Solemnity of Peter and Paul

 

Today, Holy Mother Church celebrates the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.

Jesus chose Peter as the leader of the Church. He said, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church”. Peter alone merited hearing the words, “To you I shall give he keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Peter is the head of the apostles and was given authority to guide and lead the Church. Jesus told Peter to feed and tend the sheep, making Peter the Chief shepherd of the Church. He wrote two books in Bible and helped Mark write his Gospel.

During the persecution by Nero, just outside the gates of Rome, Peter had an apparition of Jesus and met Him carrying His Cross towards Rome. Peter asked, “Where are you going, Lord?” In Latin, “Quo Vodis Domine?” Jesus responded, “To Rome, to let myself be crucified again.” Because of this, Peter returned to Rome, knowing he would be crucified, as Jesus would be crucified in him. When captured, Peter asked to be crucified upside down, because he considered himself unworthy to die like his Master. Excavations under the altar in St. Peter’s Basilica discovered the bones of St. Peter in a tomb. The Basilica was built over the site where Peter was martyred on top of Vatican Hill in 64 AD.

St. Paul, a Jewish Pharisee, persecuted Christians and played a role in the killing of St. Stephen. But while on the way to Damascus, he was blinded by a light. Jesus spoke to him saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me.” His conversion motivated him to become Christian and he desired all to come to know and love Jesus. He preached to the Gentiles (non-Jews) to help them turn away from the worship of idols, false gods and false beliefs. He suffered much for proclaiming the truth of Gospel. He said, “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; once I was adrift in the open sea for a night and a day. In my frequent journeys, I have been in danger from rivers and from bandits, in danger from my countrymen and from the Gentiles, in danger in the city and in the country, in danger on the sea and among false brothers...” (2 Corinthians 11:26-28) He went through all this and more because he wanted to help all to get to heaven.

Paul established many churches, but was captured and sent to Rome for trial. During his house arrest, he wrote letters to the people of Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus and Rome, that became books in the bible. He was beheaded at Rome and his head bounced three times, resulting in three springs of water. The location today is called (tre fontone), three fountains. His body resides in a Basilica outside of Rome called, St. Paul, outside the wall.

Both Peter and Paul were martyred for the faith. They both ministered in Rome for 25 years together and so both were important in helping to establish the Church. They wanted to help everyone to know and love Jesus and help them to go to heaven by convincing them to turn away from their false belief.

When Jesus established His Church, he gave the apostles power and authority to guide and lead His Church. He gave Peter the power and authority to bind and loosen. He said, “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18) After He rose from the dead, Jesus told His apostles, “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” (John 20:21). He wanted everyone to listen to and obey them. Our Lord told His apostles, “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”

Over the centuries, Bishops and priests in the Catholic Church continue to have power and authority. This authority is given to them through the laying on of hands by ordination (apostolic succession).

Non-Catholic ministers do not have apostolic succession and don’t have the power and authority given to the bishops and priests.

Catholic bishops and priests have the authority to confer all 7 sacraments: Baptism, Confession, Holy Eucharist, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick. Only the bishop has the authority to confer Holy Orders (Priesthood) and Confirmation (though the bishop can delegate a priest to do Confirmation).

Non-Catholics have only two sacraments, Baptism and communion. Their belief in the Eucharist is different than ours. They don’t have the power or the authority to change bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus. They can witness marriages validly, but they don’t consider marriage a sacrament.

Bishops and priests have power and authority through the priesthood to give blessings and some priests are given authority by the bishop to exorcise demons as an exorcist.

Here are several examples of authority, that only Catholic priests have, whereas non-Catholic ministers do not.

Zachary King, a former satanic priest, later had a conversion and became Catholic. He now assists priest exorcists during exorcisms. Zachary said before every exorcism all who assist the exorcist Confess their sins, so all are in the state of grace with no mortal sins on their soul.

One day, a protestant minister asked to be present at an exorcism. Even though the minister was not Catholic, the priest suggested he go to Confession. But the man said, “I confess my sins straight to God. And last night I told God I was sorry for all my sins.” As the exorcism began the demon in the possessed man began to list all the mortal sins of the Protestant minister. The demon knew all his sins, but because Catholics confessed their sins, the demon didn’t mention any sins of Catholics. This shows the power of the sacrament of Confession and that it truly washes away sins, and it shows a Protestant sins remain without Confession.

Another example. When I was pastor of St. Rose of Lima church in Council Grove, a non-Catholic woman asked me to bless her restaurant. At times she saw a black figure and heard footsteps. The restaurant was a former home that became a restaurant where a murder took place.

