(Photo ©Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. Used with Permission)
A Must See Video on Faith, Love and the Meaning of Life
Do yourself an immense favor and take the time to view this video which originated on Creative Minority Report and the National Catholic Register:
Eucharistic Reflection - Our Living, All-powerful, All-loving, All-perfect Lord!
CHRIST:…Here
upon the altar you will find not a relic, nor a monument to someone’s memory,
but Me, alive as ever, all-powerful, all-loving, all-perfect. All the treasures and wonders of this world –
these things are nothing compared to what you find upon the altar. You will not
be drawn to me by any curiosity or shallow virtue. Only a firm faith, a steady
hope, and a burning love will draw you to Me and keep you loyal to Me.
Consider how
great must be the tepidity and negligence of this world, since so many fail to
take advantage of My gift of Holy Communion. It is sad to see how few are drawn
to Me with tender affection and wordless gratitude. In this Sacrament I offer
Myself, in Whom lie all human hopes and merits for salvation.
THINK: I should never cease to express my sorrow for
the neglect and coldness which is shown to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. How
great must be His love for us, since He does not become disgusted with so much
ingratitude. People go to the trouble to see various objects of beauty,
curiosity, or entertainment. Yet, here upon the altar is the grandest, greatest,
most magnificent of all beings. How dull can the human mind be! How hard can
the human heart become! This is our all-loving Savior, our God! In Him we live,
and move, and exist. Truly, without Him we are nothing. In Him alone shall I
find perfect peace and all-satisfying happiness.
PRAY: My Jesus
in the Blessed Sacrament, how can I ever express the sympathy and sorrow which
should be expressed for the unbelievable foolishness which we show in our daily
neglect of You…You offer us so much in the Mass and in Holy Communion, yet we
do so little to deserve Your generosity and love. Lord place my heart in Yours
for a moment and inflame it with the fire of Your love. Let me grow in
appreciation of Holy Communion, so that I may come to You more often…
Sunday Snippets - December 30, 2012
It is a privilege to once again join other Catholic bloggers at RAnn's Place for Sunday Snippets - a Catholic Carnival where we share posts from the previous week.
Here are my posts:
A Eucharistic Glance Into Today's Gospel
A Christmas and Eucharistic Reflection
That All of Us Would Come To Reverence And Love Our Eucharistic Lord as Father Mark Does!
Will You Pray For Them Tonight?
That All of Us Would Come To Reverence And Love Our Eucharistic Lord As Father Mark Does!
The love of Father Mark for the Eucharist is once again reflected in the following prayer that he offered after Christmas Day Vespers and that he posted on his blog, Vultus Christi.
Lord Jesus Christ,
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten of the Father before the daystar,
and consubstantial with Him,
born in the fullness of time of the Immaculate Virgin Mary,
by the power of the Holy Spirit,
I adore Thee,
who art truly present here,
and, out of my own poverty and weakness,
I desire to make reparation
for those who do not adore Thee in this wondrous Sacrament,
and for those who deny the mystery of Thy real presence.
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten of the Father before the daystar,
and consubstantial with Him,
born in the fullness of time of the Immaculate Virgin Mary,
by the power of the Holy Spirit,
I adore Thee,
who art truly present here,
and, out of my own poverty and weakness,
I desire to make reparation
for those who do not adore Thee in this wondrous Sacrament,
and for those who deny the mystery of Thy real presence.
I would make reparation as well
for those who approach Thee without reverence,
for those who touch, and handle,
and receive Thy adorable Body
with coldness, with indifference,
and with little awareness of the immensity of Thy charity
burning in this Most Holy Sacrament.
for those who approach Thee without reverence,
for those who touch, and handle,
and receive Thy adorable Body
with coldness, with indifference,
and with little awareness of the immensity of Thy charity
burning in this Most Holy Sacrament.
Thou art here upon the altar
just as Thou wert in the cave of Bethlehem,
where, wrapped in swaddling bands,
Thou wast laid in the manger as upon an altar,
the innocent Lamb made ready for the sacrifice,
the Living Bread come down from heaven,
and set forth upon the altars of Thy Church
for the nourishment of those
whom Thou hast created to partake of Thy Flesh and Blood
and, in so doing, to become one with Thee.
just as Thou wert in the cave of Bethlehem,
where, wrapped in swaddling bands,
Thou wast laid in the manger as upon an altar,
the innocent Lamb made ready for the sacrifice,
the Living Bread come down from heaven,
and set forth upon the altars of Thy Church
for the nourishment of those
whom Thou hast created to partake of Thy Flesh and Blood
and, in so doing, to become one with Thee.
