our willingness to surrender a life of "normalcy" for love of God and his love for his people.

Intimacy with God is free but it is not cheap. Grace, the gift of God himself, is free but it to is not cheap. We, in our modern spiritual search, have unfortunately cheapen grace, cheapen the experience of God's closeness, cheapen that which was once so sacred and made it commercialized.

Today, every one wants a spiritual life that you can go to local dollar store and pick up like an extra pack of batteries or gallon of milk. We treat retreats and stuff like markets where everything is at our finger tips. Life changing experiences seem to be a dime a dozen. We have all forgotten that anything worthy having comes at a price. We all fail to follow through, we all lack the resolve of the prophet who risk his life for the taste of God.

We must surrender our life of normalcy. The prophets hold to our eye the truth of just how much intimacy with God cost. He gives us his life but he takes our life with him.

We can no longer cheapen spiritual consolation. It isn't something to gain by a mere weekend or a few days, rather it is a journey of a life time where day in and day out we speak those words of God omitting nothing and we stand erect, we stand firm, and let the people seek our life and cry for our death because in the end the closeness and intimacy of God has already killed us anyway, in that closeness we have died to self and live for him alone.


In the end we are not responsible for people's willingness to listen but we are responsible for speaking the words. Perhaps they will listen but let us never say "perhaps" we will speak. Speak we must and what will follow will follow.

The life of prophet is our baptismal gift from God himself.

domestic servants

St. Martha of great fame when it comes to the bible especially her encounter with Jesus and her sister Mary who sat and listened while she was busy serving.


Martha is the patron of domestic servants, homemakers, housewives, servants, laundry workers, cooks, dietitians and anyone else who lives with their hands dirty and their brow filled with sweat.

It is on this woman's lips, this woman of toil and labor, that St. John places the dynamic profession of faith, "I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."


Martha's profession is a victory for all. She shows us that you do not need to be highly educated or have a degree in theology in order to understand divinely revealed truths. All you need to do is open your home and give Jesus a place to rest. All Martha did was give Jesus a chance and extended her hand in hospitality.

Truth often comes to the simple of heart, those down to earth. Her faith can be our faith and this is a cause of great rejoicing.

We remember all homemakers, housewives, domestic servants, cooks and the like today. We thank them for their service and most of all we thank them for their faith. Through their lives the door has been opened for Jesus to come in and sit awhile.


Often faith comes through them to us...we have all benefited from them in our life and we should praise them today.

A special nod to my mother, my homemaker and domestic servant and cook.
Thank you Mom for giving me faith by the way you took care of the home, perhaps it was there my calling to the priesthood began to take shape.

treasure hunt

Jeremiah 15:10,16-21; Psalm 59 God is my refuge on the day of distress; Matthew 13:44-46

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."


Treasure: what a beautiful word. The instant the word "treasure" is pressed upon our lips, our heart seems to jump and the young child in us all gets excited.

How many times in our childhood did we imagine finding a "treasure?" How many times did we draw up our own "treasure map" where the proverbial X marked the spot?


Treasure always pokes the inner child awake and invites him to come out and play...

Jesus in the gospel pokes the inner child in us all as he describes the kingdom as a buried treasure that once was hidden for the ages only to be found.

In deed our entire life is a treasure hunt. We are all in search of the treasure that will stoke our joy and invite great laughter as we leap upward with excitement.

It makes me think of my little nephews...

My sister in law loves to go to garage sales. Thus, my nephews have grown up looking through other people's trash in hopes to find something of value.

The other day they were showing me what they discovered: a box of old screws, a tin can of oil for gears, and a old pipe for tobacco with its own carrying case.

They were excited and thrilled. They thought they hit the jackpot, treasure found and joy to be had.

For them each time they go to a garage sale they think of the treasure that is waiting to be discovered. They see joy, they see hope, they leap with anticipation as they venture forth.

But also, they never simply hide what they find. They insist on showing it off. They what other people to share in their joy, the joy of discovery. True treasure demands to be shown off and revealed to others; it can never be hidden away out of sight.

What if we were to embrace each day as my nephews embrace the garage sale? What if we saw it as a treasure hunt where each new face and each new encounter was going to lead us to that "X" that marks the spot?

This is the invitation of Christ. Each day, each face, each event brings us one day closer to the fullness of treasure, the pearl of great price himself.

Nothing else will do. Sell everything indeed. What else is there left but to get rid all the stuff and make room for the pearl that will never lose value.

When you find it, show it off. How do you show off to others the treasure you have in Christ? What sets you apart and what sets off Christ so that others may experience him in you?

May today be a treasure hunt where Christ leads us on our way one person, one moment at a time.

Words from Pope Benedict

"Love is an extraordinary force that leads people to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field of justice and peace. It is a force that ha sits origin in God, Eternal love and absolute truth."

A force that leads people to opt for courageous and generous engagement in the field...


Is this not what the man in the gospel does....

Courageous and generously he engages in the field...the treasure hunt is on.

The other Mary

Jeremiah 2:1-3,7-8,12-13; Psalm 36 With you is the fountain of life, O Lord; JOhn 20:1-2,11-18

We are all aware of the importance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. How she was sinless and free from concupiscence throughout her life, never losing her integrity as one who was filled with grace from the moment of her conception.


She is the Lady of ladies. The one who perfectly cooperated with the work of redemption in bringing forth the Incarnate Word himself, JEsus born into the world from her womb to the manger, to the cross, opening heaven for all.


Mary Magdalene, whose feast we celebrate today, could easily be described as the one who started differently, way different.

