Sacred Heart Of Jesus 2018

The Blessed Sacrament is the Sacred Heart of Jesus living in our midst to fulfill a promise.

I myself will pasture my sheep. I myself will give them rest. The Lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, and the Injured and Sick I will bind up and heal.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is constantly calling out to us from the Tabernacle saying COME TO ME -- DO NOT BE AFRAID -- I WILL REFRESH YOU.

The Samaritan Woman encountered Jesus Christ at the well. When we meet the Sacred Heart of Jesus we meet him at the well of fresh graces, the font of unfathomable riches, the spring of salvation, where Our Saviour has drawn you to his Adorable Heart so that you may drink from the Rivers of Living Water -- the Endless Graces flowing with Divine Love and Infinite Compassion.

If You Lose all there is in the World but yet Possess Christ in the Eucharist then you possess everything. In fact, you have lost nothing at all and are infinitely rich with Divine Adoption.

In the Sacred Heart of Jesus, You have a Friend and a Saviour who is all powerful.

No matter how bad things may seem to be He alone can right them.

Catholic Christianity is a Daily Conversion.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Goldmine Of Spiritual Riches in more ways than one.

The Painting Of The Merciful Jesus Christ -- Divine Mercy Sunday 2018

This is an inside look at how the image of the  Merciful Jesus in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius was depicted by Artist Eugeniusz Kazimirowski in secret under the supervision of Saint Faustina and Blessed Father Michael Sopocko. 

Born in Poland in 1905, Maria Faustina Kowalska belonged to the Order of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. After the Polish Nun received the Message of Divine Mercy from the Lord on various occasions in the 1930s, she spearheaded this project.

Given that Jesus wanted everyone to have access to this “well” of mercy, as he communicated to Sister Faustina, the church is open 24/7 every day of the week and there is a webcam to access from the whole world. 

Here, we would like to share some details you may not have known about this image’s history.

Sr. Faustina went twice a week to the painter for six months. The painter’s workshop was under the living space of Father Sopocko (Sr. Faustina’s spiritual director) who lived in a house in the Visitation monastery because he was the chaplain there.

It was all done in secret, as who would have ever believed that Jesus had appeared to her and wanted to be really painted. However, Sr. Faustina’s first confessor confirmed to her that yes indeed, the Lord wished to be depicted. Sr. Faustina was always accompanied into the workshop by either a reliable parishioner or another sister.

Today, the painter’s workshop has been transformed into a chapel.

Still living in the house, at the Lord’s request, are the order of nuns founded by Fr. Sopocko. They are also taking care of the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Vilnius.

Jesus had told Sr. Faustina that what matters is that thanks to this picture, “everyone will come to receive my mercy.”

The brightest point in the picture is the heart. The light on the forehead signifies the presence of the Father.

The right hand is not raised in the painting as it is in Krakow: it is before the Lord, in a gesture of blessing.

The first time the painting was presented to the worship of the faithful was when the Jubilee of Redemption was to end (1933-1934): it was exposed in the chapel of the Madonna Porta dell’Aurora venerated by Lithuanians to the extent that the Soviets never dared to close it.

On that day, Fr. Sopocko gave a homily on Divine Mercy, as the Lord requested, and Sr. Faustina was there, very happy.

During the Soviet occupation, the image was hidden in Belarus.

Later, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Cardinal Audrys Backis (Archbishop of Vilnius, now emeritus) restored and put it in the Church of the Trinity, where Fr. Sopocko was once a priest. The church was restored too.

On the Feast of the Divine Mercy, April 18, 2004, Cardinal Audrys Juozas Backis, Metropolitan of Vilnius, reconsecrated the renovated church of the Holy Trinity in Vilnius into the Shrine of the Divine Mercy.

At the same time, he assigned a prayer service to be carried out by the Congregation of the Sisters of Merciful Jesus.

In September 2005, the first image of Merciful Jesus was placed in this Shrine.

The picture has generated “miracles” in people’s lives.

