Sept. 15th - Our Lady of Sorrows

 Today is the memorial of the Our Lady of Sorrows. Each of Her seven sorrows was a moment She cried, because She loved Her Son Jesus with a motherly Heart.

Mary’s first sorrow. When the Child Jesus was presented in the temple, how great was the shock to Mary's Heart at hearing the sorrowful words, from holy Simeon, who said, “And a sword shall pierce your heart.”

The second sorrow of Mary. The flight into Egypt. Consider the sharp sorrow which Mary felt when, St. Joseph being warned by an angel, they had to flee by night in order to preserve her beloved Child from the slaughter decreed by Herod.

The third sorrow of Mary. Joseph and Mary’s loss of Jesus in the temple. For three days they searched for Him not knowing if He was dead or alive or captured by marauders. How dread was the grief of Mary, when She saw She had lost her beloved Son! And as if to increase Her sorrow, when She sought Him diligently among Her kinsfolk and acquaintances, She could not find Him.

The fourth sorrow of Mary. Mary meets Her beloved Son as He carried His Cross. Bearing His Cross, wounded, torn by stripes, crowned with thorns, streaming with blood. Consider the grief of the blessed Virgin thus beholding her Son! Who would not weep at seeing this Mother's grief?

The fifth sorrow of Mary. See the sacrifice of the body of Jesus hanging from the Cross with His Mother standing beneath Him. As She stood at the foot of the cross, pierced by the sword of sorrow, She turned Her eyes on Him, until She knew He lived no longer and had resigned His spirit to His Eternal Father. And to hear the words of Jesus, “Woman, behold thy son.”, would have struck Her Heart knowing John would replace Her beloved son.

The sixth sorrow of Mary. Consider the most bitter sorrow which rent the soul of Mary, when She saw the dead body of Her dear Jesus on laying on Her knees, covered with blood, all torn with deep wounds.

The seventh sorrow of Mary. Consider the sighs which burst from Mary's sad heart when She saw Her beloved Jesus laid within the tomb. She gazed a last time on the lifeless body of her Son, and when the great stone was rolled to the door of the sepulcher, oh, then indeed Her heart seemed torn from her body!

Have you ever wondered what Mary was thinking when She stood at the foot of the Cross. St. Bernard gives us an insight into Mary’s Heart. He said, “Perhaps someone will say: “Had she not known before that he would not die?” Undoubtedly. “Did she not expect him to rise again at once?” Surely. “And still she grieved over her crucified Son?” Intensely. Who are you and what is the source of your wisdom that you are more surprised at the compassion of Mary than at the passion of Mary’s Son? For if He could die in body, could She not die with him in spirit? He died in body through a love greater than anyone had known. She died in spirit through a love unlike any other since His.

My friends, all seven sorrows of Mary were moments, which She would have cried because of how much Her only Son, Jesus, suffered. Today, let us resolve to comfort the Sorrowful Heart of Mary by meditating on Her Seven Sorrows and entering into Her great love for Jesus.

Sept. 14th - Exaltation of the Cross

 Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The public veneration of the Cross of Christ originated in the fourth century, beginning with the miraculous discovery of the cross on September 14, 326, by Saint Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine. Out of an aversion to Christianity, heathens had done all in their power to conceal the place where it lay, and where Jesus was buried. They heaped upon His sepulcher a great quantity of stones and rubbish, besides building a temple to Venus. They also erected a statue to Jupiter in the place where Jesus rose from the dead.

The pious empress ordered the profane building to be pulled down, the statues to be broken in pieces, and the rubbish to be removed; and upon digging to a great depth, they discovered the Holy Sepulcher, and near it three crosses; also the nails which had pierced our Savior’s body, and the title which had been affixed to his cross. By this discovery they understood that one of the three crosses was that of Jesus and that the other two belonged to the two who were crucified with Jesus. The title was found separate from the cross.

The three crosses were carried in procession to the bed of a woman, who was at the point of death. The touch of the first two had no effect, but when the woman was touched, with the last Cross, the woman suddenly got better. St. Helena wanted to check for herself if this was the True Cross, so she asked that a man, who was already dead and buried, be taken to the Cross. And when he came in contact with the Cross, he became alive.

St. Andrew Crete said, “The cross is something wonderfully great and honorable. It is great because through the cross the many noble acts of Christ found their consummation– very many indeed, for both his miracles and his sufferings were fully rewarded with victory. The cross is honorable because it is both the sign of God’s suffering and the trophy of his victory. It stands for his suffering because on it He freely suffered unto death. But it is also his trophy because it was the means by which the devil was wounded and death conquered; the barred gates of hell were smashed, and the cross became the one common salvation of the whole world. The cross is called Christ’s glory; it is saluted as His triumph.”

And let us not forget, that His Mother Mary stood beneath Her Son’s Cross. May we contemplate in our heart what She endured gazing upon Her crucified Son.

24th Sunday "Faith & Works" Sign-up Day for Adoration

Today is the long awaited Sign-up day for Eucharistic Adoration. And after the homily, you will have the opportunity to sign up and spend an hour with Jesus every week. I am certain Jesus Himself has been waiting for this day.

In the second reading from the book of James, it said, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?” Can faith save him?”

All of us are here at Mass because we have faith. We have faith that by coming to Mass, we are worshiping God, by giving our self totally to God and He gives Himself totally to us. We have faith that Jesus through the priest will change bread and wine into His body and blood. Our visible senses of seeing and tasting and feeling cause us to think its only bread, but our faith tells us the Eucharist it the real resurrected person of Jesus. And during Eucharistic Adoration, we believe we are truly gazing upon Jesus and He is gazing upon us. Jesus is alive. Jesus is risen. Jesus is here in the Eucharist. This is our faith.

