JUNE
Wildlife
fills our life with joy and refreshment. Songbirds and birds of prey, squirrels
and rabbits, butterflies and lightning bugs all carry a message worth
discovering in early summer. Do we see and hear them, or do we overlook them,
even despise them? Are they simply an annoyance, or do we come to know, love,
and even serve these fellow creatures by providing protection and habitat?
June: The Sacred Heart of Jesus – The Sacred Heart of Jesus
is the revelation of God’s immense love for us. It is often depicted as a fiery
furnace, pierced and broken, but beating with love. The Sacred Heart is also a
profound reminder of the humanity of our Lord, for his heart is not a mere
symbol, but a true physical reality.
Overview of June[1]
The
month of June is dedicated to The Sacred Heart of
Jesus. This
month falls within the liturgical season of Ordinary Time, which is represented by the
liturgical color green. This symbol of hope is the color of the sprouting seed
and arouses in the faithful the hope of reaping the eternal harvest of heaven,
especially the hope of a glorious resurrection. It is used in the offices and
Masses of Ordinary Time.
As we begin to feel the warmth of summer, we can reflect that we
celebrate the feasts of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (June 11) and the Immaculate
Heart of Mary (June 12). God is Love and the Sacred Heart of Jesus —
present on earth in the Blessed Sacrament — is the human manifestation of God's
Love for men.
Other principle feasts of this month are St. Justin (June 1),
Sts. Marcellinus and Peter (June 2), St. Boniface (June 5), St. Ephrem
(June 9), St. Romuald (June 19), Sts. John Fisher and Thomas
More (June 22), the Birth of St. John the Baptist (June 24), St.
Josemaria Escriva (June 26), the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul
(June 29) and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome (June 30).
Appropriately June is considered the month for weddings where human
hearts join and cooperate with the Creator in bringing forth new life. The
family they create is a human reflection of the Blessed Trinity.
Following
Pentecost, the Church begins her slow descent from the great peaks of the
Easter Season to the verdant pastures of Ordinary Time, the longest of the
liturgical seasons. Like the lush June growth all around us, the green of the
liturgical season points to the new life won for us by the Redemption of Jesus
Christ, the new life of Charity. For Our Lord came to cast the fire of His love
on the earth, and to that end, sent His Holy Spirit at Pentecost in the form of
tongues of fire. Ordinary Time is the hour to “go out to all the world and tell
the good news.” The feasts of June highlight this expansion of the Church. At
least ten times, the Church vests in the red of the martyrs whose blood is the
very seed of her growth. She also celebrates the feasts of the apostles Peter
and Paul, and the birth of St. John the Baptist, proto-disciple and prophet. We
too are called to be witnesses like the apostles and martyrs. May the Heart of
Jesus inflame our hearts so that we may be worthy of our Baptismal call to
holiness. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.
JUNE 1 Tuesday
Psalm 112, Verse 7-8
7 He shall not FEAR an ill report; his heart is
steadfast, trusting the Lord. 8 His heart is tranquil, without FEAR,
till at last he looks down on his foes.
This
is the blessed state of the righteous. Yes, we are in a battle and yes in our
modern world the news cycles are all in league with the unholy secularized
world. Do not fear the ill reporters or the Facebook fanatics. Remember God
tests those he loves yet during the trial those that are faithful can still
hear the whisper of encouragement.
Leaders are not paralyzed by problems[2]
Joseph
was the 11th son of Jacob’s 12 sons, and he was despised by his
brothers because of jealousy over Jacob’s favor. Yet, in the face of many
troubles he accomplished much because he had:
1. Vision because he knew God had something
special in mind for him.
2.
Love of God and he walked in the spirit and God
was with him.
3.
Strong Character with each trial Joseph grew
stronger.
4.
Practical with his abilities and experience
in all his trials.
5.
Used his giftedness in interpreting dreams to make a
difference in many lives.
6.
Faith in the Blessing of God and whatever he did, the Lord made
it prosper.
Friendship:
key to sharing your spiritual gifts[3]
Our
triune God shares His truth, beauty and wisdom or personhood with each of us.
God’s desire for us is that we thrive, and He takes action to ensure that we
do. We can tap into God’s grace and power if we do His will for us and listen
to Him. Matthew Kelly in his book “Rediscovering Catholicism” recommends that
in order to share our spiritual gifts we need to have a real practical plan.
Here is his Plan for evangelization via friendship:
1.
