Let Us Return to the Sacraments

 

Let me preface this post by admitting that although I was raised in the Catholic faith and attended Catholic school from grades K -8, I knew very little about the benefits of receiving the sacraments until I began studying about them at the graduate level at the age of 52. Therefore, I would be extremely overjoyed if this post sheds some light for those much younger on just how fortunate we are as Catholics to have the sacraments at our disposal.

We are privileged because Jesus instituted the sacraments for us during his earthly ministry intending them to be conduits of sanctifying grace. Sanctifying grace is what helps us to be holy. It is that marvelous, supernatural sharing-in-God’s-own-life.

It is disturbing to see friends and family members who have wandered from the practice of their Catholic Faith, who no longer baptize their children, reconcile their relationships with God by seeking His mercy, forgiveness, and peace through the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession,  or get married in the Church and receive the grace conferred through the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, which when cooperated with helps married couples live in accordance with God’s will.

Similar to my own past experience, I believe many Catholics, including fallen away Catholics, no longer practice their Faith, including attendance and participation at Mass and the reception of the sacraments, because they no little about the richness of these awesome gifts given to us by Christ. Perhaps they were never properly taught about the Faith during the formative years, or later in life never bothered to invest the time and effort to learn more about our Catholic Faith. 

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the grace conferred through the reception of the sacraments have not come to us without an enormous price. These gifts were earned by the merits of our Savior, Jesus Christ, through his life, passion, death, and resurrection, which is the reason why they must never be taken for granted. Think about the period during which we could not attend Mass during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is important  also to remember that we must be properly disposed to receive the sacraments and willing to cooperate with the grace conferred. Taking time to learn about the sacraments and the ways in which we can cooperate with the grace they confer is a great way to start.

Believe me, we have God’s riches at our disposal within the Sacraments of the Catholic Church. In these turbulent times, the sacraments are gifts we should receive and cherish often.

Learn a little more about the sacraments by following the two links below:

USCCB / Sacraments

EWTN / The Seven Sacraments

Are We Fit to Receive the Spirit? Do We Cooperate with His Gifts and Grace?

We exist because God willed us into existence. We have life because of Him, and the awesome gift of His grace is free, but it is our responsibility to cooperate with that grace.Someone can fill your car up with gas, but if the engine is not working properly and you don't start the car and drive to your destination, what good is the fuel?

I often think of the many times I have not cooperated with God's grace, and in particular, how I allowed the grace received in the sacrament of Confirmation to lay dormant for years before cooperating with it. Unfortunately this happens with so many who receive the sacrament of Confirmation.

St. Basil the Great says the following in his work, On the Holy Spirit. "All that live virtually desire him, as they are watered by his inspiration and assisted toward their proper and natural end. . . He is the source of holiness, an intellectual light for every rational power's discovery of truth, supplying clarity, so to say through himself. . . He fills all things with power, but only those who are worthy participate in him. He is not participated in all at once but shares his energy in "proportion to faith" (Rom12:6). . . He is present as a whole to each and wholly present everywhere. . . He is like a sunbeam whose grace is present to the one who enjoys him as if he were present to such a one alone, and still he illuminates land and sea and is mixed with the air. . . Just so, indeed, the Spirit is present to each one who is fit to receive him, as if he were present to him alone, and still he sends out grace that is complete and sufficient for all. The things that participate in him enjoy him to the extent that their nature allows, not to the extent that his power allows."

Why Infant Baptism?

Catholic Church doctrine concerning infant baptism often comes under attack from those who believe that a person should be of the age of reason and make a well informed choice to be baptized. In the following article from his weekly article found in The Quiet Corner section of The Rhode Island Catholic, Father John Kiley brilliantly sheds much light on the most important reason for infant baptism. Father John Kiley writes the following:

National Public Radio featured a discussion of religion among millennials, young adults born just before the turn of this century. One speaker decided to wait before introducing her own children to any specific religious tradition, allowing them to be exposed to diverse spiritual experiences and then arriving at their own religious conclusions as they approached adulthood. The Catholic practice of infant baptism seemed presumptuous to the speaker, coopting a believer’s opportunity to make an informed and mature choice regarding one’s eternal destiny. Millennials are certainly not alone in this thinking.

