7 Lessons From Jesus In The Blessed Sacrament -- For Straight Catholic Men

Of all the gifts that God has given his Church, the greatest is without question the Blessed Sacrament, for it is nothing less than the body, blood, soul and Divinity of Jesus himself. In the Eucharistic host, our Divine Savior dwells among men in his fullness. He is truly God with us—what could be greater than this?

If the Blessed Sacrament is Jesus himself, and holiness is found in imitating Christ, then the Blessed Sacrament is a school of holiness. Today, I want to spend a few moments reflecting on the characteristics of Jesus in the Eucharist and what his presence can teach us about both holiness and masculinity.

1. Humility

In the Blessed Sacrament, we see the profound humility of Jesus Christ. Here, the Eternal Wisdom of God who made all things, the brightness of the Eternal Father, condescends to come among us in the form of the most ordinary food. After all, bread is simple fare, the food of the poor. Unlike a fine cut of meat, bread is almost always eaten as a side that is hardly noticed.

If we are to imitate Christ, we must first and foremost practice humility. The servant is not greater than his Master. We must be content to be unnoticed, unpraised, and unappreciated. We must give all glory to God, choosing to be humble and unassuming—like a piece of bread.

2. Silence

Men have always cherished quiet strength, strength that is demonstrated more by deeds than empty words. In the Eucharistic host, Jesus greets us with complete silence. He is ready to listen to all that we have to say, and he only speaks in return when we have quieted our hearts and are completely silent as he is. And finally, he is ready to act on our behalf if we only have confidence in his promises.

The saints constantly praise the virtue of silence, and we are warned that we will be judged for every idle word. Do we waste words? More than this, do we hear what others are saying? As men, we often struggle to listen, and yet listening is an act of love. Listen to your wife or those others around you who may be desperate for someone to pay attention.

3. Love

Almost every Eucharistic miracle on record has the host turning into the flesh of a human heart. This is not random. In the Blessed Sacrament, Christ’s beating heart burns with love for us, and he longs for our love in return. On the cross, Christ literally died of a broken heart for love of sinful humanity, pouring out his precious blood to win our affection. Yes, more than anything, it is love that Jesus desires most from those whom he has redeemed, and if he could have done anything more to secure it, he would have done so.

Do you love Christ? If so, you will obey him and carry your cross after him. You will imitate him by laying down your life for others in sacrificial love.

4. Vulnerability

In the host, Christ is completely and totally vulnerable. Far too often, he is mistreated and abused, ignored and maligned, treated casually and without dignity. Yet, this is the price he willing to pay to live among his people. No matter how many times he is profaned and trampled upon, literally or figuratively, he continues to come to us again and again, saying “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Do we love in this way? Do we open our hearts to others, even though it may mean the pain of rejection? Do we forgive 70 times 7? We cannot love if we close our hearts in fear. We must be courageously vulnerable—like Christ.

5. Patience

Christ waits patiently for you and I in tabernacles and monstrances around the world. He would wait an eternity for a single visit. He waits for us to repent when we stray; he waits for our words of allegiance and affection; he waits to hear of our joys and sorrows; he waits to answer our deepest desires.

Like Christ, we too must be patient with others, especially with those who least deserve it or who try our patience the most. We must also wait with forgiving hearts for those who have harmed or abandoned us to return.

6. Poverty

During his life on earth, Christ was completely poor. He came to earth with nothing and left with nothing. In the Eucharistic host, he who created the galaxies again comes to us poor and naked. And yet, this poverty is only material, for Jesus comes to us rich in grace and in love. He ardently desires to give us all that we need if only we ask with confidence. He wants to bless us with an abundance of graces, which are the true riches of the soul.

Materialism and greed creep into our hearts so easily. Yet, we are called to follow Christ in poverty and detachment, giving generously to others of all that we have received. Give, and it will be given to you—more than you can ask or hope.

7. Presence

The gift of God’s presence is the greatest gift. To the ancient Israelites, there was no greater calamity than the withdrawing of the presence of the Lord. Likewise, there was no greater comfort than the assurance of his presence.

It is the same today. If we have Jesus, we possess all things; without him, we have nothing. Yet, we do not have to travel far to find the presence of Christ—he is as close as the nearest parish, the fulfillment of the ancient “bread of the presence” in the Jewish temple. Nor is his presence an abstraction or an idea, it is real and tangible to our senses. We Catholics can joyfully and truthfully say, “The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

If we are to imitate Christ, we must be present to those who need us. How many absentee fathers and husbands there are! How many wives and children have been abandoned by the man who is called to lay down his life for them. Are you present to your family? Are your wife and children your priority? If you are a husband and father, your presence is an irreplaceable gift. Be present.

Conclusion

If we imitated Christ in the Blessed Sacrament perfectly, we would be saints. But doing so is not easy. It requires constant repentance and conversion of life; a putting off of the old man and putting on of the new. This is our calling.

I encourage all of you to find an adoration chapel and to contemplate the Blessed Sacrament. Visit Jesus and adore him, asking for the grace to follow and imitate him completely. Pour out your heart to him, tell him your hopes and fears, your wants and needs—and hear him say in return those words of sacrament and salvation, “Lo, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.”

Credits : The Catholic Gentleman 

Corpus Christi 2019 -- Feast Of The Most Holy Body and Blood Of Christ

While most Catholics are familiar with the annual feast reverently called the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), we sometimes need reminding as to the purpose of the celebration.

Origins:

The Feast of Corpus Christi was inspired by God through the heart of a 16-year-old Augustinian nun, St. Juliana (1192-1258), in the diocese of Liege, Belgium. Beginning in 1208, Juliana experienced frequent visions that included a full moon with a stripe across it. Jesus appeared to Juliana and told her that the moon symbolized the Church and the stripe represented the lack of a special feast day to honor the Eucharist. According to Father Michael Muller’s book, “The Blessed Eucharist,” our Lord had four reasons for asking Juliana to pursue adding such a feast day onto the Church calendar: 1. “In order that the Catholic doctrine might receive aid from the institution of this festival at a time when the faith of the world was growing cold and heresies were rife.” 2. “That the faithful who love and seek truth and piety may be enabled to draw from this source of life new strength and vigor to walk continually in the way of virtue.” 3. “That irreverence and sacrilegious behavior towards the Divine Majesty in this adorable Sacrament may, by sincere and profound adoration be extirpated and repaired.” 4) “He bade her announce to the Christian world His will that this feast be observed.”

When, after 20 years, Juliana told others about her visions, many scoffed at and rejected her. A notable exception was the local bishop, Bishop Robert de Thorete (d. 1246), who recognized that the world would benefit from such a celebration and, in 1246, authorized the feast of Corpus Christi within his diocese. Before the first feast day could occur, Bishop de Thorete died, and the potential widespread enthusiasm quickly waned. But nevertheless such a feast would become part of the universal liturgical calendar.

Pope Urban IV:

At the time Juliana made her vision public, there was an archdeacon in the Liege diocese named Jacques Panatleon. Jacques, who favored the feast day, would become Pope Urban IV (r. 1261-64) and as pope in 1264 promoted the celebration. Some at the time argued against a special feast day, while others thought such a celebration should be combined with Holy (Maundy) Thursday. Pope Urban would address both these concerns and lay out the merits for a separate feast day (see sidebar).

In his papal bull Transiturus, the pope decreed that the feast of Corpus Christi would be celebrated annually on the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday. He wrote: “Therefore, upon this holy day, let the faithful with heart and voice sing hymns of joy; upon this memorable day let faith triumph, hope increase, charity burn: let the pious rejoice ... and pure souls leap with joy.” Many parts of the world indeed celebrate Corpus Christi as a holy day of obligation on Thursday after Trinity Sunday. In the United States, the bishops moved the annual feast to the next Sunday.

