Claire’s Corner
· Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving your day to God. To honor God REST: no shopping after 6 pm Saturday till Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
· Catholic Activity: Plenary Indulgence for Divine Mercy Sunday
· Spirit Hour: Genever Cocktails in honor of Peter Canisius
· My son loves baseball-Today is Babe Ruth Day
· Try[9] Transylvanian Layered Casserole
· Get outside-American Camp Week
· Bucket List trip: Bled
O Glorious Queen of Heaven and Earth, Virgin Most Powerful, thou who hast the power to crush the head of the ancient serpent with thy heel, come and exercise this power flowing from the grace of thine Immaculate Conception. Shield us under the mantle of thy purity and love, draw us into the sweet abode of thy heart and annihilate and render impotent the forces bent on destroying us. Come Most Sovereign Mistress of the Holy Angels and Mistress of the Most Holy Rosary, thou who from the very beginning hast received from God the power and the mission to crush the head of Satan. Send forth thy holy legions, we humbly beseech thee, that under thy command and by thy power they may pursue the evil spirits, counter them on every side, resist their bold attacks and drive them far from us, harming no one on the way, binding them to the foot of the Cross to be judged and sentenced by Jesus Christ Thy Son and to be disposed of by Him as He wills.
St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, come to our aid in this grave battle against the forces of darkness, repel the attacks of the devil and free the members of the Auxilium Christianorum, and those for whom the priests of the Auxilium Christianorum pray, from the strongholds of the enemy.
St. Michael, summon the entire heavenly court to engage their forces in this fierce battle against the powers of hell. Come O Prince of Heaven with thy mighty sword and thrust into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits. O Guardian Angels, guide and protect us. Amen.
APRIL 27 Second Sunday of Easter
DIVINE
MERCY SUNDAY
Revelation,
Chapter 1, Verse 17-18
17 When I caught
sight of him, I fell down at his feet as though dead. He touched me with his right hand
and said, “Do not be AFRAID. I am the first and the last, 18 the
one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the
keys to death and the netherworld.
All have sinned; all are unjust. Have you ever
thought “Now comes the reckoning for his blood” as Joseph’s brothers did (OT:
coat of many colors)? Yet, the Lord has touched us, and it is important to note that he has touched us
with his right hand; signifying power, forgiveness and authority saying, “Do
not be afraid”.
Saint
Pope John Paul II was an example of someone who walked through the valley of
the shadow of death and feared no evil. The Lord’s rod and staff sustained him
through the nightmare of the Nazis and the Communists. Both were evil empires
devoted to the destruction of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for
all except for the few selected elites.
These empires systematically replaced God with the rule of the chosen
ones of the State. People from both the Fatherland and the Motherland sat by
and watched the evil grow without taking decisive action, making the adage ‘All
that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men (or women) do
nothing.’ Remember to measure our nation and our politics with Gods Rod (Rods were often used in
ancient times to measure) and not the political States or the media nor the
opinion of the rich and the powerful. Let us be ever ready to speak up for what
is righteous using Gods rod, which are His laws of justice and mercy, working
tirelessly and remember Saint Pope John Paul II words of encouragement, “I plead with you – never,
ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be
not afraid.”
Let us also carry with us for the journey the Staff of God which is truth, not worldly truth but Gods truth. “The word of truth, publicly, indeed almost liturgically, proclaimed was the antidote the Rhapsodic Theater sought to apply to the violent lies of the Occupation. The tools for fighting evil included speaking truth to power.” [1]
Satan
has in the past assailed us by evil governments; is it any wonder that having
been unsuccessful; that now the attack comes from within. Let us remember it is
Christ who holds the keys to
death and the netherworld.
20.08.2018
Holy Father Francis to the People of God[2]
“If one member suffers,
all suffer together with it”. These words of Saint Paul forcefully echo in my
heart as I acknowledge once more the suffering endured by many minors due to
sexual abuse, the abuse of power and the abuse of conscience perpetrated by a
significant number of clerics and consecrated persons. Crimes that inflict deep
wounds of pain and powerlessness, primarily among the victims, but also in
their family members and in the larger community of believers and nonbelievers
alike. Looking back to the past, no effort to beg pardon and to seek to repair
the harm done will ever be sufficient. Looking ahead to the future, no effort
must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from
happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and
perpetuated. The pain of the victims and their families is also our pain, and
so it is urgent that we once more reaffirm our commitment to ensure the
protection of minors and of vulnerable adults.
