32nd Sunday - Does Marriage Last Forever?

 

Does Marriage Last Forever? No. Recall what we say when the vows are exchanged, “in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, until death do we part.”

Marriage is a lifelong commitment, and so when we marry someone, assuming it’s a valid marriage, we are married until either spouse dies.

So, if our first spouse dies and we marry another person, which spouse will we have when we get to heaven? Actually, neither.

Does that mean we won’t be married in heaven? Yes, we won’t have a spouse in heaven. We won’t be married in heaven. Yet, most likely we will be most grateful for our spouse, in helping us to get to heaven.

The Sadducees in the Gospel were wealthy Jews, and nearly all were priests of the governing class. They accepted only the written law of the Old Testament, which are the first five books, also called the Torah, written by Moses. The Sadducees didn’t put much faith into the prophetic books, they didn’t accept the Book of Maccabees (from which our first reading came today) and they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and they did not even believe in angels. That’s why they were sad, you see!

The Saducees ask Jesus a question that was purposely meant to ridicule the belief in the resurrection, a concept which books like Maccabees promoted.

In order to humiliate Jesus, they quote a law from the book of Deuteronomy stating if a man dies childless, his wife must marry the man’s brother. However, the Sadducees really exaggerate this law, and tell of a woman who married seven brothers, and still didn’t have a child. To make fun of the idea of Resurrection, they ask: “who is going to be the husband of this lady in the afterlife”. Then they must have chuckled, thinking they outwitted Jesus.

However, Our Lord’s answer, becomes the clearest affirmation in all of Scripture that there is life after death and we will rise from the dead.

First of all, Jesus said we only marry in this world. We marry because we want a partner in this life, we can love and care for and one who will love and care for us. But after death, Jesus indicates when we get to heaven, there is no reason to marry any more.  Instead, we become like angels. In heaven, we won’t desire to marry because our life will be different. We will have a union with God, which completely satisfies us.

Suppose a man marries a woman and she dies. Because of her death, he is free to marry. This indicates marriage ends at death. And if he were to marry another woman, and if she dies, he won’t have two marriages in heaven. He will actually have no human marriage in heaven at all.

Rather, in heaven we have union with God in which God gives Himself to us and we give our self to Him. We participate in the divine life of the Trinity, through baptism on earth, but in heaven we perfectly share in God’s divine life and love.

What we can therefore say, is “love lasts forever”. There are three theological virtues, faith, hope and love. In this life on earth, we need to believe in God and all that He has revealed. We believe that when we die, we will go to heaven and have a new resurrected body at the end of the world. We need to have hope, that Jesus will save us and bring us to our home in heaven. We have hope of eternal life, that we will live forever. But when we are in heaven, we will not have faith because we will be with God and fully understand all we believe. We will not have hope because our desires will all be satisfied because we will be with Jesus in heaven. But the love that we have on earth, we will take with us to heaven. Love is eternal, it lasts forever.

One of the purposes of marriage is for the good of the spouse and the greatest good for our spouse is to help them to get to heaven. We are to help our spouse to get to heaven, always giving our spouse the love deserved, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad and until death, do we part. In heaven, we will share that imperfect love we had on earth, with a perfect love forever in heaven.

For young people who eventually begin to look for a spouse, something that’s helpful, in finding a good spouse, is to ask your self this question. “Will this person help me to get to heaven?” If not, then the person would not be a good choice for you. Before dating and during dating, we should pray and ask the Lord to help us to know if the person we are interested is the person God wants us to be with. If the person causes you to fall into serious sin regularly, then, if you were to marry the person, you would end up having great difficulties in your marriage and it most likely would not work out.

Rather, ask the Lord to help you find someone who you will love and who will love you in a holy way, and He will put into your life, the person that will not only help you to get to heaven, but enjoy a life of sacrificial love. We also need to remember there is no perfect person and there is no perfect marriage, but the person we end up marrying will be someone we grow in love as the years go by.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will live forever.” Until the great day of the General Resurrection, when we will receive a new resurrected body like Our Lord’s, let us strive to believe in Him, so that we will share eternal life with Him and with the Virgin Mary, and with all the angels and saints forever in heaven.

St. Charles Borromeo - Nov. 4th

 

Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. Charles Borromeo. He along with St. Philip Neri, St. Ignatius of Loyola and others worked to combat the Protestant reformation. His mother’s brother would become Pope Pius IV. Born in 1538, he would become a very devout boy and even received the order of tonsure when he was only 12 years old. While very young he received income from a rich Benedictine Abbey, but told his father the money should be given to the poor. While at a University he studied civil and canon law. Many thought he was slow because he had slight speech impediment. Due to his piety, he was a model for other students, who were often pleasure seeking. He received his doctor’s degree at the age of 22 and it was not much long after that both of his parents died. He was surprised to hear that his uncle was elected pope.

A few months later, his uncle the pope requested to see him. Though he was not even a priest, the pope made him a cardinal, which was permissible in that time period. The pope gave him many tasks. Despite this he wanted to go to a monastery to be alone with God and away from the world.

He was present at the Council of Trent. During the council rifts occurred over discussions about doctrine, and Charles is attributed to healing those rifts. He also did much work on developing the Catechism at that time. One of his jobs would be to develop liturgical music. After his brother died, he entered the priesthood and was ordained the bishop of Milan three months later.

Catholics had been falling away from the Church, because there had not been a resident bishop in Milan for over 80yrs. He immediately began to reform the diocese and established seminaries, schools and convents. He also began to reform the clergy. Many priests were ignorant and lazy and the sacraments were neglected. He raised up the spiritual life and began Sunday Schools for teaching the children Catechism. Historically, these were the first Sunday schools which numbered 740.

