Happy Feast of Divine Mercy!

Easter Conference at Tanzania Diocese - Young People

My friend Father Frederick Swai shared this video with me. Polycarp Cardinal Pengo, of the Diocese of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, spoke at this conference and one of the things he discussed was the recent election of Pope Francis. Father Swai is also interviewed in this video. He is a Salesian priest and director of Youth. He spoke of the young people's faith. Over 700 young men and women attended this conference! It is heartwarming to catch a glimpse into the thriving Catholic church in Africa!

 Please pray for them.

 

Holy Triduum

"The Last Supper" by Jacopo Bassano

Picture source

The Death of Jesus

Picture source

Easter Vigil

Picture source

A very happy and blessed Easter to each and every one of you and your family!

Picture source

REMINDER - Divine Mercy Novena Begins this Good Friday

This upcoming Good Friday we begin the Divine Mercy Novena. The novena can be found here. I can't stress enough how vital it is for everyone to join in praying this special novena in preparation for Divine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday following Easter Sunday).


The Promise.  
According to St. Faustina, Our Lord promises to those who go to confession and communion on this day, the remission of the guilt and the punishment of sins.

On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. (Diary of Sr. Faustina, 699)

Many take this to mean that they must go to Confession ON Mercy Sunday. This is not true. To receive the benefits of the Promise one must be in the state of grace. The Lord does not promise the absolution of grave sin on Mercy Sunday, but points us to the Sacrament of Penance. To receive the grace we should be disposed. This is done by a confession near the time of Mercy Sunday. According to the Cardinal of Krakow, the confession which a Catholic makes during Lent in preparation for Easter is sufficient. Priests do not have to provide confession on Mercy Sunday so that Catholics can satisfy this condition. Since it is a Sunday the condition of Communion can be easily satisfied (including at the Saturday Vigil Mass). Our Communion, as our Confession, should be especially devout.






Read more about Divine Mercy Sunday here.

Traditional Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Picture source

Shared by Mary Jane:

In Honor of the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Most holy and afflicted Virgin, Queen of Martyrs, you stood
beneath the cross, witnessing the agony of your dying Son.
Look with a mother's tenderness and pity on me, who kneel
before you. I venerate your sorrows and I place my requests
with filial confidence in the sanctuary of your wounded heart.

Present them, I beseech you, on my behalf to Jesus Christ,
through the merits of His own most sacred passion and death,
together with your sufferings at the foot of the cross. Through
the united efficacy of both, obtain the granting of my petition.
To whom shall I have recourse in my wants and miseries if not
to you, Mother of Mercy? You have drunk so deeply of the
chalice of your Son, you can compassionate our sorrows.

Holy Mother, your soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow at
the sight of the passion of your divine Son. Intercede for me
and obtain for me from our Lord {mention your petition}, if
it be for His honor and glory, and for my good. Amen.

LET US PRAY
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our
hearts; that, we to whom the Incarnation of Christ, Thy
Son, was made known by the message of an Angel, may by
His Passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of His
Resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.


Litany of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows

Lord, have mercy on us
Christ have mercy on us
Lord have mercy on us
Christ hear us
Christ graciously hear us

God, the Father of heaven
Have mercy on us
God the Son, Redeemer of the world
Have mercy on us
God the Holy Ghost
Have mercy on us

Holy Mary, Mother of God pray for us
Holy Virgin of virgins pray for us
Mother of the Crucified pray for us
Sorrowful Mother pray for us
Mournful Mother pray for us

Sighing Mother pray for us
Afflicted Mother pray for us
Forsaken Mother pray for us
Desolate Mother pray for us
Mother most sad pray for us

Mother set around with anguish pray for us
Mother overwhelmed by grief pray for us
Mother transfixed by a sword pray for us
Mother crucified in thy heart pray for us
Mother bereaved of thy Son pray for us

Sighing Dove pray for us
Mother of Dolors pray for us
Fount of tears pray for us
Sea of bitterness pray for us
Field of tribulation pray for us

Mass of suffering pray for us
Mirror of patience pray for us
Rock of constancy pray for us
Remedy in perplexity pray for us
Joy of the afflicted pray for us

