9/3/2022 - Getting Started / Reflections for 9/2 & 9/3

I've been publishing the AX Blog since 2010, which in the last few years has been pretty much reduced to hosting episodes of my podcast of the same name. Even the podcast is stalling a bit (I'm planning new episodes after Labor Day, though)

As I was pondering the future of my social media presence thoughts of retreating from the fray weighed heavily in my mind. The blog and podcast have never threatened to break the internet. I wondered if the effort was worth it. Every time I have these periods of self examination, I've always decided to double down. I understand now that I need to do more than simple go back and do more of what I have been. I need to focus instead on what this is all about. It's not about me, who I've been writing a lot about up to now. It is about Christ and making the invitation to follow Him. It's about decreasing so that our Lord may increase in our hearts and minds. 

To accomplish this on a personal level, I made a resolution on my just completed yearly retreat to get back to making a daily Holy Hour. When I look back on my life, the times I was faithful to this practice were accompanied by spiritual progress, while when I've let the habit slip away, stagnation and even backsliding was the result. 

So, what I offer here are brief reflections gleaned from these Holy Hours. Think of it as sort of a pilgrim's spiritual journal. It's a way of charting the journey, checking the progress and watching for setbacks. And I'm inviting you to join me.

Something I need to make clear: these are NOT locutions. I make no claim that Jesus is speaking to me in the direct way He sometimes speaks to mystics. I'm listening the best I can, I may not always hear things correctly, and I'll go to great lengths to only pass on reflections I’m sure are in accord with Scripture and Tradition. 

I'm dedicating my self to a Holy Hour, and I certainly recommend it. That said, the title of the blog, Visit Him Often, is reference to the recommendation of Don Bosco, who promoted short, but frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament during the day. The Saint said,

"Do you want the Lord to give you many graces? Visit Him often. Do you want Him to give you few graces? Visit Him rarely. Do you want the devil to attack you? Visit Jesus rarely in the Blessed Sacrament. Do you want him to flee from you? Visit Jesus often!"

He understood that lay people and active religious and diocesan priests don't always have time for long visits to the Blessed Sacrament (though religious and clergy have less of an excuse since we usually live in houses with private chapels). Stoping in, even for a few minutes, to rest at the feet of our Eucharisitic Lord is enough. If we can do this more than once during the day, better yet. If there is a parish church open during the day on your way to work, stop in and pay visit. If you're on vacation, amid the sightseeing, drop in on a church for a pause that truly refreshes. Maybe you need to get creative, but don't feel like if you can't make a Holy Hour all is lost. As Don Bosco would also say, "Don't let the best be the enemy of the good." 

So, I present to you the first two of these reflections, and we'll see where it goes from there. They will be brief (something I'm not good at being). I'll do minimal editing, though I'll give added context and clarification as I see fit. I hope these are helpful as we journey with the Lord together.

September 2, 2022

We are to be uncompromisingly Christocentric. At the end of time He will present us to the Father, but until them Jesus is the center of our devotion and adoration. We glimpse the Father through Him. We only know anything about the Father because of the testimony of the Son. The Spirit, though adored, prompts us to declare Jesus is Lord and leads us to Him who is the Truth. We adore the Father, but we are called to imitate the Son. 

He is my brother and friend. He is first and foremost LORD. He is like me, and yet so very unlike me. He doesn’t use the fact he is LORD as a cudgel against us. He wants us to follow and, yes obey for love’s sake. The love we have for a brother and a friend. He deserves, and is owed that love because He is LORD.

September 3, 2022

I think of red martyrdom but in reality I haven’t lived the white martyrdom we are all called to. Only after I embrace the metaphorical Cross can I muse even lightly over the prospects of shedding blood. There is the story of the now sainted priest who lived a dissolute life, who when the moment came and his life was asked of him, stated to his persecutors, “A fornicator I have always been, a heretic, never.” And so he surrendered his life for Christ. We should never underestimate the power of God’s grace. I’m not necessarily one of those bold sinners, though. Which is not to say I’ve never sinned boldly. But for the most part it’s mediocre sins, the worst kind, which have dulled me. I can’t even say I’m a worthless servant who has only done his duty. If it possible to be less than useless, then there we are. I do not write this is a self pitying way, or out of false humility. My ministry hasn’t been completely without fruit. But I know that my lack of trust, which leads to a lack of zeal, has kept that growth minimal. Jesus, may I trust in You.