Here, though Thy glory be veiled, yet is it visible,
for one cannot gaze upon the Sacred Host
without reflecting, as in a mirror,
something of the radiance of Thy glory
hidden beneath Its humble appearance.
for one cannot gaze upon the Sacred Host
without reflecting, as in a mirror,
something of the radiance of Thy glory
hidden beneath Its humble appearance.
I unite my adoration first to that of the Virgin Mother and of Saint Joseph
desiring, in some way, to adore Thee with them
and to abide in their company.
I adore Thee in communion with the Angelic Choirs
who filled the skies of Bethlehem on that most holy night,
and I adore Thee together with the lowly shepherds
who, crossing over to Bethlehem, found there
that everything was just as the Angel told them.
desiring, in some way, to adore Thee with them
and to abide in their company.
I adore Thee in communion with the Angelic Choirs
who filled the skies of Bethlehem on that most holy night,
and I adore Thee together with the lowly shepherds
who, crossing over to Bethlehem, found there
that everything was just as the Angel told them.
Receive my adoration here,
and in every church become the true House of Bread,
by reason of Thine adorable presence,
thus prolonging the mystery ofBethlehem
through space and through time,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Bowing low before Thee,
I adore and I submit to this mystery of Thy omnipotence become so fragile,
of Thy glory so hidden,
and of Thy love so despised.
and in every church become the true House of Bread,
by reason of Thine adorable presence,
thus prolonging the mystery of
through space and through time,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Bowing low before Thee,
I adore and I submit to this mystery of Thy omnipotence become so fragile,
of Thy glory so hidden,
and of Thy love so despised.
Let all that is in me surrender in faith to what I see before my eyes,
and to what I do not see,
for Thou art here,
who livest and reignest with the Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.
and to what I do not see,
for Thou art here,
who livest and reignest with the Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.
A Christmas and Eucharistic Reflection
Thank You For Coming!
Then the foreign dignitaries came. They had left their country in
search of the Truth, not knowing on their departure, exactly Where, What or Who
that Truth was but certain they would find It.
They did - the Incarnate Truth wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in
a manger - and they were forever changed. I smiled!
As I embarked on my public ministry, many welcomed my
miracles but later rejected Me. Only My Mother, Mary Magdalene, My Beloved
disciple John and a handful of women walked the Via Dolorosa with me and watched them nail me to the cross. They
cried.
When you next visit and see Me encased in this modest Monstrance
blessed by my beloved John Paul II and so majestically held up by this angelic
throne, know that I look at you lovingly as tears of joy flow from my Sacred
Face in appreciation for the gift of your presence. I love you more than you are able to presently
understand. I desire to hold you
eternally in My arms! Will you let Me?
When I entered this world, my Blessed Mother and her
most chaste spouse, Joseph, welcomed Me with loving arms, eyes and hearts. A choir
of heavenly angels surrounded and serenaded us!
My heart leaped for joy when the humble shepherds came
and paid Me homage. I smiled! We waited.
But none of the religious, political or social leaders
bothered to visit. They never thought to look for Me. I cried! Even today,
centuries after my arrival, most of them rarely think of Me. I cry!
My parents and I had to flee to Egypt
I rose from the dead in order to restore eternal life
to those who would believe in Me - so many still do not. I cry!
I remain physically here among those I love - Body,
Blood, Soul and Divinity - in the Most Blessed Sacrament, waiting for them to
visit. Few ever come. Hardly anyone believes I am really and substantially
present here among them. I cry!
So you can imagine the ineffable joy I experienced when
this Chapel of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration opened on November 15, 2001 and
each of you, one by one, sometimes in pairs, began visiting me for an hour each
week. You still come these many years later, often at great sacrifice, even when
you are tired, discouraged, overwhelmed with worry, anxiety, illness or
distraught over the death of a loved one.
You have given Me the greatest gift possible –
yourself, your time, and your heart. Your presence here with Me is a source of
great comfort and a most welcomed act of reparation for the general
indifference so many display toward my Pierced and Sacred Heart!
