Ash Wednesday as a Child of God

I'm starting my Lent out strong this year, as well as I can.  This morning I was thrilled to discover that my parish had Confessions at the usual times, so I rushed over to the parish for the Sacrament. 

I attended Mass this afternoon at the parish where I work, and as I was rushing from my office into the Church, Father stopped me and asked, "Are you going to Mass?"  Upon receiving an affirmative answer, he asked me to assist in distributing ashes.  I was a bit surprised, but agreed (really preferring not to, but he's my boss, whaddaya gonna do?)  He also asked me to serve as a "Eucharistic Minister" (even he's given up using the proper term), and THAT I was able to turn down, explaining I'm not trained, but he did find someone else.  

Father told me where to stand and what to do, and when it came time, handed me a card with what I was supposed to say (I still managed to butcher it the first couple times...). 

I've never performed this particular role at Mass, but it was an interesting experience.  First of all, I realized it's a LOT harder than it seems to make a well-defined cross on someone's forehead! 

And you know...foreheads come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. I LOVED the guys that were nearly bald...it was so easy! They tended to get better crosses, because I had a heckuva lot more to work with!  And some people had smaller foreheads covered by bangs that were hard to sweep aside. And sometimes I got ashes in their hair. 

One thing struck me, though...the humility with which people were approaching.  I really can't put that into words, but it was there, in how they stood, in how they bowed their heads. I wish I had that kind of humility. It's not stated, it's not contrived it's just...there. 

Wow. 

This evening I had a youth event, and some of our youth were needing to attend Mass, so Father asked me again to assist (even though I had not intended to attend Mass this evening.)  We had a catechist who was able to do so, so I hoped maybe I was off the hook...nope. Father said he still needed me if I could help.  OK. 

Apparently, though, there was some miscommunication, and so when we were called up to approach the altar, of course I got another big cross imposed on the one still on my forehead, and was handed the little dish (sorry, I have no idea if there's a liturgical word for that!) and card with the verse, but my supervisor was skipped, although she received the ashes.  Father quietly explained to her that another person was taking her place. Before we all left the altar area, she turned to me and said that in my assigned section, her godchild was there.  I asked her if she just wanted to take my place?  She did, so I gladly relinquished the ashes and returned to my pew. 

So it happened that I attended Mass twice today, which was not part of my original plan. 

I have a theory...perhaps I'm such a huge sinner that I needed a double-reminder to repent and remain faithful to the Gospel!  It's not lost on me that I was one of the few people standing in front of EVERYONE today being told to repent... *hmmm....*   

But something else happened, too. At the second Mass, I was seated behind a mother and her three young children.  They were quite fidgity (although quiet), and in profile, I could see how closely they resembled their mother.  She was absolutely STAMPED into their features. 

I considered how each of us also has our Creator stamped into us, although perhaps not in a way so recognizeable as a parent and child.  When God looks at us, He sees His work, He sees His features...but do we?  Do we ever stop to consider how much we resemble God, for He created us out of Love and fashioned us into His own image? 

Yet we CAN recognize this in others. We CAN look at others and see God's features. We see Him when we recognize the virtues of another. We see Him when a person who lives a holy life exudes joy from every pore.  We see Him when someone approaches us and doesn't care that we're nervous and have no idea what we're doing...because they recognized the presence of God first and that's all that matters to them. 

I couldn't help but ponder the family in front of me this evening, realizing that THIS was the real reason I found myself at Mass for the second time;  it's a lesson in conversion. 

During Lent, the practices are designed to help us focus on what's truly important; holiness.  The holier we become, the more we resemble God, the more we conform to Him, the more we recognize Him in those we serve.  

God created us all in His image, an image that we disfigure through our own sin.  We are being called to conversion, to put aside all those things that make us unrecognizeable.  In the ongoing, purifying process of conversion, we begin to resemble God more and more, for this is the end to which we are called; this is why we were created. And because we fell so far, so hard, He sent His only Son to redeem us, and help us once again to become recognizeable children of God. 

We can only hope, that by the end of Lent this year, we might resemble God just as closely as the children in front of me resembled their mother. 

Dear Lord, please let it be so. 

