Review of "For the Sake of His Sorrowful Passion" by Catholic Reads

The following review was written by Dr. Lisa Theus of CatholicReads.com:

If repetitive prayer is a struggle for you, Meggie Daly’s For the Sake of His Sorrowful Passion will be a welcome companion. Part testimonial, part history, and part devotional, this book leads the reader to a profound love of the Divine Mercy Chaplet. The focus of the book is the devotional. Daly makes no claims that this is the way to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet, but she provides a friendly, thoughtful sample of sources and reflections to help your focus. For many of us, the help is welcome. Repetitive prayer can often become just that – repetition without spiritual fruit. Tips and aids for slowing down and devoting a few minutes more fully to prayer both help us to concentrate and allow God to speak to us in new ways.

But all three parts (testimonial, historical background, and devotional) serve an important role in providing context and motivation to include the Divine Mercy Chaplet in your prayer life. In the first part, Meggie Daly shares some of her conversion story, showing how the Divine Mercy of Jesus formed a thread in her return to the Church. In the second part, she introduces us to St. Faustina and the historical context of the devotion. Finally, she provides art, scripture, and reflection sentences to encourage a slower, deeper prayer time focusing on the Passion narrative.

The three parts complement each other perfectly. While the focus of the book is the devotional art, the testimonial and historical sections provide welcome context and encouragement. And no section overstays its welcome – readers who love testimonials will certainly want to know more about Daly’s story, and people wholly unfamiliar with the history of the Divine Mercy Chaplet have much still to discover, but in my opinion, both are at just the right length to provide the need-to-knows. I felt satisfied by each section, and although I’ve read St. Faustina’s diary and consider myself familiar with the Divine Mercy devotion, I still found new and interesting tidbits throughout the book.

With its content, the book might not appeal outside of a Catholic audience. Daly’s conversion story is beautiful – and certainly not condemning of other Christian paths – but people personally skeptical or disinterested in the Church are unlikely to be persuaded or interested in hearing her view on how the Church really is merciful and has their best interests in heart. Still, I would love to get this in the hands of Catholics who identify as Catholics but struggle or even refuse to accept aspects of the faith. An encouraging word from someone who returned fully to the faith may provide a kindly nudge. The book is best, however, for Catholics curious about the Divine Mercy devotion who want an easy-to-read, friendly introduction to it; and for Catholics familiar with it who want a fresh approach.

My personal recommendation is to splurge on the physical, color edition of the book. Half of the book is devoted to a scriptural and artistic method of devotion, and a physical printing of the art makes it much easier to put aside distractions and practice meditative prayer. But whichever version is best for you, you’ll find it helpful, easy-to-read, and easy-to-use.  

The Invisible Woman

 I’ve done it before, but never all by myself. Today was a first.

Most people drove by without casting a glance in my direction, or if they did see me, they acted as if I was invisible. I wasn’t. But I wasn’t jumping up and down or shouting either. I was easy to miss with my sign and rosary beads in my gloved hands. 

I sat back from the sidewalk so as not to impede foot traffic. One man jogged by, and several older women strolled by. Many others simply rushed past. One young woman stood nearby as she waited for the metro bus. Still, I remained invisible. One lady smiled as she walked her dogs out for a day in the sunshine after four gray, rainy days. She saw me until she saw my sign, Pray To End Abortion.

Six cars entered or exited the driveway to my left, leading to the professional center that houses two businesses. One is Planned Parenthood. I sat a couple of feet from the entrance. A young woman flipped me off as she drove in a bit too fast. As she gestured, the underframe of her car banged hard on the entrance incline. The loud clang and ensuing jostle echoed my visibility. Another young woman drove by and gave me a thumbs down. She saw me, too.

Perhaps I was more visible to younger women, the generation that has marinated in the lie that abortion is simply a woman’s right to control her own body. I fear for this group of women, my daughters’ generation and younger. In my generation, there was a sense that extinguishing an unborn life might be wrong. Abortion was certainly not something to “tweet” about or mention in casual conversation.

If you’ve read this far, perhaps you are thinking: I am just one person, what can I do? I want to tell you that you can do a whole lot. You can pray the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, spiritual weapons that make a difference in the battle between good and evil. You can move mountains.

You can be visible. You can pray. You can join your local 40daysforlife campaign.

Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. (Is: 49:15, NRSVCE)

Reflections on the Consecration to St. Joseph

Our pastor recently invited our entire parish to read the book, Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father by Donald H. Calloway, MIC. The plan was to make a parish-wide consecration to St. Joseph on Father’s Day. Well before the start date, I purchased the Kindle version and began perusing the book to decide if this “Consecration to St. Joseph” was for me.

