Divine Mercy Sunday

This weekend is the feast of Divine Mercy. Jesus asked Sr. Faustina that the Sunday after Easter be celebrated as a Feast of Mercy. Our Lord told St. Faustina, “On that day, the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity.”

The Holy Eucharist is a font of mercy. The first time Jesus appeared to the apostles Thomas was absent. The following Sunday, Thomas declared he will not believe Jesus had risen unless he were to see the nail marks in His hands, feet and side. But, although the doors were locked, Jesus stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” and He told Thomas to put his finger in the wounds in His hand and in His side. And then Thomas made His famous statement declaring the divinity of Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”

Thomas bears witness to the physical presence of Jesus and His divinity. Jesus is God! It was really Him and not a ghost, not an apparition and not only a spiritual presence. He and the other apostles experienced Jesus in His resurrected body, which is a physical body that can be touched.

The Eucharist is not only the spiritual presence of Jesus. It is His physical presence: body, blood, soul and divinity. His entire human and divine natures are present in the Eucharist. In the Eucharist is the resurrected and living body of Jesus. Not a hunk of flesh, but a person. We can’t have a relationship with a hunk of flesh, but a person. When we receive Holy Communion, Jesus passes through our body and we become one with Him. When we receive Holy Communion, Jesus always forgives our venial sins. But we are never to receive Holy Communion when in the state of mortal sin, otherwise we commit a sacrilegious communion. Jesus requires that we confess mortal sins in Confession. But, if our soul is in the state of grace, without a mortal sin, Jesus will forgive venial sins when we receive Holy Communion.

Our Lord St. Faustina, “Were a soul like a decaying corpse, so that from a human standpoint, there would be no hope of restoration, and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full. Oh, how miserable are those who do not take advantage of the miracle of God’s mercy!"

Let us look at examples of God's infinite mercy. The Rosary helped convert a satanist, Bartolo Longo. He was raised Catholic, but fell away from the Church and became a satanic priest. He eventually went to Confession, but fell into despair, thinking that he was too big of sinner to ever go to heaven. He said, “I experienced a deep sense of despair and almost committed suicide. Then I heard an echo in my ear of the voice of Friar Alberto repeating the words of the Blessed Virgin Mary: ‘One who propagates my Rosary shall be saved.’ Falling to my knees, I exclaimed: ‘If your words are true that he who propagates your Rosary will be saved, I shall reach salvation because I shall not leave this earth without propagating your Rosary.” From that moment, Bartolo Longo’s life was consumed with devotion to Our Lady and Her Rosary. He began to spread the Rosary wherever he could – preaching missions, giving out rosaries, teaching others to pray it, and encouraging public processions and recitations of the Rosary in areas where the faith had grown cold. He understood the Rosary not only as a private devotion but as a public proclamation of the truths of the Faith. He built the world’s largest basilica dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary in Pompeii, Italy. Through the Rosary, he experienced God's infinite mercy.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen will be beatified at St. Louis in September. One day, he encountered a drunk woman entering Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. Instead of turning her away, he offered her tea and made a promise: he would not ask her to go to confession when she returned sober. When she came back, he gave her a tour of the church, and as they were walking by the Confessional, he gently ushered her inside it. She said, "You said you would not talk about Confession." He said, "I didn't. I just gently pushed you inside." That single encounter led to her conversion, and she eventually entered a convent, spending the rest of her life as a nun. This story illustrates a profound truth: God’s mercy often works through simple, unexpected moments. The woman did not need a grand gesture or a dramatic sermon. She needed kindness, patience, and a quiet invitation to return to God.

Fr. Donald Calloway was baptized Episcopalian, but his parents never went to church and divorced. As a teen, he became promiscuous, addicted to drugs and was often drunk. When his parents moved to Japan, he became involved in the Japanese mafia and was a drug mule, meaning he transported drugs to various people and locations. He was arrested and returned to the United States. While contemplating ending his life, he found a book on Medjugorje and read the entire book that night. That night, he had a terrifying encounter with the devil and cried out, "Mary!" And with that, the devil left and he heard a woman's voice that saying, "Donnie, I am so happy." He eventually became Catholic, and later a priest. He is now a member of the Marians of the Immaculate Conception. Upon receiving Holy Communion on Divine Mercy weekend, all his sins and all the punishment due to his sins were washed away in the ocean of God's mercy.     Saint Bartolo Longo, the nun, and Fr. Don Calloway are all examples of how God's mercy in Confession can change one's life.

Our Lord said, “Come with faith to the feet of My representative. I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest...I Myself act in your soul. Make your confession before Me. The person of the priest is, for Me, only a screen. Never analyze what sort of a priest it is that I am making use of; open your soul in confession as you would to Me, and I will fill it with My light."

Confession and Holy Communion are not the only fonts of mercy. Baptism is an incredible font of mercy and can change the life of the greatest sinners.

When I was in seminary, I met Dr. Bernard Nathanson, an atheist, who presided over 70,000 abortions, and he personally did 5,000 of them, including his own child. He was one of the world’s leading abortionists. One day, he used an ultrasound, to help him do an abortion. Through the ultrasound, he saw the horror of what he had been doing, changed his mind and he became an outspoken defender of the unborn in the pro-life movement. Ultimately, it was the attraction of a merciful God and his desire to be free from his sins which led him to be baptized in New York City at St. Patrick’s Cathedral by John Cardinal O’Connor. He spent the remainder of his life working for the cause of life. If Dr. Nathanson would have died immediately after baptism, he would have went straight to heaven, because baptism washes away original sin, personal sin and the punishment due to sin.

