Heart to Heart

JMJDFC

Program 2

Welcome to our second broadcast of Heart to Heart. It truly is a pleasure to be back with you. Once again, in the studio with me are Father Michael Novacki, OP and Mr. Joe Veltri, TOP from "My Jesus Mercy Ministries." We will be available to answer your calls for about fifteen minutes following this program. You can dial: area code 609 -- when this show goes off the air.

Last week, we talked a little bit about St. Dominic. We spoke of his cheerfulness and his ability to speak only with God or about God. How much better the world would be if we followed his example in both areas.

We may think this is impossible, but I have met many people, just like us who try their best to carry this out. With our effort and God's grace, all things are possible. One person I know who lives this standard of life is Archbishop Edward J. Adams. Our congratulations and prayers go out to him at this time because yesterday he received Episcopal Ordination at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul. While Archbishop Adams may not be a Dominican, he did study at the Angelicum in Rome. In fact, Father Timothy Radcliffe, OP (who is the Master of the Dominican Order), has as an aide, Father Chris Finn, OP, who was a classmate of Archbishop Adams at the Angelicum.

Although I only see the Archbishop a few times each year, I can tell you that he is always cheerful when I'm around, even before 6:30 Mass in the morning. There is a manner about him springing from his deep prayer life that gives him the ability to speak only with God or about God. There have been many times in my life when the Archbishop walks over to me, without my saying a word, and speaks a word of encouragement or consolation or confirmation. He doesn't speak in long sentences, just a few words to let me know God is near and directing all things. It may have been six months since the Archbishop has seen me yet, with only Hello spoken between us, he can, with the help of God's grace through prayer, "read" the thoughts of my heart.

For his motto, Archbishop Adams chose, "In Cruce Salus" which means, "Our Salvation, In the Cross." At first glance, we see and know, that our salvation is found in the Cross of Christ. When our thoughts dwell more deeply on this matter, we recall that Our Lord has told us, [Mat 10:38] "…Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me." This tells us that we must take up our own cross daily and follow in the footsteps of Him who is our Redeemer. How do we do that exactly?

There are as many different crosses as there are people. Each one is unique and God tailors the cross to the person. For one of us, our cross may be problems with our spouse or children; for another money trouble; others may have physical problems, such as illness or addiction. Whatever the cross may be, it is in the carrying of the cross, in imitation of Jesus that will bring about our salvation.

Many tend to question why Our loving Lord sends them this particular cross or why they have to suffer. Most folks would love to be free from all discomfort in this life. However, if we really want to achieve heaven, we must get there by the same path that the Son of God laid out for us. Does it really matter why or which cross our loving Father sends to help prefect us? Since He loves us and our family more than we can understand in this life, we must trust Him to send what is best for us. He will give us a cross that is best suited for us: our temperament, our situation, our ability to cope. Remember, He promised to grant us the necessary grace to handle the problems He allows to come to us. I say "allows to come," because God is not the cause of many of our difficulties. Some are of our own making, but He allows them to help us grow. Others are brought about by the evil one in an attempt to turn our mind and heart away from our caring Savior.

Sometimes I wonder, when I see people in pain, if they know that they are truly blessed. We realize that on the surface -- pain, whether physical or emotional, is hard to bear. If we look long and hard at the Cross of Christ, we don't see an easy event. The offering Jesus made to His Father for us, is more than many of us can bear to think about, much less try to live. I say that we are blessed when God sends us trials and sufferings because it shows that God the Father loves us deeply, in union with the Son and Holy Spirit. Why else would He take the time and trouble to choose for us, a special way to imitate His beloved Son? We also must appear to Him as a beloved child. What a wonderful insight to know and understand.

So often we waste the blessings that come to us as suffering. It is a waste when all we do is complain to God or those around us about the many hardships we endure. One reason they are wasted is that we don't take the time to realize that our friends and neighbors also go through trials. It is a lack of charity for us not to comfort them instead of dwelling on our own problems. Another reason that graces are lost to us in our sufferings, is that we don't offer them back to the Father in union with the sufferings of Jesus.

When we unite our sufferings with those of Jesus, they become a powerful tool. Many blessings and graces can be received and distributed just by making a plea to the Lord on behalf of souls in trouble. The next time we find ourselves disturbed by someone or something, just ask our Lord to take the frustration and use it to help a soul in trouble. Trust me, He will comply with our request and then return to us, in double measure, the graces He applies to others.

