St. Catherine of Siena

Jesus to St. Catherine: “What I ask of you is nothing other than love and affection for Me and for your neighbor. This can be done at any time, any place, and in any state of life.”

“In the way of God, he who makes no progress loses ground.”

“Choose the Truth...Will to know the truth!”

“Proclaim the Truth and do not be silent through fear.”

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Thanks to St. Catherine of Siena our excuses for failing to love our priests, or to proclaim the Truth or to faithfully live out our Catholic faith must come to an end! The fear that once reigned in our hearts must be replaced with an unyielding zeal for the salvation of souls – all souls – and for the sanctification of all our priests!

“If you are what you should be,”she once exclaimed, “you will set the whole world ablaze.” How many fires have any of us set lately?

No longer will any of us in good conscience be able to play the “I am only a lay person” card to avoid fraternally correcting those we love, especially those in the Church who have failed to fill their role as authentic teachers and shepherds.

The time for claiming we lack sufficient education or ability to do what we know God expects us to do is over. St. Thomas Aquinas reminds us that God never asks us to do anything without giving us what we need to accomplish our assigned task.

More than six centuries ago, this illiterate lay woman made this rather frank observation about the condition of the Catholic Church of her time: “Since the Church began aiming more at temporal things than at spiritual, things have gone from bad to worse.” Would she feel the same today?

Francis Fernandez writes In Conversation With God (Vol. 6, Section 32.2, page 203) that Catherine “refused to tolerate any faintheartedness in the service of God. She was utterly convinced that when the salvation of souls was at stake being unduly tolerant or understanding with mediocrity was totally unacceptable, because it is in effect only a concession to laziness or cowardice. ‘Enough of all this soft soap!’ she cried out. ‘All it does is cause the members of Christ’s Spouse to stink!’ ”

What might this mystic and Doctor of the Church have to say about today’s Church or the courage or lack thereof of its lay members? What odor might she detect within her beloved Church? Would she be pleased to see how we laity have lived out our unique vocation?

Were St. Catherine of Siena here among us today, would she agree with the following question and answer posed by Servant of God Fulton Sheen prior to his death: “Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops like bishops, and your religious act like religious”.

I think so. I also suspect that she would be encouraging all laity, but especially her lay Dominican brothers and sisters, to better fulfill the good Archbishop’s challenge.

St. Catherine of Siena has so much to offer the contemporary Catholic Church. I hope this inadequate tribute to her this day will prompt you to read The Life of St. Catherine of Siena, written by her confessor, Blessed Raymond of Capua, her timeless spiritual classic, The Dialogue, and her Letters.

Let us pray: “O God, through Saint Catherine You teach us the wonderful truth about our own human nature – that we live in You and You live in us. With the help of her prayers may this knowledge help us to advance in virtue and to serve you all our days. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. ” (The concluding morning prayer on this great saint's feastday, as set forth in the Supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours for the Order of Preachers)

Eucharistic Reflection

“It is nightfall...One by one the lights go out in the dwellings of men...Millions of stars twinkle in the vast vault of heaven...But on earth one only star still glimmers - the tiny star of light in the sanctuary lamp.”

“Its feeble rays struggle through the windows of a little church...it moves unsteadily to and fro...until it reaches you...Do you not see it? Jesus sends it to tell you that He never rests, that day and night, year in and year out, His heart is busy loving you, and the poor, and the unhappy - yes, even those who crucify Him.”

(Eucharistic Whisperings by Father Winfrid Herbst, SDS)

An Eleven Year Old Teaches Us About Life and Death

This is surely worth passing on.  Thanks to Faith at The One True Faith for sharing it:

Not This Time Buddy!

I am ashamed to admit how easily I fall prey to the “blues.” God has immensely blessed me in this life and I have no real reason for ever feeling down and discouraged.  But, of course, I am human and prone to such disorders.