Note: I had a specific parish and chapel
in mind when I first wrote this article. I received a suggestion to slightly revise
this piece so it would have a more universal appeal. I was happy to comply. You
can read the revised version of this post at Catholic Lane
A Eucharistic Glance Into Today's Gospel
Some spiritual writers have described Mary as the
first tabernacle since the Son of God resided in her womb. She took the newly
and spiritually conceived Savior of the world to her aged cousin Elizabeth, who,
after Mary and Joseph, is the first recorded Adorer of our Lord. Elizabeth
How sad that so many of us today do not share that
appreciation when we are in His Presence. Rather than leaping for joy as did John the Baptist in his mother’s womb,
we walk by ignoring the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, acting as if He was
not here among us.
To have such a great gift, to have a God so easily
accessible and not to appreciate that Gift, is one of mankind’s greatest
tragedies.
Sunday Snippets - December 23, 2012
Here are my contributions:
Eucharistic Reflection - How Much Our Lord Loves Us!
Enter Into His Presence
Pondering Tidbits Of Truth - December 20, 2012
Pondering Tidbits of Truth - December 20, 2012
St. Alphonsus
Liguori
“God is ready to heal those who sincerely wish to
amend their lives, but cannot take pity on the obstinate sinner. The Lord
pardons sins, but he cannot pardon those who are determined to offend Him. He
who receives pardon is pardoned through the pure mercy of God, and they who are
chastised, are justly punished. But, God is not obliged to wait for your
repentance.”
(From a sermon “On The Number of Sins Beyond Which God Pardons No More”)
Catherine de
Heuck, Servant of God
St. Pius X
Oh! If I might ask the Divine Redeemer, as the prophet
Zachary did in spirit: What are those wounds in the midst of Thy hands? The
answer would not be doubtful: With these I was wounded in the house of them
that loved Me. I was wounded by My friends, who did nothing to defend Me and,
who on every occasion, made themselves the accomplices of my adversaries. And
this reproach can be leveled against the weak and timid Catholics of all
countries.”
(From Discourse at the Beatification of St. Joan of
Arc, Dec. 13, 1908)
Enter Into His Presence
Today’s Gospel (Luke 1:5-25) prompts these simple thoughts:
The Jewish people were so filled
with awe, amazement, respect and reverent fear for the Ark of the Covenant located
in their midst, that only once a year was the high priest permitted to enter
the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle and go behind the veil that separated the
“Holy of Holies” from the “Holy Place,” the Temple’s second holiest chamber, and
the rest of the temple area. The other Jewish priests burned incense and
offered prayers in the “Holy Place Temple
Today, we Catholics can approach the
tabernacles in our Churches where our Lord is really, truly and substantially present
in the Blessed Sacrament anytime we enter those sacred buildings. We do not
have to draw straws. We do not have to be ordained priests. We do not have to limit
our visit to just once a year. We can be with Him every single day. The choice
is up to us. Yet, far too few of us ever make that choice. Consequently, our
God, the Prince of Peace, often remains alone, abandoned, and forgotten.
Is there any wonder why chaos
rather than peace reigns in so many hearts, in our Church and throughout the world?
Go visit He Who Is and let Him
change your heart!
Eucharistic Reflection - How Much Our Lord Loves Us!
But we must remember that, however
great and ineffable
is all that our Lord has done for our
salvation, the love which has led Him to do it is still greater than all,
because it is infinite — and as if this love could not be satisfied, so long as
there remained a miracle it had not wrought, He institutes the adorable Sacrament
of the Altar, the sum of all His wonders.
He truly lives with us until the end of
the world. He gives Himself to us, under the appearances of bread and wine. He
makes His flesh and blood the nourishment of our souls, in order to unite
Himself more closely to us, or rather to unite us more closely to Him. Can we
then be possessed of reason, and not be deeply moved at the mere recital of
this marvel? Can we still retain any feeling of humanity, and not be all
inflamed with love for Jesus Christ, at the sight of such a benefit?
A God feels tenderness for man, takes
delight in him, and is solicitous about him! A God desires to unite Himself to
us, and desires it to such an extent as to annihilate and immolate Himself
daily, and to wish that we should feed upon Him every day, without being in the
least changed, either by the indifference, the disgust, or the contempt of
those who never receive Him, or by the coldness and the faults of those who
receive Him often!
