World Day of Prayer for China - Our Lady Help of Christians, Our Lady of Sheshan

Please join in praying as our Pope Emeritus asked us to, a few years ago.


Cardinal Kung Foundation

Saintly Resolution - St. Faustina

"...interior calm, silence..."

Diary (790)

From my spiritual journal dated April 26, 2012

Two Things - On Being an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion

It is a really honor to accepted by one's pastor and bishop to be an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.  With that honor comes much responsibility which should not be taken lightly.  It is also very important to know what are the duties of an EMHC.

[146.] There can be no substitute whatsoever for the ministerial Priesthood. For if a Priest is lacking in the community, then the community lacks the exercise and sacramental function of Christ the Head and Shepherd, which belongs to the essence of its very life.[247] For “the only minister who can confect the sacrament of the Eucharist in persona Christi is a validly ordained Priest”.[248]

[147.] When the Church’s needs require it, however, if sacred ministers are lacking, lay members of Christ’s faithful may supply for certain liturgical offices according to the norm of law.[249] Such faithful are called and appointed to carry out certain functions, whether of greater or lesser weight, sustained by the Lord’s grace. Many of the lay Christian faithful have already contributed eagerly to this service and still do so, especially in missionary areas where the Church is still of small dimensions or is experiencing conditions of persecution,[250] but also in areas affected by a shortage of Priests and Deacons.

Source: Redemptionis Sacramentum: Chapter VII

EXTRAORDINARY FUNCTIONS OF LAY FAITHFUL. This is a very valuable document and highly recommended that it be read completely.

EMHC are needed at Masses when there are many communicants. ( Some may argue that they are sometimes overused at Masses.  That may be. I guess the communion lines go quickly with the help of the EMHCs.)   They are there to assist the priest in giving Holy Communion.  They are not there to replace or substitute for the priest at the time of the distribution of Holy Communion.

EMHC are not there to bless people who cannot receive Holy Communion (those with their arms crossed). They should be directed to the priest for a proper blessing.

The EMHC are needed to bring Holy Communion to the sick and homebound.  This is a very noble way of serving our fellow Catholics who cannot make it to Mass.  However, it is not a matter of just bringing Holy Communion to the sick and homebound and then just leaving.

Once the Holy Eucharist is placed in the pyx and the EMHC receives the pyx, he or she must go immediately to the person who is to receive Holy Communion.  He or she must prepare the communicant by having them say an act of contrition, read one of the readings from the day's Mass or any prayer that will place that person in God's presence.  Afterwards, the communicant must be given time to give thanks to God.

It is important that EMHCs be trained properly in order to avoid inadvertent irreverence to the Holy Eucharist.  Case in point.  A woman was dying and her non-Catholic husband wanted to honor her wishes of having her receive Holy Communion.  He asked his wife's Catholic friend to bring her Holy Communion. The friend went to her parish and brought the dying woman Holy Communion.  The dying woman could only receive a very small particle of the Holy Eucharist and the rest was placed back in the pyx. In fact, the friend was given two consecrated Hosts to bring to the woman.  A day later, the woman died.  It was by divine providence that I had been visiting the husband and overheard him ask the friend what she wanted to do with the remaining hosts.  I then realized that they had kept the consecrated hosts at the home of the dying woman.  The friend indicated to me that she was not an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.  At first I directed them to return the hosts to the church.  But then I remembered that I could consume the hosts and proceeded to have her give me Holy Communion.

I am sure she didn't realize that the manner in which she brought the consecrated Hosts and kept them at the home was not permitted.  However, had she been properly prepared, she would have known that the consecrated host is to be consumed right away.

The Worship of Satan at Harvard University

Picture source

Father Daren has a good post on the black mass event schedule at Harvard later today:

The Worship of Satan at Harvard University

If possible, please join in making a Holy Hour of Adoration today at the time, the black mass is held.

Reverence for the Holy Eucharist

We were blessed this week to have a priest celebrate Holy Mass since all the other priests are on retreat.  Not only were we blessed to have a priest but we blessed to have Father R. enrich us with his homilies on love for the Holy Eucharist.  How wonderful it is to listen to a priest speak of his love for the Body and Blood of Christ.  Today, he said that after receiving Holy Communion, we are to think of ourselves as the sacred vessels.  We are a Ciborium...we are a Chalice.  How true!

Father also told us that it is not by our own actions that we find ourselves at daily Mass.  It is actually God who guides us there.  How beautiful!

He also enjoined us to prepare ourselves and to receive Jesus in a worthy manner.  We do need to prepare ourselves before Holy Communion and it would be a good idea if we arrived at Mass early so that we can properly spend some quality time with Jesus.

We should receive Holy Communion reverently.  We should be quiet and focused only on Him who will become part of us and we of Him.

After Holy Communion as we return to our seats, we should be in quiet meditation, pondering the awesome event that has just taken place.  My own God, humbled Himself and allowed  me, a sinner to receive His precious Body and Blood!

