by Sr Catherine Marie Michael



​

The Lord’s love overwhelms, stronger than the highest wave.
On my knees in prayer, He prepares my heart to be engulfed by His grace
and take part in His mighty will.

Like a surfer waiting and wading into the deep,
each day I surrender, longing to be part of His own life,
the mystery, the real context of our lives.

I long for Christ’s friendship and mercy
to belong to the Source of truth, goodness, and our original beauty,
no longer subject to disharmony of body and spirit.

I find blessing in companionship with those who love Him, who find true joy
in Him, healed and made new by living Word and Sacrament,
trusting and resting in the incarnate Lord who refines through His touch.

The risen Lord gives each person the capacity to be united to Him,
to be children of God who inherit the victory of life.
He has willed us for everlasting love, His Kingdom.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning is now and will be forever. Amen

(See CCC 1701, 400, 25, 1504, 1130)

                                                                                                        by Sr. Catherine Marie Michael







​We can become like “the people who walked in darkness… who dwelt in the land of
gloom…”. (1) Through original sin which turns against the Source of Life and Being, we became
subject to the penalty of death. (2) Sin further corrupts our human nature that was created to be a
union of body and soul. The will is then directed, as St. Augustine describes in the Confessions,
towards many and varied, vain pursuits, never truly at rest. (3) However, the prophet, Isaiah tells us
that we will have “abundant joy” because “a child is born to us, a son is given us”. (4) What does
this child who was born of Mary in fulfillment of the prophecy, mean to us today?

He was given to reveal God’s love.

Jesus Christ offers us what St. Thomas Aquinas calls “intellectual illumination”. (5) It is divinely
revealed truth that is beyond human reason but not opposed to it. (6) It is given out of love and
ignites love of the Eternal. Made in God’s image, we are meant to be in relation to God our
Creator. (7) Jesus reveals that God is love and that we are made for love, called to be children of
God who live in terms of eternity. (8) In faith, we can direct our wills to be in union with God’s will
toward the love that never ends, the ultimate good -- no longer restless but at peace. (9) To trust in
Him and in His will, is to know the reality of His goodness and loving presence. Love is made
personal and is proven on the Cross in that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. (10) In her
dialogue with the Eternal Father St. Catherine of Siena comes to understand that compassionate
love for someone who has wronged you shows concern for God’s will for that person. (11)
Forgiveness is then linked to God’s will and mission of salvation. In Christ’s sacrifice of
Himself, and in the Resurrection, His compassionate love overpowers death prophetically
announcing that love can overcome death in our lives as well.

He was given to save us by reconciling us to God.
The divine Person of the Son, born of Mary, humbled Himself and descended beneath His
dignity. (12) Because He is God and man, possessing both the divine and human nature, Christ is the
one Mediator who reunites man with God. He assumed our created, human nature though He
was sinless so that as God made man, he could overcome the penalty of death. (13) His blood that
was shed is “an instrument of atonement” for our sins so that we are no longer slaves to sin when
we too, freely cooperate in obedience with God’s will. (14) His Passion and death are His priestly
sacrifice in which He offers Himself to make possible, our life in Him who defeated death. Pope
Benedict XVI writes that “Jesus’ blood… calls all to reconciliation… it has — as the Letter to
the Hebrews shows — itself become the perpetual Day of God’s Atonement”. (15) Jesus is the Truth
that sets us free from slavery to sin and the lies of the “father of lies”. (16) He gives us the grace to
respond to our higher calling, at peace and no longer at enmity with God. (17)

He was given to show us how to be holy and “partakers of the divine nature” (2Peter1:4).
This child was not to be a worldly king. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches how to be
holy in God’s sight, and in the Beatitudes, He expands our understanding of how to live in
accord with the Kingdom of Heaven. St Cyril of Alexandria writes that Christ showed us “the
path which leads to every admirable thing”. (18) St. Cyril explains,
​
                     …the Son… was made man, in order to reconstitute our condition within himself;
                      first of all in his own holy, wonderful, and truly amazing birth and life… he could
                      [then] trace a path for grace to come to us… This is how he transmits the grace of
                      sonship even to us so that we too can become children of the Spirit, insofar as
                      human nature had first achieved this possibility in him. (19)

His mysteries that He lived for us are then our mysteries of eternity and grace breaking into our
particular lives and giving us greater possibilities in Him. (20) Christ blesses those whose hearts
receive the gift of faith, who trust and lean on his strength and real presence so that grace can be
applied to their lives. He restores disfigured souls to their original beauty as they “go from
strength to strength”. (21)

In Man Before God, Adrienne Von Speyr describes what it is like when a person says “yes” to
the Lord in conversion,

                      "In the midst of suffering, hardship, and sighs, he now enjoys something of the beauty
                      of eternal life, in which he participates through the word… everything has become
                      different and will be done differently”. (22)