Jesus told sister Faustina, “Paint a picture according to the vision you see and with the signature, ‘Jesus I trust in You!’ I desire that this picture be venerated first in your chapel and then throughout the whole world.” Every time we gaze upon the Divine Mercy image, it reminds us of God's infinite mercy and that there is no sin, God will not forgive. We only need to have confidence in His mercy.

Jesus taught St. Faustina the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. “For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us, and on the whole world”. He said, “Say unceasingly this chaplet. Anyone who says it will receive great mercy at the hour of death. Priests will recommend it to sinners as a last hope. If the most hardened sinner recites this chaplet even once, they will receive grace from my infinite mercy. I want the whole world to know my infinite mercy. I want to give unimaginable graces to those who trust in my mercy.” Jesus also said, “I desire the confidence of my people. Let not even the weak and very sinful fear to approach me, even if their sins be as numerous as all the sand of the earth all will be forgiven in the fathomless pit of my mercy.”

Today, let us rejoice and give thanks to God for those who went to Confession during Lent, received Holy Communion in the state of grace and received His unfathomable mercy bestowed upon them.

Holy Wednesday - Healing of Paralytic - Mother Angelica

 

In the first reading today, a man crippled from birth was carried to a gate at the Temple. The men who carried him to the temple, did so, so he could beg for alms.

Obviously, no one was taking care of his needs, despite being crippled he had to provide for his own livelihood. At least some men, had the heart to bring him to a place where he could work, so to speak, by asking people for money. Peter saw the misery of the paralytic, looked intently at him, and said, "I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk." Peter then took his right hand, raised him up and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong. He leaped up, stood, and walking around, and went into the Temple and walking jumping and praising God.

When Mother Angelica was a young religious sister in Ohio, she had a floor buffing accident, which caused her to not be able to walk without using braces on her feet and crutches in her both of arms.

However, in 1998, on January 28th, an Italian mystic, Paula Albertini asked to pray with Mother Angelica because she said, Jesus wanted to heal her.

She at first rejected the idea and thought the mystic wasn't authentic. Eventually, she caved in, and did as she requested. They first prayed the Rosary together. When they were praying the Rosary, one of the religious sisters who was with Mother Angelica, saw a light come out of a picture of St. Francis of Assisi, which hung on the wall.

After the Rosary, Paola told Mother Angelica, she was healed and told her to take off her braces and walk.

At first, Mother refused because she said, "If I take off the braces, I will fall." Finally, she conceded, removed the braces. Her legs were wobbly and so, she said, "I told you, I can't do this!" But, as she turned around, she felt heat go through her legs and felt her legs strengthen. Soon she realized she was healed and just like the paralytic in first reading, she began to jump up and down, saying, "I'm healed! I'm healed!" She swung open the door and saw a security guard standing there dumbfounded. She said to him, "Do you want to dance with me?" To his shock and amazement, she grabbed his hands and they began to dance together and she gave thanks and praise to God.

The following morning, as Mass was about to begin, when the grate opened, those in the congregation did everything they could to see her. One could see that she had placed her braces on a ledge in front of the Tabernacle, to thank Our Lord in the Eucharist.

And when it was time for her to come forward for Holy Communion, there was a collective gasp, as they saw her get up and walk unaided to receive Jesus in Holy Communion.

Later at one of the live shows, she told the viewers, "Jesus healed me, to strengthen your faith. He did this for you!"

God can and does work miracles today. He does so many times through the power of the Holy Rosary. It was during the time they prayed the Rosary, Paulo Albertini had the vision and mother was healed. This true story can be found in my book, Miracles of the Rosary and the Rosary of Miracles.

The Virgin Mary at Medjugorje has asked that we pray three Rosaries a day, the joyful, sorrowful and glories mysteries.

 Wouldn't you agree that the world and our families need God's graces by praying the Rosary. Will you make that commitment to pray 3 Rosaries a day?

Easter Sunday - Father Kapaun's Last Easter

 

If you hear the words “Easter Morning”, what image springs to mind? Likely you think about: a bright sun shining in a blue sky, birds chirping in the trees, a glistening church filled with people. Easter lilies adorn the altar. Men dressed in their Sunday best, and little girls delighting in bright new dresses.

As Mass starts, the jubilant sound of the organ resounds over the assembly, and the Alleluia is once again sung like no other day of the year.

Christ is risen, and we share a Communion with the Lamb who lives by receiving Jesus in Holy Communion! The joy is filled to the brim and runs over even to our homes, where Easter baskets are filled with chocolate and the sweet aroma of ham cooking in the oven teases of the feast to come.

Seventy-five years ago, for a small group of Americans and the priest among them, Easter looked nothing like this. In fact, the contrast couldn’t have been more stark. It was a cold, gray morning when the 60 or so prisoners, who were officers, made their way past guards and up the hill to the rubbled steps of a bombed-out church. It was a motley and bedraggled congregation, led by their Chaplain.

Father Kapaun looked like all the rest of the prisoners with long hair and a scraggly beard. He had an old sweater sleeve pulled over his head as a cap and an eye-patch over an infected eye, but he wore his purple confession stole around his neck.

