sacrifice Archives - Amazing Catechists

The Home Recipe for Sanctity: Blessed Anna Maria Taigi

We recently celebrated the feast day of Blessed Anna Maria Taigi, an ordinary housewife and mother to seven children ( June 9) and, as often happens with saints’ feasts, the timing could not have been better!

Bl. Anna Maria Taigi was an ordinary person with earthly responsibilities, a spouse, and children. She was vain and superficial in her youth despite not ever being wealthy, just as each of us can be from time to time. This wonderful woman came to sanctity and service of God from the same difficulties and concerns that each of us faces on a daily basis. Her self-reflection and interior illumination allowed her to see the poor state of her soul, and she undertook a life of obedience, humility, patience, and selfless service as the remedy.

Her strong interior illumination showed the state of her soul with the effects of sin and its misery before God. With that, she embarked on a life of obedience, mortifications, submission, patience, humility and self-renunciation. She developed in this effort, finding ways to fulfill her duties while practicing total submission to the Will of God. It became her mission to comfort others in as many ways as possible. Anna Maria balanced her efforts between the practical necessities of her earthly responsibilities and the spiritual necessities of her family, such as teaching her children how to pray properly. In addition, she devoted herself to the Church, and especially to the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion, attending daily Mass. She also had a special devotion to Our Lady and to the Holy Trinity.

Anna Maria is yet another example, like St. Therese The Little Flower, that sanctity comes not so much from what we do but, more importantly, how we do what we do. She became a renown healer and a great mystic, conversed with Jesus and Mary, and displayed various supernatural gifts from God, including the ability to see all things hidden in the present and the future.

Too many people disqualify themselves from sanctity by embracing the myth that saints are born saints, and that sanctity depends upon the age in which one lives. In truth, saints are made via love and service to God and others, and sanctity can arise in any age. Blessed Anna Maria Taigi reminds us that no matter what our state in life or vocation, we are called to replace self-love and self-will with the will of God. By kissing and embracing whatever crosses Our Lord may send us out of love, we will turn any cross into a ladder to Heaven. This holy woman turned the ordinary into the extraordinary simply through love of God and others. In this so-called modern world which increasingly has no time for God, Anna Maria Taigi comes as a reminder that any time without God is simply wasted time indeed.

2016, Gabriel Garnica

Lenten Lessons Learned

By Mary Lou Rosien

Vlad Rosien
All Rights Reserved

What a long, strange Lent it’s been. It started so dry and ended with quite a bit of suffering and growing. The Lord taught me a lot through my small sacrifices and works of mercy.

1/ Just because you give up chocolate doesn’t mean you’ll lose weight. The trick for me this Lent, was in not replacing the thing I gave up with something else. A true sacrifice should be a little uncomfortable. If you skip meat on Fridays, then go out for lobster, the sacrifice has actually become a treat.

2/ When you spend time in quiet prayer and reflection new insights are revealed. I’m often busy (my hubby would say too busy for my own good). Frequently on the move, caring for others and working several jobs doesn’t give me much time for reflection. This Lent, I made a conscious effort to spend more time in adoration. It may sound a little pretentious, but I found myself in those moments. I recognized that God works in my life in little ways I hadn’t noticed before. For example, I don’t write beautiful novels or long works of literary knowledge and…that’s okay. I write concise, short books and articles for busy people to read on the run. I’m not particularly prolific, however, I am practical and spiritual and God can use that too. It took me a long time to be okay with being the writer I am, not the one I thought I should be.

3/ Giving up some social media taught me that I like people more when I don’t know who they are voting for, what vacations they have been on and what wonderful successes they are currently enjoying. I don’t think I was even aware how much social media was coloring how I viewed others or how judgmental/envious I become while scrolling! Once I recognized this shortcoming in myself, I also realized that to, “Avoid the near occasion of sin,” I must decrease my use of social media permanently. I now check, post, scroll and comment much less frequently than I used to and life is better for it.

I am so grateful for the seasons of the Church Liturgical Year. Each one gives us a different focus and a chance to reflect and learn new things. God bless.

