Words are Powerful

Words are more powerful than we think, and sometimes we take them too far. Striving to live a pure and virtuous life is difficult, especially because in the hustle and bustle of everyday activities we are inundated with profanity, lewd jokes, and gossip. When faced with these occurrences, remember the words of our Blessed Lord, “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man: but what cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man; But the things which proceed out of the mouth, come forth from the heart, and those things defile a man.”-Matthew 15:11;18

We should all do our best to avoid using profanity when speaking, but the greatest concern of mine is how many times I hear the name of the Lord used in vain. It has been ingrained in the minds of many that it is more acceptable to use the Lord’s name in lieu of other profanities, but that is far from the truth. The various ways of taking His name in vain is very prevalent in movies, and seem to be the favorite phrases to denote anger, shock, or frustration. I believe this is a tactic used by the devil. The tempter is always searching for ways to damage our relationship with our Creator and make us indifferent towards Him. This is a sly attempt to distance us from Heavenly aspirations a little bit at a time. To battle against this, we should pray often that all people would cherish the name of God and our Lord Jesus Christ. When we hear these offences to His Most Holy Name, we can attempt to make amends by offering a prayer of reparation, saying “Blessed be the name of God” or “Blessed be the name of Jesus”, in hopes that He would show mercy to those who use His name irreverently.

We must also do what we can to avoid making, or responding to, lewd jokes and sexual innuendos. They might appear harmless at first, but they have the possibility of creating a mental image that damages our purity. If we give in to saying these, or let ourselves be amused by them, it gives the enemy an opportunity to enter our hearts and our minds, where he could distort and degrade our views on human sexuality. Remember, we are called to live chastely, and that includes within our hearts and minds as well. Guard yourself and seek the things above.

Gossip is perhaps the most difficult thing to avoid, but we must resist the temptation to speak negatively about our neighbor. This is wounding to the person being gossiped about, and it can tarnish our soul as well, which is exactly what the evil one wants. This sort of behavior divides people instead of uniting them. Gossip destroys communities; we should seek to fortify them. Always look for the good in others, and if you hear gossip about someone, offset that by offering something positive.

These are opportunities for us to give honor and glory to God, by keeping our tongue well trained so that we never use profanity, tell lewd jokes, or gossip about someone. You might think avoiding these is small in the grand scheme of things, but it is sometimes the little things that can be accomplished for love of our Lord that bear much fruit and strengthen virtue. If we give in to these temptations, it could have an avalanche effect that plunges us into darkness. In everything we do we must think about how our actions will reflect the Faith that we live, show love for our Heavenly Father, and whether they will have the potential to edify our neighbor, or cause them to fall into sin. Sticks and stones may break bones, but words can hurt too.

This isn't a Good-luck Charm, it's a Weapon!

In October 1917, St. Maximilian Kolbe founded the Militia Immaculata (MI) with six other Franciscans. These young men consecrated their lives totally and unconditionally to Mary for the sake of their own sanctification and the conversion of souls. All members of the MI now wear the miraculous medal as a sign of their total consecration to Mary and distribute it so that Mary may work wonders of grace in the lives of others.

Of the Miraculous Medal, Kolbe wrote:

"Even though a person be the worst sort, if only he agrees to wear the medal, give it to him ... and then pray for him, and at the proper moment strive to bring him closer to his Immaculate Mother, so that he have recourse to her in all difficulties and temptation. Because conversion and sanctification are divine graces, the Miraculous Medal will be the best means for reaching our purpose. For that reason it constitutes a first rate weapon of the Knights; it is the bullet with which a faithful soldier cuts down the enemy, that is, evil, and thus rescues souls. Let us contribute all our strength in bringing about what was already foreseen by St. Catherine Laboure, to whom the Immaculata graciously revealed the Miraculous Medal, that the Immaculata be queen of the whole world and of each soul in particular as soon as possible."

The Miraculous Medal is very special because it was actually designed by Our Lady herself! She promised special graces to anyone who wore it!

On November 27th 1830, St. Catherine Laboure revived a vision from Our Lady; she saw Mary standing on a half-globe with a serpent crushed beneath her feet and her hands jeweled with rings, holding a small golden globe with a cross on it. Bright light shown from some of the jewels on her fingers. Suddenly, the small, golden globe disappeared from Mary’s hands, and she opened her arms outward. The light from the jewels extended out from her hands, and a semi-circle frame appeared around and over her with an inscription in gold: “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”

The vision seemed to rotate, and on the reverse side, Catherine saw the letter “M” with a cross on it and surrounded by twelve stars. The cross stood on a horizontal bar. Under the “M” were two hearts engulfed in flames, one encircled in thorns and the other pierced by a sword.

Mary then told Catherine, “Have a medal struck upon this model. Those who wear it will receive great graces, especially if they wear it around the neck.”

