According to the book I quoted yesterday, the day after the first Pentecost, the Apostles began their work of preaching to the world. This concept of going out into the world reminds me of what we called the "Fourth Day" at the end of the Cursillo I made. This was a three day "weekend" starting Thursday evening and ending sometime on Sunday.
But there was a "Fourth Day"-which lasts the rest of our lives-not just the closest Monday. This is after you come home and have to go back into the world you were a part of before your Cursillo. You hear a lot of talks during the weekend, you pray and fellowship, there's an opportunity for Confession-and you're sent back afterwards.
The Mass is also a sending forth-the very word "Mass" comes from the Latin word missa, meaning "sent." This word is part of part of the phrase ite missa est said by the priest at the end of the Mass. This phrase is translated as "Go, you are dismissed." At the vernacular (English) Masses I used to attend, the priest would say, "The Mass is ended, go in peace" and then he'd have us sing a recessional hymn after that. At the Latin Mass we also sang a hymn after that, but Father also leads us in prayer-in English-at the end of Mass. He kneels at the altar and we say the Hail Mary, the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel, and maybe a couple of other prayers in English.
Yesterday was Pentecost. Today is Monday, and I just got a whiff of freshly brewed coffee; back to the "Old Grind!" But this is the world we're sent back into. We're Christians and Catholics 24 hours a day 7 days a week-not just on Sundays. If that's not true-then the 7-Eleven closes at 6 pm and stayed closed until 10 am. And you know that store is opened 24 hours a day-7 days a week.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Happy Birthday, Church
Today, which is almost over with-is Pentecost-the birthday of the Church. And Jesus only started one church-not many churches. So we didn't have a church of Ephesis or a church of Corinth back then or a St. Patrick's or St. Joseph's church now. These groups were or are communities that worship together-so they may be parishes-not individual churches. And that place I call "St. Patrick's Church" is really a building that's used for worship; the people in it and all other baptized Catholics under the Pope-the Church.
And this includes a couple little people that joined the Church last Sunday. These were babies Father baptized after Mass. This is the point at which one enters the Church is at Baptism. This morning after I had come home from Mass-I read a chapter of an old book called My Catholic Faith, which I highly recommend. I read something in this chapter called "Foundation of the Church."
According to this book, all Catholics belong to one of two divisons-either the "teaching Church" or the "hearing Church." The teaching Church consists of our priests, bishops, and the Pope. It is also called the hierarchy. The Bishops and the Pope are the teaching magisterium. I recall this word coming from a Latin word for "teacher" but thought I better look up the word. The word that it came from is magister, which means "master, canon / master of a school, professor." And we lay people do need to keep learning about God and the Church-the children, the new converts, and the seminarians aren't the only ones. And we forget, and need a "refresher course."
I feel that a lot of our religious formation-especially when I was growing up-has been "glossed over." I've been Confirmed over 30 years ago, but Father allowed me to sit in on the Confirmation class he taught last year. He taught the kids a bunch of stuff I never knew as well as showed a lot of enthusiasm for the Sacrament that I had never heard before. Now this man is definitely doing his job as a member of the "teaching church." Now I need to keep my ears open and pay attention to what he, the Pope, and other priests have to say. They're here to teach us-not just administer the Sacraments and lead us in prayer.
So I definitely have a role as a learner in the "hearing Church." And it's not just because I have had little formal religious training. All lay people are part of this division.
Something this book mentioned that I found interesting was that "Christ completed the founding of His Church just before His Ascension when he said to His Apostles, 'Go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature' (Mark 16:15)"
He had the Apostles go to all nations to promise salvation to believers and "threatening condemnation to those refusing to believe."
And on that first Pentecost St. Peter preached a sermon and afterwards three thousand people converted and were baptized. These were our first members since the Ascension of our Lord. And the following day, the Apostles, our first Bishops, went out and started preaching.
This has to be the most important birthday on anyone's calendar. And I'm one who loves cards, presents, and cakes for my birthday and a lot of people know it too.Maybe someone ought to bake a cake and have put on it "Happy Birthday Church."
I'm sorry, this is coming to you late-I tried to get on the computer a couple times during Pentecost, but both times it was occupied. And my own computers aren't working-so I need to "share."
1. A Manual of Religion, Morrow STD, Most Reverend Louis LaRavoire, Bishop of Krishnagar, MY MISSION HOUSE, Kenosha, Wisconsin, 1958, p. 102
2. Ibid
And this includes a couple little people that joined the Church last Sunday. These were babies Father baptized after Mass. This is the point at which one enters the Church is at Baptism. This morning after I had come home from Mass-I read a chapter of an old book called My Catholic Faith, which I highly recommend. I read something in this chapter called "Foundation of the Church."