I asked, “Why did you call me?” She said, “I believe only the Catholic Church has the power and authority to expel demons.” After it closed for the evening, I blessed the restaurant. I can attest from my personal experience in the restaurant, I certainly witnessed some things that caused me to believe her. I later blessed it a second time, but after that, there was no more problems.

Both Peter and Paul share the same feast day, even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Both are good examples for us to be willing to try to help our non-Catholic friends join the Church founded by Jesus because we have everything given to us by God.

Peter and Paul bear witness to the power and authority Jesus gave the apostles, through the sacraments, and through priestly actions. Let us have the evangelization heart of St. Paul and the zeal of St. Peter to shepherd the sheep to the one true Church founded by Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church, which is the easiest and safest way to heaven because we have all that God has given to the world to get the there.

Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On December 10, 1925, The Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Child Jesus, appeared to Sr. Lucia in the Dorothean convent in Pontevedra, Spain, requesting the First Five Saturdays Devotion to make reparation for sins against Her Immaculate Heart.

Our Lady appeared holding Her Immaculate Heart, encircled with thorns. Then the Child Jesus said, "Have pity on the Heart of Your Most Holy Mother. It is covered with thorns with which ungrateful men pierce it at every moment, and there is no one to remove them with an act of reparation."

The Blessed Mother then spoke: "I promise to assist at the hour of death, with all the graces necessary for salvation, all those who on the First Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep Me company for 15 minutes, while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to Me."

Our Lady also said she desires Russia to be consecrated to Her Immaculate Heart, otherwise Russia would spread her errors throughout the world. Few people understood what that meant because at that point Russia was traditionally very Catholic.

But not much long after the apparitions, Russia would succumb to communism and would help spread communism throughout the world.

Various popes consecrated the world to Mary’s Immaculate Heart, but none fulfilled Our Lady’s request until Pope John Paul II. The other popes did the consecration themselves and not in union with the bishops of the world.

Pope John Paul II was shot on May 13^th, 1981 on the anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima. In 1984, Pope John Paul II in union with all the bishops of the world consecrated the world to Mary’s Immaculate Heart, which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, as well as many other countries suffering from communism. Some have said, Sister Lucia has affirmed that the consecration was accepted. But, we don’t know for sure if she actually said that.

Pope St. John Paul II never specifically mentioned Russia, and therefore some believe it was not done properly, which is why the triumph of the Immaculate still has not occurred.

On March 25^th, of 2022, Pope Francis also did the consecration, specifically mentioning Russia, but he also mentioned Ukraine, which some say did not fulfill the consecration as Our Lady had requested, because She requested only Russia.

Jesus told Sr. Lucia that He desired that Mary’s heart be honored alongside His Sacred Heart. This would come to fruition when Pope John Paul II established today’s memorial the Saturday after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Virgin Mary also asked Lucia to promote world devotion to Her Immaculate Heart and Lucia did so behind the cloistered monastery of the Carmelites until her death.

Our Lady desires that every person be consecrated to Her Immaculate Heart. By consecrating ourselves to Her, we give Her permission to help us-- to do God’s will. She will do with us, as She did with Russia, She will protect us from evil and bring about peace within our hearts.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary, be our refuge and may we consecrate ourselves to Her Immaculate Heart often, permitting Her motherly intercession to obtain every grace we need to allow the Sacred Heart of Jesus to live and reign in us.

We all hope and pray for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which will cause the conversion of Russia and an end to Communism throughout the world.

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 

Today is the special day called the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We sometimes see statues of Jesus and we also see His Heart. When we see the Heart of Jesus, we immediately think how much Jesus loves us. On Valentine’s Day we make hearts and we tell each other “I love you.” But, how often do you tell Jesus, “I love you.” Jesus asked that we love God with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul and all our strength. When we pray, we should always tell Jesus, “I love you.” We know how much God loves us when we look at Crucifix. Jesus told His apostles, “There is no greater love than this, than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Jesus laid down His life for us on the Cross. Do you recall what happened to Jesus after He died? A soldier pierced the Heart of Jesus with a lance. So when every time we look at a Crucifix we see God loves us so much, that He opened His Heart for us on the Cross.

There was a religious sister, by the name of Sister Margaret Mary Alacoque. Jesus appeared to her and showed her His Sacred Heart. Jesus told her, “Look at this Heart which has loved people so much and yet they do not want to love me in return. Through you my divine Heart wishes to spread its love everywhere on earth.” Jesus showed His Heart surrounded by thorns and said, “Behold this heart which has so loved men that it has spared nothing, even to the point of spending itself and being consumed to prove its love to them. And in return, I receive from most men only ingratitude because of their irreverence and sacrileges and the coldness and scorn they have for me in this Sacrament of love.” When Jesus said “Sacrament of Love”, He was referring to the Holy Eucharist.

