Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Posted on May 27, 2018 by mikatsa6

 

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The sign of the Cross.. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. So simple…yet, so complete… the basis of the Christian faith…the foundation upon which all is built. One God, Three distinct Persons.  On this first Sunday after Pentecost…which was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the faithful followers of Jesus, the Holy Mother Church calls us to gather and  to celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, which is at the very core of the Christian belief… the Trinity or the Triune Godhead… God the Father…God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It’s a hard idea to grasp, that’s for sure… and yet, it is this fundamental Truth that is at the base of our Christian Creed…. Even with all the ‘fracturing’ and all the splintering from the Truth… If you belong to a Church or a community and call yourself a Christian, yet, don’t believe in the Trinity… you are not a Christian. Period.

Throughout the gospel, this mystery is revealed to the faithful. And although the word ‘Trinity’ is not actually used, we can find references to this ‘Triune’ nature of God in several different passages. One such instance is in the Gospel of Luke 3: 21-22, during the Baptism of Jesus; “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, / and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

We also find  reference to the Trinity in the writings of Peter:  “who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood: May grace and peace be yours in abundance. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”  The Trinity is never fully explained, but in the Gospel of John we find several times when Jesus is speaking to His disciples and the language that He uses stresses the Oneness of He and the Father. Such as in John 10:30, 38:-

“The Father and I are one.” / “…the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

And again in John 14: 8 -11 we read:

“Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ / Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? / Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. / Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me…’ “

There are other references to the Trinity in the New Testament but also in the Old Testament as well. And even though it is not something that we can fully comprehend, it is one of those beliefs that we have to rely on our Faith to embrace. We have been told that it is a Mystery… one of those things which we will never fully understand until we are there with God in Heaven. Yet, it is so very  important, even so, many still get it wrong. In order to help us understand, I will rely upon those great men of the past..those great saints of the Holy Mother Church who lived through so many difficult times in the history of the Church… Who so often had to defend this Truth when a heresy would spring up, trying to destroy what Jesus Christ had built. Just as God worked through the writers of the Holy Gospels, He also has worked through many of the Church’s great and holy saints …giving them the grace…and the words they needed to try and explain the un-explainable.

“The Church, though dispersed through out the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith: [She believes] in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them; and in one Christ Jesus, the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation; and in the Holy Spirit, who proclaimed through the prophets the dispensations of God, and the advents, and the birth from a virgin, and the passion, and the resurrection from the dead, and the ascension into heaven in the flesh of the beloved Christ Jesus, our Lord, and His [future] manifestation from heaven in the glory of the Father “to gather all things in one.”– Saint Ireneaus – Against Heresies

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Saint Augustine wrote much on the Most Holy Trinity,and  since he is perhaps one of the most gifted theologians, he tried to help the faithful to understand the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity, devoting much of his writings to this absolute dogma of Faith.

“The true objects of enjoyment, then, are the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, who are at the same time the Trinity, one Being, supreme above all, and common to all who enjoy Him, if He is an object, and not rather the cause of all objects, or indeed even if He is the cause of all. For it is not easy to find a name that will suitably express so great excellence, unless it is better to speak in this way: The Trinity, one God, of whom are all things, through whom are all things, in whom are all things. Thus the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and each of these by Himself, is God, and at the same time they are all one God; and each of them by Himself is a complete substance, and yet they are all one substance. The Father is not the Son nor the Holy Spirit; the Son is not the Father nor the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is not the Father nor the Son: but the Father is only Father, the Son is only Son, and the Holy Spirit is only Holy Spirit. To all three belong the same eternity, the same unchangeableness, the same majesty, the same power. In the Father is unity, in the Son equality, in the Holy Spirit the harmony of unity and equality; and these three attributes are all one because of the Father, all equal because of the Son, and all harmonious because of the Holy Spirit.”
On Christian Doctrine Book I. Chapter 5.5

And finally, one more quote from the great Saint Augustine of Hippo, we get this beautifully written paragraph found in his book, ‘On the Trinity Book.‘ Please enjoy and have a blessed feast day.