Finally, He remains upon our Altars, shut
up within the Tabernacle, and this everyday, and at all hours of the day. Are
not these manifest proofs of the love which Jesus Christ has for us? Are they
not motives powerful enough to oblige us to love Him? Ungrateful as we are,
since it is for us alone that all these wonders have been wrought, what are we
to think?
Does not Jesus Christ, dwelling on our
Altars, deserve to be honored by us? Does He not show us love sufficient to
merit a return of love? "Woe and anathema to him, who, after all this, does
not love Jesus Christ.”
To say the truth, said a great servant of
God, could anything shake my faith in the Blessed Eucharist, I should not doubt
of the infinite power which Almighty God displays therein, but rather of the
excessive love which God shows towards us. How what was bread, becomes flesh,
without ceasing to appear bread; how the Body of Jesus Christ is at the same
time in several places; how He can be contained in an almost indivisible space;
to all these wonders I have nothing to answer, but that God can do all things.
But if I am asked, how can it be, that God
can love a creature so weak and miserable as man; and that He can love him
ardently and to such an excess; that He can love him as He has loved him. I
confess that I have no other answer to give, but that this is a truth which is
above my comprehension; that the love which Jesus Christ bears us, is an
excessive love, an ineffable love, an incomprehensible love, a love which ought
to cause admiration and surprise in every
reasonable man.
(From Devotion To The Sacred Heart of Jesus by Father John Croiset, S.J.)
Sunday Snippets - December 16, 2012
May something you read during your visit today touch your heart and stir your soul!
Eucharistic Reflection - Union With God
Father Mark Draws Us Again To The Soruce of Eternal Life
The Good Shepherd
Monday Musings - Their Silence Must End!
Monday Musings - Their Silence Must End!
If God used Balaam’s donkey to get that prophet’s attention, I guess he can use me to get yours. May these periodic postings on the second and fourth Mondays of each month (God willing) generate fruitful discussion and faithful change.
(Image from Biblebios.com)
(I know it is Friday and not Monday! But I feel guilty about missing my Monday Musing posting this week. So I am doing this now.These thoughts have been on my mind for some time. I was prompted to share them today as a result of an on-going discussion at another site.)
Their Silence Must End!
The long-standing public silence of a
majority of our Bishops remains deafening. Too many have refused for far too long to publicly
correct errant Catholic politicians and organizations. Gay marriage would not
have passed in NYS were it not for the actions of a governor and legislators who held themselves
out as being Catholics. At least one of its staunchest legislative supporters still serves
as a cantor in his parish.
The same can be said for those Congressmen and women who claim to be Catholic but who support, among other things, abortion, Planned Parenthood funding, and the HHS mandate. "Catholic"
legislators and/or governors in states other than
New York were instrumental in advancing gay adoptions and marriages in their jurisdictions.
In the vacuum created by the Bishops’
silence, is there any wonder that so many others claiming to be Catholic have
chosen to follow the lead of their elected Catholic officials rather than the
inerrant (but infrequently articulated) Truths of their Church or that some
Catholic Charity offices actually facilitate adoptions for non-married heterosexual couples
or for gay couples or gay singles?
Silence and fear to fraternally correct
those claiming to be Catholic but misrepresenting the Church’s teachings allow
such evils to flourish.
The Catholic Church exists not to assure
universal health care or social justice, or immigration reform, or world peace or
any other number of laudable projects. It was created by Jesus Christ as His earthly instrument to save souls! Nothing, absolutely nothing else, must take precedence over that Divinely
imposed duty.
With all due respect for the difficult responsibilities they carry, I join my voice with many others pleading for our Bishops to be true Shepherds, to stand up for, to teach, and to defend God’s truth, to end their silence, to stop worrying about people's "feelings" and to concentrate on saving the souls of the sheep entrusted to their care.
There is an excellent article relevant to this discussion that
recently appeared online at Homiletic
& Pastoral Review, entitled The Pastoral Mandate, Politicians and Religious Liberty.
It is well worth your time to read.
The Good Shepherd
a Today’s Gospel (Mt. 18:12-14)
is a reminder that God made us to be with Him eternally. He gives us all the
graces we need on this journey back to Him. But He also gave us free will and
we can, if we are fools, exercise that free will to reject His offer of eternal
life. He stands always ready to forgive and extend His merciful arms toward us.
He will never give up on us and remains ever willing, as the good Shepherd He
is, to welcome us back into His loving arms. But we must want Him to pick us up.