On Easter Sunday, 1951, he hurled at the communists his boldest challenge, openly flouting their law against religious services. In the yard, of the burned-out church in the officers’ compound, just at sunrise, he read the Easter service.

He could not celebrate the Easter Mass, for all his Mass equipment had been lost at the time of his capture. All he had was the things he used when administering the last rites to the dying–the purple ribbon, called a stole, which he wore round his neck as a badge of his priesthood, the gold ciborium, now empty, in which the Host had been carried when he had administered Holy Communion, and the little bottles of holy oil used to administer the last sacraments. 

He held up a simple crucifix he had fashioned from two pieces of wood as he began the service, reciting the Stations of the Cross from a borrowed missal.

As he spoke, the road to Calvary and the mysteries of our Lord’s Passion became real for the men, who themselves daily lived under harsh treatment and the shadow of death. "We are suffering", he told the men, "but Christ understands and suffers with us".

Then Father Kapaun switched tones, focusing on the Lord’s Resurrection and His glory. He reminded the prisoners that after their time of suffering, they too would experience the Lord’s Resurrection, as long as they didn’t lose faith or hope.

A chorus of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," sung by the Americans, echoed through the damaged church. They sang, "Mine eyes have seen the glory / Of the coming of the Lord ... Glory, glory, Hallelujah! / His truth is marching on."

Together all the men exercised their faith by singing the Lord’s Prayer, loud enough so that the rest of the men in the camp could hear. There was not a dry eye among them, and none who attended could ever forget the hope that Easter offered them.

The Easter service ended with the baptism of a prisoner. A priosner had confided in Kapaun earlier that he had wanted to become a Catholic, and the chaplain chose this special occasion to grant his wish.

Afterward, men shared with one another what the Easter service meant to them, and how special it was after having lived in the hellish prison for months.

But the chaplain broke into tears, surprising them all. When one of them asked why, he was crying, Fr. Kapaun said that it hurt him for not having been able to give them Holy Communion.

By outward appearance, this Easter service in Korea, was a very different vision than we will see in our churches today on Easter, but the reality was the same. Christ is Risen. He remains with us and are to remain with Him. We are to share His life with each other and the world.

This message wasn’t unique to Father Kapaun; it is re-echoed throughout history. On his Apostolic Journey to the United States in 1995, St. John Paul II left us the same message in different words: “There is no evil to be faced that Christ does not face with us. There is no enemy that Christ has not already conquered. There is no cross to bear that Christ has not already borne for us, and does not now bear with us. And on the far side of every cross we find the newness of life in the Holy Spirit, that new life which will reach its fulfillment in the resurrection. This is our faith. This is our witness before the world.”

On this Easter, we pray that the Lord will bless you and your family abundantly, with this new life in the Spirit. May we all share our joy in the Risen Christ in a world in great need. Venerable Emil Kapaun, pray for us!

Easter Sunday - Eucharist is Risen Jesus

 

Jesus is Risen Alleluia! He is risen from the dead!

On Sunday, the first day of the Jewish week, Mary Magdalene went to Jesus’ tomb. When she saw the tomb empty, it never occurred to her that Jesus had risen. Instead, she thought that since “they” had ganged up against him to get him killed, “they” would not even let him rest in death and had done something with his body.

She reported it to Peter and John who both ran to the tomb, John running quicker and reaching the tomb first as he was younger. John waited outside until Peter arrived to allow Peter to go into the tomb first. John allowed Peter to enter first, since Peter had been chosen by Jesus to lead the Church.

Peter and John saw the burial cloths and John mentions two of them. Most regard them to be what we now call the Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium (the head cloth that covered the head of Jesus after His dead) in Oviedo in Spain.

John went into the tomb, and we heard in our Gospel today that he saw and believed. When Jesus took Peter, James, and John up the mountain and they saw him transfigured, he told them they were not to tell anyone until he had risen from the dead, but they didn’t know what rising from the dead meant. On three occasions Jesus had told them He would be handed over, killed, and rise after three days. Again they did not understand what Jesus meant. Now suddenly, as John saw Jesus’ tomb empty, he remembered that Jesus had said he would rise from the dead and now he believed.

On that first Easter Sunday, Jesus appeared to many. We take it for granted that He appeared first to His Mother Mary, but that it was so beautiful an encounter words could not do it justice and that it was so well-known at the time the Gospels were written that no evangelist put it into writing. The Gospels report on Easter Sunday Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, to the apostles, and to two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

On the following Sunday, Jesus again appeared to the apostles. As Jesus appeared on Sundays, the early Christians met to celebrate the Eucharist on Sundays, and so the Christian holy day became Sunday the first day of the week while the Jewish sabbath remained Saturday.

The early Christians met on Sundays to celebrate the Eucharist because they knew that was how Jesus was present to them and we know it is how Jesus continues to be present to us.

The two disciples on the road to Emmaus learned that when Jesus explained the Scriptures to them, and then broke bread with them—the Eucharist—before becoming invisible to them.

Jesus did not go away after breaking bread with them but, in Luke’s Gospel He became invisible to them. They knew Jesus was still with them even though they could not see Him, and we know Jesus is with us under the appearance of bread and wine.

After the consecration, the bread is no longer bread but Jesus, and only has the appearance of bread. After the consecration, the wine is no longer wine but Jesus, and only has the appearance of wine.