In 2000 at St. Peter’s in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II canonized Sr. Faustina and officially proclaimed the Feast of Divine Mercy.

Credits : Zenit News from Rome 

The Eucharistic Love Of Saint Faustina

1. Jesus wanted to stay with us and opened His Heart of Mercy.

Jesus gave St. Faustina a clear love of the mystery of the Eucharist. She described it “as the wonderful gift of His presence on earth”. 

She wrote that during Mass, “I thanked the Lord Jesus for having redeemed us and for having given us the greatest of all gifts, the Holy Eucharist.” “You wanted to stay with us, and so you left us yourself in the Sacrament of the Altar, and you opened wide your mercy to us. You opened an inexhaustible spring of mercy for us, giving us your dearest possession, the Blood and Water, that gushed forth from Your Heart” (Diary 1747).

2. Love’s sacrifice was fully consummated at the consecration

During a Holy Hour, in a vision of the cenacle, Sr. Faustina saw the institution of the Holy Eucharist. She came to understand that, “At the moment of consecration…the sacrifice was fully consummated. 

Hereafter, only the external ceremony of death will be carried out. Never in my whole life had I understood this mystery so profoundly as during that hour of adoration” (Diary 684, 757, 832).

3. The Mercy that gushed from His Heart…

St. Faustina asked God to bring the world to understand more the mystery of Divine Mercy and the Eucharist. She said, “Who will ever conceive and understand the depth of mercy that gushed forth from His Heart? 

It is only in eternity that we shall know the great mystery given to us in Holy Communion. One day we will know what God is doing for us in each Mass, and what sort of gift He is preparing through it for us.”

4. Eucharist: Transform me into a living host to atone for sinners.

“All the tongues of men and angels united could not find words adequate to describe this mystery of Your love and mercy”. “Transform me in Yourself, 0 Jesus, that I may be a living sacrifice and pleasing to You. I desire to atone at each moment of my life for poor sinners.“ 

Jesus answered her prayers telling her: “You are a living host, pleasing to the Heavenly Father” (Diary 1826). Through our communion with Christ we grow in self-emptying love that desires to offer reparation for sinners. The Eucharist moves us to an ever-greater thirst for the salvation of souls.

5. I owe everything to Holy Communion.

St. Faustina said: “All the good that is in me is due to the Holy Communion. I owe everything to it.” She was transformed into a living host in imitation of her Lord; hidden, and broken like Jesus in His passion laying down His life for our redemption. 

St. Faustina’s union with God was increased during the Mass, Holy Communion and during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. 

Eucharistic Life is transformative.

6. Love demands only one thing: Reciprocity.

Her union with the Lord was, in His words, as a bride: “Here, I am entirely yours, soul, body and divinity as Your Bridegroom. You know what love demands, one thing only, reciprocity”. (Diary 1770) 

What she experienced during Holy Communion was a complete union with the Holy Trinity, “At that moment, I was drawn into the bosom of the Most Holy Trinity, and I was immersed in the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Diary 1670, 1121,1129)

7. “In the Host is the power…”

“These times of union are a taste of Eternity,” she said (Diary 969). St Faustina was strengthened and supported in the daily struggles of life by receiving Holy Communion. 

The Lord told her: “In the Host is the power; it will defend you always” (Diary 616). Eucharistic Love is infinitely powerful to defend us from all that is harmful to our salvation.

8. Rays of Mercy come from the Holy Eucharist covering the world.

During Holy Mass, many times St. Faustina experienced visions of the Lord and over sixty such visions are found in her spiritual diary. 

She often saw the Infant Jesus during Mass, but also, on occasion, saw the Blessed Mother, or Jesus during His passion, and sometimes, in His glorious majesty. 

She records seeing the rays of mercy as in the image of Divine Mercy coming from the Holy Eucharist, at times covering the world. (Diary 420, 441, 1046).

9. The Eucharist is closely associated with the vessels of mercy.

Holy Communion is the most important part of the celebration of the Feast of Divine Mercy. The Feast of Divine Mercy, the Image, the Chaplet, and the three o’clock prayer are all closely related to the Eucharist. 

