Camp Fun and Faith in Lynch, NE 2009- 3rd year!

What a wonderful camp!

Joan Patten, Theresa Gabriel, and Assistants

 

We had 20 campers, 6 awesome counselors, and helpers both for Joan & I and for the kitchen crew (Leonard!).

We had toilets that worked.  We had perfect weather (the rain stopped Friday at noon!)

 

The counselor training went from 3:00 - 5:00.  We Learned songs and discussed games.  We went over the entire schedule and rules.  The counselors prepared and lead a 40 minute session with their own group Saturday morning, designing a skit, learning Bible Verses and praying.  This added training made a big difference, even with the wonderful quality of counselors we started with.  Kathy and the other volunteers provided us with a nice sandwich supper.  (I was going to order pizza from the bowling alley.)

 

The kids enjoyed the crafts and activities which included tying knots, making crucifixes, New Testament Bingo, painting their own portrait of Paul (i.e. one girl after hearing he was a 'tough cookie' drew a chocolate chip cookie with a beard and a sword!).  We played games outside, visited the Blessed Sacrament Chapel in small groups, and had a 'race to the Cross' which was a little scary if you were holding one of the large crosses while 30 kids ran toward you at full speed!  Fr. Tim and Fr. Augustin (from Sierra Leon - Africa) spent the entire Saturday morning with us, even doing crafts with us.  They were both appreciative of receiving a copy of The Cenacle.  Fr. Augustin took several copies to pass out to his priests.  We had wonderful skits!  Each of the three goups (The Ephesians, the Philippians, and the Corinthians) acted out parts of Paul's journeys with creativity and humor - sometimes lots of humor!  They repeatedly asked for more time to practice, so we gave it to them, then they performed for each other during our long journey outside through the yards (I mean through the Mediterranean), and then for the parents.  Our final show and meal was in the basement of the Church, which was really "comfortable."

 

We had about four journaling times.  We visited the hospital in small groups.  About 6 of the 20 kids memorized a Bible verse and won a prize.

 

Saturday night Leonard and I went to the movie in town and ran into several campers and counselors there.  I can highly recommend the buttered popcorn!  Sunday morning we attended Mass after sleeping very late.  Fr. Augustin talked about our covenant with Christ, and about his mission, and also about Pro Sanctity and the Niobrara House of Prayer.  Then Kathy and LeRoy took us into South Dakota for a big buffet and to see a Reservation Indian Catholic Church.  Beautiful!!  We part ways until 4 p.m.  Taking the extra time to hang around town was a wonderful way to round out the weekend.

 

We discussed camp during our travels.  Next year, we would like to have camp the weekend of June 11 (the second weekend works well for them - and for us.)  We want to go Friday 6 p.m. to Sunday, ending with a 11:00 parish mass and potluck.  We will add Bunko and Bowling.  Counselor training can be Friday afternoon, and maybe we can add some prep time for them. Leonard and I tentatively are planning on going up Thursday again, and staying for a couple days afterwards.

 

We invited Leroy and Kathy to visit Elkhorn, the Omaha Bethany, and our home in Columbus.  They are considering coming for the Fall Family Festival.  We all think it would be good for more people around here to meet are friends from the House of Prayer in Lynch, Nebraska

 

Well, that's a little summary for you.  We missed you Teresa, and we want to share our joy of the weekend with you and Franca.

--
Theresa Gabriel

A Saint lives fully today, building a holy tomorrow.

Pope John Paul II

 

 

 

******************************************

USA NATIONAL PRO SANCTITY CENTER

11002 N. 204th St. Elkhorn, NE 68022

 psm@prosanctity.org or 402-289-2670

 www.prosanctity.org

 BLOG: http://prosanctity.blogspot.com/

 

Easter 2009

And we, risen with Christ through Baptism, must now follow him faithfully in holiness of life, advancing towards the eternal Passover, sustained by the knowledge that the difficulties, struggles and trials of human life, including death, henceforth can no longer separate us from him and his love. Pope Benedict XVI

 

 

Camp Fun and Faith in Lynch, NE 2009- 3rd year!

You are a Priest Forever!

The Pro Sanctity Movement congratulates Fr. Frank Jindra, Apostolic Sodales and pastor of St. Lawrence Parish in Silver Creek, Ss. Peter and Paul Parish in Krakow, and St. Rose of Lima Parish, Genoa, Ne on the occasion of his silver jubilee as a priest of Jesus Christ! Thank you Father for the daily sacrifice you offer to God on behalf of the world! We thank God for the gift of your vocation and ask for His continual blessing on your priestly ministry.

To live in the midst of the world without wishing its pleasures; to be a member of each family, yet belonging to one; to share all sufferings; to penetrate all secrets; to heal all wounds; to go from men to God and offer him their prayers; to return from God to men to bring pardon and hope; to have a heart of fire for charity and a heart of bronze for chastity; to teach and to pardon, console and bless always, my God, what a life! And it is yours, O Priest of Jesus Christ!

You are a Priest Forever!

Pentecost: The Hour of Holiness

The General Moderator of the Apostolic Oblates, Caterina Fava, announced the theme for the General Assembly, The Hour of Holiness, in November 2008. In her letter she recalls the words of Giuliana Spigone,

"'This is the hour of holiness presented to us by God. It is the hour that we not only must welcome, but also present to the world as the most beautiful and attractive event. The walk that will lead us to recapture the gift that was given to us begins here and now, with us. To begin this walk with a renewed eye that sees through the events, hears the cry of humanity, and faces the challenges implied in holiness and fraternity.' (2007, Giuliana)

Caterina continues with words from Bishop Giaquinta,

These words – also validated and reiterated by our 'Father' – impel us to a radical and maximalist effort proper to holiness. The Founder writes, 'Sons and daughters, this is no longer the hour for empty words or controversies, but for action. We were born revolutionaries, but if we don’t react to the possible danger of middle-class attitudes, we run the risk of remaining outdated… I beg you, in God’s name, to talk less but to pray and pay more. Christ is the one who reveals the Father, but in order to bring about such revelation He paid with his own person. We must walk in His footsteps. For this is what the Church and the world expect from us. All the years past…claim our consistency, our generosity, and adherence to a risky acceptance perhaps greater that the initial one' (IV. Letter of 1974).