At night, he would take off his bishop’s garb and put on a tattered old cassock. Once someone asked if he wanted his bed warmed, and he said, “the best way to not find a bed cold is to go to bed colder than the bed is”.

A great challenge occurred when a famine and plague occurred. While the governor left, he stayed to minister to the dying. He would use his funds to take care of the poor and destitute. He wore a rope around his neck as a penance during the plague and he cried tears of blood in anguish due to the plague.

His reforms were not accepted by everyone and a group of attempted to assassinate him. They fired upon him while he was praying his evening prayer. His pectoral cross that he wore deflected the bullet. 

He always carried with him a picture of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, who had been martyred under Henry VIII.

In 1584, he became very ill and received the last sacraments. He died at the age of 46. His body now rests in the cathedral of Milan and was canonized 16 yrs. after his death. 

He is often pictured giving Communion to the poor and destitute during the plague and a rope around his neck, as a sign of penance during the plague.

Because of his piety and his effectiveness as a churchman, he became known as a “second Ambrose” and is called "father of the clergy". He is the patron of seminarians and was truly a good shepherd, who was willing to lay down his life for his sheep, in imitation of Jesus the Good Shepherd.

He is an example, all cardinals, bishops and priests, on pastoring the people during a plague and continuing to give them the sacraments. He risked his life to give the people of God, especially the sick during a plague, how unlike the many shepherds, who fled during the pandemic in our time.

St. Martin de Porres - Nov. 3rd

 

Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. Martin de Porres, who was born in Lima, Peru in 1579. At the age of 15, he became a lay brother at the Dominican Friary in Lima. Following in the footsteps of St. Dominic, he spent his whole life there, as a barber, farm-laborer and infirmarian, who takes care of the sick brothers.

He is often pictured holding a broom and there are usually mice and a dog beside him in artistic depictions because he had a special way with animals, who would come when he called them. He would call mice, and they would come and feed them.

He had a great desire to go off to some foreign mission and be martyred. Since, he would not receive this grace, he martyred himself devoting himself to severe penances.

Whenever he would contemplate the sufferings of Jesus, he begin to weep. He had an exceptional love and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and spent long hours in prayer before Jesus truly present in the tabernacle. He desired to receive the Eucharist as often as possible. As a religious brother, he was very obedient, and dealt with his religious brothers with profound love which comes from pure faith and humility of spirit. For the poor, he provided food, clothing and medicine. Many called him, “Martin the Charitable” because he looked at everyone as his own brothers and sisters, and considered them to be better and more righteous than himself. Just as Padre Pio, was able to fly in the air, and bilocate, so Martin de Porres, bilocated, and was seen in flight, yet he lived 400 yrs. before St. Padre Pio.

St. Martin, the charitable, in a special way came to follow the way of charity. Today, let us imitate his example, by spending time with Jesus truly present in the Eucharist, so that we may truly live a life of charity.

Poor Souls - Nov. 2nd - Dorothy and Her Deceased Husband

 

Today we remember holy souls, the faithful departed who are detained in purgatory until their time of purification has ended.

I have three Masses today, and will give pretty much the same homily. However, in each homily I will tell a different story about a personal experience I had with souls who have gone before us.

In the bulletin this week was the prayer of St. Gertrude. It is said 1000 souls enter heaven every time its devoutly prayed. While we can’t know for sure if this is the exact amount or if 1000 souls refers to “many” souls, by faith we believe our prayers can help souls in purgatory to go to heaven. I encourage you to pray that prayer everyday during the month of November.

However, the greatest and most powerful way to liberate a soul is through the Holy Mass. There are some monasteries and religious orders that can offer 30 consecutive Masses for the soul of one person, and its believed by the end of the 30 days, that soul will go to heaven. Its called Gregorian Masses, due to a private revelation to Pope St. Gregory the great. While its okay to believe this private revelation, perhaps some people need just a few Masses or maybe others need many more. Only God really knows for certain. Sometimes it takes more than 30 Masses and sometimes just a few Masses, which all depends upon how much temporal punishment was not made up in this life, but needs to be made up in the next.

As we know Padre Pio, St. Faustina, St. Charles of Sezze and other saints had encounters with souls who died requesting his prayers. But its not just the saints who have had these encounters. Some including myself have experienced souls who seem to be asking for prayers and/or Masses. For example: I used to give Communion to a lady at Sacred Heart in Halstead, that at times was not able to go to church and other times she could, depending upon her health. As the months progressed she was slowly less able to attend Mass and I would give her Holy Communion on Wednesdays. Since, her health was frail and seemed to be declining, I gave her anointing of the sick.

One day she confided in me and told me that she thought her deceased husband would at times come to her at night and lay next to her. But, she said it was creepy and she didn’t like it. I blessed her house and sprinkled holy water and asked her to tell me, if it happens again. A few weeks later, she said it happened again. She said this figure keeps coming out of her closet and either sits on the bed or lays down next to her. I asked her if there was anything in the closet that did not belong to her. And she said, her husband’s shirt was still in the closet. She like it because it reminded her of him. I told her if she wanted to stop having that happen, to dispose of the shirt and she did. I also said maybe her husband is wanting Masses for his soul and she mentioned that she hadn’t really offered Masses for him after he died. I said, “I will schedule three Masses for him.” Over the next few weeks, first we had one Mass, then the next week I offered another Mass for his soul and then on the 3^rd week, I offered the last of the three Masses. After I offered the Mass that morning, I heard a siren of an ambulance, which sounded like it went to either the public high school or to the assisted living center which was located next to the school. I decided to quickly get into my car to see if any Catholic needed to be anointed. There on the ground at the assisted living center, lay Dorthy, who the EMT’s were performing CPR. I quickly gave her anointing of the sick and the Apostolic Pardon and she died soon thereafter. She died on the same day, the last of the three Masses was offered for her husband. Perhaps, he came to ask for Masses for himself and somehow wanted to help prepare her for her upcoming death.

