BIG C CATHOLICS

By Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America (Genesis 22:1-18; Romans 8:31-34; Mark 9:2-10) At the conclusion of the dramatic story of what transpired on a mountain in the land of Moriah, Isaac’s life is spared, a substitute is found for the holocaust, and Abraham, who was willing to offer up his beloved son at God’s command, is rewarded for his unstinting faith. In Old Testament and New Testament times, the place where it was believed Abraham went to sacrifice his son continued to be venerated. The Temple of Jerusalem was built there. In our second reading, St. Paul alludes indirectly to another small mount within easy walking distance of the Temple. The evangelists call it Golgotha. And on an unnamed mountain, somewhere in Galilee, Jesus appeared in his glory, along with Moses and Elijah. These various elements all find a resonance at yet another mountain, in the French alps, called La Salette. In remembrance of the Pa

January 5th the Church observes the memorial of the 19th century Redemptorist Bishop John Neumann, the fourth bishop of Philadelphia. His life was marked by incessant travel, service and compassion. John Nepomucene Neumann was born on March 28, 1811, in Bohemia [now the Czech Republic] to a poor but religious family. As a young seminarian, he longed to be a missionary priest in America. Traveling to the United States, Neumann looked for a bishop to ordain him. He mastered Italian, Spanish, English, French and Gaelic besides speaking his native German and Bohemian. Neumann's early priesthood was difficult and lonely, working with poor farming immigrants near Buffalo and Niagara Falls, New York. Eventually, he found companionship among the Redemptorists, a religious order that ministered to the German-American population. Neumann professed his priestly vows and five years later, owing to his remarkable leadership abilities and vast pastoral skills, became the Redemptorist Order’

Although Christmas is a joyous season celebrating the birth of the Infant Savior, it is nevertheless a holiday tinged with sadness. After all, it is the beginning of a journey, the sacred life of Christ, which must pass through Good Friday in order to reach the glory of Easter Sunday. For Christians, the Passion of Our Lord is foreshadowed by the Feast of the Holy Innocents, a somber commemoration that is solemnly observed a mere three days after the Incarnation, on December 28th. While the number of these holy innocents is unknown, some Biblical scholars speculate that there may have been as few as six, the reason for their death is what causes the Church to venerate them as martyrs. Matthew’s Gospel tells us that Herod, the king of Judea, was "greatly troubled" by the news, delivered to him by the Wise Men, that a different "king of the Jews" had been born. Insecure as he was on his throne, any threat to his power was cause for alarm. When the Magi did not re

Here we pray the Sorrowful Mysteries. Before each decade, we pray what concerns the particular mystery, and instead of ending the decades with Glory Be…, we pray: Lord, grant them eternal rest and let perpetual light shine upon them! Begin the Rosary normally, and then before the first decade is prayed, but after the 1st Sorrowful Mystery is stated, pray: Lord, Jesus Christ, through Thy bloody sweat of fear that Thou didst shed on the Mount of Olives, we ask Thee to have mercy on the Poor Souls in Purgatory. Deliver them from their fear and pain and console them with the cup of heavenly comfort! Before the second decade is prayed, but after the 2nd Sorrowful Mystery is stated, pray: Lord Jesus Christ, through Thy painful Scourging which Thou didst tolerate so patiently for us sinners, we ask Thee to have mercy on the Poor Souls in Purgatory. Retract from them the pain of Thy anger and give them eternal rest! Before the third decade is prayed, but after the 3rd Sorrowful Mys

Optional Memorial - October 20th Saint Paul of the Cross, (1694-1775) was the 18th century priest and mystic, best known for his special devotion to the Passion of Christ, who founded the Passionist Order. Born Paolo Francesco Danei, in the town of Ovada, Genoa, (present day Italy) he was the oldest of sixteen children, eleven of whom would die in infancy or early in age. His parents, Luke Danei and Ann Marie Massari, were devout, but poor. (Of noble lineage, his family were merchant traders.) From the very beginning it was clear that Paul possessed immense preternatural spiritually abilities. From his mother, he received an intense reverence for the sufferings of Jesus crucified. Whenever he whined or complained, she would show him a crucifix to remind him that our Savior had endured far worse. From his father, Paul received his first catechesis in learning about the lives of the saints and their courageous sacrifices and great devotion serving in imitation of Christ. At 15,

