33rd Sunday Year C - Synod

 

Image taken from the Vatican Synod Website

“By your perseverance you will secure your lives”. During this time just before Advent, the Church gives us Apocalyptic readings in Scripture that can be frightening, but passages like today’s Gospel can also fill us with hope.

Today, we read about Jesus reaching the temple, surrounded by all its grandeur. For the Jewish people, the temple was a sacred place. It stood as a reminder that God had chosen Israel as His own. So when Jesus warned, “There will not be left a stone upon another stone,” His message troubled His listeners.

Just as Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, so the Catechism of the Catholic Church predicts the passion of the Church, meaning the body of Christ, will go through its apparent crucifixion. But it will rise after what appears to be its destruction, as Jesus told Peter, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The Catechism states, “Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth….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.”

There is a synod going on in Rome some believe could cause the Church to go through its passion. This synod is causing great concern among bishops, priests and lay people. There is not only concern in the US, but also throughout the world.

A synod is general term for ecclesiastical gatherings under hierarchical authority, for the discussion and decision of matters relating to faith, morals, or discipline. It’s different from a Church Council called by the pope and all bishops of the world participate. But, all the bishops of the world don’t participate in a synod. A synod cannot make infallible statements on faith and morals. Synod statements can contain errors.

However, a Church Council, when in union with the pope, can make infallible statements on faith and morals binding all Catholics to believe. The last Church Council was Vatican II.

The current synod underway has been criticized by some cardinals, bishops and priests.

When I was in Medjugorje, a Dominican priest, who preached in the presence of a bishop who offered the Mass, gave a homily on the synod. He said, “In the pre-synodal reports of certain countries, they clamor for change in doctrine and morals.” “...some who promoting for change, claim holiness is an ideal, rather than a goal. They seek to accompany, which they mean to keep people exactly where they are. What is sinful is no longer called sin. We are reassured that hell is not eternal or that it is empty. When we fail to love people enough and properly, our error manifests. How? By lying to them and blessing their disordered unions. By confirming them in adultery and fornication. By affirming their grave errors like abortion and reward them with Communion without repentance. It is a failure to love people’s souls and the willingness to risk their eternal salvation. And all, why? For the sake being inclusive and nice. For the sake of making myself popular.”

In Catholic news recently, Bishop Robert Mutsaerts from the Netherlands, said, “One thing is clear to me. God is out of the picture in this damned synodal process. The Holy Spirit has absolutely nothing to do with it. Among the protagonists of this process are to me a little too many defenders of gay marriage, folks who don't really think abortion is a problem and never really show themselves defenders of the Church's rich creed, wanting above all to be liked by their secular surroundings. How un-pastoral, how unloving. People want sincere answers. They don't want to go home with more questions. You're keeping people from salvation. I have since dropped out of the synodal process.”

Cardinal Mueller, former head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith was recently interviewed on the Catholic television EWTN show, The World Over hosted by Raymond Arroyo. During the interview the cardinal spoke about the current synod being held in Rome. He, other clerics and church theologians are accusing the synod leaders of having a pre-planned agenda.

He said, “This is a desire to take over, a power which doesn't exist, a want to be more intelligent than God himself. It is like the Marxistic form of creating the truth by presenting of his own power. ... They have the intention to substitute their own subjective ideas, against a revealed reality of Jesus Christ, as is the [path to the] destruction of the Catholic Church... This occupation of the Catholic Church is a hostile takeover of the Church of Jesus Christ... And if you look at only one page, or read one page of the Gospel, you'll see that it has nothing to do with Jesus Christ... and [in this agenda] they think that doctrine is only like a program of a political party, who can change it according to their votes. And we must resist it like the old heretics of the Arianism.” The words of Cardinal Mueller are sobering.

