Spring Semester with Bishop Sheen led by Isaac Padriga

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WEEK 7: human love

The blessed Virgin Mother is second to our Lord Jesus Christ and is the Mother of her Son’s church. Through the Rosary we reflect on all the joys and sufferings she experienced with her Son, which helps us exemplify a true Human Love for the divine.

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The perfection of Human Love can be seen through the love that Mary has for our blessed Lord. Our Mother embodied what true human love can give to the divine by entrusting everything to God’s will. The Blessed Virgin understands the limitations of Human Love, that she accepted the role to be the Mother of our God. Her love was so great that she had shared the sufferings and joys of our Lord. She is our Mother, the true reflection of God’s love to His people. She exemplifies the true function and nature of a woman and understands what a true woman’s role in life is. And by a woman we can see the perfection of a human love to the divine.

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Resource – “Oremus: A Treasury of Latin Prayer” by Ave Maria Press (pg. 70) and can be also found in “True Devotion to Mary with Preparation for Total Consecration” by St. Louis De Monfort published by TAN-Classics/Books (pg. 238). The Prayer is composed by St. Louis De Monfort.

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• Do you love your Mother? Do you understand the sufferings and joys that she has shared with you? Always love your mother and reflect on the times of suffering and joys that you have with your mother.
• Do you have a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary? Do you talk to her and share your struggles with Her? Pray the rosary and contemplate on the relationship of the blessed virgin and her Beloved Son.
• Always look up to your mother and the Blessed Virgin Mother; for both love you. And if you don’t have a good relationship with your mother, show her kindness and love; for God works through others. If you don’t know your mother or if she had passed, pray for her since prayer is a product of love.

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WEEK 6: Tensions in Marriage

We have tensions in our heart that only God can provide since those tensions are directed to the infinite. And through our relationships with other people, these tensions tend to be painful because love sometimes wounds you like a shot of an arrow from cupid. Love should never be taken back or else it will poison you.

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There’s tension of unity and separation, and there’s tension of longing and satisfaction that could only be solved in heaven by unification of the infinite. The human heart always has those tensions, especially when it comes with relationships. In a relationship, a tension of unity can only exist when they unify the soul, but if they unify the object (the material), the tension of separation can take place. A tension of longingness and satisfaction occurs in the expression of one’s love to another. When love is given, it can never be taken back, and if we take back love we poison ourselves. We start longing for more and start to feel less satisfied, like breathing the same air we have exhaled, suffocating ourselves with the longingness and satisfaction.

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Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue

Lovely Lady dressed in blue, teach me how to pray, God was just your little boy, tell me what to say. Did you lift him up high gently on your knee? Did you sing to him the way mother does to me? Did you hold his hand at night? Did you ever try telling him stories of the world? Oh! And did he cry? Do you really think he cares if I tell him things, little things that happen? And do the angel’s wings make a noise? And can he hear me if I speak low? Does he understand me now? Tell me, for you know. Lovely Lady dressed in blue, teach me how to pray, God was just your little boy and you know the way – Amen.

Resource: “Lord, Prepare My Hands for Battle” Prayer Compilations by Jesse Romero (Pg.56)

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• What are the tensions in your heart? Do you seek unity or separation? Longingness or satisfaction? Be conscious of them and express them to God
• Do you tend to take love back when you give it to others? Do you give love as a transaction? Be mindful of who to give your love to and show perseverance and prudence of expression of your love to others.

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WEEK 5: How men and women love differently

Let us direct ourselves towards the purpose of knowing and loving and how it differs in a man and a woman’s expression of love.

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Knowing and loving are two different faculties of a person that each must be directed to its true purpose. Knowing is directed to the person’s self, for it seeks the truth. Loving is directed outside of the person, for it seeks the good. A man and a woman love differently, for they complement one another, while they both pursue goodness and truth. A man loves differently than a woman does. Men give a reason to love, while women do not.

It is necessary to love an object or person greater than ourselves, for love demands the intellect to direct the good of someone we love. In other words, to love something greater than ourselves may give knowledge of self and truth in order to better seek the good for those we love.