She is the one who is described as having seven demons cast from her. Only God knows the dark past she lived up until that point. But somehow in the midst of her sinfulness and her life removed from grace, she discovers redemption in Christ. HEr past does not determine her future.

She is restored, renewed, by the encounter she has with Christ. Grace is omnipotent. She goes from having a dark nasty past that would make most blush in shame and horror to the one who is given the privilege of being the first witness of the resurrection as we read in the gospel of John.

God never quit on her and more importantly she never quite on God.

In Mary the mother of God we encounter perfection and the beauty of Grace. In Mary Magdalene we see the power of grace pull humanity from its sin and introduce a new life, a new beginning, a new start.

Both Mary's are important. The Blessed Virgin Mary's 'yes' to God makes it possible for the Other Mary to say 'yes' to the invitation Christ offers to all, "bE healed, rise, pick up your mat and walk", and finally "Go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."

MAry went to announce the resurrection. For she who had been raised her self from the depth of sin and despair had no problem announcing the good news of the one who was raised from death to new life.

Her life was already a witness to the power of the resurrection.

A bit of a poem that makes me think of St. Mary Magdalene

A Desposition by Anne Porter

"And She was strong
Her faith was silent, Sure and Passionate

She'd gladly walk ten miles in any weather
for a taste of God..."

Julius Caesar: "Ah Simplicita!"

Jeremiah 1:1,4-10; Psalm 71 I will sing of your salvation; Matthew 13:1-9

Today we celebrate in the Church the feast of Lawrence of Brindisi, a doctor of the church. LAwrence of course is his religious name. He was named Julius Caesar upon his birth by his father who was quite fond of the Julius Caesar of history.

Julius Caesar became Brother Lawrence of Brindisi in the Franciscan Capuchin novitiate at Verona. He was well known for his gift at preaching. Though reluctant to be ordained a priest he did so out of obedience to his superiors who commanded that he be an ordained minister.


one thing that St. Lawrence is known for outside of his preaching is that he often took a stand for the rights of Catholics and the rights of the Catholic church. It was in Donauwoerth that he began to denounce the authorities for not upholding to the terms of the Peace of Augsburg, which allowed freedom of worship for Catholics in Protestant areas. St. Lawrence boldly scolded the authorities for this reality until the rights of the Catholic minority was secured by military force. This of course led to the Thirty Years War, between the Catholic League and the Protestant Union.

But somethings are worth fighting for...

Here is a lesson we need today as we try to live out our faith especially in what has become a secular society that seeks to denounce the Catholic Faith and the role of Christ in forming that society. We need St. Lawrence's intercession more than ever so that we might have the courage not only to take a stand for our rights but the courage to live our faith no matter the opposition.

Another story of St Lawrence is as follows:

In October of 1601 there was a battle between the Christian army and the Turks. The Christians were greatly outnumbered 60,000 to 18,000 troops. St. Lawrence tried to rally the troops and told them that he would lead them into battle, marching at their head carrying the cross, to fight the enemies of the Cross. HE rode into the thick of the battle holding the Cross aloft, amidst cannon balls, arrows, bullets, scimitars and the like. He went through unscathed with the cross held high.

St. Lawrence teaches us that we can not go through life without a fight. We must learn what is worth fighting for in this life we have received.

One of St. Lawrence's favorite sayings was "Ah, Simplicita!" He simply trusted in Divine providence to lead him through.

Word from St. Lawrence

"Preaching, therefore, is a duty that is apostolic, angelic, Christian, divine. The word of God is replete with manifold blessings, since it is,s o to speak, a treasure of all goods. It is the source of faith, hope, charity, all virtues, all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, all the beatitudes of the Gospel, all good works, all the rewards of life, all the glory of paradise: Welcome the word that has taken root in you, with its power to save you. For the word of God is a light to the mind and a fire to the will. It enables man to know God and to love him. Against the hardness of a heart tat persist in wrongdoing, it acts as a hammer. Against the world, the flesh and the devil it serves as a sword that destroys all sin."



St. Lawrence pray for us that we may have the courage to fight for our faith and fight for the word and allow the word to show us what to fight in this life. Amen

casting into the depths

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20; Psalm 85 Lord, show us your mercy and love; Matthew 12:46-50

The prophet's words are quite striking for us today as we gaze at the cross.

Recently, after having gone to confession, the priest that was hearing my confessions (yes, priest do go to confession to other priest. we cannot absolve ourselves. We are priest for others that is how it works) gave me a penance that i had never received before but thought it quite moving.

He asked me to meditate on the five wounds of Christ and for each wound say one "Our Father." As I sat meditating on the wounds in the hands of Christ, the wounds in his feet, the wounds in his side, the wound on the shoulder by which he bore the weight of the cross, and the wounds from the crown of thorns and did not think of the pain Christ endured but rather i began to think about the joy Christ endured.

I could not help but be filled with awe of how each wound on the body of Christ was a measure of the joy the Father had for us.

The wounds bring forth the grace of renewal and restoration and forgiveness. By his wounds, our sins are as Micah tells us, "cast into the depths of the sea" and his "faithfulness is shown."

The wounds are the fountain of joy that comes form the Father in the opportunity of reconciliation won for us in Christ.

The Father rejoices in the gift of the Son for our sake.

Just something to think about. See the wounds as a fountain of joy, as the Father rejoices at the gift of his Son for in his generosity our sins are cast away and communion is restored.


There in his wounds we hear echoed forth the responsorial psalm of today, "Lord, show us your mercy and love" and as we mediate on the wounds of Christ, a sacred head so wounded, we see the mercy and love of the Father for us in Christ.