For us, too, today is the hour of saints. Today, we are called to prove that holiness is a necessity in this historical time, and in the Church that we love. This is the hour of God, of the Holy One, Whom we are called to re-incarnate, as it were, in our selves, and in our life, especially during this particular year. 'For I, the Lord, am your God' (Lev 11:44). (Caterina Fava, Nov. 2008)

Spirit of light and fire, stir up in us the gifts You bestowed on us at the moment of our baptism. Spirit of holiness, let this be the hour that we open our hearts to You, as You are already present and acting in our lives. Spirit of love, transform our hearts into temples of adoration before the Father and sanctuaries of peace for our brothers and sisters. Spirit of joy and peace, may the Easter joy that Christ has released upon His Church make us credible witnesses of the mission entrusted to us.

Pentecost: The Hour of Holiness

Day 10: Vigil of Pentecost

Today we recall the presence of Mary at the vigil of Pentecost. Like the Apostles who gathered around her in the upper room, we desire today to stay with our Mother and ask her to make us attentive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. We ask her to make us receptive to this great moment of grace for the Institute and for the Church. May we learn to listen like Mary and respond with hope and joy!

We know that the general Assembly will be a strong moment for the entire Institute, and the merging point of all our endeavors. The Assembly is a time of formation, of validation and revision, a time to be strengthened and invited back to the world. It is an important moment in our history; a moment that we must live with hope in our heart – the hope for a “new Pentecost.”

Our hope not only is expectation for new things to come, but also unceasing prayer. It is through a silent and humble prayer of petition, in trusting abandonment to Our Lady, that today we, somehow, anticipate the new journey of the Institute, which will practically begin with the convocation of the Assembly.

Our hope is steeped in Mary, as in a sure source of divine grace, and in the example of her dedication to God. It was at this source that the Founder quenched his own thirst. At this river of flowing grace, he found the strength to peacefully entrust himself into the hands of God, so much so that his abandonment, his trust and hope, fashioned his life into a beautiful and harmonious masterpiece. Grace transformed him into a “wonder”, a “genius”, as it were, of faithful love for his Spouse the Church, of dedication to all people, “until the end”, and of a revolutionary strength that made him capable to bring about the dream of holiness and of brotherhood which God placed in his heart. (Giuliana Spigone, Dec. 8, 2003)

Day 10: Vigil of Pentecost

Day 9: Pentecost Novena

Spirit of light and fire, Spirit of holiness:

God of love, inflame us with love.

Lord, I know that you have loved me from eternity.
You love me and long to make my relationship of love with you stronger and stronger throughout the years.
Grant that this knowledge be the light that leads my every step, the norm that guides my every action, and especially the flame that burns in my heart instilling renewed strength for my journey. (Bishop Giaquinta)

Heavenly Father, send us your Spirit so we may grow in knowledge of how much you love us, we may be deeply receptive to your love, we may cry out to you continually, and we may be inflamed with love for you and, therefore, for each of your children.

(Contributed by Monica Hejkal)

Day 9: Pentecost Novena

Day 8: Pentecost Novena

Spirit of light and fire, Spirit of holiness:

Come Holy Spirit inspire the Apostolic Oblates to be women of the future, courageous and builders of hope as they prepare for their General Assembly.

Love: the container of all the gifts. We were born for love, live for love and have in our hearts to die for love. It is the air that we breathe; we breathe because of love! Love is ALL – We exist because of the ALL. Holy Spirit you are the key to this container of love. With you we have access, awareness and ability to return love for love; to love as we have been loved; to live on love; to live for love; to be love! All that we do is nothing unless we turn the key and release the already given gift of love – the Spirit!

Like Mary we must give a nod of acceptance; we must say YES. The power of love will come over us but we have to show our wiliness to open and be opened, to receive and to give. Love is our greatest tool in this life, it covers a multitude of sins, it casts out all fear and it will help us to persevere and conquer all evil. Without love we are nothing.

Oh Lord, my heart sometimes feels empty because I do not go to the storehouse that you have given me the key to open. How silly to go anywhere without provisions. How silly to do anything without calling on your Spirit, allowing your Spirit to invade me, guide me, strengthen me…I worry, fret, nag, whine and sin all because I do not call on your Spirit of Love to be with me. Filled with love may I have the courage to change in order to be a builder of hope with the Holy Spirit as my guide. Amen.

(Contributed by Teresa Monaghen, A.O.)

Day 8: Pentecost Novena

Day 7: Pentecost Novena

Spirit of light and fire, Spirit of holiness:

Make us capable of living fully in You, free from ourselves, purified in mind and heart.

Seeing with the eyes of Christ, I can give to others much more than their outward necessities; I can give them the look of love which they crave. Here we see the necessary interplay between love of God and love of neighbor which the First Letter of John speaks of with such insistence. If I have no contact whatsoever with God in my life, then I cannot see in the other anything more than the other, and I am incapable of seeing in him the image of God.

But if in my life I fail completely to heed others, solely out of a desire to be “devout” and to perform my “religious duties”, then my relationship with God will also grow arid. It becomes merely “proper”, but loveless. Only my readiness to encounter my neighbor and to show him love makes me sensitive to God as well. Only if I serve my neighbor can my eyes be opened to what God does for me and how much he loves me.

The saints—consider the example of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta—constantly renewed their capacity for love of neighbor from their encounter with the Eucharistic Lord, and conversely this encounter acquired its real- ism and depth in their service to others. (Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 18)

Father, send us Your Spirit to expand our hearts so we may receive the plan of love You desire for us today. Let every divine encounter bear fruit in our hearts and give us a greater capacity to love. Purify our intentions and make room in our hearts for our brothers and sisters’ needs.

Day 7: Pentecost Novena

Day 6: Pentecost Novena

Spirit of light and fire, Spirit of holiness:

You ask the maximum love from us on behalf of the men and women of our time.

It is in the Cenacle that Jesus gives His body and blood as food, leading to the transformation of His Apostles into Himself. According to the commentary of St. Augustine, it is not we who transform the divine food into ourselves, rather it is the divine food that transforms us into Itself.

