On the first and third Sunday's of the month we have catechism after Mass. It's short, only about twenty minutes, but what a grace! There is always a message that touches the heart and brings clarity to the "fog of the moment"* in which we live.
Several Sundays ago Fr. Albert, a retired Dominican in residence at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, delivered the teaching and focused on discouragement and Mary's role in protecting us based on the teachings of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Knight of the Immaculata.
Despair is the D word that always reminds me of Richard III in Shakespeare's play. In his sleep, the night before the battle of Bosworth field, he's visited by the spirits of his victims who curse him saying "Despair and die."** He does die in battle, and the Tudors take over the throne. But that's a bit of a digression.
Discouragement is, indeed, a tool of the devil that can easily lead to despair and both spiritual and physical death. How many suicides start with discouragement? I suspect all.
Fr. Albert focused on the philosophy of Maximilian Kolbe, Knight of the Immaculata. He described Mary, our Blessed Mother, as the "perfect antidote to discouragement." Protestants would hate his talk and dismiss St. Maximilian Kolbe, but he offers a true guide to sanctification with the intercession and help of the Immaculata.
Several times Father quoted St. Maximilian who lamented that, "I neglect many good things and accomplish good things badly." That reality did not lead the saint to discouragement. Most of us could say the same with more reason and truth. However, Mary is our hope, spes nostra. Through her we receive our greatest hope. Even our sins should not discourage us since God allows them for a greater good. Saints who were great sinners, like Mary Magdalene, Paul, and Augustine illustrate and magnify that truth. There is no sin too big for God. Going from the sublime to the silly, Veggie Tales reminds us that, "God is bigger than the boogie man!"
Father assured us that Mary never gets discouraged. If anyone had reason to be anxious it was Our Lady, but she trusted completely in God and continues to encourage us in numerous apparitions to do the same. She doesn't mind using us sinful creatures as tools to magnify the Lord. Just as Jesus chose ignorant fishermen, Mary often chooses little, uneducated children to call us to conversion. Even our weakness shouldn't discourage us because Jesus always uses the weak things of the world to manifest His power and break the pride of the devil.
Discouragement is a sin against the "goodness of hope." It grieves Our Lady. Once we recognize it as a weapon of the evil one, we need to embrace our duty as soldiers of Christ and fight. We don't go to heaven for free, Father reminded us. Without a battle there would be no victory. We experience the battle in our souls, he said, and I can certainly relate to that. Sometimes I seem to have a hurricane raging inside me. That's when I pray for the peace that passes understanding.
Remember, temptation is not a sin. When we refuse to accept Satan's evil promptings it's a victory! The evil thought, for example, is not the sin and it doesn't offend God. It trains us for the battle. We sin if we welcome and feed it. That leads to more sin, the grudge and desire for revenge. When we resist, we win!
But even when we fall, discouragement is not an option. We should not be surprised by the fall, but thank Mary that we don't have worse falls. "Falls must be a step to greater sanctity....After a fall thank God we did not fall deeper....On Judgment Day we will rejoice over our falls. They manifest the mercy of God....Every fall is a step to a higher perfection.... Only the proud become discouraged."
Father urged us to be led by Mary. He said sometimes we get discouraged because we try to go too fast. We must, instead, "Let ourselves be carried by her." Be like that little weaned child sitting peacefully on mama's lap listening to and loving her.
This Lent Larry and I will continue our practice of the daily rosary and five on Sundays, one for each of our five children and their families. Mary is the key to holiness. Anyone who truly imitates her will be led straight to her Son and through Jesus to the Father with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and all His gifts and fruits showered on us.
Lent is a blessed time. May we not waste one minute of it being discouraged, but place all our trust in God through the intercession of Mary, the Immaculata.
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.
*I'm reading Dom Columba Marmion's book Union with God and was struck by that phrase. It exactly captures the confusion and disorder in which we are living, not only in the world, but in our beloved Church.
**I think Richard gets a bad rap. Shakespeare, of course, was writing under the influence of the Tudor dynasty. Richard was the last of the Plantagenets and vilifying him was Tudor propaganda to give credence to their rise to England's throne.
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