It
first starts with prayer taking time in the “classroom of silence” and ask God
to point out two to five people in your life who would most benefit from a
greater knowledge and appreciation of Christ and the church. Write down the
names of those people. Mentally attach one of their names to a finger of your
right hand and think what life would be like without those fingers.
2.
Pray
for those people every day for the next month, by name, every day. Make
yourself available to God for them. Tell God that you would like to help them
discover the benefits of living a life of virtue and the adventure of walking
with Him.
3.
After
you have prayed for them for a month, contact each of them and arrange to spend
an hour or two with each of them personally. No agenda or preaching; just be
present with each other. Take them to lunch, walk, golf, coffee make it fun and
enjoy. Talk with them what is going on in their lives-listen.
4.
Do
this once a month with each person individually for three to six months; don’t
talk about God, religion, or the Church, unless they bring it up.
5.
After
six months invite them to a local homeless shelter, soup kitchen or some other
good work the Lord leads you to and after having formed a friendship; now would
be a good time to discuss the place of God in our lives.
6.
Over
time if they seem to have an interest in drawing closer to God; give them a
good book on the spiritual life that will challenge them to think, change,
grow; become the best version of their self.
7.
When
you get together each month talk about the book ideas. What did they like about
the book? Or didn’t like. What parts is a challenge? What parts is a comfort?
How does it make you want to live differently?
8.
When
they are ready invite them to one of your church programs or outreaches.
Afterward, invite them for a meal or coffee and talk.
9.
Continue
the five friendships and then invite them to do the same with five. Now go back
to the Lord and ask for five more. This is how we bring about the new
evangelization and build a Kingdom of God.
Apostolic Exhortation[4]
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 II
I. The Graces of Holy Communion
ii. We become “One Body and One
Spirit in Christ”
46. In Holy Communion, Christ is
present in us. Holy Communion allows Christ through us to go to every corner
and alley of the world so that where there is division and hate, He will bring
love; where there is suffering and pain, He will bring comfort and consolation;
and where there is discouragement and sin, He will bring healing and
forgiveness. Imagine if each of us Christians makes the Eucharist the source
and summit of our life? We would set the world on fire with Christ’s love!
II. Faith perceives what our
senses fail to grasp
47. What must we do then, to assure
that Holy Communion bestows these life-giving and transforming effects in our
soul? If we receive Holy Communion out of routine only, without openness to the
Lord, then we will not receive all the graces that God wants to give. But if we
receive the Lord with the right dispositions, God’s grace will strengthen our
resolve to follow, love and imitate Him. Our Lord Jesus deeply desires our
union with Him in Holy Communion and through it He wishes to bring about our
transformation into Him and the transformation of our society in which we live.
But we, on our part, must ardently desire this union with Jesus Christ as well.
48. In today’s superficial and fast
paced culture that is driven by instant results and gratification, it is easy
for us to lose our sense of wonder when we come face to face with the miracle
of the Eucharist. Living in a culture that seeks sensational headlines and
attention-catching spectacles, we can easily take for granted the Eucharist and
receive Jesus in Holy Communion with little to no expectation. Contrary to what
our culture offers and seeks, the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is so
quiet, so gentle, and imperceivable.
To be continued…
Four
Approved Eucharistic Miracles from the
21st Century[5]
In his
writings on the Eucharist, Fr. Spitzer reminds us that a Eucharistic
miracle occurs every day, at every holy mass across the world, when the
substance of bread and wine is transformed into the substance of Jesus’ body
and blood.
However, the term “Eucharistic miracle" can
also refer to extraordinary empirical signs of Jesus’ presence in the
Eucharist, such as bleeding hosts or the transmutation of a consecrated host
into a piece of cardiac muscle tissue.
Some notable Eucharistic miracles happened years and
years ago (i.e. the Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano, Italy in the 8th century
and the Eucharistic Miracle of Santarem, Portugal in the 13th century). Others
have happened in more recent history, such as the scientifically proven
Eucharistic miracles of Buenos Aires in 1992-1996. However, there are a handful
that have taken place in just the past 20 years. Below are four stories of
approved and recent Eucharistic miracles.
1. Legnica: A Bleeding Host
in Poland, 2013
On Christmas Day 2013, at the Church of Saint
Hyacinth in Legnica, Poland, a consecrated host fell on the floor. The host was
put into a container with water so that it would dissolve. Instead, it formed
red stains. In Feb. 2014, the host was examined by various research institutes
including the Department of Forensic Medicine in Szczecin who
stated:
“In the
histopathological image, the fragments were found containing the fragmented
parts of the cross-striated muscle. It is most similar to the heart muscle.”