In reflecting (many times) on what might set me off on this non-productive path, I discovered a number of culprits, these being the “big three” - thinking I can actually accomplish anything of value by myself and without God’s grace and assistance; being self-centered and self-absorbed; and not being present and helpful to others.

The solution then seems so obvious: allow God to be God and use me as His instrument, put others before myself, and do something concrete to help someone.

Inevitably, the “blues” evaporate whenever I stop thinking of myself and focus on God and my neighbor.

But lately, these demons, like vultures circling their prey, have refused to leave. They have used my love for our Eucharistic Lord and passion for Eucharistic Adoration, to imbed their claws into my weak soul.

Instead of being astonished and grateful that God has permitted our Perpetual Adoration chapel to complete its tenth year, I fret over the lack of interest from the majority of my fellow Catholics and from the general unwillingness of far too many priests to promote and participate in this vital devotion.

Ever ready to thwart this devotion, I hear the evil one whispering in my ear, “You’re wasting your time. Most Catholics don’t believe He is really and substantially present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Blessed Sacrament anymore.”

 “That will change in time,” I say to myself.

 “You can tell them of the benefits of an Hour of Adoration till your blue in the face,” my invisible adversary blurts out in response. “They won’t come, visit and spend anytime with Him. Why should they? Many of their own priests don’t. You’re wasting your time.”

Smelling the stench of discouragement trying to take root in my mind, his unrelenting assault continues: “You’re foolish to think you can keep this Adoration chapel open perpetually. You won’t fill the empty slots – look how long they have been vacant. You can’t expect the same people to pick up extra hours just to keep the chapel open. You would be better off just opening it for a few hours a day.”

On and on he goes. Enough! I must stop listening to him! Discouragement never comes from God, leads to nothing good and impedes the work He asks us to do for Him.

I reflected on these truths when I next filled in for an absent adorer and imagined this conversation taking place.

  “What’s the problem? Who is in charge of this devotion? - You or me?

 “You are Lord,” I whisper sheepishly.

 “Then act like it. I was the one who called a handful of souls to ask their pastor to establish Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration here. I was the one who opened his heart to be receptive to that request. I was the one who provided and continues to provide the adorers needed to keep me company 24 hours a day. Not you. If I want this sacred place to remain open, no one will be able to stop Me.  So don’t be discouraged! Trust me! Keep inviting others to come.  I will do the rest!”

As if on cue, at varying intervals during the rest of that hour and for different lengths of time, one visitor after another came to be with Him – first a family of four, then an elderly and crippled woman, followed by seven other individuals. I had no idea so many were stopping in for brief visits. He was letting me see the pool of potential adorers from which He would be drawing!

And just yesterday, as an added and unsolicited blessing, He had a friend send this unique picture taken during the Pope’s recent visit to Mexico – a perfect image that so stirringly conveys the power and awesomeness of His Presence among us:

Oh, that none of us will ever tire of inviting others to Come and Adore Him!

Another Forgotten Truth

This video graphically reminds us of an often Forgotten Truth - a Truth so essential to our eternal well-being, that it can never be shared enough:

To see 1200 more Forgotten Truths that will Set Your Faith Afire! take a look at my book.


(Video credit: You Tube, Brian Littrell, Mac Powell, Mark Hall, Mark Harris, Steven Curtis Chapman, and Catholic Online)

That More of Our Priests Would Heed This Fine Sheperd's Voice

I have frequently expressed my fondness and admiration for Servant of God Fulton J. Sheen. Not surprisingly, I apppreciated the article Father Kevin Gabriel Gillen, O.P. posted on the website for the Dominican Province of St. Joseph, entitled Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen: Master Preacher, Master of the Airwaves. You will too.