‘All those Catholic expounders of the divine Scriptures, both Old and New, whom I have been able to read, who have written before me concerning the Trinity, Who is God, have purposed to teach, according to the Scriptures, this doctrine, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit intimate a divine unity of one and the same substance in an indivisible equality; and therefore that they are not three Gods, but one God: although the Father hath begotten the Son, and so He who is the Father is not the Son; and the Son is begotten by the Father, and so He who is the Son is not the Father; and the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son, but only the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, Himself also co-equal with the Father and the Son, and pertaining to the unity of the Trinity. Yet not that this Trinity was born of the Virgin Mary, and crucified under Pontius Pilate, and buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven, but only the Son. Nor, again, that this Trinity descended in the form of a dove upon Jesus when He was baptized; nor that, on the day of Pentecost, after the ascension of the Lord, when “there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind,” the same Trinity “sat upon each of them with cloven tongues like as of fire,” but only the Holy Spirit. Nor yet that this Trinity said from heaven, “Thou art my Son,” whether when He was baptized by John, or when the three disciples were with Him in the mount, or when the voice sounded, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again;” but that it was a word of the Father only, spoken to the Son; although the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as they are indivisible, so work indivisibly. This is also my faith, since it is the Catholic faith’.
On the Trinity Book I. Chapter 4.7

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In Praise of the Trinity

 

With our whole heart and voice we glorify Thee, we praise Thee, we bless Thee, God the Father unbegotten, the only-begotten Son, the Holy Ghost, the Paraclete, the holy and undivided Trinity.

For Thou art great, and dost wonderful things: Thou alone art God. To Thee be praise, to Thee glory, to Thee thanksgiving forever and ever, O blessed Trinity!

(Roman Missal)

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The Cross or the Crucifix

Posted on May 24, 2018 by mikatsa6

Wooden Cross (CRO2-009) – Catholic Centre

It might seem like a ridiculous question, almost as ridiculous as  the ever popular ‘Are you Catholic or Christian?‘ question, which many of the Protestant groups like to toss  around every so often, almost as if they are trying to justify how they belong to a Christian community that Protested the Church that Christ established. Unfortunately, there are many Protestant communities out there that refer to themselves as ‘Christian’ but they don’t like the Crucifix… or more importantly they don’t like Catholics because they think that Catholics ‘like Christ’s dead body’ and thus keep It hanging from the Cross. They find the Crucifix annoying, since ‘we all know’ that Jesus resurrected, and that honoring Him ‘dead on the cross‘ is just plain stupid.

Unfortunately so many of these same ‘Christians’ don’t know the Faith. They don’t understand that it is only the Catholic Church that can trace it’s roots all the way back to Jesus… and then to Peter, whom Christ appointed as His successor…

“And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” – Matthew 16:18

…The Apostolic line that continues all the way to our present day Pope. No other Christian ‘group’ can do that... all of them are just some sort of breaking away from the Truth…

Did you know, that everyone who considered himself a Christian in the early days was in fact a ‘Catholic’? They were one and the same….Christian equals Catholic, and it remained that way for over fifteen hundred years. Sure, there were periods when heresies against the Faith popped up and people had misunderstandings about what to believe, but for the most part, everyone who considered himself a Christian…was Catholic, that is until King Henry wanted to divorce his wife in 1509. Since he could not get the approval of the pope, he broke away…and became the head of his own church.

Then in 1517 Martin Luther, who was catholic, became concerned with some of the actions being taken by several corrupt priests and so he nailed his now famous ‘Thesis’ to the Church door, pointing out problems with some of these members. Most people never mention the fact, that the Catholic Church agreed with him on many of these same problems and worked them out without throwing the fit that Luther threw. But this action of Luther, caused  an even further splintering or a breaking away from the True Church… Thus breaking the line of Apostolic succession…and creating ‘church communities’ that fail to encompass the True faith that Jesus Christ came to share. An interesting thing to note, is that when Martin Luther was on his death bed, he repented of his actions. He said that what started out as him trying to fix the actions of one bad church leader, only resulted in creating many more bad church leaders…. He realized that no good would come of this splintering… he realized too late that his own ego had stood in the way of the Truth.

As a result of this falling away, there are several tenants of the True faith that were lost among those who protested Jesus’ Church. Many of the Truths that had been handed on by Christ Himself were dismissed and abandoned all together… such as the truth about the Blessed Mother and her virginity. But the main Truth that they fail to believe is that the Eucharist is in fact the actual Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ… instituted at the last Supper…

The list of things that protestants have rejected through the years goes on and on… furthering the separation of these groups from the Body of Christ... which is His Holy Catholic Church. And unfortunately there are now so many wolves in sheep’s clothing out there who are pretending to be preachers of the Lord’s Words, when in fact they spend all of their time bashing Christ’s True Church instead of actually bringing others to Him. This deserves our prayers because when you think about it… it is really quite sad.