Jesus is not in the tomb. He is risen and here with us as the Scriptures are proclaimed and here with us after the consecration under the appearance of bread and wine.

To reassure us, from time to time, Eucharistic miracles occur in which the bread not only becomes the body of Jesus at the consecration but also changes appearance to become human heart tissue, and the wine not only becomes the blood of Jesus at the consecration but changes appearance to become blood.

Hospital lab tests always show these Eucharistic miracles are heart tissue, myocardium, so we can say it is the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the tests always show that the blood is blood group AB.

These Eucharistic miracles reassure us that Jesus is really with us in the Eucharist just as Jesus appeared on Sundays to the apostles to reassure them of His presence with them after His resurrection and appeared on Easter Sunday evening to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Jesus is not in the tomb. He is risen and here with us after the consecration under the appearance of bread and wine. Let us rejoice, that Jesus is risen! Jesus is alive and Jesus is with us, most especially in the Eucharist, when we receive Him in Holy Communion, when we adore Him during Adoration and who remains with us in the tabernacle.

May the Virgin Mary, whom tradition tells us Jesus appeared first, help us to experience Her Risen Son!

Homily mostly taken from Fr. Tommy Lane

Easter Vigil - He is not here, for He has been raised from the dead!

We heard the readings proclaimed, which tell the story of salvation history. We first see God as the creator of creation, then God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham's faith causes him to believe even if his son would die, God would raise him from the dead. God then used Moses to help the Hebrew people escape slavery, and the crossing of the sea represents the water of baptism destroying evil and being saved by water. God then promises a new and everlasting covenant, which Jesus later indicates, the Eucharist is the new and everlasting covenant. We heard Ezekiel's prophecy that God will sprinkle clean water and create new heart, reminding us that through the waters of baptism our heart is made clean from sin.

As we began Mass this evening, the lights of the church were off, the fire was blessed and the candle was lit from the fire. When the candle is processed down the aisle, from the back of the church to the front, each person's candle is lit. The light from the fire of the Easter candle represents the resurrection of Jesus. Then the whole church is lit by individual candles, which represent each of us bringing the light of Christ into a world of darkness. Just as light easily overcome darkness, so the light of Christ easily overcomes the darkness of sin.

At the moment of baptism, the light of Christ enters our heart and we become beacons of light, as disciples of Jesus. Tonight, the darkness of original sin, that Ire Cordell's soul had when she entered life, will be illuminated through the waters of baptism. Ire spent many weeks preparing to be baptized, to get confirmed, and make her First Holy Communion. She has been looking forward to this night. Through baptism, original sin, that she has on her soul, and all her personal sins will be washed away in the ocean of God's mercy. Her heart will become a temple of the Holy Spirit. She will become a child of God, a member of God's family, a member of the Catholic Church, a member of the body of Christ.

After her baptism, through the sacrament of Confirmation, the Holy Spirit will descend upon her and make her a witness to Christ when she is confirmed. She will become a soldier for Christ and will receive the name St. Patrick. She will ask St. Patrick to pray for her from heaven for her various needs. Just as we ask one another to pray for us, we are able to ask the saints to pray for us. They are just people like us, but because they are close friends of Jesus, they can ask Our Lord to answer our prayers.

Later in the Mass, at the altar, after Jesus will change the bread and wine into His body and blood and Ire will then come forward to make her First Holy Communion.

Just as Mary Magdalene knelt in homage and embraced the feet of Jesus, so Ire will kneel before Jesus and receive Him in Holy Communion.

All of this possible, because Jesus rose from the dead, because He conquered sin and death, because He established His Church to give us the 7 sacraments, so that we can come in contact and have personal and intimate relationship with the risen Lord.

Today, because Jesus rose from the dead, He is alive and here today and every day, and as He promised until the end of time. His resurrection reminds us that Jesus is real and as God, we can turn to Him every day for anything.

The angel told the women, "Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here for He has been raised from the dead, and He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him."

The Jews believed in the resurrection of the dead, but most did not suspect they would see it for themselves in their own life. Yet, Jesus first appeared to one of the greatest sinners in the New Testament, Mary Magdalene, who was a prostitute. But, when she met Jesus and came to understand His love for her, she repented and began to follow Our Lord as one of His disciples. Why would Jesus first appear to a great sinner? Because, the greater the sinner, the greater the mercy one receives and one appreciates. And because of His great mercy. Recall the words of Jesus, who said, "Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

She came to understand how much God loves her and because of her experience of God's love, she was not afraid to go to a cemetery to anoint the dead body of Jesus.

She didn't find the dead body of Jesus in the tomb, rather to her amazement, and because she clearly did not expect it, she saw the angel and then minutes later, met Jesus alive in His resurrected body.

When she ran to tell the apostles that the angel told her, that Jesus was alive and rose from the dead, she was fearful and yet overjoyed.

Then suddenly, she sees Jesus, who met the women on their way to tell the Apostles. Her response was beautiful, "They approached Jesus, embraced His feet, and did Him homage." This was not the first time she embraced the feet of Jesus, because she had poured oil on them and then wiped His feet with her hair. She then embraced His bloody feet at the foot of the Cross. Now she embraced the same feet, which are now resurrected. Surely, she saw the wounds in His feet when she embraced them. The humility of Mary Magdalene moves our heart to see Our Lord's divine presence as God and her great love for Jesus.