But we do not live by faith alone. We are also to do actions (works). The reading today said, “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?” Can faith save him?” James also said, “Faith without works is dead.” Therefore, faith and works are necessary for salvation. If we have faith, we need to put into action. What are the works we are to do? There are the 7 corporal and 7 spiritual works of mercy? The seven corporal works of mercy are: Feed the hungry. Give drink to the thirsty. Clothe the naked. Shelter the homeless. Visit the sick. Visit the imprisoned. Bury the dead. The seven spiritual works of mercy are: To instruct the ignorant. To counsel the doubtful. To admonish the sinner. To bear wrongs patiently. To forgive offenses willingly. To comfort the afflicted. To pray for the living and the dead.

Have you ever wondered which type of mercy is a greater, the corporal or the spiritual? I believe Jesus gives us the answer when He went to the house of His friends, Lazarus, Martha and Mary. Remember Martha was busy preparing a meal for Jesus, who was hungry and thirsty. But He corrected her when she wanted Our Lord to ask her sister Mary to help her. Mary stayed sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to Him. Our Lord told Martha, “Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” Jesus wanted Martha and us to know that to listen, to pray and to talk to Our Lord, is a greater work of mercy. Not that the others aren’t important, they certainly are important and they are very much needed. But for Mary to sit at the feet of Jesus adoring Him, was a greater act of love because she was being merciful to Jesus Himself, by just being with Him.

When we make our Holy Hour we are sitting at the feet of Jesus. Its a better work to come and be with Him than to do other things. For Martha she was doing a necessary work to prepare a meal for Jesus. But its better to just be with Him, to listen to Him and adore Him. This is what Eucharistic adoration is all about—to just be with Jesus and to love Him and allow Him to love us in return.

It is more efficacious to do something directly for Jesus than to do something for our neighbor. For example. If a soldier dies to save the life of another soldier in battle, he laid down his life for a friend. But if someone dies for the sake of protecting Jesus in the Eucharist, the person will be considered a martyr and can become a saint because he laid down his life for Jesus. One such person is St. Tarscius who was a 12 yr. old boy who was attacked and killed by non-Catholic boys. He was an altar boy carrying Hosts to prisoners and he refused to give the Hosts to his attackers. They beat him to death as he died clutching the Hosts and they were not able to take the pyx with Hosts from him. They could not even remove the pyx from his hands even after he died. The point is we can and should do all sorts of works for others, but the greatest work we can do is for something directly for Jesus. And to be with Him in adoration, it is more pleasing to be Him than if we were to do all sorts of other good works.

There are 168 hours in a week and Our Lord is asking every one of us to spend one hour a week with Him. During His agony in the garden, Jesus told Peter, “Could you not even watch one hour with me?” Our Lord is saying to each of us today, “Come by yourself to an out way place and rest awhile.” If Jesus often went to a quiet place to pray, shouldn’t we? And there is no better place than to be with Him in His real true presence in Eucharistic adoration. Everyone who makes a Holy Hour will always leave their hour with a greater peace than when they came.

In just a few minutes is the sign up. You can sign up your family and your family can come together to be with Jesus. You can also sign up individually. Jesus is not only wanting adults to be with Him, He also wants children. Remember when the Apostles were trying to keep the children from Him, He said, “Let the little children come to me.” If you sign up your family for a Holy Hour, you can also sign up for a personal Holy Hour, so you can be with Jesus all to yourself. If you choose to do this, please use two separate forms. One for you and one for your family.

Young people can also have their own Holy Hour. A high school boy, Neal Adams, at St. Rose in Council Grove signed up. Every week, we rode his bicycle to the church to do his Holy Hour and then would go to school right after his hour was complete. He also enjoyed substituting for others. There was also a 10 yr. old boy at St Patrick in Wichita who on his own, without the encouragement of his parents, decided to make a Holy Hour every week. Because he lived a few blocks from the church, he would walk to church to do his Holy Hour. He never missed his Holy Hour until he was 30 years old, when he died unexpectedly. Neither parents believed their child would keep the commitment, but both boys proved their parents wrong. Parents, give your child a chance, if he or she wants to sign up.

There are four sections of the day you can sign up. 6am to noon, noon to 6pm, 6pm to midnight and midnight to 6am. Please mark you first choice and then your second choice. I believe from midnight to 6am is the best and to those who sign up, they are Our Lord’s “specials”, because He will give special graces for your special act of love. Men I encourage you take a night hour. Women are sometimes fearful to come at night. How can anyone be afraid in our quiet town of Little River. I knew an older lady at St. Francis parish in Wichita who did two Holy Hours 2am and 3am every week. She did this for over 20 years. She wasn’t afraid to come at night.

We will call you today starting at 11am to assign you an hour. Though it will be your Holy Hour, adoration is for everyone. And anyone can come day or night whenever they want to be with Jesus. So we should welcome anyone who wants to come and pray during our hour.

Next Sunday we will start adoration. Immediately after Mass, we will have a Eucharistic procession and so PSR will be delayed until the procession is complete. Everyone should come for the procession including the children. After the procession we will begin Adoration.

I have personally seen the lives of many change and not just those who come to adoration, but also their families. Relationships will be healed. People will come back to church. Non-Catholics will become Catholic. This will be the 5th parish, I have been involved in getting adoration started and honestly, it is Jesus who makes these things happen and its Jesus who continues adoration.

Don’t worry, if something comes up, if you are unable to make your Holy Hour, you will be able to find someone to take your hour. You will see, people will be willing to take your hour. You can ask family and friends to take it. All who sign up will have a list of adorers, whom they can contact.

Some of you may be thinking, “What will I do for a whole hour?” You can pray the Rosary, read the bible, pray prayers from a prayer book and most importantly talk to Him about your life, your family, your job, and just gaze upon Him with eyes of faith and then listen to Him. And then before long the hour is over and you wondered where time went.

There are a lot of things to pray for. With the terrible crisis in the world from covid, from the government over reaching, from abortion, violence, war, persecutions, drugs, not to mention the crisis in our own Catholic Church with a bishop saying one thing and another bishop saying the total opposite. The world is in a sad state.

But when we come to Jesus, He will help us to have peace in the midst of everything. He will help us to endure life’s difficulties. He will strengthen us to be witnesses and most especially, He will prepare us-- for our home in heaven. Every hour we spend with Him, Mother Teresa said it is recorded in heaven and will have a great glory.