Let me share the following excerpt from Father's article. In doing so, I ask everyone reading this entry today to pray that all of our priests will follow the good Archbishop's example and advice - knowing in my heart that if they did so their priesthood, our Church and our world would be so much different than they presently are:

What exerted the greatest influence in the life of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen and has become his trademark is the Holy Hour. Sheen entitles one of the chapters in his autobiography, “The Hour That Makes My Day.” On the day of his ordination, Sheen resolved to spend one hour in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament every day of his life, and this he did faithfully. This nourishment served as the very root of his prayer life and vocation. He made a point to recommend it at all times, especially on retreats and even to Protestants.

First, the Holy Hour is not a devotion; it is a sharing in the work of redemption. Our Lord asked: “Could you not watch one hour with Me?”

I keep up the Holy Hour…to grow more and more into His Likeness…. Looking at the Eucharistic Lord for an hour transforms the heart in a mysterious way as the face of Moses was transformed after his companionship with God on the mountain…. The purpose of the Holy Hour is to encourage deep personal encounter with Christ. The holy and glorious God is constantly inviting us to come to Him, to hold converse with Him, to ask for such things as we need and to experience what a blessing there is in fellowship with Him.

I have found that it takes some time to catch fire in prayer. This has been on of the advantages of the daily Hour. It is not so brief as to prevent the soul from collecting itself and shaking off the multitudinous distractions of the world. Sitting before the Presence is like a body exposing itself before the sun to absorb its rays. Silence in the Hour is a tête-à-tête with the Lord. In those moments, one does not so much pour out written prayers, but listening takes its place. We do not say: “Listen Lord, for Thy servant speaks,” but “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth.”

It is impossible for me to explain how helpful the Holy Hour has been in preserving my vocation…. Being tethered to a tabernacle, one’s rope for finding other pastures is not so long. That dim tabernacle lamp, however pale and faint, had some mysterious luminosity to darken the brightness of “bright lights.” The Holy Hour became like an oxygen tank to revive the breath of the Holy Spirit in the midst of the foul and fetid atmosphere of the World. Even when it seemed so unprofitable and lacking in spiritual intimacy, I still had the sensation of being at least like a dog at the master’s door, ready in case he called me.

(Photo credit: Fulton Sheen.com)

Eucharistic Reflection

Jesus Waits for us Here with Divine Longing

Adore and visit Jesus, abandoned and forsaken
by men in His Sacrament of Love.
Man has time for everything
except for visits to His Lord and God,
WHO IS WAITING AND LONGING FOR US
in the Blessed Sacrament.
The streets and places of entertainment
are filled with people;
the House of God is deserted.
Men flee from it; they are afraid of it.
Ah! Poor Jesus!
Did you expect so much indifference
from those You have redeemed,
from Your friends, from Your children, from me?

Sympathize with Jesus Who is betrayed,
insulted, mocked, and crucified far more ignominiously
in His Sacrament of Love than He was
in the Garden of Olives, in Jerusalem, and on Calvary.
Those whom He has the most honored, loved,
and enriched with His gifts and graces
are the very ones who offend Him the most
by their indifference.

Offer up for this intention all that you have suffered
during the day or week
that Jesus may be loved and adored by all.
Because we ourselves are unable to atone for
so much wrong,
we unite ourselves
to the infinite merits of our Savior Jesus.
Receive His Divine Blood
as it mystically flows from His Holy Wounds,
and offer it to the Father
in perfect atonement for the sins of the world.

Take His sufferings
and His prayer on the Cross
and beg the Heavenly Father
for pardon and mercy for all.

Unite your reparation
to that of the most Blessed Virgin
at the foot of the Cross or the altar,
and from the love of Jesus for His Divine Mother
you will obtain everything.

(St. Peter Julian Eymard)

St. Vincent Ferrer - “Apostle of the Apocalypse”

Ordinarily we would have commemorated the feast day of St. Vincent Ferrer (1350-1419) last week on April 5th. But this year that day was Holy Thursday.

Since this Dominican saint was an outstanding preacher whose passion and zeal for the salvation of souls knew no bounds, I did not want to wait unitl next year before sharing a little bit about him. There is much we can learn from him today.