Processions Begin:

The 12th and 13th centuries were times of increased adoration of the Eucharist. The laity wanted to extend their adoration of the Blessed Sacrament outside the Mass. This was a period centuries before the Church introduced Eucharistic Adoration, the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament that we have today. A procession of the Eucharist, outside the Church, outside the Mass, was a way for Catholics to publicly adore the Eucharist and demonstrate their love to the world. The feast of Corpus Christi was considered an ideal day for such a procession.

Corpus Christi Today:

Although not mandated, some parishes today continue to demonstrate their adoration for the Eucharist by carrying the Blessed Sacrament down city streets and into neighborhoods. Cardinal Francis Arinze, writing about Eucharistic processions, noted:

“They [Christians] should not allow angry demonstrators, supporters of political factions, and sports fans to have the monopoly of processions. They should not hesitate to get up and be counted for Christ.” The Corpus Christi procession is a unique opportunity to demonstrate our core belief and expose our most cherished possession to people who have no idea about Christ in the Eucharist.

We live in a world of sense and reality; the Eucharist is both reality and a divine mystery. We might not be able to explain the mystery, but we know in our heart and in our soul that here is Jesus. He is reality. He is with us. Through the Eucharist he assures us of eternity, a heavenly place beyond our world of sense. On Corpus Christi we are called to renew our belief in this mystery, to praise, adore and even publicly acclaim our Eucharistic Jesus in a special way.

Credits : Our Sunday Visitor 

Low Sunday Is Now Divine Mercy Sunday

All These Years, Decades, and Centuries -- The Second Sunday After Easter was known as Low Sunday.

But, Not Anymore it is now known as Divine Mercy Sunday.

Here is the Low Down as to how that happened.

Now, we have Divine Mercy Sunday and that brings along with it another whole set of expectations and devotionals.

What happened? Where’s our break? Why a Divine Mercy Sunday?

The answer isn’t too complicated. It only involves two world wars, rampant nihilism, a Polish religious, a pope of mercy, and the third Christian millennium!

Two world wars. In the Great War of the early twentieth century, the entire world found itself in an historically unparalleled state of worldwide combat. The nationalism that was driving the conflict and its accompanying trench warfare, chemical attacks, and nascent air bombings only brought unprecedented destruction to the human family.

Peace was attempted in 1918 but an intemperate diplomacy, still driven by nationalism and a desire to punish the vanquished, only led to further tension and a second worldwide conflict seemingly hell bent on surpassing the first in the devastation it would inflict upon the human race.

The Second World War would ignobly conclude with the ghastly dropping of two atomic bombs on two cities full of homes and parks, families, and children.

Rampant nihilism. Such overwhelming wreckage and slaughter of human life traumatized the human spirit. People were both numb and in denial over what had happened, what they had participated in, or what they refused to denounce.

In a false comfort to weary souls, many concluded that the appalling series of events were just an evil without reason. And so, in the absence of rational explanation, nihilism pervaded as its own poisonous gas and humanity desperately breathed it in.

Nihilism convinced the survivors of humanity’s evils: There is no explanation, no meaning, no purpose, and no value. It’s all nothing.

The person intoxicated by such a nihilism runs the risk of living as an empty soul, moved only by momentary pleasure or self-interest. Transcendental experiences are explained away and relationships are marked by tension and a will to power. Life is just a flow of subjective satisfactions lacking any real sense of rationality.

A Polish Religious. In the throws of these world wars and within the arena of the competitive spirits of nationalism and nihilism that sought to possess the human soul, a simple Catholic religious sister, hidden away from the world, received a liberating message for the human family.

The mystic, Faustina Kowalska, was given a powerful answer “ever ancient, ever new” to the turmoil and sufferings of humanity. Jesus appeared to her in her moments of prayer and shared with her the proclamation of Divine Mercy. For a desert, it would have been an ocean. For shadows, it would have been the sun. For humanity, the Divine Mercy was (and is) a declaration of love and a hope.

As Pope St. John Paul II taught: “It is this love which must inspire humanity today, if it is to face the crisis of the meaning of life, the challenges of the most diverse needs and, specially, the duty to defend the dignity of every human person.”

A pope of mercy. It would be exactly John Paul who would reveal and heavily endorse this message of Divine Mercy to the universal church. This backing included changing Low Sunday to the Divine Mercy Sunday. The pontiff even purposely waited to canonize Faustina so that she would be the first saint of the twenty-first century.

The third Christian millennium. In the Mass proclaiming her a saint, John Paul explained: “Sister Faustina’s canonization has a particular eloquence: by this act I intend today to pass this message on to the new millennium.”

And so, the third Christian millennium began with a canonization of the Divine Mercy.

In asking why we lost our Low Sunday, therefore, the response is painfully obvious. The human family is still in tremendous need of healing and hope, of both receiving mercy and sharing compassion with one another.

As good things often require sacrifice, so the comfort of a quiet and relaxing post-Easter Sunday now gives way to the celebration of a Divine Mercy Sunday with all its appropriate fanfare and devotions.

Low Sunday now bows to the Divine Mercy Sunday so that forgiveness and tenderness are proclaimed and the world hears a different message than one of emptiness or hate and is shown a path to reconciliation and peace.

Credits : Crux Now


Note : A Gorgeous Web Page On The Divine Mercy

http://www.thethirdhour.com/

Thirty Day Prayer To The Blessed Mother In Honor Of The Sacred Passion Of Our Lord Jesus Christ

By devoutly reciting this prayer to the Blessed Virgin
Mary for thirty days, we may mercifully hope to obtain
our prayer intention. This prayer is recommended as a
proper devotion for every day in Lent, and all the
Fridays throughout the year.

Ever glorious and blessed Mary,
Queen of Virgins,
Mother of Mercy,
hope and comfort of dejected and desolate souls,
through that sword of sorrow
which pierced thy tender heart
whilst thine only Son,
Christ Jesus, our Lord,
suffered death and ignominy on the cross;
through that filial tenderness
and pure love He had for thee,
grieving in thy grief,
whilst from His cross He recommended thee
to the care and protection
of His beloved disciple, St. John,
take pity, I beseech thee,
on my poverty and necessities;
have compassion on my anxieties and cares;
assist and comfort me
in all my infirmities and miseries,
of what kind soever.

Thou art the Mother of Mercies,
the sweet comforter
and only refuge of the needy and the orphan,
of the desolate and afflicted.
Cast, therefore,
an eye of pity on a miserable,
forlorn child of Eve,
and hear my prayer;
for since,
in just punishment of my sins,
I find myself encompassed by a multitude of evils,
and oppressed with much anguish of spirit,
wither can I fly for more secure shelter,
O amiable Mother of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
than under the wings of thy maternal protection?

Attend, therefore,
I beseech thee,
with an ear of pity and compassion,
to my humble and earnest request.

I ask it,
through the bowels of mercy of thy dear Son;
Through that love and condescension wherewith
He embraced our nature, when,
in compliance with the divine Will,
thou gavest thy consent, and whom,
after the expiration of nine months
thou didst bring forth
from the chaste enclosure of thy womb,
to visit the world,
and bless it with His presence.

I ask it,
through that anguish of mind
wherewith thy beloved Son,
our dear Saviour,
was overwhelmed on the Mount of Olives,
when He besought His eternal Father
to remove from Him, if possible,
the bitter chalice of His future passion.

I ask it,
through the threefold repetition
of His prayers in the garden,
whence afterwards,
with dolorous steps and mournful tears,
thou didst accompany Him to the doleful theatre
of His death and sufferings.