Jesus explained to St. Margaret Mary that there is ingratitude, which means a lack of thankfulness for His true presence in the Eucharist. Do we thank Jesus when we receive Him in Holy Communion. Jesus also said there is irreverence, which means Jesus is not respected like He should be. When we receive Holy Communion, we should make a sign of reverence before receiving Holy Communion, we are to either bow or head or make the sign of the Cross. When we come to Mass we should carefully genuflect to Jesus who is really and truly present in the tabernacle. We go down on one knee out of respect for Jesus who is here in the church. If we receive Communion in the hand, we should look for particles on our hand and if so we should put the particle in our mouth, because each particle no matter how small is Jesus. If we love Jesus will respect Him in the Eucharist. If we love Jesus, we will thank Jesus when we comes inside us in Holy Communion. If we love Jesus we carefully genuflect when we come inside the church and when we leave the church. If we love Jesus, we will bow our head and pray to Jesus in the tabernacle before Mass starts. Did you know when you receive Holy Communion, your heart is united to the heart of Jesus. In Holy Communion, Jesus gives you His love. Do you tell Jesus, “I love you, when you receive Jesus in Holy Communion?”

When the angel appeared to the children of Fatima, the angel taught the children a prayer. This is the prayer, Most Holy Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit- I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.” The angel wanted the children to make up for the indifference, and terrible sins, which hurt Jesus. And so the children were asked to pray to remember Jesus is really present in the tabernacle.

Francisco, who was one of the children would spend much time coming to the church and praying to Jesus in the tabernacle. He used to say, “I want to console the hidden Jesus.” Francisco knew that just by being with Jesus in the tabernacle and praying to Jesus in the tabernacle, it consoled the Heart of Jesus.

The Virgin Mary at Fatima told the children, whenever they have to do something which is difficult, they were to pray, “O Jesus I do this for love you and for the conversion of sinners.”

From now on, every time you come to church, slowly and respectfully genuflect to Jesus in the tabernacle and pray to Him, who is really there. And when you receive Holy Communion, thank Jesus for coming inside your heart and if you are able come to the church often and pray to Jesus it will console His Heart, especially if you look at the tabernacle and say to Jesus, “I love you”. Every time you look at crucifix it will remind you that Jesus allowed His heart to be pierced with a lance, so that He would show us how much He loves us. And every time we have to something that’s difficult or we don’t want to do it, we can say this little prayer, “O Jesus it is for love of you and for the conversion of sinners, that I do this for you.”

Solemnity of John the Baptist - Children's Mass

 

Everyone loves celebrating their birthday. The Church celebrates three birthdays. The birth of Jesus at Christmas, Dec. 25th. The Birth of the Virgin Mary, on Sept 8^th. And we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist, today, June 24th. On our birthday, my mother always baked a cake for my brother, sisters and me. We also had ice cream, and she would buy a gift usually a toy or clothing. She would put the same number of candles on the cake as the same number of years since our birth. If I was 10, she would put 10 candles on it. After the candles were lit, I was supposed to make a wish and blow out the candles. If she would do that today, she would have to 62 candles on my cake. That’s a lot of candles.

John the Baptist was a cousin of Jesus. The Virgin Mary was a cousin, to John’s mother, Elizabeth. When the angel appeared to Mary, the angel told her that her cousin was pregnant. Because Elizabeth was not young, the Virgin Mary immediately went to help her. Mary walked some of the day and some of the day she rode a donkey for a 5 day journey. Can you imagine walking all day, then spending the night along side the road in a tent each night for 5 days. For us, it would be sort of like camping. It was difficult to walk for a young pregnant girl to travel like that. She must have very tired each day.

The bible doesn’t say, but most likely the Virgin Mary was there when her cousin Elizabeth gave birth to John the Baptist. He wasn’t born in a hospital, because 2000 years ago, there was no such thing as a hospital. John was born in the home of his parents.

When John became an adult, he began to preach repentance. He wanted to the people to acknowledge their sins and ask God for forgiveness. Then John baptized lots of people in the Jordan River. But, his baptism was to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus. He wanted them to be ready to hear Jesus preach and teach the people.

Later, when Jesus sent His disciples to baptize, they baptized the people in the name of Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God and took the forbidden fruit and therefore committed the original sin. Original sin prevented them from being in the Garden of Paradise and they could not go to heaven, nor any human being after them, because the original sin is passed down to us.