Let us remember, that every day, the risen Lord stands before us.

Every day, we should bend down on our knees and pray to Jesus because He is risen! He is risen from the dead and He is alive!!

Jesus loves us so much, that He went through His horrible passion, His suffering and death on the Cross, to conquer sin and death, so that we may enter into friendship with Him, and then have eternal life with Him in heaven. By His own power, He raised Himself from the dead to prove His love for us.

Today and every day, let us rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus, because we are never alone and we are able to be one with Him in Holy Communion, where He unites His Heart to our heart and the two hearts beat in unison as one heart, sharing love with each other. Now that's a whole lot of love!

Let us be thankful for it and rejoice in it, for He is risen, He is risen indeed!

Good Friday - Saint Anna Schaffer

On Good Friday, we do not have Mass. Rather, the Passion of Jesus is proclaimed, we venerate the Cross and receive Holy Communion. The bread and wine are not changed into the body and blood of Jesus; the sacrifice of Calvary does not become present on the altar. The Church wants us to know, if it wasn't for the suffering and death of Jesus, we would not have Mass. But, the Church does not deprive us of Holy Communion.

Due to her sufferings, St. Anna Schäffer couldn't attend Mass. But, a priest gave her Holy Communion daily. She received the stigmata and shared in the Passion of Jesus.

Anna Schäffer was born February 18, 1882, in Mindelstetten in Bavaria (Germany). Her family was poor. After her father died at age 40, she dropped out of school at 14 and worked as a maid to help her family. She had hoped to enter a religious order, but had to help provide for her family.

  At age 11, she received her first Holy Communion, telling Our Lord, “Do with me as you want … if you will it, my Jesus, let me become an expiatory sacrifice to atone for all dishonor and all offenses that are committed against you.”

At age 16, Anna had a disturbing vision. She had a vision of Mary, who was carrying a rosary. She told Anna the importance of praying it, and warned her she would have much suffering in life. She was so upset by it that she left her workplace and couldn’t be convinced to go back.

She was terrified and probably confused as to why she should suffer. She and her family were already suffering due to their poverty. Why more?

It is a mystery why some suffer more than others. I have been relatively healthy and comfortable. Most people don't outwardly show their suffering. We just don’t know what other people are going through, do we?

On February 4, 1901, Anna had an accident while working at her job. She and another employee were washing linens which was done with boiling water in a large kettle. When the stove pipe came loose, Anna climbed up and stood on the edge of the kettle to reattach the stove pipe. She slipped and fell in boiling water, scalding her legs.

She was taken to the hospital, but there was little hope of helping her. Everything the doctors tried only seemed to make things worse. They didn't know if she would survive. After three months, more than 30 operations and many failed skin grafts, Anna’s doctors released her to the care of her mother. She was bedridden and in great pain.

Anna’s life looked bleak. Her dream of becoming a religious sister was gone. She was in constant pain and would be confined to her bed for the remainder of her life.

The devastation and despair would be crushing. Anna struggled with her fate for about two years, fighting depression and perhaps feeling angry about the accident.

Thankfully, Anna eventually found her strength in the Eucharist and in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She often couldn’t sleep, which led her into deep prayer to Jesus and in devotion to Mary. Because of her sufferings, she could not attend Mass, so, an abbot brought her the Eucharist daily. It sustained her in her suffering, and she wrote a moving description of how it fed her: “I cannot write by pen how happy I am every time after Holy Communion. Ah, I forget my earthly suffering and the longing of my poor soul draws me every moment to adore my God and Savior hidden in the Blessed Sacrament!”

The gift of the Eucharist sustained Anna and can sustain us in our struggles in life. We shouldn’t underestimate the power of the Lord’s body and blood to lift us up and strengthen us for our journey, whatever the journey is.

Now that Anna had accepted and abandoned herself to her suffering, she focused her energy on three things she felt were her keys to entering heaven: her suffering, her writing and her ability to knit clothes for friends. Many people came to visit her for comforting words and to ask for her prayers, which she always gave. She became well known for her patience and kindness, especially in the face of her situation.

In October of 1910, Anna had another vision of Jesus. In this vision, he told her she would feel the pains of his passion in atonement for sins against the Eucharist. When she took Communion that day, she was touched by five rays of fire on her hands, feet and heart. The stigmata lasted the remainder of her life causing her pain in those areas, especially on Thursdays and Fridays, Sundays and feast days.

Anna wanted nothing more than to emulate the suffering of her Lord, accepting it patiently and without rebellion. She united her suffering to His, rather than fighting against it. This unification of her suffering to Jesus's suffering made her prayers for others all the more powerful.

We have all heard that the best way to handle suffering is to offer it to God as atonement for our sins and the sins of the world. We are to use it to be fruitful for the greater good.

That’s a difficult ask. Anna prayed constantly for the strength and grace to bear it. We must as well.

When faced with suffering, the best we can do is pray for God’s graces and ask him to help us offer it up. Anna couldn’t do it alone and neither can we. Even if your suffering is internal, it’s a burden that is crying out for the Lord’s help. Don’t turn away from Jesus despair. Rather, give it to Him. Let Him carry you.

In 1925, Anna learned she had colon cancer which eventually caused paralysis of her spine. She died October 5 of that year only minutes after receiving the Eucharist. Her last word were, "Jesus, I live for you." A few years after her death, over 15,000 miracles have been attributed to her intercession.