What if the majority of bishops in the world, were to say, Jesus is more than a man, but less than God? Would you follow the majority of the bishops? This is actually what happened in the early 300’s, during the Arian Heresy. During that time, the majority of the bishops in the world were holding to a false teaching that originated by a bishop, whose name was Arius. However, the majority of the people of the Church did not accept this false idea, but persevered through that crisis and the heresy died away because the Church, as the bride of Christ was victorious. Ordinary lay people believed what the Church had taught, Jesus is fully God and fully man, with two natures, human and divine.

What if today, suppose for example, the majority of the bishops would say women can be ordained priests, homosexual unions are no longer sinful, and can be blessed, and everyone, no matter their religion, or if in they are in a state of mortal sin, can receive the Holy Eucharist. But the problem with these ideas, is that the teachings of the Church on these subjects can never be changed. These topics are actually being discussed at the synod.

But what if the majority of the bishops followed these errors? Suppose for example, if a synod document would make these erroneous statements, would you follow the synod? You better not, because then you would be setting yourself outside the teachings of the Church passed down to us from Jesus and the Apostles.

St. John’s second letter, he said, “Anyone who is so “progressive” as to not remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son.” (2 John: 4-9)

St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians (1:8) said, “Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the we preached to you, let him be cursed.”

Bishop Fulton Sheen, whose cause for his canonization is under way, said, this about the future antichrist: He will give “the temptation to have a new religion without a Cross, a liturgy without a world to come, a religion to destroy a religion, or a politics which is a religion.. He will set up a counter church which will be the ape of the Church, because he, the Devil, is the ape of God. It will have all the notes and characteristics of the Church, but in reverse and emptied of its divine content. ..But the twentieth century will join the counter church because it claims to be infallible when its visible head speaks ex cathedra from Moscow on the subject of economics and politics, and as chief shepherd of world communism.”

My friends, we are entering into very confusing times in the Catholic Church and the world. That is why in last week’s bulletin, I suggested you keep up on Catholic news. We must always hold fast to our Catholic faith. It is the pearl of great price. Human beings make mistakes and sin. But the deposit of faith (divine revelation) given to us by way of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition (as found in the Catechism) can never change and if we cling to it, no matter what goes on around us, we will always have hope.

Jesus wasn’t just predicting the destruction of Jerusalem (which actually took place in 70 AD), about 37 years after His death and resurrection. He was also unveiling a spiritual reality. Like the prophet Jeremiah centuries before Him, Jesus was warning the people not to place all their confidence on the temple alone. Rather than placing their hope in bricks and mortar, they needed to look to the God who inhabits the temple.

It wasn’t just the temple, either. Jesus also foretold of earthquake, famines, wars, and persecutions. Nations would fall; good health, peace, and stability would collapse. Everything the people relied on—everything we rely on—would one day pass away. Only God and His teachings lasts forever.

So where’s the hope? By exposing the lie that says security comes from money, status, or well-being, from human beings, Jesus is pointing us to what does last: heaven. Because He loves us, He is warning us not to rely on fleeting things that will only disappoint us. As much as we enjoy the consolations and blessings of life on earth, they can’t possibly compare to heaven!

That the hope: Jesus is showing us the greatness of our God and the glory of the life to come. He’s opening our eyes to the only One who lasts: our faithful God. With Him, we find everlasting life. That’s why, as we persevere and cling to Him, and His divine revelation through His immemorial teachings of the Church, and we will “secure our lives”.
The words of Jesus to Peter, give us hope: “I say to you: That you are Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” He doesn’t promise the Church won’t go turmoil. But, He promises His Church and His teachings will never change and will last until He comes on the clouds of heaven. Let us turn to the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church and ask Her to watch over and protect the Church and help us to always be faithful to the Church’s teachings, even to death if necessary. And may we keep all those who are causing confusion in the Church in our prayers, that they may become a witness to the truth of the Gospel.