Christ has an infinite and unifying love. He wishes to communicate it to us so that we may base our relations with one another on it. Our love is to reach the magnitude of self-giving service; our unity is to be modeled on the Trinity.

In our effort to enter into the mystery of God's maximalism, how can we ignore the great lessons of the Cenacle? For the Cenacle is the place and time in which Jesus shows us the wonders of His maximum love and reveals to us the depth and design of God's divine extravagance. (Bishop Giaquinta, The Cenacle, Ch. 3)

Come Holy Spirit, enkindle our hearts with the fire of Your love. Give us the grace to rise above the mediocrity that leads us away from Your invitation to be loved. May we respond to Your gifts through our acts of selfless love toward our brothers and sisters.

Day 6: Pentecost Novena

Fruit of the Novena!

You need to recall the baptism of John; a baptism of repentance. For until you repent, you will remain in that place that you are now.
 
You cannot invite a guest into your home through a closed door. Only through a door opened may the guest enter.
 
If you truly and wholly repent, you can in humility be fully contrite before the Lord. The door is now open and you stand before it, welcoming the guest, anticipating his arrival.
 
You may now through Grace, contemplate His presence, and receive what is of the will of the Father.

 

Larry Weigum

 

 

Fruit of the Novena!

Day 5: Pentecost Novena

Spirit of light and fire, Spirit of holiness:

We wish to learn the new language from You in order to offer to all the good news of God’s infinite love.

When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. (Mt. 10:19-20)

Come Holy Spirit, teach us the language of God, the language of love that speaks to our hearts at every moment. It is this love that impelled the Father to give us His Son and which He commanded us to love one another. Fill us with the gift of piety so we too may communicate this gift of love.

Day 5: Pentecost Novena

Thank you!

FRANCA, GIOVANNA, PALMIRA AND VILMA (IN HEAVEN)

May 24, 1962-2009

Departure of the fist Oblates from Italy to the USA, they arrived on May 29^th in California!

 

Thought for this special day day ... Giuliana Spigone

In order to be apostles of holiness we must never forget that at the same time, we must strive to be holy apostles!
Said another way, we must earnestly desire and strive to allow God's Holiness to infuse and transform us as it flows through us to our neighbor and our world.

 

THANK YOU FOR BEING HOLY APOSTLES AND TAKING THE COURAGEOUS STEP TO COME TO THE STATES!!

 

Love, Teresa and the Pro Sanctity Family

Thank you!

Day 4: Pentecost Novena

Spirit of light and fire, Spirit of holiness:

Make us ready to embrace the universality You ask of us.

Saint Paul had understood well that only in Christ can humanity find redemption and hope. Therefore, he perceived that the mission was pressing and urgent to proclaim “the promise of life in Christ Jesus” (2 Tm 1:1), “our hope” ( 1 Tm 1:1), so that all peoples could be co-heirs and co-partners in the promise through the Gospel (Cf. Eph 3:6).

He was aware that without Christ humanity is “without hope and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12)—“without hope because they were without God” (Spe Salvi, No. 3).

In fact, “anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains the whole of life (cf. Eph 2:12)” (Ivi, No. 27).
(Pope Benedict XVI, 2008 World Mission Day)

Lord, we want to be faithful to mission of holiness You have entrusted to us, but we can't do it alone! Send us Your Holy Spirit to fill us with love and trust so we may always be ready to proclaim the reason for our hope.

Day 4: Pentecost Novena

Day 3: Pentecost Novena

Spirit of light and fire, Spirit of holiness:

Make us perceptive and attentive to Your new proposals to us:

“I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.

And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.

Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me.

I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them” (Jn. 17:20-26).

Lord, Jesus, You offer yourself so that all may be drawn into the life, love, and communion of the Trinity and so that all may come to know the Father. May we receive Your invitation to abide in You and remain in You so that your proposal for the fullness of unity may become a reality!

(Contributed by Jessi Kary, AO)

Day 3: Pentecost Novena

Day 2: Pentecost Novena

Spirit of light and fire, Spirit of holiness:

Help us understand the Father’s will:
our brothers and sisters’ needs
and the authentic answer to today’s challenges

We come to You, Holy Spirit, with a heart full of love, with a Marian heart! We wish to understand God’s will and do it like “Mary , the Virgin of Nazareth, who listened and responded with generosity to God’s plan of love. “Her prompt “yes” allowed her to become the Mother of God. Mary, after this first “yes” had to repeat it many times, even up to the culminating moment of the crucifixion of Jesus.” (Benedict XVI, January 20, 2009)

Help us, Holy Spirit, to be good listeners and doers of God’s will every day, every moment as Mary was! Give us eyes to see our brothers and sisters’ needs and help us respond to them as Jesus would. Today’s challenges are many! Spirit of truth, enlighten our mind! Help us see the truth in every matter; help us come in touch with Jesus the Truth! He will strengthen us to profess the truth in love in the midst of today’s lies! Truth about the sacredness of life; truth about family life; truth about the order of love, holiness and brotherhood established by God. Spirit of light and fire, Spirit of holiness, listen to our prayer!

(Contributed by Franca Salvo)

Day 2: Pentecost Novena

Day 1: Pentecost Novena

Spirit of light and fire, Spirit of holiness:

Come, enlighten our minds and inflame our hearts.

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens (Ephesians 1: 17-20)

Holy Spirit, increase the capacity of our hearts so we may receive the glory of the Father which You wish to bestow on us, as His beloved sons and daughters. As we contemplate Your Son, may we grow in knowledge of Your particular love for each of us.

Day 1: Pentecost Novena

The Ascension of the Lord: Draw us to You!

Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me. "I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it and will glorify it again." The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come for my sake but for yours. Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself." (Jn. 12:23-32)

Continue to draw our hearts to Yours, O Lord, for You desire our holiness. Help us to receive the Holy Spirit's loving action in our lives and give us the trust to respond to His promptings with generosity and joy. May our lives be witnesses of Trinitarian love and instruments that allow our brothers and sisters to encounter You!

Please join us daily as we begin our novena in preparation for the feast of Pentecost.
Feel free to add your intentions under comments. We would like to pray for the General Assembly of the Apostolic Oblates, as well as for the Jacob family.