Additionally, and similar to the findings of the
Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano, Italy, research found that the tissue had
alterations that would appear during great distress.
The bleeding Host in Poland was approved for
veneration in April 2016, by Bishop Zbigniew Kiernikowski of Legnica who said
that it “has the hallmarks of a Eucharistic miracle.” Learn more here
2. Tixtla: Eucharistic
Miracle in Mexico, 2006
In Oct. 2006, a parish in the Chilpancingo-Chilapa
Diocese of Mexico held a retreat. During mass, two priests and a religious
sister were distributing communion when the religious sister looked at the
celebrant with tears in her eyes. The Host that she held had begun to effuse a
reddish substance.
To determine the validity of the event, Bishop Alejo
Zavala Castro asked Dr. Ricardo Castañón Gómez (who researched the Eucharistic
miracle in Buenos Aires) and his team to conduct scientific research.
In 2013, the research concluded that:
“The
reddish substance analyzed corresponds to blood in which there are hemoglobin
and DNA of human origin… The blood type is AB, similar to the one found in the
Host of Lanciano and in the Holy Shroud
of Turin.”
Learn more about the Tixtla eucharistic miracle here.
3. A Eucharistic Miracle at
Chirattakonam, India, 2001
Though most Eucharistic miracles have to do with a
bleeding host, the one at at Chirattakonam, India was a bit different. On an
April morning in 2001, Fr. Johnson Karoor, pastor at St. Mary’s parish in
Chirattakonam, India, exposed the Blessed Sacrament for adoration. Soon Fr.
Karoor noticed three dots on the host and shared what he saw with the people,
who also saw the dots.
The priest then left for a week and came back to
find that the host had developed an image of a human face. To ensure it wasn’t
his imagination, he asked an alter server if he saw anything in the host.
“I see
the figure of a man,” the alter server replied. After mass, Fr. Karoor had a
local photographer capture the image of the host:
Read more about the Miracle at Chirattakonam here.
4. The Eucharistic Miracle
in Sokolka, Poland, 2008
Before the bleeding host in Legnica, there was
another Eucharistic miracle in Poland that occurred in the city of Sokolka.
The miracle took place in 2008 at the church of St.
Anthony. That morning during Mass, a priest accidentally dropped a host while
distributing Communion. The Host was then put in a small container of water.
The pastor, Fr. Stanislaw Gniedziejko, asked the sacristan, Sister Julia
Dubowska of the Congregation of the Eucharistic Sisters, to place the container
in a safe in the sacristy. After a week, Sister Julia checked on the host. When
she opened the safe, she smelled something like unleavened bread and the host
had a red blood stain on it.
Immediately, Sister Julia and Fr. Gniedziejko told
the archbishop of Bialystok, Bishop Edward Ozorowski, about the host. The
Bishop had the stained host taken out of the container and placed on a
corporal, where it stayed in the tabernacle for three years. During this time,
the stained fragment of the host dried out (appearing more like a blood stain
or clot) and several studies were commissioned on the host. The studies found
that the altered fragment of the host is identical to the myocardial (heart)
tissue of a person who is nearing death. Additionally, the structure of the
muscle fibers and that of the bread are interwoven in a way impossible to
produce by human means.
Learn more about the bleeding Host in Poland here.
For more on Eucharistic miracles, see “The
Eucharistic Miracle Overseen by Archbishop Bergoglio (Now Pope Francis)”
and Fr. Spitzer’s article, "Contemporary,
Scientifically Validated Miracles Associated with Blessed Mary, Saints and the
Holy Eucharist.” See also,
“For us
believers what we have seen is something that we have always believed… If our
Lord is speaking to us by giving us this sign, it certainly needs a response
from us.” –
Bishop Cyril Mar Baselice, Archbishop of the diocese
of Trivandrum on the Eucharistic Miracle at Chirattakonam, India
Daily Devotions/Practices
·
Make reparations to the Holy Face-Tuesday Devotion
·
Pray Day 8 of the Novena for our Pope and Bishops
·
Tuesday: Litany of St. Michael the Archangel
·
Offering to the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Drops of Christ’s Blood
·
Universal Man Plan
·
Pray for our nation.
·
Rosary.
Comments
Post a Comment