We can offer our Holy Communions, Rosaries, make sacrifices, our daily duty, do works of charity on behalf of a soul who has died, so they can enjoy heaven. We can even offer one plenary indulgence per day, as long as we receive Holy Communion for that person, go to confession within 8 days before or after. A plenary indulgence, if obtained with the proper disposition, can completely free a soul from the punishment due to their sins, so they can enjoy heaven forever. We can offer our Eucharistic Holy Hour for a particular soul too.

May the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

The Procedure - Choice 42

 

The Procedure - Click Video

All Saints Day - Nov. 1st

 

Today is the solemnity of All Saints. Its a celebration of all the known and unknown saints, who are in heaven.

The Gospel today gives us the beatitudes, which is a blue print on how to become a saint. I would like to focus on “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

There are three focal points in St. Faustina’s Diary with regard to mercy. To ask for mercy, to be merciful and to have confidence in God’s mercy.

We ask for mercy from the Lord, when we come to Him with a humble heart seeking forgiveness for our sins. We ask for mercy multiple times during Mass. We pray the Act of Contrition, we then pray, “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy”. Just before we receive Holy Communion, we pray God will have mercy on us, “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.” Three times.

We ask for mercy for ourselves and the whole world when we pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, especially at the 3 o’clock hour, which is the hour of mercy. “For the sake of His sorrowful passion have mercy on us and the whole world.”

We are to be merciful. We know this by the 7 corporal and 7 spiritual works of mercy. To feed the hungry, the give drink to the thirsty, to shelter the homeless, to clothe the naked, to bury the dead, visit the sick and visit prisoners. We are to counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, pray for the living and the dead, to admonish the sinner, the comfort the sorrowful, forgive injuries and to bear wrongs patiently.

We are merciful when we give our shoes or our coat to a poor person who has none. We are merciful, when we smile at a person who is sad. Or say a kind word to someone who is distraught. We are merciful when we pray for the person who cut in line. We are merciful when we don't argue with someone, whose trying to get us angry. We are merciful when we don't correct someone in front of others. 

For children, we are merciful when we share our candy with a friend, who has none. We are merciful when we are happy, when a team mate gets to play in the game and we don't.

In our daily life, if we try to always forgive those who hurt us. We are to merciful thoughts about others, rather than to judge others in our mind, if we try to speak positively about others, rather than to gossip about them or to say negative things, we are practicing mercy.

St. Faustina also spoke about having confidence in God’s mercy, that is to trust the Lord, who is infinitely merciful. No matter the sin, no matter how many times, we are to trust the God will always forgive us.

If we truly tried to live as one who is merciful, we shall obtain mercy in this life, so that when we go to our judgment, the Lord will say to us, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, and enter the kingdom of God”. “For what you did to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did unto me.”

Today, let us strive to become saints, by turning to the Virgin Mary, the Queen of All Saints, the Mother of Mercy, that She may help us to be merciful, and that She would turn thine eyes of mercy on us towards us, so that after this our exile, She may show unto us, Jesus, and so be with Him and gaze upon the face of mercy, forever in heaven.

Fast, Pray the Rosary, Adore Jesus on Halloween

 

Today is Oct. 31^st, the day before All Saints Day. It is also Halloween. All Saints Day is the celebration of all unknown saints that are in heaven. Halloween is the day of the devil. Its the day real witches, warlocks, and all sorts of people cast spells that can very much harm other people. It’s the day, people play occult games such as the Ouji Board, do seances, do Tarot Cards and watch horror movies. Children dress up as demons, ghosts and witches. Its also a day, Eucharistic Hosts are stolen and are desecrated. Its a day, Satanists do horrific things using pentagrams, human sacrifices, worshiping Satan, abuse of children, abortions, curses and attacks on Christian churches, priests and bishops.

I have seen possessed people. There was a young man, who played the Tarot cards just a few times and he became possessed.  

I met Zachary King who raised Baptist, but then became a Satanic high priest, but had a conversion, thanks to a Miraculous Medal, he became Catholic. You should watch his YouTube videos, which clearly explain the terrible things satanists do.

Often times, children dress up as firemen, or dinosaurs, or scare crows, which are all seem innocent. But a former Satanist said when we dress up as a mermaid, or some other costume, we take on a different identity, which is something other than the identity that God has given us.  Children should certainly not dress up as witches, warlocks, ghosts or demons, because these costumes glorify Satan.

There is a movement in many Catholic churches to have All Saint parties on Halloween, where the children dress up as saints and play games and have candy. This is something very positive and we should pray more parishes will do it. If Halloween is to be celebrated by Christians, it should be celebrated as the "all hallow eve" (holy eve), the evening or vigil before of All Saints Day.

It was on Oct. 31^st 1517, Martin Luther nailed his proclamation of his 95 Thesis beginning the rebellion to the door of the Wittenberg Cathedral in Germany. Its called Reformation Day by the Lutherans, which caused millions of Catholic to fall away from the Catholic Church. Would not the devil want millions of Catholics to fall away from the one true church?

