Courage One Step at a Time

 

March 12, 2024

Hi! How is each and every one? Tomorrow is the 11^th Anniversary of the election of the Holy Father Pope Francis. Let us celebrate and continue praying for the Holy Father, that God preserve him, and grant him life, and make him holy on earth, and not deliver him into the hands of his enemies. Omnes cum Petro ad Iesum per Mariam All with Peter to Jesus through Mary.

I thought it good to go back to the events around the election of Pope Francis and how St. Josemaria, Founder of Opus Dei and his first and second successors, highly regard the Holy Father and his theologically based advice to his children in Opus Dei.

Omnes cum Petro (All with Peter)

Two events left a special mark on the first half of 2013: the announcement of Benedict XVI’s resignation from the See of Peter, on February 11, and the election of Pope Francis as the new Roman Pontiff, on March 13. In his final general audience, Benedict XVI said that “the Pope is never alone... The Pope belongs to everyone and so many persons feel very close to him.” (Pope Benedict XVI, General audience, February 27, 2013). This reality has been clearly seen in both events, which have been a spur for the Catholic faithful, and also for many other people of good will, to pray with greater intensity for St. Peter’s successor—the bishop of Rome—and for Christ’s Church. Pope Francis said after his election that during the conclave “from every corner of the earth fervent prayers have been offered up by the Christian people for the new Pope.” (Pope Francis, Audience for all of the cardinals, March 15, 2013). God listened to the prayers of his children and has granted the Church another Shepherd. Thus a new link has been added to the long chain connecting us to the Prince of the apostles, to that fisherman from Galilee whom Christ made the visible foundation of his Church.⁽ See the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 936).

“Christ. Mary. The Pope. Haven’t we just indicated, in three words, the loves that make up the entire Catholic faith?” (St. Josemaria, Instruction, March 19, 1934, no. 31 in Conversaciones, Edición crítico-histórica, p. 260, note 46a). Cited, for example, This statement, written down by the founder of Opus Dei in 1934, stems from his deep conviction that we need to “love tenderly the Pope, il dolce Cristo in terra as St. Catherine of Siena... liked to repeat,” (St. Josemaría, In Love with the Church, no. 11) and that this love is an important part of our relationship with Christ and his Church. He never ceased insisting that we have to love the Pope whomever he may be: omnes cum Petro. That love—truly theological—is based on the certainty that he is, by God’s will, the Vicar of Christ, the “visible source and foundation of the unity both of faith and of communion.” (Vatican II, Dogmatic const. Lumen Gentium, no. 18). During his years at the head of the Prelature of Opus Dei, the Venerable Álvaro del Portillo—in continuity with and absolute fidelity to St. Josemaría—also insisted on this truth. In 1988, for example, he said that “remaining united to the Pope is the only way to be faithful to our Lord’s words, who assured us: super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam. It is Christ who builds up the Church—and we with him—through the Holy Spirit, but on the foundation that he himself has placed. The only path for us is to act always cum Petro et sub Petro, in union with the Pope and subject to his authority.”(Venerable Alvaro del Portillo, Homily, May 2, 1988, cited in Romana, no. 4 (1988), p. 101).

 This conviction of our faith leads the Catholic faithful to express their love for the Roman Pontiff in specific signs of affection. In the first place, by praying each day for him and for his intentions. We have many opportunities for do so: for example, during Holy Mass—the sacrifice most pleasing to God—we pray explicitly for the Holy Father. News we receive about the Church can also be the occasion for being united with Peter. Everyone in the Church can and should help the Roman Pontiff to carry the weight of his ministry. As St. Josemaría said: “You must love, venerate, pray, and mortify yourself for the Pope, and do so with greater affection each day. For he is the foundation stone of the Church and, throughout the centuries, right to the end of time, he carries out among men that task of sanctifying and governing which Jesus entrusted to Peter.” (St. Josemaría, The Forge, no. 134).

 At the same time, our union with the Pope leads us to welcome his teachings and indications with a generous openness and availability. “Faithfulness to the Pope includes a clear and definite duty: that of knowing his thought, which he tells us in encyclicals or other documents. We have to do our part to help all Catholics pay attention to the teaching of the Holy Father, and bring their everyday behavior into line with it.” (St. Josemaría, The Forge, no. 633).

A good son or daughter of the Church wants to be informed about the Pope’s teachings. Luckily, present-day means of communication enable us to easily access his words. By knowing them well we will have many opportunities for apostolate, and by echoing the Pope in our own environment (even among those who may be far from the faith) we can help many people to take a greater interest in his teachings. Our Lord will make use of this effort of ours to lead many men and women to rediscover the beauty of the Church.

 “In this moment filled with emotion, when the Church’s universality is vividly sensed,” said Bishop Echevarría on the occasion of the election of Pope Francis, “I reaffirm to the new Roman Pontiff complete adhesion to his person and ministry, with the certainty that I am expressing the sentiments of the faithful, both priests and laity, of the Prelature of Opus Dei. We all entrust ourselves to the prayers of His Holiness, in order to contribute effectively, with joyful availability, to the work of evangelization that the Pope referred to in his first greeting to the Church.” (Bishop Javier Echevarría, Words on the occasion of the election of Pope Francis).

 This issue of Romana contains the last words spoken by Benedict XVI as Roman Pontiff and various homilies and audiences of Pope Francis. Also included are words from the Prelate of Opus Dei published in the media regarding the resignation of Benedict XVI and the election of the first Pope from the western hemisphere. There is also, of course, abundant news about St. Josemaria and the Prelature of Opus Dei. (Romana, no. 56, January-June 2013, p. 8-10)

 Following is the attitude we need to cultivate after going into the COAL way towards our transformation (From Broken Gods, Hope, Healing, and the Seven Longings of the Human Heart, Gregory K. Popcak, Ph. D. Ch 3).

 Be Not Afraid!          

This is the attitude we aspiring mystics must adopt as we face the darkest parts of ourselves and our frustrated efforts to heal.  We will not give in to fear, anger, or condemnation.  Instead we will practice the curiosity, openness, acceptance, and free, total, faithful, and fruitful love that will enable us to rejoice in our failings because of God’s immeasurable mercy and love, and, in turn, we will be transformed by the power of his infinite grace.

 

Become What You Are!

St. John Paul the Great was fond of telling the people in his audiences, “Become what your are!”  What did he mean?  Only that we should spend our lives becoming the gods whom God sees when he looks at us, the gods we are meant to be through God’s grace.

Having laid out a system that allows us to put in proper context our desires and our attempts to fulfill them, we are ready to begin—or more likely continue—the work of becoming the divinized person God is telling us that we can become if only we will trust him and let him show us the way. 

The remainder of this book will look more specifically at ways that you can fulfill each of the divine longings, namely,

The divine longing for abundance

The divine longing for dignity

The divine longing for justice

The divine longing for peace

The divine longing for trust

The divine longing for well-being

The divine longing for communion

As we look at each of these hidden, sacred longings, it is my hope that you will discover how your desires can empower you to cooperate with God’s plan to transform you, through his grace, into everything you are destined to be.  May God bless and sustain you on this journey through grace.

I remember I pre-empted in the previous post that I will devote more posts after to the “love hymn” of St. Paul. This chapter 3 of Broken Gods ends with this post.  Please expect the next couple of posts on love. 

Once again I couldn’t help mentioning the best way to be enriched even more is to reflect and talk about the above topic during the quiet moments of prayer to God during the day throughout the week.

See you in the next post, “May tomorrow be a perfect day; may you find love and laughter along the way; may God keep you in his tender care; ‘til He brings us together again.”

Affectionately,                    

Guadalupinky