BIG C CATHOLICS

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

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings ) In the 1932 edition of the Rule of a certain religious order you find this statement: “The professed [= members with vows] cannot be denied anything that is necessary. However, the Superiors occasionally try their inferiors, by giving them an opportunity to feel some privation, and to be made aware of the fact that the poor cannot have everything they could wish for.” How times have changed! The language of “superiors” and “inferiors” is gone from the latest edition (1982), and the very idea of those in charge deliberately depriving others of what they need is unthinkable, repugnant even. Certain things made perfect sense in 1932; they made no sense at all fifty years later. That said, members of religious orders are still by definition different, counter-cultural. They still take the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience, which

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) When I was a little boy and went to my catechism lessons the nuns, our teachers, used the famous Baltimore Catechism for their teaching guide. Many times they required us to memorize parts of the Baltimore Catechism and today I want to begin with its first section in which the question was asked: “Why did God make you?” The answer we memorized was: “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.” Later on we had to memorize the Ten Commandments, and the first one was: “I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have strange gods before me. In the Old Testament’s Book of Exodus we find God speaking to Moses about the covenant between God and His people. God tells the Hebrews: “You shall not worship any other god, for the LORD is the Jealous One; a jealous God is he.” (Exodus 34:14) In the New Testament’s Book of Acts w

Christ being led to His Crucifixion, Monastery Decani, Deçan, Kosovo. "Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Our Lord shows us the way to eternal salvation. He tells his apostles "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:37-39)  It sounds contradictory, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it,” but these are the conditions of discipleship. A man called to the priesthood offers himself completely to God’s Church, just as a husband in marriage gives himself completely, holding nothing back from his wife. A consecrated woman gives herself in total devotion as a bride of Christ, just as a wife gives herself unreser

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

We often speak of the “Seven Last Words” of Jesus on the cross. All four gospels mention them. Three are unique to Luke; three more are unique to John; there is only the one in Matthew and Mark, “last words” in the usual sense of the term. It is the most troubling of all, an expression of despair: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Below, we examine each of our Lord’s final statements. 1. Jesus addresses the Father. Then Jesus said, " Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. " [Luke 23:34] This first saying of Christ on the cross is traditionally called "The Word of Forgiveness". It is theologically understood as Christ’s prayer for forgiveness for those who were crucifying him: the Roman soldiers and all others involved in his torture and death. By virtue of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, forgiveness is possible, the gates of Heaven are opened, and sin is forever conquered. 2. Jesus speaks to Dismas.  And he said t

"Every other person who ever came into this world came into it to live. [Christ] came into it to die. Death was a stumbling block to Socrates — it interrupted his teaching. But to Christ, death was the goal and fulfillment of His life, the gold that He was seeking. Few of His words or actions are intelligible without reference to His Cross. …. The story of every human life begins with birth and ends with death. In the Person of Christ, however, it was His death that was first and His life that was last. …. It was not so much that His birth cast a shadow on His life and thus led to His death; it was rather that the Cross was first, and cast its shadow back to His birth. His has been the only life in the world that was ever lived backward." — Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen ___________________________________________________ Prayer to Christ Crucified Jesus, my God, I adore You, present in the Blessed Sacrament of the altar, where You wait day and night to be o

April 9, 2017 Therefore, with all faith and devotion, let us commemorate the Lord’s entry into the city of our salvation, following in His footsteps, so that, being made by His grace partakers of the Cross, we may share in His Resurrection and in His life. Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them here to me. And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, 'The master has need of them.' Then he will send them at once."  This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: Say to daughter Zion, "Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden."  The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them. The

Top: Christ descends into Hell to bring His salvation to the righteous. Bottom: Adam & Eve eat of the forbidden fruit; and Paradise is lost. "The sin that was wrought through the tree was undone by the obedience of the tree, obedience to God whereby the Son of man was nailed to the tree, destroying the knowledge of evil, and bringing in and conferring the knowledge of good; and evil is disobedience to God, as obedience to God is good. And therefore the Word says through Isaiah the prophet, foretelling what was to come to pass in the future—for it was because they told the future that they were "prophets"—the Word says through him as follows: I refuse not, and do not gainsay, my back have I delivered to blows and my cheeks to buffets, and I have not turned away my face from the contumely of them that spat. [Is. 50, 6] So by obedience, whereby He obeyed unto death, hanging on the tree, He undid the old disobedience wrought in the tree. And because He is Himsel

Crucifixion of Jesus icon, Moldovita Monastery, Moldavia, Romania. The First Sunday of Lent, March 5, 2011 By Father Bernard Bourgeois Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Psalm 51; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11 What are your memories of Lent? Are they of Friday fish sticks, Stations of the Cross, or purple vestments? How about the sacrament of reconciliation? Maybe any or all of these make you think of Lent and its call to holiness. And that’s what Lent really is! It is a call to holiness and a deepening of the unity between the disciple and Jesus. Ultimately the goal of any prayer or liturgical season is unity with Christ, as much as possible while here on earth, and in its fullness in eternal life. Lent is a period of retreat. In it, the faithful are called to walk the path of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. The second reading for this Sunday (see above) reminds the Church of the focus of Lent. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, says the following:

November 29, 2016 Today we pray for all those who suffer material poverty and go unnoticed and uncared for, that God will provide for them through us. Also, may we not take anything, or anyone, for granted in our lives. Day 1 - Immaculate Conception Novena  O most pure Virgin Mary conceived without sin, from the very first instant, you were entirely immaculate. O glorious Mary full of grace, you are the mother of my God – the Queen of Angels and of men. I humbly venerate you as the chosen mother of my Savior, Jesus Christ. The Prince of Peace and the Lord of Lords chose you for the singular grace and honor of being His beloved mother. By the power of His Cross, He preserved you from all sin. Therefore, by His power and love, I have hope and bold confidence in your prayers for my holiness and salvation. I pray that your prayers will bring me to imitate your holiness and submission to Jesus and the Divine Will. Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are