Some dedicated American Baptists have long postponed baptism into a believer’s grown-up years in the hope that a mature, adult decision will be spiritually more fruitful than a ceremony conducted long before a believer has even reached the age of reason.

William John Hammann was recently welcomed into this world by his parents Joshua and Shannon and brought to St. Francis Xavier Church in Brooklyn, New York, for baptism. Ritually welcoming the child into the Christian community was my honor as the infant’s second cousin twice removed. Friends and family gathered from Brooklyn, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, Indiana, Connecticut and Rhode Island, including the baby’s great-grandfather. Young Will was happily sedate during the celebration, especially enraptured by the flame of the baptismal candle. Admittedly, the new born had no notion of what was taking place amid the marble and stained-glass of this splendid parish church. Whether his grandfather retired NBA coach Jim O’Brien presented him with a basketball or his grandmother my cousin Gail offered him a new winter outfit from L.L. Bean to mark this occasion would not have registered at all with baby Will. Confirming the radio remarks of the millennial, William John Hammann was clueless that he was being cleansed of original sin, becoming a son of God, a temple of the Holy Spirit, a Christian, and a member of the universal Church.

But young Will’s ignorance is precisely the glory of Catholic infant baptism. A small community had gathered in that Brooklyn baptistery not to celebrate William John Hammann’s love of God but rather to celebrate God’s love of William John Hammann. From all eternity God’s Providence determined that William John Hammann would enter into this world and be welcomed by a believing family. When God created Adam and Eve he knew that eventually history would evolve into this happy ritual in Brooklyn. When God announced himself to the early Jewish community he knew that eventually William John would benefit from this ancient revelation. When Jesus Christ became man and established his Church, God knew that Christ’s spiritual legacy was destined for William John Hammann. From eternity and through the centuries, God’s love worked its way into the life of William John. And through the pouring of the Church’s baptismal waters, this love of God was made actual and tangible and perceptible to the Church community gathered one Sunday afternoon on Sixth Avenue in Brooklyn. Baptism is first and foremost a celebration of God’s love for the young believer. God must always be primary. Now the Christian community, both Church and family, must bring the young believer’s love for God to fruition.

An older generation knew that children learned their religion at their mother’s knee. Nowadays that saying might be politically corrected by observing that children learn their religion at their mother and father’s knees. And not only mother and father, but a child’s whole environment – family, friends, neighbors, parish, school, even toys and entertainment – must speak of the love of God to the child. When prayers are part of the home, when Mass is part of the week, when Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter, are family observances, when Bible stories are told and saints are invoked, when parish life is part of family life, when the poor are assisted and justice is a concern, when evil is repented and temptations are resisted, then the love of God celebrated sacramentally at Baptism and First Communion and Confirmation is nurtured practically in everyday life. Parents, family, friends, parish and the universal Church can give the new baptized a daily experience of the inexpressible love that God has for his chosen soul. Through an active Christian lifestyle, God will transform the clueless infant into an alert believer.The above article can be found at http://www.thericatholic.com/detail.html?sub_id=6210

Prayer After Receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist

Lord Jesus, thank you for giving Yourself to me under the appearance of this bread and this wine; thank you for making Your Whole Self available to me, just one of the over 7 billion human beings whom You have brought into existence, temporarily residing on this small planet within the vast universe You created! How awesome, loving, and merciful You are to give Your entire Self to me; Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, a Gift that will nourish me and provide me with the grace to be able to one day see Your precious face, and experience the joy of being in Your presence for eternity! This is life’s greatest Gift - You in the Eucharist! There is no more valuable Gift we will ever be privileged to receive on this journey back to You! Lord, as I receive You in this Eucharist, I ask, that in Your unending mercy, You extend the grace I receive today to all those, whom for whatever reason, will not, or cannot partake in this precious Gift today! Please help me to go beyond mere words in expressing my thanks to You! Let me draw upon the grace you provide to act in a way that expresses my love and appreciation. Make my heart like yours, and help me to become worthy to be used as an instrument through which You draw others to Your Way, Truth, and Life! Thank You, Lord, for giving Yourself to me!  