Because Jesus came into the world, and because He suffered, died, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, we too can now go to heaven and that is why we are now baptized because baptism washes away original sin and if we are old enough to have personal sins, they are forgiven and the punishment due to sin is washed away.

Most of us were baptized when we were a baby. But some are baptized when they are older. For example, Cammi Stephenson was baptized about 2 years ago.

I would like to suggest that you ask some of your non-Catholic friends if they are baptized. And if they aren’t, tell them that the should get baptized to have their sins washed away and so that God can come to dwell in their heart.

We celebrate our birthday, but we can also celebrate our baptism day. I was born on Feb 20^th and my baptism day is March 3^rd. Every year, I celebrate my birthday and also my baptism day.

On my baptism day, I will have a special meal and usually dessert to celebrate the day when my original sin was washed and the Trinity came to dwell in my heart. At baptism we become an adopted child of God. We become a member of the Church. God comes to dwell in our heart, and we receive the gifts of faith, hope and charity.

Today, let us celebrate the birthday of John the Baptist and when you get home, ask your mom which day you were baptized, and then celebrate your baptism day every year and also your birthday.

Corpus Christi (Multiplication of Loaves and the Multiplication of Hosts)

 

This weekend is the Solemnity of “Corpus Christi”, which means Body of Christ. Today’s Gospel is the multiplication of the loaves the only miracle found in all four Gospels. I will give eight points of how the multiplication of the loaves foreshadow the Mass and then mention Eucharistic miracles.

1. Jesus was concerned about their hunger. He said, ‘I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” (Mark 8:2-4) They hadn’t eaten for some time and were hungry. (We don’t eat by fasting before Communion, which creates a longing for Jesus). The people are hungering for earthly food, but when we come to Mass we hunger to receive the heavenly food, the Body of Christ.

2. “When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.” (Mark 6:34) As Jesus fed the crowds through His teachings, He feeds the crowds through priests, His shepherds, through the Sacred Scriptures and homily at Mass.

3. Jesus told His apostles, “Give them some food yourselves.” (Priests, as shepherds feed many with the body and blood of Christ.)

4. At another multiplication of loaves, Andrew said, “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:90) The boy gave Andrew, the priest, all that he had and Andrew gave it to Jesus to be multiplied. (At Mass, during the offertory, we give our self and our gifts with the bread and wine given to the priest, who gives it to Jesus. The little we give is multiplied by God’s grace for others).

5. “Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.” (Matthew 14:19) At the Last Supper, “Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples.” (Matthew 26:26) The bread is blessed, broken and given to eat. Our Lord’s blessed body nailed to the Cross as an oblation and then His body is given to us to eat during the Holy Mass. This foreshadows the re-presentation of Calvary on the altar and the banquet of heaven.

6. All ate and were satisfied. Our hearts are filled with grace when we receive Holy Communion and our soul is satisfied by that which is eternal.

7. The bread and fish were multiplied so all can eat.

(At Mass Jesus multiples His physical presence so each person can receive Him in Communion).

8. They “picked up bread filling 12 wicker baskets left over”. If Jesus is concerned about not wasting bread, how much more is He concerned about the Particles of Hosts left over after Communion. Each particle is the whole and entire person of Jesus.

In the first reading and also the psalm speaks Melchizedek, the mysterious priest, who brought bread and wine as gifts. The book of Hebrews states, “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in reconciliation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” (5:1) The Holy Mass atones for sins and we have union with Jesus in Holy Communion. At every Mass during the offertory, when the bread and wine are offered, each person who attends Mass is to offer their gifts and their very self with the bread and wine to be offered through the priest, to Jesus during the Holy Sacrifice and in return the Lord Jesus, the bread of life, gives Himself to us in Holy Communion. Its a beautiful exchange of love. Total gift of oneself to each other.

The Holy Mass is the Most powerful event on the face of the earth. The saints tell us that it is better to have a Mass offered for a living person than a deceased person. The poor souls in purgatory long to have Masses offered for them. It is the greatest and most powerful way to be freed from purgatory.

Corpus Christi Sunday came about due to a Eucharistic Miracle. A priest was doubting the real presence of Jesus during Mass. But after the consecration, the Host began to bleed. On Sunday, parishes process the Blessed Sacrament through the streets as a witness our faith in the true presence.

