Importance in Holy Mass & Confessions
Holy Mass
The importance of Holy Mass should be first than any other material blessings that you may receive in your day to day life. Just as you take food to nourish your body every day; in the same way you need to nourish your soul every day.
Why Should I Go To Mass Every Day?
“The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer! (Pope Paul VI)
For each Mass we hear with devotion, Our Lord sends a saint to comfort us at death. (Revelation of Christ to St. Gertrude the great)
Padre Pio, the stigmatic priest, said, the world could exist more easily without the sun than with out the Mass.
The Cure d’Ars, St. Jean Vianney said, if we knew the value of the Mass we would die of joy.
A great doctor of the Church, St, Anselm, declares that a single Mass offered for oneself during life may be worth more than a thousand celebrated for the same intention after death. St. Leonard of Port Maurice supports this statement by saying that one Mass before death may be more profitable than many after it.
“The Holy Mass would be of greater profit if people had it offered in their lifetime, rather than having it celebrated for the relief of their souls after death.”(Pope Benedict XV)
Once, St. Teresa was overwhelmed with God’s Goodness and asked Our Lord, “How can I thank you?” Our Lord replied, “Attend one mass.”
The Blessed Virgin Mary once told her faithful servant Alain: “My Son so loves those who assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that, if it were necessary He would die for them as many times as they’ve heard Masses.”
Receiving of the Holy Eucharist in communion as according to St. Augustine ’s teaching is the means of reparation for our daily shortcoming.
St. Peter Julian commented that just as the angels in heaven need the divine vision of God to sustain their lives, in the same way the receiving of the Holy Eucharist in communion at every celebration we attend is essential for us to sustain the strength of our lives.
For Jesus had said” I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves.”
St. Thomas Aquinas said that celebration of Holy Mass is as equal to the death of Jesus suffered on the Holy Cross of Calvary .
According to St. Bernard (The contemporary of St. Francis of Assisi) to participate in a Holy Mass devotedly is more and rather very important than selling one’s whole possessions and giving to the poor or going on pilgrimage all over the world.
At each Holy Mass we are called to measure ourselves against the ideal of communion which the Acts of the Apostles paints as a model for the Church in every age. It is the Church gathered around the Apostles, called by the word of God, capable of sharing in spiritual goods, but in material goods as well. (John Paul II)
Because there is nothing in this world which is as really worth and valuable and precious as that of a Holy Mass.
Confession
Confession: The confession of one’s sins is a religious practice important to many faiths.
The intent of this sacrament is to provide healing for the soul as well as to regain the grace of God, lost by sin.
Luke. 7:47 “I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But, whoever has been forgiven little shows only a little love”. This is the basic underlying secret of the forgiveness of sins, Isaiah 1: 18 “The Lord says” now, let us settle the matter, you once stained red with sin, but I will wash you as clean as snow. Although your sins are deep red, you will be as white as wool. Jeremiah 31: 34 “None of them will have to teach his fellow country men to know the Lord, because all will know me, from the least to the greatest. I will forgive their sins and I no longer remember their wrongs. I the Lord has spoken.” Through the pure and perfect sacrifice of God’s only Son, God forgives us our sins that we may love Him more. All your stains of sin will be wiped away, depending upon the depth of your love for your God.
Through the participation of the sacrament of Reconcialtion, you were trying to understand the Holy will of God. Your love for God should lead you for true reconciliation. Confession once a month. How should this love be? (Mathew 13: 44). To love God is to find and embrace Him as your greatest possession. Then, only then God will have the first place in your life. Hence when you focus your eyes on Jesus your obstacles will be removed, you can gain victory in your life.
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Tips and Support for Catholic Mothers Interview With Mom and Author Lisa Hendey By Genevieve Pollock
Lisa Hendey’s book, “The Handbook for Catholic Moms: Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body and Soul,” published this month, deals with the myriad topics of a mother’s life such as parenting, finances, prayer and health.
In this book she shares her experiences and insights from a decade of networking with other mothers through the CatholicMom.com Web site, which she founded in 1999. This site continues to offer columns, advice, humor and community to many people worldwide; last year alone, it drew 400,000 visitors.
In addition to writing for several publications, Hendey heads a Web design business and manages the Web page for her parish.
In this interview, she spoke with ZENIT about the importance of the mothering vocation, some of the things she has learned from her own experience and that of others, and her hope to encourage women in this role.
