NINTH DAY (Saturday, Vigil of Pentecost)
Apostolic Exhortation[1]
Veneremur
Cernui – Down in Adoration Falling
of The Most Reverend Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of
Phoenix,
to Priests, Deacons, Religious and the Lay Faithful of the Diocese of Phoenix
on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
My beloved Brothers and
Sisters in Christ,
Part I
Eucharist –
Mystery to Be Revered
13. The Eucharist is the supernatural
food that keeps us going along the difficult journey towards the Promised Land
of eternal salvation: “Whoever eats my flesh has eternal life”. To see
the truth of these words, we must turn to the context for which they were
spoken.
I. The Mass as the new Exodus from
Slavery of Sin
14. The Eucharist comes to us through
the Mass. Our normal experience of the Eucharist is at Mass, the central ritual
– or liturgical – celebration which takes place every day and is a weekly
obligation for the faithful. What we often call the Sacrifice of the Mass is
the place where the Church has always believed we eat and drink the Body and
Blood of Christ. The Mass must be understood within the context of the Last
Supper where “Jesus took bread […] and gave it to his disciples, saying,
‘Take and eat; this is my body’ […] Then he took a cup, […] he gave it to them,
saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant’” (Mt
26:26-28).
15. At the Last Supper, which the
Church commemorates today, Jesus took part in and forever transformed the Jewish
Passover ritual meal. It is here we see the context in which Jesus desires His
Body and Blood to be consumed as food. This is the context where we discover
the beauty of the grand mystery of the Eucharist as the fulfillment of both the
Jewish Passover and the Covenant of Israel.
To be continued…
Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter
ST. RITA OF CASSIA
1 SAMUEL, Chapter 22, Verse 23
Stay with me. Do not be AFRAID;
whoever seeks your life must seek my life also. You are under my protection.”
David said this to Abiathar: the sole survivor
of Eli’s household which Saul killed for giving aid to David. David now has in
his service the only priest of the Lord left in the land and exclusive access
to the ephod for consulting the Lord. David later appoints Abiathar co-high
priest with Zadok in Jerusalem.
Yet, when I read this verse, I hear the Lord
saying this to us all-Stay with me-do not be afraid. Today go to the Blessed
Sacrament and spend some time with the Lord. There our Lord will pull us to Himself
and transform us into warriors and conquerors. Draw near to Him and He will
transform your disenchantment with the world and help you along the road to
holiness and sainthood.
Our lives are
songs; God writes the words and we set them to music at pleasure; and the song
grows glad, or sweet or sad, as we choose to fashion the measure.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
St. Rita of Cassia[1]
Rita's childhood was one of happiness to her parents. To satisfy her desire of a life of union with God by prayer, her parents fitted up a little room in their home as an oratory, where she spent all her spare moments. At the age of twelve, however, she desired to consecrate herself to God in the religious state. Pious though her parents were, their tearful pleadings to postpone her noble purpose prevailed on Rita, and they gave her in marriage, at the age of eighteen, to an impulsive, irascible young man, who was well fitted to try the patience and virtue of the holy girl.
Two sons were born to them, each
inheriting their father's quarrelsome temperament. Rita continued her
accustomed devotions, and her sanctity and prayers finally won her husband's
heart so that he willingly consented that she continue her acts of devotion.
Eighteen years had elapsed since her marriage, when her husband was murdered by
an old enemy; both of her sons died shortly after. Rita's former desire to
consecrate herself to God again took possession of her.
Three times she sought admittance
among the Augustinian Nuns in Cascia, but her request was refused each time,
and she returned to her home in Rocca Porrena. God Himself, however, supported
her cause. One night as Rita was praying earnestly in her humble home, she
heard herself called by name, while someone knocked at the door. In a
miraculous way she was conducted to the monastic enclosure, no entrance having
been opened. Astonished at the miracle, the Nuns received Rita, and soon enrolled
her among their number.
St. Rita's hidden, simple life in
religion was distinguished by obedience and charity; she performed many extreme
penances. After hearing a sermon on the Passion of Christ she returned to her
cell; kneeling before her crucifix, she implored: "Let me, my Jesus share
in Thy suffering, at least of one of Thy thorns". Her prayer was answered.
Suddenly one of the thorns detached and fastened itself in her forehead so
deeply that she could not remove it. The wound became worse, and gangrene set
in. Because of the foul odor emanating from the wound, she was denied the
companionship of the other Sisters, and this for fifteen years. Miraculous
power was soon recognized in Rita. When Pope Nicholas IV proclaimed a jubilee
at Rome, Rita desired to attend. Permission was granted on condition that her
wound would be healed. This came about only for the duration of the trip. Upon
her return to the monastery the wound from the thorn reappeared, and remained
until her death. As St. Rita was dying, she requested a relative to bring her a
rose from her old home at Rocca Porrena. Although it was not the season for
roses, the relative went and found a rose in full bloom. For this reason, roses
are blessed in the Saint's honor.
