Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord

Five parishes came together at my own parish last night for a Confirmation Mass with Bishop DiLorenzo. The church was packed, and I actually had to park at the Baptist Church next door! I sat at the very back of the church (I am not related to a single person being Confirmed, nor was I sponsoring someone), and even from there I could see the impressive shiner that His Excellency was sporting. ;)

The homily was excellent - the bishop talked much about doing the right thing. He talked about how we expect that other people do the right thing. When he went to the hospital for falling on his face, he was glad the doctor had done the right thing in medical school and not skipped the class on what to do in his situation. When you fly to Hawaii from California, you trust that the person who runs the GPS or who installed the GPS in the satellite did the right thing and paid attention to what was being done because you've got nothing but water all around for 5,000 miles. We, too, must do the right thing.

Then he tied all of this in with how the Holy Spirit, given to them anew in Confirmation, would help them in life to do the right thing. Some gifts will help them to discern what is right, others will help them to know what is right, others will give them the strength to do it when no one else is. It was wonderful, and I am tempted to write to him and ask if he has an outline of the homily so I can use it with my girls when we get more in depth with the Sacraments.

I think, though, one of my favorite parts was when he discussed Fear of the Lord. This is not an irrational or paranoid fear. It is really a fear of losing that unique, one-of-a-kind relationship that we have with the Creator of the Universe. We should all fear that. Which is why it's important to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us so that we may do what is right. After all, Jesus said in the Gospel reading that if you want to be a part of Him, you must keep His commandments.

Feast of the Holy Archangels: St. Michael, St. Gabriel, St. Raphael

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the divine power of God cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

O glorious prince St. Michael, chief and commander of the heavenly hosts, guardian of souls, vanquisher of rebel spirits, servant in the house of the Divine King and our admirable conductor, you who shine with excellence and superhuman virtue deliver us from all evil, who turn to you with confidence and enable us by your gracious protection to serve God more and more faithfully every day.

Father Trigilio's homily for this feast day (in 1998) can be heard here, or you can download it here.

You Learn Something New All the Time

Some people complain that the Catholic Church just repeats the same stuff every year. Well, sort of. We do have a cycle, though it is a three-year one; if you attend daily Mass (which is actually on a two-year cycle) for three years, you will have heard pretty much the whole Bible. That's the idea: to get us to hear the whole Bible. Homilies are supposed to teach us more about our readings so that we can gain a better understanding of the Faith. And reading the same Scriptures often will also teach us something new each time we hear them.

This Sunday, Msgr. ____ was subbing in for Father ____ at Mass. (Father ____ has been away all month on his vacation. Last week, we had a wonderful Jesuit priest from Cross International Catholic Outreach come and preside for us. His profile is on this page. He's the one with the hair. I'm pretty sure you'll know who I mean.) Anyway, in the homily it was mentioned that Jesus said that we must become like little children - which was also St. Therese's idea - to inherit the Kingdom. He said that we must learn to trust God like children.

I had an epiphany at that moment and lost much of the rest of the homily as my mind wrapped itself around that idea.

I thought back to the first week after Big Girl was born. I would hold her as much as I could, just STARING at her tiny, beautiful face. Whether she was awake or asleep, Hubby and I would just look at her, gazing at the wonderful creature that God had given us and praying that we would be worthy of our role as parents.

At times, when she was awake, she would look up at me. I knew that her vision hadn't developed enough to see much past where my face was (and, oh, the wonder that God makes it so!), and we would look at each other. We would contemplate each other, and, as I looked into her eyes one day, I was struck with an idea of something.

She trusted me completely.

Big Girl had one thought. This Mommy person will keep me safe and I can trust her. Certainly, this was not a worded-out thought, but that was what her eyes told me. I was overwhelmed at the thought that this tiny baby was dependent on me, and she just knew that I would take care of her every need. Nothing told her otherwise. But everything in her told her to trust me.

And this is what God wants from each of us. Total and complete trust and reliance on Him.

The question for me is this:

When I look up at God as He holds me in His hands, do I look at Him with the same trust as Big Girl, and do I leave myself completely at His mercy?