Did you know that for hundreds of years, many Solemnities and feast days were preceded the day before with a fast? According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, in the United States, up to the middle of the 20^th century, there were four feasts in which Catholics are encouraged to fast the day before the feast day: Christmas, Pentecost, the Assumption, and All Saints.

On this day, the day before all Saints Day, I would like to encourage you to offer your Holy Hour, pray as many Rosaries as possible today, and to fast, which is one regular meal, and if necessary you can eat smaller meals, that don’t equal a meal to counteract all this evil.

May, the Virgin Mary, protect us, our families, our children and our community from evil.

31st Sunday - God Does Not Make Junk!

 

Does God make junk? In the first reading today, from the book of Wisdom it states, “For you love all things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.”

So the answer to the question, “Does God make junk?” is, “No, God does not make junk.” In fact, in the book of Genesis, whenever God created something, He said, “It was good.” For example, when God created creatures, cattle and living things and beasts of the earth, etc… and God saw that it was good.

But, after God created man in His own image and likeness, and said, “It was very good.” Only, after creating human beings, did God say, “very good.”

All people are created very good including those of us who are short, or skinny or tall, or heavy. God creates each and every person in a unique way. If you take twins for example, one may be shy and the other outgoing. One may be very talented and the other is not.

Some children make fun of other children, who are short or skinny or tall, or heavy. But it causes emotional pain to be made fun of especially with regard to appearance.

Because of being made fun of, some people can develop a negative view of themselves and may even call themselves names such as: “I’m ugly” or “I’m stupid”, or “I’m dumb”. They can do this especially when they make a mistake or when they sin. And most of the time, people view themselves the way their parents view them or the way others who made fun of them view them.

It is extremely important that a parent not degrade their children. For example, to say to a child, “You are dumber than a box of rocks.” or to stay, “You will never amount to anything.” A parent should not even joke using negative phrases toward their children. When I was young, I heard a father, say to one of his children, “I buy you books and buy you books, and all you do is eat the covers.” While it sounds funny, the truth is, the child can develop a strong negative view of him or herself and truly believe he or she is stupid.

When I did hospital ministry in Tulsa at St. Francis Xavier Hospital, the general hospital, also had a heart hospital, a children’s hospital, a mental hospital and it had a hospital for people who suffer from bulimia and anorexia. I quickly learned, often times, their condition was caused by a parent or relative who made fun of their child’s weight. In one case, the staff was very attentive and noticed how a parent, even at the hospital, was abusive. The child ended up being taken away from her parents and given to a relative.

For example, a father used to regularly call his daughter, “fatso”. But the emotional damage caused by the parent’s verbal abuse lead to a life of misery for the girl. As the girl grew older, she wanted to do everything she could to please her father. Rather than her father affirming her as his little princess and apple of his eye, he ended up causing great emotional harm to his daughter, who would later constantly seek affection from men in all the wrong ways. And so, she began to hardly eat any food to such a degree, that the girl would be literally dying from starvation. She even needed to have a nasal feeding tube to prevent her from being malnourished. No matter how skinny she was, she truly believed she was fat.  She erroneously thought all men only like slim girls.

Just for the record, any joke that puts down another person is a bad joke and should never be said.  We all like jokes and there is nothing wrong with joking around. But, if the joke puts down a person or a group of people, its not a good joke and could be sinful.

For those of us, who in the past, led terribly sinful lives, we can mistakenly view ourselves as not worthy of God’s love or we think God will never forgive us, because we committed many grievous sins. We can believe, we are junk and that we are too stupid to do anything right. But all of this is false. In fact, I believe the devil puts these kinds of thoughts into our mind, to keep us from going to Confession and prevents us from experiencing God’s mercy.

God wants us to confess our sins and often times is very gentle in helping us to obtain forgiveness.

The book of Wisdom said, “O Lord and lover of souls, for your imperishable spirit is in all things! Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O Lord.”

God does not hate any of us, nor does He hate any of His creation. God cannot but love, for God is love. But God hates sin. He loves the sinner, but hates sin.

No matter how many sins, nor how big your sins, you may have committed, God loves you and will always love you. And God will always forgive you, as long you are truly sorry and want to do better. So how does God treat the sinner?

St. Faustina said, “The greater the sinner, the greater right one has to God’s mercy.” The psalm for today speaks about God’s compassion and mercy for each person. It said, “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all His works. The Lord lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.”

So, if you are person who keeps calling yourself, stupid, or if think you will never amount to anything, or if you think God will never forgive you, stop playing your broken record, and begin to live in reality. You may have made a mistake, you may even have committed grievous sins, you may not be the smartest person in the world, but you are created in the image and likeness of God and God will always forgive you, because He loves you. God’s mercy is infinite.

Look at Zacchaeus in the Gospel today. He was a short man, but a big sinner. Perhaps, when he was a child or even as an adult, people made fun of him for being short.  He was a tax collector. Tax collectors were known for cheating people out of taxes and pocketing the money in order to become rich. The Gospel even says, he was wealthy. However, deep in his heart, he wanted to be a better person, but he was caught up in stealing money, for the sake of becoming rich. He probably thought he was not worthy to be in the presence of Jesus. He most likely thought, himself as worthless and a nobody because of his sinful behavior.

But when Jesus saw him in the tree, he did not condemn him. Our Lord did not even point out his sinful behavior. Rather he said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” We have to remember the Pharisees would never go to a public sinners home. And here, Jesus invites Himself to the home of Zacchaeus, a tax collector, who everyone despised. Surely, Zacchaeus was overwhelmed by God’s mercy and would have invited his tax collector friends, who were also thieves too, so they too could experience the mercy of Jesus. How many people, who came to the dinner at the house of Zacchaeus also gave up their sinful behavior?