St. Anna Schäffer was beatified March 7, 1999, by Pope John Paul II and canonized October 21, 2012, by Pope Benedict XVI. Her feast day is October 5. She is a patron saint of disabled and bedridden people and accident victims.

Pope John Paul II had moving words about her during her beatification:

“If we look to Blessed Anna Schäffer, we read in her life a living commentary on what Saint Paul wrote to the Romans: ‘Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us’ (Rom. 5:5). She most certainly was not spared the struggle to abandon herself to the will of God. But she was given to grow in the correct understanding that weakness and suffering are the pages on which God writes His Gospel…Her sickbed became the cradle of an apostolate that extended to the whole world.”

On this Good Friday, let us thank Jesus for His suffering and death and permitting us to share in His suffering. Let us also thank Him for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, whereby we receive Holy Communion to give us strength to endure our sufferings of life.

St. Anna Schäffer, pray for us in, our sufferings and help us to love Jesus in the Eucharist, as you loved Him!

Good Friday - St. Faustina "Surrender to Death"

In the reflection of His death on the Cross, Jesus said to Sister Faustina: “All this is for the salvation of souls. Consider well, My daughter, what you are doing for their salvation.” Then Sister Faustina said: “I saw the Lord Jesus nailed to the cross. When He had hung on it for a while, I saw a multitude of souls crucified like Him. Then I saw a second multitude of souls, and a third. The second multitude were not nailed to [their] crosses, but were holding them firmly in their hands. The third were neither nailed to [their] crosses nor holding them firmly in their hands, but were dragging [their] crosses behind them and were discontent.”

Naturally, this makes us think about how we carry or treat our own Cross, how Jesus sees us, and which multitude I’d fall into…

Then Jesus said: “Do you see these souls? Those who are like Me in the pain and contempt they suffer will be like Me also in glory. And those who resemble Me less in pain and contempt will also bear less resemblance to Me in glory (Diary, 446).” 

In this life we will experience ‘pain and contempt’ for following the way of Jesus, by teaching His commandments, by testifying to the Truth. In our Gospel we just heard that dialogue with Pilate, “Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?””

In this world that follows many gods and saviors, this world that proclaims many different and competing truths, when we listen to the voice of Jesus Christ and proclaim the truth that He is the one and only Savior, we will most likely be rejected like He was. That rejection will be a Cross for just us as it was for Him, but we have to remember that our Cross is actually His Cross. So when we suffer, we must know that we are being united to Him, resembling Him. We need to resemble Him on earth to resemble Him in the Glory of Heaven.

In our first reading we heard the prophecy of Isaiah where he says, “He surrendered himself to death.” Many of you have heard about the Surrender Novena. The word “Surrender” is found often in scripture.

  To “surrender ourselves to death” will first mean that we have to die to our own sinful attachments, removing our sinful pride, and risking our popularity and status in the eyes of the world.  That is what happens when we proclaim the Truth and the response required by realizing Jesus Christ is our savior: we must listen to His voice, obey and teach His commands.

The prophet Isaiah said, "If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him…. Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear. Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses."

By uniting ourselves to Jesus Christ, bearing our Cross and surrendering ourselves to death, we take part in His saving work. In this way our lives become “an offering for sin” or a reparation for the sins of others, we are able to intercede for transgressors and “win pardon for their offenses.” This reality is echoed in the New Testament by James, “My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

See, the cross of Jesus is truly a cross of mercy, a cross of love that seeks the salvation of every soul. Despite the pain and contempt, we may face, we should want to participate in His saving work, to help others know of the love and forgiveness and peace found only with Jesus Christ. 

As you come forward to venerate the Cross today, ask God to help you to embrace His Cross in your own life. Consider well… what you are doing for [the] salvation of yourself and others. Ask for strength and courage. Ask to resemble Him more and more. “Jesus, my Savior, hide me in the depth of Your heart that, fortified by Your grace, I may be able to resemble You in the love of the Cross and have a share in Your glory. Amen.” (Homily of Fr. Andy Upah)

Mass of the Lord's Supper (Eucharist & Priesthood) Five Martyrs of Shreveport

Today, we celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper, the first Mass. At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the Eucharist and the Sacred Priesthood. The Last Supper was in the context of the Jewish Passover meal.

During the Passover meal, Jesus instituted the holy sacrifice of the Holy Mass. He changed bread and wine into His body and blood. Our Lord said, "This is my body, which will be given up for you." Then when He took the chalice, and said, "This is the chalice of my blood, which will be shed for you.", He changed wine into His blood.

At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted two sacraments, the Holy Eucharist and the sacred priesthood. Part of the ordination rite of Jewish priests in the Old Covenant involved washing (Ex 29:4; Lev 8:6). During the Last Supper, Jesus washed the apostles’ feet. While Jesus performed this action to teach his apostles to serve, rather than be served, we could say it also resembles and calls to mind the washing that preceded the ordination of the Jewish priests of the Old Covenant.

I wonder if the apostles later saw the foot washing in a new sense, calling to mind the washing was part of the ordination of Jewish priests in the Old Covenant. 

The resurrection of Jesus and His words to the apostles in today’s Gospel, also confirm a change in the priesthood from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. In the Old Covenant there were many Jewish priests offering sacrifices in the temple daily, but in the New Covenant there is one priest, Jesus, who offered Himself in sacrifice once on the Cross and He shared His priesthood with the apostles and their successors during the Last Supper.