Mary explained the meaning of the medal to Catherine as follows: Mary is Queen of heaven and earth. She crushes Satan, who is helpless before her, under her foot (see Gen 3:15). Her arms are open, and the many rays of light are graces that she obtains for those who request them. The dark jewels, the ones that are not full of light, represent the graces that are available but that people don’t receive because they don’t ask for them.

The inscription, “O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee,” refers to Mary’s Immaculate Conception, which means that from the first moment of her conception she was free from all stain of original sin.

On the back of the medal, the twelve stars represent the twelve Apostles, who represent the whole Church, which surrounds Mary. The “M” is for Mary, and the cross is the Cross of Christ, the symbol of our redemption. The horizontal bar represents the earth. The placement of the cross and the bar on and in the letter “M” shows Mary’s participation in the Cross of Christ and her involvement in our world. The two hearts are those of Jesus and Mary, burning with love for us all.

Pray:

Virgin Mother of God, Mary Immaculate, we unite ourselves to you under your title of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.

May this medal be for each one of us
a sure sign of your motherly affection for us and a constant reminder of our filial duties towards you.

While wearing it, may we be blessed by your loving protection and preserved in the grace of your Son.

Most powerful Virgin, Mother of our Savior, keep us close to you every moment of our lives so that like you we may live and act according to the teaching and example of your Son.

Obtain for us, your children, the grace of a happy death so that in union with you we may enjoy the happiness of heaven forever.

O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, and for all who do not have recourse to you, especially the enemies of the Church and those recommend to you.

Amen.

Spiritual Car Wash

Spring has surely sprung. During this time of year people set aside some time to "spring clean" their vehicles. The carwash business thrives during these warmer months. If your car is anything like mine, it is covered with pollen, mud, and some mysterious form of bird droppings??? However the outside is luxurious in comparison to the interior: energy-drink cans, dirty clothes, paperwork, leftovers, and possibly even a dead animal...or two. To be honest, we get used to the mess and only end up cleaning it because we are embarrassed of what possible passengers will think.

Like our cars, sometimes we get used to the dirty mess in our own spiritual lives. The trash in our hearts. We need a spiritual washing. We are embarrassed of what's inside. We are embarrassed of what others will think if they find out. My brothers and sisters, that's why Christ gave the Church the sacrament of reconciliation, "Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.' And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld'" John 20:21-23.

We are so lucky to have the opportunity to receive visible and definitive absolution within the Sacrament of Reconciliation, so why don't we utilize it more often? Canon Law states that everyone who has reached the age of reason is required to confess his grave sins at least once a year. Canon Law also recommends that the faithful confess their venial sins as well. Blessed John Paul II noted in his Apostolic Exhortation that venial sin "must never be underestimated, as though it were automatically something that can be ignored or regarded as a sin of little importance." In fact, every sin partly closes us off from being able to fully receive the Grace that God is trying to give us. If we don't recognize that, while continuing in vice or giving into temptations, we run the risk of falling into grave sin which completely closes us off from receiving God's Grace. If that happens, we must remember to seek the Sacrament of Reconciliation before we receive our Lord in the Eucharist, as that would compound even more grave sin within us. Regular trips to the confessional not only absolve us, they also fortify our spirit against future conflict, helping us to resist temptation and avoid instances that could lead us to sin. The Sacrament makes straight whatever bends we have created in the narrow path to our Heavenly home. The more we acknowledge and confess our sins to Christ through His ordained representatives in The Church, the stronger our consciences will become, and the closer we will be to Him. We will grow in holiness, and move farther away from a life of sin, even the "small ones". However, when you begin this growth in holiness, be prepared for the forces of darkness to try discouraging you into believing it is unimportant.

Are you nervous about confessing your sins? Do you feel weighed down? That is entirely normal, but think of the peace and freedom you will have once those sins are washed away! It's dangerous to think that there is no need for the Sacrament of Reconciliation or that your sins aren't big enough to need absolution. We also need to remember that the Sacrament doesn't give us carte blanche to sin as much and however we want during the week, only to go and have it absolved on the weekend before Mass. We must have genuine contrition, and a resolve to turn away from sin in the future for it to be valid.

One good way to help be consistent with Sacramental confession is to form a habit of making a daily examination of conscience using the spiritual exercise of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Call to mind the Blessings God has bestowed upon you throughout the day; ask for the wisdom to know your failings, acknowledge them and ask for forgiveness; feel the forgiving embrace of Jesus who is Mercy Himself; then resolve to avoid sin better the next day. When you do this, it will help you realize just how much we can fall short of our Baptismal promise, and it prepares you for the Sacrament of Reconciliation itself.