His early years – Prior to his birth in Valencia, Spain on January 23, 1350, Vincent’s parents, William and Constance, had several experiences which led them and others to understand how uniquely gifted would be the child in Constance’s womb.

A Dominican friar appeared to William in a dream and told him he would have a son who would be a “prodigy of learning and sanctity,” whose wondrous deeds would be known throughout the world, who would fill “heaven with joy and Hell with terror,” and who would accomplish these things as a Dominican priest.[i]

Sometime thereafter, a blind woman’s sight was restored immediately after she prayed, at Constance’s request, that the child Constance was carrying would arrive safely. “Madam,” exclaimed she who was once blind but could now see, “it is an angel you have, and it is he who has cured me of my affliction.” [ii]

   

While Vincent was a mere infant, Valencia suffered a prolonged and difficult drought despite the offering of public prayer.  Her infant son startled Constance one day by speaking and telling her: “If you wish for rain, carry me in procession, and you shall be favorably heard.” [iii]The townsfolk did so and the drought ended.

His extraordinary intelligence and piety were apparent to all.  Vincent assisted at daily Mass.  He would later refer to the Mass as “the most sublime work of contemplation”. Not surprisingly, he had a tender devotion to Our Lord’s Passion, honored the Blessed Mother as his spiritual mother, fasted regularly on Wednesdays and Fridays, and had a great love for the poor. He began the study of philosophy at age twelve and his theological studies at age fourteen! 

Entry into the Dominican Order –William escorted his eighteen year old son to the Convent of the Friar Preachers in Valencia on February 2, 1367 where Vincent began his novitiate in what was to be the first of his 50 years in religious life.  He was clothed in the Dominican habit three days later, and demonstrated by the following comments that he understood the nature of his Dominican vocation:

  

“Our Order does not lead its subjects to Heaven by the ladder of the contemplative life alone, nor by that of the active life only, but it enables them to ascend to the conquest of paradise by means of both.  They who are in the simple monastic state reach Heaven by the ladder of contemplation; and it is by ascending that of the active life that the military orders arrive at the possession of their country.  But the children of St. Dominic must have a foot on each, by uniting the exercises of prayer and study to the work of apostolic preaching.” [iv]

How Great It Was To See You Today!

I am always here – 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year - waiting for you. But generally I am alone, abandoned and ignored.

So when I looked out from behind the closed doors this morning, I was overjoyed to see you - so many of you. While there were many familiar faces among those filling the pews, there were a good number whom I have not seen in some time. If you only knew the joy I experience when you come!

I take delight in all My people, but I experience a special joy when those who stay away come to be with Me. I have so much to give each of you!

How I hunger for your presence here every Sunday. How I want to be one with you and fill you will My graces. How I want to give you the spiritual nourishment you need to withstand the weekly onslaught and temptations that surround you.

I offer you My Word and most especially My Body, Blood Soul and Divinity!

But if you have not been coming to Sunday Mass, if you have intentionally ignored or disobeyed My commandments, if you have unconfessed mortal sin on your soul, then there is something you must first do before approaching Me at the altar if you are to eternally benefit from Holy Communion.

See that little box, that little room off to the side or in the back of the Church? At least once a week, I sit there in the person of my priest, waiting for you to come, to humble yourself, to acknowledge your sinfulness, to ask for my forgiveness and to resolve to sin no more.  My mercy is yours for the asking!

It really isn’t that difficult. I already know where you have failed Me, yourself and others. There is nothing You could ever tell my priest that he has not heard or that I have not forgiven through him countless times before. Truth be told, fewer come to see Me in the confessional each week than visit me in my locked tabernacles!

Pride caused your first parents to disobey me and the same pride keeps so many of you away from Me! Swallow your pride! Humble yourself. Come to this place of forgiveness, healing and mercy – the source of new life. I can not shower you with the graces I have for you in Holy Communion unless you do so.

