Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

Dear Friends in Christ,

August 26 was the 100th birthday of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. Most of us remember this little nun who did so much good for the poor in India. Most of us remember this little nun who did so much good for the poor in India. I was privileged to hear Mother Teresa speak once in 1982 at Thomas Aquinas College. Here is an excerpt of her speech:

“I hope you have learned to pray. And if you have learned to pray, that is your strength, that is your joy. And through this life of prayer, make sure — the fruit of prayer is always the deepening of faith. And the fruit of faith is always love. And the fruit of love is action. We must put our love for Jesus in the living action.

How do we do that? If we do it with Jesus, if we do it for Jesus, and if we do it to Jesus, then we know that we are with Him because He has said so.

This is not an act of faith, to believe that I am doing it to Jesus. Jesus has said, "Whatever you do to the least of My brethren, you do to Me." And also the condition — in our last day when we come face to face with God, we are going to be judged by what we have been to Him, and He says, "I was hungry; and you gave Me to eat; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was homeless, and you did it to Me." There is no imagination, no maybe.

Just as we believe that two and two make four — we don’t need to believe that; we know it is like that — so [it is the same] when Jesus has said, "You did it to me," that presence. And to be able to do that, we need the Eucharist, we need Jesus in the Holy Communion, we need the Bread of Life. That is why Jesus made Himself Bread of Life to satisfy our hunger for His love. And then He makes Himself the Hungry One so that we can satisfy His hunger for our love…

And how do we have to do that? Where does it begin, this love? At home. And how does this love begin? [The] family that prays together, stays together. And if you stay together, you will love one another as God loves each one of you, as Jesus wants us to love one another — not in sadness, but in joy. To think that I can love God in my brother, in my sister — it is a wonderful thing.”

Let us pray for that spirit of love that Mother Teresa had for others.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Hildebrand

Summer at SJB

Dear Friends in Christ,

Our summer cleaning is over and school begins tomorrow. The summer has been a slower season, but we have had some interesting summer activities which I’ll describe for you. In spite of our limited resources we were able to afford some small improvements. We removed some old plants and added some new flowers and shrubs around the rectory and in the rectory garden. Irrigation lines were repaired, trees were trimmed, and the school has a new tree in the yard. A new landscape company is caring for the church and school grounds.

There have been some important spiritual activities this summer too. Our new evangelization team goes out on Saturday afternoons to visit homes in our neighborhood. I accompanied them on a recent Saturday and blessed the home of a family. They are encouraging people to come to Sunday Mass, receive the Sacraments and become active in our parish. Please pray for them. Do you think God is calling you to this ministry? Please speak to me about this possibility.

The slower summer schedule has permitted me to do some extra reading. During July and August I am meeting with our permanent deacon candidate. We are studying together St. Augustine’s book On Christian Doctrine, which explains how to interpret the Bible. It has been a challenging but rewarding experience. St. Augustine is a great guide for understanding difficult Bible texts. If you are ready for a challenge you will find interesting insights into many Bible passages by reading this book.

Speaking of St. Augustine his feast is coming up this Saturday. He is an important saint for Norbertines because we follow his Rule in our communities. The Rule begins with a passage that could apply to all of us. “Let us love God above all things, dearest brothers, then our neighbor, for these are the chief commandments given to us.” There is a challenge that doesn’t require too much reflection. May the Lord help us to live this commandment day
by day.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Hildebrand

Consecration to our Lady

Dear Friends in Christ,

Last week we explained the doctrinal basis for consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This weekend we will renew our consecration on this feast of the Assumption. There are four practical aspects of consecration to our Lady that will help us to live this consecration day by day.

First, our union with Mary requires a strong prayer life. Everyone is involved in activity in our busy world, work, family, church, school, and many other areas. We need time to re-charge spiritually so that our lives reflect our Christian commitment. Mary was also a busy person. She had to care for the Child Jesus as well as the home at Nazareth. The Holy Family was poor and so she had all the work of maintaining, cooking, cleaning, and child care without any of the modern conveniences of today. In spite of the hardships Mary had a deep prayer life which made her radiant with God’s love.

