Meditate on God’s presence after Communion

 Year of Saint Joseph | OLR 75th Anniversary Year | May 1-2, 2021: 5th Sunday of Easter

Meditate on God’s presence after Communion

Do you stop to realize that the God of the universe is inside you at communion?

Often the familiarity with attending Mass and receiving holy communion can make us indifferent to what is truly happening.

As Catholics, we believe that Jesus himself is present in the Eucharist in a unique way. His entire body, blood, soul and divinity is there in the consecrated host and when we receive communion, we are receiving the God of the universe into our hearts.

Do we ever stop to meditate on that profound truth?

Mother Mary Loyola in her book, Welcome! Holy Communion, provides a brief meditation on this reality that can help awaken in us an awe at what is happening at Mass. Sometimes we need a little “poke” to see the divine mysteries that occur and to understand who is coming inside us at communion.

How near I am now, nay, how closely united I am now, to the Source of all good. I cross my hands upon my breast and know that, folded there, is all good. And He is here to share with me, like a true lover, all that He has and is. Within my breast is: All His Omnipotence to protect me—”Thou shalt know that the Lord thy God is a strong and faithful God” (Deut. vii.).All His Wisdom to guide me—”Abide thou with Me, tear not” (i Kings xxii.).All His loving-kindness to help me—” I will not leave thee nor forsake thee” (Jos. i.).All His charity to warm me—” Our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. xii.).All His zeal to enkindle mine, for “The charity of Christ presseth us” (2 Cor. v.).All His treasures to enrich me, for “He that spared not even His own Son…how hath He not also with Him given us all things!” (Rom. viii.).All His merits to plead for me—”Ever living to make intercession for us” (Heb. vii.).How near to me is all this in the supremely precious moments after Communion! Not at my door, not within my reach, but absolutely within my breast. Open, then, Thy hand to me, O Lord, and fill Thy needy creature with benediction by filling it with Thyself.

Philip Kosloski, Aleteia - published on 01/23/20

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Pope explains praying to the saints

We never pray alone, says Francis.

Pope Francis continued his catechesis series on prayer, on April 7 taking up the theme of praying to and with the saints. The heart of his reflection focused on how the saints accompany us, such that “we are immersed in a majestic river of invocations that precedes us and proceeds after us. A majestic river.”

There is no grief in the Church that is borne in solitude, there are no tears shed in oblivion, because everyone breathes and participates in one common grace.

The Holy Father noted how we are still connected with the saints in heaven, those recognized by the Church and those known to us personally.

He reflected how the ancient church had burial grounds around sacred buildings, “as if to say that, in some way, the hosts of those who have preceded us participate in every Eucharist.

Our parents and grandparents are there, our godfathers and godmothers are there, our catechists and other teachers are there […] There is a mysterious solidarity in Christ between those who have already passed to the other life and we pilgrims in this one: from Heaven, our beloved deceased continue to take care of us. They pray for us, and we pray for them and we pray with them.”

The pope said that we should call on these older brothers and sisters in heaven, and that this should be the “first way to face a time of anguish.”

And prayer should also be our answer in times of difficulty: “Even in conflictual moments, a way of dissolving the conflict, of softening it, is to pray for the person with whom I am in conflict.”

Kathleen N. Hattrup – Aleteia, 07/04/21

Pope explains praying to the saints

 Year of Saint Joseph | OLR 75th Anniversary Year | April 24 –25, 2021: Good Shepherd Sunday

Pope explains praying to the saints

We never pray alone, says Francis.

Pope Francis continued his catechesis series on prayer, on April 7 taking up the theme of praying to and with the saints. The heart of his reflection focused on how the saints accompany us, such that “we are immersed in a majestic river of invocations that precedes us and proceeds after us. A majestic river.” There is no grief in the Church that is borne in solitude, there are no tears shed in oblivion, because everyone breathes and participates in one common grace.

The Holy Father noted how we are still connected with the saints in heaven, those recognized by the Church and those known to us personally.

He reflected how the ancient church had burial grounds around sacred buildings, “as if to say that, in some way, the hosts of those who have preceded us participate in every Eucharist.

Our parents and grandparents are there, our godfathers and godmothers are there, our catechists and other teachers are there […] There is a mysterious solidarity in Christ between those who have already passed to the other life and we pilgrims in this one: from Heaven, our beloved deceased continue to take care of us. They pray for us, and we pray for them and we pray with them.”