 



Solomon Asked for Wisdom - So Should We!

In his homily this past Sunday, our pastor, Father Wilson, illustrated how we can all experience the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth through the practice of our Faith. But he went on to say that it requires more than just routine attendance at Mass and simply going through the motions of receiving Holy Communion. Father Wilson warned that those of us who simply go through the motions each week at Mass should not be surprised when our lives are unaffected by this so called practice of our Faith.

In the gospel reading this past Sunday (July 24th), Jesus explains that “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.” The point Jesus makes in this parable is that the things found, i.e., the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price, were being earnestly searched for with great effort. Picture one man digging up a field in search of a treasure, the other toiling and searching through oysters for that one great pearl. And so in the practice of our Faith we must put forth effort to seek the treasure of the Kingdom of Heaven, the Truth, who is Jesus. Do we earnestly seek the Truth? How much effort do we expend seeking and understand His Truth? Do we pray for more faith? Jesus is the Truth! He is the “way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6)! If we don’t participate in Mass and truly believe that Jesus is really present under the appearance of bread and wine in the Eucharist, we gain NOTHING from it (John 6:48-58)! NOTHING! This is the reason so many Catholics have left the Church. It is also the reason why Mass attendance has declined. It is the reason many Catholics will say, ‘I get nothing out of it!’ Multitudes should be crashing the doors to go to Mass if there was a true belief in Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist!

I strayed from the practice of my Catholic Faith for a lengthy period of time in my life. So for years I missed out on so much grace! Without verbalizing it, I too was among those Catholics who doubted Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist. This had to be the case; otherwise I would have put Jesus first in my life and greatly anticipated each and every reception of his very body, blood, soul, and divinity in Holy Communion! We Catholics should long to go to Mass and be healed and nourished through the grace of the sacraments. For me it was a lack of knowing the truth. It was my neglect in seeking the truth. I think that is the case for most Catholics.

As Father Wilson said in his homily, and continues to incorporate into many of his homilies, ‘there is no greater gift we can receive on earth; there is nothing more important in our lives than strengthening our relationship with Christ in the Eucharist and receiving his grace through the sacraments; these are the ways to true and lasting joy!’

My prayer is that Catholics with a lack of knowledge or doubts about their Faith will pray for understanding; will seek the truth through the Magisterial teachings of the Church; and worthily receive Jesus in the Eucharist after returning Home through the healing portal of the sacrament of Reconciliation!

Divine Treasure!

The earth is a mere pinpoint in this immense universe, the ends of which remain unknown to man! It never ceases to amaze me that its Creator longs for a close relationship with its human inhabitants, so much so that He humbles Himself and makes Himself available veiled under the appearance of bread and wine to those who will receive Him! Always be mindful of Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist! Thank you Lord for the wonderful gift of your Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, the Nourishment that sustains us on this journey!

Power of the Eucharist

To be the men and women God intended us to be in our roles as priests, religious, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, husbands, wives and friends; children of God made in His image; to love with the love of Christ; to offer ourselves as holy and living sacrifices; to have faith and hope, and to increase in every other virtue; is possible only through the grace that comes through frequent reception of the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.

It is impossible to fulfill our purpose in this life without the Eucharist! Amen!

Go to confession and attend Mass often, daily if possible! It will change your life!

Our Best Defense!

We proceed on this journey stalked constantly by a vicious and cruel enemy, an enemy who hates us simply because we are created and loved by God! This enemy is cunning, calculating, and constantly scheming to launch attacks against us, which if successful, can result not only in the death of our body, but the eternal death of our soul! The enemy is Satan and his minions.