The Ascension of the Lord: Draw us to You!

Remembering Sharon

Good-bye, Sharon!

Sharon, dear Sharon, good-bye!

We wish to thank you for your life spent in peace, love, and joy. We thank you for being a woman of praise and thanksgiving, a caring daughter, a loving spouse, a tender mother, a joyful sister, a sensitive friend.

Sharon, thank you for using your talents well, for encouraging your children first, and then others, to use their God-given talents and do their best to make a difference in the world.

Thank you for wanting what God wanted from you, for doing His holy will in peace, trusting in His love for you. You had a wonderful sense of self, of your dignity as a beloved daughter of God!

You lived in peace and serenity regardless of what sorrows you experienced: the death of your beloved husband, the trial of cancer, the losses and challenges of daily life.

You drew strength from praying the Word of God, receiving the Eucharist, trusting God, rejoicing in the love and care of your children and grand-children, of Linda and Larry, Jim and Diane, your mother, and your friends.

You smiled and kept your sense of humor even in the last days of your life on earth! May you be blessed! Sharon, often, very often, we heard you saying, “I had a wonderful life, I bless the Lord for what He has given me. I offer all to Him for my children, for promoting the culture of life, peace, holiness, and brotherhood in the world. If I get better, I will continue to enjoy life, beauty, and do my best… If God calls me, I am ready! I go to be with Rick and my loved ones in the joy of God’s presence! I am blessed! I love you; I love my children, I love you all. I will continue to love you from Heaven! Life is beautiful!”

You, Sharon, are beautiful! Thank you, Sharon! We love you!

We offer our deep condolences to you, Kathryn, to you Lara, Alisa, Ryan and Sara, Scott and Michelle, Anne and Charles, Neal, Lindsey and Tim and Alex; to you, Linda and Larry, Jim and Diane, and to you grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

With love and prayers, The Pro Sanctity Family

Remembering Sharon

Remembering Sharon

Sharon K. Jochim
Mar 22, 1945 - May 5, 2009
FUNERAL SERVICES Saturday, 10am at the 72nd Street Chapel to St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church at 10:30am. Interment Resurrection Catholic Cemetery. Wake Service Friday 7pm at the 72nd Street Chapel. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to the Apostolic Oblates. JOHN A. GENTLEMAN MORTUARIES 72nd STREET CHAPEL 1010 North 72nd St., 391-1664

Remembering Sharon

Prayers for Sharon

The Pro Sanctity Family unites together in prayer for Sharon Jochim (pictured on right), who is dying. We entrust her and her family to Our Mother of Trust and ask Our Lady for peace and docility to God's will. We recall the words of Giuliana on April 4, 1998:

Our life is a story written all over with letters of love and pain. They help us to live, to console. They make us strong in adversity and in difficulty. They bring a message of faith in God Who uses even pain to enable us to perceive His infinite joy. There is a lot of peace and a lot of hope in each of us. Not by chance our Founder wished to call us "Sowers of Hope. We wish to sow seeds of hope in the world of today. But we need a lot of patience and self surrender in God Who only can give fruitfulness to our action.

In these days I have experienced the patient love of a mother, the silent suffering, quiet heroic of a spouse. Sharon Jochim, a Cooperative Oblate from Omaha, has lost her husband, a young man of 52, father of eight. In the midst of pain for her sudden loss, she found strength to fight the incredible, to overcome her fears, to sublimate her love, to accept life as mission of love for her children. This event has been a strengthening of our own faith, a new commitment of each of us to sustain her. We from afar, with our prayer, those of Omaha with signs of solidarity and sympathy.

Let us celebrate the Pasch of the Lord, the New Life that is given to us every day, but is so overwhelming, felt and joyful during this Holy Season. May peace blossom in our hearts amidst the difficulties of always. Mortal sadness and hope that keep us alive are part of our lives. They touch us deeply at this time of Crucifixion and Resurrection. There is always in us a veil of nostalgia, a "desire for the more", and nostalgia of eternal. At the same time, it is alive and strong, a promise of new life, of an oblation always more generous, heroic, capable of giving a new expression to the world in which we live and to the entire world, still unknown to us, but becoming now our new responsibility.

All sadness is turned into joy on Easter Sunday even though we are not always aware of it. The mystery of the Risen Lord is announced discreetly, silently without angels and earthquakes, without apparitions or bright lights, with simple signs. an empty tomb, a dropped linen. These signs become light: faith is born. We believe in Love even though facing an empty tomb.

May the Lord allow each of us to be attentive to all the experiences and all the "colors" of life. May He give us a perseverant love, fidelity to our oblation so that we may become strong and discreet lights of the Risen Lord. Our Founder, immersed now in the contemplation of the Risen Lord, intercedes for us to Mary who loved much, Mary our Sweet Mother of Trust. He asks from her to give us courage to repeat our "Eccomi", "Here, I am Lord," without reserves, without measures. May the Holy Spirit, permanent source of peace, open the hearts and minds of many young people to the divine call. May He give them the courage to walk the demanding and courageous road of charity and a generous commitment.

Amen

Prayers for Sharon

Congratulations Monica!

The Institute of the Apostolic Oblates joyfully welcomes Monica Hejkal who began formation as an Internal Apostolic Oblate on May 1, 2009! Please join us in prayers of thanksgiving as we continue to journey towards the General Assembly in July. Our General Moderator, Caterina Fava sent the following message:

Dearest Ones,

We give thanks to the Lord for the gift of fidelity that once again we renew today, May 1st, the Feast of our Covenant with the Lord. The Lord loves us infinitely and asks us to choose Him with our whole lives.

How could we say no to Christ the Lord Who became man for us, entered into the limitations of time and space, unceasingly announced the word of everlasting life, became a neighbor to every man and woman up to His death and resurrection in order to make us experience the passionate love of the Father Who is always ready to welcome us as we are? Dearest ones, let us once again renew our yes to the Lord, yes to the gift of life, yes to the grace of Baptism that made us children of God, yes to the call to holiness and brotherhood, yes to the Pro Sanctity Apostolate, yes to the Apostolic Oblation.