On a number of occasions, St. Faustina saw the Eucharist radiate red and white rays, like in the Image of Divine Mercy. 

The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is Eucharistic. It is an offering of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the Father, in atonement for the sins of the world.

The Resurrection 2018 -- Do We Authentically and Really Believe It ??

When We are Baptized We are plunged into Christ's Paschal Mystery.

As, Saint Paul reminds us Romans ( 6: 3-4) We enter the Tomb with Christ imitating him in his death
so that we may rise like Christ to a new life.

Baptism initiates this mystery, Life unfolds its possibilities and crossing the threshold of death crowns our participation in Christ's victory over death.

Our Faith is nothing unless it is centred on the Paschal Mystery as its essential core.

Nature rehearses the miracle and mystery of the Resurrection around us in a myriad of ways if only we had the eyes of faith to see it and attend to these mini sacraments of an Eternal Truth.

Little Birds hatch from eggs carefully warmed by a Patient Thrush.

Magnificent Butterflies with colourful wings emerge from hidden cocoons where once active caterpillars went through a radical transformation.

Seeds planted in Autumn grow lush and lovely as new life emerges from these miniature treasure chests.

Jesus used the Image of the Dying Wheat Grain to explain this same mystery. His Own Sacred Passion and Death were comparable to the wheat grain apparently dying in the earth. The Green Blade of Grass which rises with Easter is a Symbol of His Own Victorious Resurrection.

This is a victory to be shared with us. Saint Paul, describes the Risen Christ as "The First Fruits of all who have fallen asleep.

The Golden Harvest of the Resurrection is only possible because of the prior death and rising of Christ, that precious grain of Wheat.

The Eucharist in Easter Tide :

In the Eucharist, The Church gathers to celebrate ceaselessly the awesome and amazing Paschal Mystery. Here Faith is nourished and strengthened as We Mortals Feast at the Table of God's Word and the Table of the Real Presence.

Jesus Christ assured his disciples and followers that anyone who eats His Flesh and drinks His Blood will be raised up on the last day.

He is most assuredly the "Living Bread" as much as the dying wheat grain each of which gives us the pledge of Resurrected Life.

It is therefore not surprising that One Of the Fathers of the Early Church namely Saint Ignatius of Antioch who spoke lovingly of the Holy Eucharist. He called it "The Medicine of Immortality".

Our Aim should be like that of Saint Paul who strove only to know Christ and the Glorious Power of His Resurrection. Faith is a much deeper reality than rational argument or intellectual proof.

We cannot and should not try to explain away the Resurrection.

Credits : Resurrection : Myth Or Reality
               By F. Clancy
               Pages 10-11
               Don Bosco's Madonna, Mumbai
               April 2008
               Vol - 9, N0 - 12

Our Eucharistic Mission

Our Hope and Our Strength comes from contemplating Christ in the Eucharistic Presence with the eyes of Mary.

She was the closest person to him even as he ascended the Mount of Calvary to be crucified for the Salvation of Humankind.

Jesus Christ did not leave us "Orphans" but gave himself to us as a Perpetual Presence in the Eucharist.

It is this Faith that spurs Christians on because we know that the Eucharist builds the Church and the Church makes the Eucharist.

Whenever We take part in the Eucharistic Sacrifice we become profoundly aware of the Universality of Redemption and consequently the Urgency of the Mission of Jesus Christ to make his love known to all Men.

In fact, anyone who has encountered Christ in the Eucharist proclaims by his life the Merciful Love of the Redeemer. By the same token then, living the Eucharistic Life urges us to spend time before the Blessed Sacrament -- The Sacramental Presence of Christ.

That We may cherish the Presence of Christ in our midst and strive to make him known to those who have never known him we turn our gaze to Mary -- The Woman of the Eucharist.

We need to listen to her wise words -- Do whatever he tells you.

Only through this we can become New Wine In the Kingdom of Christ.