If we make it a practice to be more reverent, it will become second nature to us to be reverent.  We will love and understand the monumental act and sacrifice by our God and we may shed tears reflecting on His love for us.

In this way too, let us make reparation for those who blaspheme Him.  It is not only students at now infamous universities that have no reverence for God and who mock and scorn Him.  Sadly, there are those who feel that unless Holy Communion is offered at a Traditional Latin Mass, the Mass is illicit and therefore will not receive Holy Communion.  How this arrogance must hurt our dear Lord!

The following is an excerpt from Francis Cardinal Arinze's the Reverence Due to the Holy Eucharist source: Adoremus Bulletin:

Reverence in the Reception of the Holy Eucharist

The individual Catholic who receives Jesus in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist shows reverence in many ways.

The most important reverent attitude is that the communicant be in a state of grace. Any Catholic who is unfortunately in the state of mortal sin is bound to go to confession and receive absolution before approaching the Eucharistic table. The Council of Trent declared that it is necessary "by divine decree to confess each and every mortal sin" (Council of Trent, DS 1680). And the 1983 Code of Canon Law says clearly: "Individual and integral confession and absolution are the sole ordinary means by which the faithful, conscious of grave sin, are reconciled with God and the Church; only physical or moral impossibility excuses from such confession, in which case reconciliation can be obtained in other ways" (Can. 960). Pope John Paul II in his April 7, 2002 Apostolic Letter, Misericordia Dei, requests bishops and priests to do everything possible to make individual access to the Sacrament of Penance readily available to the faithful.

It is therefore to be deplored that in more than one parish, many people regularly go to receive Holy Communion but rarely or ever go to confession. And some of them may be walking around with the weight of mortal sins on their consciences. Some such people are misled by erroneous views that very few people are able to commit a mortal sin, or that one lone act cannot be a mortal sin, or that they need not bother following what the Church's teaching authority declares a mortal sin (such as abortion, contraception, premarital relations or euthanasia) but that it is all right to just follow their own conscience. The Catholic who wants to show genuine reverence to the Holy Eucharist will make sure to be in a state of grace before approaching the Eucharistic table.

We also show reverence by the way we receive Holy Communion, kneeling, standing, on the tongue or in the hand. Even how we dress, how we walk, and how we share in the congregation's acts of singing, standing, sitting, listening and kneeling can show our faith.

Personal prayer prepares us for proper participation in the Liturgy and helps us to savor its fruits. This applies particularly to the reception of the Holy Communion. Bearing in mind that "the sacred Liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church" (Sacrosanctum Concilium 9), we appreciate the need for personal reflection and meditation, internal prayer, continuing conversion of heart to God and ever greater desire of union with Christ. These are promoters of reverence for so great a mystery.

According to personal devotion, a communicant may wish to kneel or to sit in quiet thanksgiving after Communion. Both the priest celebrant and the choir should make room for this. And the Diocesan Office for the Sacred Liturgy should not try to regiment movements at all such moments.

Thanksgiving after Mass has traditionally been greatly esteemed in the Church for both the priest and the lay faithful. The missal and the breviary even suggest prayers for the priest before and after the Eucharistic celebration. There is no reason to believe that this is no longer needed. Indeed in our noisy world of today, such moments of reflective and loving prayers would seem indicated more than even before. It is a beautiful testimony to hear parishioners say of their pastor: "Father is doing his thanksgiving after Mass and will be available to us about ten minutes later". And why should this not be applicable to the congregation too? Reverence is not automatic. It has to be nurtured, to be built up, to be kept up...

Something Other Than God

"Let go of my book!"

Unless there is an alternate internet universe you visit, you know that Jennifer Fulwiler's much anticipated conversion story/memoirs, has been released.

I received my book yesterday and already I am finding it hard to put down.  At the present I am on Chapter 4.  But I can tell you, she is a very amusing, entertaining and interesting writer.  I think I was on the second page and she had me chuckling.

I won't ruin the book for you, (I actually can't, being only on chapter 4) but I will encourage you to read the story of how an atheist became a devout Catholic wife and mother.

SOTG can be ordered on Amazon in both hardcover or for your Kindle device.

Ways to Honor Mary During the Month of May

Happy Feast of St. Joseph the Worker!

Happy May Day!  Happy Lei Day!

Today we begin the month dedicated to our blessed Mother Mary.

There are many ways to honor the Most Blessed Mother of God:

1.  Bring flowers to the fairest.  If you give the mother an offering of flowers, even the most humblest of them will be greatly appreciated by her.  Think of your own dear children who lovingly pick and give you dandelions as a gift.

2.  Pray the Holy Rosary with your family.  Or, if you are not accustomed to praying the rosary, start off by at least one decade well prayed.   Pray each Hail Mary slowly and from the the heart.

3.  Attend a May Crowning.  If you cannot have one at your church,  have one at your home, invite your friends and family.