This leads me to the title of this post… the Cross or the Crucifix… Many protestants dislike the idea of the Crucifix. They have a twisted view of Catholics over this. They profess that Jesus Christ has been resurrected and that we no longer need to have His ‘dead’ body nailed to the Cross for all eternity…they seem to think…or perhaps they have been told… that Catholics don’t accept Christ’s Resurrection…and that Catholics worship a dead Lord…. when in fact, nothing could be further from the truth… for Catholics… at least for this Catholic… witnessing Christ’s dead body on the Cross helps me to focus my love on Christ’s Living Body which is the Eucharist…

It is precisely for this reason that throughout the years the Crucifix has remained a center point for worship and prayer…it helps the human mind to understand…to somehow comprehend the enormous sacrifice that was made by Christ in His suffering and death on the Cross. It helps us to love the Lord… We must realize that it was not the bare cross that saved us… but it was the death of Christ on the Cross that brought man his salvation. With Christ’s Crucifixion, our sins have lost their power over us. Without this sacrificial death, we would still be un-forgiven, un-redeemed, unsaved… we would be lost. To have the Crucifix instead of the plain Cross, is by far the better way to instill this Truth in the hearts of all men. By using the Crucifix as a sacramental… a point on which to meditate, we can ‘witness’ the pain and the immense suffering our sin caused Jesus…

For those who call themselves ‘Bible’ Christians, this link between Jesus’ death on the Cross and His Resurrection from the tomb can be found in Scripture, Catholics just didn’t make it up.…And as faithful Christians we must maintain this link. We must not hide the brutal force our sin has against Our Dear Lord… We must not deny ourselves the Truth that it was our sin that Crucified our Dear Lord. Even to this day, it is a reminder for us to not allow ourselves to become seduced by the lies of the evil one… Think about it…the devil would like us all to forget that Jesus died for us…in fact, it was the devil himself who didn’t want Christ to get nailed to the Cross in the first place… there would be no redemption without it! It is that powerful... that important… and it helps us to remember the fullness of Christ’s message.  The Crucifix helps convey to the faithful, the intensely personal nature of Christ’s death and redemption. The Crucifix has the power to open even the most hardened of hearts, revealing to the soul, the depth to which Our Lord loved each one of us. It is a message that just can’t be conveyed with bare wood. To remember only one aspect of Christ’s redemption would be to believe in a false gospel that cannot save us. For Christians who preach the Resurrection…you need to remember this;  if we embrace the Resurrection we must also embrace the Holy Cross of His Crucifixion.

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‘He who displays the cross, which was the instrument used by the Romans as a method of a most painful execution, in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, left to hang until death, such a person who worships the plain cross…worships a wooden idol. But he who displays the Crucifix, with the Body of Our Dear Lord, he worships the Redeemer…That Who is present on the Cross…It is He who suffered an enormous amount of pain and suffering as payment for our sins.’ (Paraphrased from a quote by Cecil Dewars.)

 

 

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Blessed Stefan Grelewski/ Blessed Casimir Grelewski – Brother Priests of Poland

Posted on May 22, 2018 by mikatsa6

Most Nazi crimes suspects, including Heydrich's widow ...

The 1930’s into the 1940’s were tough years. There was unrest in many areas of the world, particularly in Europe. The evil of Nazism was spreading out of Germany… spewing its poison to the surrounding countries… borders were being threatened and the evils of man were contaminating the beautiful countrysides with widespread death and destruction.

Lot Detail - 1940s MVD HOLOCAUST & CONCENTRATION CAMP ...Poland was one such land to be threatened and consumed by this angry monster that wished to destroy everything in its path that didn’t fit into its political narrative…Not only were the Jewish people persecuted and killed, but many, many  Catholics were rounded up and sent to these same internment camps of death. Many priests and religious were killed and tortured… merely for the fact that they were Catholic. The Grelewski brothers were two such men. After the invasion of Poland in 1939, the Nazis began to persecute any of the Catholics they could find. In January of 1941, Father Stefan Grelewski and his younger brother, Father Kazimer Grelewski were arrested.

Born in Poland in 1899 and 1903, the brothers came from a Catholic family. He and his brother both followed their vocations to the priesthood. Stefan was ordained in 1921, and his brother was ordained in several years later. Father Stefan earned his doctorate in canon law and was the general secretary of the Christian Workers Union in Radom Poland. He was a prolific writer and founded the magazine ‘Catholic Truth’ in 1930. The magazine dealt with many  issues that were religious and social in nature.