Let us ask the Lord to make us faithful in the journey we have already begun, and let us entrust our Pro Sanctity family to Him.

In a very special way we want to pray for and wish the best to Monica who today starts her journey of formation as an Aspirant Apostolic Oblate. For you, Monica, we ask the Lord to make you holy and help you fall ever deeper in love with Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Always turn your gaze and your heart toward Him to live ever more intimately united to your Savior.

Jesus has chosen you and has had a love of predilection for you. He looked at your availability and wanted you to be His so that you might give yourself unconditionally to Him and to your brothers and sisters. Search always for communion with Him, contemplate and adore Him, let yourself be assimilated by Him so to be a witness of maximum love for those you meet on your journey.

To all of you who participate in this celebration: through the intercession of our Founder may the Lord grant the gifts of the Holy Spirit so that you may be authentic witnesses of holiness and live the high measure of Christian life in order to be a sign of contradiction in today’s world.

We are close to you with our prayer and affection.
Caterina and the General Counsel

Congratulations Monica!

Happy Easter!

"Resurrectio Domini, spes nostra! The resurrection of Christ is our hope! This the Church proclaims today with joy. She announces the hope that is now firm and invincible because God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead. She communicates the hope that she carries in her heart and wishes to share with all people in every place, especially where Christians suffer persecution because of their faith and their commitment to justice and peace. She invokes the hope that can call forth the courage to do good, even when it costs, especially when it costs. Today the Church sings 'the day that the Lord has made', and she summons people to joy. Today the Church calls in prayer upon Mary, Star of Hope, asking her to guide humanity towards the safe haven of salvation which is the heart of Christ, the paschal Victim, the Lamb who has 'redeemed the world', the Innocent one who has 'reconciled us sinners with the Father'. To him, our victorious King, to him who is crucified and risen, we sing out with joy our Alleluia!" (Urbi et Orbi Message- Easter 2009)


This Easter, we commemorate and renew the promises made at our baptism. Through Christ, we have been buried in the waters of baptism and raised up as the beloved sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father. Where is the Father's love leading you this Easter? How is He drawing you closer to His Heart?

Bishop Giaquinta teaches us: "The place the Father has in the life of Jesus is the place He must have in our lives. We must love the Father like Jesus loves Him. Conversely, we must recognize that the Father loves us like He loves Jesus. If only we would translate all this into life, our spiritual life would really be changed; the Father would enter totally into our existence – an existence that, as we know, is already rooted in His heart."

“You are my beloved Son, in You my favor rests,” (Lk 3:21).

"We see, therefore, the rapport Jesus has with the Father and the Father with Him. What trust and serenity we should find in the fact that we abide in the Father’s Son and that, as sons and daughters of the same Father, the words to Jesus are addressed to us as well: 'This is My beloved son in whom I am well pleased!' 'This is My beloved daughter in whom I am well pleased!'"

"Let us try to grasp the twofold dimension of the Father’s voice: His rapport with the Son and His rapport with us. Not only His rapport with me, but also His rapport with all who live around me. Thus, we should respect, love and, I’d say, even venerate one another. When we fall short in charity, we are lacking respect and kindness for the children of God. This is why this rapport of love is so often repeated in Scripture: we are children of God, and the Father loves us all." (Bishop William Giaquinta, Face of the Father)

We pray to grow in the hope and joy that comes from the awareness of our personal identity as beloved sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father. With Mary as our model, may the confidence in His love guide our lives as we strive to be authentic witnesses of holiness in the world!

Happy Easter!

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb

We adore You O Christ and we praise You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it is because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not associate with them, for once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is a shame even to speak of the things that they do in secret; but when anything is exposed by the light it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it is said, "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light. (Ephesians 5:6-14)

Jesus has died and Joseph of Arimathea has requested His body and the men with Mary climb up and pull out the nails holding Jesus up. There is much concern over this process. They do not want to hurt Jesus’s body anymore. They do not want to drop the body causing Mary more grief than she has already suffered. They are preparing Jesus for a hasty burial before the Sabbath begins. Important things happen in haste. The shepherds went to see the child Jesus in haste. The Holy Family fled in haste. Jesus life begins and ends in haste. These are all important faith moments. When Jesus was put in the tomb the people were filled with deep sorrow at never being able to see Jesus again. It is a disturbing moment that needs to be accomplished quickly. The future is unknown and seems hopeless. In sorrow, they place Jesus in the tomb and return to their homes. Mary will surely ponder all these things in her heart. I invite you to look at the hasty moments in your life and ponder these moments to see where Jesus was at.

Submitted by Anne Zugelder, Apostolic Oblate, Nebraska

As I watch Jesus laid in the tomb, I breath stillness, silence, dismay, wonder, suffering beyond words, a sense of deep gratitude, and much, much love.
I see Joseph of Arimathea taking the body, wrapping it in a clean linen shroud, and laying it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. I see Mary, Mary Magdalene, remaining sitting there, facing the tomb.(Mt 27:57-61)

“Be still and know that I am God!" (Ps. 46:10). Yes, Lord; yes, Jesus, Son of God! You are the Lord! You, the Author of life, gave Yourself for me, for all! You are now laid in the tomb!
Words coming from Your Heart and Your lips to instruct the disciples, resound deep in my heart, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (Jn 12:24) “The tomb does not contain an inert body, but the Risen Lord, our Eucharist.” (Our Prayer, pg 78)

You, Eucharistic Jesus, wanted to remain with us in a unique and marvelous way, You wanted to enter in the fabric of every age, every time and give newness of life to us, to all, making new all things, and leading all to the Father. May we use the talents You gave us, and do not bury them! May we look at ourselves, at today’s world with eyes of faith filled with hope and love may we arise from the tomb of hopelessness, indifference, injustice, restlessness… and be Eucharist for others, Bread of life, peace, joy. Not we, Lord, but You in us!

Submitted by Franca Salvo, Apostolic Oblate, Nebraska

Holy Mother, impress into my heart the wounds of your Son!