I ask it,
through the welts and bruises of His virginal flesh,
occasioned by the cords and whips
wherewith He was bound and scourged,
when stripped of His seamless garment,
for which His executioners afterwards cast lots.

I ask it,
through the scoffs and ignominies
by which He was insulted;
the false accusations and unjust sentence
by which He was condemned to death,
and which He bore with heavenly patience.

I ask it,
through His bitter tears and bloody sweat;
His silence and resignation;
His sadness and grief of heart.

I ask it,
through the blood which trickled
from His royal and Sacred Head,
when struck with the scepter of a reed
and pierced with His crown of thorns.

I ask it,
through the excruciating torments He suffered,
when His hands and feet were fastened
with gross nails to the tree of the cross.

I ask it,
through His vehement thirst,
and bitter potion of vinegar and gall.

I ask it,
through His dereliction on the cross
when He exclaimed,
"My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken me?"

I ask it,
through His mercy extended to the good thief,
and through His recommending
His precious soul and spirit
into the hands of His eternal Father
before He expired, saying, "It is consummated."

I ask it,
through the blood mixed with water,
which issued from His Sacred Side
when pierced with a lance,
and whence a flood of grace
and mercy has flowed to us.

I ask it,
through His immaculate life,
bitter passion and ignominious death on the cross,
at which nature itself was thrown into convulsions,
by the bursting of rocks,
rending of the veil of the Temple,
the earthquake,
and the darkness of the sun and moon.

I ask it,
through His descent into hell,
where He confronted the Saints
of the old law with His presence,
and led the captivity captive.

I ask it,
through His glorious victory over death,
when He arose again to life on the third day,
and through the joy
which His appearance for forty days after gave thee,
His blessed Mother,
His Apostles,
and the rest of His Disciples;
when in thine and their presence
He miraculously ascended into heaven.

I ask it,
through the grace of the Holy Spirit,
infused into the hearts of His Disciples,
when He descended upon them
in the form of fiery tongues,
and by which they were inspired with zeal
in the conversion of the world,
when they went to preach the gospel.

I ask it,
through the awful appearance of thy Son,
at the last dreadful day,
when He shall come to judge
the living and the dead,
and the world, by fire.

I ask it,
through the compassion He bore thee in His life,
and the unspeakable joy
thou didst feel at thine assumption into heaven,
where thou art eternally absorbed
in the sweet contemplation of His divine perfections.

O glorious and ever blessed Virgin!
comfort the heart of thy supplicant,
by obtaining for me,

(Mention your prayer intention here...)

And as I am persuaded my Divine Saviour
doth honour thee as His beloved Mother,
to whom He refuses nothing,
because thou asketh nothing contrary to His honour,
so let me speedily experience
the efficacy of thy powerful intercession,
according to the tenderness of thy maternal affection,
and His filial loving heart,
who mercifully granteth the requests
and complieth with the desires
of those that love and fear Him.

Wherefore, O most blessed Virgin,
beside the object of my present petition,
and whatever else I may stand in need of,
obtain for me also of thy dear Son,
our Lord and our God,
a lively faith,
firm hope,
perfect charity,
true contrition of heart,
unfeigned tears of compunction,
sincere confession,
condign satisfaction,
abstinence from sin,
love of God and my neighbour,
contempt of the world,
patience to suffer affronts
and ignominies, nay, even,
if necessary,
an opprobrious death itself,
for love of thy Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Obtain likewise for me,
O sacred Mother of God,
perseverance in good works,
performance of good resolutions,
mortification of self-will,
a pious conversation through life,
and, at my last moments,
strong and sincere repentance,
accompanied by such a lively
and attentive presence of mind,
as may enable me to receive the last Sacrament
of the Church worthily,
and die in thy friendship and favour.

Lastly, obtain through thy Son,
I beseech thee,
for the souls of my parents,
brethren,
relatives and benefactors,
both living and dead,
life everlasting,
from the only Giver of every good and perfect gift,
the Lord God Almighty,
to Whom be all power now and forever.

Amen.

Credits : Catholic Online 

The Sufferings Of The Blessed Mother

"Stabat mater dolorosa juxta Crucem lacrimosa dum pendebat Filius."  "At the Cross her station keeping, stood the mournful Mother weeping, close to her Son to the last."

This 13th century Catholic hymn, sung between the Stations of the Cross and as the Sequence for the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, expresses the sentiments of the saddest moment in the history of salvation.  "Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother." (John 19: 25).

I differ with those who assume that the Blessed Mother stood at the Cross of Jesus in a stoic manner without expressing profound emotion.  Years ago, many were the critics who disagreed with Franco Zeffirelli's depiction of an inconsolable Mary at the foot of the Cross in his celebrated film "Jesus of Nazareth."  I concur with Zeffirelli.

"Stabat mater dolorosa juxta Crucem lacrimosa dum pendebat Filius."

Sometimes people seem to have difficulty identifying with Mary's steadfast faith and fidelity. They have the impression that everything was very easy for Mary because she was conceived without Original Sin.

Not everything was clear for the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Just as in any manifestation of the divine, each profound moment of light is followed by long and trying times of darkness.

Yes, Mary was enveloped in the light of God's presence during the Annunciation.  However, this brilliance of clarity was followed by the night of faith.

She fulfilled her unconditional "yes" by embracing the many trials and difficulties of her journey towards eternity.  The Passion of Jesus Christ was the greatest trial of them all.

Mary's fidelity was heroic because her faith was heroic.

"When everything seemed absurd, she responded 'Amen' to what was so absurd and the absurdity disappeared.  To the silence of God she answered, 'Let it be," and silence was transformed into presence.  Instead of demanding a guarantee of veracity, Mary clung indefatigably to the will of God; she remained in peace, and doubt turned into sweetness" (Ignacio Larra'aga, The Silence of Mary, p. 92).

"Stabat mater dolorosa juxta Crucem lacrimosa dum pendebat Filius."

The Mother standing at the foot of the Cross seems absurd and incomprehensible.

How could the Father permit such suffering?

"To believe is to trust.  To believe is to let go.  To believe, above all, is to adhere, to surrender.  In a word, to believe is to love" (Ignacio Larra'aga, The Silence of Mary, p. 63).

It is precisely in difficult and challenging times that we must look to the witnesses of faith.  Mary is the greatest of them all.  Through her pilgrimage of faith, she walked into the night of faith.  Not everything was clear for Mary, but she continued to trust and she continued to obey.  She abandoned herself entirely into God's loving and providential care.  Full understanding only came to her at Pentecost.  It was there that she understood all the things that she had cherished in her heart.

"Stabat mater dolorosa juxta Crucem lacrimosa dum pendebat Filius."

Let us turn to Mary, our Mother most Sorrowful.  Let us allow her to embrace us with her love.  Let us run to her and seek in her the maternal strength and consolation that we all need to walk through the things in our lives that seem absurd and incomprehensible.

Credits : Catholic Online 

Preparing For Lent -- PRAYING THE HOLY ROSARY

The season of Lent and the start of the preparation for Easter begins on Ash Wednesday which is March 6th, and the call for increases in prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (charity) will be central to Catholics around the world.

The season of Lent is a time for developing new prayer patterns or spiritual growth patterns that can become a habit, because as scientists have proven the human brain needs to repeat an activity for 30 days in order for it to become a habit.

I got to thinking that in the thirty days leading up to the start of Lent, we could all dedicate ourselves to forming a new prayer habit ahead of time by praying the Holy Rosary daily. I know that some Catholics may already dedicate time in prayer of the Rosary in this way in a daily fashion, but others have not.

