BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Imagine you are one of the disciples gathered in the upper room, Acts 1:14 “All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with some women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” You hear something like a mighty wind. You see something like tongues of fire. You feel something happening within you and in the whole group. You do something: you start to speak in ways you have never spoken before. This is a pivotal event in the life of the disciples. The death and resurrection of Jesus were pivotal for their faith. Pentecost is pivotal for their life. Nothing will ever be the same again. We have all had experiences we will never forget. Whether they are positive or negative, they are pivotal. They are more than memories to us. In the creed we say: “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life.” This is more than remembering. “The Lord formed man from the earth and blew into his nostril

In early non-Christian cultures goddesses of fertility were honoured in May, the first month of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. As part of its evangelising practice the new religion of Christianity substituted Christian feasts for pagan ones e.g. St Brigid for the first day of Spring. Later, a connection developed between the blossoms of May and the custom of offering flowers to Mary. By the Middle Ages, particularly in Spain, Mary was honoured on individual days in May, but it is due to the Italians that the whole month of Mary was given over to Marian devotion from the 18th Century onwards The Ascension is celebrated on the first Sunday of May. According to the account in the Acts of the Apostles (1: 6-14), Mary did not witness the Ascension of Jesus. She was present in Jerusalem with the other women when the Apostles returned, and surely drank in every word they said. The following Sunday is Pentecost Sunday We commemorate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the tradition

Watch Ryan Anderson brilliantly refute the hapless Piers Morgan & a flustered, angry Suze Orman in a tense SSM debate on live TV. This, friends, is an example of apologetics well done.

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday April 7, 2013 You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us. O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy for us, I trust in You! Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. For information about the image of Christ shown above click here . To learn about Saint Faustina, the Divine Mercy Chaplet or Divine Mercy Sunday see Who is Saint Faustina? and The Sunday After Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday .

The Sunday After Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday How should we prepare for this great Feast of Mercy? Jesus told St. Faustina that this Feast of Mercy would be a very special day when “all the divine floodgates through which graces flow are opened.” (Diary 699) Our Lord made a great promise to all those souls who would go to Confession and then receive Him in Holy Communion on the Feast of Mercy, on the Sunday after Easter, which is now called Divine Mercy Sunday through- out the Catholic Church. Jesus promised that “The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Commun- ion shall obtain the complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.” (Diary 699) He went on to say “ I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My Mercy.” (Diary 1109) We want to encourage everyone to take advantage of this incredible promise and the additional Plenary Indulgence on this great Feast of Mercy “Divine Mercy Sunday

Fr. Michael J. Woolley The Lord is Risen, Alleluia! This is the Church’s message to our troubled world tonight (this Day) and for the next 50 days: He is truly Risen! He is Risen, despite the treacherous greed of Judas which stripped Him of all He had, He is Risen, despite the cowardice of His Apostles who in the hour of darkness found themselves powerless to aid Him, He is Risen, despite the blindness of His own people who preferred the sham Barabbas to the true Messiah, He is truly Risen, in spite of the excessive beating the Romans gave Him, He is truly Risen, in spite of the four sharp nails that were driven into His Sacred Flesh, He is truly Risen, in spite of the death He truly underwent as a man, in spite of the three days His cold and lifeless Body spent in the tomb. No, not greed, nor cowardice, nor rejection, nor beating, nor crucifixion, nor death itself could overcome Jesus Christ. He has overcome them all, He has trampled them underHis pierced Feet. The T