I’d consecrated myself to Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary years back when Fr. Michael Gaitley’s book, 33 Days to Morning Glory, first came out. I take my Marian consecration very seriously, and its impact on my spiritual life is right up there with my return to the Catholic Church. Since I’d already handed everything over to Mary, what was left for St. Joseph? I wondered, how many saints do I need to consecrate myself to?  And why St. Joseph since Scripture tells us so little about him? Further, I asked, isn’t consecration to St. Joseph more for men?

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo: The Holy Family with a Bird (Public Domain)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sagrada_Familia_del_pajarito_(Murillo).jpg)

A scientist by training and temperament, I decided to “chomp” on some data. In other words, I began reading Fr. Calloway’s book. The introduction suggested that skeptics—fence-sitters like me—start reading Part II as an independent book, so that is where I started.

Fr. Galloway’s writing was inspired by and contained the reflections of many saints, blessed, and popes that I greatly admire. However, there were a good many that were new to me. The author’s extensive literature search was impressive, and, frankly, the references alone are worth the book’s price. The litany of St. Joseph provides the structure on which the author organizes everything ever written about the head of the Holy Family.  

As I began reading, I pondered the life and virtues of St. Joseph in a new way. About a third of the way into Part II, I decided to give our parish’s St. Joseph consecration effort a shot. I offered to facilitate an in-person group. This lively, small group provided an opportunity to observe and learn how fellow parishioners responded to the material in the book and a sounding board of sorts for me. At the very end of the thirty-three-day preparation, I would decide whether or not I would consecrate to St. Joseph. For me, the book was a getting to know St. Joseph, not a commitment beyond that—initially, anyway.

A good deal of the material in Part I and II falls into the category of what I call guided reflection or personal opinion about Jesus’s earthly father. I enjoyed seeing the differences in the participants’ intake of this type of information. I advised our small group to step up onto the reflections/opinions if they provided a better view of St. Joseph, but to step over the reflections/opinions should they be blocking for them.

For many in our group, it was easy and faith-strengthening to accept a) that angels moved the Holy Family’s house to Loretto or b) that the wedding ring St. Joseph gave to Mary is in Perugia or c) that Joseph was ever-virgin ord)  that St. Joseph was a young man, and so on. For me, those were possible portraits or windows by which to gaze at St. Joseph—not a prerequisite point of view for consecration to the Saint.

I asked each person to identify the thing(s) that most influenced them to make the consecration should they decide to go forward. Then, I encouraged them to choose the particular consecration prayer that most reflected what they needed from St. Joseph, felt towards him, and believed about him.  (There are a variety of choices in the Appendix.)

As I formulated the answer to my questions, two lines of “evidence” nailed my decision to consecrate to St. Joseph:

“He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasure, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Joseph’s wife.”  St. Bernadine of Siena (pg. 206)

“All fatherhood has its origin in God and finds its earthly model in St. Joseph. All fatherhood has the power to combat evil. Lucifer fears the fatherhood of St. Joseph more than any other creaturely fatherhood because the devil knows that there is no created person who has a greater participation in the fatherhood of God than St. Joseph.” Fr. Calloway (pg. 221)

 As I prayed and meditated on the two quotes above, I was astonished that I'd gone my entire life without a devotion to St. Joseph. My decision to consecrate didn’t require that I believe St. Joseph was a young man versus an older man or a life-long virgin and so on. My decision rested solely on my trust in the wisdom of God. That God the Father knew what he was doing when he chose St. Joseph as the earthly father of Jesus and the husband of Mary. God the Father had orchestrated St. Joseph’s unique participation in the fatherhood towards His Son.

So, in summary, my decision was straightforward. Did I, with my father-issues, need a human spiritual father in my life? Absolutely.  Did I believe that the Church and the world need a manly, holy image of fatherhood? Undoubtedly, yes. This is the time of St. Joseph!

And with that, I consecrated to St. Joseph along with our parish using the prayer below. This consecration prayer (below) is a beautiful compilation of the consecration prayers found in the Consecration to St. Joseph: The Wonders of Our Spiritual Father by

• Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC (pg. 236), 
• St. Peter Julian Eymard (pp. 237-238), 
• St. Bernardine of Siena (pg. 239) 

by a staff member, Carl-Eric Tangen, at my home parish who added a few additional words.

Prayer of Consecration to St. Joseph

I, _______, a child of God, take you, St. Joseph, to be my spiritual father. I am confident that Jesus and Mary have led me to you; to know you, to love you, and to be totally consecrated to you.