The biggest obstacle to praying this important ritual of the Catholic faith is the same reason why we do not generally get to do most things in life: time. The frequent expression, “I don’t have time” or “how can I find the time” to pray the Rosary are common reasons why many people struggle with this prayer devotion.

The days from now until Ash Wednesday present an opportunity to find the time to begin this devotion to the Holy Rosary, because prayer, especially of the Rosary, is sorely needed with the utter despair and darkness in our world. The Holy Rosary has been credited with healing broken people, suspending natural law, and finding peaceful solutions to conflicts throughout our history.

The devotion to the Rosary takes anywhere from fifteen minutes to twenty-five minutes depending on your individual pace and level of reflection on the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary, the events in the life of Jesus Christ which serve as the “road map” for each respective day of this ritual prayer. It is to be prayed reverently and the repetition of the devotion has been known to bring comfort to those who pray it daily.

The time can be found either early in the morning before your day begins, in the evening when your day has finally calmed down, or in the spaces between depending on your lifestyle, vocation, or obligations. The timing might have to be different for part of the week versus the weekend, or vice versa. It might require you to find different time intervals based on the day of the week. It is important that you stick with whatever routine time you select.

In my own faith journey, my dedication to prayer of the Holy Rosary has shifted. I had some jobs that required driving for long periods of time in the car where I would pray the Rosary in the car. I have held other jobs where I would pray the Rosary on my lunch hour, or while commuting on a train where some days that would be the morning focus, and other days it was part of my evening commute prayer routine.

I have had other points in my life where the mornings were too busy, so I would dedicate time in the late afternoon to the Rosary. It has to be what works for you based upon your unique situation, but the calm and the serenity that it brings to me is irreplaceable.

I know those who have a daily devotion to the Rosary as I do will read this and think that they already have a routine down that works. I would challenge those people to think about how they can utilize their time praying the Rosary and “level up”. That can be by dedicating the Rosary to a different intention daily. It could be by a deeper meditation on the Mysteries, or by utilizing scripture and executing a Scriptural Rosary. It can also be that you expand that time to an hour of prayer or 90 minutes of prayer and include the Stations of The Cross or a Novena to one of the saints during that time of ritual prayer.

The Holy Rosary is a powerful prayer devotion which will connect you to the Gospel messages in a profound way. It will enlighten you to know the love that the Virgin Mother Mary has for you and your family. The daily devotion to the Holy Rosary will help you to remain at peace amidst the chaos of our daily lives. The devotion will bring you closer to Jesus through Our Blessed Mother.

The dedication to daily prayer of the Rosary now in the days leading up to Lent will provide you with a much more profoundly enriching preparation for the Resurrection of Our Lord on Easter Sunday. It will help you to prepare for the days of fasting, the ordering of your time for additional prayer, and to fill your heart with a dedication to charity for others.

It is my sincere hope that you will make the commitment to daily prayer of the Holy Rosary for the Church, your parish, your community, your family, and the whole world. Our fallen world needs your prayers now more than ever.

I pray that Our Blessed Mother brings you the maternal love you need to make this dedication to the Holy Rosary. I pray that Our Lady Queen of the Rosary blesses you and your families and brings you closer to Jesus, Our Savior and Redeemer. May God bless you.

Credits : Frank J. Maduri From Catholic 365. 

40 Days At The Foot Of The Cross - A GREAT DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR LENT

FYI -- A Must Read.

https://mycatholic.life/books/40-days-at-the-foot-of-the-cross/

Saving The Oldest Catholic Church in the US Southern State Of Georgia

A white wooden church sits beside a lonely two-lane highway in Sharon, Georgia, a town of 130 souls. It’s the oldest Catholic church in the state but no longer has any parishioners — the last Catholic there died a few months ago. In 2014, the building, a successor to the original structure, was closed for any further services.

Bill deGolian stands near the historic marker for the first church and cemetery in Georgia.

But over the past five years, a group of laypeople from Atlanta — more than 100 miles away — has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to save the church, which has been dubbed a historic “place in peril” by the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. They’ve shored up the foundation and the joists overhead, replaced the leaking roof, repaired the towering windows, restored the wood-framed Stations of the Cross and removed lead paint. They’ve also restored the state’s oldest Catholic cemetery, Locust Grove Cemetery, reached by driving down an old dirt carriage road to a grove of oak trees.

“It’s so important, not just for kids growing up but for Catholics generally to know the Catholic Church, how it got started in Georgia, and this old church in Sharon is a wonderful throwback to the early days,” said Bill deGolian, an Atlanta-based lawyer and a leader in the lay fundraising and restoration efforts. A long-term goal is to build a heritage and retreat center near the site.

Church Beginnings:

Once a station church, Purification Church for the past two years has been under the supervision of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, a change that has boosted fundraising and volunteer efforts. The archdiocese is not contributing financially to the project, which now permits a Christmas Mass and a Mass on the Feast of the Purification (Presentation), as well as an All Souls’ Day Mass in Locust Grove Cemetery, where a new altar sits amid restored grave markers.


Locust Grove Cemetery was established in 1794.

The story of this once-abandoned cradle of Catholicity begins in 1790, when English Catholics from Maryland migrated with their slaves to Georgia in search of land. Prior to the American Revolution, Catholicism had been banned in the colony of Georgia. They were followed by French Catholics fleeing the revolution in France and the slave revolt in Haiti. Irish settlers joined them. Through the years, these Catholic families established the state’s first Catholic community in what is now Georgia’s least populated county. They started Locust Grove Cemetery in 1794 and built a log-cabin church beside it in 1801. About two decades later, the Sisters of St. Joseph opened Locust Grove Academy, the state’s first Catholic school. The log church was replaced with a larger frame structure. Eventually, the school and the church were rebuilt in nearby Sharon, where a town had developed after the railroad came through. In 1883, the current church was built.

Recovering History:

For years, deGolian and his wife, B.J., had driven past the church on the way to their second home in Washington, Georgia. From the outside, with its simple lines and clapboard frame, Purification Church looks like one of hundreds of the country Baptist or Methodist churches that dot the backroads of Georgia. Except for its bell tower, nothing is distinctive or particularly Catholic about Purification Church’s architecture.

One day, deGolian and his wife decided to stop to read the historic marker on the highway in front of the church. They learned of the building’s history and later discovered that Mass was no longer celebrated there. “We thought, ‘We’ve got to fix that,'” he said.

The Catholic community’s  history here is intertwined with the legacy of slavery in Georgia. Many of the original community members were farmers who owned enslaved peoples. Friends of Purification hired an archeologist and cadaver dogs to survey the  Locust Grove Cemetery. The dogs discovered unmarked graves — likely the graves of slaves owned by the parishioners. Those graves now are marked with small stakes and red ribbons. DeGolian said his group intends to mark those graves properly, but exactly how is a delicate matter, since the people buried are unknown. However, the archdiocesan archives of the parish show that not only were slaves baptized at Purification Church, but they were also married there.

Days before Christmas last year, Fred and Jean Andrews were part of a crew of volunteers preparing the church for Mass. They are parishioners at the closest Catholic church to Purification, St. Joseph’s Church in Washington, 15 miles away. Both black Catholics, the Andrews’ family roots do not go back to Locust Groves’ early days. Still, the retired couple spoke approvingly that black and white Catholics worshipped together and were buried beside one another.

“It’s the beginning of the Catholic faith in Georgia,” said Jean Andrews. “This is it!” Fred Andrews said, “We shouldn’t lose it.” His wife added, “And all the souls are here with us.”