After St. Rita's death, in 1457, her
face became beautifully radiant, while the odor from her wound was as fragrant
as that of the roses she loved so much. The sweet odor spread through the
convent and into the church, where it has continued ever since. Her body has
remained incorrupt to this day; the face is beautiful and well preserved. When
St. Rita died the lowly cell was aglow with heavenly light, while the great
bell of the monastery rang of itself. A relative with a paralyzed arm, upon
touching the sacred remains, was cured. A carpenter, who had known the Saint,
offered to make the coffin. Immediately he recovered the use of his long-stiffened
hands.
As one of the solemn acts of his
jubilee, Pope Leo XIII canonized St. Rita on the Feast of the Ascension, May
24, 1900.
Patron: Abuse victims; against loneliness; against sterility;
bodily ills; DESPERATE CAUSES; difficult marriages; forgotten causes; IMPOSSIBLE
CAUSES; infertility; lost causes; parenthood; sick people; sickness; sterility;
victims of physical spouse abuse; widows; wounds.
Things to Do:
- From
the Catholic Culture library: St.
Rita of Cascia and A
Life of Heroic Humility and Obedience.
- Visit
the National
Shrine of St. Rita of Cassia and read this life
of St. Rita
- Watch
this videos of St. Rita's life here and here
- Visit
the Shrine of Santa Rita in the
Desert in Vail, Arizona
International Day for Biological Diversity[2]
The International Day for Biological Diversity aims to raise
awareness and understanding of biological diversity and issues surrounding it.
The day also serves to highlight possible strategies to protect biodiversity,
which refers to the variety of life on the planet. Today, habitats are
degrading and leading to a reduction in biodiversity, a problem that directly
affects human well-being, poverty reduction and global sustainable development.
The International Day for Biological Diversity was proclaimed in December of
2000 by the United
Nations General Assembly. It is celebrated annually on May 22, a day that
commemorates the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992.
International Day
for Biological Diversity Facts & Quotes
·
According
to the UN, more than 3 billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity
for their livelihoods and 1.6 billion people rely on forests and non-timber
forest products for their livelihoods.
·
Habitat
degradation and the loss of biodiversity are currently threatening the
livelihood of over 1 billion people who live in dry and subhumid climates.
·
Over
50% of the world’s plant species and 42% of all terrestrial vertebrate species
are native to a specific country and do not naturally exist elsewhere.
·
We
should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use
it and come to understand what it means to humanity. – E. O. Wilson, American
biologist, researcher, theorist and author.
Day for Biological
Diversity Top Events and Things to Do
·
Watch
a movie or documentary on the importance and irreplaceability of the world’s
biodiversity. Some suggestions are: The Cove, Oceans, Plastic Planet and the
11th hour.
·
Spread
awareness on social media by using the hashtags
#InternationalDayForBiologicalDiversity, #IDBD and #BiologicalDiversity.
·
Join
the international Day for Biological Diversity Google Hangout where you can
video stream yourself and with other people to discuss biological diversity
with like-minded individuals.
·
Organize
or participate in a local cleanup effort. Biodiversity is very negatively
impacted by human trash and pollution.
·
Donate
to the center for biological diversity. All funds are put towards securing a
future for all species hovering on the brink of extinction with a focus on
protecting lands, waters
and climate that species need to survive. Consider funds like WWF, the Animal
Project and Defenders of Wildlife.
·
Visit
Biosphere 2 is an American Earth system
science research facility located in Oracle, Arizona.
Why should Catholics care?[3]
The Church’s social teaching calls
on Catholics to uphold the life and dignity of every human person, to be in
solidarity with our brothers and sisters worldwide, and to care for God’s
creation. Since the extraction of oil, gas, minerals, and timber affects the
poor most acutely, the Church has been addressing issues related to extractive
industries around the world. Catholic agencies and affected people have been
engaged in advocacy with their own governments, international financial
institutions, and extractives companies, urging them to become more
transparent, to reduce the negative impacts of resource extraction on people
and the environment, and to increase benefits for the poor most especially.
In the U.S. bishops’ first
statement on environmental matters, renewing the Earth (1991), they draw
attention to the ethical dimensions of the ecological crisis, exploring the
link between ecology and poverty and the implications for human life and
dignity. Bishops of every part of the world have expressed concern regarding
extractive industries. Indeed, Pope Benedict XVI, expanding on the issue of the
environment in Caritas in Veritate, stated: Let us hope that the international
community and individual governments will succeed in countering harmful ways of
treating the environment. It is likewise incumbent upon the competent
authorities to make every effort to ensure that the economic and social costs
of using up shared environmental resources are recognized with transparency and
fully borne by those who incur them, not by other peoples or future
generations: the protection of the environment, of resources and of the climate
obliges all international leaders to act jointly and to show a readiness to
work in good faith, respecting the law and promoting solidarity with the
weakest regions of the planet (No. 50).
Daily
Devotions
·
Saturday Litany of the Hours
Invoking the Aid of Mother Mary
·
Offering
to the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
·
Rosary
[1]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2019-05-22
Comments
Post a Comment