An important thing to remember is God's greatest attribute, His Divine Mercy. As Pope Francis said, "The Lord never tires of forgiving, it is we who tire of asking for forgiveness". The abyss of His Mercy is unfathomable, and so great that He was willing to be sacrificed for our salvation. Let us trust in this Mercy, and in thanksgiving embrace the life of sanctity completely. Ask our Blessed Mother to guide you into this holy life, as she is the perfect model of it. Make the examination of conscience and the Sacrament of Reconciliation a regular occurrence. I trust that if we do this, we will grow in union with our Heavenly Father.

Do not be afraid to grow in holiness, only be afraid to become stagnant in it. Confessing grave sins once a year may be the minimum requirement, but we should do more than meet the bare minimum; we should strive to become saints.

Imagine how great you feel after you wash your car. It shines and shimmers. Now imagine if you ran your car through the wash and it restored your vehicles newness- no matter how beat up or dinged it was. That's what the sacrament of reconciliation does for your soul! When you leave the confessional, your soul shines and shimmers and angels sing praise to God for your confession and for your restoration!

An Annunciation Announcement

"Annunciation" is simply an ancient way of saying "announcement". We have a spectacular announcement to share! Yesterday, on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, 20+ men and women totally consecrated themselves to Jesus through Mary. The Militia of the Immaculata in Beaumont is already growing!

MI's celebrate every year with special fervour: the feast of the Annunciation of our Lord. This is the distinctive feast of the Consecration Devotion and was chosen so that we might honour and imitate that dependence which the eternal Word accepted on this day out of love for us. The Annunciation is the feast that commemorates God Himself taking on flesh and, thereby, subjecting even Himself to trust in and dependency on Our Lady. Yesterday, we too subjected our entire being to Our
Queen.

On this the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church rejoices at the message of the Archangel Gabriel that Mary was chosen to be the Mother of the Savior of the World, Jesus Christ. Mary said yes to God's will as so we should in our pilgrim journey of faith. Especially in this Year of Faith, we should be saying YES to God's will for us and trust in the Lord's plans for us.This feast day usually falls on March. 25 (exactly 9 months before Christmas since it commemorates the conception of Jesus), but it was transferred this year because of Holy Week and the Easter week.

The Immaculate alone has from God the promise of victory over Satan. She seeks souls that will consecrate themselves entirely to her, that will become in her hands forceful instruments for the defeat of Satan and the spread of God's kingdom. -St. Maximilian Kolbe

The Eucharist: Totality of Presence

Something is certain, we are under attack. People continue to fall away from the Holy Catholic Church, embracing the hedonistic lifestyle of the world. In the process, they discard most, if not all their beliefs. In this culture of relativism, where things like abortion, contraception, pornography, and promiscuity are deemed acceptable as long as you think they are morally right, it sometimes might seem difficult to believe that there is an absolute Truth that tells us something is wrong; a Truth that calls us to live pure and chaste lives dedicated to the service of God. How are we to battle back against the tide of evil that pervades the minds of society? We need to remember that Jesus Christ is Truly and fully Present in the Most Holy Eucharist, and then we need to act like it.

I think that if everyone REALLY believed in the True Presence within the Eucharist, we could do nothing but order our lives according to that Truth. How could we, knowing that we were to receive God Himself into us, believe it was okay for anyone to destroy an unborn life, prevent life from being created, or pervert and distort sexuality to be about personal gratification. To receive God Himself into our bodies, uniting our very soul to Him, while at the same time disregarding His Doctrines is a great disservice to the One whom we owe all. We also have to guard ourselves from making reception of the Eucharist nothing more than a habitual routine, going through the motions, forgetting the importance of it. It is the source and summit of our lives; shouldn’t we stay through the entire Mass in deep reflection of such a gift given to us unworthy people? Instead, people rush out of the Church immediately after receiving Him, hoping to “beat the crowds” like it was some sort of sporting event. Everything that we do and profess to be True finds it’s center in the Eucharist; when we don’t act according to that, it diminishes the belief in the True Presence. That is when the lies, passions, and evils of the world will attempt to destroy us.

There are ways for us to strengthen the devotion to our Blessed Lord in the Eucharist, which also show love and reverence for Him who was crucified for us; I will mention eight:

•  First, whenever you enter a Church, genuflect towards the Tabernacle. Genuflect again when you arrive at your pew, cross in front of the Tabernacle, or leave the Church; do this slowly and reverently. 

• Second, arrive for Mass early. This gives you time to prepare for the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and to receive our Creator into your soul! 

• Third, practice keeping reverent silence before, during, and after Mass so you can hear the call of the Lord and so others aren’t distracted while they pray. 

• Fourth, receive the Eucharist on the tongue. If possible, receive kneeling and on the tongue, which is the universal norm for The Church, and is much more humble and intimate. If you decide to receive the Eucharist on the hand, remember to check your hands very carefully because even the smallest fragment that remains is fully and completely Jesus Christ, and cannot be allowed to fall on the floor to be trampled. 