O my beloved Saint Joseph, adopt me as your child. Be my father as you were the father of the Holy Family at Nazareth. Teach me the interior life, the life hidden away with Jesus, Mary in the Holy Spirit. I want to imitate the humble silence with which you shrouded Jesus and Mary. Be my guide and model in all my duties so that I may learn to fulfill them with meekness and humility: with meekness toward my brothers and sisters, my neighbor, and all with whom I come in contact; with humility toward myself and simplicity before God.

 Take charge of my salvation; watch over me day and night; preserve me from occasions of sin; obtain for me purity of body. Through your intercession with Jesus, grant me a spirit of sacrifice, humility, self-denial, burning love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and a sweet and tender love for Mary, my mother who loves you and longs to see you loved.

To you, after Jesus and Mary, I consecrate my body and soul, with all their faculties, my spiritual growth, my home, and all my affairs and undertakings. Adopt me as a servant and child of the Holy Family. Watch over me at all times, but especially at the hour of my death. Console and strengthen me with the presence of Jesus and Mary so that, with you, I may praise and adore the Holy Trinity for all eternity.

O Jesus, my Lord, my brother, and Bridegroom of my soul give me Joseph for a father as you have given me Mary as a mother. Fill me with devotion, confidence, and filial love. Jesus, I long to become more and more conformed to you. Teach me to entrust myself as a child to you daily, just as you entrusted yourself to Mary and Joseph. Help me to love and entrust myself to them as you did. Humble my heart today so that it can be a home for you and Mary and Joseph, like Nazareth, once was. I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.

Jesus, I trust in you. Amen.

 

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On December 8, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Blessed Pope Pius IX formally proclaimed Mary’s Immaculate Conception in 1854—that God preserved her from the stain of original sin.

Between February 11 and July 16 of 1858, fourteen-year-old Bernadette Soubirous (now a Saint) began having visions of a beautiful Lady in Lourdes, France. On March 25, Bernadette asked the Lady who she was at the urging of her parish priest. The reply which came forth, “I am the Immaculate Conception,” meant nothing to Bernadette, who’d never heard of this dogma proclaimed less than four years prior.  Notice that Our Lady of Lourdes did not say, “I am immaculately conceived.” In perfect humility, Mary defined herself entirely by proclaiming the work of God in her soul.

The Immaculate Conception
by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
(c. 1767-1769)  

Why was this revelation to Bernadette, a simple, sickly girl, and not some great theologian? Perhaps because God, in His infinite wisdom, rarely chooses as we would expect.

As I ponder what Mary as “Immaculate Conception” means to me in my day to day existence, I must back up to the very beginning of the story of salvation history—all the way back to the “garden.” God created Adam and Eve in an unblemished state to enjoy an intimate relationship with Him directly. At some point, the first couple chose self-indulgence over obedience to God, thereby separating themselves, and all of creation, from God’s plan of perfect harmony and introducing death. We have inherited the rotten fruit of our first parent’s choice (original sin) and thus bear an inborn tendency toward sin (concupiscence) and inevitable death.

After the fall, God the Father’s perfect plan redeemed us from eternal death through the sacrifice of His Son, the God-Man, Jesus Christ, which brings me to His Mother Mary. At the moment of her conception, the good fruit of Christ’s redemption was imputed to her by a “singular” grace. (CCC 491) It is important to note that Mary had to be redeemed, just like us, as she is fully human, sharing our nature but “full of grace” sufficient to allow God to “tabernacle” within her womb. However, unlike us, Mary is uniquely holy, never made a single choice of self over obedience to God.

Baptism washes away original sin–but not our concupiscence. If Mary was free from original sin, was she also free from concupiscence as we are? Since the twelfth century, Catholic theologians have universally agreed that Mary was free from sin her entire life. St. Thomas Aquinas maintained that, at the time of Mary’s conception, concupiscence was present but bound—never actualized. Further, that only when Mary conceived Christ in her womb was concupiscence wholly removed. (Summa Theologica, 3, q. 27, a. 3) If so, then can we then still look to Mary as our model for holiness? And if her only Son was perfect, can she love a sinner-daughter like me?

Mary has been called the “Reparatrix” for her part in the divine plan to “untie” (or repair) the “knot” of Adam and Eve’s disobedience.  As the “new” Eve, Mary is my “supermodel” of holiness and obedience. I rejoice that God’s pinnacle of creation was a woman and that His plan of redemption required her “Yes.”  Adam and Eve were free from original sin, yet they weren’t able to give that 100% “Yes” to all that God asked of them, as did Mary.

