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MONDAY 1st JUNE 2009: “Kingdom of justice, of love and of peace”
Under the patronage of Saint Louis, king of France.
Chapter leaders will present as soon as is practical the biography of Saint Louis. This should include in particular how he personifies justice, love and peace. To make this example all the more present, insist on the fact that it is imperative that an elite of real leaders rise up and commit themselves so that Our Lord reigns.
In the beginning of the day, after a good morning prayer, let us go back over the main moments of Saturday and Sunday. Our spirits rekindled after a good’s night’s sleep, as with the previous evening, it is good to list again the main points covered on Sunday, draw up a brief summary, insisting that everyone should make resolutions, with the perspective of our return to everyday life. From the start of day, take every opportunity to encourage the conditions for making this turning to God and continuing our spiritual progress, firm commitments, concrete resolutions. What would this pilgrimage be good for if we return home unchanged ?
At the start of the march
No peace without justice, no justice without God
We start with a simple, methodical and illustrated presentation, complete with examples, of what is peace in reality and how it flows from justice and the order that comes from it. Show the natural link between peace in the world and the reign of Our Lord.
No peace without justice, without respect for the natural order. No peace without God, without Christ who gives us the grace necessary to heal our wounded nature, where sin brings disorder and invites other sin. Christ’s grace to help us restore the natural order that is endlessly threatened (refusal of the natural law leads to chaos) ….
It will be useful to outline the nuance between real peace, ordered tranquillity, and politically correct concepts of peace and justice; which far from true charity, only side track problems and do not resolve them.
Middle of the Morning
The Kingdom of Love of The Sacred Heart.
This is an important meditation on the Sacred Heart and on the Reign Christ’s Love. This meditation should show the beauty and the deeper sense of the Reign of Christ. Today is the 1st of June, the 1st day of the Month of the Sacred Heart.. We can resume here the doctrine of the Sacred Heart, its origin, its meaning and what it holds for each one of us.
We can talk about the promises made to those who practice devotion to the Sacred Heart, in particular the promise “ I will put my peace in their families.”
End of Morning
This very moment, commit today
We approach the end of our pilgrimage, we continue with this year’s theme. All the features of the Kingdom of God what we have spoken about will be no more the fine principles if we do not know how to live them in our lives. Our primary concern, the present time, the here and now. As Mother Teresa said, ‘the Future belongs to Divine Providence, the Past belongs to Divine Mercy, the Present is a place of Love. In a similar vein he Catholic writer Paul Bourget told us, “we should live as we think, otherwise sooner or later we finish by thinking as we have lived’. This coherence in our lives is the condition for our inner unity and of the success of our actions and witness, at every moment we should live and act according to natural and Christian principles, according to our Faith.
Beginning of the Afternoon
Has the time come for governments to last for ever ? The Plague of secularism.
Draw from the words spoken by Cardinal Pie to Napoleon III “if the time has not come for Jesus Christ to rule, the time has not come either for empires to last”. Here is the staring point for this meditation and instruction. It is about rediscovering the principles of the social doctrine of the Church, a solid base and a ambitious plan for today and for the future. You can show the value of this doctrine as opposed to the fads and ambiguity that we are usually served (human rights, liberalism …) and the secularism which seeks to eliminate God from all public life. Define exactly what is secularism and what are its consequences.
Moving on, encourage concrete social and political action for today’s society, giving concrete examples of what one can do for the social reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ. As this may seem vast and inaccessible, set out the main broad lines of the Church’s Social Doctrine, indicate concrete ideas for action (defending the culture of life, fighting against lies, avoiding all co-operation with evil, engaging in acts of charity, promoting a true and holy Christian Culture: schools, families, scouting …good books to read rather than surging aimlessly on the Internet…) Insist that we must above carry out our civic duty and be competent in our work.
Sermon at Mass
The Kingdom of Christ is now
The sermon at Mass will resume the theme of year’s pilgrimage and the two main areas of the Kingdom of God to be built. The first is the inner Kingdom of grace already present in the heart of every Christian and in the Church, this doesn’t depend on external conditions, you can be a saint in prison, despite persecution and even under torture….) The other area the influence on society of the Kingdom of God, the social reign of Christ. This all important as it fosters our faith and helps us live more easily our lives of faith ….interest in political and social order is essential if the greatest number of souls are to be saved. On this we all have our roles to play.
Note:
Chapter Leaders, Religious and Seminarians should also prepare short brief instructions on the rosary, Mass, Penance, the Our Father and vocations, these as a supplement to the principal meditations and instructions, to be given whenever possible during the three days, at suitable moments and according to the spiritual rhythm of your chapter.
