BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) Back in Jesus’ time everyone knew about shepherds, their sheep, and how they interacted with each other. The dynamics between them were well known. Not so today. Few of us have watched shepherds tending their sheep. So to understand the full impact of the imagery that Jesus used we need to take a look at a few points. During nights back then shepherds kept their sheep in sheepfolds that were large circles of stones that both penned in the sheep while at the same time protecting them from predatory animals such as wolves. There was a narrow opening to let the sheep in and out. At night the shepherd would spread his bedroll across the base of the opening and would sleep there. Predatory animals could enter the sheepfold only by crossing over the body of the shepherd and so of course they would not. Additionally there were times when the sheep belonging to differing shepherds would get

We draw your attention to the icon on the right-side bar beneath the subscribe in a reader button. It contains a link to the Virtual Rosary website. The Virtual Rosary is downloadable software that enables you to say all twenty mysteries of the Holy Rosary as well as the complete Divine Mercy Chaplet (and its affiliated novena). Many of us have used it for years and find it a very helpful prayer aid. Other features allow you to say the rosary in a host of languages. Additionally, you may log on to the site and make prayer requests that are entered into a worldwide prayer cast so that others will see and pray for your intentions. We encourage you to download the program and let others know about it. Go here for more information and to download the Virtual Rosary . ___________________________________________________ Prayer Before the Rosary Blessed Virgin, Queen of the Holy Rosary, you have deigned to come to Fatima to reveal to the three shepherd children the treasures of g

Dear Saint Lazarus, friend of Christ Incarnate and patron of the poor and the sick. I request your intercession, with the aid of the Holy Spirit; May the Lord, Who prefigured His Resurrection through your own miraculous rising, always guide me in my earthly pilgrimage and protect me in sickness and in health. Together with Saint Martha and Saint Mary, you welcomed the Savior into your home. May I do the same by welcoming Jesus into my heart and serving Him faithfully in my brothers and sisters. Help me to imitate Christ more perfectly. Holy St. Lazarus give me the strength to overcome all temptation and difficulty. May your witness inspire me to have faith and hope in Jesus, especially amid great trial. Pray that I will display heroic virtue and persevere in love so as to merit to be received by God into the halls of heaven. I ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who lives and reigns with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever. Amen. Sain

Lord Jesus, as once you called the first disciples and made them fishers of men, continue to let resound today your sweet invitation: "Come, and follow me." Grant to men and women in our day the grace and trust to respond to your voice. Sustain our bishops, priests, and consecrated souls in their apostolic work. Give perseverance to our seminarians and to all those living a life of total consecration to your service. Enkindle in our communities missionary zeal. Send, Lord, workers into your fields to feed and guide your flock as Good Shepherds in imitation of You. Mary, mother of the Church and model of vocations, help us to say "YES" to the Lord who calls each one of us to play our part in His plan of salvation. Amen. — St. John Paul II

Great Saint Joseph, you were chosen by God to be the head of the Holy Family. Kindly look down upon us and bestow your fatherly protection upon our home. Model of the most lively faith, obtain for all the members of our family the grace to believe firmly what God has revealed and bear witness to our faith in all that we do. May we ever remain bound together for the salvation of souls, in order to fulfill our role in the great family of the Church and be reunited after this life in the happiness of heaven. Amen.  ____________________________________________________ Grant, we pray, almighty God, that by Saint Joseph's intercession your Church may constantly watch over the unfolding of the mysteries of human salvation, whose beginnings you entrusted to his faithful care. Saint Joseph, pray for us!

Prayer for the Protection of Holy Mother Church Grant unto thy Church, we beseech Thee, O merciful God, that She, being gathered together by the Holy Ghost, may be in no wise troubled by attack from her foes. O God, who by sin art offended and by penance pacified, mercifully regard the prayers of Thy people making supplication unto Thee, and turn away the scourges of Thine anger which we deserve for our sins. Almighty and Everlasting God, in whose Hand are the power and the government of every realm: look down upon and help the Christian people that the heathen nations who trust in the fierceness of their own might may be crushed by the power of thine Arm. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen. Prayer in Gratitude for the Witness of the Holy Martyrs O most valiant and blessed martyrs! O truly called and elected unto the glory of Our Lord Jesus Christ! Which glory he that magnif