When we look at the lives of the saints, we see people who truly love God. Many of the stories, however, give us the impression that they always did everything perfectly. This is a false notion. When our Chapter was studying one of the Dominican Saints, a member commented that this saint was too heavenly in conduct for us to imitate. This saint had indeed achieved much, but look at the example of St. Augustine. Before he became a great saint, he was, by his own admission, as great sinner. It was the deep prayer life of his mother, that his life was turned around.

You too can have a deep prayer life if you follow the example we suggested last week. Briefly for our new listeners: Take fifteen minutes each day, if you can: Go to a quiet place in your home and sit before the Lord. Tell Him your needs then, sit with your eyes closed and quietly call His name deep within your soul, not with verbal words, with words from your heart. While you may not "hear" anything, you may notice a tingling in your hands or maybe a heaviness. This is your cue that you are before the Lord Spiritually. Then just wait upon the Lord, as the Scriptures tell us and before you know it, you'll see the fruits of your prayer.

Maybe, after a little while, you'll notice that you don't get as angry as quickly with other people. Perhaps someday you'll notice that the pain doesn't seem quite so bad today. Maybe you'll start to see things from another point of view. Then maybe you'll start to love this quiet time alone with your Beloved. These things are signs that your prayer time is being well spent, not a waste of time as some would have you believe. Trust in God, prepare yourself and allow the Lord to do the rest. He won't let you down

Some of you may have a problem with mental prayer as I've described it, if you do, try praying the Rosary. The Rosary is a great lead prayer to start us on the path to mental prayer: that is if the Rosary is prayed properly. Many people think the mysteries are the most important part of the prayer, while others feel the recitation of the Our Father and Hail Mary's are most important. Actually, it is the recitation of the Our Father's and Hail Mary's that is supposed to keep the mind from wandering as we think about the events in the life of Jesus and Mary. While saying, "The first joyful mystery is the Annunciation," then starting the Our Father and ten Hail Mary's is all right; it is far better to keep the mind busy with scenes of the Annunciation while you pray the verbal prayers. What did the room look like where Mary sat when the Angel arrived? How was the Angel dressed? What impact did the spoken words between these two mean for them and for us? Try to answer these questions and think of others to ponder while you pray the words, soon a whole new world will open up to you.

Take the Bible and sit quietly; read a passage, then set the book aside and think about the words you just read. If there is something you don't understand ask the Lord or your Angel Guardian to enlighten you. Don't expect to "hear" the answer in your ears, listen with your heart.

Remain faithful to the time you have set aside and before you know it, You'll understand more about the ways of God than you ever thought possible. God will not be outdone in generosity, you give Him fifteen minutes of your day, and He will give you graces galore.

When I tell you these things, I speak from experience. Just remember that God works in His time frame, not in ours. An example I can give you is about a Young Dominican's Chapter. Three years ago, I talked with the Dominican Provincial Council about starting a program for young people. The council felt it was not a good idea at the time. This past July, while on retreat, three young ladies, one from NY and two from Phila., approached the Provincial Promoter about starting a Young Dominicans Chapter. His response was that as long as I would work with the youngsters, they could indeed start the Chapter. Within four days the Chapter had a name and their first meeting with eight members between the ages of eleven and seventeen. Now the group has grown to twenty-seven, with three more expressing interest to join. The ages have changed to nine to twenty-two to meet the needs of the members. This is definitely the grace of God at work.

If anyone is interested in becoming a Dominican or joining the Young Dominican Chapter let us know. We'll get the information to you.

If there is a question or subject matter that you would like discussed on this program, write to us at: Heart to Heart, P. O. Box 11431, Philadelphia, PA 19111.

The group that performs the music for this program will be playing this Saturday night, October 26, 1996, at a Chastity Dinner at Our Lady of Calvary Church in Northeast Philadelphia. If you would like to attend, please call us for information.

God Willing, we'll be back with you again next week at this same time. October is the month of the Rosary and remember that God's power is in your hands when you pray the Rosary. May God bless you and protect you.

Father Michael, will you please grant our listeners a blessing?

May the blessing of Almighty God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit fill your hearts with peace, joy and happiness now and forever. In the Name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.