1. If one member suffers…
In recent days, a report
was made public which detailed the experiences of at least a thousand
survivors, victims of sexual abuse, the abuse of power and of conscience at the
hands of priests over a period of approximately seventy years. Even though it can
be said that most of these cases belong to the past, nonetheless as time goes
on we have come to know the pain of many of the victims. We have realized that
these wounds never disappear and that they require us forcefully to condemn
these atrocities and join forces in uprooting this culture of death; these
wounds never go away. The heart-wrenching pain of these victims, which cries
out to heaven, was long ignored, kept quiet or silenced. But their outcry was
more powerful than all the measures meant to silence it or sought even to
resolve it by decisions that increased its gravity by falling into complicity.
The Lord heard that cry and once again showed us on which side He stands.
Mary’s song is not mistaken and continues quietly to echo throughout history.
For the Lord remembers the promise He made to our fathers: “He has scattered
the proud in their conceit; He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and
lifted up the lowly; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He
has sent away empty” (Lk 1:51-53). We feel shame when we realize that our style
of life has denied, and continues to deny, the words we recite. With shame and
repentance, we acknowledge as an ecclesial community that we were not where we
should have been, that we did not act in a timely manner, realizing the
magnitude and the gravity of the damage done to so many lives. We showed no
care for the little ones; we abandoned them. I make my own the words of the
then Cardinal Ratzinger when, during the Way of the Cross composed for Good
Friday 2005, he identified with the cry of pain of so many victims and
exclaimed: “How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in
the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to [Christ]! How much pride, how much
self-complacency! Christ’s betrayal by His disciples, their unworthy reception
of His body and blood, is certainly the greatest suffering endured by the
Redeemer; it pierces His heart. We can only call to Him from the depths of our
hearts: Kyrie eleison – Lord, save us! (cf. Mt 8:25)” (Ninth Station).
2. all suffer together
with it
The extent and the gravity of all that has happened requires coming to grips with this reality in a comprehensive and communal way. While it is important and necessary on every journey of conversion to acknowledge the truth of what has happened, in itself this is not enough. Today we are challenged as the People of God to take on the pain of our brothers and sisters wounded in their flesh and in their spirit. If, in the past, the response was one of omission, today we want solidarity, in the deepest and most challenging sense, to become our way of forging present and future history. And this in an environment where conflicts, tensions and above all the victims of every type of abuse can encounter an outstretched hand to protect them and rescue them from their pain (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 228). Such solidarity demands that we in turn condemn whatever endangers the integrity of any person. A solidarity that summons us to fight all forms of corruption, especially spiritual corruption. The latter is “a comfortable and self-satisfied form of blindness. Everything then appears acceptable: deception, slander, egotism and other subtle forms of self-centeredness, for “even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light”” (Gaudete et Exsultate, 165. Saint Paul’s exhortation to suffer with those who suffer is the best antidote against all our attempts to repeat the words of Cain: “Am I my brother's keeper?”. I am conscious of the effort and work being carried out in various parts of the world to come up with the necessary means to ensure the safety and protection of the integrity of children and of vulnerable adults, as well as implementing zero tolerance and ways of making all those who perpetrate or cover up these crimes accountable. We have delayed in applying these actions and sanctions that are so necessary, yet I am confident that they will help to guarantee a greater culture of care in the present and future. Together with those efforts, every one of the baptized should feel involved in the ecclesial and social change that we so greatly need. This change calls for a personal and communal conversion that makes us see things as the Lord does. For as Saint John Paul II liked to say: “If we have truly started out anew from the contemplation of Christ, we must learn to see him especially in the faces of those with whom he wished to be identified” (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 49).
To
see things as the Lord does, to be where the Lord wants us to be, to experience
a conversion of heart in his presence. To do so, prayer and penance will help.