Perhaps the most distinguishing mark of Padre Pio’s holiness was bearing the stigmata, through which he shared in the suffering of Christ. Initially, our Savior’s sacred wounds, though felt by Fra. Pio, were not visible. On the morning of September 20, 1918, after celebrating Mass in the Church of Our Lady of Grace next to the friary, Padre Pio retired to the choir stalls in thanksgiving. Kneeling in loving adoration before the outspread, bloodied figure of Christ crucified, he experienced a peacefulness which invaded his whole being, a peacefulness, that he later described as "similar to a sweet sleep". What happened next is recorded in a letter Padre Pio wrote barely a month later to fellow friar Padre Benedetto: "It all happened in a flash. While all this was taking place, I saw before me a mysterious Person, similar to the one I had seen on August 5th, differing only because His hands, feet and side were dripping blood. The sight of Him frightened me: what I fel

Memorial - September 23rd Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, (1887-1968) better known as Padre Pio, was the 20th century Capuchin priest, stigmatic and mystic, who during his lifetime, was a spiritual father to innumerable souls. He is the only priest in the history of the Church to receive the stigmata — the divine marks of predilection — from our Lord’s Passion and Death. Thus, for much of his priesthood, Padre Pio suffered the spiritual, emotional and physical anguish of Christ’s holy wounds. In addition, he was given the miraculous gifts of bilocation, transverberation, (a divine piercing of the heart indicating union with God) the odor of sanctity, the ability to read souls, the ability to see and communicate with spiritual beings, (i.e. guardian angels, demons, the departed) and the capacity to write and comprehend languages foreign to him. Moreover, his brother Capuchins testified under oath that he levitated, healed by touch, and experienced divine ecstasies while praying, as w

By Father Thomas Mattison We have been conditioned by years (centuries?) of teaching to think of love/charity as a virtue, something to do or not. But St. John tells us God is love. He does not tell us that God does love. I want to suggest that this is the insight – although never spoken – that makes Israel think of God as Elector/Electing; having no other identity than the one who chooses his own people. I do not think that we go far wrong when we assert that the only God we know is the one who loves/chooses us. With those observations in mind, I might like to revise the translation of John’s phrase and say that God is Loving, not as an attribute, but as the very dynamic of His being. You may want to reread this paragraph in order to forge ahead. If God is Loving, then all of creation is something like a love letter. You and I are words in that love letter. I don’t mean to sound like a song from the Seventies, but we must bite the bullet on this one and admit it: Unloving un

Memorial - September 15th Devotion to the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady has its roots in Sacred Scripture and in Christian piety, which always associates the Blessed Mother with her suffering Son. Today's feast was introduced by the Servites in order to intensify devotion to Our Lady's Sorrows. In 1817, Pius VII — suffering grievously in exile but finally liberated by Mary's intercession — extended the feast to the universal Church. This feast is dedicated to the spiritual martyrdom of Mary, Mother of God, and her compassion with the sufferings of her Divine Son, Jesus. In her suffering as co-redeemer, she reminds us of the tremendous evil of sin and shows us the way of true repentance. As Mary stood at the foot of the Cross on which Jesus hung, the sword Simeon foretold pierced her soul. Here are the seven sorrows of Our Lady: 1. The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35) 2. The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15) 3. Loss of the Child Jesus for three days (Luke 2:41-

Msgr. Bernard Bourgeois Micah 5:1-4a or Romans 8:28-30; Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a Son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” (Mt 1:23) Recently I had occasion to speak to someone who has been away from the Catholic Church for several years. For a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that her children are in Catholic schools, she and her family have decided to return to the sacraments. In the course of our discussion, she mentioned that for a time she had worshipped with a local fundamentalist group who took every possible opportunity to bash the Catholic Church. This group was particularly concerned with the alleged Catholic worship of Mary. With the celebration of Mary’s birth falling on September 8, I decided to use this space to set the record straight on these matters. Mary holds a high place in the Christian world. She is the Immaculate Conception. She was chosen from all