I am sure you can understand then why your absence from Sunday Mass and the confessional saddens Me so! There is rarely any valid reason for you to miss Sunday Mass or for you to approach Me in the Blessed Sacrament unworthily.

I love you! I will always love you!

I can only offer you eternal life. You must choose it!

So please come back to Mass and confession.

I can hardly wait to see you again.




(Photo credit to freeChristimages.com)

Only those wounded by Me

From Father Mark on April 5, 2012 

I who am here before you,
I am the Word.
No book, however beautifully written,
can speak to your heart as do I,
for I am Eternal Wisdom,
and Infinite Love,
and Uncreated Beauty
in dialogue with your soul.
My words are not like the words of men,
My words surpass even the words of My saints,
though I often speak through them
and continue to touch souls through their writings.
My words are like arrows of fire shot into the heart
and wounding it
so as to inflame it,
and heal it with Divine Love.
Make yourself vulnerable to My words.
Allow Me to speak to you in such a way as to wound you
with the piercing of Divine Love.
When you come before Me and wait upon Me in silence,
you are, in effect, waiting upon Me and allowing Me,
when I choose and in the way I choose,
to wound you with an interior word
and to set you on fire with a communication of Divine Love.
Expect Me, then, to speak to you,
to console you, and to enlighten you,
but also to wound you.
Unless I wound you in this way,
you will be incapable of withstanding the attacks of the enemy
and of bearing witness to Me in the midst of darkness and tribulation.
In the spiritual battle that is coming,
only those wounded by Me will emerge victorious.
This is why I call all My priests to seek and to accept the healing wounds of My Love. Those who keep watch before My Eucharistic Face
will be among the first to be so wounded.
I have called you to adoration because I desire to wound you not once,
but again and again, until your whole being is wounded
and so, purified and set ablaze with the fire of My Love.
Were that your soul were wounded
as many times as I was wounded in My Body for love of you
in the combat of My most bitter Passion.
Allow Me, then, to pierce you through and through
until, wounded by Divine Love,
you are wholly sanctified and made fit for My purposes and designs.
This I desire not only for you, but also for all My priests.
I would wound each one again and again with My burning love
so as to purify the whole priestly order in My beloved Church,
and present it to the eyes of the world as a victimal priesthood
made holy in the holocaust of Divine Love.
Until My bishops and My priests allow Me to wound them
with the fiery arrows of My Divine Love,
their own wounds -- wounds of sin -- will continue to fester
and to spread a filthy infection of corruption and of impurity in the Church.
Let each one beg Me to wound him,
for in wounding My beloved priests,
I will heal them, and in healing them,
I will sanctify them, and in sanctifying them,
I will offer glory to My Father
and fill the world with the radiance of My own Face
and the love of My own Heart."
This is, in truth who you are:
a sinner held fast in the embrace of My Divine Friendship.
When I withdraw this grace of conversation with Me for a time,
it is so that you will not mistake it for the product of your own imaginings,
and also, so that you will not grow accustomed to My words
and so, little by little, fail to take them to heart and to treasure them.
I speak to you so that you might share My words
when the occasion arises to do so.
Share My words humbly, with no thought for yourself.
Remain hidden in Me:
I will hide you from the observations of men in the secret of My Face,
I will prepare for you a secret place deep within the sanctuary of My pierced side.
There you can go to remain hidden and silent,
sharing My words freely and without the fear of being noticed or praised.
Ask Me to hide you in My wounds.
There is a place for you in each of My five wounds;
each of them represents a refuge against the temptations that threaten you,
and the traps set by the devil,
who would ensnare you and rejoice to see you fall.
The wound in My right hand
is your refuge from sins of disobedience and self-will.
Take refuge there
when you are tempted to take the path that is easy and broad.
The wound in My left hand
is your refuge from sins of selfishness,
from directing all things to yourself, and grasping the attention of others
by seeking to take to yourself what your right hand has given Me.
The wound in My right foot
is your refuge from sins of inconstancy.
Take refuge there when you are tempted to be inconsistent,
and when you waver in your resolutions
to love Me above all things,
and to place Me first in your affections and in your desires.
The wound in My left foot
is your refuge against sins of sloth and of spiritual lethargy.
Take refuge there when you are tempted to give up the struggle
and to consent to despair and discouragement.
Finally, the wound in My side
is your refuge from every false love
and every fleshly deceit promising sweetness,
but giving bitterness and death instead.
Take refuge in My pierced side
when you are tempted to look for love in any creature.
I have created you for My love,
and My love alone can satisfy the desires of your heart.
Enter, then, the wound in My side
and, penetrating even into My Heart,
drink deeply of the springs of love that will refresh and delight your soul,
and wash you in preparation for the wedding of your soul with Me,
for I am the Bridegroom of your soul,
your Saviour from all that would defile you,
and your God who is love and mercy
now and unto the ages of ages.