The good news is that God has provided the ammunition necessary to defend ourselves against these attacks! Without it we are as weak and defenseless as newborn babes! That ammunition is God’s grace!

Now most Christians, including myself will agree that one way to receive God’s grace is by earnestly asking for it in prayer! Now God is capable of all things and no man should presume to understand the mind of God, so we can probably all agree that God can bestow His grace upon anyone He wishes in any manner He deems fit!

From a Catholic perspective, the ammunition or grace of which I speak is the grace which is made available to us in the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ as He gives Himself to us in the Eucharist! However, to receive the fullness of the grace made available to us in the Blessed Sacrament, we must be properly prepared and disposed to do so!

What do we mean by properly disposed and prepared to receive our Lord?

First, we must firmly believe without a doubt in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist! We must then very humbly and thankfully acknowledge the greatness of the One whom we are about to receive into our bodies and souls!

Reflect if you will on this fact: the God who gives Himself to us in the Eucharist is the same God who created the incomprehensible vastness, complexity, and beauty of the entire universe, from the immeasurable magnitude of the cosmos to the awesome design and workings of the sub-atomic world! He is also the One who keeps it all in perfect balance in the palm of His Mighty Hand! This is the God for whom we must be properly prepared to receive, truly present in the communion wafer that is placed on our tongue or in the palm of our hand at Mass!

Our preparation to receive our Lord in the Eucharist begins in the sacrament of Reconciliation. This is how we make clean and presentable the house into which we are inviting our Lord! The grace that is conferred upon us in the sacrament of Reconciliation requires true contrition for our sins! True contrition is demonstrated by a firm resolve to avoid future sin! Although we are absolved of our sins in the sacrament of Reconciliation, our tendency toward sin remains. So, once again, we need God’s grace to continue to fight off future temptation when the enemy has us in his sights!

The next step in receiving our Lord in the Eucharist is to truly desire to receive Him, and welcome Him warmly into our hearts and surrender ourselves totally to Him. In this way we become the instruments through which others will come to know Him! We are reminded of this when we hear the priest speak these words at Mass, “The Mass is ended, now go in peace to love and serve the Lord!”

Receiving Christ in the Eucharist gives us tremendous power against the temptations of sin and is the Source and Summit of our Faith!

Reflections on the Eucharist

Lord, I am eager to participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as often as I am able! It is there that you give me yourself in the Eucharist! And when I am properly prepared and disposed to receive you, the grace that you offer is astounding!

It is equally awesome to think, that the Creator of the vast universe in which we live, the designer of the complexities of it all, and the one who keeps it all in perfect balance, even as we fail to take proper care of what you have given us, humbles himself to become truly present in the form of bread and wine in order that I may be nourished for my journey back to you, Lord! How can I thank you, Lord, other than to say, “I am yours, I want to do your will, use me for the purpose for which you created me!” Amen!

Battle Over the Doctrine of Salvation

The Battle continues to wage over doctrine concerning salvation. Well meaning non-Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ vehemently argue that we Catholics are wrong to believe that works are an important aspect of salvation. In doing so they usually site a passage from St. Paul’s letter to the Church in Ephesus in which he says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NAB).

These admonishments seem to imply that we Catholics believe that our salvation is determined solely by our works, and are therefore ignorant concerning the true Source of our salvation, and thus are not truly saved. Nothing could be further from the truth. If our brothers and sisters in Christ would just take the time to study carefully and prayerfully the teachings of the Catholic Church, they would soon learn of their gross misunderstanding, and perhaps even consider entering into the fullness of the Church! For it is there that Christ, the God of the universe and all its splendor and awesome wonder, humbles Himself out of love for each one of us, and makes Himself present in the sacrament of the Eucharist, giving Himself to us in a form we can understand and experience with all of our senses. What an awesome God to offer nourishment for our bodies and souls daily as we make our journey back to Him! Thank You Lord!!!

