I’m not sure which of those two things is more difficult. With the enlightenment of the Spirit, our goal should be to recognize the faults and take concrete steps to improve on them. Francis recommends half an hour so that we let the Holy Spirit settle into our hearts. While some faults rise to the surface, others are buried deeper. ![]() Self-awareness eludes many people, especially when it comes to faults. ![]() Take a half hour to reflect upon your main failing & make resolutions to avoid it. It is then that our hearts are most receptive to the great love of God. If our minds and hearts are full of the noise of the world, how can we receive the Word of God? Stillness isn’t negative or passive it frees our hearts from being weighed down by the concerns of the world. To immerse ourselves in that great love, attend Mass with deep devotion. “Through the liturgy, the inner man is rooted and grounded in ‘the great love with which loved us’ in his beloved Son” ( Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1073). Yet the Eucharist is the deepest of all mysteries, from which each Catholic is meant to draw their life. Without the spiritual disposition on the part of the assembly, the sum of their participation amounts to sitting, standing, kneeling, and some verbal responses. If you stopped into a Mass said in Latin or a language not your own, could you truly attend with devotion? Or, as Vatican II put it: could you fully, actively, and consciously participate? The answer is yes! Participation in the Mass is first and foremost spiritual. He asks for our hearts and our faithfulness. It’s a reminder that God does not ask us to be professional theologians or enter a religious order to be holy. These are practical, ordinary things that any person could do. Francis Xavier Seelos developed a list of ten things to advance on the path to holiness, and the list bears his trademark simplicity, substance, and practical application to any state of life. Sanctity is a hard-fought battle that takes serious effort, prayer, faith, and sacrifice. When I do that, I only set myself up for failure. Holiness is wonderful and desirable, but the temptation is to go from zero to Padre Pio in the span of a week. I find one of the major obstacles to holiness is biting off more than I can chew. John Paul II beatified Francis on Apand declared his feast day to be October 5. Francis passed into eternal life on October 4, 1867, at the age of 48. Ministering to victims of yellow fever in New Orleans, he contracted the disease himself. At the outbreak of the Civil War, a new law enacted in 1863 required all able-bodied men to “make themselves available for military duty.” Francis met with and persuaded President Abraham Lincoln to exempt the Redemptorist seminarians from military service. His time in Maryland included a stop in Washington D.C. Later parish stops included time in Maryland (1854-1862) and itinerant preaching in New England and the Midwest (1863-1866). In addition to his parochial duties, Francis also served his order as novice master, the superior of the community in Pittsburgh, and Prefect of Students. Philomena Parish in Pittsburgh, PA, working with the future St. ![]() Eighteen months later, at the conclusion of his novitiate and his theological studies, Francis was ordained a priest. He was accepted into the Redemptorists in November 1842 and sailed for New York in April 1843. In reading accounts of the Redemptorist Fathers’ ministry to the German-speaking immigrants in the United States, he heard the call of the Holy Spirit. His Lifeīorn in Bavaria in 1819, he had the desire to be a priest from the age of twelve. The foundation of his success was his own personal holiness, his willingness to be among his flock, and his ability to tune his message to their frequency without losing any substance. Francis, we have a great model for the New Evangelization. The themes of his preaching, rich in biblical content, were always heard and understood even by everyone, regardless of education, culture, or background.” In Bl. What made him so appealing was “a simple lifestyle and a simple manner of expressing himself. ![]() Once his kind, simple approach became known, Catholics traveled from neighboring towns to hear him preach and to go to confession. Francis Xavier Seelos was that kind of spiritual guide. Out of those guides, there are some that are so important, so impacting, that I wonder what direction my life would have taken if not for them. I can think of past spiritual directors, confessors, and the examples of many as making a big difference in my life as a Catholic. Everyone has at least one mentor or guide in learning and practicing the Catholic faith.
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