The Lord was kind and compassionate towards Zacchaeus. He was merciful to him. Zacchaeus was so moved by Our Lord’s willingness to go to his home and to eat with a sinner, that he said, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have exhorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” As Jesus was merciful to Zacchaeus, so the heart of Zacchaeus burst open with mercy towards others.

Just think about how his conversion was so sincere, that he wanted to even pay back four times the amount of money he cheated from people. He didn’t just want to pay back what he had stolen, but to pay back four times the amount.

He must have thought, “I’m not junk. I am worth something. I can actually become a kind and generous person.” Oh, how wonderful and blessed is God’s mercy. May, the Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, help us to treat others with love, never condescending, never harsh or cruel, and may we see that every person is created very good and is truly loved by God, who is slow to anger, rich in compassion and infinite in His mercy.

Saints Simon & Jude - Oct 28th

 

Today, Oct. 28^th, celebrates the feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude, who were two of Jesus’ 12 apostles.

St. Simon was a Zealot party member. Zealots sought to overthrow Rome by force and violence if necessary. He was one of the original followers of Christ. Western tradition is that he preached in Egypt and then went to Persia with St. Jude, where both suffered martyrdom. St. Simon is believed to have died by being sawed in half.

St. Jude, patron of the impossible, also called St. Thaddeus, was the brother of St. James, the less. He is believed to have written the Letter of Jude, one of the shortest books of the Bible, and is thought to have been martyred in Beirut, Lebanon, around 65 AD. He is typically depicted with a club or axe, symbolizing the way he died, as well as with a flame above his head which refers to Pentecost. Although Jude is not mentioned much in the Bible and only had one quote attributed to him in the Gospel of John (14:22), this quiet apostle is extremely popular among Catholics today. St. Jude’s popularity probably stems from his patronage of lost causes. An experience Jude had while in the city of Edessa is said to be the reason why St. Jude is associated with lost causes.

According to the ancient church historian Eusebius, while Jesus was still alive, the ruler Abgar V of Edessa was afflicted with an incurable and painful disease. He had heard of the miracles of Jesus and wrote him a letter requesting a visit. Jesus responded that he would send one of his disciples. After Jesus’ Ascension into heaven, Jude went to evangelize near the city of Edessa and went to visit Abgar. Jude laid his hands on the sick ruler and he was instantly healed. Many people choose to carry the image of St. Jude on a medal or as a pendant on a necklace for comfort and call on him in their time of need and healing. 

Let us pray the bishops of today, who are the apostles of the Church, will teach and preach the Catholic faith, even to the point of giving their lives, as saints Simon and Jude.

30th Thursday - "Am I Not Here, Who Am Your Mother"

 

In the Gospel today, the Pharisees were warning Jesus that Herod wanted to kill Him. Jesus then predicts His own death by stating, “I must continue on my way today, tomorrow and the following day, for it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem”. There were many prophets, who came to Jerusalem and died. Since Jesus is the prophet of prophets, and He knew someday soon, He would be handed over by Judas, and taken to Mount Calvary, to be crucified on the hill just outside of Jerusalem. In today’s Gospel Jesus also said, “But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

And what He said would come true later, as He came to Jerusalem for the last time. He rode a donkey into Jerusalem, and people would lay palm branches down before Him, as He came. And they cried out loud, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the Highest!” But, just two days later, He would be arrested and taken to Pilate and then Herod and then back to Pilate, who would order His crucifixion.

Our Lord also said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!”

Jesus loved the city of Jerusalem. It is there he wanted to gather all God’s children, as a hen gathers her chicks under its wing. They were under the shadow of His protection.

This is such a beautiful analogy because we know how a hen will protect her chicks as a sign of her love for them. Our Lord truly loved the same people, who in Jerusalem had killed the prophets and now would kill Him on Good Friday.

It is inspiring for us to hear about those who loved the very people, who persecute them and hate them and even want to kill them. It is inspiring because these people are imitating Jesus, who loved His enemies, such that He was willing to lay down His life for them.

Today, let us pray for those who hate and persecute Christians, for it is by our love that all will know we are Christians. May we place all of those who persecute Christians and all those who suffer persecution under the mantle of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who in Guadalupe Mexico said, “Am I not here, who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and protection?”

Wednesday- 30th Week "Narrow Gate"

 

In the Gospel today, someone asked Jesus, “Lord will only a few people be saved?” He answered them with an answer that many would not want to hear. He said, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”

We can say, Jesus Himself is the narrow gate. Remember, what He told Thomas, the apostle, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Jesus is the way. But not everyone will follow Jesus, the good Shepherd and His way.

Our Lord says something that would have shocked His listeners. He said, “After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then you stand outside knocking and saying, “Lord, open the door for us.” He will say in reply, “I do not know where you are from,’ and you will say, “We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ Then He will say, “I do not know where are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers! And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out.”

What Jesus is trying to tell His disciples, is that some of them, who eat with Him, who listen to His sermons and perhaps who have even seen Him work miracles, such as healing the sick or expelling demons, are not truly following Him. But rather, they come just to see and hear what He is doing. They were visibly with Him and listened to Him and maybe even liked what He said, but in practice, they were not true followers. They were not following the narrow way.

The Gentiles had to give up their pagan practices, such as burning incense to idols. Perhaps many had the habit of cursing and getting drunk. They were not changing their lives and this would have been true with the Jews too. 