Ark of the desolate pray for us
Refuge of the abandoned pray for us
Shield of the oppressed pray for us
Conqueror of the incredulous pray for us
Solace of the wretched pray for us

Medicine of the sick pray for us
Help of the faint pray for us
Strength of the weak pray for us
Protectress of those who fight pray for us
Haven of the shipwrecked pray for us

Calmer of tempests pray for us
Companion of the sorrowful pray for us
Retreat of those who groan pray for us
Terror of the treacherous pray for us
Standard-bearer of the Martyrs pray for us

Treasure of the Faithful pray for us
Light of Confessors pray for us
Pearl of Virgins pray for us
Comfort of Widows pray for us
Joy of all Saints pray for us

Queen of thy Servants pray for us
Holy Mary, who alone art unexampled pray for us.

Pray for us, most Sorrowful Virgin That we may be made
worthy of the promises of Christ

O God, in whose Passion, according to the prophecy of
Simeon, a sword of grief pierced through the most sweet
soul of Thy glorious Blessed Virgin Mother Mary, grant
that we, who celebrate the memory of her Seven Sorrows,
may obtain the happy effect of Thy Passion, Who lives
and reigns world without end. Amen

Pope Francis' Installation Mass 2013/03/19

For those of you who may have missed this beautiful inaugural Mass of our Holy Father Pope Franics.

Feast of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary

Saints Peter and Paul Church, Honolulu

Happy Feast Day of our most loving, dearest and most silent of saints!  The following is a meditation on the death of St. Joseph which is fitting for this day.

The Death of St. Joseph

Picture source

Death of St. Joseph -

True Sense of Values

Tradition

1. Joseph, his face bathed in sweat, smiling feebly at Jesus and Mary.

2.  The grace, my Jesus, to live by the sens of values I will have on my deathbed.

"As Jesus grew near to His thirtieth year, St. Joseph become very sick.  Mary did everything she could to make him feel comfortable.  She prepared a soft mat on which he could lie.  She cooked the light brothers that he could keep in his stomach.  And for hours she sat down beside him, whether he was awake or asleep.  She smiled and talked when he wanted to talk; and when he was weary, she was silent.  Jesus, too, took time out from His work to keep him company.  He helped Joseph recite some of the Psalms he love so much.  And when the end came, Jesus and Mary were both at his side, comforting, praying.  In the Heart of Joseph there was nothing but peace.  His work was ended now.  He smiled his appreciation to Jesus and Mary.  With a willing heart he closed his eyes and surrendered his soul to God.

Dear St. Joseph, no wonder Our Holy Mother Church has named you the patron of a  happy death!  You died in the arms of Jesus and Mary, surrounded by their loving care and affection.  And you died with your work accomplished!  Doing His Will had been hard at times, the reasons for it so often difficult to see. But you did His Will.  And what peace it gave you at death!

Dear St. Joseph, how clearly we see life when we are about to leave it!  At that time all riches and honors seem empty.  Sin and neglect loom up as the horrible things they really are.  And faithfulness to duty, struggle against temptations, the effort to do God's Will - what shining jewels, what true values are they!  If only I could live my life in the light of the vision at the time of you death!  This was how you lived, St. Joseph!  Pray for me.  Help me to picture my deathbed each day, and then live by that sense of values all day long - a man of good will.

Source:  My Meditation on the Gospel by the Confraternity of the Precious Blood.

Saint Joseph, Patron of the universal Church

Picture source

Pope Francis

Pope Francis

Yesterday was such a thrilling day!  The Holy Spirit has answered our prayers!  All of us who prayed for our cardinals to heed the Holy Spirit's whispering guidance will now be  offering a prayer in thanksgiving.  We  have a very humble holy father who apparently is very strong when it comes to defending the Church and her teachings.  He is also very concerned about all her people.  He sees Christ in each one of us as the photo below shows.  He took the name of a man so humble he did not think himself worthy of even being a priest.  St. Francis of Assisi.  He is the first Jesuit to become a pope.  This surprised the world since (with all due respect to all the Jesuit priests) humility is not the first word one thinks of when we hear the word Jesuit.  To paraphrase Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, that is all gravy on the meat.  He was chosen because of his strength and his inner peace.  He is what the Church needs at this time.