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Thirteenth Station: Jesus is Taken Down From the Cross and
Received by His Mother

We adore You, O Christ and we praise You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is in travail she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a child is born into the world. So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father, he will give it to you in my name. Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:20-24)

Like Jesus I am invited to give everything, and like Him to abandon myself into the loving arms of my Mother. Lying in her arms, having nothing more to give, feeling defeated, or not knowing where to turn, I have the comfort of Mary's loving me completely for who I am. Also, in her arms is where I find Jesus Who said with His life, "Zeal for your house will consume me." As a Baptized person I am the house of God, the dwelling place of the Trinity, and Jesus was completely consumed for love of me through each step of His Passion. I am invited to enter into this Station to receive Jesus' and Mary's love for me.

Submitted by Monica Hejkal, Aspirant Apostolic Oblate, Nebraska

The thirteenth station is something I struggle with daily. I judge my failures harshly. I demand perfection instead of holiness. My idea of success is for all to end well-according to My Liking. My prayer in this meditation. Let me accept praise or blame, or success or failure with equal serenity.

Submitted by Cynthia Urquides

Holy Mother, impress into my heart the wounds of your Son.

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross

We adore You, O Christ and we praise You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever he does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son, and shows him all that he himself is doing; and greater works than these will he show him, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:19-24).

Jesus’ desire is infinite and unchanging. His love compels (cf. 2 Cor. 5:14; Phil. 2:6-7) Him to offer Himself for the redemption of the world. Though the suffering was very real—“My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me” (Mt. 26:39)—Jesus’ desire to pour Himself out completely is infinite—“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer (Lk. 22:15). We, too, are invited to make every moment a redemptive moment: “what must our most appropriate and ultimate response be? It will be total availability to the work of redemption … in full accord with the needs of the redemptive moment” (Bishop Giaquinta, Our Life as Apostolic Oblates).

Jesus infinitely desired to empty Himself completely because He sees the Father empty Himself completely (creation, sustaining creation, identity in the Trinity). Such an outpouring in love bears abundant fruit. Thus Jesus does what He sees the Father doing (cf. Jn. 5:19) as He offers Himself for love’s sake on the cross. We, too, are called to choose death for love, for redemption.

With Jesus, may we keep our attention fixed on the Father, so that we may say only what we hear the Father say and do only what we see the Father do. Let us ask for this grace as we journey toward the fullness of life in the infinite love of the Father with Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Submitted by Jessi Kary, Apostolic Oblate, Nebraska

Holy Mother, impress into my heart the wounds of your Son.

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

We adore You, O Christ and we praise You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. (Revelation 1:5-7)

The station that most terrifies me is the eleventh station, Jesus getting nailed to the cross. This is unfathomable. It is repulsive. I can handle hardly a hangnail, let alone something that is used to keep railroads ties together. I don’t know how Jesus could sustain this for a moment, let alone three hours, and two more nails beyond the first.

After meditating on this horrific station, we understand that Jesus’ love of me is bigger than his pain. He gave me everything he had, and held nothing back. He hung on that cross beaten to shreds, fully exposed, with nowhere to hide, friendless, reviled. To the naked eye, there were no consolations for this man Jesus The King of The Jews.

Meditating further, perhaps there were some consolations, invisible ones. Maybe I was there, the brave me, the committed me. (The cowardly me already ran on home and was now quaking under the bed.) Maybe I was there, along with countless others, and when He couldn’t sustain himself any longer, our love held him up. Maybe we carried him for a while, us, the ones who have finally figured out that truly is the Son of God, and we’d be there no matter what it cost us, for what our presence was worth. Come to find out, our presence was worth the soul of the Son of God, because, truly, this is who He is.

Submitted by Barbara Gata, Pro Sanctity friend, New York

Through Baptism, we enter into the threefold mission of Christ: priest, prophet, king. “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). Pope John Paul II explains that “it is participation in the priesthood of Christ which denotes the simplest and most complete” (Sources of Renewal) aspect of the mission of the faithful. At the heart of the priestly mission is sacrifice on behalf of the people. Bishop Giaquinta calls this dimension of our mission Redemptive Love: “Even after we adhered completely to God’s will, we will have done much, but not everything. We must spontaneously and generously wish to journey toward the Cross, choose it, and embrace it” (Bishop Giaquinta, Formation and Apostolate). St. Paul, too, desired to enter into the death of Jesus for the sake of the resurrection – for himself and those to whom he preached. Everyone must be holy!

Let us ask for Jesus’ desire to offer ourselves with Him in His redemptive act so that every moment is a redemptive moment, that we may be All Saints, All Brothers and Sisters.

Submitted by Jessi Kary, Apostolic Oblate, Nebraska

Holy Mother, impress into my heart the wounds of your Son.

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Clothes

We adore You, O Christ and we praise You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

They stare at me and gloat; they divide my garments among them; for my clothing they cast lots. But you, LORD, do not stay far off; my strength, come quickly to help me. Deliver me from the sword, my forlorn life from the teeth of the dog. Save me from the lion's mouth, my poor life from the horns of wild bulls. Then I will proclaim your name to the assembly; in the community I will praise you: "You who fear the LORD, give praise! All descendants of Jacob, give honor; show reverence, all descendants of Israel! For God has not spurned or disdained the misery of this poor wretch, Did not turn away from me, but heard me when I cried out. (Psalm 22:18-25)


My favorite station would be the 10th, when Christ is stripped of his garments. It is a constant reminder that all that I have and all that I am comes from God alone. He desires that I use this cross as a reminder that all that I need comes from him and just as he entered into our world with nothing, but the arms of his mother, so should I let go of all my desires for worldly things and grow in love and trust of his mother; Mary, Her total abandonment of self for God reveals a trust that I need to acquire, for it is in heavenly things that my life will grow ever eternal toward her son’s merciful love and not in the things of this world. Peace..

Submitted by Teresa Pauls, Apostolic Oblate, Witchita, Kansas

O JESUS, my heart breaks to see you stripped of your garments and to see the wounds inflicted upon your body. My eyes want to turn away, and my heart cries out, “No, not me. I couldn’t have inflicted those wounds.” Help me to avoid hurting my neighbor with words or actions, and when I fail, as I invariably will, fill my soul with the light of your mercy and forgiveness. Amen.