The Second Sunday of Lent (A), March 12, 2017 By Msgr. Bernard Bourgeois Genesis 12:1-4a; Psalm 33; 2 Timothy 1:8b-10; Matthew 17:1-9 "He saved us and called us to a holy life." (2 Tim1:9)  The annual retreat of Lent is upon us once again. It is an intense period of prayer in which we unite our hearts, minds, and souls with Christ as He walks His final days on earth, remembering who we are and to what we’re called. Holiness is the key to Lent. A holy life is one that is united with Christ. Through works of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, the hallmarks of Lent, the disciple will focus her attention on the person of Jesus Christ, and His passion, death, and resurrection. In the journey toward holiness, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving will help the person understand the centrality of faith. One can become holier through fasting. It is an ancient practice in which the person usually sets aside some portion of food for a greater cause. However, one can fast

Here, for your consideration, is our annual compilation of ways to observe the season of Lent. Lent is a time of enormous grace and spiritual renewal. It is a period of solemnity, reflection and repentance in the weeks leading up to Holy Week and the commemoration of Christ’s Passion and Death. Our prayerful sacrifice is a reminder of the self-sacrifice Jesus made to save us from our sins. During Lent, we are called to pray, fast give alms and study the ways of God. 1.) Read Sacred Scripture. 2.) Read spiritual/religious literature for fifteen minutes. 3.) Spend ten minutes in silence. 4.) Pray the rosary. 5.) Pray the Stations of the Cross. 6.) Say the Divine Mercy Chaplet every Friday during Lent. 7.) Attend Mass daily or go once or twice during the week besides Sunday. 8.) Pray a novena celebrating a Lent related saint or event. 9.) Give up dessert. 10.). Go to Confession. 11.) Give up alcohol. 12.) Give up or cut down on coffee, tea or soda. 13.) Give up bread. 14.) Wake u

From its earliest days, the Church has urged the baptized and catechumens to observe the threefold discipline of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer as a preparation for the celebration of Easter. Failure to observe individual days of penance is not considered serious, but failure to observe penitential days (Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays of Lent) must be considered serious. The penitential season of Lent begins this year on Ash Wednesday, March 1st. The sixth Sunday of Lent, April 9th, marks the beginning of Holy Week and is known as Passion (or Palm) Sunday. Lenten Regulations are summarized as follows: Abstinence: Abstinence from meat is to be observed on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all the Fridays of Lent by all Catholics 14 years of age and older. It should be noted also that “the Fridays of the year outside of Lent remain days of penance, but each individual may substitute for the traditional abstinence from meat some other practice of voluntary self-denial

Attention Big C Catholics readers. We recently received from Pray More Novenas, the following announcement which we submit for your consideration.  *********************************** The Pray More Lenten Retreat is coming up (Lent starts in one week!), and we wanted to let you know more about it... The Pray More Lenten Retreat is an online retreat to help you spend more time in prayer this Lent to prepare to commemorate our Lord's Passion, His Death and Resurrection at Easter. If you sign up for the retreat, you will receive: + 20 Video & Audio Presentations with Transcripts, and + 20 Reflective Study Guides - one for each talk We know how busy you are :) That's why the retreat is self-paced; that means you can watch, listen or read the presentations whenever you have the time to do it. We hope the Pray More Lenten Retreat will help you intentionally work on your prayer life this Lent — wherever you are, and whenever you have the time. The talks a

As we look forward to the season of repentance and renewal that is Lent, may we live in full the words Saint Ephraim beautifully expressed in his Lenten prayer. O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, faintheartedness, lust of power, and idle talk. But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love to your servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own sin and not to judge my brother, for You are blessed from all ages to all ages. Amen. Pour into our hearts O Lord, we pray, the Holy Spirit, at whose prompting the Deacon Saint Ephrem exulted in singing of your mysteries and from whom he received the strength and fortitude to serve you and you alone. We ask this in trustful humility through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

One of the most dangerous errors is that civilization is automatically bound to increase and spread. The lesson of history is the opposite; civilization is a rarity, attained with difficulty and easily lost. The normal state of humanity is barbarism, just as the normal surface of the planet is salt water. Land looms large in our imagination and civilization in history books, only because sea and savagery are to us less interesting. — C. S. Lewis ____________________________________________________ Prayer to the Holy Spirit Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Your faithful And kindle in them the fire of Your love V: Send forth Your Spirit and they shall be created R: And You shall renew the face of the earth Let us Pray: O God, Who instructed the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, Grant us in the same Spirit to be truly wise and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen. The reference to fire reminds us of the Holy Sp

Prayer itself, born in Catholic families, nurtured by programs of Christian formation, strengthened by the grace of the sacraments, is the first means by which we come to know the Lord’s will for our lives. To the extent that we teach young people to pray, and to pray well, we will be cooperating with God’s call. Programs, plans and projects have their place; but the discernment of a vocation is above all the fruit of an intimate dialogue between the Lord and his disciples. Young people, if they know how to pray, can be trusted to know what to do with God’s call. — Pope Benedict XVI ____________________________________________________ A Prayer For Discernment All highest, glorious God, cast your light into the darkness of my heart. Give me right faith, firm hope, perfect charity and profound humility with wisdom and perception, O Lord, so that I may do what is truly Your holy will. Amen.

