MONDAY OF THE FIFTH WEEK OF EASTER
Feast of St. Yves (1303), Priest, Patron of Lawyers
Dear Father:
HE IS RISEN! Alleluia!
I just finished watching the film ALL MY LOVED ONES. THe film was inspired by the real life experiences of English stockbrocker Nicholas Winton, who saved hundreds and hundreds of Czech Jewish children from the Nazis in 1939. The movie is the story of one of the children's family, the Silbersteins.
At the end of the film was a news clip of the real Mr. Winton in 1988. He was met with many of the children he saved. Nearly all of the children's parents died in the war. It was a touching scene, one in which Mr. Winton broke down in tears, and so did I.
This is the true meaning of being Christian to do what Mr. Winton did. Although he received a major award from the Queen, I am sure he will receive even a greater reward in heaven.
It is easy in our comfortable homes and relativesly peaceful nation to take our faith for granted. What would we do if faced with real crisis like those who faced Hitler? Would we stand up for our faith? We need to remember that although there were 6 million Jews killed by Hitler, there were also 3 million Catholics killed. Would we stand for our faith at the point of a gun? Would we risk our own lives to protect the Jews, or any oppressed people? I wonder.
Personally, I would find it a blessing and a privilege to be in a position such as that of Mr. Winton. To be able to serve God and our neighbor in such a way, to even die for that cause, is a tremendous blessing.
St. Ignatius of Antioch wanted to die as a martyr. He wanted to give his life for Christ, to testifiy to Christ before the Romans. When he was arrested and taken to Rome to be executed he appealed to his Christian brethren to not interfere in some attempt to rescue him. He was going peacefully, and going where he wished to go -- to die for Christ.
I have made the same prayer many times -- to have an opportunity to die for Christ, to risk my life for others. I have had the chance to do that in some small ways. My life has been threatened several times in the work that I did years ago to protect children from exploitation in pornography and molestation.
I remember one incident I was doing the laundry in the apartment complex laundry room. It was a dungeon of a place, dark and secluded. At the time I was investigating a satanic group of homosexuals who were molesting children. A man came into the laundry room and tolod me that I better back off if I wanted to stay healthy. I looked him in the eye and said, "You go tell your people to do whatever they desire to do with me, because I am not backing off."
A month later, partly due to the information I was able to give to the FBI, the State police and FBI raided a "retreat" of these people and rescued a 9 year old boy and arrested one man on charges of child rape. He spent a couple of years in prison -- essentially because of me. The threats, by the way, never were realized.
Such things do not bother me, but I feel like I need to do more. There is an outside chance that I may be able to Pakistan to help with the Catholics who are being oppressed there. MY health and other matters may not allow me to go physically, but I have already been in contact with the Bishop there with an offer to help design a website that may attract needed donations that the Catholic schools need in the region. Every little bit helps.
But like St. Ignatius of Loyola, I still desire to go myself, but may never be allowed. Nevertheless we need to serve where we are and allow God to work through us in anyway He chooses.
We each need to ask ourselves -- CAN WE DO MORE?
Your miserable servant,
Brother Bubba
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FRIDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF EASTER
Feast of St. Solange
Dear Father:
HE IS RISEN! Alleluia!
Today is the Feast of St. Solange. She is important for us in that she is the Patroness for Drought Relief. There are many parts of the world today in drought conditions. We ask for the Intercessions of St. Solange that we may be relieved from drought so that crops may grow in abundance for the welfare of mankind and to the glory of God.
St. Solange was a young virgin shepherdess who took a personal vow of chastity, devoting herself to God alone. She was murdered by her landlord, Bernard, son of the Count of Poitiers, for resisting his sexual advances. Considered a martyr as she died insisting on her fidelity to Christ. Some of the early tellings of her story include her carrying her severed head into a nearby village, and preaching to the people. She was born in the 9th century near Bourges, France. She died when murdered in c. 880.
She is the Patroness of drought relief, rape victims, and shepherdesses.
We also ask for the intercession of St. Solange to confort the poor souls who are raped. We ask her to guard against rape when possible and to always be with the victim in their time of trial.
Amen.
Your miserable servant,
Brother Bubba
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THURSDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF EASTER
Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Dear Father:
HE IS RISEN! Alleluia!
The other day watched again the grand 'ol movie with Gregory Peck, "To Kill a Mockingbird". This is one of my favorite films of all time.
Every time I watch it it affects me profoundly. This movie depicts virtues that are almost non-existent in today's daily world. The film captures the greatest and necessity of virtues such as integrity, purpose, conscious, courage, determination, love, justice, passion, taking a stand against the crowd for what is right, risking one's own reputation for what is thr right thing to do.
I miss the days when these sorts of virtues were more commonplace in our films, and in our lives. Those days are gone as we now living in a wilderness, a spiritual desert in which many people die for lack of water. They die for lack of the living water of Jesus not because it is not there -- for there are oasis in the desert -- but because they refuse to visit the oasis. A well of fresh living water has value for a person only if he will drink from it.
Father, we live in an age not unlike your own, where God is mocked and pagan notions and behaviors are the norm. We need you Father to challenge the pagan priests like you did with the test of fire. Yes, I know, we must do that. You are not here in the flesh on this earth to do it for us. But your inspiration can bring us to follow in your footsteps.
This is true for Christ too. As a poem from St. Teresa observes: "He has no hands, but ours, no eyes, no feet, but ours." It is with our eyes and feet and hands that the will of God is manifest in this darken world. It is up to us to sanctify the temporal world as the priest sanctify the spiritual world.
Help us Father to understand this and to put it into action. Let us not be cowards to our calling as ambassadors for Christ and also His foot soldiers.
Amen.
Your miserable servant,
Brother Bubba
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