Is it Sacrificial?

By Mary Lou Rosien

This winter has been so very long and cold. It almost feels sacrificial just to go to school or work in this frigid weather. It brings to my mind, ideas about what sacrifice really during this season of Lent.

Catholics have certain traditions for Lent including the practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays. Unfortunately, in too many families (including mine) the practice becomes an excuse to treat ourselves to a fish fry or lobster dinner rather than being a sacrificial offering.

Catholics make sacrifices during Lent for several reasons. Denying ourselves certain pleasures helps us to discipline ourselves by focusing on spiritual things rather than physical ones. We also abstain from meat on Fridays to emphasize and remember Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Before Christ laid down His own life for our sins, animals were sacrificed to honor the Lord. Animal sacrifice is no longer necessary as Christ has paid the ultimate price to free us from our sins.

Often, we start out with the best of intentions, but fall into patterns of behavior that we follow mindlessly, without thinking about why we are doing what we are doing. A dear priest brought this to my attention one Friday night. I wanted to impress him, so I made salmon, scallops, asparagus and rice. He enjoyed it thoroughly, but teased me that it was not sacrificial at all and that he would need to give up something else to compensate.

It became apparent to me that I had forgotten what meatless Fridays were all about. It should be a time to make a simple meal as a sacrifice to God. How can we correct our thinking about this Lenten Sacrifice?

One idea is to make pancakes, soup, or grilled cheese sandwiches and donate the money we would have spent on a more elaborate dinner. Some families put this money into their Lenten Mite box and donate it to their church at the end of Lent.

Another idea is to invite a less fortunate family over for dinner or bring dinner to them.
Still another is to spend a little extra time in prayer before dinner thanking God for all the ingredients that go into making the food and for the hands that prepared the dinner. This can help our families focus on how blessed we are to have food available to us.

Offering things up gives a chance to exercise our spiritual muscles. Just like the muscles in our bodies, if we do not exercise our spiritual muscles they will become weak. Denying ourselves also helps us to recognize the needs of others. How many times since disasters in Haiti, Thailand or even here, have I stopped myself from making dinner in order to finish the leftovers in the fridge? I can’t justify throwing food away while I am looking at the pictures of people starving on television. Lastly, doing without some pleasures, focusing on the meaning of Lent and looking forward to the glory of Christ’s resurrection on Easter (ultimately heaven) will enhance the sweetness of that time. God Bless.
Copyright 2010/revised 2015

To Fast or Not To Fast

By Maureen Smith

Last Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, I sat in the back of the Chapel after work. I was asking Jesus if it was all right that I ate that extra protein bar at lunch. I thought I should have gone without it.

You see, I am not allowed to fast. Why? Because for over half my life I have struggled with an eating disorder, and since I have been in recovery I have been told not to fast. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not that disappointed that I don’t have to be perpetually hungry, but there is a part of me that feels guilty alongside those who fast. So I sat in the pew trying to sort out which thoughts were of God and which were of the evil one.

The next morning, as I went for a swim before work, I was praying my Rosary to help me meditate on the Life of Jesus. It was Thursday, so I prayed with the Luminous Mysteries, the first being the Baptism in the Jordan. I thought about Jesus, how he willingly took on our humanity and our sins. I am not alone in my Lenten journey, in my eating disorder, in my recovery, in anything at all! This frames Lent as well as anything I do – I am not alone and neither are any of you!

The second mystery, the Wedding Feast of Cana. The Lord doesn’t ask us to make up for our failings on our own. Following the example of Mary, we come to Jesus as beggars, and ask for His help and His mercy, in whatever way He sees fit. I am not doing this Lent thing by myself or for myself, nor am I trying to overcome an addiction by myself or for myself. It is all through Him, in Him, with Him, and for Him. He makes all things new. By my own strength I could never change water into wine or perform any miracle, let alone heal my own addiction, but I can do all things with Christ.

The third mystery, the Proclamation of the Kingdom. The words that came to me as I was swimming back and forth were, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” I worry constantly that I don’t do “enough.” What is this “enough” stuff? I am comparing myself to others, to where I thought I should be, to where I was before, etc. etc. But what does Jesus ask of me? Is it the same as what I am asking of myself?