ZENIT: With all the obligations moms have these days, many may feel more need for an extra set of hands than a handbook that gives them other tasks to do. How does your book help moms to be more effective in their daily duties and responsibilities? What does it aim to add to their lives?
Hendey: I definitely recognize this challenge in my own life, so I was very cognizant during the writing process of the need to offer “real world,” practical solutions for moms.
In the book, we aimed to reach every type of mom, including those who work outside the home, those who parent large families, those with children who may have special needs and even single moms who face tremendous challenges. The book is filled with stories and suggestions from families around the world who have shared what works for them in their homes.
In the “mind” section of the book, we address employment — both within and outside of the home — and discuss the importance of treating our mothering vocation with great care and energy.
The book offers time management strategies, but more importantly encourages women to see motherhood as both a gift and a true vocation.
I honestly feel that we, as Catholic moms, must pay attention to self-care in our relationships, intellectually, physically and most important spiritually in order to best care for our families.
“The Handbook for Catholic Moms” aims to provide a comprehensive resource in each of these areas by sharing the stories, quotes, ideas and suggestions of literally hundreds of Catholic moms around the world.
My greatest hope for the book is that it will leave Catholic moms feeling supported and encouraged in the challenges they face each and every day.
ZENIT: Your book includes a section to help moms with finances, which is of particular interest in this economic recession. What do you suggest to moms who want so much for their children, and yet are discouraged by the reality of their bank account? Do you give any suggestions about how to “spin straw into gold?”
Hendey: So many families are suffering given today’s difficult economic climate, and yet I’m convicted that the greatest gifts we can give our children have nothing to do with our bank accounts.
In our domestic churches, we have the opportunity to raise up souls who value a tangible relationship with a God who loves each of us unconditionally, without regard to our economic status or even our personal merit.
Today’s recession also offers every mom the chance to teach her children about the importance of service, about stewardship to others, and about true compassion and the great joy of giving.
I have learned in my own life the true peace that comes with living within our means and with helping others both financially and emotionally through difficult and challenging times.
ZENIT: Your handbook focuses on different aspects of a mother’s life: mind, body, heart and soul. What kinds of things do you suggest for mothers to live their spiritual life in a deeper way? Do silent prayer and reflection have a place in a mom’s world, or is there a different way to pray when life is so busy?
Hendey: A busy mother’s prayer life will look different than that of her fellow Catholics whose lives are not so full of day-to-day, hands-on service.
I love the words of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who encouraged us to make every act a prayer, a tangible sign of our love for God.
This philosophy certainly relates in the life of a mom, whose days are filled with mundane tasks like laundry, cooking and cleaning. Done with devotion, these simple acts become a mother’s prayer.
However, I also believe the words of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who said:
“God is the friend of silence. See how nature — trees and flowers and grass — grow in silence. See the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence. The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life.”
I encourage each of us — myself included — to carve out moments of silence in the craziness of our days. Shut off the iPod, silence the cell phone, create a small “sacred space” in your home — a corner chair or even a small pillow on the ground where you can retreat for a few moments each day.
If you have little ones in the home, invite them to rest quietly near you, even if only for a moment or two, and explain to them how precious these silent moments of prayer are to you.
Take them for a quick visit to your parish, pray together in the car on the way to school, and model for them the importance of an ongoing prayer life.
“The Handbook for Catholic Moms” has an entire section devoted to practical solutions for embracing our Catholic spiritual treasures in the midst of our busy days as mothers.
ZENIT: Parents realize that they only have a limited time to impart values on their children before they are launched into the world, a society that can be scary at times. How can mothers arm their children in a way that will help them keep their values and virtues? What would you suggest to moms who get discouraged or fearful for their children while watching the news or hearing about the ills of society?
Hendey: I am in the midst of this potentially fearful season in my own life, as the mother of two teens. My eldest son will depart for college in the fall, taking with him a lifetime of lessons we’ve tried to impart to him as he’s grown into manhood.
Honestly, I have great hope for the future of our Church when I see so many families who have diligently sought to live out the call to be “domestic church” in our homes.
I believe one of the best ways to arm our children to embrace moral choices is to have constant, ongoing discussions in the context of day-to-day life. When you watch a movie together, discuss it afterwards. If you see them struggling in a friendship at school, talk about it in the context of building loving and serving relationships.