God desires to integrate us into the communion of love called the Trinity. Mary has a special relationship with each Person of the Trinity. She is the daughter of God the Father, the Mother of God the Son, and the spouse of the Holy Spirit¹. Every single woman alive, regardless of her vocation in life, is mirrored through at least one of Mary’s relationships with the Persons of the Trinity.

Mary’s Immaculate Heart is intimately bound by mutual love to the Sacred Heart of her Son. When we place ourselves under Mary’s mantle, she leads us directly to her Son. Her perfect humility reflects all glory back to God. Just as the moon has no light of its own and reflects only the light of the sun, Mary reflects the light of the Holy Spirit. Oh, if we could all proclaim, “My soul magnifies the Lord!” as did Mary.

By meditating on the Mysteries of the Rosary, I have deepened my relationship with and admiration of Mary. Freedom from the nastiness of original sin didn’t preserve Mary from pain or suffering, any more than it spared her Son. I know that I can run to her for intercessory help.

Mary experienced the trauma of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy that required an angel’s intervention to put Joseph at ease with its scandal. Mary and Joseph experienced horror at losing their twelve-year-old Son in a big city. I doubt that Mary fully understood what God asked of her at the Annunciation and throughout her life with a precocious and miraculous son like Jesus. Mary, like all young Jewish women, knew that the Messiah would come from a virgin birth, but only time would unravel the meaning that the Messiah would be something other than a political king. At the Annunciation, the angel said, “and his kingdom will rule forever.”  As Mary witnessed her Son’s passion and death, she never faltered in her trust that God knew what He was doing.

That is the kind of trust that I want for myself!  Mary is my go-to saint of “All the Right Choices,” “Unfailing Trust,” and “Perfect Humility.” She loves me despite my many bad choices, or when I’ve lost heart too quickly, or stumble over my pride.  Christ bequeathed His Mother to us as she stood at the foot of the Cross. Consider accepting her spiritual motherhood.  She is the mother who always knows best. 

1. See https://saintmaximiliankolbe.com/who-are-you-o-immaculate-conception/ for more on Mary as the spouse of the Holy Spirit.

The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

September 15th is the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. My favorite image of Our Lady of Sorrows is “Dolorosa,” painted by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo in 1670. Here Mary appears not sad with tears streaming down her face; instead, the artist depicts Mary with eyes, face, and hands lifted in prayer. Murillo portrays Mary’s entire body in supplication as if offering her sorrow and grief to the Father.

Through Mary’s Immaculate Conception, she received a special grace that allowed the merits of Christ’s redemption to be applied at the moment of her conception. (1)  Because of that, we may dismiss or minimize the testimony of Mary’s life and her sacrificial suffering. We may think that she had no choice but to say, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word,” ¹ and was incapable of sin. But we would be wrong—Mary had free will just as we do.

Perhaps we forget that the first woman, Eve, was created without the stain of sin in her soul. Moreover, Eve certainly had no worries or anxieties before the fall. Yet the absence of concupiscence, as original sin confers to us, did not keep Eve from sinning (nor her husband, Adam).

Mary’s Immaculate Conception was not sufficient to preserve Mary from sinning—Eve demonstrated that through her unfortunate choice. But because the Son of God was to "tabernacle" and grow in Mary’s womb and she was to give birth to the Son of God, her Immaculate Conception was necessary to provide honor and glory to whom Jesus was and is! And although Mary had free will, rather than sinning, she chose to cooperate fully with the extraordinary graces given to her. (2)

Thus, the Immaculate Conception was necessary to honor Christ’s divinity but not sufficient to keep Mary free from committing any sin. A life lived free from sin required effort on Mary's part. The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrow reminds us that Mary did know unspeakable suffering and sorrow. Her complete trust and submission to the will of God through the events associated with this Feast of Seven Sorrows and, indeed, agreeing to carry Jesus in her womb before she lived with Joseph, all took place in a fallen world. She had choices and she chose well.

The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary that are historically associated with this feast are:

1.      The prophecy of Simeon that a sword would pierce the heart of Mary at the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2: 34-35).

2.      The Holy Family’s terrifying flight into Egypt to save the child Jesus from Herod’s massacre of the Holy Innocents (Matthew 2: 13-14)

3.      The loss of Jesus at age twelve in the Temple of Jerusalem after Passover (Luke 2: 41-50)

4.      Mary’s encounter with Jesus on His way to Calvary while carrying His cross (Traditional Fourth Station of the Cross)

5.      The Crucifixion of Jesus (Matthew 27:45-56, Mark 15: 33-41, Luke 23: 33-49, John 19: 17-20)

6.      Mary witnesses the piercing of the side of Jesus and holding His body removed from the Cross (John 19: 31-37)

7.      The burial of Jesus. (Matthew 27: 57-61, Mark 15: 42-47, Luke 23:50-56, John 19: 38-42

When I pray the Mysteries of the Rosary, I often reflect on just how much Mary must have trusted in the Lord when her understanding was lacking or incomplete. She watched as God’s plan of salvation unfolded without the complete picture that we, who are on this side of the Cross, are presented with through the Scriptures.