Bł. ks. Stefan Grelewski – męczennik z Dachau – Prawy.pl

Blessed Stefan Grelewski

Though he suffered from ill health he did not let his health issues dissuade him from working tirelessly for the Lord. He worked with the group Catholic Action and also with the Association of Polish Intelligence. He also was instrumental in organizing the first diocesan Eucharistic Congress in his diocese of Radom.

Wanting to help the young and the poor, he was the prefect of both a boy’s elementary school and a boy’s grammar school, up until war broke out in 1932. Even after the Nazi occupation of Poland, he covertly continued teaching religion. Then on January 24th of 1941 he and his brother were arrested. First they were sent to Auschwitz where they were tortured in the concentration camps right along with the Jewish people.

 

Blessed Casimir Grelewski

They were then sent to the concentration camp of Oswiecim in Poland and finally sent to the death camp of Dachau in Germany. The two brother priests prayed together and prepared for their deaths by administering the sacraments to each other. Father Stefan and Father Casimir were tortured extensively, both of them dying on May 9th, 1941 from injuries they suffered while being  interrogated by the Nazis. Blessed Stefan and his brother Blessed Casimir were beatified on June 13, 1999.

 

 

 

 

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Saint Rita of Cascia Prayers -Patroness of Impossible Causes

Posted on May 22, 2018 by mikatsa6

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Prayer to Saint Rita

 (Patroness of Impossible Cases)

O glorious St. Rita, your pleadings before the divine crucifix have been known to grant favors that many would call the impossible. Lovely St. Rita, so humble, so pure, so devoted in your love for thy crucified Jesus, speak on my behalf for my petition which seems so impossible from my humbled position. (Here mention your request ). Be propitious, O glorious St. Rita, to my petition, showing thy power with God on behalf of thy supplicant. Be lavish to me, as thou has been in so many wonderful cases for the greater glory of God. I promise, dear St. Rita, if my petition is granted, to glorify thee, by making known thy favor, to bless and sing thy praises forever. Relying then upon thy merits and power before the Sacred Heart of Jesus I pray.  Amen.

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Prayer to St. Rita, Helper of the Hopeless

HOLY PATRONESS
Of those in need, St. Rita,
So humble, pure and patient,
Whose pleadings with your Divine Spouse
Are irresistible,
Obtain for me
From your Crucified Jesus
The request I make of you.
(Mention request.)

Be propitious towards me
For the greater glory of God,
And I promise to honor you
And to sing your praise forever.
O glorious St. Rita,
Who miraculously participated
In the sorrowful Passion
Of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
Obtain for me
The grace to suffer with resignation
The troubles of this life,
And protect me in all my needs.

Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be (3 times)

(taken from http://www.mycatholictradition.com)

Remember to make known favors granted through St. Rita.
http://www.stritaofcascia.com

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Pentecost Sunday – Breathe On Me, Oh Breath of God

Posted on May 20, 2018 by mikatsa6

Catholic News World : #Novena to the Holy Spirit for # ...

First reading: Acts of the 2:1–11
When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, “Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, both Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God.”

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“Peace be with you.” When he said this, he showed them His hands and His side. – JN 20: 19-20

Holy Gospel according to John 20:19–23

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Pentecost…50 days after Easter… the Descent of the Holy Spirit…. or God’s breath... Descending upon the Apostles and Mary… hovering over them like tongues of fire…filling them with the Spirit… God’s Spirit…His Truth ….giving birth to the Church. It is the same Spirit that hovered over the vast dark oceans … all the way at the beginning of Genesis, when there was nothing but darkness and water…There was God’s breath... stirring the waters with life…

It is this same breath moving through the disciples that brings to completion Christ’s mission on earth… By filling them with His Spirit… His Holy breath… which is Truth… His  Church is filled with Life… True life...Offering the faithful His message of peace for all who allow themselves to be filled with this same breath … of the Holy Spirit…  which has been around since the beginning of time… moving  oceans… moving mountains… moving us…

Breathe on me, Oh Breath of God,
fill me with life anew,
that I may love what thou dost love,
and do what thou wouldst do. – Edwin Hatch – 1878

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Say, Do You Love Me? The Gospel of John- 21:15 -19

