Homage of faith...

"He was following a good life plan, but God had kept a different design  

for him, a greater mission.  Joseph was a man who always listened

to the voice of God, profoundly amenable to God's secret will,

a man attentive to the messages that came from the depths

of the heart and from above." - Pope Francis

St James the Apostle Church,~Plaridel, Phillipines

"We cannot help but marvel 

at the faith of St Joseph. ...

Because his faith was so strong, Joseph's mind and heart

bowed in perfect adoration.  Imitate his faith as you kneel

before the humble Christ annihilated in the Eucharist.

Pierce the veil which covers this furnace of love and 

adore the hidden God.  At the same time respect the veil of love

and make the immolation of your mind and heart

your most beautiful homage of faith."

St Peter Julian Eymard

St Joseph, Jesus, John the Baptist - Melchoir Paul von Deschwanden (1811-1881, Swiss)

March is the month of St Joseph.
Plan today - how you will both imitate him

and solicit the special intercession

of this patron of the Church every day in March!
Ite ad Joseph!

"Accepting the Lord's plan, Joseph fully found himself, beyond himself...

his full interior openness to the Will of God challenges us

and shows us the way." - Pope Francis

Tasteless... or sweetness? ...

Third Sunday of Lent

The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, 
that I may never be thirsty or have to 
keep coming here to draw water."  - John 4:15 

"Hence the loftier were the words of the Son of God, the more tasteless they were to the impure, as happened when he preached the sovereign and loving doctrine of the Holy Eucharist; for many turned away (Jn 6:60-61, 67).

Those who do not relish this language God speaks within them must not think on this account that others do not taste it; St Peter tasted it in his soul when he said to Christ:  Lord, where shall we go; You have the words of eternal life (Jn 6:68).  And the Samaritan woman forgot the water pot because of the sweetness of God's words (Jn 4:28)."

St John of the Cross (+1591)

Prayer After Communion (Today’s Liturgy)

 As we receive the pledge
of things yet hidden in heaven
and are nourished while still on earth
with the Bread that comes from on high,
we humbly entreat you, O Lord.
that what is being brought about in us in mystery
may come to true completion.
Through Christ our Lord.

Sweet ... yes, so sweet ...

 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and
deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the 
basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. - Col 2:8

“There is more sweetness

in one hour of prayer before Jesus 

in the Blessed Sacrament

than in all the world's crowded theaters,

and brilliant drawing rooms,

and giddy diversions, and social gatherings.”

St Gabriel Possenti

Passionist clerical student

Italy ~1838-1862

Exemplary devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows

Feast Day: February 27

 

“Love Mary! She is lovable, faithful, constant. She will never let herself be outdone in love, but will ever remain supreme. If you are in danger, she will hasten to free you. If you are troubled, she will console you. If you are sick, she will bring you relief. If you are in need, she will help you. She does not look to see what kind of person you have been. She simply comes to a heart that wants to love her. She comes quickly and opens her merciful heart to you, embraces you and consoles and serves you. She will even be at hand to accompany you on the trip to eternity." - St Gabriel Possenti

Our Lady of Sorrows

Click here: Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (His Resolutions) - YouTube  (4:30 mins) 

St Gabriel is remarkable for he obediently and willingly converted in a very short time from a life of excess, devoted to the pleasures of this world, 
to becoming inextricably linked to the Passion of Our Lord. 
He shows us that all are blessed with the graces 
to fall in love with Our Lord, no matter what the cost.

Gabriel died at age 24 of tuberculosis and was buried the day of his death. A companion in the novitiate, Bernard Mary of Jesus, exclaimed:

“Tears come to my eyes and I am filled with shame for having been so far from the virtues that he attained in such a short time.”

Click here: St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

St Gabriel, pray for us! 

Where Charity and Love Prevail ...

Where Charity and Love Prevail

(Gregorian Hymn - composed sometime around 4th century)

Where charity and love prevail,

There God is ever found.