Catherine Murphy, the coordinator of St. Anthony in Strong City typed a letter for you that was in the bulletin a few weeks ago. She said, “During adoration this week, I asked the Lord what I should say to the people of Little River about adoration. In the stillness of my heart I heard, “Tell them I love them, and tell them I want them to come to me. I want them to tell me all of their joys, their sorrows, their disappointments, who and what they are worried about. I already know all of these things, but I want them to talk to me as a friend. I am The Best Friend who will never betray them or abandon them. I love My Precious Children.”

My dear parishioners, Jesus is here in the Eucharist and He loves you so much! By our faith, and by just being with Him, we reveal our love for Him and for others. Don’t be afraid. Sign-up. And trust Jesus. May, Mary our Mother, give us Her sweet nudge to sign up and adore Her Son every week in Eucharistic adoration.

23rd Friday "Remove the Splinter"

 In the Gospel today, Jesus told His disciples they were not to look for splinters in eyes of their neighbor, because all the while they have a wooden beam in their own.

I would suspect that most all of you have never gotten a splinter in your eye. But I bet some of you have gotten a splinter in our finger or on our hand. When we were a child if we were to get a splinter in our finger or hand, it hurts and then Mom comes along and kisses it and then she gently pulls the splinter out with tweezers and suddenly it hardly hurts at all. But that’s what Mom’s are supposed to do. They're supposed to get the splinters out of our finger.
In the Gospel today, when Jesus was referring to splinters, he was referring to faults and sins of people. He wants His disciples to not look for the faults in others, rather they were to pay attention to their own sins and faults and try to correct them.

So if we want to remove sins and faults, we can turn to our heavenly Mother, who will kiss us and gently, by her motherly intercession, help us to remove them from our life. Today, let us try to do what Jesus wants us to do –to overlook the sins and faults of others and concentrate on our own asking the Virgin Mary to help us overcome them.

Sept. 9th - St. Peter Claver

 Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. Peter Claver, a Spanish Jesuit, who followed his call to the missions. He was born in 1580 and was ordained a priest in 1616 in Columbia, which was the center of the slave trade in South America. He worked among the African slaves brought there, which was as many as 10,000 a year. St. Peter devoted his life to relieving their misery, with medicine and food, and was zealously concerned for their spiritual welfare. He offered them an authentic Christian witness, teaching them religious and moral truths. It is said that over a period of 40 years, he instructed and baptized over 30,000 slaves. He was sick and exhausted during the last four years of his life.

From one of his letters, he wrote the following. “Yesterday, May 30, 1627, on the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, numerous blacks, brought from the rivers of Africa, disembarked from a large ship. We had to force our way through the crowd until we reached the sick. Large numbers of the sick were lying on the wet ground, or rather in puddles of mud. To prevent excessive dampness, someone had thought of building up a mound with a mixture of tiles and broken pieces of bricks. This, then was their couch, a very uncomfortable one, not only for that reason, but especially because they were naked, without any clothing to protect them. The joy in their eyes as they looked at us was something to see. After this, we began an elementary instruction about baptism, that is, the wonderful effects of the sacrament on body and soul. When by their answers to our questions, they showed they had sufficiently understood this, we went on to a more extensive instruction, namely about one God… Finally, when they appeared sufficiently prepared, we declared the mysteries of the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Passion. Showing them Christ fastened to the Cross, as He is depicted on the baptismal font.. we led them in reciting an act of contrition in their own language.”

As we prepare to receive the Eucharist, we pray through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary: “God of mercy and love, you offer all peoples the dignity of sharing in your life. By the example and prayers of Saint Peter Claver, strengthen us to overcome all racial hatreds, and to love each other as brothers and sisters.”

Sept. 8th - Birth of Mary "Happy Birthday Mary!"

 Today, there are parents in heaven who are celebrating the Birth of their daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary were righteous. Her father was from the royal house of David, her mother, St. Anne came from the priestly class of Aaron. However, the holy couple’s one great sorrow was that they had no children.

Blessed Virgin Mary Herself was foretold by the prophet Isaiah: “Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and He shall be called Emmanuel, meaning God with us.” And also by the prophet Micah, who states, “Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when She who is to give birth has borne.”

The source of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Protoevangelium of James, an apocryphal gospel written about A.D. 150. According to this account, Anne and Joachim are infertile but prayed for a child. The tradition is that the couple was childless until an angel appeared to Anne and told her that she would conceive. They receive the promise of a child that will advance God's plan of salvation for the world.

Its also believed an angel appeared to Joachim. The angel may have said, “Joachim, rejoice! God has heard your prayer and your wife Anne, shall conceive and give birth to a daughter, whose nativity will become joy for the entire world.”

When the Jews were not be able to have a child, it was considered a sign of God’s rejection; a public disgrace. However, in the Old Testament there are many cases God intervened to show His favor. Isaac was born from the childless Sarah. Samuel from the childless Hannah. John the Baptist from the barren Elizabeth. And so God, blessed Joachim and Anne in their old age with a providential daughter destined to become the Mother of God. Only in the womb of St. Anne, did God create a human being without original sin.

St. Anthony of Padua in one of his sermons speaks eloquently of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He said, “There is a legend that a certain holy man, while devoutly praying, heard the angels in heaven singing a sweet melody. When a year had passed, he heard the angels [once again], on the same day. He asked the Lord to show him the meaning of this; and received the reply, that on that day, blessed Mary was born, and for Her Nativity the angels in heaven gave praise to God. That is why the birthday of the glorious Virgin is celebrated on this day. The purity of her birth is expressed by ‘the glory of the stars’.

Liturgically Mary’s birth is celebrated 9 months after we celebrate Her Immaculate Conception.

Today, let us celebrate the feast of birthday of Mary. May we sing and rejoice with the angels and be glad because God, who is almighty, has done great things for Her and through Her-- for us!