Chapter leaders will present as soon as is practical the biography of Saint Louis. This should include in particular how he personifies justice, love and peace. To make this example all the more present, insist on the fact that it is imperative that an elite of real leaders rise up and commit themselves so that Our Lord reigns.
In the beginning of the day, after a good morning prayer, let us go back over the main moments of Saturday and Sunday. Our spirits rekindled after a good’s night’s sleep, as with the previous evening, it is good to list again the main points covered on Sunday, draw up a brief summary, insisting that everyone should make resolutions, with the perspective of our return to everyday life. From the start of day, take every opportunity to encourage the conditions for making this turning to God and continuing our spiritual progress, firm commitments, concrete resolutions. What would this pilgrimage be good for if we return home unchanged ?
At the start of the march
No peace without justice, no justice without GodWe start with a simple, methodical and illustrated presentation, complete with examples, of what is peace in reality and how it flows from justice and the order that comes from it. Show the natural link between peace in the world and the reign of Our Lord.
No peace without justice, without respect for the natural order. No peace without God, without Christ who gives us the grace necessary to heal our wounded nature, where sin brings disorder and invites other sin. Christ’s grace to help us restore the natural order that is endlessly threatened (refusal of the natural law leads to chaos) ….
It will be useful to outline the nuance between real peace, ordered tranquillity, and politically correct concepts of peace and justice; which far from true charity, only side track problems and do not resolve them.
Middle of the Morning
The Kingdom of Love of The Sacred Heart.This is an important meditation on the Sacred Heart and on the Reign Christ’s Love. This meditation should show the beauty and the deeper sense of the Reign of Christ. Today is the 1st of June, the 1st day of the Month of the Sacred Heart.. We can resume here the doctrine of the Sacred Heart, its origin, its meaning and what it holds for each one of us.
We can talk about the promises made to those who practice devotion to the Sacred Heart, in particular the promise “ I will put my peace in their families.”
End of Morning
This very moment, commit todayWe approach the end of our pilgrimage, we continue with this year’s theme. All the features of the Kingdom of God what we have spoken about will be no more the fine principles if we do not know how to live them in our lives. Our primary concern, the present time, the here and now. As Mother Teresa said, ‘the Future belongs to Divine Providence, the Past belongs to Divine Mercy, the Present is a place of Love. In a similar vein he Catholic writer Paul Bourget told us, “we should live as we think, otherwise sooner or later we finish by thinking as we have lived’. This coherence in our lives is the condition for our inner unity and of the success of our actions and witness, at every moment we should live and act according to natural and Christian principles, according to our Faith.
Beginning of the Afternoon
Has the time come for governments to last for ever ? The Plague of secularism.Draw from the words spoken by Cardinal Pie to Napoleon III “if the time has not come for Jesus Christ to rule, the time has not come either for empires to last”. Here is the staring point for this meditation and instruction. It is about rediscovering the principles of the social doctrine of the Church, a solid base and a ambitious plan for today and for the future. You can show the value of this doctrine as opposed to the fads and ambiguity that we are usually served (human rights, liberalism …) and the secularism which seeks to eliminate God from all public life. Define exactly what is secularism and what are its consequences.
Moving on, encourage concrete social and political action for today’s society, giving concrete examples of what one can do for the social reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ. As this may seem vast and inaccessible, set out the main broad lines of the Church’s Social Doctrine, indicate concrete ideas for action (defending the culture of life, fighting against lies, avoiding all co-operation with evil, engaging in acts of charity, promoting a true and holy Christian Culture: schools, families, scouting …good books to read rather than surging aimlessly on the Internet…) Insist that we must above carry out our civic duty and be competent in our work.
Sermon at Mass
The Kingdom of Christ is nowThe sermon at Mass will resume the theme of year’s pilgrimage and the two main areas of the Kingdom of God to be built. The first is the inner Kingdom of grace already present in the heart of every Christian and in the Church, this doesn’t depend on external conditions, you can be a saint in prison, despite persecution and even under torture….) The other area the influence on society of the Kingdom of God, the social reign of Christ. This all important as it fosters our faith and helps us live more easily our lives of faith ….interest in political and social order is essential if the greatest number of souls are to be saved. On this we all have our roles to play.
Note:
Chapter Leaders, Religious and Seminarians should also prepare short brief instructions on the rosary, Mass, Penance, the Our Father and vocations, these as a supplement to the principal meditations and instructions, to be given whenever possible during the three days, at suitable moments and according to the spiritual rhythm of your chapter.
