To know, love and serve: the goal...

 6. Q. Why did God make you? 

A. God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world,

and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven. - Baltimore Catechism

"Evangelization is Eucharistic, 
because it draws us more deeply into the life of God - 
all people, no matter who they are, 

can more deeply come to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ.

Our call 

is to help our friends deepen their love of God 
by the witness of our lives.

the proclamation of the Gospel, 
and by assistance in sharing the sacramental life. 

Bishop James D. Conley

Lincoln, Nebraska - USA

 

Allegory of the Eucharist (detail) - Cooseman


Share the JOY of your sacramental life:
invite someone to Holy Mass or Adoration !

“Always forward, never back.”...

Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. 
Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 

- Romans 12:11-12

"How could the Church fulfill her vocation 
without cultivating a constant relationship with the Eucharist,
without nourishing herself with this food which sanctifies,without founding her missionary activity
on this indispensable support?" - St John Paul II

Image above: Body and Blood - Mark Jennings (2011)
Photo below: San Charles of Borremeo - California Franciscan mission

 

St Junipero Serra

Nee Spain ~ Franciscan Priest

Zealous preacher, Professor, Untiring Missionary

Known as "Father of California"

Motto:  “Always forward, never back.”
Deep Eucharistic devotion.  Baptized over 6000.
Founded numerous missions in California.
Introduced many varieties of fruits and vegetables, including grapes,
and laid the foundation for the agriculture industry in California.
He also introduced dairy cows and cheese making. 
FEAST DAY - July 1

 

"All my life I have wanted to be a missionary.  I have wanted 
to carry the Gospel message to those who have never heard of God
and the kingdom He has prepared for them." - St Junipero

Click here: Bl. Junipero Serra - YouTube (2 mins)

Click here: st junipero serra youtube - Bing video (3 mins)

Read about Junipero Serra and the California Missions here and here.

StJunipero Serra, pray for us!

Through the inspiration of St Junipero Serra's life and work,

a lay apostolate that fosters and promotes vocations exists.

Consider joining this fruitful endeavor - on this, the Feast of St Junipero!

 Click here: SERRA International

Serran Prayer For Vocations

O God, Who wills not the death of a sinner, but rather that he be converted and live, grant we beseech You, through the intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, Saint Joseph, her spouse, Saint Junipero Serra and all the saints, an increase of laborers for your Church, fellow laborers with Christ to spend and consume themselves for souls, through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen Via Serra USA.

Seek, find, love...

"Sanctity is not rigid like cardboard: it knows how to smile,
to give way to others and to hope.
It is life - a supernatural life." - St Josemaría Escrivá

" ... Jesus hides in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar 
because He wants us to dare to approach Him. 

He wants to nourish us 
so we become one single thing with Him.

When He said, Apart from Me you can do nothing, 

He was not condemning Christians to ineffectiveness 

or obliging them to seek Him by a difficult and arduous route. 
On the contrary ... He has stayed with us, 
He is totally available to us."

St Josemaría Escrivá

Spain ~ 1902-1975

Priest, Founder of Opus Dei

 FEAST DAY - June 26
Painting above: Oneness in Christ - Ariel Agemian

St Josemaria Escriva describes this experience

about himself as a young seminarian...

"Why am I becoming a priest? Our Lord wants something: what is it?  And in Latin — not very elegant Latin — … I kept repeating Domine, ut videam! Ut sit! Ut sit!  - The thing that you want, and that I don’t know — make it happen!”

Click here: josemariaescriva - YouTube (7 mins)

Click here: The Quotable Saint | Saint Josemaria Escriva Quotes

Click here: St. Josemaría Escrivá: Saint of Ordinary Life - Crisis Magazine

Click here: TOP 25 QUOTES BY JOSEMARIA ESCRIVA

St Josemaría Escrivá, pray for us!

Believing what is true...

The earliest documentation of the Liturgies of the Eucharist and the Word 

co-joined is found in the First Apology written by St Justin Martyr in 150 AD.  

The liturgy that St Justin describes is so like our own as to be astonishing.  

It clearly includes the Offertory, Preface and Canon, Great Amen and Holy Communion.  

"No one may share in the Eucharist with us 

unless he believes that what we teach is true, 

unless he is washed in the regenerating waters of baptism 

for the remission of his sins, 

and unless he lives in accordance with the principles 

given us by Christ. 