A few years ago I spent two years as a sister in Religious Life. In my second year, it became clear that I was struggling with eating, and so my Superior forbid me to fast during Lent. My Lenten “fast” was to eat snacks between meals, which were prepared by another sister so that I wouldn’t cheat. This was the greatest poverty I had ever experienced. I saw sisters fasting intensely as I was angrily smothering butter on my toast. And I felt nothing but shame when it was time for my mid-morning snack, which was hidden in the pantry. Hot tears rolled down my face when another confused sister found my hidden snack one day.

My point is not to make you feel bad for me, but to proclaim the truth that this “fast” is what Jesus asked of me. I wanted to choose my own Cross and fast like everyone else was doing, but that wouldn’t have helped me grow closer to Him–which is the point of Lent, right? If I had fasted as most did, I would have gained pride and a feeling of power. I would not have felt that poverty, that truth that I was totally dependent on the Lord and His Love and Mercy. I knew then the humiliation He felt during His Passion, and by knowing Him, He knew me.

As I was finishing my last few laps I prayed with the Transfiguration. I often ask Jesus if He’s sure He still loves me this way, wounded and far from perfect. Sometimes I delay in coming to Him because I want to be perfect first. But wait…perfectionism…that’s what got me into this mess! Jesus takes fallen humanity and glorifies it. He even gives us glimpses of this light and glory in our own lives, in order to give us strength for the times when we can see only darkness. Foreshadowing the Resurrection, Jesus shows us that in our humanity, in our woundedness, even in our sin He comes to us and gives us Himself so that we can be transformed by His mercy and forgiveness. This is the goal of the Lenten pilgrimage – to be transformed. To experience greater intimacy with Him, as did Peter, James, and John on the mountain, and to let His light penetrate our fearful hearts.

As I got out of the pool and got ready for work I thought of the last mystery, the Institution of the Eucharist. Hmmm…probably the Lord wants me to think about this whole fasting thing. I thought back to my time in the Chapel last evening. The soft flickering of the sanctuary candle made the shadow of the Cross bob up and down. Even though the light was coming from the right side of the Chapel where the Tabernacle kept vigil in silence, it seemed to cast its rays onto the center of the sanctuary where the Jesus hung on the Cross on the back wall. This was the answer to my question last night. Jesus already suffered for my sins. Was I trying to do it on my own? Was I denying that Jesus’ Passion and Death was enough for me? Was I telling Jesus that I had to suffer in a prescribed manner in order to be worthy?

This morning I welcomed again the graces I received yesterday, when He spoke truth to my heart. I was angry at myself for not suffering enough, especially compared to others. Underneath that was another question: am I enough Lord?…am I doing enough and suffering enough for you? If I had given up that power bar, it would have made me feel a little better about myself, as if I had “done” something for Him, and maybe even prevented the body image thoughts that were penetrating my time of prayer. But this was not of God! Jesus was asking me to sacrifice in another way; I was poor in spirit by obediently following my doctor’s orders and by nourishing my body that I have in the past denied–not out of a call to fast but out of fear of not being enough. This gave me the peace my heart desired; I knew this thought was from the Lord.

I begin this Lent with another kind of fasting. Yes, I am fasting, but not in the way most people are fasting. I am fasting from my will, from my passions, from my securities. I am becoming poor in spirit and accepting the Will of God. Yes, I will probably face feelings of guilt and shame about my body, especially around others who are fasting “more.” But what a perfect time to bring these lies to the Lord. I journey with Him in the desert this Lent and I choose Him over the lies and temptations of the evil one. I am not alone. He is with me, He is in my poverty, He comes to me in my brokenness, and He suffered and died for me.

My prayer is that all of you who read this are able to pray about your Lenten journey, that despite what others are doing for Lent, you recognize the places where the Lord is and is not calling you to focus. May our Lenten pilgrimage lead us to the Pierced Heart of Christ, the source of our salvation.