June 19^th is the feast of Saint Juliana Falconieri, who was born in 1270 and died in 1340. She founded a religious order called the Servites, dedicated to the Sorrows of Mary. “She wasted away through a disease of the stomach, which prevented her taking food. She bore her silent agony with constant cheerfulness, grieving only for the privation of Holy Communion. At last, when, in her seventieth year, she had sunk to the point of death, she begged to be allowed once more to see and adore the Blessed Sacrament. It was brought to her cell, and reverently laid on a corporal (white cloth used at Mass), which was placed over her heart. At this moment she expired, and the Sacred Host disappeared. After her death the form of the Host was found stamped upon her heart in the exact spot over which the Blessed Sacrament had been placed.”

In 2004, a newly ordained priest in a metro parish in Kansas was distributing Hosts during Mass, when He realized he hadn’t consecrated enough Hosts and was running out. He went to the nearby extraordinary Eucharistic minister to obtain more Hosts, but she too was almost out. He had about 10 Hosts left and so did the other extraordinary minister, but between the two, they gave over 50 people Holy Communion without breaking Hosts. They ended up with 5 Hosts each, though they originally each had 10 Hosts to give 50 people during Holy Communion. Both the priest and layperson were astonished that Jesus multiplied Hosts during Mass.

Summer time is a time to get away with the family and go different places. I would like to encourage your family to go to Wichita on a Sunday and attend the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Joseph Church. The Mass offered at St. Joseph is the same Mass that was offered for over a 1000 years, which many priest saints offered and saints attended.

The incredible Mass is filled with silence and the beauty of ancient Catholic hymns which lift the heart and mind to God. Every Sunday, the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Joseph is at 11:30am. You could attend the Mass and then go out to eat as a family.

You will be surprised who attends the TLM Mass. The majority of those who attend are young Catholic families with children, very similar to our parish. The women wear dresses and veil their heads and the men were suits and ties. Everyone receives Holy Communion kneeling at the altar rails. If you want to show Our Lord a greater act of reverence, this weekend you have the opportunity to receive Holy Communion kneeling here at Holy Trinity.

Today, let us give thanks to God for giving us the Holy Mass, Jesus in Holy Communion and the gift of continuous Eucharistic Adoration. And after Mass, we will walk through the streets of Little River professing our faith in Jesus, truly present in the Sacred Host.

Most Blessed Trinity - Year C "Response to Protestant Pastor"

 

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. All of us believe the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three persons one God.

Each person of the Trinity has a specific function. God, the Father, is the creator. Jesus Christ, the Son, is the redeemer. The Holy Spirit is the sanctifier. Yet, because each person is one with the other persons, all persons create, redeem and sanctify.

The Blessed Trinity is in scripture. For example, The Blessed Virgin Mary was the first human being God revealed the Blessed Trinity. When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, asking Her if She would become the Mother of God. He said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you (the Father), therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” (Lk 1:35)

The Trinity was also revealed at the Transfiguration and at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan. At Our Lord’s Baptism, the Holy Spirit was seen in the form of a dove and the Father spoke and said, “You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:16-17)

Jesus revealed the Trinity when he told His Apostles, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

The Church teaches that when we are baptized, the Blessed Trinity comes to dwell within our heart, original sin and all personal sin is washed away, we become a member of the Church, and we become a child of God, such that we can cry out “Abba Father.” (Rom. 8:14-17) Through baptism we share in the divine life of the Trinity, as we become God’s children.

In the March 19^th, issue of the Harvey County Independent, a protestant pastor wrote an article called, “False Gospels Have Been Around Awhile.” When referring to what he said was a false gospel, he wrote, “It’s called the Jesus-plus gospel.” He said, “In another words, it is Jesus plus something else that saves us. Maybe it’s Jesus plus another holy book, of Jesus plus a creed….” He said, “The bottom line is this: There is one gospel message found in the Holy Bible, which teaches that Jesus and Jesus alone is sufficient to save us. If anyone, no matter who it is, tells you differently, they are teaching a false gospel.”

First, we must recognize these words from the Protestant pastor are a direct reference to what Catholics believe. When he refers to Jesus-plus, he is referring to the Sacraments and to Sacred Tradition of Catholics.

If taken strictly, which I doubt he means it in a strict manner, does he exclude the Father and the Holy Spirit and their role in saving men and women? We can’t separate the persons of the Trinity because they are perfectly one. Jesus is our savior, but the Father and the Holy Spirit participate in saving us.

When referring to “Jesus plus”, is the Protestant pastor also referring to the Church itself? But Jesus gave us the Church for a reason. The Church is “the instrument” in which Jesus saves us. Jesus said, “Peter, you are rock and on this rock, I will build my Church…” Jesus gave us the Church and leaders of the Church, to help save us. As St. Paul tells us, the Church is the pillar and bulwark of truth. (1 Tim. 3:15). The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#86) states, “Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith."