*

Attachments to Sin

A few weeks ago I had a terrible dream. It was a long one, and most of is was just a bunch of "clutter", but the final scenes in this dream have remained with me. Initially when I woke up, I thought it just a nightmare, as it was about spiders and their webs (I'm arachnophobic), but as I prayed my rosary that morning, the interpretation of the dream came to me, haunted me, and forced me to relive that dream, for it seemed that this one meant something. This one carried a message.

In the dream, I entered my house and went into my garage, looking for a key I needed. It was in the corner near the door. But I could not get to it because several spiders had built their webs in that corner, and there was NO WAY I was going to reach into that to find the key I knew was there!

So I went back into the house, and noticed that one of my walls was completely covered with a thick, thick web. I stared at it in a sort of muted horror, wondering where all this had come from? Near the bottom, something moved, a common long-legged house spider, and I realized it must be destroyed. It moved; thus it must go away quickly.

I also realized that for some reason, the entire wall was a very large garage door, and until the spiders and their webs were removed, I would not be able to open the door. To attempt to do so would be disastrous; it would mean the entire mess would come down on top of me and I coudn't bear such a thought, so in the dream, I chose not to consider that.

I turned away and went to find my spray bottle, a spider repellant, which I hoped would kill all the spiders that still lived, even unseen, in that terrible thick web. First I went to the garage where I was careful to cover all corners and the entire door with the fine spray. Then I went to the large wall/door in my home and sprayed it down, aiming especially at anything that moved. When done, I put the bottle away then returned to the conglomeration of spider webs, trying to figure out how best to deal with the mess.

Even as I stared at it, I realized that for some reason, I was not as horrified as I should have been; I am complete arachnophobic. I HATE spiders, they freak me out and give me nightmares. (case in point!). Yet I was somewhat disaffected by the overabundance of these horrible creatures and the home they had made in my very house!. I thought this kind of complacency to be odd, even in the dream.

Then I realized that the chemical spray had done a strange thing; it had collapsed and melted the thick web to such a degree that it exposed the spiders, both living and dead, that clung to the strands. This web was thick, like cotton, and completely covered that huge door/wall, and nearly every inch of that web was covered with spiders. There were HUGE spiders...from the trantula family, a species which does not naturally exist in Minnesota. Most of those seemed to be dead, if not all, thus not dangerous, but I shuddered to realize that at one point they had been living right there in my house.

I saw every spider, recognizing that all were different, some bigger and fatter than others, for some had been there feeding for longer. My gaze zeroed in on each one of them in turn, taking in the horrible view, watching for movement, trying to figure out if they were really dead, and if so, why were they still there and how had I not noticed them before?

I woke up then, shuddering, wondering why I had been so complacent in that dream?

I often pray the rosary on my way to work, and that morning, as I prayed, the images from that dream pulverized me...and so I let the images come, praying all the while, asking God what I was supposed to gain from this?

And He answered.

The dream was a metaphor, so let me give a little background.

Ever since I read St. Francis de Sales "Introduction to the Devout Life" I have been praying about attachment to sin. We all struggle so much with this; our propensity towards sin, our habits, our vices, those things we do that are comfortable to us, so much so that they aren't always recognizable as sin. I have often wondered how to break those attachments?

So let us use this as a jumping-off point; in my dream, I entered a house, my house. For the sake of "interpretation", let's say that this house is me, or more specifically, my soul. For we know that we are temples of the Holy Spirit, thus we, ourselves, are home.

Then let's consider the small garage door. I'll admit it...I'm stumped. It was maybe just a warning...

When I went into the main house, seeing the large door inhabited and covered by spiders and webs like cotton, I noted a few living spiders. Let us say that each spider represents sin. The large spiders equal mortal or strong habitual sin. The small common ones are venial sin.

I saw that the largest spiders seemed to be dead. They could not harm me. Then why were they there? They clung as desperately, even more so, to the web even in their death, than the small, scuttering living spiders.

Initially I thought that the spiders represented demons clinging, but no, they are sin, because I realized, I was TOLERATING them.

Notice that although in real life I am terrified of spiders, in my dream I was nearly comfortable with the fact that these monstrosities, these unnatural things were covering my walls, would breed, and spread throughout...and prevent me from opening that very large door they covered.

Complacence.

Notice that those spiders CLUNG to the walls, alive and dead. They clung, they remained, and I allowed them, even had a degree of comfort with their presence. Compacence.

Then I sprayed down the web, which revealed what was really there.