I can assure you that nowhere in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, or in any other Magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church will one find anything that remotely implies that we Catholics are to believe that we are saved solely by our works, or that our salvation is contingent solely upon how good we tried to be in this lifetime! Catholics believe that we are saved by the grace which God makes available to us through our Lord Jesus Christ, which was gained for us through His passion, death and resurrection. It is a free gift to those who will accept it by faith!

We are free to accept or reject this gift, but if we make the freewill choice to accept it, we must continuously ask for God’s grace in order to meet the demands of daily Christian existence! As fallen creatures, this takes WORK! Jesus tells us in Luke 9:23-24, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily 11 and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” This means we must begin to deny ourselves in order to love and serve others, and we must live our lives in a manner that is indicative of our gratitude for God’s saving grace!

The words, ‘I am saved by grace alone’ seem to imply that once the free gift of salvation is accepted we need do nothing more then wait for God to carry us off to Heaven! Consider the following. The words, ‘I love you’ are meaningless without action, or, if you will, WORKS! Can we tell our wives, husbands, children, or anyone else for that matter that we love them and never give of ourselves to show it! Can one truly and sincerely accept God’s saving grace by merely speaking the words? I think we can all agree that the answer is no!

St. James talks about the necessity of both faith and works when he says the following, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well," but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Indeed someone might say, "You have faith and I have works." Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called "the friend of God." See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (James 2:14-26 NAB)

PLEASE, I appreciate the zeal expressed by my non-Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ, and the concern that they should have for my salvation, but I ask humbly and charitably to PLEASE look up and prayerfully read for yourself all that the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about SALVATION. Remember also that there is ONE TEACHING AUTHORITY for the Catholic Church, the Magisterium, which has been around for 2000 years, and will continue to exist until Christ returns.

Jesus Himself said, “And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, 13 and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.” (Matt 16:18 NAB) THE Church will remain despite the attacks of Satan, all human frailty and weakness, and all persecution, until Jesus returns! Jesus said it, so you can BELIEVE it!

It is with charity and not pride that I ask that you to accept the Magisterial teachings of the Catholic Church as truth, for the sin of pride leads to death rather than life, and our Lord Jesus Christ is the Way, Truth, and the Life. There is no better way to intimately know and receive Jesus than in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which He, Himself instituted at the Last Supper as a way to remain with us until His return!

Approximately 1500 years after Christ founded His Church, a Catholic priest by the name of Martin Luther, publicly protested (the word from which the word Protestant is derived) against several practices of the Catholic Church. Satan saw this as a golden opportunity and an open door to conduct a clever attack, which for a relatively short period of time (500 years) has resulted in an extremely rapid increase in dissension and division among Christians, to the extent that there are now literally tens of thousands of Christian churches and denominations that continue to divide over doctrinal issues.

Contained in the Liturgy of the Catholic Mass, as part of the Eucharistic Prayer II are the very beautiful words, “Lord, remember your Church throughout the world; make us grow in love, together with Benedict XVI, our Pope . . .” Let us all ask the Holy Spirit for the wisdom to recognize the truth, and to protect us from all deception that hinders us from experiencing the closest relationship we can possibly have with our Savior, which is in the Eucharist!

Sacraments, Grace, Nourishment

The sacraments were given to us by Christ. They are the means by which we receive the sanctifying grace that Jesus earned for us through his passion, death, and resurrection. Jesus, being God, knew that the sacraments would be the perfect and most fitting way for us to receive the grace he earned for us, since as creatures with bodies, we experience the sacraments with all of our bodily senses, sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. We hear the words used in the administration of the sacraments (“I baptize you in the name of the Father . . .” “The Body of Christ . . .” “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”), we feel, taste, and smell the bread, wine, water, oil and other matter used in the sacraments. God knows that we are best led to things spiritual through things that we can experience with our bodies. This makes perfect sense since it is also through our bodily senses that we are tempted and led to sin.

