Catholic Word of the Week

-
Yes, I will continue to publish this column regularly. It did not die with my old blog. This week's installment is inspired by the conversion story I gave at the RCIA meeting last night and my time spent in Adoration today.

The newest Catholic Word of the Week: MONSTRANCE.

Monstrances are sacred vessels used for Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction. They are crafted out of precisous metal (gold or silver), and have circular openings that allow for exposition of a consecrated host. Designs for monstrances vary from parish to parish, but they are always crafted to reflect light. This symbolizes the brilliant light that radiates from Jesus Christ, who is truly present in the Blessed Eucharist.

The ornate beauty of monstrances serves two purposes. First, Our Lord deserves only the most beautiful dwelling while He is present on this earth; He should not be left in a common, conspicuous place. Second, people are attracted to the beautiful art that surrounds Jesus; they must look at the Lord when they look at the monstrance.

After reading this, I challenge you to seek out your parish's monstrance, preferably in Adoration. Get acquainted (or reacquainted) with Jesus Christ, who humbles Himself and comes before you so that you can know Him and love Him. I promise that your life will not be the same.

God Bless.

Popular posts from this blog

Learning Virtue from St. Martin de Porres

-
Image
[This post appeared originally on my full site, which is now no longer in operation, in November 2012.] It seems that more should be written about a saint from whom we can learn so many lessons in virtue.  Yet that is not the case with St. Martin de Porres, from whom we have much to learn about humility, detachment, fasting, justice, and charity.  The website of the St. Martin de Porres Shrine and Institute (located in my own diocese; a wonderful initiative with a beautiful chapel) offers a mere four paragraphs of biographical information, while other sites ( here , here , and here ) devote no more than 10 sentences to this exemplar of heroic virtue.  Surely, Brother Martin, who was so humble in this life, finds that to be a fitting scenario even after his death. From the very earliest days of his life, he embraced his lowly situation.  He desired to do nothing more than glorify the Creator by serving creatures.  He reached out to slaves, orphan...
Read more

St. Cyril of Jerusalem on the Eucharist

-
Image
Although the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist was not the first thing that convinced me I needed to become Catholic, it was of prime importance in my journey home. Now that I am home, the Eucharist is what sustains and strengthens me on my perpetual search for holiness. Indeed, it is the "source and summit" of my Christian life. Thus, I always enjoy taking time to read what Christians in the first centuries had to say about "the breaking of the bread." My findings are such: there is clear evidence that, from the time Christ instituted the Eucharistic meal on Holy Thursday, Christians believed Christ's body, blood, soul, and divinity to be TRULY present. They never considered that it might be "just a symbol." Only within the last five centuries has the "just a symbol" argument taken form, no doubt to the detriment of the true Faith and otherwise faithful Christians. To prove my argument, I have provided two quotes from St. Cyril of Jer...
Read more

Gratitude: Foundation of Our Spiritual Growth

-
Image
Gratitude is not simply a quaint idea to which we should tip our caps during a few short weeks in November each fall.  It is important that we move beyond a trite understanding and application, and come to understand the real place of gratitude in the spiritual life.  It is nothing less than a virtue and disposition that is at the foundation of our potential spiritual growth.  (In a corresponding way, its absence is at the “foundation” of spiritual stagnation.) Before we ever begin to speak of spiritual realities, gratitude simply helps us to get by more efficiently, effectively, and happily than the opposite alternative.  Grateful people grow and flourish, even in the midst of difficult circumstances, in ways that ungrateful people do not.  Still, we must resist the temptation to deal with gratitude simply on the natural level.  We must bring these principles to the supernatural level and grasp them there. We must come to understand that gratitude...
Read more