According to this book, all Catholics belong to one of two divisons-either the "teaching Church" or the "hearing Church." The teaching Church consists of our priests, bishops, and the Pope. It is also called the hierarchy. The Bishops and the Pope are the teaching magisterium. I recall this word coming from a Latin word for "teacher" but thought I better look up the word. The word that it came from is magister, which means "master, canon / master of a school, professor." And we lay people do need to keep learning about God and the Church-the children, the new converts, and the seminarians aren't the only ones. And we forget, and need a "refresher course."
I feel that a lot of our religious formation-especially when I was growing up-has been "glossed over." I've been Confirmed over 30 years ago, but Father allowed me to sit in on the Confirmation class he taught last year. He taught the kids a bunch of stuff I never knew as well as showed a lot of enthusiasm for the Sacrament that I had never heard before. Now this man is definitely doing his job as a member of the "teaching church." Now I need to keep my ears open and pay attention to what he, the Pope, and other priests have to say. They're here to teach us-not just administer the Sacraments and lead us in prayer.
So I definitely have a role as a learner in the "hearing Church." And it's not just because I have had little formal religious training. All lay people are part of this division.
Something this book mentioned that I found interesting was that "Christ completed the founding of His Church just before His Ascension when he said to His Apostles, 'Go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature' (Mark 16:15)"
He had the Apostles go to all nations to promise salvation to believers and "threatening condemnation to those refusing to believe."
And on that first Pentecost St. Peter preached a sermon and afterwards three thousand people converted and were baptized. These were our first members since the Ascension of our Lord. And the following day, the Apostles, our first Bishops, went out and started preaching.
This has to be the most important birthday on anyone's calendar. And I'm one who loves cards, presents, and cakes for my birthday and a lot of people know it too.Maybe someone ought to bake a cake and have put on it "Happy Birthday Church."
I'm sorry, this is coming to you late-I tried to get on the computer a couple times during Pentecost, but both times it was occupied. And my own computers aren't working-so I need to "share."
1. A Manual of Religion, Morrow STD, Most Reverend Louis LaRavoire, Bishop of Krishnagar, MY MISSION HOUSE, Kenosha, Wisconsin, 1958, p. 102
2. Ibid
Friday, May 21, 2010
Prayer for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Prayer for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit, divine Consoler, I adore You as my true God, with God the Father and God the Son. I adore You and unite myself to the adoration You receive from the angels and saints. I give You my heart and I offer my ardent thanksgiving for all the grace which You never cease to bestow on me.O Giver of all supernatural gifts, who filled the soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with such immense favors, I beg You to visit me with Your grace and Your love and to grant me the gift of holy fear, so that it may act on me as a check to prevent me from falling back into my past sins, for which I beg pardon.
Grant me the gift of piety, so that I may serve You for the future with increased fervor, follow with more promptness Your holy inspirations, and observe your divine precepts with greater fidelity.
Grant me the gift of knowledge, so that I may know the things of God and, enlightened by Your holy teaching, may walk, without deviation, in the path of eternal salvation.
Grant me the gift of fortitude, so that I may overcome courageously all the assaults of the devil, and all the dangers of this world which threaten the salvation of my soul.
Grant me the gift of counsel, so that I may choose what is more conducive to my spiritual advancement and may discover the wiles and snares of the tempter.
Grant me the gift of understanding, so that I may apprehend the divine mysteries and by contemplation of heavenly things detach my thoughts and affections from the vain things of this miserable world.
Grant me the gift of wisdom, so that I may rightly direct all my actions, referring them to God as my last end; so that, having loved Him and served Him in this life, I may have the happiness of possessing Him eternally in the next.
Amen.
St. Alphonsus Liguori
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Pentecost Sunday-coming soon at a church near you
We're just 3 days away from Pentecost Sunday, which is the birthday of the Church. This is the day Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit-just 10 days after He ascended into Heaven-which is what we call the Feast Day of the Ascension. Until recently it was a holy day of obligation on Thursday. But in some areas of the United States, the obligation has been transferred to the nearest Sunday. In fact the diocese I live in is in one of the areas in which the Bishops voted to make the change.
But our Bishop didn't like the change; he was outvoted. I didn't like the change either. And I now know the Bishop we had then and I are far from being the only two people who dislike the switch to Sunday. Last year Father announced that we were going to have a Mass on Ascension-that is on Thursday itself-not Sunday! He doesn't like the change to Sunday either and said "we traditionalists" don't like the switch either.
He said if you don't like the move to the following Sunday, then either come to Thursday Mass or quit complaining. We're no longer obliged under pain of mortal sin to go on this particular Thursday but Father said we'll get extra graces for going to Ascension Mass.
I guess I kind of gotten off topic like I tend to do quite a bit.