Posted on May 20, 2018 by mikatsa6

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Gospel  John 21: 15 – 19

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them,
he said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,
“Do you love me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted;
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
“How do I love Thee?? Let me count the ways“…Surely these are not the sentiments floating around in the heart of Peter as Jesus is asking him several times if He loves Him... really loves Him in that ‘Lay down my life for you’, kind of love..… Obviously these questions are quite distressing for Peter. He knows that Jesus knows everything…so why does He keep asking him about his love? From many of the meditations I have read,  many of them point to the fact that there are two different words that Jesus has used when asking Peter if he loves Him.
The first word Jesus used for love was ‘agape,’ which is a self sacrificing love…like the love God has…it s a deep love. Peter hears this and responds that yes, he does in fact love Jesus, but he used the word ‘phileo‘, which is the word for love that is like a friendship type of love. A good love to be certain, but not the agape love that Jesus first used.
Now, some have made a big deal about the used of the two different words for love, but I think more to the point is that Jesus is just confirming in front of all the other disciples, that Peter is the rock upon which His Church will be built. When we read this passage, we may be tempted to think that Jesus is being tough on Peter…or we may even wonder why He is bothering with Peter, after all, Peter denied Him three times, didn’t he?
Well, this is what makes Jesus ‘Jesus’…He has the ability to change us…By asking Peter three times if he loves Him, He is really pouring His grace and His mercy upon Peter…He is washing him of his previous sins…cleansing him of his denial… He is using this opportunity to re-establish Peter as the head of the disciples and also to confirm in Peter that He is entrusting Him with His Flock.
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That takes a lot of trust. Most of us wouldn’t even be able to look at Peter again if he had turned against us three times. Heck, most of us can barely tolerate one offense against us. We are that arrogant and proud. But Jesus, not only is He showing us that we must work…’Feed my sheep‘… He is also showing us, that with Him…with His Divine Mercy, all of our past sins can be forgiven…He has the ability to wash us…to cleanse us and transform us into new creatures… Ones that can be trusted to ‘tend His sheep’ and carry out our vocations that He has intended. Even if we have sinned. Even if we have turned away from Him. He is still calling us…asking us to love Him… to follow Him.
When we are feeling hopeless, caught in the shadow of our sins, we must remember that Jesus is still calling us. Still longing for us to follow Him, and turn away from our past transgressions. He is the sacrifice for our sins…  He is our forgiveness and our Mercy… He is our Salvation.
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Saint Brendan the Navigator

Posted on May 18, 2018 by mikatsa6

detail of a stained glass window of Saint Brendan the Navigator, date unknown, artist unknown; church of Saint James, Glenleigh, Kerry, Ireland; photographed on 9 September 2012 by Andreas F. Borchert; swiped from Wikimedia Commons

Heroes. The history of the Catholic Church is chock full of them. Some of these heroes were pretty ordinary men, who with the grace of God wound up doing great heroic deeds. And others, well, their adventures  just beg for retelling, and with each telling many have grown into stories so grand that they just might seem too hard to believe. Saint Brendan is at the center of one such tale. Some will swear to its’ authenticity while others will just roll their eyes and scoff at such a fantastic journey… Of course we can all agree, that God is the Author of all things and sometimes, even things that seem impossible are possible when it is the Lord who sets your sail…and navigates your journey…

Saint Brendan the Navigator

 

Saint Brendan was an Irish monk who was born in County Kerry in 484. He studied and was ordained by Bishop Erc in 512. For the next twenty years or so, he worked establishing monasteries in Ardfert and Shanakeel near the foot of Brandon Hill. He also spent much of his time building ships and sailing around the northwest parts of Europe founding monasteries… large ones…Legend has it that the community in County Galway, housed at least three thousand monks… with the rules of the monastery being dictated to Brendan by an angel…

 

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Brendan and his brothers traveled over the Atlantic Ocean, stopping at every island they encountered to evangelize the inhabitants. It is even rumored that these sailing monks reached the Americas in the 6th century. In fact, in West Virginia, there were stone carvings discovered that have been dated back to between 500 and 1000 A.D. and they were written in old Irish using the same alphabet that Saint Brendan and his brother monks would have used.

As this saint’s tale continues, he journeyed for seven years; at one point even coming upon a small island just in time to celebrate Easter Mass. Lighting the Easter fire, they discovered that the ‘island’ they had landed on is not an island after all, but a giant whale!

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Many of the ancient maps from the time of Columbus often include an island named Saint Brendan’s isle which was located in the western Atlantic ocean. The exact location wasn’t known, but it was thought to have been west of Europe.

Whether or not the grande tale of this sailing monk celebrating Mass on the back of a whale is true or not, it is recorded that he finally returned home to Ireland , concerning himself with charitable works in his homeland. Founding several more churches and  establishing yet another monastery before his death at the age of 93.