We do not consume the Eucharistic bread and wine as if it were ordinary food and drink, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ our Savior became a man of flesh and blood by the power of the Word of God, so also the food that our flesh and blood assimilates for its nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer of  thanksgiving.

The apostles, in their recollections, which are called gospels, handed down to us what Jesus commanded them to do. They tell us that He took bread, gave thanks and said: Do this in memory of Me. This is My body. In the same way He took the cup, He gave thanks and said: This is My blood. The Lord gave this command to them alone. Ever since then we have constantly reminded one another of these things. The rich among us help the poor and we are always united. For all that we receive we praise the Creator of the universe through His Son Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit. 

On Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members, whether they live in the city or in the outlying districts. The recollections of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as there is time. When the reader has finished, the president of the assembly speaks to us; he urges everyone to imitate the examples of virtue we have heard in the readings. Then we all stand up together and pray. 

On the conclusion of our prayer, bread and wine and water are brought forward. The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability, and the people give their assent by saying, 'Amen.' The Eucharist is distributed, everyone present communicates, and the deacons take it to those who are absent.    

The wealthy, if they wish, may make a contribution, and they themselves decide the amount. The collection is placed in the custody of the president, who uses it to help the orphans and widows and all who for any reason are in distress, whether because they are sick, in prison, or away from home. In a word, he takes care of all who are in need. 

We hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the first day of the week, the day on which God put darkness and chaos to flight and created the world, and because on that same day our savior Jesus Christ rose from the dead. For He was crucified on Friday and on Sunday He appeared to His apostles and disciples and taught them the things that we have passed on for your  consideration." 

St. Justin

100 AD - 165 AD

Philosopher and Martyr

Masterful Lay apologist, writer

FEAST DAY - June 1

Image above: Chapel of St Ananias, Damascus, Syria (1st century)

Click here: St. Justin Martyr - Father and Apologist - YouTube (3 mins)

 Click here: St. Justin Martyr - YouTube (2 mins)

St Justin, pray for us!

We learned it from Him...

For My Flesh is real food, and My Blood is real drink. - John 6:55 

"When we speak of the reality of Christ's nature being in us, we would be speaking foolishly and impiously - had we not learned it from Him.  
For He Himself says:`My Flesh is truly food, and My Blood is truly Drink. He that eats My flesh and drinks My Blood will remain in Me and I in him (John 6:55-56).'

As to the reality of His flesh and blood, there is little room left for doubt, because now, both by the declaration of the Lord Himself and by our 
own faith, it is truly Flesh and truly Blood. 
And these Elements bring it about, 
 when taken and consumed, that we are in Christ and Christ is in us. Is it not true?"

St Hilary of Poitiers

300 - 368

Bishop and Doctor of the Church

"Hammer of the Arians"

 A favorite motto of St. Hilary:

Ministros veritatis decet vera proferre,

"Servants of the truth ought speak the truth."

FEAST DAY - January 13

This is how Hilary summed up the problem

with the Arian heretics* of the fourth century:

"They didn't know who they were."

*Arius, whose followers were called Arians, felt that God created Christ, not of his own matter. This meant, in his opinion, that Christ was not God and was not divine. Therefore, worshipping Christ would be tantamount to worshipping another god, and this specifically went against God’s teaching that He alone should be worshipped.

Click here: St. Hilary of Poitiers - YouTube   (2 mins)

St Hilary, pray for us!

After the great and wondrous prayers...

No one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely,

Jesus Christ, alleluia. – I Cor 3:11 (Today’s Communion Antiphon)

"You shall see the Levites bringing loaves and a cup of wine, 

and placing them on the table. So long as the prayers of supplication 

and entreaties have not been made, there is only bread and wine. 

But after the great and wonderful prayers have been completed, 

then the bread is become the Body, 

 and the wine the Blood, of our Lord Jesus Christ.

'And again:'  Let us approach the celebration of the mysteries. 

This bread and this wine, so long as the prayers and supplications 

have not taken place, remain simply what they are. But 

after the great prayers and holy supplications have been sent forth, 

the Word comes down into the bread and wine - 

and thus His Body is confected." 

-"Sermon to the Newly Baptized" ante 373 A.D.