The sacraments are the means, Jesus Himself chose, to save us. Jesus instituted all 7 sacraments.

Does the Protestant minister accept the need for baptism? Suppose for a moment he does. Then would baptism be a Jesus plus thing?

I am certain he does not accept Confession because very few ministers would. However, Jesus wants all to go to Confession and the early Christians did go to Confession to a priest. Confession is found in scripture, when Jesus told His apostles, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, whose sins you retain are retained”. (John 20:23) St. Justin, who died in 165AD explains that the early Christians confessed their sins to a priest. He said, “Of how much greater faith and salutary fear are they who . . . confess their sins to the priests of God in a straightforward manner and in sorrow, making an open declaration of conscience.”

The protestant minister rejects the Eucharist. But Jesus said, “This is my body given up for you (Luke 22:14)..And Our Lord said, “If you eat my flesh and drink my blood you will have eternal life”, (John 6:54). Non-Catholics say Jesus meant this symbolically. But if that were the case, then Jesus would have said it was only symbolic, especially when “many of His disciples left Him and would no longer follow Him”. (John 6:66). But He didn’t tell them it was symbolic, He let them leave. Why would He let many leave if He didn’t mean it literally?

The minister most likely also rejects, the Priesthood (bishops, priests and deacons), yet these are all in Sacred Scripture in (1 Timothy 3:1,8; 5:17). The early Church had them because Jesus wanted them. St. Ignatius of Antioch in 107AD, (only about 10 years after the last apostle died), shows us that the early Christians were receiving the Eucharist and that there were bishops, priests and deacons. He said, “Make certain, therefore, that you all observe one common Eucharist; for there is but one Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and but one cup of union with his Blood, and one single altar of sacrifice—even as there is also but one bishop, with his clergy and my own fellow servitors, the deacons. This will ensure that all your doings are in full accord with the will of God.”

Would the minister also reject Anointing of the Sick which is found in the book of James--"Is any among you sick? Let him call for the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." (Jas. 5:14–15).

Does he also reject Confirmation which is found in the Acts of the Apostles, “..they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 8:14-18)

All of these are in scripture. All of these were instituted by Christ. All these were done by the early Church. He is right when the minister said, we only need Jesus to save us. But He is missing something very important. And that is the means in which Jesus intends to save us. The means are the Church, the leaders of the Church and the sacraments, all of which Jesus is the source and how we come in contact with Him.

If one rejects the means Jesus desires to save us, would one also reject Jesus Himself?

The protestant pastor excludes all creeds. However, in the history of the Church creeds were necessary because of false gospels, which Catholics call heresies. For example, in 325, all the bishops gathered in union with the pope at Nicaea to clarify who Jesus is-- due to the Arian heresy. Bishop Arius denied the divinity of Jesus, which began to spread in the early Church and as a result a Creed was developed to help the people to understand, Jesus is fully God and fully man. We say the Nicene Creed every Sunday at Mass.

On another occasion, the Council of Ephesus in 431AD was called-- due to the Nestorian heresy, which claimed Mary gave birth only to the human Christ. The Council affirmed Christ is a divine person, who assumed human nature when conceived in Mary’s womb and therefore Mary is the Mother of God, because Mary is the Mother of Jesus, who is God.

The Nicene Creed helps us to know Jesus saves us because He is truly God and truly man. The Creed reminds us that there are three persons, and one God. It reminds us the Trinity is the same substance.

Without creeds (statements of beliefs), people can have the wrong understanding of who Jesus is. They can take scripture out of context.

We can clearly see this today. For example: Jehovah Witnesses deny Jesus is God. They also deny the Holy Spirit is God and they even state they do not believe in the Blessed Trinity. Another example: Mormons don’t believe Jesus is God. They believe Jesus is an angel. Muslims don’t believe Jesus is God, they believe He is only a prophet. (None of these religions believe in the Blessed Trinity).

If Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons accepted the Nicene Creed, they would believe Jesus is God and believe in the Trinity.

When any Christian church says, it does not need a creed, but only Jesus, it risks losing the understanding the fullness of who Jesus is. How would it be possible for Jesus to save us, if He were not fully God and fully man?

This is why in the Nicene Creed, we say, Jesus was “incarnated” (became man) by the Holy Spirit. He is fully God and fully man. Also in the Nicene Creed, we say, Jesus is consubstantial with the Father. We use the word, “consubstantial” in the creed because of a heresy which said Jesus and the Father are not the same substance.