Submitted by Davi

O Jesus, I know how you felt when the soldiers stripped you of your garments. Help others to learn how to love you as we do. I love you Jesus.

Composed by Teresa, age 9

Holy Mother, impress into my heart the wounds of your Son.

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Ninth Station: Jesus Falls the Third Time

We adore You, O Christ and we praise You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)

During the last four years I have treasured in my heart the Ninth Station. On Good Friday 2005, the then Card. Ratzinger, today Benedict XVI, led the Way of the Cross at Rome’s Colosseum. I followed it! The way Benedict XVI meditated on the third fall of the Lord revolutionized my life.

“What can the third fall of Jesus under the cross say to us? We have considered the fall of humanity in general, and the falling of many Christians away from Christ…Should we not also think of how much Christ suffers in His own Church? How often is the Holy Sacrament of His Presence abused, how often must He enter empty and evil Hearts! How often do we celebrate only ourselves, without even realizing that He is there! How often is His Word twisted and misused! What little faith is present behind so many theories, so many empty words! How much filth there in the Church…How much pride… What little respect we pay to the sacrament of Reconciliation…”

I resolved to continue to pray for daily conversion, to rise from the personal/Church fall as the Lord did, to love Mother Church as I “saw” and “see” the Lord loving her, to be a flame of love! I ask Mary, Mother of Trust, to make me holy, to make us holy, to hasten the Springtime of Mother Church, and the civilization of love, holiness, and brotherhood.

Submitted by Franca Salvo, Apostolic Oblate, Nebraska

We both agree that it is Jesus falling the third time. In Leonard’s words, “He got back up again.” That challenges us no matter what it is that gets us down. Is it the day-in and day-out schedule and list of responsibilities? Is it the current anti-life changes being poured upon us? Jesus got up. Our hope is Christ.

Submitted by Theresa and Leonard Gabriel, Pro Sanctity Members, Columbus, Nebraska

Holy Mother, impress into my heart the wounds of your Son.

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Eighth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem

We adore You, O Christ and we praise You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So through God you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son then an heir. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were in bondage to beings that by nature are no gods; but now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits, whose slaves you want to be once more? (Galatians 4:4-9)

I considered your questions and the 8th station continued to come up. It is titled “comfort” [sometimes referred to as Jesus comforts the women of Jerusalem] but for me, as I reflected, it seemed more a challenge and warning than comfort. “Weep for yourselves and for your children”, does not sound very comforting to me. In fact, I find it somewhat ominous. It reveals to me how easily one can fall into bad choices and living and that we are visible examples to others; so much so that we must do our best to follow Jesus.

Following Jesus calls for great humility (Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D. in Divine Intimacy calls it humiliations). I saw Jesus, God, who totally humiliated Himself by becoming human, like us! He was beaten, spit upon, crowned with thorns, ridiculed, forced to carry His own instrument of death, fell more than once, and killed. Not once do we hear Him cry out, whine, get angry, or fight back, and He could have won any match. In fact, He comforts many and quietly accepts help. He just keeps on towards one goal, doing His Father’s will.

I can relate to this as I often feel like I’m wading through arm-pit high water and the only way through is to keep my eyes straight ahead. Keep them on Jesus. His is the ultimate model of humility (humiliation) and love in order to do God’s will. How can I embrace that in my own life?! It’s scary; who wants to be humiliated? Jesus is calling me (all of us?) to come closer to Him so He can help. I know for sure I can’t do it myself!

Submitted by Cathy Ludwick, Pro Sanctity member, Wichita, Kansas

Christianity is never ending event of encounter with God. I have had the experience in the strangest of places of meeting someone who I have not seen in a long time and then for a period of time, I see that person ALL the time! Perhaps this is the experience of the pious women. They saw Jesus and observed his work everywhere and then one day they stumbled upon him along the way of Calvary. They “run into God” and their hearts are moved to deep tears, not aware yet of the full meaning of his presence in their lives. In reality he wants them on his side, to know and understand him deeply. He directs them to be concerned for the others who need their tears and their prayers. Their encounter with God, Jesus, is an invitation to maturity.

Dear Lord, How often my emotions are misplaced and I spin my wheels on things that are not important, and yet I cannot deny that you are there for me every step of the way. Lord, You are always greeting me with life, nature, beauty, wonder, truth and showing me how to grow in your full stature especially when I encounter you in suffering and failure. May I be attentive to your words and live always in your presence. Amen.

Submitted by Teresa Monaghen, Apostolic Oblate, Nebraska

Holy Mother, impress into my heart the wounds of your Son.

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time

We adore You, O Christ and we praise You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." (Jn 12:31-32)

All of the Stations regarding the falls of Jesus have been a struggle for me. Pope Benedict XIV and others have helped me in this regard through reflections in which I am invited to enter into the Stations myself and to see Jesus as falling to raise me up. Through prayer I now see myself on the ground having gotten there in a different way each of the three times, and Jesus helps me up in a unique way every time. I invite others to do the same; pray with the Stations, picturing yourself in each one because the Lord has something beautiful to say to you as He gives you His life and His love unreservedly.

Submitted by Monica Hejkal

Lord Jesus Christ, you have borne all our burdens and you continue to carry us. Our weight has made you fall. Lift us up, for by ourselves we cannot rise from the dust. Free us from the bonds of lust. In place of a heart of stone, give us a heart of flesh, a heart capable of seeing. Lay low the power of ideologies, so that all may see that they are a web of lies. Do not let the wall of materialism become unsurmountable. Make us aware of your presence. Keep us sober and vigilant, capable of resisting the forces of evil. Help us to recognize the spiritual and material needs of others, and to give them the help they need. Lift us up, so that we may lift others up. Give us hope at every moment of darkness, so that we may bring your hope to the world. (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, 2005, now Pope Benedict XVI)

Oh Jesus, I love you. I am sorry that you fell. Help me to be good. Amen.

Composed by Parker, age 8

Holy Mother, impress into my heart the wounds of your Son.

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus

We adore You, O Christ and we praise You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)

I have always been partial to Veronica ministering to Jesus, wiping the blood from her Lord's brow that was no doubt running into His eyes. The moment they shared was probably so very deep, so intimate and probably profound in the love that flowed not only from His wounds in His blood, but the love that flowed from His gaze into her tear-filled eyes. She was consoling Him by being there on that last agonizing journey up the hill to Golgatha.