There is a change in the priesthood from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant and Jesus’ resurrection shows that God is doing a new thing. We could say Jesus completes the sharing of His priesthood with the apostles during His encounter with them on Easter Sunday as he breathed on them giving them the Holy Spirit and commissioned them to forgive sins in his name, saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained".

As priests they began to act in the person of Jesus and consecrate bread and wine into His body and blood when they offered Mass, absolve sins in Confession, anoint the sick, baptize, witness marriages, and bishops would ordain priests and confer the sacrament of Confirmation.

Thanks be to God for the gift of the priesthood! The priests of the New Covenant continue the mission of Jesus the Priest.

Please pray for more vocations to the priesthood and support vocations to the priesthood. If a family and parish shows its love for and support for priests, we can expect priests to arise from that family and parish including ours.

Jesus gave us priests, so that we may have the Eucharist and receive the other sacraments.

What kind of effect is the Eucharist to have on our lives? Jesus washing His disciples’ feet during the Last Supper when He gave them the Eucharist for the first time, surely teaches us that the Eucharist is linked with service.

Our attendance at Mass and receiving Holy Communion should lead us to love all our brothers and sisters in a sacrificial way. After Mass, we are sent to love and serve the Lord in others.

St. Augustine, writing about the Eucharist, said that if we receive Holy Communion worthily, we are what we receive; when we receive Christ in the Eucharist, we too are to sacrifice ourselves, as we become what we eat.

Just as Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it, when we receive the Eucharist, we are to allow ourselves to be taken by Jesus, blessed, broken and given in love for others. In that sense, the words of St. Paul become true, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.”

Many priests live heroic lives, and go unnoticed. But, sometimes their heroic lives become known, such as the five priest martyrs from Shreveport, Louisiana.

In 1873, the Yellow Fever epidemic lasted from late August to mid-November. Five priests from Shreveport died between Sept. 15 and Oct. 8. The priests did not ask, "What will happen to me, if I go?" Rather, they asked, "What will happen to the people if I don't go." These priests offered the Holy Mass, heard Confessions for the sick and dying, gave them Holy Communion and bestowed the Last Rites preparing them for death.

Imagine if they would not have sacrificed themselves, many would have died in mortal sin, and would not have been prepared for their judgment. Jesus used these priests to save souls and give witness to their life of self-giving, that flowed from the Eucharist.

During the COVID-19 in 2020, some bishops forbade their priests to give sacraments to the sick and dying. Other priests were afraid they would die if they gave Anointing of the Sick and Holy Communion to the sick and dying.

Sadly, some died without the sacraments. But, there were heroic priests who gave the Holy Eucharist, absolved sins, and anointed the sick and dying, risking their lives.

The sacred priesthood and the Holy Eucharist are beautiful gifts God has given to the world, to help souls obtain eternal life. Let us daily pray for priests, pray in thanksgiving for the Holy Mass and Holy Communion and let us pray for more vocations to the priesthood, so that in every generation, Jesus will be with His people until the end of time. 

O Mary, Mother of Priests and Mother of the Eucharist, help us to appreciate and protect these sacred gifts.

Palm Sunday, Passion Sunday

 

How can we hear the account of Jesus’ Passion and not be moved by it? Most people when they first watch the movie: The Passion of the Christ?” The Passion of Jesus moves us. It moves us because Jesus suffered. In the first reading today, we heard what we could describe as a prophecy of Jesus’ passion, that He would give His back to those who beat Him, His cheeks to those who plucked His beard, His face He did not shield from buffets and spitting.

The Passion of Jesus moves us because it is we, who have inflicted this suffering on Him. It was not just the Jewish leaders and the cruel Roman soldiers who brought this suffering on Jesus; it was our sins, that inflicted suffering on Him. There is no past, present or future for Jesus; He is outside of time. The account of the Passion of Jesus moves us to flee from sin, to leave sin behind. That is why everyone goes to Confession before Easter. The Passion of Jesus shows us for who we are, sinners who crucified Jesus, and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation we turn to Jesus again and ask for his mercy. Through the Passion of Jesus, we receive forgiveness, “through his wounds we are healed.”

The Crucifixion of Jesus was and will always be the greatest act of God’s mercy. God the Father could have destroyed the human race for killing His only Son, but He didn’t. Rather, His Son’s suffering, death and resurrection is what opened the gates of heaven. St. Faustina’s life and writings about God’s mercy is meant to stir our hearts to receive His mercy and to give His mercy. Our Lord said, the world will not have peace, until it turns with confidence to my mercy. After hearing all that Jesus went through, who could not appreciate the pain and suffering He went through, to save us from our sins?

Very few people were able to receive the graces from Divine Mercy Sunday due to the COVID lock-down. Perhaps, the world was not appreciating the Eucharist, the Mass and Confession as we ought, so God permitted that to happen.

I tell people who become Catholic and children when they make their First Confession and Holy Communion. After we Confess our sins, we should always thank Jesus for forgiving our sins and every time we receive Him in Holy Communion, we should thank Him for coming inside our heart.