23rd Tuesday - "Call of the Apostles"

 In the Gospel, Jesus summons His twelve apostles. Who are these twelve men? Two were tax collectors Matthew and James the Less (IRS workers). Seven were fisherman (Peter, James, John, Phillip, Bartholomew, Thomas, James the greater). The occupation of Simon the Zealot is unknown. He was a political liberator. Little is know about Thaddeus, often called Jude-, the patron of the impossible. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus. He held the common purse. Perhaps he worked with money, prior to his call.

Why did the Lord choose men of such little standing in society and of no importance in the eyes of the world? None were princes, leaders of the synagogue or Roman officials. They were simple, plain, uneducated men apparently weak, and at times jealous of each other. One betrayed Jesus and then committed suicide. All fled during the arrest of Jesus in the garden.

Despite Peter’s weaknesses, Jesus chose him as leader. Recall Peter tempted Jesus to avoid His crucifixion. He denied Our Lord, three times. Yet, Peter became the bishop of Rome, the first Pope. Thousands were converted, because of St. Peter’s speech at Pentecost. Some were healed by his shadow. He even raised someone back to life. He died being crucified upside down.

All traveled long distances and became leaders of various cities and regions. They were our first bishops. They expelled demons, healed the sick and preached the Kingdom of Heaven. Ten were martyred.

St. John, the only one at the foot of the Cross, wouldn’t be martyred. But they tried to kill him, by boiling him in oil, but it had no affect on him. He took the Mother of Jesus into his home and lived to be nearly 100 years old.

These simple uneducated men carried on the work of the Redemption delivering truth and grace to mankind. Our Lord chose them Himself, kept them constantly with Him, prayed for them and made them His chief care fit for their great office. Jesus chose weak men to show the world, the spread of the Gospel, was not due to human learning, but solely God’s grace.

Today, with Mary, the Queen of Apostles, let us praise and thank God, for the Holy Apostles, whom Jesus chose to become the very foundation of the Catholic Church!

Monday - Labor Day

 Today is Labor Day, a civil holiday, which honors human labor.

In the beginning, man’s work was not to be toilsome nor was it a burden. The work of Adam and Eve before the fall would not have caused sweat or pain. It would have been a joy to work. It would have been easy and simple. And God would provide for their every need.

But when Adam and Eve fell, and committed original sin, the Lord God said to Adam, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, “you shall not eat of it”, cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Because of original sin, the ground is cursed, and in toil and labor Adam and Eve shall eat of it. To provide for their necessities will take sweat and toil and be a burden to them.

Man was not the only one who worked. God Himself worked, as He created the earth and the heavens in six days, but on the seventh day He rested.

Most people, if they had the choice and did not have to work-- wouldn’t work. They would choose to the freedom and luxury of resting, relaxing as long as all their needs would be provided.

In the beginning, God told man to subdue the earth and to have dominion over the fish, the animals and all living things on the earth. The earth, its creatures, and resources were to be used for man’s needs. The primary purpose of these things was for man. Man’s dominion over all these things, would come about by work.

Jesus Himself worked. He was a carpenter. His manual labor elevated labor and gave it a greater meaning. If Jesus had to work, so can we. Despite Our Lord’s work, labor would continue to be a burden and toilsome. However, on the Cross, Our Lord would give the greatest meaning and dignity to work, by His greatest work--- our Redemption.

His work of salvation was immeasurably greater than His work of creating the entire universe. It was a greater work for God to open the gates of heaven, and to save souls, than to create the entire universe. Due to the mystery of Our Lord’s suffering and death, the meaning and effect of work would cause labor to have great dignity.

The sacrifice of work, the toil and burden of it all, would take on a whole new meaning. It would become the cause for our sanctification. Now when we work and unite the toil and sufferings of work-- with the sufferings of Christ on the Cross, we become holy. When we accept the work we have to do, for the glory and honor of God, we enter into the mystery of God’s kingdom, the mystery of His will, and in fact, participate in helping to bring about His kingdom on earth, all the while, becoming sanctified by the toil and burden of work.

Today, let us give thanks to God for the blessing of human labor. May we accept the burden and toil of it, whether its cleaning the house, mowing the yard, or working for our employer, and unite it to the work of Christ-- on the Cross, that it may be the cause of our sanctification, and the bring about of God’s kingdom, on earth, as it is in heaven.

23rd Sunday "Jesus is the Messiah"

The point of today’s readings and Gospel is this: Jesus is the Messiah, because He fulfilled all Old Testament prophecies.

In the first reading, Isaiah prophesied the coming of the Messiah: “The eyes of the blind be opened, the ear of the deaf be unstopped; then will the lame will leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing.”

In the Gospel today, some people brought a man to Jesus, who had a speech impediment, and begged Him to lay hands on the man. Jesus touched the man’s ears and then placed saliva on the man’s tongue and suddenly the man is healed to the astonishment of the people.

Most Jews believed when the messiah would come, he would open the eyes of the blind; cause the paralyzed to walk; the deaf would be able to hear; and those who could not speak, would talk. After the fall of Adam and Eve, the Messiah prophesied would restore mankind back to God. The Jews believed the Messiah would be a king anointed from the house David and his kingdom is without end. However, they erroneously thought the Messiah would conquer the enemies of Israel such as the Romans.

When Jesus began His public ministry, in the synagogue at Nazareth, He read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind,…” Then He sat down and said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” The Jews knew this scripture referred to the Messiah and so when Jesus proclaimed Himself the Messiah, they wanted to kill Him.

Bishop Fulton Sheen said there are 3 ways we can know Jesus is the Messiah. The first way is what we see in the today’s Gospel. The Messiah will be able to work miracles of physical healing (healing the blind, cleansing lepers, the deaf to hear).

The second way we know Jesus is the Messiah, is that the morality Jesus declares does not contradict human reason. In another words the Messiah would never say abortion or contraception is acceptable under certain circumstances. It contradicts human reason to kill an innocent baby.

The third way we know Jesus is the Messiah is He fulfills all the prophecies of the Old Testament. During the time of Jesus, there were 456 prophecies the Messiah was expected to fulfill. For example: It was predicted by the prophet Micah the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.”