From In Sinu Iesu, The Journal of a Priest

Unforgettable

This the day so long foretold 

The day of little light

The day of justice lacking

The day of man’s ingratitude

The day of cowardice and fear

  

This the day of torture and sorrow

The day of darkness and death

The day of horror and pain

The day of weeping women

 The day of uncaring masses

This the day sin prevailed

 The day that mirrored night

The day so profound and tragic

The day of death and new life

The day with kiss betrayed

This the day your apostles fled

The day Peter knew you not

The day the cock crowed thrice

The day of whips and chains

The day of piercing thorns

This the day of spittle and stones

The day of splintered wood

The day your cross bearing

The day of multiple falls

The day of Simon’s helping hand

This the day of Veronica’s veil  

 The day stripped of clothing

The day your mother sobbed

The day her heart broken

The day of human slaughter

This the day your limbs dislocated

The day hammers struck the nails

The day of severed nerves

The day hands and feet fastened to a tree

The day my sins held you there

This the day you gasped for air

The day you hung in writhing pain

 The day two women at your feet

The day John the only Apostle there

 The day of unquenchable thirst

This the day your Sacred Heart pierced

The day blood and water flowed

The day your blood watered the soil

The day even you felt forsaken

 The day one thief entered paradise

This the day another rejected heaven

The day Mary became my mother

The day she embraced her children

The day your killers forgiven

The day you reopened the gates

This the day you died for me

The day a tomb not your own

The day of our redemption

The day salvation offered

The day of transforming grace

This the day always to remember

May Tomorrow Not Just be Another Routine Holy Thursday

(A somewhat updated version of several posts from previous years)

According to St. Pius X, our sanctity depends in large measure on the holiness of our priests. This Holy Thursday then is an appropriate time to reflect on our priests, the imperative that the Eucharist be the source, center and summit of their lives and ours, and our duty as lay men and women to treasure, encourage and support them.

We begin by recalling how eloquently St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Doctor of our Church, wrote of what it is to be a priest:

 “We must begin by purifying ourselves before purifying others; we must be instructed to be able to instruct, become light to illuminate, draw close to God to bring Him close to others, be sanctified to sanctify, lead by the hand and counsel prudently…I know God’s greatness and man’s weakness but also his potential. The priest is the defender of Truth, who stands with angels, gives glory with archangels, causes sacrifices to rise to the altar on high, shares Christ’s priesthood, refashions creation, restores it in God’s image, recreates it for the world on high and, even greater, is divinized and divinizes.”

In 1962 the late Servant of God, Archbishop Fulton Sheen, advised his fellow priests that they “become significant to their fellow men not by being ‘a regular guy’ but by being ‘another Christ’.” He foresaw the failings of his brother priests, as “a want of lively faith in the Divine Presence.” He was just as astute to recognize “the sanctity of the priesthood starts there too.” He warned prophetically that “every worldly priest hinders the growth of the Church; every saintly priest promotes it.” He prayed that God would make each of His priests “alter Christus”. That too should be our prayer.