As they grow into teens, we need to truly listen to our children, including the unspoken cues that every mother is trained to recognize. I hope my children will depart from my home with a fully informed sense of their Catholic faith at the core of their outlook on the world.
Rather than being fearful or closing out the outside world, let us train the future leaders of our Church and our world — now living in our homes — to embrace Gospel values in their life’s choices as they grow into adulthood. Knowing my own sons and their friends as I do, I am optimistic that our future is bright.
ZENIT: Essentially, parents want their children to be happy. How can they keep the spirit of joy alive in their kids, while teaching them necessary lessons, disciplining them, or letting them go through their own growing pains?
Hendey: Again, I feel that constant communication is a key to effective discipline and training.
I am not afraid to show vulnerability and sadness when it comes to correcting my children’s bad choices.
Their world today is far more complicated than the environment in which most of us parents grew up. With this changing world comes great complexities that sometimes involve parents needing to learn quickly about things we never could have anticipated.
Just as Jesus spoke with his disciples and taught them through parables, I often try to employ stories from my own life when disciplining my children.
It sometimes help for them to know that we weren’t always the way we are today — that sometimes in the past we too struggled and made poor choices, and that we want to help them avoid some of the negative outcomes that no doubt come with these poor choices.
I try to follow the example of my own parents, who have raised five children into successful marriages and families of their own.
I never had a doubt growing up that the thing my parents most wanted for me was happiness — a life of faith, love, and joy. They shared this with each of us all the time, including during moments of disappointment when we chose the wrong path. I try to emulate this same message with my children on a daily basis.
ZENIT: In your opinion, what does the ideal mom look like? If a woman follows this handbook, what can she hope to become?
Hendey: I think every home contains its own “ideal mom” and that no two will look exactly alike.
Despite that Proverbs 31 prescription for success, no two women have exactly the same set of life circumstances. In my own family, we have working moms, work at home moms, and stay at home moms.
In our Church, we embrace moms who are married, those who may be single and have made the valiant and often challenging decision to embrace life for their children, and mothers who parent as a part of blended families. Some moms parent gifted children and others minister to those with special needs.
We all wake up each day hoping and praying to give our very best to those we love most, and to the world around us.
I sincerely hope that mothers who read “The Handbook for Catholic Moms” will feel encouraged and supported in their mothering vocation.
I don’t look at the book as a prescription for perfection, but rather a recipe for a happy, holy and fulfilled life.
The ingredients in that recipe may vary from woman to woman, but the end goal is the same — that we will know with great certainty that we are loved unconditionally by God, that we will share this certainty with our families, and that we will one day have salvation with him together.
US Bishops Urge Bipartisanship in Health Care Debate Call for Reform that Protects Life, Consciences
In a letter sent today to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the U.S. bishops’ conference also cited their longtime support of adequate and affordable health care for all, calling health care a basic human right.
The letter was signed on behalf of the conference by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, Texas, chair of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities; Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, chair of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development; and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City, Utah, chair of the Committee on Migration.
“It is time to set aside partisan divisions and special interest pressures to find ways to enact genuine reform. We encourage the administration and Congress to work in a bipartisan manner marked by political courage, vision and leadership,” the bishops said.
“As pastors and teachers,” the letter continued, “we believe genuine health care reform must protect human life and dignity from conception to natural death, not threaten them, especially for the voiceless and vulnerable. We believe health care legislation must respect the consciences of providers, taxpayers, purchasers of insurance and others, not violate them.
“We believe universal coverage should be truly universal and should not be denied to those in need because of their condition, age, where they come from or when they arrive here. Providing affordable and accessible health care that clearly reflects these fundamental principles is a public good, moral imperative and urgent national priority.”
“We hope and pray,” the letter added, “that the Congress and the country will come together around genuine health care reform that protects the life, dignity, consciences and health of all.”
President Barack Obama will preside at the summit, to which he has invited 22 lawmakers representing both Democrats and Republicans. The president has said he hopes to moderate a discussion on a bipartisan solution to the nation’s current health care debate.
The issue has been at the center of a national debate since Obama made it a priority during his first year as president.
After the Democratic-majority House approved its bill on Nov. 7, and the also Democratic-majority Senate passed its own proposal for reform on Dec. 24, the bills were set to be combined and voted on in January.
However, a senatorial election in Massachusetts upset the Democratic 60-seat majority, giving the Republicans enough votes to block the legislation, which has brought the process to a halt.