Another example, Psalm 22 prophesies Our Lord’s crucifixion, “they have pierced my hands and feet and numbered all my bones.” and its states, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me.” So when Jesus was crucified, He was quoting Psalm 22 that would help the Jews to know He was fulfilling the prophecy as He was being crucified.

Jesus predicted He would die in Jerusalem, be crucified and rise from the dead. As Matthew 16:21 states, “From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Fulton Sheen said, “What is the probability of anyone fulfilling all 456 prophecies of the Old Testament that refer to the Messiah? To fulfill 4 of the 456 prophecies is 1 in 100,000. However, Jesus fulfills all 456 prophecies. Bishop Fulton Sheen said, the chance of fulfilling all 456 prophecies 1 with 184 zeros.” There are 12 zeros in a trillion, but Bishop Sheen it would be 184 zeros which is incalculable.

Nobody, except God, can predict the place of His birth, the manner of His death and predict He would rise from the dead. Did Muhammed or Buddha or Confucius predict in advance where they would be born or how they would die? No. Only Jesus, who is the true Messiah predicted all these things in Sacred Scripture. Only Jesus invited everyone to have an intimate and personal relationship with Him. He said, “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.” No one, but Jesus has ever asked that we eat His flesh and drink His blood. No one has ever revealed the depths of His love by dying for us on the Cross.

Some saints say, the antichrist (the false messiah) will someday appear to work miracles, but they will not be true miracles. He will claim to raise the dead, but the dead will not actually be dead. The antichrist will claim to be the Messiah, but he will not be able to predict the city he is to be born or the city he will die. Or the manner in which he will die nor fulfill all the prophecies of the Old Testament because only Jesus, the real Messiah, who is God can fulfill all of them.

Some believe a false prophet will prepare the way for the antichrist by helping set up a false counter Church to the Catholic Church, with doctrines that conflict with Christianity and many of the elect will be fooled.

Fulton Sheen says this about the antichrist (the false messiah). He said, “the antichrist will not be called the antichrist or no one would follow him. He will be disguised as a humanitarian (to help the poor), one who will talk peace, prosperity, and plenty, not as means to lead us to God, but as ends in themselves. He will write books on the new idea of God to suit the way people live. He will identify tolerance with indifference to right and wrong. He will even speak of Christ and say that he was the greatest man who ever lived, (but not speak of Him as God). He will explain guilt away psychologically. He will foster more divorces under the disguise that another partner is “vital.”

The Catechism tells us, “Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when She will follow Her Lord in His death and resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, not by a historic triumph of the Church…but by only God’s victory over the final unleashing of evil.” The Catechism is saying we should not expect a historic triumph of the Church.

Is it possible the Church is going through her passion in the time in which we are living? And if so, will we be like John and stand at the foot of Cross with Mary and watch and pray as the mystical body of Christ is crucified or will we abandon our Lord and our Church like the other apostles. Only 1 in 12 endured the crisis in which the Church was born.

Unless we are deeply rooted in our faith, go to confession frequently, attend Mass regularly, have a deep prayer life with Jesus, stay close to Our Lord in the Eucharist, the true and only Messiah, we may be led astray.

Like the early Christians we are to undergo suffering and persecution, with our eyes and heart on heaven as our home. So no matter what happens around us, we are prepared for heaven because we have Jesus. When Our Lord comes on the clouds of heaven, only He will bring about a lasting peace, when the world will be transformed and made new, sin and evil will be destroyed and all will receive a resurrected body.

Until that day, we keep our eyes on Jesus, we come to Him asking Him to heal the blindness of our hearts, to open our ears that we may hear His word and touch our lips so we may proclaim Him to the world. No matter our sufferings, no matter our persecutions, no matter the trials or crisis, we know the Good Shepherd is at our side. He walks with us through dark valleys and we fear no evil. Only Jesus, the true Messiah, will guide us to the restful waters of heaven.

Let us pray, O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Messiah, pray for us, help us to have a personal and intimate relationship with your Son, who loved us so much, He laid down His life for us, that we may have life with Him in heaven.

22nd Thursday "No Women Priests"

We know from Sacred Scripture, Peter had two callings. At the first calling, Peter and his brother Andrew were casting their nets into the sea, when Our Blessed Lord said to them, “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.” Although he abandoned his nets, he continued to work at his job, as a fisherman, and listened to Our Lord’s teachings. Peter accompanied Jesus on several occasions and even witnessed the changing of the water into wine at the wedding Feast of Cana. He would have seen first hand the powerful intercession of Our Lord’s Mother.

The definitive call of Peter after Jesus told Peter, “Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Even though, they had caught nothing, all night, Peter was obedient, and, in doing so, caught such a great number of fish, the nets were at the breaking point. Peter fell to his knees saying, “Leave me, Lord for I am a sinful man.” Jesus responds, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will be catching men.”

Because Peter chose to be a follower of Jesus, it resulted in Peter being given the keys of the kingdom. He became the leader of the apostles, and the head of the Church. Jesus personally appeared to Peter by himself, and several times with the other disciples, until Our Lord ascended into heaven. Our Lord’s words came true that Peter would be catching men, on the day of Pentecost. Because on the Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit had fallen on Peter and the apostles, he gave a sermon which converted some 3000 in a single day.

Jesus continues to call young men to be His Disciples as priests and many are responding to zealously follow Jesus. This fall, our diocese has 47 seminarians, who answered the call of Jesus to become fishers of men.

In the recent past, in the United States, we have heard about some women who have ordained each other as priests, but this action is contrary to the tradition of the Church. In fact, Pope Benedict said women’s ordinations are a grave sin and Pope Francis said for those involved in the ordination of women are excommunicated.

Women who promote women’s ordinations, desire power and authority, which can never be given to them from the one who gives it, who is God. It’s just not God’s will.

If Jesus would have wanted women to be priests, He would have ordained His Mother at the Last Supper, She who was the first and most perfect disciple. The so called, “ordination of women” blurs the beauty of a woman’s role in following Jesus, as bride of Christ as a religious sister. For a woman, there can be no greater joy than to be the spouse of Jesus. Many women religious will receive a wedding ring on the day they make their solemn profession as a sign they are wedded to Christ.

