Talk Notes from Father Dan

Because I am on the run today and had to leave the retreat early, I shall only share a few key points from one talk now, and from three later when I get the information from those from another person.

Father Dan stressed that in the coming times of tribulation and stress, only those who have a strong core of a Catholic lifestyle will be able to withstand the worst persecution the Church has ever seen.

Here are the BASICS Father listed for a Catholic to maintain a life of grace and focus.

I shall put these in a numbered list, as he did.

1. Frequent Confession--the priest called this the sacrament of humility. He noted that frequent confession breaks sin and gives grace to deal with habitual sins.every sin violates the law of justice. God's glory is robbed when we sin and we owe Him justice. Demons know this and are legalistic. they know this and that we cannot pay God back what is due to Him. But, in confession, the legal aspect of sin is broken. And, once you go to confession, no longer does that sin have any legal force in God's justice. Pope Leo X said  that every time you confess a sin from your past, you make reparation for that sin.Reparation makes up part of the grace of confession. We need to make reparation and confessing our sins allows us to start that process. (But we need to think of other means to make reparation for our sins.)
2. Daily meditation for at least 15 minutes must be incorporated in the Catholic lifestyle. This meditation starts with a Scripture passage from the life of Christ or the passages on Mary. Meditation must be centered on Christ and not the self or nothing. Many posts on the blog teach one how to meditate in a Catholic manner. The rosary would provide 15 minutes of meditation.
3. Frequent reception of the Eucharist is a must. The demons hate the Eucharist. Communion fortifies us and gives us tremendous graces.
4. Living a life of the Catholic sacraments, being confirmed, choosing a Catholic partner for marriage. (And raising children as Catholics would be necessary for salvation and personal holiness can grow out of, of course, a good marriage.)
5. A consistent prayer life is absolutely necessary. Father Dan quoted St. Teresa of Avila, paraphrasing her and saying, "He who does not pray will not be saved." He referred to the nine levels of prayer, to which I referred on this blog in the past.
6. So the point is that only those with solid prayer lives will make it through the trials.

to be continued....