I want to console Jesus in and with my own life, by simply being "little" and trying my best every day to conform my will to His. Wiping His brow with prayers for peace in our world. Prayers for sinners to repent. Prayers for my loved ones who need His love and forgiveness. To aspire to the call to holiness, and make more conscious effort to stop myself when I'm tempted to complain, or grumble about this or that. To offer up any suffering, the greatest and the least, emotional/mental or physical for the conversion of sinners and deeper conversion of my own heart, so that finally one day I'll see Mary my Mother welcoming me, her little prodigal daughter, into her arms, holding me close to her Immaculate Heart, to be forever joined to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. With all the Saints who've gone on before us, I hope to attain heaven and than Veronica for her example. St. Veronica, please pray for us that we'll offer our lives to "wipe Jesus' brow" in others we meet, to minister to our priests in their loneliness and their burdens, as a sacrifice to console the wounded heart of Mary, and thereby consoling our Lord's own heart, forever meshed with the heart of His Mother.

Submitted by Susie Melkus, Nebraska

O JESUS, what a gracious gift you gave that courageous woman in the midst of your own suffering. Please help me, like Veronica, to aid those who are struggling with their crosses. Help me to gently wipe my neighbor’s brow and to offer whatever small comfort I can to aid him or her on the journey. Fill me with love and compassion. Amen.

The sixth station is the one that I relate to the most. My confirmation name is Veronica, and it still appeals to me as much as it did when I was confirmed thirty or forty years ago. That spirit of aiding someone who is struggling really speaks to me.

Submitted by Davi

Holy Mother, impress into my heart the wounds of your Son.

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross

We adore You, O Christ and we praise You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:4-11)

One of the greatest moments of grace in my life has occurred while praying with the fifth station. I never liked “doing the stations” and it became more and more of a struggle as I tried to comply with the spiritual disciplines and practices given to me, the Stations of the Cross being on of them. I noticed that at the fifth station, I felt absolutely rotten because I thought I wasn’t any better than Simon of Cyrene. I didn’t want to carry the cross either! As I spent lingered at the this station, I began to see that it was not Simon helping Jesus carry His cross, but Jesus who was helping Simon carry his! Engaging the “tools of prayer” that I have been immersed in, I began to tell Jesus how much I didn’t like carrying the cross in my life and how unhappy I was with myself because of this. I realized it wasn’t so much that I didn’t want to carry the cross, I just didn’t know how, and I was clumsily struggling to drag my cross up the hill by myself.

In the gospel of John, Jesus reminds us “for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). We can’t even carry out our cross without His sustaining grace. He invites us to participate in His suffering and all of His disciples are to follow Him on the Way of the Cross, but we don’t do this alone. Jesus is with us in our joys and sufferings and He has already perfected the way of the cross. He shows us how to carry the cross through the example He gave us, especially the total abandonment to the Father’s will. In placing our trust and love in the Father, our fears and struggles disappear and we become available to not only carry the cross we have been given, but also to assist our brother and sisters on their journey. Let us carry our cross and let Jesus carry us.

Submitted by Joan Patten,
Aspirant Apostolic Oblate, Nebraska

Holy Mother, impress into my heart the wounds of your Son.

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross

Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Mother

We adore You, O Christ and we praise You, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

My steps have held fast to thy paths, my feet have not slipped. I call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me, O God; incline thy ear to me, hear my words. Wondrously show thy steadfast love, O savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at thy right hand. Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of thy wings, from the wicked who despoil me, my deadly enemies who surround me. (Psalm 17:5-9)

The station that most intrigues me is the fourth station, Jesus meeting his Mother. I often think about what transpired in the brief moment in which their eyes locked. On her hot, stumbling, pushing way through the crowd, Mary had to have thought about, consciously or not, what she would transmit to her son when He finally distinguished her eye in the crowd. She was determined to lock eyes. Now, more that any other moment in his life, He needed to see her in this hostile, murderous, senseless crowd.
Earlier on in my life, when I contemplated what that moment was like for mother and son, I thought that Mary’s glance said to Him, "I remember you on my knee!" or "you are so precious to me!" or something else that reflected back on their life together. I used to think this before I knew about life, and how it is we humans really get along in this world.

Now I am sure that Mary made sure she transmitted something quite different. One glance, early on in his passion, said everything she needed to give Him at that moment…"You can do this. You were born for this. Hang on. Don’t give up. Any bit of strength I have left in me is yours…take it, all of it. I am here and I am yours. Do what you have to do. You will succeed."
Mary transmitted strength in that glance, born of her unflagging love of him, and her conviction, if not her full understanding, of His mission on the earth. She was there early on—it is but the fourth station—and she would be there with him throughout, no matter what the cost to her.
Surely, she was granted extraordinary sustenance by the power of God, or she would have expired herself.

Mary refused to reveal in that glance her broken heart. She refused to reveal her own wounds, her grief. She would not show pity, pathos, anger, revulsion, anything that would wear Him down. Mary only gave Him what He needed, and what He needed was strength. I know this to be true because I have lived enough of life by this point to know that this is how we get along in this life. We get along by love, and love will provide what is needed by the other person to sustain them in truth. The feeling that emerges in me at this station is a desire to by like Mary. I want to be there for the people in my life in their daily, small struggles, and the times when they are called to suffer in extraordinary ways. I want to show them that there is nothing we can’t accomplish together, even if that means me simply holding their hand and telling them everything is exactly how it should be, and nothing has escaped the eye of God.

Submitted by Barbara Gata, Pro Sanctity friend, New York

A Station that bring tears to my eyes every time is the Fourth Station. I almost see the sorrowful but fully surrendering look of Mary and the loving tender, look of Jesus. It helps me to surrender all into God’s loving hands. He knows, and He wants the best for me and for all of us. I just need to surrender as Mary has done at every step of her life.

Submitted by Agnes Rus, Apostolic Oblate, California

Holy Mother, impress into my heart the wounds of your Son.

Pro Sanctity Reflects on the Stations of the Cross