St Athanasius

Alexandria ~ c. 297-373

Bishop and Doctor of the Church

 "The Father of Orthodoxy"

Battled against Arianism*  

(*heresy that denies divinity of Christ)

FEAST DAY - May 2

“You will not see anyone who is really striving after 
his advancement who is not given to spiritual reading.  
And as to him who neglects it, the fact will soon 
be observed by his progress."  - St Athanasius

Girl Reading by Candlelight ~ Maedchen

Click here: Athanasius Contra Mundum: The Courage to Act Alone - Crisis Magazine

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

Click here: SAINTS SPEAK: St. Athanasius (Holy Repentance) - YouTube (4 mins)

 

St Athanasius, pray for us!

Orthodoxy, a classic by G. K. Chesterton, builds on the many themes of the Father and Doctor of Orthodoxy, St Athanasius. Go here to obtain a free ebook. (There are other excellent free, full version online books here, too.) Hat tip: Catholic Fire

After the great and wonderful prayers...

No one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ, alleluia. – I Cor 3:11 (Today’s Communion Antiphon)

The great Athanasius in his sermon to the newly baptized:

"You shall see the Levites bringing loaves and a cup of wine, and placing them on the table. So long as the prayers of supplication and entreaties have not been made, there is only bread and wine. But after the great and wonderful prayers have been completed, then the bread is become the Body, and the wine the Blood, of our Lord Jesus Christ.

'And again:' Let us approach the celebration of the mysteries. This bread and this wine, so long as the prayers and supplications have not taken place, remain simply what they are. But after the great prayers and holy supplications have been sent forth, the Word comes down into the bread and wine - and thus His Body is confected."

-"Sermon to the Newly Baptized" ante 373 A.D.

St Athanasius

Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Alexandria ~ c. 297-373

 "The Father of Orthodoxy"

Battled against Arianism*  

(*heresy that denies divinity of Christ)
Feast Day - May 2

"You will not see anyone who is really striving after his advancement

who is not given to spiritual reading.  And as to him who neglects it,

the fact will soon be observed by his progress." ~ St Athanasius

Click here: Athanasius Contra Mundum: The Courage to Act Alone

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

Click here: SAINTS SPEAK: St. Athanasius (Holy Repentance)  (4 mins) 

St Athanasius, pray for us!

Orthodoxy, a classic by G. K. Chesterton, builds on the many themes of the Father and Doctor of Orthodoxy, St Athanasius. Go here to obtain a free ebook. (There are other excellent free, full version online books here, too.)  Hat tip: Catholic Fire

After the great and wonderful words...

No one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely,

Jesus Christ, alleluia. – I Cor 3:11 (Today’s Communion Antiphon)

Fr David Toups ~ Florida ~ USA

"You shall see the Levites bringing loaves and a cup of wine, and placing them on the table. So long as the prayers of supplication and entreaties have not been made, there is only bread and wine. But after the great and wonderful prayers have been completed, then the bread is become the Body, and the wine the Blood, of our Lord Jesus Christ.

'And again:' Let us approach the celebration of the mysteries. This bread and this wine, so long as the prayers and supplications have not taken place, remain simply what they are. But after the great prayers and holy supplications have been sent forth, the Word comes down into the bread and wine - and thus His Body is confected."

-"Sermon to the Newly Baptized" ante 373 A.D.

St Athanasius

Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Alexandria ~ c. 297-373

 "The Father of Orthodoxy"

Battled against Arianism*  

(*heresy that denies divinity of Christ)

FEAST DAY - May 2

“Dead men cannot take effective action; their power of influence on others lasts only till the grave. Deeds and actions that energise others belong only to the living. Well, then, look at the facts in this case. The Saviour is working mightily among men, every day He is invisibly persuading numbers of people all over the world, both within and beyond the Greek-speaking world, to accept His faith and be obedient to His teaching. Can anyone, in face of this, still doubt that He has risen and lives, or rather that He is Himself the Life? Does a dead man prick the consciences of men...?” ― Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation   

Click here: Athanasius Contra Mundum: The Courage to Act Alone | Crisis Magazine

 

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

Click here: SAINTS SPEAK: St. Athanasius (Holy Repentance)  (4 mins) 

 

St Athanasius, pray for us!

Orthodoxy, a classic by G. K. Chesterton, builds on the many themes of the Father and Doctor of Orthodoxy, St Athanasius. Go here to obtain a free ebook. (There are other excellent free, full version online books here, too.) 

Hat tip: Catholic Fire