The Council of Knights here in Lufkin have been so helpful and wonderful to us for almost 40 years!!!
It can also be found in our Lufkin Daily News for Sunday, March 10, 2019.
We are in the process of replacing our Air Conditioning and heating units in our professed dormitory and novitiate. The AC is something absolutely necessary in the Texas sweltering summers which can run from May to October.
Today we have another outline for our reflection from St. Thomas Aquinas. He speaks about fasting from today\’s Gospel – Luke 4:1-13. It is the account of Jesus praying and fasting for 40 days and nights in the desert, then the devil comes to tempt Him, but Jesus vanquishes him.
St. Augustine says that it is the highest religion to imitate what we worship, so when Our Lord fasted, we ought to imitate Him in fasting. St. Thomas says there are 4 reasons that should move us to fasting:
I. God commands it.
A. God commands it in Genesis 2:15-17, when he told Adam not to eat the fruit of a certain tree.
B. God commands it in the Law of Moses: Lev. 16:31, “It is a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall fast; it is a statute forever.”
C. God commands it by the Prophets: Joel 2:14, “Sanctify a fast”
D. God commands it by the Apostles: 2 Cor 11:27b, St. Paul wrote of his many trials, including, “I have been hungry and thirsty, often without food.”
II. The example of Jesus and His teaching that there are 4 things necessary in fasting.
A. We should be cleansed of sin: Matthew 6:17, “When you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face.”
B. We should conceal our fasting from the praise of others: Matthew 6:16, “When you fast, do not … show others that you are fasting.”
C. We should fast with long-suffering and perseverance: St. Augustine wrote in his Rule, “Subdue your flesh with abstinence from meat and drink, as far as your health will permit.”
D. We should overcome the temptations of the devil: “Get behind me, Satan.”
III. The 4 harms that befall those who do not fast when they should.
A. The evil of iniquity, Ezekiel 16:49, ” This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food…”
B. The evil of loss, especially, of eternal life, Genesis 3:23, “The Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden…”
C. The evil of present punishment: Sirach 37:31, “Many have died of gluttony…”
IV. A 4-fold profit flows from fasting. St. Gregory the Great says,
A. The mortification of vices.
B. An elevation of the mind towards God.
C. The acquisition of virtue.
D. The reward of eternal blessedness.
We do not have the text of St. Thomas’ homilies; however, we do have some outlines. Here is one that helps us in our Lenten journey. Thomas, and most preachers in the Middle Ages, always used Scripture passages to back up what they were saying. Reading and thinking about just one sentence below can lead us to many insights. He is preaching on Luke 18:35: “A certain blind man sat by the wayside.”
In the moral sense: the blind man is understood as a sinner – “They shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord.” Zephaniah 1:17 As the blind does not see bodily, so the sinner does not see spiritually.
1 – There are 7 causes that hinder the blind, which represent the 7 deadly, or capital, sins which produce spiritual blindness.
– A swollen face is like pride: St. Augustine said, “My face is swollen so greatly, that it does not allow me to see.”
– A darkness in the air is like envy: the envious are spoken of as blind, “Their own malice blinded them.” Wisdom 2:21
– A derangement of the eyes is like anger: “My eye is consumed with grief.” Psalm 31:9
– Dust or anything that falls into the eye is like avarice: St. Augustine said, dust is like temporal things, “I wandered after temporal things and I was blinded.”
– No one can see who closes his eyes, this is a weakening from slothfulness: which is not opening one’s intellectual eyes to behold spiritual good. Boethius says, “The wicked accustom their eyes to darkness, they turn away from the light of truth.”
– Too much fluids around the eyes is like gluttony: “Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine.” Proverbs 23:29 Too much alcohol deadens the spiritual and bodily eyes.
– Little spots before the eyes is like lust: St. Augustine wrote, “Small cloudy spots … and they darkened my heart that the sincerity of love could not be distinguished from the darkness of lust.”
2 – There are 7 things that produce mental illumination. Spiritual sight consists also of 7 graces.
– Faith – “Receive your sight: your faith has saved you.” Luke 18:42
– Humility – “For judgment I came into the world, that those who see might not see.” John 9:39
– Trials – “Gall of the fish is good for anointing the eyes.” Tobit 6:9
– Love of neighbor – “Eye ointment that you may see.” Revelation 10:18
– Abundant tears – “He went his way and washed and saw.” John 9:7
– Fervent prayer – “They cried out, \’Have mercy on us, Son of David… Jesus had compassion on them, touched their eyes, and immediately their eyes received sight.” John 9:10
– Reverent hearing or reading of Holy Scripture: “On that day shall the deaf hear the words of the Book, and the eyes of the blind shall see.\ Isaiah 29:18
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, a time of penance, reparation for our sins and participation in the Paschal Mystery (life, suffering, death, resurrection) of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
It is a graced time when our Faith becomes very Incarnational – tangible, physical. It is a time when we put into special practice the three great acts of religion going back 3,000 years in our Judeo-Christian Faith tradition. Those acts are —
Unfortunately, many people today have walked away from this rich experience of community. Perhaps you might invite a friend or family member to join you for one of the special Lenten Masses, Stations of the Cross, or other activities at your Church. Without faith, people become lost and isolated. This is an anointed time in which Catholics, and all believers in Jesus Christ, around the world make an extra effort to open themselves to God and to grow in His Spirit and His Grace.
On Sunday, our Birthday-Sister cooked dinner and treated us to some “Southern comfort-food” – her delicious sweet potatoes. Can you find the various ingredients? It\’s simple: sweet potatoes, cinnamon, honey and pineapple.
After dinner, two of our Sisters who live in the Infirmary wanted to take a walk out to the cemetery. Even though the sun was bright and warm, the air and wind were nippy and chilly. Our Infirmarian bundled them up and helped them on their way. A little bird told Sister-Photographer what was taking place. So she caught up with them as they prepared to return to their warm and cozy rooms.
Sister loves those little “solar” toys that move in the light. She has flowers, bees, and the cutest koala bear surfer. She is wonderfully alert, fun loving and creative. Sister Mary Sybillina is our last living founding Sister from the Dominican Monastery of the Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, MI.
Dominican Life on Lotus Lane 