I invite the entire holy faithful People of God to a penitential exercise of
prayer and fasting, following the Lord’s command. This can awaken our
conscience and arouse our solidarity and commitment to a culture of care that
says “never again” to every form of abuse. It is impossible to think of a
conversion of our activity as a Church that does not include the active
participation of all the members of God’s People. Indeed, whenever we have
tried to replace, or silence, or ignore, or reduce the People of God to small
elites, we end up creating communities, projects, theological approaches,
spiritualities and structures without roots, without memory, without faces,
without bodies and ultimately, without lives. This is
clearly seen in a peculiar way of understanding the Church’s authority, one
common in many communities where sexual abuse and the abuse of power and
conscience have occurred. Such is the case with clericalism, an approach that
“not only nullifies the character of Christians, but also tends to diminish and
undervalue the baptismal grace that the Holy Spirit has placed in the heart of
our people”. Clericalism, whether fostered by priests themselves or by lay
persons, leads to an excision in the ecclesial body that supports and helps to
perpetuate many of the evils that we are condemning today. To say “no” to abuse
is to say an emphatic “no” to all forms of clericalism. It is always helpful to
remember that “in salvation history, the Lord saved one people. We are never
completely ourselves unless we belong to a people. That is why no one is saved
alone, as an isolated individual. Rather, God draws us to Himself, taking into
account the complex fabric of interpersonal relationships presents in the human
community. God wanted to enter into the life and history of a people” (Gaudete
et Exsultate, 6). Consequently, the only way that we have to respond to this
evil that has darkened so many lives is to experience it as a task regarding
all of us as the People of God. This awareness of being part of a people and a
shared history will enable us to acknowledge our past sins and mistakes with a
penitential openness that can allow us to be renewed from within. Without the
active participation of all the Church’s members, everything being done to uproot
the culture of abuse in our communities will not be successful in generating
the necessary dynamics for sound and realistic change. The penitential
dimension of fasting and prayer will help us as God’s People to come before the
Lord and our wounded brothers and sisters as sinners imploring forgiveness and
the grace of shame and conversion. In this way, we will come up with actions
that can generate resources attuned to the Gospel. For “whenever we make the
effort to return to the source and to recover the original freshness of the
Gospel, new avenues arise, new paths of creativity open up, with different
forms of expression, more eloquent signs and words with new meaning for today’s
world” (Evangelii Gaudium, 11).
It is essential that we,
as a Church, be able to acknowledge and condemn, with sorrow and shame, the
atrocities perpetrated by consecrated persons, clerics, and all those entrusted
with the mission of watching over and caring for those most vulnerable. Let us
beg forgiveness for our own sins and the sins of others. An awareness of sin
helps us to acknowledge the errors, the crimes and the wounds caused in the
past and allows us, in the present, to be more open and committed along a
journey of renewed conversion. Likewise, penance and prayer will help us to
open our eyes and our hearts to other people’s sufferings and to overcome the
thirst for power and possessions that are so often the root of those evils. May
fasting and prayer open our ears to the hushed pain felt by children, young
people and the disabled. A fasting that can make us hunger and thirst for
justice and impel us to walk in the truth, supporting all the judicial measures
that may be necessary. A fasting that shakes us up and leads us to be committed
in truth and charity with all men and women of good will, and with society in
general, to combating all forms of the abuse of power, sexual abuse and the
abuse of conscience. In this way, we can show clearly our calling to be “a sign
and instrument of communion with God and of the unity of the entire human race”
(Lumen Gentium, 1).
“If one member suffers,
all suffer together with it”, said Saint Paul. By an attitude of prayer and
penance, we will become attuned as individuals and as a community to this
exhortation, so that we may grow in the gift of compassion, in justice,
prevention and reparation. Mary chose to stand at the foot of her Son’s cross.
She did so unhesitatingly, standing firmly by Jesus’ side. In this way, she
reveals the way she lived her entire life. When we experience the desolation
caused by these ecclesial wounds, we will do well, with Mary, “to insist more
upon prayer”, seeking to grow all the more in love and fidelity to the Church
(SAINT IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA, Spiritual Exercises, 319). She, the first of the
disciples, teaches all of us as disciples how we are to halt before the
sufferings of the innocent, without excuses or cowardice. To look to Mary is to
discover the model of a true follower of Christ. May the Holy Spirit grant us
the grace of conversion and the interior anointing needed to express before
these crimes of abuse our compunction and our resolve courageously to combat
them.