Fr. Leon's Pereira Homily before a Bishop, who offered the Mass at St. James in Medjugorje

 Bishop Robert Mutsaerts Synod Explanation

https://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2022/11/dutch-bishop-god-is-out-of-picture-in.html

Cardinal Mueller's Interview with EWTN the World Over

 https://fatheredmondkline.blogspot.com/2022/10/ewtn-world-over-cardinal-mueller.html

St. Josaphat - Nov. 12th

 

Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. Josaphat, bishop and martyr, who was born in 1580 in Poland to Orthodox parents. His birth name was John Kunsevich. His mother raised him in the fear of the Lord and in his tender heart formed longings for virtue. As a child, he would separate himself from the games of his companions in order to pray. He learned a large section of the Divine Office by heart and was faithful in praying it everyday. He became Catholic of the Byzantine Rite. He studied philosophy and theology under two famous Jesuits.

In 1604, when took the religious habit as he entered the Order of St. Basil, at twenty years of age, he took the name Josaphat. He thoroughly reformed the order, giving the order a more active character. He was ordained a priest and began to preach in various churches to many dissidents. Through his boundless charity and powerful preaching, he established unity with the Uniate Church. So well known, did his wisdom and knowledge become, that he was recommended, to the Pope by his own people to rule over them as archbishop in 1617. In this office he campaigned intensively for the conversion of the schismatics, and reform the clergy in his diocese. He restored five major cathedrals, aided the poor and maintained total frugality in his residence. Soon, St. Josaphat had an enemy, who made himself bishop of the same city in which Josaphat was bishop. In a very short period of time, many of the people of the city began to follow the false archbishop, who sought power over the people. An uprising occurred which resulted in the archdeacon being wounded on the head and left for dead. When Bishop Josaphat went to calm the turmoil, he knew it would be the end of his life. At the age of 44, Josaphat they cruelly assassinated him and profaned his body.

After five days, when his mortal remains were recovered from a river, and exposed for 9 days, his body constantly emitted a fragrance of roses and lilies. One of the councilors, who had abandoned the faith, immediately came back to the Church, when he saw the countenance of the St. Josaphat. The archbishop gladly went to his death in order to reunite the schism. About four years after the death of Josaphat, the false archbishop repented and lived a life of penance and prayer. Such changes of heart are the result of the sanctity of St. Josaphat. About 5 years after his death, his body was found incorrupt, though his clothes had rotted away. Again, in 1637, his body was found white and supple. After a hundred forty years in 1767, the body was still found incorrupt. It was eventually taken to St. Peter’s basilica in Rome and he was canonized in 1867, as the first Eastern saint by Pope Leo XIII.

Pope Pius XI said, “St. Josaphat is rightly looked upon, as the great glory and strength of the Eastern Rite Slavs. Few have brought them greater honor, or contributed more, to their spiritual welfare than Josaphat, their pastor and apostle, especially when he gave his life, as a martyr for the unity of the Church.”

Today, let us pray for unity among all Christians, especially between the East and West. And if necessary, and if God so ordains it, may we lay down our life for truth and unity, in imitation of St. Josaphat, the martyr.

St. Marin Tours - Nov. 12th

 

 Today is the feast of St. Martin of Tours. He was born about the year 317AD. His parents were not Christians. They were pagans, who worshipped idols. His father was a soldier, who wanted his son, Martin, to follow in his footsteps, as a soldier. After becoming a soldier, he met a poor man in the street, who was cold. Martin cut off a piece of his own military cloak, and gave half of his cloak to the poor man. That same night he had a vision, which helped him to understand that the poor man was really Jesus in disguise. This caused Martin to become Catholic. And after his baptism, he led the life of a hermit, and later converted his mother to the Catholic faith as well.

St. Martin and St. Hilary built a monastery and lived there, until he was chosen bishop of Tours in 371. Even though he was elected bishop, he continued to live the same humble and mortified life as before. As bishop, at first, he lived in a little cell near the church, but afterward laid the foundations of a new monastery. A number of followers flocked to his monastic way of life, and he therefore became the founder of monasticism in what is now today, France.

As bishop, he succeeded in getting rid of idolatry from his diocese of Tours. He and St. Ambrose protested against those who were putting heretics to death.