The Jews enjoyed being with Jesus. They liked to hear His sermons, and watch Him heal people, but they were not ready to give up their sinful ways  and to truly believe Jesus is the Messiah. But, He warned them. That it was not good enough to eat and drink with Him, and to be in His company, they must also deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him, wholeheartedly. They heard the fullness of truth about Him, and yet rejected what He asked them to do and therefore placed their souls in danger of going to hell.

Today, priests don't want to preach the fullness of the Gospel. For example, commentaries like Word Among Us, which I, at times, use to help me create homilies, completely skip over the part about what Jesus said about hell in today's Gospel. The whole point of the Gospel today, was that even though they heard His talks and ate with Him, their souls were in danger of going to hell, as Jesus said, they will be told, "I do not know where you are from.  Depart from me, you evil doers. And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth...." Priests and commentators want to sugar coat the Gospel and ignore what Jesus even said.

This is also true for Christians today. Many like to hear about Jesus and they will attend Church and even talk about Him, but they are not giving their whole life to Him. They refuse to do what He asks of them today, such as to not use contraception, to not live together before marriage, to not be in favor of abortion, to truly forgive those who hurt them, some who don't believe in Confession and yet continue to receive Communion after committing a mortal sin. They refuse to do what Jesus asks of them, through His Church.

To be a good Christian, one must do all that Jesus asks of us, for by doing so, we enter the narrow gate, which leads to eternal life. Otherwise, one will risk losing heaven forever, because they refuse to give their whole heart to Jesus by following everything He asks of us. Jesus warned them, saying MANY, are not strong enough to be His true followers and therefore, only a few will gain heaven. 

May the Virgin Mary, help all Christians to live their life in accord with being a true follower of Jesus, to not only to just listen to what He says through His Church, but to do what He says.

EWTN World Over - Cardinal Mueller & Raymond Arroyo

"The Church is undergoing a hostile takeover. It's meant to destroy the Church." Cardinal Mueller

Bizarre image on the Vatican Synod Website

St. Pope John Paul II - Oct. 22nd

 

Today is the feast of Saint Pope John Paul II the anniversary of his election of pope on Oct. 22^nd.

Karoly Wojtyla’s mother Emilia had a difficult pregnancy and her doctor tried to convince her to have an abortion, but she chose to keep her baby, who would someday be the future John Paul II. When he was born, they were singing the Litany of Loretto.

He had a brother by the name of Edmund. His mother died when he was a child and his father died when Carol was a young man. He must have felt alone in the world as a young man.

Who could forget the day, he was chosen as the successor of Peter, as he spoke to the crowd and said, “Do not be afraid!” He confronted, exposed and opposed the "culture of death", wherein the human person is treated as an instrument to be used rather than an unrepeatable gift to be received. He proposed a different way, a new "culture of life" where every human person, at every age and stage, is recognized as having an inviolable dignity and right to life, freedom and love.

He charted a path to authentic peace by proclaiming to the nations that we are all our brothers' keeper and owe an obligation in solidarity to one another and, most especially, to the poor in all of their manifestations. Most likely due to the death of his mother at a young age, his life long love of the Blessed Virgin Mary, revealed itself in his pontificate with his motto, “totus tuus, totally yours.” His beautiful relationship with Mary was revealed on May 13^th, 1981, when the Blessed Virgin Mary, guided the bullet and protected him. In 1984, in union with all the bishops of the world, he consecrated the world the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which resulted in the sudden fall of communism. He so loved Our Lady, that he revealed the secrets of Fatima and beatified Jacinto and Francisco.

Entrusted for twenty six years with the Chair of Peter, Pope John Paul II was a prophetic Pope. In his encyclical "Church of the Eucharist”, he highlighted the glory of the Eucharist, Holy Communion and Adoration.

He canonized more saints and declared more beatified and traveled to more countries proclaiming the Gospel, than any other pope in the history of the Church.

Establishing World Youth Day, he had a keen awareness of the importance of the youth of today and their future role as leaders of the Church.

Suffering from Parkison’s disease, he received his last Holy Communion on the vigil of Divine Mercy, the feast he established revealing the unfathomable mercy of God.

The postulator for his cause was asked this question: "Can you tell us in what countries these miracles happened?" Monsignor Oder replied "They were verified in France, in the United States, in Germany and in Italy."

We give thanks to God for the life and legacy of Pope John Paul II, who impacted the world and the Church by his life of virtue as the vicar of Christ and chief shepherd and let us ask for his intercession for the needs of the Church and imitate his love and devotion to Mary and Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Pope John Paul II confronted heresies of his day and this is what we need to do too.

Here are some examples of heresies today:

1. Divorced and remarried persons can receive Holy Communion

2. The diversity of religions are willed by God.

3. To say that co-habitations are real marriage, when there is actually no marriage at all

4. To say that to proselytize is a grave sin, when in fact, we are called to try to bring non-Catholics into full communion with the Catholic Church

5. To say that during the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, was no miracle at all, but was a time everyone shared their food.

6. To say that people are annihilated, rather than go to hell is false teaching

7. The use of contraceptives by clerics, is not in accord with Catholic teaching

8. The acceptance of the actions of homosexuality and the living out as LGBTQ as though they were not sinful.

9. To say that pro-abortion politicians, who publicly and obstinately refuse to recant their position can receive Holy Communion is contrary to Canon Law 915.

Today, let us ask Pope St. John Paul II to pray for us, that we may defend the faith and live out our faith, as good Catholics.

St. Paul of the Cross - Oct. 20th

  

 Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Paul of the Cross, who was born in 1694 in the republic of Genoa. His infancy and youth were spent in great innocence and piety.