The Way[3]
"Read these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will only stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so, you will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in the end, you will be a more worthy soul."
40. Without an architect you wouldn't build a good house for your life
on earth. How then, without a Director, can you hope to build the palace of
your sanctification for your eternity in heaven?
ON KEEPING
THE LORD'S DAY HOLY[4]
CHAPTER III
DIES ECCLESIAE
The Eucharistic Assembly:
Heart of Sunday
The Eucharistic assembly
32. The Eucharist is not only a
particularly intense expression of the reality of the Church's life, but also
in a sense its "fountain-head". The Eucharist feeds and forms the
Church: "Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we
all partake of the one bread" (1 Cor 10:17). Because of this vital
link with the sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord, the mystery of the
Church is savoured, proclaimed, and lived supremely in the Eucharist.
This ecclesial dimension intrinsic to
the Eucharist is realized in every Eucharistic celebration. But it is expressed
most especially on the day when the whole community comes together to
commemorate the Lord's Resurrection. Significantly, the Catechism of the
Catholic Church teaches that "the Sunday celebration of the Lord's Day and
his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church's life".
Second Sunday of Easter[5]
Called Dominica in Albis, or Low Sunday.
WHY is this Sunday called Dominica in Albis, (White Sunday)?
Because,
in the earlier times, those who had been baptized on Holy Saturday on this day
laid aside the white garments which they had then received, and put on their
necks an, “Agnus Dei” made of white wax, and blessed by the Pope, to remind
them continually that they were bound to preserve that innocence unstained. The
Church therefore sings, at the Introit of the Mass, as new-born babes,
alleluia, desire the rational milk without guile, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
(1 Pet. ii. 2). Rejoice to God our helper; sing aloud to the God of Jacob. Ps.
Ixxx. 1).
Prayer. Grant,
we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we who have performed the paschal
solemnities, may, by Thy grace, preserve them in our life and conduct.
EPISTLE,
i. John v. 4-10.
Dearly Beloved: Whatsoever is born of God overcometh
the world: and this is the victory which overcometh the world, our faith.
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that
believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is he that came by
water and blood, Jesus Christ: not by water only, but by water and blood. And
it is the Spirit which testifieth, that Christ is the truth. And there are
three Who give testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost.
And these three are one. And there are three that give testimony on earth: the
spirit, and the water, and the blood, and these three are one. If we receive
the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the
testimony of God, which is greater, because He hath testified of His Son. He
that believeth in the Son of God, hath the testimony of God in himself.
Explanation.
By loving faith in Jesus as the Son of God, we can
surely overcome the world, because that faith shows us in God, our Father; in
the world to come, our true country; in Jesus, our example; teaching us to love
God above all things, to disregard the world, and worldly goods, and to strive
for the eternal. That Jesus is the Son of God, St. John shows:
1. By the threefold testimony on earth, of the water
at the baptism in Jordan, of the blood at the death on the cross, of the spirit
in the miraculous effects wrought in those that believed.
2. By the threefold testimony from heaven of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Aspiration.
O Jesus, I believe in Thee, as the Son of the living
God! Grant that through this faith I may victoriously combat the flesh, the
world, the devil, and every inclination to evil, and obtain everlasting life.
GOSPEL.
John xx. 19-31.
At
that time: When it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors
were shut, where the disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them: Peace be to you. And when
He had said this, He showed them His hands, and His side. The disciples
therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. He said therefore to them again:
Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you. When He had said
this, He breathed on them; and He said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall
retain, they are retained. Now Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called
Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said
to him: We have seen the Lord. But he said to them: Except I shall see in His
hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails,
and put my hand into His side, I will not believe. And after eight days again
His disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being
shut, and stood in the midst, and said: Peace be to you. Then He saith to
Thomas: Put in thy finger hither, and see My hands; and bring hither thy hand,
and put it into My side: and be not faithless but believing. Thomas answered,
and said to Him: My Lord and my God. Jesus saith to him: Because thou hast seen
Me, Thomas, thou hast believed: Blessed are they that have not seen, and have
believed. Many other signs also did Jesus in the sight of His disciples, which
are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ the Son of God: and that believing, you may have life in
His name.