In prayer, I realized that the "spray" was holy water, which, in reality, I use around my house all the time. In the dream, when using this spray, it revealed what was really there previously unseen, unrecognized.

Funny parallel... holy water causes the remission of venial sins, and in the dream, the revelation of what was really there. In the spiritual life, the frequent use of sacramentals, the Sacraments, etc, can ALSO reveal what is there, what plagues us. The use of these blessed things, especially holy water, remits venial sins, and in that process during which we are seeking holiness, reveals to us those sins which are embedded even more deeply, maybe things that are habitual and otherwise beneath our notice. Additionally, proper use of sacramentals repels sin from us as it helps to keep us holy by helping us to keep our gaze fixed on the Lord.

Thus, in the dream, something hidden deeply veiled was revealed to me, which goaded me into a certain action; the recognition of what they were and the need to remove them.

In the dream I realized I had to clean out the mess caused by the spiders, I could not continue to live that way. I could not look upon the carcasses and live monstrosities and go on as I was; they needed to go away and quickly.

And back in real life, in prayer, I realized I was looking at the inside of my soul; the spiders were sins, the dead ones were sins which have been forgiven. Yet I have not gotten rid of them; they still cling, haunting me. Maybe temporal punishment, maybe because I have not forgiven myself? And the fact that they were clinging to a door...that is the doorway that stands between the soul and God. All those sins, all that STUFF keeping me between myself and union with the Lord.

We do that; we hang onto our pasts, and by doing so, we are rejecting the mercy of God. We are rejecting the life that God wants us to live in favor of either continuing in our favorite sinful attachments or by failure to accept the mercy of God when our pasts have been forgiven.

I do fully believe that God speaks to us in many different ways, through people, events, music, and art, and certainly sometimes directly in prayer. I also believe that most dreams are just a bunch of clutter being expelled by our brains, but somtimes, God uses this medium to get messages to us through the use of our own personal parables.

For someone who is arachnophobic, there could be no better metaphor for the effect of sin on the soul than the spiders and webs in my dream. God may send someone else a dream of snakes or rats. He sent me spiders, and I'm not sure the worst demon in hell could trump the fear the sight of a spider puts into me. We humans are so complicated that way, but God knows this so speaks to us personally in order to get His point across.

Lent is a time in which we spend time spiritually housecleaning; this dream helped me to focus on what kind of housecleaning I need to do. So my question to YOU is: What haven't you let go of? What keeps you from opening that door to God? What is your barrier, and are you REALLY willing to face what is there?

The Betrayal of Christ

My senior year of High School (public school), I took a Humanities elective and found it to be one of the best classes I ever took! We discussed philosophy, mythology, architecture, theatre, and art.

We were fortunate enough to take a field trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, all having recieved a specific assignment, prepared in advance, to discuss at the museum. So in short, we all had the opportunity to play "Docent for a moment".

My assignment was "The Betrayal of Christ" by Flemish artist, Anthony van Dyck.

I remember that although I liked the Baroque style, this particular painting did not GRAB me as others did, so I was disappointed. I was a bit more attracted to the Baroque style of artists such as Caravaggio, Iliya, Rembrandt, and others. I really liked the Flemish artists in general, but this particular painting just didn't seem to fit my "image" of what I wanted them to be.

But I was a good student, so I studied the work and tried to make it interesting to others, as well. And the more I learned, the more I appreciated the painting, even though it wasn't really to my particular taste.

Yet, as I've gotten older, this painting has "haunted" me to a certain extent, for the information I learned for my presentation remained with me and I have often put it to the test as I looked at paintings from a cross-section of styles and centuries.

One of the lessons, first and foremost, was in the colors used. Take a good look at this painting; notice how the color yellow is front and center, and in some ways, completely overshadows everything else. There's a reason for that; yellow is the color of betrayal.

There is no doubt in anyone's mind who the betrayer is in this painting; Judas announces his presence like the revolving cherries on a squad car.

Betrayal is the central theme, and everything else points to it...and yet, we still find a cool center of acceptance, that being Jesus, the Lamb of God, standing upright. Notice that Jesus is the ONLY upright figure in the painting, a center in the storm, and actually leans INTO Judas as he betrays Him. Jesus is clad in royal blue, the symbolism of his status and identity being obvious.