4.   Teach your children traditional Marian Hymns:

- Mother Dearest, Mother Fairest
- Mother Dear, O Pray for Me
- On this Day O Beautiful Mother
- Bring Flowers of the Rarest
- Immaculate Mary
- Ave Maria
- Salve Regina
- O Sanctisimma
 - Sing of Mary

5.  Create a Mary's Garden.  You can plant even a small one if you don't have much room.

Some of the traditional flowers that are included in this garden, are also dedicated or named after Our Lady:

- Marigolds - Mary's Gold
- Fuschia - Our Lady's Eardrops
- Zinnia - Little Mary
- Blue Morning Glory - Our Lady's Blue Mantle
- Calceolaria -Our Lady's Slipper
- Sunflower - Marigold of Peru
- Yucca - Tower of Ivory
- Roses

The flower symbols of Mary's spiritual life and mysteries include: the white "Madonna Lily" of her immaculate purity, "Mary's Rose" of spiritual love, the pansy of "Our Lady's Delight" in the Trinity, first revealed to Mary, the "Lily-of-the-Valley" of her humility, the violet of "Our Lady's Modesty", "Mary's Tulip" of spiritual openness, the strawberry—"Fruitful Virgin"—of her virginal motherhood (in flower and fruit at the same time), "Our Lady's Bedstraw" of the manger, "Christmas Rose", "Star of Bethlehem", several "Mary's Milkdrops" plants, and the "Mother Love" Impatiens, named from its constancy of bloom.

To read more about the history of the Mary's Garden, visit EWTN.com  

6.  Learn or teach your children to make rosaries.  They do not have to be the elaborate beaded kind.  You can learn to make simple knotted or corded rosaries. 

7.  Read spiritual books on the life of Mary or on specific approved apparitions:

- Our Lady of Kibeho by Immaculee Illigabiza
- The Admirable Heart of Mary by St. John Eudes
- Fatima for Today by Father Andrew Apostoli
- The Virgin Mary and Theology of the Body by Father Donald Calloway

These are just a few of the many wonderful books we can read to learn and appreciate our Blessed Mother.

8.  Wear baby blue on her specific feast days or the entire month of May!

9.  Practice our lady's virtues.

The "Ten Evangelical Virtues" are as follows:

Most Pure (Mt 1:18, 20, 23; Lk 1:24,34)
Most Prudent (Lk 2:19; 51)
Most Humble (Lk 1:48)
Most Faithful ( Lk 1:45; Jn 2:5)
Most Devout (Lk 1:46-47; Acts 1:14)
Most Obedient (Lk 1:38; 2:21-22; 27)
Most Poor (Lk 2:7)
Most Patient (Jn 19:25)
Most Merciful (Lk 1:39, 56)
Most Sorrowful (Lk 2:35)

10.  Have your family prepare themselves to Total Consecration to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort.  

11.  Have a priest enroll your family in the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.   

12.  Become a member of the Militia Immaculata. 

13.  Join Mary's Blue Army by taking the World Apostolate of Fatima pledge.  

14.  Prepare and altar for Mary and pray for her intercession there as a family.

15.  Pray a Hail Mary daily for the conversion of a family member who has fallen away from the Church.

Pope John XXIII's Encyclical on Penance

Picture source

ENCYCLICAL OF POPE JOHN XXIII ON THE NEED FOR THE PRACTICE OF INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR PENANCE

Feast of Divine Mercy - Ocean of Mercy Movie

Happy Feast Day!



This is a very beautiful documentary on Divine Mercy through the lives of St. Faustina, St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. John Paul II.

Mahalo to H.L. for sharing.

Pope John Paul II Encyclical on Divine Mercy

DIVES IN MISERICORDIA

Mary is also the one who obtained mercy in a particular and exceptional way, as no other person has. At the same time, still in an exceptional way, she made possible with the sacrifice of her heart her own sharing in revealing God's mercy. This sacrifice is intimately linked with the cross of her Son, at the foot of which she was to stand on Calvary. Her sacrifice is a unique sharing in the revelation of mercy, that is, a sharing in the absolute fidelity of God to His own love, to the covenant that He willed from eternity and that He entered into in time with man, with the people, with humanity; it is a sharing in that revelation that was definitively fulfilled through the cross. No one has experienced, to the same degree as the Mother of the crucified One, the mystery of the cross, the overwhelming encounter of divine transcendent justice with love: that "kiss" given by mercy to justice. No one has received into his heart, as much as Mary did, that mystery, that truly divine dimension of the redemption effected on Calvary by means of the death of the Son, together with the sacrifice of her maternal heart, together with her definitive "fiat."

Mary, then, is the one who has the deepest knowledge of the mystery of God's mercy. She knows its price, she knows how great it is. In this sense, we call her the Mother of mercy: our Lady of mercy, or Mother of divine mercy; in each one of these titles there is a deep theological meaning, for they express the special preparation of her soul, of her whole personality, so that she was able to perceive, through the complex events, first of Israel, then of every individual and of the whole of humanity, that mercy of which "from generation to generation" people become sharers according to the eternal design of the most Holy Trinity
.