Why does
Jesus so often say, Peace be to you?
To signify that He had
restored peace between God and man; to show how men might know His disciples;
and how necessary to salvation the preservation of peace is.
Why did
God permit Thomas to disbelieve the appearance of Christ to the other
disciples?
That we might thereby be
strengthened in faith, for as Christ took away all doubt from Thomas, by
appearing again, the resurrection of Christ by that means becomes, as St.
Gregory says, so much the more credible and certain.
What is
it to believe in God?
To receive as immovably
certain what God has revealed to us, although we cannot understand it.
What must
we, therefore, believe?
All that God has revealed.
Why must
we believe all this?
Because God, the infallible
truth, has revealed it. This belief is as necessary to salvation as it is
reasonable in itself.
How can
we certainly know what God has or has not revealed, and which this one true
faith is?
Through His Church, which is
guided by the Holy Ghost to all truth, and in which Jesus Christ dwells till
the end of time.
How can
we know the Church of Christ?
By this, that, like the
truth, she is one, holy, apostolic, and catholic.
Which is
this true Church of Christ?
The Roman Catholic, since
she alone possesses the abovementioned marks of the true Church. She alone has
preserved unity in faith and in the holy sacraments, and is subordinate to one
visible head, the Pope. She alone can trace her derivation from the apostles to
the present day, and can demonstrate this origin as well by her doctrine, as by
the succession of her popes and bishops. She alone has all the means of
salvation, and she alone has produced saints. Finally, she alone embraces all
ages, and shines, as St. Augustine says, from one end of the world to the
other, in the splendor of one and the same faith, inviting all to her bosom, to
bring them to Jesus.
What
answer should a Catholic make to objections against the Mass, purgatory, and
such like?
He should say, I believe
these and the like matters of faith, because God, Who is Truth, has revealed
them: I believe that He has thus revealed them, because the Roman Catholic
Church, which teaches them to me, has all the marks of the true Church of Christ,
guided by God, and cannot therefore deceive me.
Is it sufficient for salvation to have the true faith, and to belong to
the true Church?
No; we must live according to that faith, that is, we must observe what it commands, avoid what it forbids, and often, particularly in temptation, make an act of faith.
Divine
Mercy Sunday[6]
During the Passover
observance in 30 A.D., the last Supper would have been observed on Thursday,
April 6 [Nisan 13], and Jesus would have been crucified on Friday, April 7
[Nisan 14].)
Reflect what it took to
make Christ the gentle shepherd of our souls: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone
who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
Come to the Feast of Divine Mercy!
Calling all Catholics, come to the
Feast of Mercy on the Sunday after Easter. Did you know that the Lord said that
this feast would one day be the “last hope of salvation”? Have you considered
what would happen to you if you suddenly died in the state of mortal sin? Did
you know that in the 1930’s Our Lord Jesus, Himself requested through St.
Faustina that a very special Feast of Divine Mercy be established in His Church
and solemnly celebrated on the First Sunday after Easter every year?
In
the Jubilee Year 2000, after many years of study, Saint Pope John Paul II
fulfilled the will of Christ by establishing this special Feast of Divine Mercy
in the Catholic Church and gave it the name of Divine Mercy Sunday! By God’s
Providence, Saint John Paul II died on this feast in 2005. What is so special
about this new Feast of Divine Mercy you might be asking yourself?
It
is the promise of the total forgiveness of all sins and punishment for any soul
that would go to Confession and then receive Jesus in Holy Communion on that
very special Feast of Divine Mercy! Why would Jesus offer us something so great
at this time?
Jesus
told St. Faustina that she was to prepare the world for His Second Coming and
that He would be pouring out His Mercy in very great abundance before He comes
again as the Just Judge and as the very last hope of salvation. If you have
been away from the practice of your Catholic faith, and if you would like to
come back into the, one, true Catholic Church, then this is the most perfect
opportunity for you, if you are prepared to repent and turn from sin. Many
former fallen-away Catholics have taken advantage of this great Feast of Mercy
to get a brand-new start in life and to be totally prepared to stand before the
Lord.