Look also at the other figure clad in blue; Peter, who is in the act of cutting off the ear of the slave of the High Priest. Peter, the rock; to whom the keys of the kingdom of heaven were given. And see how his robes shimmer; for as Jesus is diminishing into the humiliation he is to undergo in such submission, Peter will take the forefront on earth and lead the Church. Such irony For at that time, Peter did not realize what he had been given and his actions were to defend his Lord, whom he would betray three times that very night. Peter did not know who he was or the role he was called to fulfill, and that in order to step into this role, his Savior had to be betrayed. And so the act of betrayal itself takes place behind his back as he focuses on the immediate, in typical Simon-Peter style, completely missing the point.

As an aside; I am certain Peter is one of my closest patrons.

We have to look to the rest of the painting as well, for it is all focused on the most imporant action, that of the kiss of betrayal. The cowardly, deceitful, betraying yellow, and Christ, in his calm blue of acceptance, framed on one side by the attack and on the other, the red to symbolize his Passion, the blood yet to be shed. For love never comes without a cost, without a ransom of blood.

And yet He stands, the cool center, accepting the onslaught of the soldiers, the torch waving towards him, the tree branch arching overhead, the foot of the downed slave pointing to His betrayer, the diagonal lines all pointing towards this pivotal moment.

And, as I learned, as typical in Baroque art, the right lower corner of the painting is left bare; so to invite we, the viewers, into it so that we can better contemplate the image up close and personal. Another characteristic of this style was the inherent drama; the main drama (Judas kissing Jesus in the act of betrayal) is triangulated by Peter and Malchus, the slave, and the Roman Soldiers leaning inward for the arrest. A fallen lantern contrasts with the torch above to create the lighting for the scene, again highlighting the drama of light and shadow which so emphasizes the action taking place before our very eyes. We can almost hear the creackling of the flames, the breaking glass of the lantern, the shouts of the soldiers, the whistle of Peter's sword, and the calm sound of Jesus asking Judas, "You would betray the Son of Man with a kiss?"

Amazing to me that I started out disappointed in this image; and now, how many years later, I have been seeking this very painting! My appreciation and understanding have grown over the years, and even though I have not maintained a study in art, my greater comprehension of theology has enhanced what little I know of art, and thus I am completely captivated by this image. Not only can I enter into the image, but I understand that I am Judas, or perhaps I am Peter, or the slave whose ear is being cut off. Or maybe I am the Roman Soldier with the torch, crying out orders to the onrush for the arrest of Jesus.

St. Ignatius, in his Spiritual Exercises, encouraged us to use our natural creativity in order to enter into contemplative prayer. He encouraged choosing a Bible verse and casting ourselves as characters in order to better enter into the scene. Take the scene of the betrayal of Christ, and "cast" yourself there, into the right lower corner where the Baroque style provides a conveniet doorway. Read this section in any or all of the Gospels, and find a painting portraying the Betrayal that invites you; prayer is not just about words and dialogue. Prayer is a conversation with God, but how can we converse with him if we have not taken the time to fully engage with His conversation with us?

Such art is a great gift to us; it can be a sacramental, that which leads us further into the mystery of Christ and His Glorious Passion. Take some time and find an image that speaks to you; if it is classic art such as this, read about it understand it, and then take it within the context of the Holy Scriptures and allow yourself to be transformed and captured within, so that you, too, may find a way to enter into the great gift of meditative and contemplative prayer.

Part 2 - What are Sacramentals?

I recieved several questions pertaining to what sacramentals are, how they are "changed", what makes them special, and how this differs from superstition.

Sacramentals are, "sacred signs instituted by the Church. They are sacred signs that bear a resemblance to the sacraments." (United States Catholic Catechism for Adults). They can further be defined as, "anything set apart or blessed by the Church to excite good thoughts and to help devotion, and thus secure grace and take away venial sin or the temporal punishment due to sin..."

Sacramentals are things such as rosaries, holy water, medals, palms, ashes, scapulars, candles, etc, which have been blessed by a priest. When a priest blesses these objects, he is asking for God to touch those objects and pass on His blessing to all those who use, gaze upon, or come into contact with the object. He is asking that those who use those objects be disposed to God's grace and that the object assist the person in question to greater union with God.

So it is not the sacramental itsef that conveys grace; it is the disposition of the individual in seeking God's grace through the use of the sacramental.

