St. John Vianney on the Eucharist

"Without the Holy Eucharist there would be no happiness in this world; life would be insupportable. When we receive Holy Communion, we receive our joy and our happiness. The good God, wishing to give Himself to us in the Sacrament of His Love, gave us a vast and great desire, which He alone can satisfy. In the presence of this beautiful Sacrament, we are like a person dying of thirst by the side of a river — he would only need to bend his head; like a person still remaining poor, close to a great treasure — he need only stretch out his hand. He who communicates loses himself in God like a drop of water in the ocean. They can no more be separated."

When is Religion Not Religion?

I was taken by the last paragraphs of Fr. Dwight Longenecker's recent blog post, When is Religion Not Religion?

... full blooded Catholic religion engages in an interaction with the other world. Through the celebration of Word and Sacrament we believe that the once for all sacrifice of Christ on the cross is brought into the present moment and applied to the needs of human souls for their eternal salvation. This essentially religious act is the ladder between earth and sky. It is the linkage point between heaven and earth. God comes down as he always does, and transforms the human soul. Through this miracle in the heart of ordinary life the soul is opened to something called 'grace' which is God's own power poured forth. This action of faith and love defeats the powers of darkness, brings Christ's forgiveness and healing into the here and now and plants the seeds of hope that will transform the soul, transform the family, transform the church and transform and redeem the world.

This is real religion. Everything else that is great and good springs from this, and nothing--not even that which is great and good can ever replace it.

Click to read the entire article

1st Sunday of Lent - Christ in the Desert

By Andy Chambers, St. Paul, Pensacola, Fla.     This week's Gospel from Luke has Jesus being moved to the desert by the Holy Spirit after His baptism in the Jordan. The Holy Spirit tends to move us in strange ways, and not always where we want to go. As we fast and pray this Lent, may we rid our bodies, minds and hearts of sinful ways, and may the Holy Spirit fill us, and transform us to be eager to share our Faith, Hope, and our Love of our God with our neighbors.

In Luke's writings this week, Jesus is tempted by Satan after 40 days of fasting and praying. He is at his physically weakest point, and Satan begins to tempt him by telling him to turn rocks into bread. Jesus answers by saying that man does not live on bread alone. We need the word of God to nourish us too.

Jesus is tempted twice more, and twice more Jesus quotes scripture to Satan, putting him back and denouncing him. Jesus does not fight Satan on his own will, he relies on the power of the Holy Spirit to strengthen him. We need to realize that we are weak too, but Satan won't just go away from us. We need to pray to God and ask him to send the Holy Spirit down to us, to fill us in our weakness, during our temptations, to give us strength and courage to fight Satan and avoid sin.

During this Lent, while we fast and feel our physical hunger, let's remind ourselves that Jesus is ready to feed us spiritually. Be ready to share your gift with your family, friends, and neighbors. I pray that the Holy Spirit gives you something you need, but may not be expecting, and I pray that you share it with that somebody special who needs to see God in their lives.

Dear God, please send us the Holy Spirit to help us fight our daily temptations, and to strengthen us to do the right thing. Help us Jesus to do as you, and see the daily opportunities given to us to touch the lives of all your children. Fill us with your love this Lenten season and remind us of your sacrifice for us as we await your resurrection this Easter. Amen.

Ash Wednesday

Lent is an excellent reminder of our need to "plead to the Lord... repent and cover [ourselves] with ashes..." (Cf. Jeremiah 6:26; Daniel 9:3; Jonah 3:6; Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13). It is during this season that we are called to remember, we are dust and that very soon we shall return to dust. (Genesis 3:19; James 4:14). So let us turn from our sin and be faithful to the Gospel. (Mark 1:15). We should confess with our mouths that Christ Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead. (Romans 10:9). Then we shall arise from the dead (the ashes) (Ephesians 5:14) and have the gift of God, that is eternal life in Christ Jesus! (Romans 6:15-23).

Thanks, Norwood Morris, for these scriptural remiminders.

Men of St. Joseph Lenten Challenge

We, the Men of St. Joseph, are challenging all male Catholics to give one hour per week during Lent to attend one of our morning meetings. We honestly can't think of a better way to start any day than to read God's word, and then help apply it to our family and place of work. Consider going to a MOSJ meeting during Lent to help make you a better man, husband, father, and the best spiritual leader for your family. We can all use a little push right?

We don't expect you to say anything, or even to read if you don't want to. This meeting are relaxed and non-confrontational. We only want to help you be the best you can be, by opening the word of God and hopefully taking it back to your families.

What we do is simple:
Each meeting we start with prayers from a prayer book. (If you have any special intentions for loved ones who need prayers, please bring it to the MOSJ meeting. The power of prayer is an incredible thing.) Then we study the up-coming Sunday Gospel. Then there is some discussion about what it all means to us in our practical everyday lives. We figure if you can’t apply what we learn in our MOSJ meetings to our every days lives then it all a big waste of time, and we don’t want to waste anyone’s time.

Join us this Lent - visit our web site to find a Men of St. Joseph near you: www.menofstjoseph.com

St. John Lateran in Rome

Before St. Peters of the 13th Century, the home church of the Pope was St. John Lateran in Rome. You can tour this magnificent church on your computer. You can spend as much or as little time as you want on it, keep it permanently if you wish, and explore it at leisure. Don't forget to turn up the volume and remember the close-up tool is your friend (lower left corner).  Also use your cursor to click and drag, and you can move to the ceiling or 360 degrees or take any perspective you wish to take. You can zero in on the smallest feature of a painting.
    
Whether you have visited it or not, you have never seen it this well.  This is amazing.

Enjoy!

http://www.vatican.va/various/basiliche/san_giovanni/vr_tour/index-en.html

Kudos to Bill Harkins

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

Thursday, February 11th, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Divine Jesus, you sent the Blessed Mother to Saint Bernadette to show the world that God is real. Just like Mary asked to the girl to dig for a spring of healing water to appear, show me how to be cleansed of my sinful tendencies. Give to me our dear Mother when I need her tender love and holy inspiration. As I go through difficulties, cover me with her prayers. When I have important decisions to make, ask her to intercede for me until I understand and follow the Holy Spirit's guidance. When it's time for me to die, send her to carry me peacefully into the arms of our heavenly Father. Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for me. Amen.