Credits : Our Sunday Visitor, February 2019 

Easter 2019 Celebrating Life From Ashes

In our contemporary world so full of tragedy, violence, and harm, many choose desolation and despair. Today, however, the Christian believer - breaking the spell of darkness - proclaims a simple yet heartfelt Easter “Alleluia!”

In opposition to the distress and anguish of a fallen world, the believer knows and announces that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. This powerful truth gives the Christian both light and radiating hope.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the heart of the Christian message. The entire gospel and the possibility of living as disciples who follow Jesus’ way of love and mercy depend on the resurrection: They rise or fall based on this singular event.

As Saint Paul wrote in his First Letter to the Corinthians: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

All of Jesus’ teachings, miracles, signs, and healings are completed and made credible by his resurrection from the dead. By imploding death on itself, Jesus Christ manifests his power over sin and its consequences and he demonstrates his authority over the circumstances of life.

On account of this reality, the believer knows in her heart that she can trust him, that he is good, and that his merciful kindness will triumph. Regardless of the state of affairs, and the hurt or confusion that might accompany them, the Christian knows that all will end well - either in this life or the next - for those who love God.

There are some who have attempted to diminish the claims of the resurrection. They argue that the event was a spiritual rather than a bodily resurrection. But such an assertion contradicts itself. The spirit of the Lord Jesus did not rise and leave his body behind in the tomb or anywhere else.

This would not have been a resurrection. Rather, the Lord’s spirit was reunited with his body and his body did rise. This was attested to by countless witnesses and by Jesus’ own insistence to have fellowship and eat with his disciples so that they would know that he was not a phantasm but a real person risen from the dead.

This is the faith of the Christian. It is not a naïve belief nor a creed based on cleverly devised myths. Christian believers do not rely on fantasies or wishful thinking.

Faith in the resurrection is grounded on an historical event and takes the Christian into the trenches of life. There is no room for simple-mindedness or misplaced fideism. No Christian, true to her faith, is a patsy for anything.

In the way in which she lives her life, the Christian believer displays the validity and real-life significance of the resurrection.

The knowledge of Jesus Christ’s victory over sin and death summons the believer onto a path of mercy and benevolence. Living as a daughter of the resurrection calls the Christian out of herself and a materialistic worldview and into a marvelous, eternal horizon of beauty and goodness.

The Christian, therefore, hopes beyond herself and the things of this world and finds meaning and purpose even in the midst of disappointment, disaster, and adversity.

When it would be more satisfying to seek vengeance or write people off, the Christian is called to see something more in her neighbor and work towards reconciliation. When times would encourage and even reward pride, vanity, and greed, the believer names these bad spirits and labors toward humility, charity, and generosity.

When bad things happen and it would be easier to succumb to nihilism - “it’s all evil and without meaning” - or skepticism - “there is no explanation” - the Christian looks to the glory of the Resurrection and prays, seeking answers and illumination into God’s providence.

In this way, the believer lives according to her Paschal faith, rejecting the empty show of this world and avoiding the lure of evil, and seeks to live in the freedom and glory of the Lord’s resurrection.

And so, as Christian believers throughout the world celebrate this Easter Sunday, they rejoice over an historical event: The Lord is truly Risen!

And they desire to deepen in their love for him as they renew again their commitment to follow him in the way of the resurrection, in the way of love, mercy and peace.

Credits : Crux Now 

Our Lady Of Perpetual Help -- She definitely does not let go of you

Friday, June 27, was the feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. I prefer the title “Our Mother of Perpetual Help.” The great feast came about on account of a miraculous icon  of the Blessed Mother holding her divine Child. I am sure you are all familiar with this painting. It is very powerful and the original was the source of many miraculous cures, physical and spiritual. We do well to recite the Memorare while contemplating this icon, the prayer and the image of Our Lady’s sorrowful maternal gaze complement each other beautifully.

As our Queen, she cradles the royal Child Jesus in her left arm while her right hand gently clasps the Savior’s little hands. A single sandal dangles from one of His bare feet in anticipation of the welcome He would give to the nails that would pierce them. Yet, the face of Jesus is more mature than His little frame should allow. It is the way of the icon. The icon painter follows a regimen that is laid out by a long tradition of masters. The idea is to teach divine truth in the work of art. In the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Mary is central. On account of its similarity with Saint Luke’s painting of Our Lady and Child (the Moslem Turks ripped the original to pieces when they took over Constantinople in 1453) icon scholars believe that the original painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was based on a copy of Saint Luke’s painting. Our Lady is looking out straight ahead in the picture. Her eyes seem to be pleading for her Son, whom she knew was to die a terrible death in atonement for sin. The Child Jesus is turned toward one of the angels, Michael, who holds forth a cross like a standard; the other angel, Gabriel, carries the spear. Some interpret the face of Our Lord as expressing fear. I think that they are right.

The central figure in eastern iconography, be it the Theotokos, the Hagia Sophia (the Son of God as Wisdom), or a saint, looms larger than the other figures in the painting, if there are any. There is in fact disproportion between the central figure, whose face is always luminous, rather than illumined, and whoever else is honored in the icon. With Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Our Lord is smaller than would be the case if the artist intended to draw a “picture.” What one immediately sees in looking at an icon is that the sanctity of the person drawn comes from within.  To be sure, westerners must be educated when it comes to viewing an icon; the image is not meant to be gazed at for created beauty, but read for enlightenment of Faith. Icons reveal divine mystery more than just what appears to the physical eye.

The history of this painting, its origin,  its journeys, its miracles, its survival of persecution, its popularity, and its life in Rome for the past six centuries, is wonderful. No one knows who painted it. That is because it was the work of an eastern Catholic artist and icons are never signed. It is believed to have been composed in the thirteenth century in Crete. Notice, I chose to use the word composed rather than drawn. As I said, icons are meant to be read. Sharing the scene with Our Lady, whose title Mother of God is written beside her in abbreviated Greek letters, and Jesus, are the two angels, Michael and Gabriel, who are also named in abbreviated Greek characters The painting was a treasure cherished by the faithful of the Greek island who came to venerate it where it hung above the main altar of a cathedral, perhaps in the capital city of Candia.

Near the end of the fifteenth century, a wealthy Venetian merchant managed to steal the painting and, hiding it in his possessions, he took it to Italy where he planned to sell it. However, while he was on business in Rome he became very ill. When it appeared that he would not recover, he somewhat repented for having taken the icon and, apparently, made a resolution to bestow it to a church. As he was dying he revealed to a friend where he had hid the work. Strangely, however, and no doubt providentially (for its original home in Crete was soon after overrun by the Turks), he asked his friend to give the image to any church in Rome. That is how the icon arrived at the Augustinian Church of Saint Matthew in the Eternal City. However, that did not happen right away. After the death of the “good thief” his friend showed the painting to his wife. The woman would not part with it. Her husband proved to be a wimp and he failed to fulfill the request of his dying friend out of fear of upsetting his wife. His wife’s father also got involved, encouraging his daughter to keep it, for it was truly an exquisite work of art and would be worth a lot of money.  It took an apparition of Our Lady to this woman’s daughter and mother to convince her that she must let the holy icon go. Our Lady said to the little girl: “Go and tell your mother and your grandfather: Our Lady of Perpetual Help bids you to take her away from your house; otherwise, you will all die.” There you have it, Mary herself chose the title Our Lady of Perpetual Help! The devil tried again and again, even using a sceptical neighbor, to prevent the icon from leaving the merchant’s house. But he was vanquished in the end and the image was eventually enshrined in the humble Church of Saint Thomas, near the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on the Esquiline hill.