Saint John Bosco, Apostle of Youth, Friend of the destitute, Teacher in the ways of God, Your dedication to empowering the needy, and enlightening the ignorant inspires us still. Help me to work for a better world, where the young are given the chance to flourish, where the poor’s dream for justice can come true, and where God’s compassion is shown to be real. Intercede for me as I bring my needs to you and to Our heavenly Mother, the Help of Christians. Amen. O God, who raised up the Priest Saint John Bosco as a father and teacher of the young, grant we pray, that, aflame with the same fire of love, we may seek out souls and serve you alone. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

In 1858, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared some 18 times to a young uneducated peasant girl named Bernadette Soubirous in Lourdes, France. Through a set of private revelations, Our Lady revealed herself as, "the Immaculate Conception." Saint Bernadette, the Apostle of Lourdes, spread Mary’s message of atonement, prayer and forgiveness to the world, revitalizing the faith of millions. The devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes is most well-known for the miraculous cures and healing of illness and disease. One of the intentions we will pray for during this novena is for healing. In one way or another, we are all in need of it, before we reach Heaven, whether it is the healing of our sins, or our physical infirmities. We will also pray for the conversion of sinners. This was an important intention in Bernadette's life, for which she offered up much of her physical suffering. Lastly, we'll pray for the faith of those who have fallen away from the Church, for those who are

Do not look forward in fear to the changes of life; rather look to them with full hope as they arise. God, whose very own you are, will deliver you from out of them. He has kept you hitherto, and He will lead you safely through all things; and when you cannot stand it, God will bury you in his arms. Do not fear what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you then and every day. He will either shield you from suffering, or will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imagination. — St. Francis de Sales

(Note: Due to January 22nd falling on a Sunday this year, the designated observance for the 2017  Day Of Prayer for the Protection Of the Unborn is Monday, January 23rd.) A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer. — St. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae , no. 100 The General Instruction of the Roman Missal designates January 22 as a particular day of prayer and penance, called the "Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children”: “In all the Dioceses of the United States of America, January 22 (or January 23, when January 22 falls on a Sunday) shall be observed as a particular day of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life and of penance for

Prayer For Our Government By John Carroll, Archbishop of Baltimore, 1791 We pray, Thee O Almighty and Eternal God! Who through Jesus Christ hast revealed Thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Thy mercy, that Thy Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of Thy Name. We pray Thee, who alone art good and holy, to endow with heavenly knowledge, sincere zeal, and sanctity of life, our chief bishop, Pope N.,the Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the government of his Church; our own bishop, N., all other bishops, prelates, and pastors of the Church; and especially those who are appointed to exercise amongst us the functions of the holy ministry, and conduct Thy people into the ways of salvation. We pray Thee O God of might, wisdom, and justice! Through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with Thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of these Un

First Rule . The first: It is proper to God and to His Angels in their movements to give true spiritual gladness and joy, taking away all sadness and disturbance which the enemy brings on. Of this latter it is proper to fight against the spiritual gladness and consolation, bringing apparent reasons, subtleties and continual fallacies. Second Rule . The second: It belongs to God our Lord to give consolation to the soul without preceding cause, for it is the property of the Creator to enter, go out and cause movements in the soul, bringing it all into love of His Divine Majesty. I say without cause: without any previous sense or knowledge of any object through which such consolation would come, through one's acts of understanding and will. Third Rule . The third: With cause, as well the good Angel as the bad can console the soul, for contrary ends: the good Angel for the profit of the soul, that it may grow and rise from good to better, and the evil Angel, for the contrary, an

First Rule . The first Rule: In the persons who go from mortal sin to mortal sin, the enemy is commonly used to propose to them apparent pleasures, making them imagine sensual delights and pleasures in order to hold them more and make them grow in their vices and sins. In these persons the good spirit uses the opposite method, pricking them and biting their consciences through the process of reason. Second Rule . The second: In the persons who are going on intensely cleansing their sins and rising from good to better in the service of God our Lord, it is the method contrary to that in the first Rule, for then it is the way of the evil spirit to bite, sadden and put obstacles, disquieting with false reasons, that one may not go on; and it is proper to the good to give courage and strength, consolations, tears, inspirations and quiet, easing, and putting away all obstacles, that one may go on in well doing. Third Rule . The third: OF SPIRITUAL CONSOLATION. I call it consolat