The pope said that we should call on these older brothers and sisters in heaven, and that this should be the “first way to face a time of anguish.”

And prayer should also be our answer in times of difficulty: “Even in conflictual moments, a way of dissolving the conflict, of softening it, is to pray for the person with whom I am in conflict.”

Kathleen N. Hattrup – Aleteia, 07/04/21

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On one’s own vocation, call from God:

• St Francis de Sales:

"A good vocation is simply a firm and constant will in which the called person has to serve God in the way and in the places to which Almighty God has called him."

"It is well to remember that there is no vocation without its trials, bitterness and weariness, and with-out hearty resignation to God's will everyone is tempted to wish he could change his troubles for those of other men."

•  Cardinal Saint John Henry Newman

“God has created me to do Him some definite service, He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission: I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next.

I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught, I shall do good. I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place... if I do but keep His Commandments.

Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirit sink, hide my future from me - still He knows what He is about.”

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What Padre Pio saw in the Spanish Flu of 1918

 Year of Saint Joseph | OLR 75th Anniversary Year | April 17-18 2021: 3rd Sunday of Easter

What Padre Pio saw in the Spanish Flu of 1918

Many saints have faced the realities of pandemics. What can we learn from them?

Just over 100 years ago, the world was hit by an H1N1 influenza virus commonly referred to as the Spanish influenza.

Lasting from February 1918 to April 1920, it infected some 500 million people worldwide, which was roughly one third of the world’s population at the time.

The death toll is estimated at between 20 million and 50 million, although some experts believe that as many as 100 million died from it. These figures make it one of the deadliest pandemics in human history.

Personal suffering

St. Padre Pio – who had just received the stigmata – was also infected. So were people close to him in San Giovanni Rotondo and Pietrelcina: fellow friars, spiritual sons and daughters, and even his own family members in Pietrelcina.

All of these people – including Padre Pio – experienced a sense of abandonment and suffering.

For his new book, The Pandemic of Padre Pio: Disciple of our Lady of Sorrows, Stefano Campanella researched this period. As director of Tele Radio Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo, Campanella utilized his access to numerous correspondence between Padre Pio and others to reconstruct this little-known period of Padre Pio’s early life.

What becomes immediately clear is how Padre Pio saw the providential work of God throughout the ordeal despite his personal suffering and that of those about him.

In the latter part of 1918, Padre Pio was bedridden between September and December due to the Spanish flu. Though he did not experience the worst effects of the illness, it caused him tremendous suffering as it affected many people close to him.

Many fellow Capuchin friars were either ill or had been drafted into the Italian army and forced to the front lines of World War I.

In fact, Padre Pio’s community of San Giovanni Rotondo was reduced to just three friars as the others were either sick or called to military service.

In a letter to one of his spiritual daughters, Antonietta Vona, dated October 27, Padre Pio wrote:

“I am responding to your letter several days late due to my health which leaves much to be desired. I am out of danger, this is true, but I feel very weak and helpless to be able to react. Fiat voluntas Dei [May the Will of God be done].”

In another correspondence with Fr. Benedetto Nardella, his spiritual director and provincial minister, his superior asked Padre Pio for his perspective. Pio was already known for his spiritual gifts, and Fr. Bene-detto sought him to help interpret the events taking place.

In a letter dated October 19, 1918, Fr. Benedetto asked Padre Pio: “Tell me where we are headed with these scourges? What does the future hold for us? I am afraid in observing how justice is not placated and the sky is becoming increasingly obscure.”

Padre Pio wrote back:

“The current scourge, in the ends of God, is to bring man closer to divinity as its main goal. As a secondary and immediate end, then, it is to exonerate the persecutions against the children of God that would follow on the part of the children of this [world], as a just fruit of the present war. Do not fear then that iniquity will come to crush righteousness; but iniquity itself will crush itself, and justice will triumph.”

In both of these letters, we see Padre Pio’s abiding faith in God in all circumstances. The saint discerned the Hand of God even during the brutal pandemic that was wreaking havoc around the world.

Bringing good out of evil

Even if God was not the acting, or causative, agent behind the Spanish influenza, Padre Pio saw God using it for “primary and secondary ends”; that is, to bring man closer to Him, to enact divine justice and mercy, and to crush iniquity.