Today, let us pray for our seminarians and for our priests, that they may put out into the deep and catch many for the kingdom of God and let us pray for women religious that their spousal relationship with Jesus through their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, will be a witness to the world-- of that kingdom which is come—in heaven.

22nd Wednesday "Married Priests- No!"

     St. Peter and his wife lived in a town called Capernaum, which was near the Sea of Galilee, although it was about the size of a large lake. Capernaum was a little town. Peter’s mother-in-law was at home sick with a fever. He and the other apostles asked Jesus to heal his mother-in-law. Out of love for her, Jesus worked a miracle and healed her. Her fever immediately went away and she got better. In fact, she got up, and began to cook for Jesus and His apostles. Everyone was amazed Jesus healed her.

    Today, there is a movement in which some want priests the ability to get married. Some point to the fact St. Peter, the first pope, was married and so they use him as an example as to why they think priests should be married today. It is also believed St. Philip, one of the twelve apostles was married too. However, neither Peter nor Philip remained at home. They abandoned their wives, their families and their jobs and gave their lives as faithful followers of Jesus. Scripture tells us Peter, Andrew, James and John abandoned their fishing business. Eastern Catholic Churches have had married priests for many years, but never has western Catholics had married priests.

    If priests are not married-- they are freer to serve God’s people, with an undivided heart, whereas those who are married have to balance their time with their family and also the people to whom they serve. While it is true, Pope Francis could permit married priests, by far the majority of Catholic priests today would prefer to live celibate lives, so to be more effective witnesses to the Gospel in imitation of Jesus, who was celibate and also to be faithful to the tradition of living lives of chastity and abstinence for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.

    Today, let us pray for priests and religious, who have wholeheartedly devoted their lives in service of Jesus may they continue to be faithful witnesses of God’s kingdom.

22nd Tuesday - Protection Against Evil Spirits

 In the Gospel today, Jesus frees a man possessed by an evil spirit. Our Lord reveals His divine power over evil spirits by expelling the demon. Jesus is God. He is uncreated, always existed and is all powerful. An evil spirit is a fallen angel created by God. Demons and angels are much more powerful and much more intelligent than humans. Yet Jesus, comes to our help when we need Him the most.

Today, there is a terrible battle between the forces of evil and the Church which is God’s people on earth. The devil wants sins to be hidden, rather than to brought into the light by transparency; cowardice verse courage; lies, rather than truth; pride vs. humility; disobedience vs. obedience, unfaithfulness vs. faithfulness; vice rather than virtue; scandal vs. glory; destroy lives vs. give life; impurity vs. purity; mistrust vs. trust.

We are warriors in the battle. And we are called to take up arms. We must put on the shield of the scapular to protect us. Take out the weapon of the Rosary with its bullets (Hail Marys), use the Word of God as our sword, and put on the helmet of salvation, by our mental daily prayer. And we must fast, regularly to cast out the evil from our Church. We should fast for the leadership of our Church, the pope, cardinals, bishops and priests and reinforce them in the great battle. We can do these things in reparation for the sins. We trust, Jesus will come to save His Church and expel the demons and evil from within, so that it may be free of this diabolical attack.

We should especially pray the St. Michael prayer regularly. He was a lowly archangel, who led the battle against Lucifer and the bad angels and cast them out of heaven due to their disobedience to God. Especially at times we feel tempted or the become aware of the devils tactics we can ask St. Michael to help us.

May, the Virgin Mary help us in this battle against evil, knowing She has been commissioned to crush the head of the serpent and may St. Michael and all the good angels come down from heaven to do battle with us, so as to win the battle for souls and save the Church from tyranny.

22nd Monday

 When Our Lord stood up in the synagogue and read the scripture passage from Isaiah, many were surprised that He said, “Today, this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” 

The scripture passage He read said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.”

These words specifically referred to the Messiah, whom the people longed for the day of His arrival. So when Jesus said, ”this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”, Jesus was indirectly proclaiming Himself the Messiah.

While at first they were amazed, surprisingly, just after He said these words, the people would try to throw Him off the cliff, but He would escape. These words were proclaimed in Nazareth, the town in which He was raised. They would not have believed He is the Messiah, because they watched Him grow up in their own community. Today let us pray, through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of the Messiah, that the Jewish people may accept Jesus as the Messiah and accept the fullness of truth revealed by God by becoming members of the Catholic Church.

22nd Sunday, "Going through the Motions"

The start of the school year there are rules for sports: football, basketball, baseball, volleyball and without rules there would be chaos. As school starts there are additional laws for the general public. Traffic laws to abide by in school zones and when school buses stop. The rules, laws and regulations that involve the school year reflect the general reason why we have laws to start with: for the protection of society and, ultimately, the happiness of individuals.

Everyone understands why we have traffic laws. If you speed, or run a stop sign, you can get into an accident and hurt yourself and others. Even if you don’t have an accident you can suffer the penalty of a fine. The greater the offense, the greater the fine.

We know why there are sports rules too. It keeps the game organized and fair. The greater the violation, the greater the penalty. A technical from punching another player or using foul language can cause one to ejected from the game or the team can suffer the loss of yardage or the other team getting free throws in basketball. Everyone is happy when the rules are followed because they help respect the dignity of persons and avoid cheating.

There are also rules, regulations, and laws that guide our relationship with God. That is what today’s readings are about. In Deuteronomy the people are happy because the Law allows them to follow their God. Moses told the people, “What great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him? Or what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law which I am setting before you today?" The ancient Hebrews always felt that the Law was a blessing, a personal guide from the Almighty.

By following the 10 commandments (God’s laws) we protect our self, others and our relationship with God. If someone steals or tells a lie, or cusses or injures someone, a penalty is assigned by God because we hurt others, our self and God. The penalty can be either made up in this life or in the next. Just like in sports or traffic laws, the greater the offense, the greater the penalty (punishment).