Benedict XVI Meditates on Penance Roman Curia Is Midway Through Spiritual Exercises
The annual seven-day spiritual exercises for the Pontiff and the Roman Curia began Sunday afternoon.
This year’s retreat is focusing on “The Lessons of God and of the Church in the Priestly Vocation.” This theme was chosen to reflect the Year for Priests currently underway.
Salesian Father Enrico dal Covolo, who was chosen to preach the meditations, spoke on Monday about the example of St. Augustine. The Holy Father and the Curia prayed that day for priestly vocations.
Tuesday, they prayed for missionaries and meditated on St. John Vianney, the “Cure of Ars.”
Today, the penitential day, included meditations titled “The Biblical History of Vocation: Temptation, Doubt and Resistance Form Part of Our History” and “Always Sinners and Always Forgiven.”
Along with Biblical references regarding the vocation, the preacher cited examples from a book, “Diary of a Country Priest,” by Georges Bernanos.
Thursday, the Christological day, will center on the vocation of the first disciples. It will include a meditation on Venerable Giuseppe Quadrio.
On Friday Father dal Covolo will lead meditations on Mary, her Magnificat and her vocation. One is titled “God’s Approval: The Story of the Annunciation.” The evening’s meditation will focus on Venerable John Paul II.
Saturday morning the retreat will end with a meditation on the call of the first deacons.
Each day of the retreat includes the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, the preached meditations and adoration with Eucharistic benediction.
Fast for a cause this Lent, Cardinal tells faithful
MANILA, Feb. 15, 2010—As millions of Catholics prepare to fast for the season of Lent, Manila’s Catholic Church is giving the sacred observance new meaning and appeal. With its program, “Fast… Feed,” the Archdiocese of Manila, fights poverty by asking people to fast and pray, while donating what they would have spent on food to create change through charities. In a pastoral letter for Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, Manila archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said the advocacy gives people an opportunity to make a difference. Fast… Feed is actually a program being promoted by “Hapag-asa,” a church-led initiative to combat hunger and malnutrition among children. Rosales appealed to the people “to support HAPAG-ASA in its efforts to care for hungry and malnourished children of our parishes.” “Your donation, no matter how small, will go a long way as it only costs a mere ten pesos a day or P1,200 to feed a hungry child once a day, five days a week, for six months. You can save the life of a Filipino child with P1,200,” he said. In the last 5 years, the pernicious problem of hunger and malnutrition has worsened in the Philippines, the archbishop said. Initial results of 7th National Nutrition Survey conducted in 2008 show that three out of ten Filipino children are hungry and malnourished. They are underweight and stunted in their growth, the cardinal cited the report as saying. Worse, he added, the acute or severe cases of malnutrition are increasing. Rosales said the country now has more than 8 million Filipino children who are underweight and under height. While those who fast can give to any charity they see fit, participants are encouraged to consider “Fast…Feed”, a program that will match all donations and use them to benefit the needy. “The promise of Hapag-asa is to have fullness of life through feeding the body and feeding the spirit,” he said. “Thus it not only gives out food for the hungry but also teaches children and their parents values that would lead them to a better life,” Rosales added. The Church encourages its faithful to fast during the days of Lent. The Church prescribes obligatory fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday and Fridays of Lent. The “Fast…Feed” program is being implemented through the parishes which are designated to receive the donations from those participating in the program. (Roy Lagarde)
Papal Homily for Day of the Sick “God, in Fact, Wishes to Heal the Whole Man”
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 11, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI delivered during a Mass celebrated today at St. Peter’s Basilica. Today, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, is the 18th World Day of the Sick and the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry.
The relics of St. Bernadette Soubirous, the visionary of Lourdes, were present at the Mass.
* * *
Lord Cardinals,
Venerated Brothers in the Episcopate,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Gospels, in the synthetic descriptions of the brief but intense public life of Jesus, attest that he proclaimed the Word and healed the sick, sign par excellence of the closeness of the Kingdom of God. For example, Matthew writes: “And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people” (Matthew 4:23; cf 9:35). The Church, which has been entrusted with the task of prolonging the mission of Christ in space and time, cannot neglect these two essential works: evangelization and care of the sick in body and spirit. God, in fact, wishes to heal the whole man, and in the Gospel the healing of the body is a sign of a more profound healing, which is the remission of sins (cf Mark 2:1-12).