The life of St. Martin was one of constant prayer and his virtues were rewarded by an extraordinary gift of miracles. Living more than eighty years, he died peacefully in 397. As we prepare to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, let us ask Our Blessed Mother to give us the grace to live a holy life in imitation of St. Martin of Tours.

St. John Lateran - Nov. 9th

 

 Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica, which is the cathedral of Rome. There is an inscription on the outside of the church, which states, “The holy church of the Lateran, mother and head of all the churches of the city and of the world.”

After the church was constructed by the emperor Constantine and given to pope Sylvester I, it was consecrated in 324. The pope lived at the Lateran palace for about 1000 yrs, before moving to St. Peter’s Basilica. The church also possesses the relics of the heads of Peter and Paul and the holy table our Lord used at the Last Supper.

Many think St. Peter’s Basilica is the Cathedral of Rome, but its not. It’s St. John Lateran and the church has the bishop of Rome’s chair called the cathedra.

We celebrate the dedication of the physical structure of the Lateran Basilica, not so much because it is old, or that it was the resident of the pope for centuries, but most importantly, because of who is in the Church. Our Lord Jesus Christ truly present in the Eucharist now resides in the Lateran Basilica and every Catholic church in the world.

In the second reading today, St. Paul said, “Do you not know you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.”

Today’s feast is a reminder that our body, like that of a church, is a temple, which belongs to God. Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and because of that we should treat our body with respect. It does not belong to us, it belongs to the Lord. So when we purposely harm our body, we really harming something that belongs to God.

Many today, don’t respect their God given body, which does not belong to any of us, but to the Lord. We are stewards of our body. We are to take care of that which belongs to God.

When our body dies, we bury it with respect. In fact, it used to be that it was never be permitted to cremate. But today, we can, but only if the remains are buried properly and the ashes are not scattered and if the person who died believes in the resurrection of the body. At the end of the world, our body, whether decayed or as ashes will be resurrected and be re-united with our soul and the general resurrection.

Because our body is sacred, we are to treat it with respect. Some ways the body is disrespected today, include dying of one’s hair such as green, red, yellow, orange or purple. For young men they at times where there hair with dread locks, which means they don’t wash their hair and purposely damage it.

The bible also specifically mentions not to get tattoos nor mutilate our body. Tattoos inject ink in our body and at times can cause serious infections. Simply even writing on the hand and use it as paper is also disrespectful to the body.

Surgeries such as face lifts, or if a man or woman gets sterilized, so as to not have children is harmful to the body.

Piercing of eye brows, the nose, and excessive ear piercing is not treating our body with respect. Other ways we treat our body sinfully is overeating food, or food that harms our body, or smoking, which harms our lungs, or excessive drinking of alcohol. Eating excessive candy. Some women starve themselves to have a slim figure. Not taking care of our health or by refusing to see a doctor, or not taking medicine beneficial to us. Some people exercise excessively and can eat harm their body because of the desire for others to look at their physic. Others don’t get the exercise they need such as walking. Some don’t bathe as often as they should.

Even more important than the physical care of the body, is the care of the soul. Whereby we avoid sin, especially mortal sin. We do this especially by going to confession regularly to spiritually wash our soul and to receive Holy Communion often, which strengthens our soul, when its united to Jesus.

We become living tabernacles, when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion. And we need to be conscience of the indwelling of God in our soul, for by doing this, we will treat our body and our soul with respect.

By coming to Mass today, we recognize our need to drive those things in our heart, which prevent the temple of our soul from truly being the Father’s house. We need to be like Jesus, and have holy zeal, to drive out the sheep, oxen, and money changers within our heart (which are our sins).

Today, let us therefore honor and praise St. John Lateran Church, the mother church of all Christians, let us with zeal strive to make our soul immaculate in imitation of Mary, the image and model of the Church and in this way, Our Lord will find within us a miniature palace, a little tabernacle and a home He can dwell.

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