Jesus gives us His assurance in the scriptures He will faithfully stand and knock at the door of our lives. Jesus will join us for dinner if we invite Him. If we hear Jesus knocking, we would be wise to allow Him in our house and in our lives. As Catholics, we get a heavenly foretaste of the Messianic banquet when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist with a humble spirit and a clean heart. What a special blessing it is to receive Jesus in holy communion every Sunday when Mass is celebrated at the altars of Catholic churches and chapels throughout the world.
Here is Jesus’ message to the Church of Laodicea in the book of Revelation for context:
Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise.
Be earnest, therefore, and repent.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.
I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne.
Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Revelation 3:19-22
Jesus says he will give “the victor” the right to sit with Him on his throne. I think that pretty much sums up the reality of spiritual warfare we find ourselves in today. We are in warfare, no doubt. Jesus says we must repent and earn the victory, like He did.
St. Anthony Mary Claret
St. Anthony Mary Claret earned the victory of sainthood.
How did that happen?
What did this holy bishop do?
How did this saint achieve sanctity in this life?
St. Anthony Mary Claret had a great love for God and neighbor. He kept his heart perpetually close to Jesus in the Church sacraments and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
I learned about St. Anthony Mary Claret while watching a documentary about Fr. Aloysius Ellacuria, CMF on Formed.org titled, “The Angel of Biscay.”
Here is the promo for the Angel of Biscay.
Three Strategies in Spiritual Warfare
These might be the top 3 strategies to use in battle as a good soldier of Christ in spiritual warfare. St. Anthony Mary Claret was devout to them in his life. I would like please point out all three (3) of these ways (or strategies) of St. Anthony Mary Claret are discussed in my 20 Ways of Spiritual of Spiritual Protection for the Family post.
#1 Strategy: Devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist +
#2 Strategy: Go to Confession Routinely +
#3 Strategy: Pray the Holy Rosary +
Did you know there are forty (40) pages written about the sacrament of penance in the Catechism of the Council of Trent? St. Anthony Mary Claret spent countless hours hearing confessions and absolving his parishioners from their sins (Jn 20:23)
“I know that I can offer God no morsel more delicious nor drink more refreshing than the souls that repent before the pulpit or in the confessional.” – St. Anthony Mary Claret
There is immense healing power in the Church sacraments. The grace of God flows out from them. We see the power of God’s grace flowing our from Jesus in the scriptures:
Jesus then asked, “Who touched me?”
While all were denying it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are pushing and pressing in upon you.”
But Jesus said, “Someone has touched me; for I know that power has gone out from me.” Luke 8:45-46
Let it be no surprise that Jesus, the Son of God, cares. Our High Priest in heaven cares for us. But do we care for Him? Do we care for His mother (Jn 19:27)? Do we care for the souls of those who have no one to pray for them? How do we receive Jesus when we receive Him in the Eucharist at Mass? How do we treat others that have been grafted in our lives through the mysterious Providence of God (Prv 16:9)?
For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another, John 3:11
We can only love like Jesus if we allow Him in our lives like the saints did before us.
As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love. John 15:9
Outside of holy communion, we must put in the work to understand who God is (scripture study, prayer, and contemplation). St. Augustine says we cannot love unless someone has loved us first. If we receive holy communion with indifference, we are going to get results that are indifferent to God and His holy angels.
“Woe to the soul that does not have Christ to cultivate it with care to produce the good fruit of the Holy Ghost. Left to itself, it is choked with thorns and thistles; instead of fruit it produces only what is fit for burning.” – St. Macarius
Through the Divine lens of Sacred Scripture, we see that God can see us up in heaven, and He can see very clearly how we are doing on the spiritual battlefield down here on earth and what kind of fruit we are producing for the Kingdom of God in our lives.
Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and asked,
“Do you see anything?”
Looking up he replied,
“I see people looking like trees and walking.” Mark 8:23-24
St. Anthony Mary Claret humbly walked with God in his life (Mic 6:8).
The holy saint prayed three (3) rosaries a day.
His holiness increased to the point where when he would receive holy communion, the Eucharist would remain in him in an incorrupt state. Amazing!
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. John 6:56
Much like the Blessed Virgin Mary before him, St. Anthony Mary Claret’s heart became a human tabernacle for the Lord. When his remains were transferred, his heart was found to be miraculously incorrupt. God Himself declared him a saint.
“If we are steadfast in our faith in Christ and in our love for Him, we win the victory He has won, we receive what He has promised.” – St. Leo the Great
We would be wise to open the door of our hearts and let Jesus and His Blessed Mother in our lives like St. Anthony Mary Claret did. When we invite someone over for dinner, we generally clean up and prepare for their arrival. We should do the same for Jesus. When we invite Jesus and His Mother in our lives, rest assured, they are going to show.
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding. John 2:1-2
Without faith in Jesus, without allowing Him access to our hearts and our lives through the Divine power of the holy sacraments of the Church, we are going to have fruitless results on the battlefield of love for the Kingdom of God. Jesus has told us we cannot handle the battle on our own. We cannot win the battle without Him.
I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. John 15:5-6
Thus, we should do what St. Anthony Mary Claret did.
- Interiorly prepare our souls to receive Jesus in the Eucharist at Sunday Mass.
- Pray a rosary each day for God’s grace to flow in our lives and for others.
- Be a saint of faith, hope and charity for the Kingdom of God.
Holy Rosary
Notice in the preceding gospel verse, Jesus’ Mother is mentioned before the name of Jesus. We see the impact the Blessed Mother’s rosary had in the life of St. Anthony Mary Claret. May the holy rosary have a graceful impact in your life and the lives others throughout the world. Spread the Word about the rosary. The rosary is a holy instrument of salvation given to us by God. St. Anthony Mary Claret, pray for us +
Fr. Don Calloway gives an excellent presentation about the power of the rosary.
The holy rosary is comprised of many holy elements; no one doubts that this devotion is very pleasing to God and the holy Virgin. The devotion of the most holy rosary is powerful enough to transmit all graces and, as we are aware from experience, it has proven to be a remedy during times of war, plagues, hunger and other calamities; in addition, those who have been troubled in body or souls, if they had recourse to the rosary, always received consolation. – St. Anthony Mary Claret