For example, one can pray the rosary with an unblessed rosary; it is still a valid prayer. But once blessed, that rosary is recognized as almost a conduit for grace, it is a tool set aside for a specific purpose, that of bringing people closer to God.

At my house, I have several novena candles, and frequently have them lit, even throughout the night. I use them to remind me to pray for specific intentions or people, as a reminder of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the light of Christ, and that I am to carry that same light beyond the humble walls of my home.

The scapular is a common sacramental/ devotion. There are several, and some involve specific enrollments, certain prayers, certain obligations. It is NEVER a "get out of jail free" card, for it is only, again, a tool. It helps the person wearing it be better disposed to recieve God's grace.

For those who don't know what a scapular is: it is two small squares of cloth of varying colors according to the devotion, attached by two strings so that the squares will fall over the shoulders, resting in front and in back. Originally, a "scapular" was clothing used by consecrated religious which was simply a rectangular cloth with a hole cut out for the head, covering the torso but not the arms. This is still worn by many religious orders as a part of their habits, although it was originally used to cover them and protect their clothing as they worked.

The popular devotional scapular may require certain things of the wearer: for example, the brown scapular (Carmelite) requires that the wearer recieve the Sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion frequently, pray the Liturgy of the Hours or the Rosary daily, and remain in a state of grace (free from grave sin). There are several published "promises" for this devotion, so it must be noted that in order for those "promises", such as freedom from eternal damnation, still depends upon the person wearing the scapular. So if one puts on the blessed scapular then proceeds to dismember animals and people, that person is not fulfilling their promises.

Any given sacramental is not a talisman; it does not make someone holier to have it, nor does it guarantee salvation. It is a tool of God's grace, something to be used by the individual (or group, as appropriate) to understand and come closer to the Lord.

For Catholics, the next time you ask to have something blessed, consider the words pronounced by the priest upon the object; notice how he is asking that God's grace fall not so much upon the object, but that the object itself is used in accordance wih God's will, that those who gaze upon the icon experience God's grace and love, and that through the use of the object, they will find greater union with Jesus Christ.

And for Protestants or people of other religions; be advised! If you enter a Catholic home and find yourself surrounded by religious art, candles, and maybe prayer cards, realize that by being in the presence of this object, and gazing upon it, the person who has them is praying for YOU to be blessed by God!

Sacramentals are reminders of God's presence in our lives and should be leading us to enter more deeply into the mystery of Jesus Christ and salvation; they are set apart from common objects for this specific divine purpose. Yet always remember; it is the person who uses the sacramental who must be disposed toward God's will in order for the sacramental to be effective.


As always, comments and further information is welcome!

Flying by the seat of my pants and the flames of the Holy Spirit

I gave my talk tonight on Catholic Customs and Sacramentals...and learned when I got there that I DID have to discuss "Our Identity as Prophets" as well. That was right when class started. And since I wasn't the prayer reader, I asked the Holy Spirit what I should say? I was ready for the other stuff, had my props, and even recieved a third class relic in the mail today from a dear friend!

So I wrote down the thoughts that came to me, and went up in front of the class with my notes, all the sacramentals I'd brought already laid out.

I told them that I had only a few thoughts on the topic of our identity as prophets, calling upon the Bible to give us a snapshot of what a prophet is:

* The prophets spoke with the authority of God to warn of their current status of having fallen away from God, calling them to repentence and back to God. They listed the consequences of not following God's laws...and when the people did not listen, God responded just as he had warned.

* The prophet does not act on his own; he acts as God directs, is an instrument of God.

* There are prophets among us, such as Fulton Sheen. I described how he had this amazing ability to completely size up the culture, what they were facing...and his words are still so relevant TODAY!

* We are also called to stand firmly grounded in our faith, and size up the world and where it is taking us; is it taking us away from God or toward it? If we are talking about God and how to live, and we immediately go out and do the opposite, then we are not prophets. Prophets had to stand against the culture, just as we are called to do, and thus lead by example.


Every night before I have to speak, I go to the Adoration Chapel to offer my efforts, asking that God be glorified through my weakness. Even though I had prepared for tonight, the topic was huge and admittedly, organization is not my forte'. And even with my notes in front of me, I skipped around during my talk, having offered it to God; knowing that even with what I knew, I was not up to the task.

