Sunday, May 31, 2015

1 and 1 and 1 is One

"The Best ideal is the true and other truth is none. 
All glory be ascribed to the holy Three in One."  
Gerard Manley Hopkins

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Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
"All three in a great dynamic of love,
are so close that they are One God." ~ Fr. John Foley, S. J.

Trinity Sunday, officially "The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity," is one of the few feasts of the Christian Year that celebrates a reality and doctrine rather than an event or person. On Trinity Sunday we remember and honor the eternal God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Trinity Sunday is celebrated the Sunday after Pentecost, and lasts only one day, which is symbolic of the unity of the Trinity. The Eastern Churches have no tradition of Trinity Sunday, arguing that they celebrate the Trinity every Sunday. Westerners do as well, although they set aside a special feast day for the purpose.


"O Trinity, eternal Trinity! Fire, abyss of love
was it necessary that you should give
even
the Holy Trinity as food for souls?

You gave us not only your Word

through the Redemption and in the Eucharist,
but you also gave Yourself
in the fullness of love for Your creature."
 
St Catherine of Siena

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"In the communion of grace with the Trinity, 
man's 'living area' is broadened
and raised up to the supernatural level of divine life."

Pope St John Paul II



 
All glory be to the Father
and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Place of grace

"If by a diligent life of virtue you wash away the film of dirt
that covers your heart, then the divine Beauty
will shine forth in you. " - St Gregory of Nyssa
 
 
"If I am not in God's grace,
may God put me there;
and if I am,
may God so keep me there." 
 
 
St Joan of Arc
France ~ 1412-1431
Mystic, Patriot, Martyr
aka - "Maid of Orleans"
Patron of France, soldiers
FEAST DAY - May 30
 
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 "I am not afraid.  I was born to do this." - St Joan of Arc
 

 

ORDAINED to the Holy Priesthood of Jesus Christ TODAY
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Oh, day of Love Divine, all loves excelling
An Old German saying:
It is worth wearing out a pair of shoes to walk
to receive a priest's First Blessing!

Rev. Mr. Jake Anderson ~ Archdiocese of St Paul/Minneapolis (Minnesota)
Rev. Mr. Byron Hagan ~ Archdiocese of St Paul/Minneapolis
Rev. Mr. Peter Hughes ~ Archdiocese of St Paul/Minneapolis
Rev. Mr. TJ McKenzie~ Archdiocese of St Paul/Minneapolis
Rev. Mr. Bruno Nwachukwu ~ Archdiocese of St Paul/Minneapolis
Rev. Mr. John Powers ~ Archdiocese of St Paul/Minneapolis
Rev. Mr. James Stiles ~ Archdiocese of St Paul/Minneapolis
Rev. Mr. Alvaro Perez Silva ~ Pro Ecclesia (PES)

 Cathedral of St Paul - 10 AM Mass

Let us hold them in prayer and offer thanksgiving for each 'YES'!   


"The world looks to the priest,
because it looks to Jesus! 
No one can see Christ; but everyone sees the priest, and through him
they wish to catch a glimpse of the Lord!  Immense is the grandeur
of the Lord! Immense is the grandeur and dignity of the priest!"
 
Pope St John Paul II

Friday, May 29, 2015

The heart, overwhelmed...

 "When I entered the chapel, once again the majesty of God
overwhelmed me." - St. Maria Faustina of the Blessed Sacrament
 
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"The Heart of Jesus is always living in the Eucharist
to satisfy the hunger of all who long for Him,
to welcome and console all those who,
disillusioned by the vicissitudes of life,
take refuge in Him, seeking peace and refreshment."
 
Fr. Gabriel of Saint Mary Magdalen

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Day by day

 Your faith is growing more and more, and the love 
every one of you has for each other is increasing. - II Thes 1: 3b

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“The day’s food for the day’s march…
that is
what Holy Communion
is meant to be.”
 Msgr. Ronald Knox

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

O Lord: my portion

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance. - Psalm 16:6

 
Artist: Jed Gibbons

"God, in His promises to hear our prayers, is desirous to bestow Himself upon us; if you find anything better than Him, ask it; but if you ask anything beneath Him, you put an affront upon Him, and hurt yourself by preferring to Him a creature which He framed: Pray in the spirit and sentiment of love, in which the royal prophet said to Him, 'Thou, O Lord, are my portion.' Let others choose to themselves portions among creatures, for my part, You are my portion, You alone I have chosen for my whole inheritance."

St Augustine of Canterbury*
Not to be confused with St Augustine of Hippo
+605
Italian Benedictine monk
sent by Pope Gregory the Great as missionary to England
First Archbishop of Canterbury
Patron of England
In a letter to Augustine, Pope Gregory the Great wrote:
"He who would climb to a lofty height must go by steps, not leaps."

St Augustine of Canterbury, pray for us!

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Through the excess of His love...

"God makes all His own the soul 
that is wholly given to Him." St Philip Neri


 
 "Our Sweet Jesus,
through the excess of His love,
has left Himself to us
in the Most Holy Sacrament."