Its better to do the penalty of temporal punishment (penance) in this life than in the next. By going to confession and then doing our penance, it makes up for the harm we committed. The greater the sin, the greater the penalty (penance). Mortal sins cause us to be ejected from God by losing our relationship with Him and the mystical body of Christ (God’s team) suffers from it.

If we don’t change our ways and tell God we are sorry in confession after we seriously harm God, our self or others, we can suffer the punishment of hell for ever. Continuous punishment forever.

In the Gospel today, Jesus tells the scribes and Pharisees they are hypocrites because they are more concerned about the law than the reason for the law. They are concerned with the way they wash their hands and cups and dishes (sanitary laws) that needed to be followed, but not concerned with cleansing of evil within their hearts such as theft, murder, adultery, greed, evil thoughts….

We don’t avoid cussing at the referee to just avoid the penalty. We don’t avoid punching someone just because we don’t want to be ejected. Rather, we avoid these things because the reasons to avoid them have to do with being a Christian. We follow the sports rules and God’s laws because they help us to respect our self and others.

At Mass, some may be more concerned about actions than the reason for the actions. Sometimes we can go through the motions and not even know why we are doing what we are doing. For example: Why do we make the sign of the Cross like this? What does it mean? Why do we make the sign of the cross on our forehead, lips and heart at the beginning of the Gospel? Why do we dip our hands in holy water when we come to church and leave church? Why do we genuflect when we come to Mass and leave Mass? These are called liturgical laws (rules) that govern our worship of God at Mass. We need to know the reasons why we do them and not just do them.

At Mass there are specific rules for which Eucharistic prayer is used. Do you know why I like to use Eucharistic Prayer 1? (the Roman Canon). “Canon” means rules are followed that cannot be changed. The Canon of the Mass hasn’t changed in 1,500 yrs. Eucharistic Prayer 1 is very special. Every saint who offered Mass or who assisted at Mass during those 1,500 years, prayed it. There was no other Eucharistic Prayer until after Vatican II in the 1960s. Eucharistic prayer 1 is special because in the prayer, we invoke the intercession of many saints (Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus), who were all early popes. (Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy) martyrs. We are reminded of the cloud of witnesses who are the saints and martyrs praying with us and for us at Mass.

Only in Eucharistic Prayer 1 do we pause to pray for our own intentions and also pause to pray for the dead. By pausing at these times, and being ready to pray for our own needs and for our deceased loved ones, it helps us to be more attuned as to what is happening at Mass. As Mass starts, think what I am going to pray for, who am I going to pray for? What deceased souls am I going to help?

Eucharistic Prayer 1 also speaks about the angel coming down from heaven to take our prayers to the altar of God in heaven. According to the Roman Missal, Eucharistic Prayer 1 can always be prayed at anytime and is “especially appropriate for Sundays.”

It seems to me the Roman Missal does not envision Eucharistic prayer 2 on Sundays, since it doesn’t mention it for that purpose. But rather says its more appropriately used on weekdays (rather than Sundays).  Fr. Louis Boyer claims Eucharistic prayer 2 was created in a tavern by himself and another priest in the 1960’s. Knowing this, some priests cringe when using it.

With Eucharistic Prayer three, the priest can add the saint of the day or the saint of parish. Its was also created in the 1960’s. Eucharistic Prayer 1 is envisioned for Sunday unless for pastoral considerations 3 is to be used.

Eucharistic prayer 4, has its own preface that must be used. It may be used when a Mass has no preface and on Sundays.

The point is---when the priest is praying the Eucharistic Prayer, (don’t think how long it takes). There is only a 5 min. Difference from the shortest to the longest. Rather, pay attention to the words and join in seeking the intercession of the saints, in your mind picture the angel coming down from heaven to take our prayers to the altar of God in heaven. Listen for the moment when hear the pause to pray for your own needs, your family and your intentions. It is also your opportunity to pray for deceased loved ones, who will be thrilled you are helping them to get out of purgatory.

This way we won’t be just going through the motions, but will be praying the Mass with the heart. We are all part of God’s team (the mystical body of Christ) and God wants us to follow His laws not because they are there, but because they help us to love God and neighbor and reminds us God loves us and wants us to use them to help us get to heaven.

May the Virgin Mary, help our heart to be united with our actions at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and in everything we do, whether its sports or traffic laws or any rules to respect the dignity of each person out love for God and neighbor.

Aug. 27th - St. Monica

 Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. Monica, the mother of the great St. Augustine. Monica was born about the year 332 in North Africa, of a Christian family. In her childhood, she sometimes fell into the habit of taking secret great droughts of wine in the cellar. One day a servant spied on the little girl and denounced her as a drunkard, and Monica, covered with shame, gave up the habit. Soon afterwards she was baptized, and thenceforth led a life of irreproachable virtue.

As soon as Monica had reached marriageable age, she married Patricius, who had a violent temper. Monica endured his outbursts with the utmost patience, although he was critical of Christians and their practices. The daily example of her gentleness and kindness finally had its rewards. A year before his death, he became a Christian.

Her son, Augustine, spent time in youthful carousing, which caused his mother great anguish. She disapproved so strongly both of his loose living and of his acceptance of the popular heresy of Manichaeism. Augustine tried to convince her to give up her Christian faith, which he said was the main obstacle keeping them apart.

But Monica did not lose faith. She continually fasted, prayed, and wept on his behalf. She implored the local bishop for help to win him over. But he counseled her to be patient, saying, "God's time will come." Monica persisted until the bishop uttered the words which have often been quoted: "Go now, I beg you; it is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish."

The joyous day of Augustine's conversion finally came after she followed her son to Milan where they met Saint Ambrose. At Easter, when Bishop Ambrose baptized Augustine, his mother's cup was full to overflowing.

The prayers of Monica have been invoked by generations of the faithful who honor her as a special patroness of married women and as an example for Christian motherhood. She is also the patron of alcoholics. May her example and prayers help all parents with children who no longer practice their faith. St. Monica, pray for us!

21st Thursday 'Stay Awake"

 “Stay Awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.”

