So much is at stake

2013 Fortnight for Freedom

The U.S. bishops have called for a Fortnight for Freedom, a two-week period of prayer and action, to address many current challenges to religious liberty, including the August 1, 2013 deadline for religious organizations to comply with the HHS mandate, Supreme Court rulings that could attempt to redefine marriage in June, and religious liberty concerns in areas such as immigration and humanitarian services.

This time of prayer is very, very important.  The future of marriage in our country is at stake.  Everyone's prayers are urgent - moms, dads, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, singles.  The Bishops are asking us to join them in interceding before the throne of God for a good outcome to these issues.

Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty

O God our Creator,
from your provident hand we have received
our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
You have called us as your people and given us
the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God,
and your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,
you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,
bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel
to every corner of society.

We ask you to bless us
in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart
to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;
give us courage in making our voices heard
on behalf of the rights of your Church
and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,
a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters
gathered in your Church
in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,
so that, with every trial withstood
and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,
and all who come after us—
this great land will always be "one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Check here for more information: http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/fortnight-for-freedom/index.cfm and check with your own diocese to see what is happening locally. 

May God bless you and God bless America.

Life's precious moments

This past week has been one of celebration and sadness.  On Thursday, June 6, we celebrated the anniversary of our Foundation Day with a gathering of all of our Sisters for prayer and a festive meal. 

On Friday, June 7, we observed the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which is one of our community feast days.  Our logo is the Victorious Lamb of God, alive and standing, His blood poured out from His Sacred Heart.  (see our logo).  "Love Poured Out" is the theme of our logo and our life. 

On Wednesday, June 5, we attended the wake and funeral of a young man whom our Sisters had taught in pre-school, kindergarten and the primary grades.  He was only 17.  Many of his former classmates, many of whom we also taught, were there and it was a grief-filled reunion but one filled with hope and joy.  Our Sisters are so proud of these young men and women who came to know Jesus in their early school days and who still follow Him.  We also were able to greet and hug some of their moms and dads.  Pray for Jamie and his family.  May this dear boy rest in peace. 

Life is filled with many such experiences and the only way to live them is to live them with the Lord.

Only He can satisfy

They all ate and were satisfied.  That line is taken from St. Luke's Gospel from today's Holy Mass celebrating the solemn feast of Corpus Christi - the Body of Christ.  As you know, it is the story of how Jesus changed the five loaves and two fish to feed 5,000 people who had come to a deserted place to hear him teach. 

The world today is hardly satisfied.  So many people today are far from being peaceful and content with their lives.  Nothing seems to satiate their thirst for happiness.  The media, television and radio commercials promise us that we will find fulfillment in a new car or in this vitamin or by following this diet plan.  Life is so pressured, so noisy, so fast-paced that I think we often find ourselves at night, after having turned out the light, asking God to get us through tomorrow and another day.  And how can we be happy when the world is in such a nose-dive into disaster? 

Jesus is the only One who can satisfy us.  But sadly He is often the last Person we turn to in our needs.  Today, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, is intended by the Church to remind us where our happiness lies - in our relationship with Jesus Christ.  We  MUST find time to be with Him!  In recent years there has been a great upsurge in Eucharistic Adoration in so many Catholic Churches across our country.  I wonder why?!  Jesus is trying to get our attention, saying, "I am here! Come to see me, come be with me.  Come and let me refresh you, to listen to your concerns.  Come and let me love you!

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1380:  "It is highly fitting that Christ should have wanted to remain present to his Church in this unique way. Since Christ was about to take his departure from his own in his visible form, he wanted to give us his sacramental presence; since he was about to offer himself on the cross to save us, he wanted us to have the memorial of the love with which he loved us "to the end," even to the giving of his life. In his Eucharistic presence he remains mysteriously in our midst as the one who loved us and gave himself up for us, and he remains under signs that express and communicate this love:

(From Blessed John Paul II) "The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet him in adoration, in contemplation full of faith, and open to making amends for the serious offenses and crimes of the world. Let our adoration never cease.^"

^{Let us find time to be with Him.  He is the only one Who can satisfy us!}

Miracles in the aisles

Once a week another Sister and I do the grocery shopping for our local community.  Some people hate grocery shopping; I love it!  All the cashiers in the store know us.  Some of the baggers (a few who have Down's Syndrome) know us.  I was bagging my own groceries this week and a tall young man, obviously mentally challenged, came up to me and looked me right in the eye, smiling.  He picked up a bag and finished packing my groceries! We laughed together and because all the employees wear name tags I am able to call him by name.  I loved it!