There were many miraculous cures associated with the icon and the more these favors were publicized the more pilgrims came to pray before Our Lady’s image. In fact, on the very day it was enshrined in the Church of Saint Thomas a poor paralyzed man, praying before the icon, was instantly cured. For three hundred years the painting graced the Church of Saint Thomas.  With the foreign occupation of Rome in 1798, and the desecration of thirty of the city’s churches by Napoleon’s revolutionary forces, Our Lady’s icon was taken out of the church before the vandals could destroy it.  It was hidden with the Augustinian friars at their monastery, but the church of Saint Matthew, along with twenty other Roman churches, was desecrated and burned to the ground.

Over time, sad to say, the painting, hiding in exile as it were, began to be taken for granted. So much taken for granted, that even the friars lost interest in venerating the miraculous image.  It had lost its charm so to speak, and this was on account of the new generation of monks’ disbelief. After sixty-eight years something astounding happened to change all that .

Saint Alphonsus’ Redemptorists would champion the miraculous icon and help make it more popular than ever. Not just in Rome, where the original still remains, but all over the whole world. No holy image graces more homes and chapels and churches than Our lady of Perpetual Help.

Credits : The Slaves Of The Immaculate Heart Of Mary 

THE SPIRITUAL WORKS OF SAINT BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX

Some Letters Of Saint Bernard Of Clairvaux Part 1 Of 2 A Classic Catholic Audio Book

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw9P4_bnmTk

Sermons Of Saint Bernard Of Clairvaux For Advent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQYHtXemD0c

Saint Bernard Of Clairvaux The Wonder Worker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7Nhlz_DBfs

Saint Bernard Of Clairvaux Homilies For Christmas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-tvVAWEtmk

Our Lady Help Of Christians -- Patroness Of Australia In More Ways Than One

The traditional image of Mary Help of Christians has frequently been adapted to emphasise her patronal link with Australia. The image being used in this resource is no exception. While following the traditional form, the artwork has tried to give the image a more contemporary appearance.

As has become customary, the map of Australia is introduced at Mary’s feet and the Southern Cross shines in the night sky behind her. The colours have been chosen partly to echo the Australian Green and Gold, and partly to use the image of the Australian sun: A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman robed with the sun… (Rev 12:1). Finally, for the first time, an open hand reaching out to help her children has replaced the royal sceptre of power in Mary’s right hand. This, it was felt, might have a greater resonance with contemporary Australia without destroying the beauty of the traditional image. The significance of Mary as Queen of Heaven is adequately expressed in the crown she wears.

History of the Feast:

The first provincial synod of the Church in Australia took place in September 1844. It was a relatively small affair: Archbishop Polding of Sydney and the new bishops of Adelaide and Hobart met with about half the three-dozen pioneer priests in the country. Among their decisions, the Church in Australia was placed under the patronage of the Virgin Mary invoked by the title Help of Christians. The Holy See confirmed this in 1852.

The choice of Mary Help of Christians may well derive from the first Catholic chaplain in Sydney, Fr J.J. Therry, who dedicated his church to St Mary in November 1821. At this time the feast of Mary Help of Christians was new and generated considerable interest.

Pope Pius V first introduced the title Help of Christians into the Litany of Loretto after a Christian victory in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Early in the 19th century, Napoleon occupied Rome, annexed the Papal States and imprisoned Pope Pius VII. In thanksgiving for the pope’s release and restoration in Rome on 24 May 1814, the feast of Mary Help of Christians was introduced to the Roman calendar on that day.

Fr Therry was ordained in Ireland in 1815 at a time when the Irish Church was quickly adopting devotions to Mary Help of Christians. Our celebration of Mary Help of Christians as our patronal feast therefore symbolises the Roman and Irish heritage which is the foundation of the Catholic Church in Australia.

Mary Help of Christians was adopted as patron of the new Church of Australia at a significant time in our history. British settlement was just over fifty years old, the transportation of convicts was coming to an end, and the first elections in Australian history had been held in 1843. Issues of land, immigration and education had begun to surface and the Church was involved in these social problems. In 1843 Archbishop Polding inaugurated the first Catholic apostolic meeting with aboriginal people in Moreton Bay.

In 2001, the centenary year of Australian Federation, we confront many of the same social problems and the Church has the same need to witness to the values of the gospel. The task of evangelising the Australian Culture is more urgent and daunting than ever. Today recourse to our national patron, Mary Help of Christians, is as relevant and necessary as it ever has been.

The Cross, The Eucharist, and The Blessed Mother

On Saturday, March 3, 2018, Pope Francis announced that a new memorial would be celebrated on the Monday after Pentecost Sunday and entitled “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.”  Henceforth, this memorial is added to the General Roman Calendar and is to be universally celebrated throughout the Church.

In instituting this memorial, Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, said:

This celebration will help us to remember that growth in the Christian life must be anchored to the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and to the Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Redeemed, the Virgin who makes her offering to God.

“Anchored” to the Cross, the Eucharist, and the Blessed Virgin Mary who is both “Mother of the Redeemer” and “Mother of the Redeemed.”  What beautiful insights and inspiring words from this holy Cardinal of the Church.

The Gospel chosen for this memorial presents to us the holy image of the Blessed Mother standing before the Cross of her Son.  While standing there, she heard Jesus say the words, “I thirst.” He was given some wine on a sponge and then declared, “It is finished.”  Jesus’ Blessed Mother, the Mother of the Redeemer, stood as a witness as the Cross of her Son became the source of the the redemption of the World.  As He took that last drink of wine, He completed the institution of the New and Eternal Passover Meal, the Holy Eucharist.

Additionally, just prior to Jesus expiring, Jesus declared to His mother that she would now be the “Mother of the Redeemed,” that is, the mother of each member of the Church.  This gift of Jesus’ mother to the Church was symbolized by Him saying, “Behold, your son…Behold, your mother.”

As we celebrate this new and beautiful universal memorial within the Church, ponder your relationship to the Cross, to the Eucharist and to your heavenly mother.  If you are willing to stand by the Cross, gaze at it with our Blessed Mother, and witness Jesus pour forth His Precious Blood for the salvation of the world, then you are also privileged to hear Him say to you, “Behold, your mother.”  Stay close to your heavenly mother. Seek her maternal care and protection and allow her prayers to daily draw you closer to her Son.

Dearest Mother Mary, Mother of God, my mother, and Mother of the Church, pray for me and for all your children who are so deeply in need of the mercy of your Son as it was poured out on the Cross for the redemption of the world.  May all your children draw ever closer to you and to your Son, as we gaze upon the glory of the Cross and as we consume the Most Holy Eucharist. Mother Mary, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You!

Credits : Daily Catholic Reflections 

Eucharistic Adoration During The Awesome and Amazing Season Of Lent

Reasons To Spend Time With Jesus Christ During Lent

1. You are greatly needed!

"The Church and the world have a great need of eucharistic adoration." (Pope John Paul II, Dominicae Cenae)

2. This is a personal invitation to you from Jesus.
"Jesus waits for us in this sacrament of love." (Pope John Paul II, Dominicae Canae)

3. Jesus is counting on you because the Eucharist is the center of life.
"Every member of the Church must be vigilant in seeing that the sacrament of love shall be at the center of the life of the people of God so that through all the manifestations of worship due him shall be given back ‘love for love’ and truly become the life of our souls." (Pope John Paul II, Redeemer of Man)

4. Your hour with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament will repair for evils of the world and bring about peace on earth.
"Let us be generous with our time in going to meet Jesus and ready to make reparation for the great evils of the world. Let your adoration never cease." (Pope John Paul II, Dominicai Cenae)

5. Day and night Jesus dwells in the Blessed Sacrament because you are the most important person in the world to him!
"Christ is reserved in our churches as the spiritual center of the heart of the community, the universal Church and all humanity, since within the veil of the species, Christ is contained, the invisible heart of the Church, the Redeemer of the world, the center of all hearts, by him all things are and of whom we exist." (Pope Paul IV, Mysterium Fidei)