In an ecstasy, He was inspired by God to found a congregation dedicated to the Passion of Christ called the Passionists. During the ecstasy he had a vision of the habit, which the Passionists wear today. He was a missionary for 50 years in Italy. He believed he was a great sinner, and so treated himself with great rigor. He died a saintly death at the age of 81.

In the office of readings today, he exhorts all to practice every virtue and especially to imitate the patience of Christ, for he says, “this is the summit of pure love”.

He said, we should live in such a way that all may know that you bear outwardly as well as inwardly the image of Christ Crucified, the model of all gentleness and mercy.

St. Paul of the Cross said, “For if man is united inwardly with the Son of the living God, he also bears his likeness outwardly by his continual practice of heroic goodness, and especially through patience reinforced by courage, which does not complain either secretly or in public. Conceal yourselves in Jesus Crucified, and hope for nothing except that all men be thoroughly converted to His will.”

He said, “When you become true lovers of the Crucified, you will celebrate the feast of the Cross in the inner temple of the soul, bearing all in silence, and not relying on any creature. Since festivals ought to be celebrated joyfully, those who love the Crucified should honor the feast of the Cross by enduring silence with a serene and joyful countenance, so that their suffering remains hidden from men and is observed by God alone. For in this feast there is always a solemn banquet, and the food presented is the will of God, exemplified by the love of our Crucified Christ.”

Today, let us heed the words of St. Paul of the Cross, and therefore become one with our beloved Crucified Savior and so celebrate the feast of our Crucified Savior within the temple of our heart-- in patience, in silence, and with joy for Him, who died for love of us.

29th Sunday - Rosary

   

Today’s readings cause us to reflect upon persistent prayer. The story from the book of Exodus, when understood as being symbolic of prayer, shows us that if we keep praying and do not give up, our prayers will be answered. The Israelites battled against the Amalek, who waged war against them. During the battle, when Moses raised his hands, God’s strength and power would be given to the Israelites. But when Moses lowered his hands, the enemy would begin to win. When we raise our hands in prayer, God’s blessings and graces are with us. But when we lower our hands in prayer, because we give up—we lose God’s graces.

Have you ever got tired of praying because it seemed like it did no good? In somewhat of a different way, we can also ask the same question for husbands and wives. Have you ever got tired of telling your spouse, “I love you”? Of course not. No one would ever stop telling your spouse, “I love you”. When we come home from work, we don’t walk into the house without first kissing our spouse, saying, “I love you.” The wife would never tell her husband, “O honey, you don’t need to tell me you love me again, after all, you told me you loved me this morning.” We never get tired of hearing the words, “I love you”, nor do we tire of saying, “I love you”. So it is with prayer. God never tires of hearing our prayers and we should never tire of praying-- because we love Him, even if we don’t get what we want, when we want it.

St. Paul states to “pray without ceasing”. The widow in today’s Gospel never ceased asking for what she wanted. She never gave up. She persevered. How much more does God look with favor on us, when we pray to Him, as He looks at our heart’s desires?

Some of you might recall the plight of the 33 Chilean miners who in 2010 spent more than two months trapped almost a half mile below the ground. But the story behind their rescue is not well known, especially that the man who spearheaded it, a Catholic deacon from Texas, says the only explanation for the rescue was a miracle. And we can now say today it was because of the persevering prayer of the Holy Rosary.

The disaster was caused when a rock 550 feet tall and twice the weight of the Empire State Building shifted, causing a chain reaction that blocked all passages of escape. Rescuers began to drill round the clock. But they never to drill so deep before. They knew they wouldn’t be able to drill that deep, but they decided to try it anyway.

Near the end of the drilling, only 100 feet away from the miners, everything stopped. The drill would not go any further, it was stuck. The deacon said, “That is when the miracle happened.  The drill moved again all by itself. Meter after meter, it kept moving until it reached the miners. “God drilled the hole. We just had a good seat.” Years later the drilling company tried to repeat the depth of drilling, but it never could. It happened only one time due to the miracle of the Rosary.

As you probably know, the country of Chile is predominately Catholic. When the mine accident happened, the people of Chile placed a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary near the mine, seeking Her motherly intercession. The trapped miners prayed the Rosary everyday together until they were rescued. They persevered and did not give up. Mary did not let them down. She continued to intercede for them. It is no coincidence they were rescued on the anniversary of the last apparition of Fatima, Oct. 13^th, 1917, when Mary told the children, “I am the Lady of the Rosary”. Our Lady asked the world to pray the Rosary every day. The miners prayed the Rosary everyday and were rescued by God, through Mary’s intercession.

Pope John Paul II in his encyclical “Rosary of the Virgin Mary”, said, “The rosary is nothing more than to contemplate with Mary, the face of Christ.” When we pray the Rosary we pray it in two ways. First, we pray with vocal prayers, as we recite the Our Fathers and the Hail Marys. But second, as we pray the vocal prayers, we also meditate on the life of Jesus and Mary in the mysteries we contemplate. For example, if we meditate on the Birth of Jesus praying the Our Father and 10 Hail Marys, we think about His birth in Bethlehem. In our heart--- we see the face of the Infant Jesus, as Mary holds Him in Her arms and lays Him in a manger.