Hence, it is not surprising that Mary, Mother and model of the Church, is invoked and venerated as “salus infirmorum,” “health of the sick.” As first and perfect disciple of her Son, she has always shown, accompanying the journey of the Church, special solicitude for the suffering. Testimony of this is given by the thousands of people who go to Marian shrines to invoke the Mother of Christ, and find strength and relief. The Gospel narrative of the Visitation (cf. Luke 1:39-56) shows us how the Virgin, after the evangelical announcement, did not keep to herself the gift received, but left immediately to go to help her elderly cousin Elizabeth, who for six months had been carrying John in her womb. In the support given by Mary to this relative who was, at an advanced age, living a delicate situation such as pregnancy, we see prefigured the whole action of the Church in support of life in need of care.
The Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, instituted 25 years ago by the Venerable John Paul II, is undoubtedly a privileged expression of this solicitude. My thought goes with gratitude to Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini, first president of the dicastery and ever impassioned leader in this realm of ecclesial activity; as also to Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragán, who until a few months ago gave continuity and growth to this service. With heartfelt cordiality I address to the present president, Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, who has assumed this significant and important legacy, my greetings, which I extend to all the officials and staff who in this quarter of a century have collaborated laudably in this office of the Holy See. In addition, I wish to greet the associations and organizations that take care of the organization of the Day of the Sick, in particular UNITALSI and the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi.
The most affectionate welcome goes naturally to you, dear sick people. Thank you for coming and above all for your prayer, enriched with the offer of your toil and sufferings. And my greeting goes also to the sick and volunteers joining us today from Lourdes, Fatima, Czestochowa and from other Marian shrines, and to all those following us on radio and television, especially from clinics or from their homes. May the Lord God, who constantly watches over his children, give everyone relief and consolation.
Today’s Liturgy of the Word presents two main themes: the first is of a Marian character, and it unites the Gospel and the first reading, taken from the last chapter of the Book of Isaiah, as well as the Responsorial Psalm, taken from Judith’s canticle of praise. The other theme, which we find in the passage of the Letter of James, is of the prayer of the Church for the sick and, in particular, of the sacrament reserved for them. In the memorial of the apparitions of Lourdes, a place chosen by Mary to manifest her maternal solicitude for the sick, the liturgy appropriately makes the Magnificat resonate, the canticle of the Virgin who exalts the wonders of God in the history of salvation: the humble and the indigent, as all those who fear God, experience his mercy, [he] who reverses earthly fortunes and thus demonstrates the holiness of the Creator and Redeemer. The Magnificat is not the canticle of those on whom fortune smiles, who always “prosper”; rather it is the thanksgiving of those who know the tragedies of life, but trust the redeeming work of God. It is a song that expresses the tested faith of generations of men and women who have placed their hope in God and have committed themselves personally, like Mary, to being of help to brothers in need. In the Magnificat we hear the voice of so many men and women saints of charity, I am thinking in particular of those who consumed their lives among the sick and suffering, such as Camillus of Lellis and John of God, Damien de Veuster and Benito Menni. Whoever spends a long time near persons who suffer, knows anguish and tears, but also the miracle of joy, fruit of love.
The maternity of the Church is a reflection of the solicitous love of God, of which the prophet Isaiah speaks: “As one whom his mother comforts, / so I will comfort you; / you shall be comforted in Jerusalem” (Isaiah 66:13). A maternity that speaks without words, which arouses consolation in hearts, a joy that paradoxically coexists with pain, with suffering. Like Mary, the Church bears within herself the tragedies of man, and the consolation of God, she keeps them together, in the course of her pilgrimage in history. Across the centuries, the Church shows the signs of the love of God, who continues to do great things in humble and simple people. Suffering that is accepted and offered, a sharing that is sincere and free, are these not, perhaps, miracles of love? The courage to face evils unarmed — as Judith — with the sole strength of faith and of hope in the Lord, is this not a miracle that the grace of God arouses continually in so many persons who spend time and energy helping those who suffer? For all this we live a joy that does not forget suffering, on the contrary, it includes it. In this way the sick and all the suffering are in the Church not only recipients of attention and care, but first and above all, protagonists of the pilgrimage of faith and hope, witnesses of the prodigies of love, of the paschal joy that flowers from the cross and the resurrection of Christ.