Bret Thoman, OFS, Aleteia – 14/4/21

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 Year of Saint Joseph | 75th Anniversary Year | April 10-11 2021: 2nd Sunday of Easter

Divine Mercy Sunday

Chaplet of Divine Mercy As a Novena

In addition to the Novena to The Divine Mercy which Our Lord gave to Saint Faustina for her own personal use, He revealed to her a powerful prayer that He wanted everyone to say (the Chaplet of Mercy). Saint Faustina prayed the Chaplet almost constantly, especially for the dying, and the Lord urged her to encourage others to say it too, promising extraordinary graces to those who would recite this special prayer. The Chaplet can be said any time, but the Lord specifically asked that it be recited as a novena especially on the nine days before the Feast of Mercy, and He promised, "By this Novena (of Chaplets) I will grant every possible grace to souls." (Diary 796)

How to recite the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy
The Chaplet of Mercy is recited using ordinary rosary beads of five decades.
Opening Prayers (optional)

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and an ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us. (Diary 1319)

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You! (Diary 84)

Begin the Chaplet with the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Apostle's Creed.

Then on the large bead before each decade: Eternal Father, I offer You the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins, and those of the whole world.

On the ten small beads of each decade, say: For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Conclude with (repeat 3 times): Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

Closing Prayer (optional)

Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion - inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy

in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. (Diary 950)

Our Lord said to Saint Faustina:

Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you (Diary 1541) . . . Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death (Diary 687) . . . When they say this Chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the Judge but as the Merciful Saviour (Diary 1541) . . . Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation. Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this Chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite Mercy (Diary 687) . . . I desire to grant unimaginable graces to those souls who trust in My Mercy (Diary 687) . . . Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will.

(Diary 1731)

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 Year of Saint Joseph | 75th Anniversary Year | EASTER SUNDAY | April 3 - 4, 2021

HOUSE BLESSING FOR EASTER!

Below is an Easter blessing for your home.

During the Easter Season you are welcome to take some holy water from the Baptismal font home and bless your home with the following prayer. Please bring a small container and take some holy water home.

Gather your family in each room and offer the following prayer of thanksgiving to God for your family and home. Move from room to room sprinkling the holy water in each room.

Easter Home and Family Blessing Prayer

Lord, our God, You whose home is in heaven and on earth, surround this shelter with Your Holy Spirit. Encompass our home with the power of Your protection so that no evil or harm will come near. May Your blessing and protection shield our Home and family from destruction, storm, sickness and all that might bring evil to those who live here. (Members may take turns praying the following and sprinkling water in each room) 

Blessed be this doorway. May all who come to it be treated with respect and kindness. May our comings and goings be under the seal of God’s loving care. 

Blessed be this living room and family room. May we truly live within it as people of peace. May prayer and playfulness never be strangers within its walls. 

Blessed be this dining room. May all our meals be reminders of the presence and love of God in our home, lives and world. 

Blessed be this kitchen. May our meals remind us always of the many blessings of this life, and may anger and bitter-ness never poison the meals prepared here. 

Blessed be this bathroom. May the spirits of health and healing abide here and teach us to honor and love our bodies and minds. 

Blessed be these bedrooms. Here we shall find rest, refreshment and renewal. May the spirits of love and affection together with the spirits of the angels touch all who shall use these rooms. 

Blessed be all the rooms of this home. May each of them be holy and filled with the spirit of happiness. May our door be always open to those in need and may the holy light of God’s presence shine brightly in this home. May it be a blessing for all who live here and for everyone who shall come to our door. May God’s holy blessings rest upon us all; in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN!

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Order for the Family Blessing of Food for the First Meal of Easter:

The family gathers for the meal, with the food on the table.

Leader: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

All: Amen

Leader: Christ is Risen, Alleluia.

All: He is Risen indeed, Alleluia.

Leader: Let us pray to our Risen Lord, the Son of God who invites us to the Paschal Feast stands ready to help. Let us call Him in our need.

R: Lord, prepare us for the feast of life.

• That Easter may find us cleansed of sin and ready to live anew our Christian Faith, we pray to the Lord. (R)
• That the bread we share may be a reminder of the Bread of Life we share in the Eucharist, we pray to the Lord (R)
• That we may be ready to give from our table to those who hunger and thirst, we pray to the Lord. (R)
• That we may one day enjoy the banquet of the Lord in the Heavenly kingdom, we pray to the Lord. (R)

Leader: Christ taught us to pray for our daily bread and so we dare to say:

All: Our Father ……

The food may be sprinkled with the Easter water.

Leader: May Christ nourish us and strengthen us in faith and love, now and forever.

All: Amen