Brought here together by Christ's love,

By love are we thus bound.

 

Photo image: Adoration - Heralds of the Gospel

 

With grateful joy and holy fear,

His charity we learn,

Let us with heart and mind and soul,

Now love Him in return.

 

Forgive we now each other's faults,

As we our faults confess.

And let us love each other well,

In Christian holiness.

 

 

Let strife among us be unknown,

Let all contention cease.

Be His the glory that we seek,

Be ours His holy peace.

 

 

Let us recall that in our midst,

Dwells God's Begotten Son,

As members of His body joined,

We are in Him made one.

AMEN

Open invitation...

"Of all devotions, that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament

is the greatest after the sacraments, the one dearest to God and

the one most helpful to us.' - St Alphonsus Ligouri

"He makes it ever clearer to me

that He wants me to burn with love for Him

in devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. 

Every time I receive Him

I must feel renewed that longing

which stirs within me to live for Jesus only and

to obtain the grace of preservation from so many sins

which I should certainly commit

if He did not come to my help. 

How can I remain deaf to His invitation?"

Pope St John XXIII

Carrying away heaven...

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; 
thou holdest my lot. 

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

yea, I have a goodly heritage. - Psalm 16: 5,6

"When we come from our Communions,

 if anyone said to us:

'What are you taking home with you?'

we should be able to reply:

'I am carrying away Heaven!'"

St John Vianney

Image above: Peter Paul Rubens~ Woman with Candle




"All the way to heaven is heaven,
because Jesus said,"I am the way."

- St Catherine of Siena

Sharing in His chalice...

 Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed,
says the LORD, and make for yourselves a new heart
and a new spirit. - Verse before the Gospel - Today's Liturgy

 Collect (Today's Liturgy)

God of all creation , who were pleased

to give the Bishop Saint Polycarp

a place in the company of the Martyrs,

grant, through his intercession ,

that, sharing with him in the chalice of Christ,

we may rise through the Holy Spirit to eternal life.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

 St Polycarp of Smyrna

69-155 AD
Disciple of apostle St John

Friend of Ignatius of Antioch

Apostolic Father 

Bishop of Smyrna, Martyr

Exemplary in catechesis

Feast Day - February 23

Polycarp was denounced to the government, arrested, and tried on the charge of being a Christian. When the proconsul urged him to save his life by cursing Christ, he replied: “Eighty-six years I have served Him, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” 

Earlier, in a Letter to the Philippians...

“Stand fast, therefore, in this conduct and follow the example of the Lord, ‘firm and unchangeable in faith, lovers of the brotherhood, loving each other, united in truth,’ helping each other with the mildness of the Lord, despising no man.”

And wrote on another occasion...

“If we pray to the Lord to forgive us, we ourselves must be forgiving; we are all under the eyes of our Lord and God, and every one of us must stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, where each of us will have to give an account.”

Click here: St. Polycarp - YouTube (2 mins) 

Click here: Polycarp - YouTube (3:20 mins)

St Polycarp, pray for us!

Christ's Will and Way

Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter the Apostle

February 22

The feast of the Chair of St Peter commemorates the teaching authority of the Vicar of Christ. The Catechism teaches that "it is this Magisterium's task to preserve God's people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the objective possibility of professing the true faith without error" so that "the People of God abides in the truth that liberates" (CCC 890).

 

Prayer over the Offerings

(Today's Liturgy)

Accept with favor, O Lord, we pray,

the prayers and offerings of your Church,

that, with Saint Peter as her shepherd,

she may come to an eternal inheritance,

for it is through his teaching

that she holds the faith in its integrity.

Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon
(Today's Liturgy - Cf. Mt 16:16, 18)

Peter said to Jesus:  You are the Christ,

the Son of the living God.

And Jesus replied:  You are Peter,

and upon this rock I will build my Church.

Prayer after Communion

(Today's Liturgy )

O God, who at our celebration

of the feast day of the blessed Apostle Peter

have nourished us by communion in the Body

    and Blood of Christ,

grant, we pray, that this redeeming exchange

may be for us a Sacrament of unity and peace.