Father Mark Draws Us Once Again To The Source of Eternal Life
Take some time away from the worldly distractions of this season and prayerfully, slowly and reflectively let these Truths shared by Father Mark take root in your heart:
Adore te devote, latens Deitas
O hidden God,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O silent God,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O utterly humble God,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O ineffably obedient God,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, faithful and constant,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O piteously vulnerable God,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God delivered into the hands of sinful men,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God held lightly in the hands of Thy priests,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God most fragile in appearance,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, offering Thyself to be broken and consumed,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, ready to descend into the souls and bodies of poor sinners,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, ignored by the multitudes,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, whose real presence heretics deny,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, grieved by the coldness, indifference, and irreverence
of too many of Thy priests,
I adore Thee.
of too many of Thy priests,
I adore Thee.
O God, denied to little children who would long to receive Thee,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, excluded from the rooms of the dying,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, waiting to be carried to those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, surrounded by routine and unbelief,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, waiting for the company of Thy priests,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, forsaken in Thy tabernacles,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, ignored in Thy churches,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, unacknowledged in Thy sanctuaries,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, forever adored by the Angelic Choirs,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
O God, who art Love, and all Love, and forever Love,
I adore Thee.
I adore Thee.
Eucharistic Reflection - Union With God
“[Our]
Eucharistic Encounter with Christ in Holy Communion is that apex moment of
union with God within which Christ opens Himself fully to us and we respond,
each in our own degree of readiness to receive Him. All other moments of our
days find their full significance at the moment of Eucharistic Communion. It is
at this moment that our quality of preparation for God’s coming stands revealed
for what it is. Without a doubt, we come up wanting in this marvelous exchange
with God. He receives our broken humanity and we receive His divinity. Through
our Eucharistic union with the Blessed Trinity, our inner poverty is filled
with the Eternal riches of our Triune God.”
(From Eucharistic
Adoration – Mary, the Mother of the Holy Eucharist by Barbara Jensen)
Sunday Snippets - December 9, 2012
 |
| (Photo copyright 2012 Natalie Seagriff) |
Here are my posts:
Making Sure Jesus Is The Reason for The Season!!
Pondering Tidbits of Truth - December 6, 2012
An Early Christmas Present
An Early Christmas Present!
Soon the stirring words of that all time favorite Christmas hymn, O Come Let Us Adore Him, will be sung in our Churches, reminding us of the real reason for the Christmas Season. For too many of us that will be the last time we think of adoring our Lord and Savior until we sing those words again next December 25th.
How tragic! Our Lord waits behind locked tabernacle doors, 24 hours a day every day, eagerly looking for your visit, your words of praise and adoration, your prayerful petitions, your tears of sorrow and despair, your plea for help, your humble acknowledgement that You love Him, that you are dependent on Him and that you will never be happy until you are one with Him.
For the most part He waits in vain - rarely a visitor appears to comfort and adore Him.
Stop ignoring He Who is love! Make it a point to stop in at least once during the week every week, even if it just to say "Hi Lord, it's Harry (or Joyce, or Benjamin, or Esther, or whomever you are) I love you!"
You will comfort His sorrowful Heart and He will change yours.
(Image source: Dominicana)
Pondering Tidbits of Truth - December 6, 2012
Pondering Tidbits of Truth is my simple and inadequate way of providing nuggets of spiritual wisdom for you to chew on from time to time.
Madeleine Delbrel, Servant of God
(From We, the Ordinary People of the Streets)
Sister Josefa Menendez
(From The Way of Divine Love)
Anne Costa
“There are no unforgivable sins,
only unconfessed ones, and there are no sins greater than God’s mercy.”
(From Lord, I Hurt!)
Jean-Baptiste Chautard,
O.C.S.O.
(From The Soul of the Apostolate)
Sunday Snippets - December 2, 2012
Here are my posts - all with the Eucharist as their theme:
Eucharistic Reflection - "An Invitation to Holy Communion"
Monday Musings - November 26, 2012 - Is It Time To Change?
Eucharistic Reflection - Not Much Has Changed
Consider listening in at 6 P.M. (EST) this Monday, December 3, 2012, when I will be interviewed by Anne Costa and her co-host, Kathy Kreinheder, on the radio program, "Refresh Me Lord." You can join us online by simply clicking this link to WVOA Radio.
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