With these words Jesus is referring to His second coming. When He will come to judge the living and the dead. But this also applies to our personal judgment at the moment of our death. No body knows the day and hour of one’s death, because if he or she would, the person would most likely wait until the last minute to prepare for it. So God does not reveal that to us, except for some saints on occasion. We also do not want our soul to get broken into, by the devil, the thief, who wants to take away the gift of heaven from us. He can do this by us committing a mortal sin and being unrepentant of it.

Every day we must be prepared for our death and our judgment which immediately follows it.

How do we prepare? How do we live our life as though it was our last? First, we need to keep our soul in the state of grace, by living our life with God in this life, by placing Him and His will first in all we do. If God is first, He will take care of everything else. If we put God first, we will wake up in the morning and immediately say some prayers. We will ask God to be with us throughout the day. And during the day we will do everything we do, for love of Him and our neighbor. And most everyone falls sometime during the day committing some sin, because we are human. But as soon as we sin, we should immediately tell the Lord we are sorry and ask for His forgiveness and if we offended others to apologize to them as well. The Lord told us we need to forgive others, or He will not forgive us.

If we live each day loving others as much as possible, helping others in any way we can, and doing all we do for the love of God, then are staying awake. Personal daily prayer talking to God, thanking Him, asking Him for forgiveness helps us to stay awake. Coming to Holy Mass as often as possible, receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, going to confession at least once a month, daily reading a small portion of the bible, daily praying the Rosary all keeps us close to Jesus. And therefore we are preparing for our master’s return. Today, let us ask the Virgin Mary to help us to stay awake and not grow lazy in our faith, that we may be prepared for the master’s return, at a day and hour we will not expect.

21st Wednesday

 In the Gospel today, Jesus reproves the Scribes and Pharisees for being hypocrites. They act as though they are holy and righteous, but inside they have a total disregard for God’s law.

Every year the Jews whitened the outside of the tombs in order that that they might be known and clearly seen, yet inside the tombs were dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. He used this comparison to indicate that outside the Scribes and Pharisees appeared righteous, but inside they were totally corrupt and wicked.

Our Lord knew the inner heart of the Scribes and Pharisees and saw that they lacked any kind of virtue whatsoever. Jesus saw they had secret plans to persecute and kill Him.

All of us at times outwardly appear to be going through the motions, but inside what are we thinking? Where is our heart?

When we read prayers from our prayer book or when we come to the Mass, is our heart united to Jesus? Do attempt to enter into what we are doing? Perhaps, we just go through the motions. In other things, that we do, do we hurry from this to that, not paying attention to what we are really doing.

Also at times, on the outside we may appear righteous, but inside we have negative and judgmental thoughts of others.

We all fall in these ways, but as long as we renew our efforts and try, this is all the Lord asks of us. And is this way, our heart will be filled with virtue, we avoid hypocrisy and we truly live a life of love and holiness. May Our Blessed Lady help us to have good and holy motives, and keep us under Her protection and prepare us for our eternal home.

Aug. 24th - St. Bartholomew (Nathanial)

 One of the apostles, whose name is inscribed on the foundation of the Church, is St. Bartholomew, whose feast we celebrate today.

His call as an apostle, came through the intercession of his friend, St. Philip. When Philip finds Bartholomew he said, “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets.” Even though Bartholomew said, “Can any good come from Nazareth?” Philip said, ‘come and see’.

When he finally found Jesus, Our Lord looked at him and said, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” Jesus highlighted Bartholomew’s guiless virtue. He was not duplicit. In other words, he was frank and honest and his motives were pure. He was truthful. He was not deceitful. Bartholomew wondered how Jesus had known him, after all, he did not recall speaking with Him before. Realizing Our Divine Lord could read his heart, he makes a remarkable act of faith, he said, “..you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel”.

St. Bartholomew lived in the city of Cana. He preached in India and Armenia. While in Armenia, in the city of Albanopolis, it is believed he suffered martyrdom by being flayed alive, and then beheaded by the order of the king of Armenia.

He is often pictured in art with flayed skin and a knife in his hand. In the Gospels, he is known by two names (Nathaniel and Bartholomew).

Today, let us imitate St. Bartholomew’s truthfulness and strive to life a life without guile, so that at the end of our life, when we stand at the gates of heaven, Jesus will say to us, Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.”, come enter into my kingdom.

Aug. 23rd - St. Rose of Lima

Today is the memorial of St. Rose of Lima, the patron of Peru, South America, and the Philippines. Her birth name was Isabel de Flores. She was born in Lima, Peru on April 20, 1586 and was the 11^th of 13 children.

Her father was a Puerto Rican, who had come to Peru in 1548 with the Spanish conquistadors. She received the name Rose when a housemaid, gazing upon her when she was still an infant, remarked: “She’s as lovely as a rose.” She was given that name at the time of confirmation. Her mother used to place a crown of roses on her head and had hoped her daughter would someday get married, but Rose had other plans.

She had a great devotion to St. Catherine of Sienna and a very special love of the Child Jesus. When she was 5 yrs. old she had asked the Child Jesus to teach her to read and write, which He did. She obtained cures from the Child Jesus for the sick.

Since she was beautiful, she didn’t want to tempt anyone by her beauty so she cut her hair and rubbed red pepper on her skin to make it appear blotchy.

She lived a life of penance, frequently fasted, didn’t eat meat, spent hours in prayer, mortified herself, flogged herself, wore a hair shirt, and served the poor. She offered up her suffering as a way of atoning for the idolatry of her country, for the conversion of sinners, and for the souls in purgatory.

When Rose was 20 years old, her mother encouraged her to get married and became extremely angry when Rose told her she made a vow of chastity at the age of 5.

She became a third order Dominican and built a cell in a remote corner of the garden and after a period of trial and desolation, received the joy of spiritual espousal to Christ. Jesus said to her, “Rose of my heart, be thou My bride.”

She died at the young age of 31 and is often pictured holding the Child Jesus and wearing a crown of roses.

As we prepare to receive Holy Communion, let us humble our self before the Lord in a spirit of devotion and prayer in imitation of St. Rose of Lima and the Blessed Virgin Mary.