Some religions have invalid baptisms. When I was an associate pastor at St. Francis in Wichita, I called one of the largest Protestant churches in Wichita and asked which formula they used for baptism. Because there were multiple ministers at that church, the pastor told me, “Each minister uses whatever formula he or she wants to baptize. Some ministers baptize in the name of the Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier. Another minister baptizes in the name of Jesus. And some baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of Holy Spirit.”

But how can they choose to baptize in any other way, except the way Jesus instructed His apostles which is in Scripture. “Go.. and baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of Holy Spirit.” The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith said all other formulas are invalid.

How can those who subscribe to scripture alone, not use scripture when baptizing and how can they even refer to the Blessed Trinity, without tradition? The word “Trinity” is not in the bible. The tradition of the Catholic Church gave us the words, “Trinity, consubstantial, incarnation, etc…”

If one were to exclude everything outside of scripture, it would contradict scripture itself. The false gospel idea of “scripture alone”, is a man-made idea. In fact, no-where is “scripture alone” found in the bible. Quite the contrary, St. Paul in 2 Thess. 2:15 states, “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter.” Even the last sentence of John’s Gospel proves there is more than scripture to what Jesus said and did. St. John said, “But, there are many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25)

Some non-Catholics exclude everything Jesus said and did, outside of scripture. Therefore, they are not accepting the fullness of what was revealed by God because of their false doctrine of scripture alone.

Just think about this for a minute. There was no such doctrine as scripture alone for the first 1500 years of Christianity. Were all those Christians wrong including the apostles and St. Paul? Or were the people 500 years ago who rejected the tradition of the Church wrong? The answer is clear, the “Jesus plus Gospel” (the Church, Church authority, the Sacraments, Sacred Tradition) all of these Jesus gave us----and make up the authentic Gospel, and that which lacks these is truly, “the false gospel”.

Today, let us rejoice in the Blessed Trinity and in our Catholic faith, handed down to us from the apostles. And may, Mary other Mary, help all to come to know who Jesus really is and all Jesus revealed. For God the Father, sent His only Son, to save us. He sent the Holy Spirit to form the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, which will last until Jesus comes again to the Judge of the living and the dead.

St. Anthony of Padua - June 13th

 

Today is the feast of St. Anthony of Padua. St. Anthony was born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1195 and given the name Ferdinand de Bulloen. The clergy in the Cathedral of Lisbon educated him. At the age of 15, he became an Augustinian religious brother.

For 8 years, he devoted himself to study and prayer. Due to his remarkable memory, he acquired a thorough knowledge of scripture.

In 1220, some Franciscans were martyred in Morocco and their relics were brought back to Portugal. St. Anthony longed to be martyred like the Franciscans. So he joined the Franciscan order, with the hope that he would be martyred. He changed his name to Anthony due to his devotion to the Anthony of the desert. With great zeal he received permission to set out to Morocco to preach to the Moors, but had to return to Europe due to a severe illness.

As a sickly young brother, no one suspected he had intellectual gifts. If he wasn’t praying in the chapel, he was either serving the brothers washing their dishes and pots. At an ordination service, none of the Franciscans or Dominicans were prepared to deliver the sermon. His superior told him to go and speak whatever the Holy Spirit put into his mouth. All who heard his address were astonished, with his eloquence, fervor and learning. Due to this event, he was sent to preach in the province. He was an immediate success as a preacher and particularly effective in converting heretics. Due to his teaching at the university against Albigensians, he developed the title “hammer of heretics”.

The mere sight of him, brought sinners to their knees, for he appeared to radiate a spiritual force. Crowds flocked to hear him, hardened criminals, careless Catholics, heretics—all were converted and brought to confession. Men locked up their offices and shops in order to go and hear his sermons and women rose early in the morning or stayed overnight in the church to secure their places. Because the churches weren’t large enough to accommodate the crowds, he preached in public squares and marketplaces.

Once Anthony had traveled to the city of Rimini because it was a hotbed of heresy. The city leaders had ordered everyone to ignore him, so no one turned up for his homilies. Wherever Anthony went, he was greeted by silence. As he walked outside of the town, he came to the mouth a river. There he began to address the not the crowds, but fish.

He called out, “You, fish of the river and sea, listen to the Word of God because the heretics do not wish to hear it.” Suddenly there were thousands of fish neatly arranged in rows, all pushing their heads through the surface of the water as if they were straining to listen to every one of Anthony’s words. The people of Rimini, seeing this miracle, gathered to listen to Anthony. They were so moved by Anthony’s words, by his call to conversion, that they abandoned their hardened positions and returned to the Church.