Credits : The Eucharist and the Mission of the Church
               By Antoine Tetta
               Pages 18-19
               Don Bosco's Madonna, Mumbai
               October 2008
               Vol - 10, N0 -6 

Maltese Catholicism

Malta is a Catholic Island Country in the Mediterranean.

Devotion to Mother Mary is celebrated with great love.

All year round, before Evening Mass -- The Holy Rosary is prayed followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

On an area of 122 Square Miles there are 376 Catholic Churches, Basilicas, Cathedrals, and Chapels.

Many of these Churches were built in honour of the Blessed Mother.

Seven Of these Churches are dedicated to the Assumption Of the Blessed Mother.

August 15 is a Public Holiday in Malta and a Holy Day of Obligation which is celebrated with a Feast for the Queen of Heaven. Three Days prior to that great day, a Life Size Statue of Our Lady depicting the Assumption is brought out and set on a pedestal in the Church.

This is surrounded with flowers and votive lights burning in front of it.

On the 15th of August, there is a procession with the statue which is carried on a Palanquin on the shoulders of 8 Men. This Procession goes around the streets preceded by Religious Societies praying the Rosary and singing Marian Hymns.

Throughout the ages, The Blessed Mother has helped the Maltese in difficult times and in gratitude Her Feast Days are celebrated with great Pomp and Splendour.

Credits : Trust In Mary
               By Doris Azzopardi
              Page 29
              Don Bosco's Madonna, Mumbai
             August 2009
            Vol -11, N0-4 

Holy Week 2018 -- Jesus Christ Faced Terrible Evil

As, We enter Holy Week in 2018 I believe that we should discuss the "Issue Of Betrayal".

To Discuss The Issue of Betrayal -- it is necessary to discuss the Issue Of Trust.

Human Lives live solely on Trust.

We learn about trust in our Families and Communities where we live.

Betrayal does not happen suddenly and without warning. There are warning signs that accompany the Ultimate Act Of Betrayal.

One cannot prove absolutely that a certain person can be trusted or is to be trusted. We learn about Trust through a Person's Faithfulness.

Faith in the Eternal Father is experienced by reaching out in acts of Prayer or by just risking our lives out of love for another person.

The Faith of Jesus Christ was tested to the hilt, in His Terrible Betrayal, in being handed over to the "Executioners" of His Day and ultimately in crying out in agony from the Wood of the Cross -- "My God, My God, Why have You forsaken me -- Why have you left me to die ??

Jesus Christ, after that Cry of  Agony was totally obedient to the will of the Eternal Father in His Earthly Life.

His Passion begins as soon as he is betrayed when Judas, one of the "Go To Men" of the Apostles is a "Prominent Leader" with regard to the seizure of Jesus Christ in the lovely "Garden of Gethsemane".

Jesus must have well known the words of a Prominent Psalmist : "My Friend who I trusted has lifted His Heel against Me".

It must be remembered here that the previous evening -- namely on Maundy Thursday : Jesus, while sitting with His Disciples took Simple Bread and Wine and while breaking it and sharing it with His "Inner Circle of Friends" identified them as His "Precious Body and Precious Blood -- His Authentic Life to be shared with them.

Thus, We can say with some confidence that the Holy Eucharist which is the "Life of the Church" is instituted in the midst of betrayal happening very soon to the Lord.

The Catholic Church obeys the commands of Jesus Christ to share his life with all on the very night he was betrayed.

His Life as it was then and as it is now is shared among all people regardless of Race, Origin, Sex, etc.

Jesus Christ shares His Life with us who still betray Him by Succumbing to the Pleasures of a Pagan World.

Inspite, of all this He draws us to His Merciful Heart full of love and mercy.

This is "True Communion" with Jesus to the nth degree.

Credits : Trust By Father Ian Doulton S.D.B.
               Page 3
               Don Bosco's Madonna, Mumbai
               March 2015
               Vol - 16, N0-11

Note : Holy Week 2018 commences on the 25th of March -- Palm Sunday and ends on Holy Saturday -- The 31st of March.