To not go to confession, when understanding the depth of love revealed on the Cross, shows a lack of gratitude and appreciation for all Jesus went through. If we go to confession during Lent and receive Holy Communion, while in the state of grace, on the feast of Divine Mercy, the Sunday after Easter, all our sins and the punishment due to our sins will all be washed away in the ocean of God’s mercy. This once a year event is contingent on us asking for His mercy in Confession, receiving absolution through a priest, and then receiving Jesus in Holy Communion on Divine Mercy Sunday, the Sunday after Easter. How simple is that for us?

Only Jesus can save us from sin, from hell and the punishment due to sin, and make it possible to be with Him forever. He wants us to be with all the angels and saints in heaven and forever experience peace, love and joy. Jesus, our only Savior wants to wash our soul clean and make it white as snow through the sacraments.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who rejoices when He finds the lost sheep. He picks us up, places us on His shoulders and goes home rejoicing.

O Mother of Mercy, draw each one of us to the fonts of mercy, and obtain for us, a soul washed clean, and purified, as it was at the moment of baptism, and help us to be grateful for God’s infinite and unfathomable mercy, that flows from the Cross of Jesus on Calvary. Amen.

4th Sunday of Lent, Man Born Blind

 

Today is Lataere Sunday, Rejoice Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Lent! Holy Mother Church pauses from Her Lenten sorrow for the sins of men and the sufferings of Christ, to give way to a foretaste of Easter Joy!

Many Catholic Churches once again return flowers around the altar, and the priest wears glorious rose-colored vestments as a sign of joy.

We should rejoice because Christ, our light has come among us. At Christmas, the dawn of the new light comes upon the earth, born in Bethlehem. And soon the Easter joy will ring out, “Christ our Light, has risen, from the darkness of the tomb!”

The healing of the man born blind is seen by the Fathers and doctors of the Church as a miracle symbolizing the sacrament of baptism in which, the Holy Spirit, through water is used to cleanse the soul and receives the light of faith: “(Jesus) sent the man to the pool called Siloam, to be cleansed and be enlightened, that is, baptized and receive in baptism full enlightenment.”.

Today, Lily will be baptized today. Her soul will be cleansed from original sin and the darkness of all her personal sins will be washed away in the ocean of God's infinite and unfathomable mercy. Not only her sins will be washed away, but also the punishment due to all her sins will be gone.

Her heart will become a temple of the Holy Spirit. God will come to dwell within her heart. She will enter into God's divine life. She will become a member of God's family, a member of our parish family, a member of the Catholic Church. She will receive the gifts of faith, hope and charity. Lily will become a child of God.

The blind man is a straightforward person and believes Jesus is a prophet, and as the Son of God. Whereas the Pharisees persist in not wanting to see or believe, despite clear evidence before them. In this miracle Jesus reveals Himself as the Light of the world. He is the true light that enlightens every man, who came into the world. Not only did He give light to the eyes of the blind man; He enlightens his soul, leading him to make an act of faith in his divinity. Our Blessed Lord questioned the blind man, and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” and he responds by stating, “I do believe Lord” and he worshiped Him.

Russ has come to believe everything the Catholic Church holds to be revealed by God and true. His profession of faith is the result of the eyes of his heart being opened to the fullness of truth found only in the Catholic Church.

Russ and Lily will also be Confirmed and make their First Holy Communion. Through Confirmation, they will receive an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to strengthen them in their faith. The will become witnesses for Christ, even to the point of suffering persecution for being a Christian. They also will receive the name of saint, that they have carefully chosen and will seek that saint's prayers. Lily chose St. Michael, the archangel, who defends us against the enemy and Russ chose St. Columbanus, who was an Irish monk and because of his extensive travels in Europe, he is the patron of bikers.

Jesus said, "take no part in the fruitless works of darkness." All of us are sinners and all of us chose to do bad things because we are human and suffer from concupiscence, which is a tendency to sin due to original sin.

On the day the Lord Jesus appeared to His Apostles when He rose from the dead, He told them, "Whose sins, you forgive are forgiven them. Whose sins you retain are retained." Jesus gave them the apostles, and the bishops and priests as their successors, the ministry of reconciliation. And from the beginning of the Church, all the way up to today, Catholic Christians have always confessed their sins to a priest.

Jesus gave us the sacrament of Confession, so after we are baptized, we can be reconciled with God when we sin. Sin darkens our soul, but the blood of Jesus causes the light of Christ, to shine on our soul when we confess our sins and the darkness is washed away. Our soul becomes a light for the world.

When we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, His light produces fruit of every goodness and righteousness and truth, within our own soul, and the souls of all within the mystical body of Christ.

If we live in the light, we will follow the Shepherd, who leads us to restful waters, which is His true presence in the Eucharist. For He gives us life-giving water, and refreshes us as we come to worship before the Lord our maker. As we come to Him, even though we walk in the dark valley of this world, we fear no evil, because we follow Our Blessed Lord, the Good Shepherd and Light of the world in the Eucharist. Even if we stumble and fall, by our sins, Jesus the Light, will raise us up and help us to continue as one of His faithful followers.

Russ and Lily, from this day forward receive Jesus in the Eucharist as often as possible. Come to Jesus, the Good Shepherd in Confession monthly or more often if you like!

When you confess your sins, Jesus will joyfully place you on His shoulders. Then He calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent."

Today, let us rejoice and be glad on this Lataere Sunday, for two new Catholics, who have joined the Church.

My friends, may all of us do as St. Paul told the Ephesians, “Live as children of the light, for light produces every goodness and righteousness and truth.”