Getting back to Pentecost, the Apostles were scared to be left alone without Jesus. They were afraid of persecution & spent the next nine days in prayer in an upper room. According to Father, it was our very first novena. Then the Holy Spirit came to the upper room and gave them all these gifts-including the gift of tongues. This allowed them to preach to people who spoke in other languages.
I can't think of a more important birthday to celebrate-the birthday of the Church-unless it's Christmas-the birthday of our Savior.
Father talked to the kids in the Confirmation class about Pentecost and the gifts of the Spirit. You receive the Holy Spirit in Baptism, but even more fully in Confirmation.
He talked about seven gifts of the Holy Spirit which every Confirmed Catholic has. These aren't the "charisms" or charismatic gifts such as the gift of tongues or prophecy. He talked about Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel (right judgment), Fortitude (courage), Knowledge, Piety (reverence), and Fear of the Lord (wonder and awe.)
According to St. Thomas Aquinas wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and counsel direct the intellect and fortititude, piety, and fear of the Lord direct the will toward God.
But our Bishop didn't like the change; he was outvoted. I didn't like the change either. And I now know the Bishop we had then and I are far from being the only two people who dislike the switch to Sunday. Last year Father announced that we were going to have a Mass on Ascension-that is on Thursday itself-not Sunday! He doesn't like the change to Sunday either and said "we traditionalists" don't like the switch either.
He said if you don't like the move to the following Sunday, then either come to Thursday Mass or quit complaining. We're no longer obliged under pain of mortal sin to go on this particular Thursday but Father said we'll get extra graces for going to Ascension Mass.
I guess I kind of gotten off topic like I tend to do quite a bit.
Getting back to Pentecost, the Apostles were scared to be left alone without Jesus. They were afraid of persecution & spent the next nine days in prayer in an upper room. According to Father, it was our very first novena. Then the Holy Spirit came to the upper room and gave them all these gifts-including the gift of tongues. This allowed them to preach to people who spoke in other languages.
I can't think of a more important birthday to celebrate-the birthday of the Church-unless it's Christmas-the birthday of our Savior.
Father talked to the kids in the Confirmation class about Pentecost and the gifts of the Spirit. You receive the Holy Spirit in Baptism, but even more fully in Confirmation.
He talked about seven gifts of the Holy Spirit which every Confirmed Catholic has. These aren't the "charisms" or charismatic gifts such as the gift of tongues or prophecy. He talked about Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel (right judgment), Fortitude (courage), Knowledge, Piety (reverence), and Fear of the Lord (wonder and awe.)
According to St. Thomas Aquinas wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and counsel direct the intellect and fortititude, piety, and fear of the Lord direct the will toward God.
How to Pray the Rosary Everyday to find peace and serenity in your life...
How To Pray The Rosary Everyday
To Find Peace In Your Life
"Praying the Holy Rosary is like a breath of fresh air"
How To Pray The Rosary Everyday was created to encourage you, the average person to pray the Rosary everyday, enabling you to find peace and serenity in your life.
Do you like so many of us, struggle with a busy schedules and hectic days, weeks, months? Do you rush from here to there constantly on the go? It seems there is little time for much else...
Even on the weekend and especially on Sunday morning you may experience this familiar rush.
Do you worry and feel anxiety some or most of the time?
You don't need to live life this way, and God doesn't want you to either.
Aborted Baby Cries Before Cremation
Aborted Baby Cries Before Cremation
[This may be too hard for some to read]
AN aborted baby declared dead by doctors in south China's Guangdong Province cried before he was due to be cremated, but died hours later as doctors refused to treat him.
A mortuary worker at Nanhai Funeral Home in Foshan City said the baby cried and scared him as he was about to throw the coffin into a furnace, Information Times reported
today.
He opened the box and found the seven-month fetus moving, but apparently choking on some cotton wool in his mouth, the report said.
After the worker cleared his mouth, the baby yawned and breathed peacefully. Workers rushed him back to Guanyao Hospital which delivered the baby as medical waste earlier that day.
But doctors left him in the lobby, and confirmed after an hour that the baby died.
The vice head of the funeral house said Guanyao Hospital sent many aborted fetuses or still-born babies for cremation. This baby apparently survived an abortion at seven months, and he had videos to prove the
baby was still alive before the cremation.
Hospital official Liu Sanhong said its staff checked the baby for an hour and made sure it was dead.
Liu did not say whether the doctors tried to save the baby or not.
The body was later sent back to the funeral house. The report said all workers were ordered not to talk about the incident.
On March 31, at least 21 fetuses and dead babies were found dumped in a river in east China's Jining City.
Eight had tabs with clinic code numbers attached to their feet. The Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University responsible for the corpses said they were "medical
waste."
Two hospital staffers have been detained while the director and deputy director of the hospital's logistics department were sacked. A vice president of the hospital was suspended.
(That is the end of the article. We must pray for all mothers contemplating or
being pushed to abortion not just in this country but all over the world.)
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