We must always remember that we consist of a body AND a soul. Just as the physical body is born, strengthened, nourished, healed in affliction, helped at the hour of death, guided by authority, and given a place in which to dwell, the soul is brought into spiritual life by Baptism; it is strengthened by Confirmation; nourished by the Holy Eucharist; healed by Penance; helped at the hour of our death by Anointing of the Sick; guided by God's ministers through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, and it is given a body in which to dwell by the Sacrament of Matrimony.

Every sacrament is important! As Catholics we are extremely fortunate to have the sacraments at our disposal. Our faith is centered on the sacraments, especially the Eucharist in which Jesus is present and makes himself available to us daily at Mass. Jesus Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist is our greatest source of nourishment and strength for our journey through life, the goal of which is to return to our Father in Heaven and experience the Beatific Vision (to behold God face to face)

As parents we love our children, we want only the very best for them, and so we provide everything humanly possible for them out of love and concern for their welfare. We desire for them to have the best life possible!


Well think about this! God is the PERFECT PARENT and we are all His children. If we, as imperfect parents, want the best for our children, how much more do you think God, the PERFECT PARENT, wants for all of us? He knows what is best for us and He wants the best for us which is exactly why He wants us to do His will (to live and behave in certain ways)!

It is similar to us wanting our children to do certain things and behave in certain ways because we know that it is in their best interest. Just as our children’s lives will be made better by following our direction and listening to our advice, our lives will improve beyond measure by following the direction of our Heavenly Father. God directs us and makes His will known to us through Jesus Christ! The teachings and truths of our faith have been passed on to us beginning with the Apostles and remain with us today in the one teaching authority of the Church referred to as the Magisterium.

In Matthew 7:24-27, at the conclusion of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says these words, 24 "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. 26 And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined."

Let us build foundations on the Rock and sustain and support those foundations with the grace Jesus provides through the sacraments!

Why the Sacrament of Reconciliation After Baptism?

We are regenerated, or, “born again” in the sacrament of Baptism. We are washed clean of all sin! However, this new life we receive does not abolish the frailty and weakness of human nature, nor the inclination to sin that tradition calls concupiscence.

Following our baptism, we proceed through life constantly engaged in a spiritual struggle toward holiness and eternal life to which our Lord never ceases to call us. We NEED the effects of the sacrament of Reconciliation to assist us in this life-long battle.

Please prayerfully consider going to Confession no matter how long it has been since the last time you have gone! Experience Christ’s healing power, as well as His warm, loving, and forgiving embrace, as you listen to the words of absolution spoken by Christ Himself through the ministerial role of His priest.

Faith Formation – Thank You, Felician Sisters!

I consider myself fortunate to have been educated by the Felician Sisters in grades K-8. I will remain forever grateful to those dedicated servants of God.

My prayer is that every parent be afforded the opportunity to send their children to Catholic schools.

The faith foundation the Felician Sisters helped establish in me has stood the test of time. There have been times when I have neglected the practice of my Catholic faith and placed God on hold as I raced through life. But I’m here to tell you that God never let me go, as He patiently waits for every one of us! His hand was always upon me and I will forever remain amazed and awestruck at His mercy and love!

God’s grace, mercy, love, and patience have ignited in me a burning desire to do for others what those wonderful Felician Sisters did for me, which is to share the teachings of our Catholic faith and encourage believers to proclaim those truths to others with the love and gentleness of Christ!

The Beauty of the Sacraments!

Part of the beauty of the sacraments is the manner in which they confer God’s grace upon us.

In his divine wisdom, Jesus knew that as corporeal beings we would best be led to things of a spiritual nature through our five senses.

St. Thomas Aquinas refers to the matter (water, oil, etc.) and form (words) of each sacrament as proper and fitting for the purpose intended.

He also informs us of the role sacraments play in our salvation to which he says the following:

I answer that, Sacraments are necessary unto man's salvation for three reasons. The first is taken from the condition of human nature which is such that it has to be led by things corporeal and sensible to things spiritual and intelligible. Now it belongs to Divine providence to provide for each one according as its condition requires. Divine wisdom, therefore, fittingly provides man with means of salvation, in the shape of corporeal and sensible signs that are called sacraments.