In the passage of the Letter of James, just proclaimed, the Apostle invites awaiting with constancy the already close coming of the Lord and, in this context, addresses a particular exhortation to the sick. This context is very interesting, because it reflects the action of Jesus, who curing the sick showed the closeness of the Kingdom of God. Sickness is seen in the perspective of the end times, with the realism of hope that is typically Christian. “Is any one among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise” (James 5:13). We seem to hear similar words in St. Paul, when he invites to live everything in relation to the radical news of Christ, his death and resurrection (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:29-31). “Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14-15). Evident here is the prolongation of Christ in his Church; he is always the one who acts through the presbyters; it is his same Spirit that operates through the sacramental sign of the oil; it is to him that faith is directed, expressed in prayer; and, as happened with the persons cured by Jesus, one can say to each sick person: Your faith, supported by the faith of brothers and sisters, has saved you.
From this text, which contains the foundation and practice of the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, is extracted at the same time a vision of the role of the sick in the Church: An active role as it “provokes,” so to speak, prayer made with faith. “Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church.” In this Year for Priests, I wish to stress the bond between the sick and priests, a sort of alliance, of evangelical “complicity.” Both have a task: The sick person must “call” the presbyters, and they must respond, to bring upon the experience of sickness the presence and action of the Risen One and of his Spirit. And here we can see all the importance of the pastoral care of the sick, the value of which is truly incalculable, because of the immense good it does in the first place to the sick person and to the priest himself, but also to relatives, to friends, to the community and, through hidden and unknown ways, to the whole Church and to the world. In fact, when the Word of God speaks of healing, of salvation, of the health of the sick, it understands these concepts in an integral sense, never separating soul and body: A sick person cured by Christ’s prayer, through the Church, is a joy on earth and in heaven, a first fruit of eternal life.
Dear friends, as I wrote in the encyclical “Spe Salvi,” “The true measure of humanity is essentially determined in relationship to suffering and to the sufferer” (No. 38). By instituting a dicastery dedicated to health care ministry, the Church also wished to make her own contribution to promote a world capable of receiving and looking after the sick as persons. In fact, she has wished to help them to live the experience of sickness in a human way, without denying it, but giving it a meaning.
I would like to end these reflections with a thought of the Venerable Pope John Paul II, to which he gave witness with his own life. In the apostolic letter “Salvifici Doloris,” he wrote: “At one and the same time Christ has taught man to do good by his suffering and to do good to those who suffer.”
May the Virgin Mary help us to live this mission fully. Amen!
Pope Says Suffering Need Not Exclude Joy Points to Bond Between the Ill and Priests
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 11, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The faithful can live a joy that does not forget suffering, but rather, in fact, includes it, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope made this reflection today during his homily at a Mass he celebrated in St. Peter’s. Today is the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, as well as the World Day of the Sick.
The Holy Father’s homily drew two themes from the Mass readings of the day.
He observed that “the liturgy appropriately makes the Magnificat resonate, the canticle of the Virgin who exalts the wonders of God in the history of salvation: the humble and the indigent, as all those who fear God, experience his mercy, [he] who reverses earthly fortunes and thus demonstrates the holiness of the Creator and Redeemer.”
The Pontiff characterized Mary’s canticle at her meeting with Elizabeth as “a song that expresses the tested faith of generations of men and women who have placed their hope in God and have committed themselves personally, like Mary, to being of help to brothers in need. In the Magnificat we hear the voice of so many men and women saints of charity.”
“Whoever spends a long time near persons who suffer, knows anguish and tears, but also the miracle of joy, fruit of love,” he added.
Church’s prayer
A second theme, Benedict XVI suggested, regards the prayer of the Church for the sick.
“The maternity of the Church is a reflection of the solicitous love of God,” he said. “[...] Like Mary, the Church bears within herself the tragedies of man, and the consolation of God, she keeps them together, in the course of her pilgrimage in history.
“Across the centuries, the Church shows the signs of the love of God, who continues to do great things in humble and simple people. Suffering that is accepted and offered, a sharing that is sincere and free, are these not, perhaps, miracles of love?”
The Holy Father reflected how “we live a joy that does not forget suffering, on the contrary, it includes it.”
“In this way,” he said, “the sick and all the suffering are in the Church not only recipients of attention and care, but first and above all, protagonists of the pilgrimage of faith and hope, witnesses of the prodigies of love, of the paschal joy that flowers from the cross and the resurrection of Christ.”