She continues, “Something adventurous breaks into his limited existence”. (23) Even in suffering
and death we might have the lived experience of his strength and of being blessed by virtue in
our weakness and humility. We are blessed further by others on the same paths that lead to him
within his Church where He gives us living bread. (24) Von Speyr writes, “Eternity can only be
understood in light of the Lord. And yet… with every confession and Communion, with every
reception of the sacraments [we are] receiving eternity in a new way”. (25) The sacraments are then
points of contact with the eternal for those in a state of grace who receive them worthily. (26)

Jesus Christ, the resurrected, incarnate Lord, acclimates us to the heavenly Kingdom, so that
we can walk upon the heights. (27) The abundant joy prophesied by Isaiah is then joy of victory and
transformation in Christ. (28) We can then, “Rejoice in the Lord always” and say with Mary, “…my
spirit rejoices in God my Savior”. (29)



Endnotes
1. Isaiah 9:1.
1. Gen 2:17; Rom 6: 23.
2. St. Augustine, Confessions, Bk 8, Ch 10.
3. Isaiah 9: 5.
4. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I, q.43, art. 5, reply obj. 2.
5. Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 3.
6. Ibid., 2563.
7. Von Speyr, A, Man Before God (Ignatius Press, San Francisco 2009) p. 75.
8. see CCC 25; St. Augustine, op. cit., Bk I, Ch 1.
9. Rom 5:8.
10. St. Catherine, Dialogue #100; CCC, op. cit., 1766, 1822, 2658.
11. St. Cyril, On the Unity of Christ (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, NY 1995) p. 67, 75.
12. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I, q46, a3, a6.
13. CCC 1989-1992, 433, 598.
14. Ratzinger, J, Gospel Catechisis Catechism (Ignatius Press, San Francsiso,1997) p. 96.
15. John 8:32, 44.
16. CCC 1701.
17. St. Cyril of Alexandria, op. cit., p. 102.
18. St Cyril of Alexandria, op. cit., p. 62, 63.
19. CCC 517-519.

20. CCC 1701; Psalm 84: 5,7.
21. Von Speyr, A, op. cit., p. 79.
22. Von Speyr, A, op. cit., p. 110.
23. John 6: 51.
24. Von Speyr, A, op. cit., p.78.
25. Aumann, J, OP, Spiritual Theology, (Bloomsbury Continuum, Great Britain, 1980), p. 210.
26. Hab 3:19.
27. Pinckaers, S, OP, Morality the Catholic View, pp. 78-79.
28. Phil 4:4; Luke 1: 47.
See also the Catechism of the Catholic Church 456-483.

                                                                                                                       By Br. Dismas Bartolo Baume

In the early morning hours on 26 March of this year, M/V Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Less
than 10 miles away, as the crow – or, perhaps, the raven – flies, a blue light silently watched the tragedy.

The light sits in the middle of the cross on a steeple. That steeple is St Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic
Church on Riverside Avenue. The light is a navigation aid, helping sailors maneuver safely through the
harbor waters at night. The church was completed – to the day – 153 years before the Key Bridge
Collision. Coincidentally, at the end of his Gospel, John (21:11) tells us 153 is the number of fish the
Apostles pulled out of the water before recognizing Jesus on the shore, cooking them brunch.
Even in coincidence, Mary effortlessly guides us to her son. In the encyclical, Spe Salvi, human life is
likened to “a voyage on the sea of history, often dark and stormy”. Pope Benedict XVI tells us we need
lights of hope amid these turbulent waters, and these lights of hope are people who reflect or carry
some portion of the Light of Christ. Therefore, the greatest of created beings, Mary, would be the
greatest of these lights, a star, to guide us to our Creator.

St Anthony of Padua points out the difference in salutation used for Mary by us and by the angels. He
notes that the angels are already safely ashore at our intended destination. They are safe from the
tempestuous waters that bitterly threaten to capsize us. He argues this is why the angels salute Mary
with “Hail! Full of Grace” (Lk 1:28). Meanwhile, we are navigating this bitter sea of tears, so call to her
with “Hail, Mary”. Her name joins the bitterness we face in our exile to the bitterness of the sword that
pierced her heart (Lk 2:35).

