BIG C CATHOLICS

Please remember the Holy Father Pope Francis' intentions in prayer throughout the month of October: Workers and the Unemployed That all workers may receive respect and protection of their rights, and that the unemployed may receive the opportunity to contribute to the common good. Specific Intention - To be Announced Pope Francis has decided to keep one monthly prayer intention. He is no longer proposing an urgent prayer intention. Each Sunday on which he gives an Angelus address, he will request prayers for specific people and situations that are of deep concern to him and to the universal Church.

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) How often do you hear the cry “It isn’t fair?” It is, of course, a complaint you hear many times from children and teens. Students complain their teachers aren’t fair with their exams. Some adults and parents complain that giving grades on performance isn’t fair. How often do parents tell us that teachers aren’t fair? And what about university admissions policies, are they fair or unfair? The Hurricane Katrina disaster brought forth a host of concerns about fairness. So, too, in follow-ups from other natural disasters. Capitalism, we are told, isn’t fair. In the name of fairness, socialism and communism were tried and found not to be fair. The Church, we are often told, isn’t fair. The way it treats women isn’t fair, we are told. The way it appoints bishops isn’t fair. The way it treats victims of abuse isn’t fair, nor is the way it deals with priests who have broken the law and g

September 24, 2017 For Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, prayer united us to God immediately and personally. And it can be like this for us all. Even in prayer, St. Therese teaches simplicity -- talking to God in direct, personal and heartfelt ways. She prayed from her heart as a child speaks to a loving parent they trust. In this she, imitated Our Savior. Communication is the foundation of trust, honesty and love. Today we pray for open communication within our lives. May it manifest itself in our relationship with the Lord as well as in our conversations with others we encounter in life. ____________________________________________ Saint Therese of Lisieux, you said that you would spend your time in heaven doing good on earth. Your trust in God was complete. Pray that He may increase my trust in His goodness and mercy as I ask for the following petitions… (State your intentions) Pray for me that I, like you, may have great and innocent confidence in the loving promises of o

Prayer is the best weapon we have; it is the key to God's heart. You must speak to Jesus not only with your lips, but with your heart. In fact, on certain occasions you should only speak to Him with your heart. — St. Pio of Pietrelcina ______________________________________ Prayer for St. Padre Pio’s Intercession Almighty ever-living God, who, by a singular grace, gave the Priest Saint Pius a share in the Cross of your Son and, by means of his holy ministry, renewed the wonders of your mercy, grant that through his intercession we may be united constantly to the sufferings of Christ, and so brought happily to the glory of the resurrection. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you, together in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

September 23, 2017 Saint Therese is known for her "little way," which is simply the idea of seeking holiness in the ordinariness of our everyday lives. She teaches us to do the ordinary with extraordinary love. This is the essence of St. Therese's spirituality. Today we pray for the relationships in our lives. May we be more loving with our family, friends, coworkers, strangers, and God. We ask for the strength to do small things with love and to see everyone as our brothers and sisters in Christ. ____________________________________________ Saint Therese of Lisieux, you said that you would spend your time in heaven doing good on earth. Your trust in God was complete. Pray that He may increase my trust in His goodness and mercy as I ask for the following petitions… (State your intentions) Pray for me that I, like you, may have great and innocent confidence in the loving promises of our God. Pray that I may live my life in union with God’s plan for me, an

Padre Pio was a man of immense spiritual gifts and insight. As a Capuchin priest, his ministry was marked by prayer and piety. His suffering was constant. He bore the stigmata of Our Lord’s Crucifixion with their attending agony, and was beset by demonic manifestations. His observations below teach us that our suffering is of immense value when joined with Our Savior's sacrifice and born with humility. The greater your sufferings, the greater God’s love for you. ***  When we suffer, Jesus is closer to us. ***  The storms that are raging around you will turn out to be for God’s glory, your own merit, and the good of many souls. *** Every sacrifice which your soul makes, every good it does is directed to God for the sanctification of all. *** True and substantial devotion consists in serving God without experiencing any sensible consolation. This means serving and loving God for His own sake. *** How unbearable is pain when suffered far from the Cross, but h

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