The perspectives of St. Gregory and St. Pius X and the observations of Archbishop Sheen remain as valid and essential for us and our priests today as when they first shared them. Zeal for the salvation of souls cannot be replaced with a misguided emphasis on community organizing and social justice issues. The Fathers of Vatican Council II made this clear when they wrote in Gaudium et Spes that “Christ did not bequeath to the Church a mission in the political, economic or social order: the purpose he assigned to it was a religious one.” The physical well-being of people (a notable goal and obligation for all) must of necessity be secondary to their eternal salvation.

 No one expresses this vital truth more clearly than St. John Chrysostom:

 “Zeal for the salvation of souls is of so great a merit before God, that to give up all our goods to the poor, or to spend our whole life in the exercises of all sorts of austerities cannot equal the merit of it. There is no service more agreeable to God than this one. To employ one's life in this blessed labor is more pleasing to the Divine Majesty than to suffer martyrdom. Would you not feel happy if you could spend large sums of money in corporal works of mercy? But know that he who labors for the salvation of souls does far more; nay, the zeal of souls is of far greater merit before God…than the working of miracles.”

Our priests are under enormous pastoral and administrative burdens and are, have been and will continue to be viciously and relentlessly subjected to spiritual attack by the Evil One who knows full well that without priests there will be no Eucharist. We can not allow that to happen.

They, like each of us, are human and prone to sin. Sadly, some of them have grievously sinned and exposed a foul stench within their midst. Fortunately, the majority of our priests have not succumbed to such filth. But our priests can faithfully fulfill their role as “another Christ” only with the grace of God – abundant grace flowing to all priests for whom the Eucharist is the source, center and summit of their priestly lives, who treasure offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass daily, who spend time before the Blessed Sacrament each day, and who have developed a deep and trusting relationship with and devotion to our Blessed Mother.

They need our prayers, our support and encouragement. Never a day should pass by without each of us getting on our knees, thanking God for the faithful priests he has sent and will be sending to help us on our path to personal sanctification and eternal salvation and asking Him to provide them with all they need to be faithful to their vocation and successful against the attacks of the Evil One.  

If we do all that, in God’s perfect timing, each of us will be able to say about all our priests, the same thing one lawyer reportedly said when, after returning from seeing St. John Vianney in Ars, someone asked him what he had seen there: “I saw God in a man.”

Do not let this day end without trying to rediscover a greater sense of awe and amazement for the Eucharist. For many, music, especially sacred music, is a powerful tool through which to do so. There are arguably no more beautiful and moving Eucharistic hymns than those composed by St. Thomas Aquinas – Panis Angelicus, Pange Lingua, Tantum Ergo and Adore te Devote. You will hear some of them at the evening’s Mass of the Lord’s Supper. But will you really be in a position to truly savor and appreciate them?

Do yourself a favor. After you get home and the chores are completed and the kids are tucked away for the night, go to a quiet place where you can give your undivided attention to these majestic masterpieces composed by the Angelic Doctor. Click each of the hymns highlighted in the previous paragraph, one by one. “But you have linked to the Latin versions,” you say, “and I don't understand that language.” Relax. Your heart does. Just ask God to allow these melodies and their Latin lyrics to penetrate your entire being and bring the great Eucharistic mystery alive in your heart, mind and soul.

Awesome and amazing, aren’t they?

P.S. It's okay to cheat and listen to them now - what a great preparation for tomorrow!

(Credit for image of priest to Catholic Artwork and video credits to YouTube)

The Catholic Writer's Guild awards its "Seal of Approval" to "Forgotten Truths to Set Faith Afire! Words to Challenge, Inspire and Instruct".

I was humbled and honored to be notified last week that the Catholic Writer's Guild has awarded its "Seal of Approval" to Forgotten Truths to Set Faith Afire! Words to Challenge, Inspire and Instruct.