On another occasion, a heretic said he did not believe in the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. St. Anthony challenged the farmer to not feed his mule for three days and then come and bring the mule’s favorite grain. The man did as St. Anthony told him. With St. Anthony holding the Eucharist in one hand and the farmer holding a bucket with the mule’s favorite grain, the mule walked up to Saint Anthony and fell on its knees before the Blessed Sacrament. The mule’s owner was immediately converted and believed in the true presence.

St. Anthony is also invoked to help find lost articles. In our own diocese the bodies of two people were found due to the intercession of St. Anthony of Padua. In 2016, Brian Bergkamp, a seminarian from the Diocese of Wichita drowned by saving the life of a young lady. He threw his life jacket to her, sacrificing his life for her. His body could not be found, and consequently, a novena was prayed to St. Anthony and it was on the 9^th day of the novena Brian was found.

In 2020, Savanna Schneider, a blind young lady, and a new Catholic convert, went missing. It’s believed she got lost in a field near a city and could not find her way back. Her body was found on the feast of St. Anthony, June 13th after her friends prayed to find her body and a Mass was offered that morning asking St. Anthony to locate her body. The coroner said she died the same day she was found.

St. Anthony is also an intercessor for the poor, infertile and pregnant women, and of travelers. People sometimes give bread to the poor, for the purpose of obtaining his intercession, which is often called “St. Anthony bread”.

One night, when St. Antony was staying with a friend in the city of Padua, his host saw brilliant rays streaming under the door of the Saint's room, and on looking through the keyhole he beheld a little Child of marvelous beauty standing upon a book which lay open upon the table, and clinging with both arms round Antony's neck. With an ineffable sweetness he watched the tender caresses of the Saint and his wondrous Visitor. At last the Child vanished, and when St. Antony, opened the door, he charged his friend, by the love of Him Whom he had seen, to "tell the vision to no man as long as I am alive."

In the spring of 1231, after preaching a powerful course of sermons, St. Anthony’s strength gave out and died at the age of 36 after receiving the last rites. He was canonized within one year after his death and at the moment he was canonized the church-bells of Lisbon rang without ringers.

Due to the many miracles worked at his tomb, he became known as the “wonder-working saint.”

Due to his sermons, St. Anthony was declared a doctor of the church in 1947. In a sermon composed for his fellow Franciscans, he wrote: “Christ who is your life hanging before you, so that you may look at the cross as in a mirror. There you will be able to know how mortal were your wounds, that no medicine other than the Blood of the Son of God could heal…. Nowhere other than looking at himself in the mirror of the cross man better understand how much he is worth.”

If we do not have a devotion to St. Anthony, now is the time for us to begin praying to him. Though it is good to pray to him for lost articles, it is better to pray to him for lost souls and to ask him help for help in growing in virtue and holiness. St. Anthony, pray for us!

10th Week Thursday - Purgatory

Today’s Gospel speaks about purgatory. It states, “Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise, your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

Who is the judge? Jesus is the judge who judges each soul at the moment of death. St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians said, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Cor 5:10).

The book of Revelation describes why there is purgatory. It states, “But nothing unclean will enter [heaven], nor any[one] who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Rev 21:27).

What is the prison?, but purgatory. And one will not be released until they have paid the last penny. We are not released until we have made recompense for our sins.

What is purgatory like? St. Paul states, “For no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire [itself] will test the quality of each one’s work. If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1 Cor 3:11-15). Purgatory is often described as a place of fire. The fire is not a consuming fire, but a purifying fire.

The Bible teaches that God uses fire and discipline to reform and purge His children. If this is not done during one’s lifetime on Earth, it must be done in Purgatory.

The Catechism states, “#1030 All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”

St. Gregory the Great said, “As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.”

The book of Maccabees speaks about praying for the dead. It states, “Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.”

From the beginning, the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.

The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead. We can pray the Rosary, offer our Holy Communion, the graces we receive during Mass or the time we spend with Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration, for a poor soul too.

St. Augustine said, “This fire of Purgatory will be more severe than any pain that can be felt, seen or conceived in this world.” Therefore, who wants to go to purgatory, who wants to suffer more in the next life, than in this life, let us pray God will use our pain and suffering in this life, to remit the punishment due to our sins, that we may skip purgatory, and have a straight shot to heaven and avoid fire and purification in the next. St. Faustina saw the Virgin Mary visiting the poor souls and giving them comfort and relief, let us pray to Her asking Her to deliver our family members and friends who have gone before us.