St Philip Neri
Italy ~ 1515 - 1595
Priest, bears title "Second Apostle of Rome"
Founder ~ Congregation of the Oratory (Oratorians)
Known for his great JOY
Counter-reformer
Advice regarding prayer:  "Be humble and obedient
and the Holy Spirit will teach you."
FEAST DAY - May 26
 
  
"The true servant of God acknowledges
no other country but heaven." - St Philip Neri

Monday, May 25, 2015

To be holy, zealous, chaste. Amen.


O my priest, how can you dare to make an offering of Me
truly and totally complete, if you haven't first made
the offering of yourself, totally complete. - Mgr Vladimir Ghika

 

Prayer for Priests
(St Charles Borromeo)

O holy Mother of God, pray for the priests your Son
has chosen to serve the Church.  Help them, by your intercession,
to be holy, zealous and chaste.

Make them models of virtue in the service of God's people.

Help them be pious in meditation,  efficacious in preaching,
and zealous in the daily offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. 
Help them administer the sacraments with joy.  Amen.


Joyously remembering the Ordination of
Fr Spencer J Howe - 25 May 2013
and in gratitude for all men Our Lord has called to the altar as priests.



 MEMORIAL DAY - May 25
Eternal remembrance and gratitude for the innumerable, generous, courageous,
self-sacrificing and heroic acts of service – seen and unseen.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon them.
May their souls and the souls of all of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God rest in peace. AMEN

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Solemnity of Pentecost

 Solemnity of Pentecost
Fifty days after Easter
In honor of the Holy Spirit - wear RED to holy Mass today!
 
"The world needs men and women who are not closed
in on themselves, but filled with the Holy Spirit."
 
Pope Francis,  Pentecost Homily 2015  (full text - see link below)
 
Today is Pentecost. It is not merely a reminder of a past event, but a continuation of the Spirit renewing the face of the earth (Psalm 104:30). Today's Pentecost will not be a shadow of the first Pentecost, rather the first Pentecost is a shadow of today's Pentecost. God's grace is abounding all the more (Romans 5:20). The Spirit is not diminishing His work in our world, but increasing it. It will not be only thousands who come to Jesus today (Acts 2:41), but millions. The waters of the Spirit become deeper as they flow further around the world and into history (Ezekiel 47:5). 
 
 Come, Holy Spirit, Come!
 
Artist: Juan de Flandes
 
"The Church draws her life from the Eucharist. This truth does not simply express a daily experience of faith, but recapitulates the heart of the mystery of the Church. In a variety of ways she joyfully experiences the constant fulfillment of the promise: “Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20), but in the Holy Eucharist, through the changing of bread and wine into the body and blood of the Lord, she rejoices in this presence with unique intensity.

Ever since Pentecost, when the Church, the People of the New Covenant, began her pilgrim journey towards her heavenly homeland, the Divine Sacrament has continued to mark the passing of her days, filling them with confident hope." (Introduction, 1)
 
Encyclical Letter, Ecclesia de Eucharistia
Pope St John Paul II
On the Eucharist in its relationship to the Church
 

"There is no greater freedom than that
of allowing oneself to be guided by the Holy Spirit,
renouncing the attempt to plan and control everything to the last detail, 
and instead letting him enlighten, guide, and direct us, 
leading us wherever He wills. 

The Holy Spirit knows well what is needed in every time and place. 
This is what it means to be mysteriously fruitful!" 

 Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium #280
 

Saturday, May 23, 2015

"I am _____ of Jesus!"

 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body
- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free -
and we were all given one Spirit to drink. - I Cor 12:13
 
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"Sometimes, after Holy Communion, having Our Lord within me, I (Columba Marmion) follow in spirit His life, His successive states; I adore Him in the Father's bosom, in the pure bosom of the Virgin that He chose as His abode; I go to Bethlehem, to Nazareth, to the desert, to Calvary

I unite myself in this way to Jesus in each of His states, and in this contact with Him I receive the grace of all His mysteries.

Holy Communion makes us abide in Christ and He in us. You know the story of Saint Teresa of Avila and of the Infant Jesus.  Well, after Communion I say to Our Lord:  "I am Columba of Jesus!" and He could say to me:  "I am Jesus of Columba!"

Dom Raymund Thibault
Abbot Columba Marmion:
A Master of the Spiritual Life

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Remember to wear RED to Pentecost Mass
(Saturday anticipatory/Sunday)

God saved us through the baptism of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
This Spirit he lavished on us through Jesus Christ our Savior...
Titus 3:5b, 6

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Friday, May 22, 2015

He made her heart His...

   ...the LORD is my portion ...He is good to those 
 whose hope is in Him... Lamentations 3:24, 25

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"Christ Jesus had stolen the heart of Rita –
He alone possessed it. He made her heart His heart;
and under the white veils of the Eucharist He was for her soul,
as He is for all loving hearts, heaven upon earth.