Through Christ our Lord.

Click here: Chair of St. Peter - YouTube (2 mins)

Click here: Of Chairs and Peter | Crisis Magazine

Perugino 

"Perhaps it would be a good thing if every Christian,

certainly every priest, could dream once in his life that he were pope, 

and wake from the nightmare in a sweat of agony." - Msgr Ronald Knox

Explosion of divine energy...

Second Sunday of Lent

"Christ showed His disciples the glory of His radiance
to which He configures those who are His." - St Thomas Aquinas

Fra Angelico

Excerpt below from:  Letters To A Brother Priest (pg 9) 

Co-authors:  Rev Fr Vincent Martin Lucia/Rev Msgr Josefino Ramirez

"Peter, James and John witnessed the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor. The whole world will witness the glorious transfiguration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. 

It will have the exact opposite effect of the bombing of Nagasaki. At the transfiguration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, there will be an explosion of divine energy which will release the power of His love and renew the face of the earth. Then the world will see Real Power! All will be made well. All will belong to His Heart. All will be made one.

In the meantime, there are five graces we receive each time we visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. By His glorious wounds we are the ones who are transfigured and changed through His healing love. 

Restoration,sanctification, transformation, reparation and salvation are the graces being poured out graciously upon us with each holy hour we make.

Like Peter... this is why we should exclaim in His Divine Presence, 'Lord, how good it is for us to be here!'"

"The Blessed Sacrament is the first and supreme 
object of our worship. We must preserve in the depths
of our hearts a constant and uninterrupted,
profound adoration of this precious pledge 

of Divine Love." - St Mary Euphrasia Pelletier

Click here: The Cross is a Fruit-Bearing Tree – A Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent - 

Earth has given, hands have made...

Prayers of holy Mass at Preparation of the Gifts...



Priest: Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation 
for through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you:
fruit of the earth and work of human hands,  
it will become for us the bread of life.
All: Blessed be God forever

"St Wenceslaus, King of Bohemia, with his own hands,
 made the altar-bread which was used for the Mass and would become 
the Blessed Sacrament, without any regard to the royal dignity he held.

He who was born to wield the scepter even directed the plowing

and cultivating of the field, the sowing of the seed, and the reaping

of the harvest.  Then he ground the grain, separated the finer flour

for the oven, and made the breads which should afterward be

consecrated; and these he presented, with the lowliest reverence,

to the priests, to be converted into the divine Body of Jesus." 

Louis Kaczmarek

Hidden Treasure,The Riches of the Eucharist

Priest: Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation.  
for through your goodness we have received the wine we offer you:
fruit of the vine and work of human hands,
it will become our spiritual drink.
All: Blessed be God forever

"St Vincentia Gerosa would take care of grapevines that 
supplied wine for Holy Mass.  She cultivated and pruned them with 

her own hands, finding it a tremendous honor and privilege because 
these clusters that she had grown would become the Blood of Christ."

Louis Kaczmarek

Hidden Treasure,The Riches of the Eucharist

Blessed be God forever!

How do I end a Holy Hour?

You turned my wailing into dancing;

You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

that my heart may sing to You and not be silent. 

O Lord my God, I will give You thanks forever. - Psalm 30:11-12

"A good way to end a Holy Hour

is to thank the Lord. 

Thank Him for His presence, for His Love, 

for all that He has done and will do in your life.  

You can call to mind and thank Him for the specific graces 

or resolutions you received during the hour.  

Then, again, express your adoration 

with your whole body and soul, 

and renew your commitment to try to live

 each moment of your life in such a way 

that you will be a living sign of His presence, 

of His mercy to the world."

Fr. George W Kosicki, CSB

"In loving one another through our works, 

we bring an increase of grace and a growth in divine love."

 - Bl Mother Teresa of Calcutta, 

In the Heart of the World: Thoughts, Stories and Prayers