St Bernard of Clairvaux gives us practical advice for following the Star of the Sea to her son. He exhorts
us to keep our eye fixed on the Star of the Sea: when engulfed by winds of temptation; when at risk of
running aground on rocks of adversity; when tossed by waves of ambition and pride; when anger, greed, or cares of the flesh batter the gunwales of our souls; when the maelstrom of sin, sadness, and despair threaten to drag us down. Call upon Mary. Following her, he tells us, we will not stray.
The shipwrecked St Anthony speaks of the Star of the Sea leading us to safe shores. St Bernard gives
vividly violent imagery of the life on the high seas of history, described by Pope Benedict in Spe Salvi. In
that encyclical, he also references a popular medieval Marian hymn: Ave Maris Stella – Hail, Star of the
Sea – a particular favorite of St Dominic, who would sing it often on his travels. Bl Bartolo Longo, a
member of the Dominican laity, described the rosary as a “safe port in our universal shipwreck” and as a “sweet chain which unites us to God”. He doesn’t call it an anchor chain but I would bet it pays out.
Finally, I would like to take a moment to pray for the repose of those lost in the Key Bridge Collision and all those lost at sea.

Hail Mary, Star of the Sea, intercede for those claimed by the sea. Ask your son, Our Lord, to shine His
Face upon them as we pray:
​
Eternal Rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.
Amen.

                                                                                                      by Brother Dismas Bartolo Baume

​The purification of the Sacred Vessels during the Catholic Mass is beautiful and humble testimony to the Real Presence in the Eucharist. If it is possible to have a favorite part of the Mass, this might be mine. This moment in the Liturgy can go unnoticed or be underappreciated. Purification of the Sacred Vessels happens after Holy Communion. It is when the deacon or, in his absence, the priest appears to be tidying the altar. You will see the deacon adding a small amount of water to the paten, gently swirl it, and pour it into the chalice. The process is then applied to the chalice before the deacon consumes
everything in it and dries it with the purificator – the white linen cloth. Usually during this point in the
Mass most people are kneeling while basking in their renewed Communion with Our Lord, or while itching to check how their Fantasy Football team is doing, or while just wishing that guy would hurry up.

If the Eucharist were merely a reminder of an event in history – as though it was some prop the priest
uses in a stage play about the Last Supper – then there would be no need for such reverent purification. In such a mundane case, a quick wipe would be adequate to preserve the condition and quality of the expensive dishes. It could wait until after the Benediction and Recessional Hymn. However, the Sacred Vessels are earthen vessels, worth infinitely less than what they held. Therefore, their purification is placed in the center of the Liturgy. Transubstantiation puns aside, there are no accidents in the Liturgy. This placement is intentional because it is central to our faith.
​
The Eucharist is not just some wafer of wheat and watered-down wine.
The Eucharist is the Real Presence – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity – of Our Lord Jesus Christ who has
already spilled every last drop of His Most Precious Blood once for all. At every celebration of the Mass
this single sacrifice that perpetually and gratuitously takes away our sins is offered again to The Father.
The deacon, in reverence of and deference to the Perfect Victim, ensures no remnant of His sacrifice is
discarded, disrespected, or derogated. That is why purification of these vessels gives such beautiful
testimony to the Real Presence.

I doubt many Catholics ever give much thought to the purification of the Sacred Vessels or to why such a relatively large amount of time is given to it in the Liturgy. This lack of recognition of its significance and that much, if not most, of the Congregation – and sometimes even the Celebrant himself – can become impatient with this part of the Liturgy speaks to the humility of its testimony.

To appreciate this more fully, I commend to you, for your reflection, the Purification Prayer:

What has passed our lips as food, O Lord, may we possess in purity of heart,
that what has been given to us in time may be our healing for eternity.

                                                                                                        by Brother Pio Benedict

We are where we are supposed to be. When things are going great we don't even
think about it, we enjoy the moment. But even in those time when things are dark, rough,
overwhelming, stressful, again we are still where we are suppose to be.

As St. Therese of Lisieux states, "trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be."

It may be we have lessons to learn, wrongs to right, business to finish; we are still
where we are suppose to be. These bad times are in fact temporary. Learn what we are
suppose to learn, be what we are suppose to be, do what we are suppose to do.
It is our journey in life. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 7:17 "And don't be wishing you were
someplace else or with someone else. Where you are right now is God's place for you". 

God has His plan for us, He knows what we need to learn and His plan for us is set, He is
the architect of our life.  Jesus states in John 14, 1-3: "Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling
places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so
that where I am you also may be."

There may be times where the path seems unclear.  It may be that we need to learn
to seek Grace, seek Wisdom, seek Courage to change direction, make good decisions
and extricate ourselves from difficult or dangerous situations.

Jesus tells us to have faith and trust in Him, He knows the way and He will prepare a place
for us and come back and take us. Again we are where we are suppose to be. Trust and
believe and follow His path.

St. Philip Neri reminds us, "All of God’s purposes are to the good, although we may not
always understand this we can trust in it.”

So fear not the path laid before us, take the journey, travel the road with all of its curves,
hills and valleys. Have faith that it is the right route and we will arrive at the correct
destination.

In fact, even when things are bad, even when we are overwhelmed, in the words of
St. Philip Neri, "life is only limited by yourself".