How Many Lents?

By Guest Post

Guest Post: by Wendy Darling

I just read a headline over at Franciscan Media and it gave me pause – How many Lents?

I literally stopped what I was doing and started thinking over my long life. How many Lents indeed.

How many years of childhood when the fasting was so enjoyable because everyone was doing it together. We didn’t have our usual after school snacks of cookies and milk, but I don’t remember what Mom substituted. I don’t seem to have suffered from it, whatever it was.

We always abstained from meat on Fridays, so I’ve eaten my fair share of tuna noodle casserole, peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese, and grilled cheese. We certainly didn’t go to Legal Seafoods on Fridays, but again, no worse for the wear.

There was a fish fry at my parish every Friday in Lent. The Holy Name Society had a fish fry every First Friday the rest of the year, so we were used to that, too. In fact, we looked forward to it. I’m sure the fish was some nameless brand of perch (Exactly what IS perch? I only know it’s not tilapia, cod, halibut, flounder, sole, snapper, sea bass, salmon, orange roughy or swordfish.) We didn’t care because it was obviously plentiful and inexpensive. And besides, EVERYONE was there! No Friday night movies for us because we’d go to the church afterwards for the Stations of the Cross.

My high school memories are a little more blurry. But the menu always predominates. NO MEAT! In fact, I think we abstained on Wednesdays, as well. What was wonderful about the abstinence was that it satisfied that tiny voice of conscience that always tried to rear its ugly head when temptation crossed our paths. No, thank you. I gave up candy for Lent. Even our non-Catholic neighbors respected our abstinence rules and helped us to remember when we were playing at their houses. And there were always the Stations of the Cross. To this day, I have never tired of them.

That being said, I must confess that in college, I almost gave up Lent for Lent. Sad to say, at my secular university, there was little support for it from our up-to-date Newman Center chaplain. If a ski trip came in Lent, that quiet voice became almost silent. I know I had a few hamburgers on Fridays, but I still managed to think of something to give up for the season.

Ash Wednesdays. I remember them most of all. It was truly exciting, lining up at the altar rail when I was very young, then standing to be reminded that I am dust and unto dust I shall return. Always chilling, always sobering, but also exhilarating. I was in good company after all. All of us dust-bunnies-to-be were in this together. It couldn’t be THAT bad. In fact, it wasn’t. It was wonderful to be in company with future saints. Though we really didn’t talk about it. We knew the stories by heart, though. We knew that Saint Dominic Savio and Saint Therese of Lisieux had taken their ashes, too. And where they led, we could follow.

In the world of teaching, it was sometimes a challenge to wear those ashes to the faculty lunch room. In fact, sometimes I would take my tomato soup and saltines to my office instead. Then it was just me and God over lunch. I’d apologize for my weakness. This was certainly NOT what Dominic and Therese would have done! As a result of our little “conversations”, my penances became a little different about that time. Several years, in addition to the “giving up”, I added a positive action. Besides almsgiving, I tried on a little more kindness. In addition to cheese, or eggs, or butter, I gave up being impatient. At least I tried to.

As I think back to those many Lents in the past, I look forward to my next one with borderline glee. I remember my dear mother, who, faithful Catholic that she was, went along with the changes in the early seventies, but never stopped bemoaning two things: that the rule about abstinence on all Fridays went by the wayside, and particularly, that the season of Septuagesima, or pre-Lent, had been dropped in the new calendar. She was fond of reminding her children and friends, and even my non-Catholic father, that we human beings are weak and our wills have been compromised by original sin, so the Church knowing that all too well, in her wisdom, gave us reminders and assistance along the way, among them abstinence and a prelude to Lent.

This Sunday is Septuagesima Sunday. I will rejoice at Mass and think so fondly of my mother’s affection for it, and remember why the Church offers us this wonderful season as a preview of the reasons for our upcoming Lenten penances.

How many Lents? Not nearly enough for my liking. But thankfully, here comes another one to bring us closer to the God Who lived and died for us, so that we could be together with Him forever in Heaven. And you thought only Christmas was for gifts.