Mary understands our pain and losses more than we do because her Immaculate Heart is perfectly united to her Son’s Sacred Heart. Mother Mary is the pinnacle of God’s creation and worthy of our love, honor. 

Mary, Mother of Sorrows, pray for us!

(1) See https://www.ncregister.com/blog/did-mary-need-to-be-redeemed.

(2) See https://www.catholic.com/qa/did-mary-have-free-will.

The Divine Beauty Parlor

Many times I have attended a funeral only to hear, “Well, at least he is not suffering anymore,” or “She is in a better place now.” Before I reverted to my Catholic faith when I fancied myself an Evangelical Protestant, I felt a bit uneasy when I heard these statements. My childhood Catholic roots would gnaw at me even though I tried my best to dismiss them. 

I now recognize that my discomfort with those well-meaning words, intended to console the living, suggest that the departed ones no longer need us when they may need us most!

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (which is my second favorite book after the Bible), purgatory is not so much a place but a state of the soul. In purgatory any remaining attachment to or needed reparation for sin is purged from the soul so that it may enjoy the full beatific vision:

“All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death, they undergo purification, to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” [1030]

I think of purgatory as the final preparation of the soul for its wedding to the Lamb. This wedding (or divine union) is the eternal vocation of each person. It is why God created us. I like to call purgatory the “Divine Beauty Parlor” of the soul.

Purgatory by Peter Paul Rubens [Public domain]

The primary cause of the suffering of those in purgatory is their separation from God. The purifying love of God mercifully removes the rust of sin that would interfere with our perfect union with God. Souls in purgatory happily submit to this great blessing, although there is great suffering, too.

The souls in purgatory can no longer make reparation for their sins or intercede for themselves; that possibility ended with their bodily death. St Catherine of Genoa and St. Maria Faustina have much to say about the souls in purgatory their need for us to pray for them.  

The tradition of praying for the dead did not begin with the Catholics; it began with the Jews as recorded in the book of Second Maccabees [ 2 Macc 12:46]. The Councils of Florence and Trent reaffirmed this tradition based on the New Testament Scriptures. [1 Cor 3:15; 1 Pet 1:7]

The month of November is specifically designated to pray for the souls in purgatory. A wonderful way to intercede for our deceased loved ones, and all the souls in purgatory, is to pray the Rosary. A fervently prayed Rosary placed in the hands of Mother Mary supercharges our prayers for the dead. I love the image of Purgatory by Rubens because it shows Mary interceding for the souls in purgatory.

If you have tried to the Rosary and struggle with it, perhaps my book can help you.

The Blessings of an Open Hand

What is poverty of spirit? Others have defined it as utter dependence on God or as the emptying of self to allow room for God’s love—both excellent definitions.

Poverty of spirit requires daily work on my part to defer to God’s will without a fight and with joy when it conflicts with my own will and involves personal sacrifice.  Something like holding my “stuff” in an open hand and allowing the Lord to pluck away what He wants.

What kind of stuff? For me, it could be my health or that of a loved one, material possessions or financial security, or even my dreams and plans, all the while trusting that He has something different but better for me in the long run.

It is one thing for me to pass on a new pair of shoes, or to do something I don’t want to do occasionally, or to accept limitations of an older body, but releasing the grip on my plans for the next four years and allowing them to be changed entirely. Well, that is a bit harder. Okay, it’s downright tough.

When I realized that my retirement would be spent babysitting my adorable grandkids instead of focusing on my writing projects, gardening, and traveling at will with my husband, I finally owned that I was going through a grieving process—even though I was confident that babysitting was God’s will.

Three months into the ten-hour to eleven-hour day of caring for two toddlers five days a week, I can honestly say that it is the best job I ever had. Mothers that stayed at home may not be surprised at my “discovery,” but I was never a stay-at-home-mom. I always had a full-time career that sometimes required transcontinental travel.

Finally, I have relaxed into my retirement “overhaul” and allowed the Lord to pry my fingers loose from my plans to accept the gracious gift of His plan.  And the bonus: my husband is job-sharing with me, 50/50. Yep, that took a while, but it happened. Wahoo!

 For I know well the plans I have in mind for you—oracle of the LORD—plans for your welfare and not for woe, so as to give you a future of hope. (Jer 29:11, NAB)