I don't actually feel like I did a very good job tonight, but at the same time, I also let the "conversation" be lead by the Holy Spirit, and most of the information was covered. We ended right on time. I provided some resources to everyone so that they could go online and look up the information they wanted to know more about.

Primarily, I recommend the following sites for people seeking to know more about our Catholic culture and devotions:

www.catholic.com
www.catholicculture.org

and with reservations:

www.fisheaters.com

This last one is a great site, however, the owner is an ultra-trad Cath. They do not recognize the Novus Ordo as being valid, nor do they recognize Vatican II. I did caution the class about that and gave some info on the SSPX, then told them which link to click for the best info. Fisheaters has a great section on Catholic devotions with really incredible articles, explanations, etc., and I did use this for many of my explanations and research. They are linked to my favorites, but to anyone who goes to this site; the section for those converting to the faith are going to meet the vitriol of the mislead in schism.

There are so many great websites out there, so many resources! So thank God these poor people didn't have to rely completely on my explanations for anything!


UPDATE:  May 26, 2010.

Every so often randon anon commenters flame me and accuse me of all sorts of really fun sins such as calumny and detraction because of my criticism of fisheaters.com.  I stand by what I said; after all, Catholic Culture.org also has reservations for the same reasons and more. Click here for their most recent review of the site.

Catholic Customs and Sacramentals - A Call for Questions!

I realize this is a very dangerous post, but I'm going to do it anyway.

I would like some "audience participation", especially that of Catholic Converts.

Next Wednesday, I am providing the catechesis on Catholic Customs and Sacramentals.

I will be covering some obvious things: the Rosary, the Scapular, Statues, Icons, Holy Cards, blessed objects, etc. What, specifically, do people want to know about these things and any of our common customs?

But I need to hear from people who have sat through RCIA, who may not be Catholic but have specific questions about our customs and observations, or even Catholics who suddenly realized that they have NO IDEA why we do certain things.

PLEASE post your questions or, if you feel more comfortable, e-mail them to me.

Please also, if you have a blog, link this post so that those who have questions that fall into these categories may have an opportunity to find the explanation they need.

I promise, to the best of my ability, to answer all questions consistently with official Catholic teaching.

Sacramental Humor

The Catholic Church defines Sacramentals as sacred signs instituted by the Church.

Holy Cards, Rosaries, Images, Statues, among other things, are considered to be "sacramentals", for they are tangible things that lead us into a more intimate union with Jesus Christ. For example, when a priest blesses a holy card or a religious image, he prays that anyone who looks up that image be blessed, be touched by God's grace in some way. For it is the job of that image to remind us to pray, or if the image is of a Saint, then we look to the person portrayed as an example in how to lead a holy life.

Yet we must be careful not to cross from "veneraton" into Superstition. With a capital "S".

I found a perfect example of this in "Through the Year with Padre Pio", which is a collection of anecdotes, letters, and quotes from Padre Pio taken from several sources, compiled by Patricia Treece.

...Padre Pio was known for enjoying a hearty laugh, for pranks and witticisms. Besides his true spiritual children, there were "followers" of Padre Pio who let superstition creep into devotion to him. While he found this annoying and sometimes even got angry when it went too far, in general he maintained a healthy, humorous perspective.

An example: Some of these devotees would call out as he passed, "Padre Pio, my mother had cancer, and I put your picture on her chest and it disappeared." "Padre Pio, my child was very sick, and I put your picture on him, and he got immediately well." Padre Pio heard so much of the efficacy of his picture and was pretty tired of what he considered rank superstition.

One night, praying alone very late in the choir of the church, he heard footsteps back and forth in the silence of the night. Eventually this disturbed his prayer. He got up and looked out the window. He saw a sinister-looking figure in a cape with something in his hand that might [have been] a grenade or bomb.

This was a time of great political unrest, and Padre Allesio Parente later recalled Pio's telling the other friars, "At first I was so scared he would throw the bomb at me. But then I said to myself, 'Oh, don't worry; I think I've got a picture of Padre Pio somewhere."

~ Kathleen Stauffer, "They Knew Padre Pio," Catholic Digest, December 1991 and The Voice of Padre Pio, Vol. 20, No. 4, 1990, 7. (p. 27, Through the Year with Padre Pio)