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 How sweet is the moment
in which poor humanity, wearied and afflicted,
may remain alone, with Jesus alone, in the Sacrament of Love;
for there the Lord, with His flaming heart open, calls unto all,
'You that are burdened and heavy laden, 
come unto Me and I will refresh you.' "


Fr M.J. Corcoran, OSA
Our Own St Rita:  A Life of the Saint of the Impossible


St Rita of Cascia
Italy ~ 1381-1457
Wife, Mother, Augustinian Nun
Stigmatist, Incorrupt
Patron of Impossible Cases* 
*especially matrimonial difficulties
FEAST DAY - May 22

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The saint of Cascia belongs to the great host of Christian women who "have had a significant impact on the life of the Church as well as of society" (Apostolic Letter Mulieris dignitatem, n. 27).  Rita well interpreted the "feminine genius" by living it intensely in both physical and spiritual motherhood. " ~ Saint John Paul II

MORE ABOUT ST RITA:

From an early age Rita desired to become a nun, but her parents thought it best for her to marry. She suffered through a difficult marriage for 18 years, with an abusive, ill tempered husband. He converted shortly before his political murder. Their twin sons wanted to avenge his death.  When St. Rita learned that her sons planned to avenge their father's murder, she prayed to God to save them from committing such a grievous sin.  Almost immediately, both boys fell ill. She nursed them lovingly, and they both died, reconciled with God.

Now a widow and childless, St. Rita applied for admission to the Augustinian convent in Cascia, but was refused because its rule only permitted virgins. After much prayer and entreaty, an exception was finally granted to her and she was allowed to enter in 1413. The story is told that St. Rita was miraculously transported into the monastery itself, despite its locked doors; when the nuns found her there in the morning, they allowed her to stay, taking it as the will of God.

St Rita had a deep devotion to the passion of Christ and the Holy Eucharist. She spent many hours in Eucharistic Adoration daily. Confined to her bed the last four years of her life, she consumed little more than the Eucharist.  Near the end of her life, she had a visitor from her home town who asked if she'd like anything.  Rita's only request was a rose from her family's estate. The visitor went to the home, but it being January, knew there was no hope of finding a flower; but there, sprouted on an otherwise bare bush, was a single rose blossom.

St Rita was a stigmatist who suffered a wound of Christ on her forehead.  When St. Rita died her face became beautifully radiant and her cell was aglow with heavenly light, while the great bell of the monastery rang of itself. Her incorrupt body, which for  several centuries gave off a sweet fragrance, is preserved in a shrine in Italy.  It is said that at her beatification, the body of the saint raised itself up and opened its eyes. St. Rita is called "The Saint of the Impossible" and is particularly invoked in cases of matrimonial difficulties.

St. Rita of Cascia was the first woman to be canonized in the Great Jubilee at the beginning of the 20th century, on May 24, 1900.
 

St Rita of Cascia, pray for us!

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Fecundity of devotion...

"Come, you who are blessed by my Father; 
take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you
since the creation of the world. - Matthew 25: 34


...Let us ask our Lord then to make us souls devoted
to the Blessed Eucharist, so that our relationship
with Him brings forth joy and serenity and a desire
for justice. In this way we will make it easier for
others to recognize Christ; we will put Christ
at the centre of all human activities."

St Josemaria Escriva
Quote to honor today's Feast ...
Fr Magallanes wrote and preached against armed rebellion, but was falsely accused of promoting the Cristero Rebellion in the area. He established a clandestine seminary at Totatiche, Jalisco. Magallanes and the other priests were forced to minister secretly to Catholics during the presidency of Plutarco Calles (1924-1928). Arrested on May 21, 1927, while en route to celebrate Mass at a farm, he gave away his few remaining possessions to his executioners, gave them absolution, and without a trial, he was martyred four days later.  
Mateo Correa was shot when he refused to break the seal of the confessional. Jose Maria Robles was arrested when he was overheard agreeing to officiate a wedding.  Julio Alvares Mendoza was captured on his way to say Mass.  Before he was shot, Mendoza told his executioners, "My crime is to be a minister of God.  I pardon you."

St. Christopher Magallanes and Companions*
Mexico ~ 1915-1937
*22 priests/3 layman
Memorialized in movie, For Greater Glory
FEAST DAY ~ MAY 21
When imprisoned by the government authorities, St Christopher 
was heard to shout from his cell: "I am innocent and I die innocent.
I forgive the authors of my death from my heart, and I ask God
that my blood would serve to bring peace to divided Mexicans".

 St Christopher and Companions,
pray for us!

During his homily at the canonization Mass on May 21, 2000, Saint John Paul II addressed the Mexican men, women and children present in Rome and said: “After the harsh trials that the Church endured in Mexico during those turbulent years, today Mexican Christians, encouraged by the witness of these witnesses to the faith, can live in peace and harmony, contributing the wealth of gospel values to society. The  Church grows and advances, since she is the crucible in which many priestly and religious vocations are born, where families are formed according to God's plan, and where young people, a substantial part of the Mexican population, can grow with the hope of a better future. May the shining example of Cristóbal Magallanes and his companion martyrs help you to make a renewed commitment of fidelity to God, which can continue to transform Mexican society so that justice, fraternity and harmony will prevail among all.”