The second reason is taken from the state of man who in sinning subjected himself by his affections to corporeal things. Now the healing remedy should be given to a man so as to reach the part affected by disease. Consequently it was fitting that God should provide man with a spiritual medicine by means of certain corporeal signs; for if man were offered spiritual things without a veil, his mind being taken up with the material world would be unable to apply itself to them.

The third reason is taken from the fact that man is prone to direct his activity chiefly towards material things. Lest, therefore, it should be too hard for man to be drawn away entirely from bodily actions, bodily exercise was offered to him in the sacraments, by which he might be trained to avoid superstitious practices, consisting in the worship of demons, and all manner of harmful action, consisting in sinful deeds.

It follows, therefore, that through the institution of the sacraments man, consistently with his nature, is instructed through sensible things; he is humbled, through confessing that he is subject to corporeal things, seeing that he receives assistance through them: and he is even preserved from bodily hurt, by the healthy exercise of the sacraments.

Taken from St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica: TREATISE ON THE SACRAMENTS Part III, Q. 61, A. 1, Whether Sacraments are Necessary for Man's Salvation?

When We Become Angry at God

When tragedy strikes, when things don’t go the way we planned; when children suffer, when we lose those close to us, especially parents who endure the death of a child, through all the atrocities mankind inflicts upon one another, the one question that always arises is – God, why do you allow this to happen?

Most people upon asking this question will quickly and mistakenly answer it the following ways: God does not exist; If He exists, He does not care, otherwise He would put an end to human suffering or prevented it.

Answered in this way, most people become angry at God and fall away from the faith. As followers of Christ, it is our duty gently lead these hurt souls back to the healing power of God’s grace. For their anger toward God is born only out of a lack of understanding and not true contempt toward God. No human can understand the ways of God.

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the Lord.'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways,And My thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

We need only look to the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Mary, full of grace, chosen by God to bear and give birth to our Savior, was not spared from the anguish of having to watch her son be tortured, brutalized, and put to an agonizing death on the cross.

It is easier said than done, but as we endure the storms of life, rather than becoming upset with God, we must follow our Blessed Mother’s example and never lose faith even in the midst of the most painful experiences. God’s grace will suffice to lead us safely through the storm!

And remember, God does not bring evil upon us, sin or disobedience is the cause of all evil; God delivers us from it!

The following youtube video clip from Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, gives the audience a sense of the anguish our Blessed Mother must have endured as she watched her son suffer on his way to the cross.

Get Healed In The Sacrament of Reconciliation

Reconciliation, also referred to as Confession or Penance is a healing sacrament. Just as we must seek medical attention for physical illness, the grace conferred through the sacrament of Confession heals the soul and places it in the state of grace in preparation to receive our Lord in the Eucharist!

Note that proper disposition in the reception of the sacraments are essential elements in receiving the grace that they confer! For example, in the sacrament of Confession, one must approach with faith, humility, sincere contrition, and gratitude for the forgiveness received!

Below is a brief but accurate definition of this sacrament, including the effects that it has on its recipients. It certainly addresses some misconceptions about what some non-Catholics have heard or believe about the sacrament, not to mention many Catholics whom have not aken the time to learn enough about their faith to adequately defend it.

I found this definition on the following website belonging to St. Bartholomew Parish, located in Long Beach, CA. http://www.sblb.org/

The Sacrament of Reconciliation

Penance is a sacrament of the New Law instituted by Christ in which forgiveness of sins committed after baptism is granted through the priest's absolution to those who with true sorrow confess their sins and promise to satisfy for the same. It is called a "sacrament" not simply a function or ceremony, because it is an outward sign instituted by Christ to impart grace to the soul. By way of further explanation it is needful to correct certain erroneous views regarding this sacrament which not only misrepresent the actual practice of the Church but also lead to a false interpretation of theological statement and historical evidence.