6. Jesus wants you to do more than to go to mass on Sunday.
"Our communal worship at mass must go together with our personal worship of Jesus in Eucharistic adoration in order that our love may be complete." (Pope John Paul II, Redeemer of Man)

7. You grow spiritually with each moment you spend with Jesus!
"Our essential commitment in life is to preserve and advance constantly in Eucharistic life and Eucharistic piety and to grow spiritually in the climate of the Holy Eucharist." (Pope John Paul II, Redeemer of Man)

8. The best time you spend on earth is with Jesus, your Best Friend, in the Blessed Sacrament!

"How great is the value of conversation with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, for there is nothing more consoling on earth, nothing more efficacious for advancing along the road of holiness!" (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)

9. Just as you can’t be exposed to the sun without receiving its rays, neither can you come to Jesus exposed in the Blessed Sacrament without receiving the divine rays of his grace, his love, his peace.
"Christ is truly the Emmanuel, that is, God with us, day and night, he is in our midst. He dwells with us full of grace and truth. He restores morality, nourishes virtue, consoles the afflicted, strengthens the weak." (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)

10. If Jesus were actually visible in church, everyone would run to welcome him, but he remains hidden in the Sacred Host under the appearance of bread, because he is calling us to faith, that we many come to him in humility.
"The Blessed Sacrament is the ‘Living Heart’ of each of our churches and it is our very sweet duty to honor and adore the Blessed Host, which our eyes see, the Incarnate Word, whom they cannot see." (Pope Paul VI, Credo of the People of God)

11. With transforming mercy, Jesus makes our heart one with his.
"He proposes his own example to those who come to him, that all may learn to be like himself, gentle and humble of heart, and to seek not their own interest but those of God." (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)

12. If the Pope himself would give you a special invitation to visit him in the Vatican, this honor would be nothing in comparison to the honor and dignity that Jesus himself bestows upon you with the invitation of spending one hour with him in the Blessed Sacrament.
"The divine Eucharist bestows upon the Christian people the incomparable dignity." (Pope Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei)

Twelve Biblical Reasons For Wanting To Spend One Hour With Jesus In The Blessed Sacrament

1. He is really there!
"I myself am the living bread come down from heaven." (Jn 6:35)

2. Day and night Jesus dwells in the Blessed Sacrament because of his Infinite love for you!

"Behold I will be with you always even to the end of the world," because "I have loved you with an everlasting love, and constant is my affection for you." (Mt 28:20; Jer 31:3)

3. The specific way that Jesus asks you to love him in return is to spend one quiet hour with him in the Blessed Sacrament.
"Where your treasure is, there is your heart...." "Could you not watch one hour with me?" (Mt 6:21; 26:40)

4. When you look upon the Sacred Host, you look upon Jesus, the Son of God.
"Indeed, this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks upon the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life. Him I will raise up on the last day." (Jn 6:40)

5. Each moment that you spend in His Eucharistic Presence will increase his divine life within you and deepen your personal relationship and friendship with him.

"I have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly." "I am the vine and you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him shall bear much fruit because without me, you can do nothing." (Jn 15:5)

6. Each hour you spend with Jesus will deepen his divine peace in your heart.
"Come to me all of you who are weary and find life burdensome and I will refresh you..." "Cast all of you anxieties upon the one who cares for you..." "My Peace is My Gift to you." (Mt 11:28; Pt 5:7; Jn 14:17)

7. Jesus will give you all the graces you need to be happy!
"The Lamb on the throne will shepherd them. He will lead them to the springs of life-giving water." (Rev 7:17)

8. Jesus is infinitely deserving of our unceasing thanksgiving and adoration for all he has done for our salvation.
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive honor, glory and praise." (Rev. 5:12)

9. For peace in our country!

"When my people humble themselves and seek my presence... I will revive their land." (2Chr 7:14)

10. Each hour you spend with Jesus on earth will leave your soul everlastingly more beautiful and glorious in heaven!

"They who humble themselves shall be exalted...." "All of us, gazing on the Lord’s glory with unveiled faces, are being transformed from glory to glory into his very image." (Lk 18:14; 2Cor 3:18)

11. Jesus will bless you, your family and the whole world for this hour of faith you spend with Him in the Blessed Sacrament.
"Blessed are they who do not see and yet believe..." "Faith can move mountains..." " What is needed is trust... " "Behold I come to make all things new." (Jn 20:29; Mk 11:23; Mk 5:36; Rev 21:5)

12. Each moment you spend with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament brings joy, pleasure, and delight to his Sacred Heart!

"My joy, my pleasure, my delight is to be with you." (Prov 8:31)

Credits : Catholic News Agency 

An Awesome Perspective From Donna Cori Gibson On The Divine Mercy Devotion

Years ago, Donna Cori Gibson came across the Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska and placed it in her collection of Catholic books. She didn’t pick it up until a few years later, when she hit a low point in her life.

What struck her the most from the diary — which details Christ’s private revelations to the Polish nun in the 1930s — was how He stressed the value of suffering and how powerful it is when we are able to unite our own sufferings with His.

“It’s almost that He needs our suffering,” she said. “He’s looking for souls who are willing to join Him on the cross for the salvation of sinners. He wants co-redeemers to make their offerings with Him. This is the time of mercy.”

In the midst of her career as a Catholic recording artist, Gibson was moved to record a CD featuring the Divine Mercy chaplet and prayers.

“The prayers for the chaplet are a continuation of the consecration,” she said. “By praying the chaplet we are continuing the consecration. So it’s intimately tied to the Mass. It’s an continuation of the sacrifice of Calvary and … I explain our participation is in uniting our sufferings, our joys, sorrows everything to that one sacrifice.”

Here it is From You Tube -- Donna Cori Gibson Singing Very Reverently The Chaplet Of Divine Mercy and another really catchy song by her. 

Check it out. 

1) The Sung Chaplet Of The Divine Mercy By Donna Cori Gibson 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h036hXqcbnU

2) Jesus, You Are Mercy By Donna Cori Gibson 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6GmA2qo2J4

Reflection 61 -- Daily Reflections With The Divine Mercy -- Walking With Saint Faustina 365 Days Of The Year

REFLECTION 61 -- PLEASE READ IT WELL. IT IS VERY APT FOR THE TIMES THAT WE LIVE IN.

Where Happiness Comes From:


Could you be happy if you were in prison?  Or what if you were called at a young age to enter a cloistered monastery and live in seclusion throughout your life?  Could you find happiness if you were living in the utmost poverty having barely enough to feed your family each and every day?  The answer is “Yes.”  You most certainly can find happiness within any situation of life.  How?  Happiness is not dependent upon the external circumstances of life that are out of our control.  It is not dependent upon wealth, physical freedom, or even vocational callings.  Happiness is found exclusively in the fact that we are intimately united with our Divine Lord, no matter what our vocation or life circumstances.  The question is whether or not you are in love with God (See Diary #201).

Reflect upon your interior relationship with our Divine Lord.  Do you know and love Him in a real and personal way?  Do you daily communicate with Him and spend your day in His presence?  Is your life of prayer alive and flourishing?  Does your heart burst forth with a burning love?  God loves you perfectly.  Love Him back and you will find your source of your joy in life.

My dear Lord, help me to love you with a burning love.  Help me to know You in the most intimate and personal of ways.  I know that my happiness depends solely upon my love for You.  May that love in my heart increase daily so that I may be one with You in all things.  Jesus, I trust in You.