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Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know Thee, And desire nothing save only Thee. Let me hate myself and love Thee. Let me do everything for the sake of Thee. Let me humble myself and exalt Thee. Let me think nothing except Thee. Let me die to myself and live in Thee.
Let me accept whatever happens as from Thee. Let me banish self and follow Thee, And ever desire to follow Thee. Let me fly from myself and take refuge in Thee,
That I may deserve to be defended by Thee. Let me fear for myself, let me fear Thee, And let me be among those who are chosen by Thee. Let me distrust myself and put my trust in Thee. Let me be willing to obey for the sake of Thee.
Let me cling to nothing save only to Thee, And let me be poor because of Thee. Look upon me, that I may love Thee. Call me that I may see Thee, And for ever enjoy Thee. Amen.
(St. Augustine).

Resource: “The Raccolta; prayers and devotions enriched with indulgence” Authorize by The Holy
Sea (Pg. 37)

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• When you love someone or something, what are the demands of its love? Are you loving something, or someone, that is worthy of your love?
• Love takes effort, for you are seeking the good of things in a way that is not naive. Do you truly understand the meaning of loving something or someone?
• Do you seek the truth in what is good? Find the truth of everything that you see and everything that you do, for the good is directed to the truth.
• When you learn of things that are true, do not forget how to love by seeking its good.

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WEEK 4: three kinds of love (eros, philia, & agape)

God Loves you. Knowing the three kinds of love can help us distinguish and better understand the love that God has shown and expressed to all of us. Love is an expression that all of us give, so we must be conscious of their forms.

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Love is such a complex word. From this week’s audio, Bishop Sheen details three expressions, or kinds, of love: Eros, Philia, and Agape. Describing love without being specific to its expression can lead us to its perversion. Understanding the three forms will guide us to establish a relationship with our single, trinitarian creator.

Human love (ie romantic relationships) should not be focused only on sensualism, but rather the true order of attraction to another person. 

The love for humanity (ie love toward the poor, friends in need) should not be self-centered or only sentimental, but rather a true compassion of the heart, regardless of how we feel towards them. 

And, sacrificial love is something that all of us need to understand and to experience, as it is a divine concept & necessary for all Christians to live out.

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Lord Jesus
Lord Jesus, I unite myself to Thy perpetual, unceasing, universal sacrifice. I offer myself to Thee every day of my life and every moment of every day, according to Thy most holy and adorable will. Thou hast been the victim of my salvation, I wish to be the victim of Thy love. Accept my desire, take my offering, graciously hear my prayer. Let me live for love of Thee, let me die for love of Thee; let my last heartbeat be an act of perfect love!
(An Indulgence of 500 days: said once a day)

Source: “The Raccolta; prayers and devotions enriched with indulgence” Authorize by The Holy Sea (Pg. 49)

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• Love a person in such a way that is not a perversion of the secular, but the good of love’s true nature.
• Reflect & act upon your Love for someone in your life, not based on how you feel about them but how they should be loved based on the truth that every person is made in God’s image.
• Ponder and contemplate on sacrificial love (God’s love) in your own life.

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WEEK 3: THE MEANING OF SUFFERING

Our God is a God who loves and suffers for us. In moments of our suffering, He is there right beside us, holding us and embracing us. Be conscious of our Lord at times of distress. Be vigilant, and persevere to the very end.

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Sometimes we misunderstand our own suffering, questioning it as though we are the only ones who suffer and forgetting that suffering is a universal experience. 

And we may forget to ask ourselves, “What does God want me to learn through this suffering?” For every person, suffering has a purpose. God has suffered for us, and it’s okay to bring your sufferings to Him, because He understands your suffering more than you. 

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Use this poem to inspire your prayers this week 🙂

The Benefits of Suffering
By suffering only can we know
The nature of the life we live;
The temper of our souls they show,
How true, how pure, the love we give.
To leave my love in doubt would be
No less disgrace than misery!

I welcome, then, with heart sincere,
The cross my Saviour bids me take;
No load, no trial, is severe,
That’s borne or suffered for His sake:
And thus my sorrows shall proclaim
A love that is worthy of [Jesus] name. Amen

Source: “Poems Every Catholic Should Know” Compiled by Joseph Pearce (Pg. 150) [Poem by: Jeanne Marie De La Motte-Guyon]

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• Be aware of your suffering, and always bring it to our Lord
• Invoke the Lord at times of trial and hardship, and always redirect your mind and heart toward Him.
• Try to help others seek the Lord when they suffer, doing your best to see their experiences through a Christian lens.

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