"The SoA is not a critique of a work, but rather an assurance of its Catholicity and that neither the work nor its author go against the Mageristerium authority of the Catholic Church." CWG "evaluates for Catholicity, not for writing style or quality."

Other individuals who have read the book have offered their view on its content. Here are excerpts from what four readers have shared:

“I am very impressed with this book and the author's commitment to writing about the Catholic Faith in a very informational and inspirational manner. I have no doubt that this book will help others on their Faith journeys.” Donna M. Cooper O’Boyle, EWTN host and author of numerous books, including Mother Teresa and Me.

 “The volume is a generous compilation of some of the most impactful and challenging quotes and passages from saints and theologians throughout Catholic history. Each page is filled with powerful words to affirm, inspire and encourage Catholics and Christians in their faith.”  Anne Costa, author of Refresh Me, Lord and Lord I Hurt!

“One thing I like about the book is that you can open it anywhere, read a passage and ponder on what you have read for either a few minutes or for however long you want.” Catherine Vallier, Lay Dominican

“This book is easy to read and difficult to put down…I am not a Catholic, but as a Christian I thoroughly enjoyed the book's treasure of Biblical quotes and those of religious leaders and others dating back centuries. It enhanced my own faith, as I'm sure it would that of any Christian.” Bernie Conklin, author of A Potpourri of Poetry

Have you read the book yet? What did you think of it? Would you recommend it to family and friends? If so, why? If something you have read in this book has touched your heart, or stirred your soul or reignited your faith, I would love to hear from you.

IN APPRECIATION FOR GOD'S BLESSINGS ON THIS ENDEAVOR, I HAVE MADE THE KINDLE VERSION AVAILABLE FOR ONLY $2.99!

Visit The Imprisoned

When we read or hear the Scriptural reminder of the eternal consequences for our failing to visit the imprisoned (Matthew 25: 31-46) more often than not the image that first comes to mind is of those locked behind bars in the far too numerous Federal and State prisons and local jails that saturate the landscape of this nation – some 2,266,800 adults in 2010 according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. More than 2 million! Many of them are Catholic and none of them are there voluntarily!

Admittedly, Jesus is not calling every Catholic to be His representative and ambassador to our forgotten convicted brothers and sisters. Certainly though more are being invited to this needed ministry than are responding. Is God calling you? Is fear holding you back?

But there is one prisoner you need not fear. One that each and everyone who professes to be Catholic,

without exception, is being called to visit. He has been imprisoned and been ignored for more than

two thousand years. Unlike his 2,266,800 incarcerated brothers and sisters in the U.S., He is

imprisoned voluntarily and out of love. Yet, the majority of those He loves and who profess to

love Him ignore Him, and rarely if ever visit Him.

He is in every Catholic Church where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved - but for all practical

purposes, in too many instances – He is alone and abandoned. Even the few inclined to visit Him, often

find the Church doors locked. How can that be for a Church and its members who are called to

make the Eucharist, the source, center and summit of their lives? How can Love Himself be in our midst

and so few care to be in His Presence?

Go visit your imprisoned Lord who longs to see you, listen to you, talk to you, and make you whole. He awaits you in the locked tabernacles of His Churches

or exposed in a Sacred Monstrance.

During your visits, bless His ears and warm His Sacred Heart by repeating the loving words St. Maria Faustina offered Him:

"O Jesus, Divine Prisoner of Love, when I consider Your love and how You emptied Yourself for me, my senses deaden. You hide Your inconceivable majesty and lower Yourself to miserable me. O king of Glory, though You hide Your beauty, yet the eye of my soul rends the veil. I see the angelic choirs giving You honor without cease, and all the heavenly Powers praising You without cease, and without cease they are saying: Holy, Holy, Holy...I adore You, Lord and Creator, hidden in the Most Blessed Sacrament."

Visit this Prisoner as often as you can. Love requires nothing less.

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