From this it should be clear:

• that penance is not a mere human invention devised by the Church to secure power over consciences or to relieve the emotional strain of troubled souls; it is the ordinary means appointed by Christ for the remission of sin.

• No Catholic believes that a priest simply as an individual man, however pious or learned, has power to forgive sins. This power belongs to God alone; but He can and does exercise it through the ministration of men.

• It is not true that for the Catholic the mere "telling of one's sins" suffices to obtain their forgiveness. Without sincere sorrow and purpose of amendment, confession avails nothing, the pronouncement of absolution is of no effect, and the guilt of the sinner is greater than before.

• While this sacrament as a dispensation of Divine mercy facilitates the pardoning of sin, it by no means renders sin less hateful or its consequences less dreadful to the Christian mind; much less does it imply permission to commit sin in the future.

Body and Soul

We are all made up of a body and a soul.

Most of us wouldn’t think of going without a meal, let alone going without nourishment for an extended period of time. The reason is obvious – illness and death! Or, when we become ill, would we intentionally deprive ourselves of the aid of a physician or medication?

Why then do many of us deprive our souls of nourishment and healing? As Catholic Christians, that source of nourishment and healing is provided to us by Christ through the sacraments.

It is Christ that restores our soul to life in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and it is He who nourishes us with His very Body and Blood in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Each time we participate in the Mass, we transcend time and are present at Christ’s crucifixion, death and resurrection. Each time, we receive the healing and nourishment that sustains us on our journey to our true home – heaven!

Please don’t neglect your soul! Come home today for the healing and nourishment Christ wants to give to you!

Why are the Sacraments Important?

There is power in the sacraments!

The power of the sacraments comes from Christ himself!

Each sacrament was instituted by Christ himself for the purpose of conferring upon those who choose to participate in the sacraments with the proper disposition, the grace he earned through his passion, death and resurrection.

As Catholics we enjoy the privilege of being in communion with Jesus and his Church each and every when we take the opportunity to receive Him in the Eucharist at daily Mass!

The beauty of the sacraments is the manner in which they confer God’s grace upon us. In his divine wisdom, Jesus knew that as corporeal beings we would best be led to things of a spiritual nature through our bodily senses. St. Thomas Aquinas refers to the matter and form, used in each sacrament as proper and fitting for the purpose intended. He also teaches us the following about the role sacraments play in our salvation:

I answer that, Sacraments are necessary unto man's salvation for three reasons. The first is taken from the condition of human nature which is such that it has to be led by things corporeal and sensible to things spiritual and intelligible. Now it belongs to Divine providence to provide for each one according as its condition requires. Divine wisdom, therefore, fittingly provides man with means of salvation, in the shape of corporeal and sensible signs that are called sacraments.

The second reason is taken from the state of man who in sinning subjected himself by his affections to corporeal things. Now the healing remedy should be given to a man so as to reach the part affected by disease. Consequently it was fitting that God should provide man with a spiritual medicine by means of certain corporeal signs; for if man were offered spiritual things without a veil, his mind being taken up with the material world would be unable to apply itself to them.

The third reason is taken from the fact that man is prone to direct his activity chiefly towards material things. Lest, therefore, it should be too hard for man to be drawn away entirely from bodily actions, bodily exercise was offered to him in the sacraments, by which he might be trained to avoid superstitious practices, consisting in the worship of demons, and all manner of harmful action, consisting in sinful deeds.

It follows, therefore, that through the institution of the sacraments man, consistently with his nature, is instructed through sensible things; he is humbled, through confessing that he is subject to corporeal things, seeing that he receives assistance through them: and he is even preserved from bodily hurt, by the healthy exercise of the sacraments. Summa Theologica: TREATISE ON THE SACRAMENTS (QQ[60]-90): Question. 61 - OF THE NECESSITY OF THE SACRAMENTS (FOUR ARTICLES)