BIG C CATHOLICS

Editor's note: We present this post from last November for your consideration. The time frame for obtaining the indulgences discussed below has passed, however, our prayers for the poor souls in purgatory are always efficacious.  November is when Holy Mother Church prays especially for the faithful departed who are in Purgatory (the Church Suffering). Below are various links on the state of purification that is Purgatory, beginning with a reflection by Father James Kubicki, " The Process of Purgatory ", in which he quotes Pope Benedict XVI. (What follows is a transcript of the video): November begins with the Feast of All Saints and is followed by the Feast of All Souls on which we remember all those who have died and are in Purgatory, but the whole month is dedicated to prayer for them. ... As we pray for those who have died, it’s important that we have a better understanding of this process that we have traditionally called Purgatory. It’s not a physical place, be...

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) If there is no divine being above us we will be consumed by all that is around us. If Christ in His kingship is removed from our lives we will be at the mercy of any and all forces in this world that are more powerful than our own powers. In the world of philosophers those who reject God or the reality of God are known as nihilists who claim we exist in nothingness. What we think to be real is, they claim, only a construction that we have made in our own minds. The problem with nihilism is that it leads to anarchy, the complete loss of order in a world that they view to be essentially irrational. Tyrants come to power and thrive in such a world view. Our nation’s Founding Fathers recognized the threat and grip of tyrants when they wrote: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, tha...

November 14, 2016 Christ the King Novena Prayer,  Day 4 Christ, our Savior and our King, renew in me allegiance to Your Kingship. I pray that You will reign in my mind. O Prince of Peace, may Your reign be complete in my life and in the life of the world. Christ, my King, please answer these petitions if they be in accordance with Your Holy Will… [Mention your intentions here] As I reflect on Your second, glorious coming and the judgement of all mankind, I beg You to show me mercy and give me the grace to become a great saint. I pray that not only will I spend eternity with You but that You may use me – a sinner – to bring others into Your Kingdom for Your glory. Christ the King, Your Kingdom come. Amen.

Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem , Francesco Hayez, 1867. Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) Who is your judge? I mean in the ultimate sense who do you look to as the judge of the true worth of your actions and your worth as a person? Some of us turn to our parents and judge our actions and our lives on their approval alone. Some of us look to peers – it is peer group judgment that is the ultimate criterion that determines our actions in life. Still others look to no one but themselves to judge the relative goodness, or lack thereof, in their choices and deeds. One of the distinguishing marks of a Christian is the fact that he or she looks forward to the judgment of God. The Christian is aware of the constant in-breaking of God into his or her life. A true Christian sees this not as a threat or in negative terms but rather sees it as a summons, a calling, or as an invitation from God for us to grow. To believe ...

November 13, 2016 Christ the King Novena Prayer,  Day 3 Christ, our Savior and our King, renew in me allegiance to Your Kingship. I pray for the grace to fervently bring about Your Kingdom in my family and community. O Prince of Peace, may Your reign be complete in my life and in the life of the world. Christ, my King, please answer these petitions if they be in accordance with Your Holy Will… [Mention your intentions here] As I reflect on Your second, glorious coming and the judgement of all mankind, I beg You to show me mercy and give me the grace to become a great saint. I pray that not only will I spend eternity with You but that You may use me – a sinner – to bring others into Your Kingdom for Your glory. Christ the King, Your Kingdom come. Amen. Almighty ever-living God, whose will is to restore all things in Your beloved Son, the King of the universe, grant, we pray, that the whole creation, set free from slavery, may render Your majesty service and c...

O Saint Josaphat, wonderful Saint and heroic martyr for the union of our Church with the Vicar of Christ, the Pope of Rome. Thou are glorious on account of thy zeal in the propagation of the true Catholic faith among our people. Thou art wonderful because of thy heroic martyrdom for the unity of faith of our people with the Holy See of Rome, the true center of orthodox Catholicism. Thou art admirable on account of thy sublime virtues with which thou has adorned thy soul. We admire thy ardent love for Jesus and Mary and thy allegiance to the Vicar of Christ. Thou art a sublime example of all virtues for the people of whom thou were born. Since thou art so powerful with God as thy miracles prove, I ask thee to obtain for me from Jesus and Mary a strong attachment to the Catholic faith and my beautiful Eastern Rite which I shall never betray nor abandon. Obtain also the grace of indefatigable zeal that I may labor for the reunion of my separated Eastern Brethren. O glorious martyr ...

Detail , Martyrdom of Josaphat Kuntsevych , Józef Simmler, c. 1861. When Saint Josaphat was a child, his mother explained the icons in church. Years later, he confided to a friend that he felt a spark of fire leave the wounded side of Christ Crucified and enter his own heart, which was instantly filled with joy. This experience influenced the rest of his life. He memorized the Church’s rituals and prayers. His desire to suffer poverty and death for the Lord grew within him. In October 1623, St. Josaphat ordered the arrest of the last priest who was secretly holding Orthodox services at Vitebsk, where Josaphat had a residence. Enraged at this, some Orthodox townspeople (along with Lithuanian Protestants) lynched Josaphat on November 12. Witnesses described the event as follows: The ringing of cathedral bells and the bells of other churches spread. This was the signal and call to insurrection. From all sides of town masses of people – men, women, and children – gathered with s...