Secondly, we imitate Mary by obedience. Mary was always obedient to God’s will from the moment of her consent at the Annunciation to the sorrowful acceptance of her Son’s sacrifice on Calvary. We know that our true happiness lies in conformity with God’s will even when this seems very difficult. For Mary there were many difficult times, the miraculous pregnancy, the journey to Bethlehem, the flight into Egypt, the hardships of Nazareth, following Jesus in his public ministry, and finally the great trial of His passion and death. Mary’s acceptance of these trials as God’s will should inspire us also to accept our trials with patience.

In addition, we should always obey the Church’s Magisterium and our bishop when they teach in matters of faith and morals. Jesus said to His apostles: “He who hears you hears me” (Luke 10: 16). When we listen with obedient ears to the apostolic teachings in the Bible, when we heed the Holy Father’s advice and are faithful to the Church, we know that we are doing the Lord’s will. Love is the third sign of our consecration. Jesus says, “This is how all will know you for my disciples: by your love for one another” (Jn. 13: 35). Mary is the model for the disciple. Her love for Jesus was supreme, and her love for us is shown in her role as mother of the Church. We return this love by our consecration which perfects our union with her for the good of the Church and the salvation of others.

The last element in our consecration is suffering out of love. We know that Mary accepted sufferings as part of God’s plan. Her presence at the foot of the cross is proof of that. When we consecrate ourselves to Mary we make over our sufferings to her so that she can use them for the salvation of souls. The challenge for us is to suffer out of love. St. Maximilian Kolbe, whose act of consecration we will recite today at Mass, made the ultimate offering of his life to save another man from death. He was able to do this because of his consecration to Mary the Immaculata.

We may not be called to give up our life as a martyr, but we can offer all of our sufferings daily in prayer and in union with Mary. Let us renew our consecration today with great confidence that Mary will help us to grow more and more like her Son.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Hildebrand

Assumption of Mary

Dear Friends in Christ,

Last year in August at the beginning of our 50th Anniversary celebrations we made our parish consecration to Mary. This year Mary’s feast of the Assumption falls on Sunday, August 15 and I think it is appropriate to renew this consecration as we celebrate our 50th Anniversary. This week and next week I will devote to catechesis on Marian consecration.

What is Marian consecration?

All of us as baptized persons are consecrated (set aside for God). We “put on Christ” as St. Paul says (Gal. 3, 27); the white baptismal garment is a sign of this consecration. We are members of Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church. Mary is the Mother of Christ and also Mother of the Church. Jesus entrusted Mary to St. John as He was dying on the cross. “He said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother.’”(Jn. 19, 26-27). St. John at that moment was our representative, standing in for all those who live by the cross of Christ. Therefore, all who want to follow Christ, as St. John did, should take Mary as a mother.

Because of her Immaculate Conception by which she is free from all sin, Mary is full of grace by the power of the Holy Spirit. At the Annunciation the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you.”(Lk. 1, 35). Mary’s union with the Holy Spirit is so powerful that she is the one through whom the Holy Spirit dispenses His graces. This is the teaching of one of the greatest Marian theologians, St. Maximilian Kolbe. Of our consecration to Mary St. Maximilian says, “By linking our lives to Mary’s through consecration, we too become channels of grace”. In this way we not only benefit ourselves, but we become instruments in Mary’s hands for the salvation of others.

As Vatican Council II teaches, calling upon Mary’s intercession “does not hinder in any way the immediate union of the faithful with Christ, but on the contrary fosters it” (Lumen Gentium, no. 60). Our union with Jesus is actually strengthened by our consecration to Mary. Like the beloved disciple, St. John, let us take Mary into our “home” that is into our hearts by consecrating ourselves to her. It is a sure way of holiness and leads to salvation.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Hildebrand