From the Desk of Father Martin, January 1

Praised be Jesus Christ – and Happy New Year! We begin a new calendar year by honoring Mary, the Mother of God. You already know that this is one of the four dogmas Catholics believe about Mary (the other three are her Immaculate Conception, her perpetual virginity, and her Assumption into Heaven). If you’d like to read a great book about Mary, I recommend Hugo Rahner’s Our Lady and the Church. One of my favorite quotes comes from St. Augustine when he compares Mary and the Church: “Here below she is always at work, alert, anxious, careful about the state of her house; at night she is up and about, seeing that the lamp is still burning; when trouble comes she is ready to face it, she is ever careful to provide for the future; and all the time she is busy, her spindle is never still, not even at mealtimes is she idle.” Devotion to the Mother of God is one of the best things about being Catholic. Sadly, the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century robbed many of our Christian brothers and sisters of this gift – Protestants are taught early and often to be suspicious of our Catholic love for Mary. We honor her because she is God’s Mother – we worship God because only God ought to be worshipped (idolatry being condemned by the 1st Commandment). I hope you’re enjoying your Christmas gift that includes both a Miraculous Medal and a Saint Benedict Medal. I wear a Miraculous Medal on my Scapular and I cannot tell you how many times Mary has helped me to maintain hope when there seemingly was none. Mary gives us a supernatural courage too – we still labor under the anxieties of this world, but we can do our duty because of Mary’s potent prayers for us. As the Miraculous Medal depicts, God determined that all grace would come into the world through His Son, and Jesus decided to share this august role with His Blessed Mother. The rays of light on the Miraculous Medal are dampened a bit by the rays of darkness – the latter rays symbolize all the graces God wanted to give but did not because we failed to ask for them. In the New Year we are invited from day one to consider how we relate to God; Mary is always a safe, sure, and extraordinarily effective way for us to grow closer to Jesus. If you want another way to deepen your devotion to her, consider making the Total Consecration to Mary according to the teaching of St. Louis de Montfort. Okay, allow me two brief non sequiturs: 1) I am sincerely grateful to each of you who have made Father Sedlacek and me feel so loved and appreciated. I love these two parishes with all of my heart and I hope you can sense that by the joy you give me. Cards, gifts, food, and many other gestures of love are sources of deep gratitude – I wish I had enough time to thank each of you personally. For what it’s worth, you are in my heart every day as I spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament; and 2) my Mom has for years gifted me with a subscription to “First Things” (firstthings.com). I’ve been reading this magazine for nearly 15 years (it comes 10 times per year) and it is a rich source of inspiration and meditation. I mention this because sometimes people ask for a good recommendation for what to read regarding current events. The central thesis of First Things is that religion belongs in the public square – a nation beguiled by secularism tends to treat religion as if it were some quaint anachronism that has long outlived its usefulness. Sadly, secularists sow seeds that bear dangerous fruits, not the least of which is good oldfashioned totalitarianism. However, let’s end this first column of the year on a lighter note: one of my favorite excerpts from First Things dates back to May of 2001. The article was about people who cherrypick Scripture and take it literally – the following was just one of many funny examples: “I know from Leviticus 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?”

May God bless you with faith, hope, and love in the New Year of 2017!
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Your friend in Christ, Father Martin