When we pray the Rosary, we should pray it with love and attention and not fast. Years before I became a priest, I went to Mass at church in western Kansas. When Mass was over, a well intentioned lady began to pray the Rosary. The people prayed so fast, I couldn’t keep up with them. They sounded like they were auctioneers. It’s difficult to see how they could be praying the Rosary reverently, with love, and attention, rather than praying the rosary to hurry up and get it done. When we pray the Rosary, we should pray it slowly and with meaning. We should ask Mary to intercede for our particular intentions, which we mention before we begin.

As we look at the world, our country, and our families, we see the problems of abortion, murders, terrorism, gangs, violence, drugs, premarital relations, society’s immorality--- now more than ever--- we need to keep praying--- without losing hope. We need to be like the miners of Chile, and pray the Rosary every day, trusting God hears and will answer our prayers.

Pope Pius XI said, “If you desire peace in your hearts, in your homes, and in your country, assemble each evening to recite the Rosary. Let not even one day pass without saying it, no matter how burdened you may be with many cares and labors."

My friends, pray the Rosary. Pray it every day, especially at home with your family. St. Louis De Montfort said that when we pray the Rosary, we crown Mary with a spiritual crown of roses in heaven. Surely, when we enter eternal life, Our Lord and His Mother will show us the many blessings and graces we received for ourselves, our family and the world, when we prayed the Rosary, -----especially the grace of gaining heaven.

Oct 13th - Our Lady of Fatima

 

 On Oct. 13^th, 1917 a great miracle occurred in the little town of Fatima, Portugal. The miracle was witnessed by thousands of people, who came to the site in which the Blessed Virgin Mary was appearing to the three little children.

A few says before the apparitions, Portuguese peasant families slung their wicker baskets and jugs over their shoulders and headed towards Fatima. Fathers and mothers carried the sick and lame children in their arms for great distances. Farmhands left the farms. Fishermen left their nets. Sailors left their ships. Factory workers left their jobs. Rich, poor and all sorts of people made their journey to Fatima. Most of them humble and barefoot-- plodded through the heavy mud--- under the heavy rain that night--- in preparation for the expected miracle. Some hoping for to be healed, others wanted conversion, some forgiveness of their sins, others consolation in their sorrows, and still others to receive a blessing from the Mother of God. But all believed, and hoped. When people would see the three children on the way to Cova, they would drop to their knees in the mud imploring their prayers and hoping to touch the “little saints.”

At noon, Our Lady was to appear. Minutes passed and She had not arrived. The crowd became impatient, when suddenly Our Lady appeared to the children. Lucia asked, "What do you want of me?" And Mary said, “I want a chapel built here in my honor. I want you to continue saying the Rosary every day. The war will end soon, and the soldiers will return to their homes.” Lucia said, "Yes. Yes." "Will you tell me your name?" The Virgin Mary replied, “I am the Lady of the Rosary. Lucia said, "I have many petitions from many people. Will you grant them?" Mary said, “Some I shall grant, and others I must deny. People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins. They must not offend our Lord any more, for He is already too much offended!” Lucia replied, "And is that all you have to ask?" Our Lady said, “There is nothing more.”

As the Lady of the Rosary rises toward the east she turns the palms of her hands toward the dark sky. While the rain had stopped, dark clouds continued to obscure the sun, which suddenly bursts through them and is seen to be a soft spinning disk of silver. Lucia cried out, "Look at the sun!"

From this point two distinct apparitions were seen, that of the phenomenon of the sun seen by the 70,000 or so spectators and that beheld by the children alone. Lucia describes the latter in her memoirs. She said, ‘After our Lady had disappeared into the immense distance of the firmament, we beheld St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in white with a blue mantle, beside the sun. St. Joseph and the Child Jesus seemed to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with their hands. When, a little later, this apparition disappeared, I saw Our Lord and Our lady; it seemed to me to that it was Our Lady of Sorrows (Dolors). Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the same manner as St. Joseph had done. This apparition also vanished, and I saw Our Lady once more, this time resembling Our Lady of Carmel. [Only Lucia saw Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which some believe prophesied her entrance into Carmel some years later.]

Those who witnessed the event said the sun gradually grew pale and appeared as a silver disc, at which all could gaze directly at, without harm to their eyes. All present saw rays of multicolored light shoot in every direction. The sun began to spin madly on its axis like a gigantic wheel of fire. While the crowd fell to its knees in terror, it suddenly seemed to come down closer and closer to earth, as it zigzagged through the skies. People began to scream in horror, “It’s the end of the world.” Others said, “Please God don’t let me die in my sins.”

Suddenly it returned to its normal place, and once again no one was able to look at it. The ground and the people were suddenly dry as though it had never rained.

The incredible miracle of the sun was witnessed by tens of thousands of people and reported in newspapers throughout Europe.

Recall that one of the reasons for Our Lady’s apparitions was to establish world devotion to Her Immaculate Heart. Little Jacinta, after seeing the Immaculate Heart of Mary became intensely devoted to it. She would often say, “Sweet Heart of Mary be my salvation! And added, “I so love the Immaculate Heart of Mary! It is the Heart of our dear Mother in heaven. Sweet Heart of Mary, convert sinners, save souls from hell…If only I could put into the hearts all the fire that is burning within my own heart, and that makes me love the Hearts of Jesus and Mary so very much!”

The people of Fatima trampled through the mud expecting a miracle, and were not let down. They came to Our Lady seeking consolation in their sorrow, hope in their misery, peace in their hearts. And they found it—not in the miracle of the sun, or in the fields and valleys of Fatima, but in the Immaculate Heart of Mary, their refuge.

Today, as a good Mother, She will always keep you within Her Heart, take you under Her care, and watch over you! And as you trod through the mud of suffering, anxiety, and fears, know that you will always be within Her Immaculate Heart!