Kissing the feet of an AIDS patient.  Source: his facebook page

Personally, it is very exciting having a pope from South America!  What pride for all Latin America!  It is also encouraging since South America has been losing many of Catholics to evangelical Protestantism or to the secular world.  The election of Pope Francis is just what Latin American needs to bring many Catholics back home to Rome.

On the Importance of Becoming a Priest only if Called

Mass being celebrated in a nursing home

The following is from Father Michael Mueller's excellent book, Prayer: The Key to Salvation.  Father Mueller directed a chapter to seminarians to stress the importance of properly preparing themselves with prayer.  He also strongly enjoined them not to become a priest if they were not called by God.  Read what Father has to say about that:

First:  The importance of a pastor teaching his fold how to pray:

"One of the most important duties of a pastor is to teach the people the necessity and efficacy of prayer, and how they are to pray, and for what they are to pray....

Oh, how unspeakable is the pleasure given to Jesus Christ by a pastor, who often in public, as well as in private, fulfills this duty!

How, then, does it happen that so many pastors neglect to comply with this most essential duty?  It is principally because they themselves have never learned how necessary prayer is, and how efficacious, if performed well."

Second:  On those who enter priesthood for selfish purposes:

"Alas! There are but too many who study from low and worldly motives, and seek in the ecclesiastical state nothing but temporal advantages...

My dear young friends, I conjure you, by the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, consider well that, in order to save your souls, you must embrace that state of life to which God has called you; for in that state alone you occupy the place for which God has destined you from all eternity, and in that state He will give you all the graces necessary to fulfill all your duties.  If you live out of the sate to which you are called, it will be very difficult, nay, almost impossible, for you to work out your salvation.    This is true of everyone who lives in a sate of life to which God has not called him, but it is especially true of all those who have chosen the ecclesiastical sate without being called thereto by God... everyone who enters this holy state without being called thereto by God, will be deprived of the proper means and graces to comply with the duties of this holy state...

Anyone who receives Holy Orders without having the sign of a true vocation from God becomes guilty of mortal sin...  This terrible fate (the punishment of Core, Dathan and Abiron, who wished to exercise the functions of High Priest without being called...) St. Ephrem considers as reprobates all those who dare become priests without a Divine vocation.  'I am astounded at the madness of those who are so presumptuous as to perform the functions of the priesthood without having grace for it from Jesus Christ.  Unhappy wretches!  They do not consider that by doing so they are preparing from themselves everlasting torments.'  I would therefore earnestly urge all those young men who are studying for the priesthood, without having an evident vocation, to give up the idea as soon as possible.  The sooner they do t his the better it is for themselves, and for thousands of others.

Third:  For those who are called to the priesthood:

"My dear young friends, consider well the high dignity to which you are called.  The priesthood is the highest dignity on earth.  Innocent III says, 'The priest is placed between God and man; he is less than God, but more than man.'...whosoever intends to embrace the ecclesiastical sate must not only be free from mortal sin, but he must also be enriched with every virtue.  The Church during eleven centuries, excluded from this holy state everyone who had committed even one mortal sin after Baptism; and if anyone, after having received Holy Orders, fell into a mortal sin, he was deposed forever from his sacred office, for the simple reason that he who is not holy should not touch what is holy.

This severe discipline of the Church... has been greatly mitigated; but it has been always required that he who had in his past life become guilty of grievous sins, and desired to receive Holy Orders, should first lead a pure life for some time previous to his ordination.  It would certainly be a mortal sin to receive any of the Holy Orders while still addicted to a sinful habit.  

...A certain author says, 'those who know that their hearts are enslaved by sinful habits, and still dare to receive Holy Orders, should rather be led to a place of execution than to the Church of God.' ..."

There is a lot more written but I will stop here as there is much food for thought.  As always, please remember to pray for our seminarians and our priests.

Note:  Emphasis are mine.

Habemus Papam! Pope Francis I

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Cardinal of Buenos Aires, Argentina.  The first pope from South America! learn a little more about our new holy father. It seems he is a very humble and holy priest.