As Cardinal Mercier said : "When prudence is everywhere, courage is nowhere."                                                                                  From Cardinal Sarah : "In order to avoid hearing God's music, we have chosen to use all the devices of this world. But heaven's instruments will not stop playing just because some people are deaf."                                                                                              Saint John-Paul II wrote: "The fact that one can die for the faith shows that other demands of the faith can also be met."                                                 Cardinal Müller says, “For the real danger to today’s humanity is the greenhouse gases of sin and the global warming of unbelief and the decay of morality when no one knows and teaches the difference between good and evil.”                                                  St Catherine of Siena said, “We've had enough exhortations to be silent. Cry out with a thousand tongues - I see the world is rotten because of silence.”                                                  Chesterton said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”                                                Brethren, Wake up!

REPORT ON LENTEN EVENING OF RECOLLECTION

The Lenten Evening was given last Wednesday by Father David Howell in the beautiful Lady Chapel of St James's Spanish Place, to many members of the Order and Companions.

The evening began, with sung Vespers of the Little Office, and Father Howell then spoke on what Saint John the Baptist offers us for Lent by way of guidance in prayer, fasting and almsgiving. He spoke of Fraternal Correction as a form of Almsgiving, which links in with the Order's understanding of the inseparable nature of Tuitio Fidei and Obsequium Pauperum. John the Baptist listened to God's call and to the voice of Jesus which gave him joy, even during his imprisonment when his faith was wavering. He fasted as a way to hunger for the Messiah before he came and he gave alms (charity) in a refined way: by gently correcting Herod, so gently that Herod was even "glad to listen to him" afterwards, and by pointing out Jesus to others by his preaching and the example of his sufferings which foreshadowed the Passion of the Lord. The evening closed with Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

We are very grateful to Father Howell for his insights, and hope in due course to be able to bring our readers a further mediation on this subject.  He spoke from notes on the evening, so we do not have a transcript.

St John the Baptist, pray for us.
Posted on Friday, March 09, 2018
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