Credits : https://divinemercy.life/2019/03/02/reflection-61-where-happiness-comes-from/

The Need For Lent This Year 2019

Part 1 From The Catholic Virginian :

Ash Wednesday is March 6 this year. Here are some things to know about Ash Wednesday and the kickoff to Lent:

In the Table of Liturgical Days, which ranks the different liturgical celebrations and seasons, Ash Wednesday ties for second in ranking — along with Christmas, Epiphany, Ascension, Pentecost, Sundays of Advent, Lent and Easter, and a few others. But Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation, though it is a day of prayer, abstinence, fasting and repentance.

Top ranked in the table are the Paschal Triduum — the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil — along with Easter Sunday. Good Friday isn’t a holy day of obligation either, but Catholics are encouraged to attend church for a liturgy commemorating Christ’s crucifixion and death.

Ash Wednesday begins the liturgical season of Lent. There are hymns that speak to the length of the season — one of them is “Lord, Who Throughout These Forty Days” — but the span between March 6 and Easter Sunday, which is April 21, is 46 days. So what gives?

“It might be more accurate to say that there is the ‘40-day fast within Lent,’“ said Father Randy Stice, associate director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Divine Worship.

“Historically, Lent has varied from a week to three weeks to the present configuration of 46 days,” Father Stice said in an email to Catholic News Service. “The 40-day fast, however, has been more stable. The Sundays of Lent are certainly part of the time of Lent, but they are not prescribed days of fast and abstinence.” There are six Sundays in Lent, including Passion (Palm) Sunday.

The ashes used for Ash Wednesday are made from the burned and blessed palms of the previous year’s Palm Sunday.

“The palms are burned in a metal vessel and then broken down into a powder. I believe ashes can also be purchased from Catholic supply companies,” Father Stice said.

“As far as I know, palms from the previous year are always dry enough,” he added. “Parishes normally ask parishioners to bring their palms shortly before Ash Wednesday, so there is no need to store them. People usually like to keep the blessed palm as long as possible.”

Almost half of adult Catholics, 45 percent, typically receive ashes at Ash Wednesday services, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University.

The use of the word “Alleluia” is verboten during Lent. What is known as the “Alleluia verse” preceding the Gospel becomes known during Lent as “the verse before the Gospel,” with a variety of possible phrases to be used — none of which include an alleluia.

“The alleluia was known for its melodic richness and in the early Church was considered to ornament the liturgy in a special way,” Father Stice said, adding it was banned from Lenten Masses in the fifth or sixth century.

Ash Wednesday also is a day of abstinence and fasting; Good Friday is another. Abstinence means refraining from eating meat; fish is OK. Fasting means reducing one’s intake of food, like eating two small meals that together would not equal one full meal.

“Fasting during Lent followed the example of Jesus’ 40-day fast in the wilderness. It also recalled the 40 days that Moses fasted on Sinai and the 40 days that Elijah fasted on his journey to Mount Horeb,” Father Stice said.

“In the second century, Christians prepared for the feast of Easter with a two-day fast. This was extended to all of Holy Week in the third century. In 325 the Council of Nicea spoke of a 40-day period of preparation for Easter as something already obvious and familiar to all.”


Part 2 From The Catholic Virginian :

When Lent begins March 6, U.S. Catholics will likely be more than ready for it.

This set-aside time for prayer and reflection — after all the Church has been through in recent months — could provide both a healing balm and a needed boost forward, some say.

Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, is typically a big Catholic draw, filling churches with nearly Easter- or Christmas-size Mass crowds even through it is not a holy day of obligation. Conventual Franciscan Father Jude DeAngelo, director of campus ministry at The Catholic University of America in Washington, hopes this year is no exception.

“We in the American Catholic Church have been through a year of tremendous suffering and tremendous upheaval and frustration” he told Catholic News Service, referring to the past months of allegations of sexual misconduct and cover-up by Church leaders.

The priest said some Catholics stopped going to church, “scandalized by the actions of a few” but that he hopes and prays they come back on Ash Wednesday, a day he described as a strong “reminder that God is never finished with us.”

“Ash Wednesday is that moment, I believe, especially this year, when we can say: ‘This is my Church. It’s got its sins — it always has had its sins and sinners — but Christ calls me to convert my life to his image and likeness and that call is not for individuals only, it’s for the entire community.’“

By its very nature, Lent has an overall aspect of penitence to it, but that shouldn’t override the whole season, said Paulist Father Larry Rice, director of the University Catholic Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

His recommendation for this year’s Lent is “to do what the Church has always asked us to do: prayer, fasting and almsgiving” and that concentrating on those things will bring people closer to God and one another.

“I think it’s important to make some distinctions that might rescue Lent for people this year,” he said, noting that it’s not “supposed to be about sorrow, sadness or anger, which people are justifiably feeling,” in the current Church climate. “That is not what Lent is about,” he said, stressing that it should be a personal preparation for Easter.

The 40 days, especially this year, also shouldn’t be an effort of “muscular Christianity” or “pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps” to do Lenten practices, he said. Instead, it offers a time for Catholics to say: “Wow, we have completely hit bottom and we have to depend on God’s grace to build us up again.”

Father Rice said a lot of bishops have called for a year of reparation for the abuses committed by people representing the Church, an action that has caused some misunderstanding among Catholics who say: “Why do I have to do it? I didn’t do anything wrong.”

And they are right, he said, noting that penance is what people do to show sorrow for what they’ve done, while “reparation is what you do to show sorrow for what someone else has done which opens the community to God’s healing grace.”

This Lent, “we don’t put reparation on hold, we just get to do both” — personal penance and reparation, he said.

Sister Teresa Maya, a Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word based in San Antonio, said she has been moved by the expressions of reparation by priests in her archdiocese taking “collective responsibility” for abuse and any coverup in the Church.

The sister, former president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an umbrella group of 1,500 leaders of U.S. women’s religious communities, said it is important for the Church to begin with reparation, but it can’t end with that.

“To live in the spirit of Lent there has to be a path away from personal and systemic sin” that led to this crisis, something she said she hasn’t seen yet.

Sister Maya said the sacrament of reconciliation, which is talked about a lot in Lent, centers on listening and the Church still needs to make it a priority to listen to abuse survivors, but Catholics also need to listen to one another.

For the past eight months or more, this abuse crisis has been “piling up on all of us,” she told CNS, noting that many Catholics are still shell shocked by it and the question that remains is: “How do we move forward?”

That’s where Lent once again comes into play, because she said it provides a time for people to examine where they are personally but also can raise the question “Where are we?” as the Catholic Church in the United States.

And no matter where you fit in the Church, as a leader, family member or parishioner, she said the question of what’s next feels different; it’s not the same as it was when the Church went through the sexual abuse crisis nearly 20 years ago.

She likened the Church now to the time when the apostles were in the upper room wondering what to do next.

“We have to trust our faith in the resurrection, in the grace that God will provide,” she said. “Hold the loss and the grief and hold one another in it.”

This is a “critical moment” to return to the core of what Catholics believe, she said.

Father DeAngelo similarly stressed the need for Catholics to keep going and to support one another.

“We need people to return to the Church. We need their criticism; we need to hear their frustrations, their stories” not just survivors of abuse but all who “are unfortunately part of the collateral damage of this scandal, people who are just overwhelmed by these revelations.”

“This moment — Ash Wednesday I think specifically this year — can be even more of a reminder that in spite of everything, the Church, called by Christ, is the greatest hope for our humanity.”

Although the Church has human failings, he said, it also has a divine call for everyone in it to “go forth” — after facing criticism the Church deserves — and never lose sight of its main mission: “to bring life to the world through Jesus Christ.”