If you have been away from the Catholic faith
and
if you have any questions about coming back home, then come in and talk to a
priest at any Catholic Church. The beauty of the Catholic Church is that its
teachings and practices are the same at all the parishes. You may have
concerns, such as: marriage outside of the Church; un-confessed abortions; or
other issues that could be preventing you from receiving Holy Communion or you
may have questions about the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Don’t remain in
doubt. Call your local parish office to find out the necessary steps to come
back to the Catholic faith. Don’t consider yourself as without hope. Our Lord
Jesus wants to pardon completely even the worst sinners possible. Remember,
Jesus has come for sinners, not the righteous. Jesus said that even if our sins
were as numerous as the grains of sand, they would be lost in His Ocean of
Mercy. If you are truly repentant of your sins and are well prepared to confess
your sins in the Sacrament of Confession, you’ll experience a tremendous peace.
You’ll experience a great weight lifted from you and get a brand-new start in
life! Once you have confessed your sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation,
then you must continue to practice your faith as a good Catholic. This involves
attending Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation, supporting your
local parish, and confessing your serious sins at least once a year. In
Confession, you must be truly sorry for your sins and you must intend to
continue to practice your faith.
Jesus
is in the Confessional
One
of the most reassuring things Our Lord Jesus revealed to us through Saint
Faustina includes the several times when He indicated to her that He is really
there in the Confessional when we are making our individual Confessions to the
priests. Jesus said that every time we enter the Confessional, that He Himself
is there waiting for us, and that He is only hidden by the priest. Jesus said
never to analyze what sort of a priest that He is making use of, but for us to
reveal our souls to Him and that He will fill us with His peace and light. Some
have wondered why Jesus would want us to confess our sins to a priest, but the
answer is in the very first instruction that Jesus gave to His Apostles
directly after His Resurrection from the dead. On the evening of the
Resurrection, Jesus walked through the door of the Upper Room where the
Apostles were hiding and said to them “Receive the Holy Spirit, what sins you
forgive are forgiven them, what sins you retain are retained”. This was the
start of Confessions. For sure, that command was not only for the Apostles to
be able to forgive sins, and then to be forgotten, but for that power to be
passed on to all the ordained priests of today in the Catholic Church. Jesus
said that the greater the sinner, the greater the right they have to His mercy!
Don’t continue to carry your sins, Jesus forgives!
To properly celebrate the Feast of Divine Mercy and to receive the forgiveness of all sins and punishment, you must go to Confession to a Catholic priest within 20 days before or after Divine Mercy Sunday. Or if you are in the state of very serious or mortal sin, you must always confess them before receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, or you will also commit a sacrilege, which is also a very serious sin. If you haven’t been going to Sunday Mass without any good reason, you may be in a state of serious sin and you must confess before receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. For more information about the Feast of Divine Mercy and a Confession Guide, go to: http://www.DivineMercySunday.com or call 772-873-4581.
Jesus to Sr. Faustina[7]
On
one occasion, I heard these words: "My daughter, tell the whole world
about My inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and
shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. 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 graces 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. Everything that exists has come
forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation
to Me will contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of
Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be
solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have
peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.
"[Let] the greatest
sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before others to
trust in the abyss of My mercy. My daughter write about My mercy towards
tormented souls. Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such
souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest
sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify
him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy. Write: before I come as a just
Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through
the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice.
"From all My wounds,
like from streams, mercy flows for souls, but the wound in My Heart is the
fountain of unfathomable mercy. From this fountain spring all graces for souls.
The flames of compassion burn Me. I desire greatly to pour them out upon souls.
Speak to the whole world about My mercy."
Excerpted
from Diary of Sr. M. Faustina Kowalska.
Things to
Do:
- Read
the Apostolic
Penitentiary Decree on the Indulgences attached to devotions in honor of
Divine Mercy
- Read
Dives
in misericordia, the encyclical Letter of John Paul II on Mercy.