• Fifth, stay after Mass and pray, thanking God for the most wonderful gift of joining you to Him. 

• Sixth, pick a time during the week to make an hour for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; then stick with it. 

• Seventh, go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation often, as it cleanses us of sin and properly disposes us to receive the Eucharist, and it will also strengthen you against temptation in the future.

• Eighth, work on your Marian devotion, ask the Blessed Mother to pray for your Eucharistic zeal. She will give it to you because she is the mother of Eucharistic reverence. Remember she witnessed the greatest 'liturgical' abuse against her Son of all time- Calvary. 

These suggestions are a starting point to fortify your Armor of Christ for the spiritual warfare we constantly face, and I’m sure that if we can reignite the belief in the True Presence among the faithful as well as society, then all other things will come to Order accordingly. Pax Vobiscum.

A Letter to His Excellency, The Most Reverend Curtis J. Guillory, S.V.D., D.D.

Your Excellency,

We thank Almighty God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ every day for the great blessings and many graces received from your Apostolic leadership. 

It is with great joy that we come to you today to announce the formation of a lay apostolate in Beaumont, a unit of The Militia of the Immaculata. The Militia of the Immaculata (MI) is a worldwide evangelization movement founded by St. Maximilian Kolbe in 1917 that encourages total consecration to the Blessed Virgin Mary as a means of spiritual renewal for individuals and society.  The MI's mission is "To Lead All Men and Every Individual Through Mary to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus." 

The Militia of the Immaculata began on October 16, 1917, around a table at the Conventual Franciscan seminary in Rome. Maximilian Kolbe gathered together six like-minded young friars before a statue of the Blessed Virgin and drafted a charter that would establish one of the most influential Marian apostolates ever. The charter still serves as a blueprint of spiritual progress for MI members today.

 The Militia of the Immaculata of Beaumont seeks to continue the vision of Saint Maximilian Kolbe. We are a group of young men from around the Diocese consecrated to Jesus through Mary who have felt a call to increase our own holiness, to turn away from our sins, and to embrace the Cross of Christ fully and completely. We have also felt called to Evangelization in Southeast Texas and beyond, and we are committing ourselves to the success of the New Evangelization. We feel a great desire to perform spiritual and corporal works of mercy for our neighbors as a group, especially for the poor, the sick, and the imprisoned. We feel it is necessary to do whatever we can to help increase and strengthen the belief in the True Presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. We have felt a call to help promote more reverence before, during, and after the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Sanctuaries of God the Almighty Father. We seek to help bring the Faith to all people through authentic ecumenism and social media, in the hope that everyone can share in the joy of being in full communion with the Catholic Church. 

Unworthy as we are, we offer ourselves entirely to Jesus through the Immaculata, trusting Mary and asking her to make us her instruments for bringing about the conversion of the whole world into the One Body of Christ, all for the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. We vow to be completely faithful to the Authentic Teachings of the Catholic Church,  the Holy Father, and The Magisterium.

With the approval by the Pontifical Council for the Laity on October 16, 1997, of the MI's updated International Governing Statutes, the MI was given the privilege of status as an "international public association" - a status shared by only three other Catholic organizations.

We thank our Father in Heaven for bringing us together in this place, in this time, to join together and become part of the most important action of our lives, the participation in the Divine Life of Jesus. We are excited and filled with great hope for the future and its possibilities, and we humbly ask for your prayers and want to assure you of our prayers as you continue your great ministry to the faithful in the Diocese of Beaumont. Please count on us to be there to help with the works of mercy needed in Southeast Texas.

Yours in Christ, through Mary, with Peter,

The Militia Immaculata of Beaumont

We Must Connect at the Connection

Calling all Catholics who are passionate and educated about their faith! We have a huge opportunity to defend the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church! We need to rally the troops! Calvary Baptist Beaumont is going to be having an ongoing class that promotes anti-Catholicism. This class is aimed at luke-warm former Catholics. The Class is going to be called "Catholic Connection".  It will be held 9:30 Sunday mornings in room 205 at Calvary Baptist Church Beaumont. This is the description found on Calvary's website: 


This four week class is designed to help those who have a Catholic background understand the differences in Catholic and Protestant religions and what we believe at Calvary. If you are from a Catholic background or would just like to better understand the differences, this class is for you. 
For more information call us at 898-7074

I understand this sounds "nice" but you must understand that this group is very anti-catholic. What they present as "Catholic" teaching will be skewed and distorted.We have to defend the flock! We must respond with clarity, charity, and stealth! Come fill this class and give a strong Catholic witness!

As Peter our first Pope taught:

Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame.- 1 Peter 3:15,16