Sacrament of the sick
Noting how the Letter of James contains the foundation of the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, the Pope said the text also gives “a vision of the role of the sick in the Church: An active role as it ‘provokes,’ so to speak, prayer made with faith.”
“In this Year for Priests,” he said, “I wish to stress the bond between the sick and priests, a sort of alliance, of evangelical ‘complicity.’”
Citing the fifth chapter of James, the Pontiff noted that both the sick and priests have a “task”: “The sick person must ‘call’ the presbyters, and they must respond, to bring upon the experience of sickness the presence and action of the Risen One and of his Spirit.
“And here we can see all the importance of the pastoral care of the sick, the value of which is truly incalculable, because of the immense good it does in the first place to the sick person and to the priest himself, but also to relatives, to friends, to the community and, through hidden and unknown ways, to the whole Church and to the world.
“In fact, when the Word of God speaks of healing, of salvation, of the health of the sick, it understands these concepts in an integral sense, never separating soul and body: A sick person cured by Christ’s prayer, through the Church, is a joy on earth and in heaven, a first fruit of eternal life.”
C-You Q8 PLANNING. The Holy Family Cathedral Youth in Kuwait (C-You Q8) plans out for the coming BIG EVENT FOR THE CATHEDRAL YOUTH
The Holy Family Cathedral Youth in Kuwait (C-You Q8) plans out for the coming BIG EVENT FOR THE CATHEDRAL YOUTH. The following activities will take place on February 19, 2010: Way of the Cross at 5:25 pm, Youth MASS with Bishop Camillo and Priests at 6:00 pm and the first youth gathering program will follow in the St. Padre Pio Hall. All will he handled by the youth. The Youth Mass and gathering will be every week.
Registration for ages from 16 years and above is still going on. Volunteers are most welcome to help these youth activities.
Together being a Good News!
Father Ben
Marriage Preparation Project Presented to Pope Pontiff Affirms Importance of Task
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 9, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The president of the Pontifical Council for the Family presented to Benedict XVI a project for developing a new handbook for marriage preparation. Cardinal Ennio Antonelli made the presentation of the plan for this “vade mecum” in a meeting with the Pope on Monday, the first day of the council’s three-day plenary assembly. He thanked the Pontiff “for this meeting, from which we will surely receive energy, joy and inspiration for our work in favor of the family and of the Church in the world.” L’Osservatore Romano noted that Benedict XVI has often given “special attention to problems of the family,” with his “frequent and incisive references to it,” often recurring in “his illuminating interventions.” In the Holy Father’s address to the assembly participants, he underlined the need for a period of catechesis and activities for couples preparing for marriage, so that this sacrament will be perceived as “as a gift for the whole Church, a gift that contributes to its spiritual growth.” He continued, “Moreover, it is good that the bishops promote the exchange of the most significant experiences, that they offer stimuli for a serious pastoral commitment in this important sector, and show particular attention so that the vocation of the spouses becomes a richness for the whole Christian community and, especially in the present context, a missionary and prophetic testimony.” The Pontiff called this project of the elaboration of a vademecum for marriage preparation an “important task.” World Meeting for Families Cardinal Antonelli also addressed the Pope, giving a presentation on the activities carried out by his dicastery after the 6th World Meeting of Families, held in Mexico City in January of 2009. He noted that “the principal conclusions of Mexico City were in line with the instruction ‘Disciples and Missionaries’ of Aparecida, which highlighted the fact that the Christian family is called to be today, with particular urgency, a subject of evangelization in the ecclesial aspect and a subject of socialization in the civil aspect.” Consequently, a pastoral program is needed “for and with families and a policy for and with families,” the cardinal added. The Holy Father acknowledged various initiatives being carried forward by the council is planning two specific projects that correspond to these perspectives, to “raise awareness of the fundamental value of the family for the life of the Church and of society.” “Among these,” he said, “are the project ‘The Family, Subject of Evangelization,’ which intends to collect, at the world level, valid experiences in the various areas of family pastoral care, so that they will serve as inspiration and encouragement for new initiatives; and the project ‘The Family, Resource for Society,’ which intends to make evident to public opinion the benefits that the family brings to society, to its cohesion and its development.” The council is also working to organize the 7th World Meeting for Families, scheduled to take place in 2012 in Milan, Italy.
Youthful Priests of Kuwait G.A.B.
Gaspar
Angelos
Ben