STOP
and PRAY[8]
At
3:00 o'clock we can pray:
In His Revelations to
Blessed Faustina, Jesus asked for special, daily remembrance at three o'clock,
the very hour He died for us on the cross:
DIRECTIONS
"At three o'clock,
implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and if only for a brief moment,
immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment of
agony: This is the hour of great mercy for the whole world. I will allow you to
enter into My mortal sorrow. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul
that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion." (Diary, 1320).
You
expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls and the ocean of
mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fountain of Life, unfathomable Divine
Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us. (Diary, 1319).
O
Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of
mercy for us, I trust in You. (Diary, 84
Catechism
of the Catholic Church
Day 315 2415-2425
PART THREE: LIFE IN CHRIST
SECTION TWO-THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
CHAPTER
TWO-YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF
Article 7-THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT
Respect for
the integrity of creation
2415 The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the
integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature
destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity. Use of
the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced
from respect for moral imperatives. Man's dominion over inanimate and other
living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern
for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it
requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation.
2416 Animals are God's creatures. He surrounds them with
his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him
glory. Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with
which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals.
2417 God entrusted animals to the stewardship of those whom
he created in his own image. Hence it is legitimate to use animals for
food and clothing. They may be domesticated to help man in his work and
leisure. Medical and scientific experimentation on animals is a morally
acceptable practice, if it remains within reasonable limits and contributes to
caring for or saving human lives.
2418 It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to
suffer or die needlessly. It is likewise unworthy to spend money on them that
should as a priority go to the relief of human misery. One can love animals;
one should not direct to them the affection due only to persons.
III. The Social Doctrine of the Church
2419
"Christian revelation . . . promotes deeper understanding of the laws of
social living." The Church receives from the Gospel the full
revelation of the truth about man. When she fulfills her mission of proclaiming
the Gospel, she bears witness to man, in the name of Christ, to his dignity and
his vocation to the communion of persons. She teaches him the demands of
justice and peace in conformity with divine wisdom.
2420 The
Church makes a moral judgment about economic and social matters, "when the
fundamental rights of the person or the salvation of souls requires
it." In the moral order she bears a mission distinct from that of
political authorities: the Church is concerned with the temporal aspects of the
common good because they are ordered to the sovereign Good, our ultimate end.
She strives to inspire right attitudes with respect to earthly goods and in
socio-economic relationships.
2421 The
social doctrine of the Church developed in the nineteenth century when the
Gospel encountered modern industrial society with its new structures for the
production of consumer goods, its new concept of society, the state and
authority, and its new forms of labor and ownership. The development of the
doctrine of the Church on economic and social matters attests the permanent
value of the Church's teaching at the same time as it attests the true meaning
of her Tradition, always living and active.
2422 The
Church's social teaching comprises a body of doctrine, which is articulated as
the Church interprets events in the course of history, with the assistance of
the Holy Spirit, in the light of the whole of what has been revealed by Jesus
Christ. This teaching can be more easily accepted by men of good will, the
more the faithful let themselves be guided by it.
2423 The
Church's social teaching proposes principles for reflection; it provides
criteria for judgment; it gives guidelines for action:
Any system in which social
relationships are determined entirely by economic factors is contrary to the
nature of the human person and his acts.
2424 A theory that makes profit the exclusive norm and ultimate end of economic activity is morally unacceptable. The disordered desire for money cannot but produce perverse effects. It is one of the causes of the many conflicts which disturb the social order.
A system that "subordinates the basic rights of individuals and of groups to the collective organization of production" is contrary to human dignity. Every practice that reduces persons to nothing more than a means of profit enslaves man, leads to idolizing money, and contributes to the spread of atheism. "You cannot serve God and mammon."
2425 The
Church has rejected the totalitarian and atheistic ideologies associated in
modem times with "communism" or "socialism." She has
likewise refused to accept, in the practice of "capitalism,"
individualism and the absolute primacy of the law of the marketplace over human
labor. Regulating the economy solely by centralized planning perverts the
basis of social bonds; regulating it solely by the law of the marketplace fails
social justice, for "there are many human needs which cannot be satisfied
by the market." Reasonable regulation of the marketplace and economic
initiatives, in keeping with a just hierarchy of values and a view to the
common good, is to be commended.
Daily Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: Protection
of Life from Conception until natural death.
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
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