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Times: The Age of Martyrs In one sentence, paganism is a culture of untruth. Over the two thousand years since Calvary, Christianity has had to constantly contend with pagan ideas, pagan laws; in a word—with a pagan culture that hated Christianity for the same reason that it crucified the Incarnate Truth, who became man to teach the world how to serve God here on earth, in order to possess Him in a blessed eternity. There are differences, however, between a paganism that has never been Christianized, and a once-Christian society that has become paganized. |
| The Apostolate of Suffering When did Christ redeem the world? When He died on Good Friday. How did Christ redeem the world? By His Passion and Death on Calvary. Why do we make the Sign of the Cross? To remind ourselves we have been redeemed by the Cross. |
| North American Martyrs Our reflections for this afternoon are on the North American Martyrs. That's the Church's official name, either the Martyrs of North America or the North American Martyrs and they were all members of the Society of Jesus. There were eight of them. It might be well to know who they were, or in Heaven, who they are. |
| Happiness of Sacrifice Now, there are, as you know, two versions of the beatitudes. Who knows who are the two evangelists that give us the beatitudes? Matthew and Luke. Right? I thought to myself, I am sure they have heard and read the eight beatitudes so often that it might be a good idea to talk about the four beatitudes of Saint Luke. |
| Cost of Loving God Between these two, surrender and suffering, or as I prefer, sacrifice and the cross, lies the whole price range of divine love. Go where you will, seek where you will, consult whom you will. Pray, read, speculate and meditate as much as you will, you will always come back to this fact of the spiritual life and there are no exceptions. The love of God is paid for as Christ paid for the love of His Father with the hard currency of willing sacrifice and the holy cross. |
| Redemptive Suffering - John Paul II and the Meaning of Suffering There is no substitute for experience, especially the experience of suffering. That is why what the Holy Father, John Paul II, has to say about suffering is so revealing. He understands, from experience, and that is one reason why his words come from the heart and reach the hearts of those who hear them or read what he says. Wherever the Pope goes, and to whatever group he speaks, his message on suffering is always the same: Be patient and endure the cross of Christ, but at the same time seek to find ways of relieving human suffering caused by hatred, injustice and greed. |
| The Precious Blood in the Age of Martyrs The subject of our conference is really a statement of two mysteries of our faith: We were redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ, and we are now living in the Age of Martyrs. Our purpose in this conference will be to briefly explain each of these two mysteries and show how they are related.…Certainly we need the strength that Jesus merited for us by shedding His blood on the cross. But, if we dare say it, Jesus needs us to supply, as St. Paul says, what is wanting in the sufferings of Christ. What are we being told? Did not Christ’s death redeem the world? Yes, His death redeemed the world, but conditionally. What is the condition? The condition is that we unite our sufferings with His, our crosses with His, our blood in body or spirit with His. |
| The Price of Proclaiming the Truth How is Christ the truth and the light of the believing soul? He is our truth and light because He has revealed to us, through the Church, those mysteries which until His time were hidden from the beginning of the world. What are we saying? We are saying that the truth and light of Christ is the truth and light that is Christ. His revelation of Himself to us is the knowledge we cannot do without if we are to see what life is all about, what suffering is all about, what death is all about and what life after death is all about. |
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