Sister and I separate - she does the produce and frozen foods and I do the aisles.  We are often stopped by other shoppers who want to tell us their story.  We wear a habit so that tells them the door is open.  They ask for prayers, they tell us they had Sisters in school.  Another Sister who preceded  us in this "apostolate of evangelization" was responsible for bringing one of the employees back to Church and to having her marriage blessed in the Church. 

I just read an article on Catholic Online recounting Pope Francis' homily for this morning on the Gospel reading for the day. (Mk 10:13-16)  As I was reading the article I thought about our shopping days.  Here is a link to the article.  Please read it!  I think it will touch as well as convict your heart.  God bless you!  Happy shopping and evangelizing. 

 http://catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=51104

The Wind in our sails

Some years ago a friend told me that failure to recognize the Holy Spirit and to allow Him to guide our lives is like driving a car with four flat tires.  We are guaranteed to have a bumpy ride! Another thought:  The Holy Spirit is the Wind in the sails that propel the boat of our life – He keeps us on a steady course, whether the sea is calm or turbulent. 

Today as you know is Pentecost, the solemn feast that marks God’s outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and into the Church.  Often the feast has been called the "Birthday of the Church."  At the end of Mass this morning Father extinguished the Easter Candle – symbolizing the end of the liturgical Easter Season and the beginning, if you will, of the age of the Spirit.  But, how often do we think of the Holy Spirit, talk about Him, pray to Him, rely on Him, allow Him to inspire our thoughts, deepen our faith and inflame our hearts with God’s love? 

Here are some wonderful thoughts on the Holy Spirit by our Holy Father, Pope Francis.  Please have a look: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/pope-francis-and-the-holy-spirit/

Take the time if you can to learn about the Holy Spirit, especially from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Here is an index of the content of the Catechism – page down to find articles 683-686 and 687-747. http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/ccc_toc2.htm

And finally, here is the famous prayer to the Holy Spirit by St. Augustine, well worth printing out and keeping in your Missal, your prayer book, or in another handy place.  It is a wonderful prayer to begin the day. 

PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. 

Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. 

Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. 

Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. 

Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. 

Amen.

Pentecost Novena

A we know, a novena is nine days of prayer.  I am a little late in posting this but it is my favorite prayer in preparation for Pentecost. (Sunday, May 19)   I also found it on the EWTN web site.  So, you might want to print it out, post it somewhere as well as say it as a family or with friends. (We can say this prayer all year long!)  So often we forget the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the Spirit we have already received in Baptism and at Confirmation. 
 

Come Holy Spirit, fill me with the fire of your love.  Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of your mercy.

PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

O Lord Jesus Christ Who, before ascending into heaven did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul, the work of Your grace and Your love.

• Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal,
• the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth,
•  the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven,
• the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation,
• the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints,
•  the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, and
•  the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him.
•  Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples and animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.

The Feast of Hope

Tomorrow is a day of celebration for our community.  It is our annual feast day - the Solemnity of the Ascension, the feast of hope.  It is a holy day of obligation which means as Catholics we are required to attend Mass on Ascension Thursday.  Unlike Christmas or Easter, how come the Ascension is such a big deal?  Because the event is part of the Paschal Mystery - the death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus into Heaven, followed by Pentecost.  All four, taken together, are the events of our Redemption, all planned by our Merciful God. 

Jesus came into the world through the Incarnation.  His conception as a human being in His mother's womb and his birth in Bethlehem were momentous events in our salvation.  He lived for 33 years on earth, as both God and man.  Isn't it appropriate then, that we not only celebrate his coming among us, but we also celebrate his return to the Father.  Here on earth, he taught us the Good News, he healed, he brought some back to life.  Now that he sits at the right hand of the Father, he prays for us and is preparing a place for us to celebrate with him in eternal life. 

But you know, even though he has returned in his holy humanity to Heaven, from where he came, he has never left us!  Saint Jose Maria Escriva says that "...in an excess of love, he has remained with us, even when he has gone away.  He has gone to Heaven and, at the same time, he gives himself to us as our nourishment in the sacred host." 

 St. Leo the Great has written:  "(the apostles) benefitted so greatly from the Ascension of our Lord that all that beforehand had caused them fear now caused them joy.  From that moment on, their souls were fixed in contemplation on the divinity seated at the right hand of the Father; the very vision of his body was no obstacle to their believing with their minds illumined by faith that Christ had not separated himself from His Father when he descended, and had not separated himself from his disciples when he ascended." 

What does all of this mean for us?  Jesus has never left us, he is sitting beside the Father, interceding for us, he expects us to be with him forever and he wants to give us the grace to live our lives in such a way that we make it to Heaven.  On our journey home he nourishes us with his body and blood.  And he has sent us his Holy Spirit to inspire, to lead and guide us there.  In 10 days we celebrate the solemnity of Pentecost.  There is no end to our causes for celebration!