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Always there is a connection between the first readings and the gospel accounts that the Church presents to us in the major celebrations of the Church’s liturgical year. Such is the case we find in today’s scripture passages and so I begin our reflections with the Old Testament prophet who was one of the Major Prophets found in the Hebrew Bible and who lived 600 years before Christ. When Jeremiah began his ministry the people of Israel had become so hardened by the numbing effects of their sinful ways that they no longer believed God, nor did they fear Him. Jeremiah preached for 40 years, and not once did he see any real success in changing or softening the hearts and minds of his stubborn, idolatrous people. The other prophets of Israel had witnessed some successes, at least for a little while, but not Jeremiah. He was speaking to a brick wall, to people who simply didn’t care about God or their rel

Feast Day - August 31st In the latest edition of the Roman Martyrology, the Church has coupled the feast of Saints Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, the two holy men who took the Body of Jesus down from the Cross, helped wrap it in linen cloth and placed it in the tomb. They were both Jews who came to follow Christ at personal great risk. Their devotion to Jesus at the culmination of our Lord's Passion testifies to the charismatic power and transformative nature of Christ’s message and mission. All that is reliably known about these two saints is found in the Gospel passages that mention them. Both were apparently men of authority and means in the first century Jewish community in Jerusalem, and both were respected members of the Sanhedrin there. Each had secretly become a disciple of Jesus, although until His salvific death neither of them spoke publicly about it “for fear of the Jews.” In the Gospel of John, for instance, Nicodemus does indeed approach Jesus in order

August 6, 2017 Our divine Redeemer, being in Galilee about a year before His sacred Passion, took with him St. Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, Sts. James and John, and led them to a retired mountain. Tradition assures us that this was Mount Thabor, which is exceedingly high and beautiful, and was anciently covered with green trees and shrubs, and was very fruitful. It rises something like a sugar-loaf, in a vast plain in the middle of Galilee. This was the place in which our Lord the Man-God appeared in all His heavenly glory. Whilst Jesus prayed, he suffered that glory which was always due to his sacred humility, and of which, for our sake, He deprived it, to diffuse a ray over His whole body. His face was altered and shone as the sun, and his garments became white as snow. Moses and Elias were seen by the three apostles in his company on this occasion, and were heard discoursing with him of the death which he was to suffer in Jerusalem. The three apostles were wonderful

On Sundays when homilies by Fr. Butler and Fr. Irvin are not available, we will feature homilies by Fr. Thomas Lane. Fr. Lane is a Professor of Sacred Scripture at Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD on the campus of Mt. St. Mary’s University. He previously ministered in Ireland. (Originally delivered in 2013). Fr. Thomas J. Lane S.T.D. Associate Professor of Sacred Scripture Mt. St. Mary's Seminary Emmitsburg, MD  Fr. Lane's website Jesus is the Promised Messiah Listen to Him even as He predicts His Passion What a grace for Peter and James and John to see Jesus transfigured. They got a preview of the glory of Jesus risen from the dead and his glory in heaven. It was also a preview of the glory we all hope to share in heaven. This was a very special grace for Peter and James and John. It was not the only special grace Jesus shared with Peter, James and John. Earlier in the Gospel (Mark and Luke) we read that Jesus only allowed Peter and Jam

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) We live in a strange world, don’t we? So many people begin things with good intentions, wonderful visions, and really want to make things better, both in their own lives and in the lives of others. Marx and Lenin, the fathers of communism, really wanted to make the lives of their countrymen better. We went to war in Vietnam with good intentions. Atomic energy was supposed to make the world a better place. But, as in so many great efforts, things are likely to eventually go wrong. The same is true in our own personal lives. People fall in love and get married with nothing but the best of intentions, with high hopes, with hearts filled with love, and with wonderful visions. Then, somewhere along the line, things turn sour. Life is mixture of good and evil. We are imperfect people living in an imperfect world. There’s much in our nation that is both good and bad. Our governmental offi

Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus June 23, 2017 By Msgr. Bernard Bourgeois In the ancient world, the heart was considered the center of the body. It was the seat of life, wisdom, conscience, thought, emotion and love. In reality, the ancients ascribed to the heart what today would be called the work of the brain. So, if this solemnity were to be renamed with today’s knowledge, it would the “Solemnity of The Most Sacred Brain of Jesus.” However, in the popular culture the heart is still considered the seat of emotion and love. People love with one’s “whole heart” and “give their hearts away” to others. Some speak of having “their hearts broken” at the end of a relationship. Although modern science has proven the brain as the central organ of the human body, the heart carries more weight in the world of emotion and love.  On this feast, the Church celebrates the heart, or core organ, of Jesus Christ. That heart is holy and sacred. It is that heart that suff

Christ instituted this sacrament [that is His Most Holy Body and Blood] as the perpetual memorial of his Passion..., the greatest of all his miracles; and he left this sacrament to those whom his absence filled with grief, as an incomparable consolation" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Office of Corpus Christi, 57, 4). Every time we celebrate the Eucharist in the Church, we recall the death of the Saviour, we proclaim his Resurrection as we await his return. Thus no sacrament is greater or more precious than that of the Eucharist; and when we receive Communion, we are incorporated into Christ. Our life is transformed and taken up by the Lord. — St. John Paul II from his letter to Bishop Albert Houssiau of Liege, Belgium, entitled "Eucharist: Sacrament to be Adored" ______________________________________________________ Almighty ever-living God, who have called us to participate in this most sacred Supper, in which your Only Begotten Son, when about to hand himself over

Fr. Roger J. Landry One of my favorite stories from the apparitions of Our Lady in Fatima a century ago this year is how Our Lady was compelled gently to correct the three shepherd children for “cheating” on how they were praying the Rosary. The eldest, at the time ten-year-old Lucy, described in her eventual Memoires what they were doing and why. “We had been told [by our parents] to say the Rosary after lunch, but as the whole day seemed too short for playing, we worked out a great way to get through it quickly. We simply passed the beads through our fingers, saying nothing but ‘Hail Mary, Hail Mary, Hail Mary….’ At the end of each mystery, we paused a second, then simply said, ‘Our Father,’ and so, in the twinkling of an eye, as they say, we had our Rosary finished! … So great was our eagerness to get to play! Our prayer finished, we started to play ‘pebbles’”! When our Lady appeared, she taught them how to slow down and to pray the whole Our Father, the whole Hail Mary

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) Last Sunday’s Gospel account was about the disciples who were huddled in the Upper Room behind locked doors out of fear, and Jesus’ appearance among them. Today’s Gospel account is about another appearance of Jesus, this time with other disciples who were dejectedly walking from Jerusalem to a nearby hamlet called Emmaus. St. Augustine along with others of the Fathers of the Church suggest that Jesus didn’t want the disciples to recognize Him right away, that He wanted them to recognize Him in “the breaking of the bread.” Moreover Jesus, they believed, wanted the disciples to see and understand what the Jewish prophets had foretold in Scripture about how the Messiah was to be recognized. Hence Jesus spent some significant time opening up the Scriptures so they might see them in a new light, His light, and then recognize Him. We can easily overlook the importance Jesus placed on S

Prayer to Our Crucified Lord Lord Jesus, I thank You, who laid down Your life for me so meekly. You bore the nails so patiently, You were raised upon the cross so mercilessly, You hung there so painfully, You wept so bitterly, You cried aloud piercingly, You shed Your blood plentifully, and for me, a sinner, You suffered death unquestionably. Now, Lord Jesus, I commend myself to Your love, to the power of Your passion, to the depths of Your endless mercy. Jesus Christ, in Your immeasurable pity, keep alive within me the memory of Your bitter death, of Your holy wounds, so that in sickness and in health, I may remember always Your abounding mercy. Amen. ___________________________________________________ Prayer in Homage to Christ's Passion and Death Jesus, my God, I adore You, present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar, where You wait day and night to be our comfort while we await Your unveiled presence in Heaven. Jesus Christ, who for my sake has deigned to s