 

 

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Saint Matthias – ‘The Twelfth Man’

Posted on May 15, 2018 by mikatsa6
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Saint Matthias – Replaced Judas as the 12th Apostle – The 12th Man

Acts of the Apostles 1:20-26

20 “For,” said Peter, “it is written in the Book of Psalms:

“‘May his place be deserted;
    let there be no one to dwell in it,’

and,

“‘May another take his place of leadership.’

21 Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

23 So they nominated two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” 26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

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As we read in Act of the Apostles 1: 15-26,  Peter has gathered with about 120 of Christ’s followers. The Ascension has just occurred and Peter is feeling the reality of what has just happened. Christ has left them and he is still not sure exactly what it all means, but what he does know, is that he needs to fill the seat left empty by the action of Judas Iscariot’s betrayal. He needs a twelfth man to fill the empty chair.

Of the names that were chosen by those gathered, they narrowed it down to two; Joseph and Matthias. After the Apostles prayed and drew lots on who they should pick, Matthias was appointed. An interesting fact that is mentioned on several different websites, is that Matthias is none other than Zacchaeus, the reformed tax collector. After Jesus had come to have dinner with him, Matthias was  converted… and then later, was chosen by God to fill the vacant spot…. And on this Monday after the Ascension of the Lord we celebrate the fact that God has chosen the Apostle Matthias to preach the ‘Good News’ throughout the world.

There is a story that tells of how Matthias traveled into the heathen country of Ethiopia and was drug over rocks and beaten before he was hung from a pillar and then had his stomach sliced open. Surviving all of this, he continued on… Preaching, and suffering many trials in the name of  Christ. One town that Matthias preached in was known as the “city of man-eaters.” Not only were the inhabitants of this village known for the way they tortured Christians… they were also feared because of their practice of ritualistic cannibalism. But Matthias did not let his fear stop him…Entering the town he was captured and had his eyes plucked out before being tossed in prison. He was forced to drink poison while he wasted away in prison, waiting for his captors to seal his fate.

During this time, the Lord appeared to him and said, “Be of good courage, our Matthias and be not dismayed. For I shall not by any means forsake you.” His eyesight was restored along with the other prisoners who had suffered the same ordeal. The Lord promised that He would send the Apostle Andrew to release him and the others. The Lord wanted Matthias to stay in the prison until the arrival of Andrew, so that the other prisoners would be strengthened by his preaching of the Gospel. As promised, when Andrew approached the gates of the prison,  the doors swung wide open… as if of their own accord… But it was the Lord, He had brought Andrew and had released Matthias and the other prisoners… He had kept His Word to the Faithful…

After his release, Matthias traveled to many regions, returning to Galilee to preach to the Jews once again. But the Jews had become filled with anger and malice towards the Christians, and when Matthias returned, they seized him and turned him over to the High Priest Annas. Annas hated all Christians, and had already killed James, the first bishop of Jerusalem. He immediately ordered that Matthias be stoned to death. When Matthias was taken to the Jews for the stoning, Matthias said to them,

“You hypocrites, rightly did the Prophet David speak to those like you: ‘they shall hunt down the soul of the righteous man, and the innocent blood shall they condemn'” (Psalm 93:21).

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After he spoke these words, two men claimed they witnessed him blaspheme and picked up stones, for the satisfaction of being the first to stone him. In the midst of hurling stones, St. Matthias asked that these first stones be buried with him as a testimony of his suffering for the Lord. Angered by his request, they not only continued to stone him, but beheaded him as well, gaining for St. Matthias, his red crown of martyrdom … his red crown of glory for the Lord.

As we celebrate the Feast of the Lord’s Ascension and begin to focus our attention on the coming  Feast of the Pentecost… We must remind ourselves that Christ has not abandoned us either. We must allow ourselves to be filled with the same hope that sprang forth in those first disciples…We must know that Jesus opened heaven for each of us who believe. He bridged the gap between man and God, Our father in Heaven.

As children of God, we are much like those first disciples…God has chosen us... Each of us. We each have a calling from the Lord. We each have a vocation that God will lead us to… but only if we let Him. But first, we must pray, and we must meditate on Christ in the Eucharist, opening our hearts to His very presence… to His very Words.  And we must also rely on the guidance of Our Dear Blessed Mother as well. And finally, we should seek  the intercession of this  brave saint, who like many of us, was living a life that was contrary to what the Lord wished for him before he experienced his own conversion. Think about it….Matthias had been living the life of a swindler… a no good  tax collector who had been cheating men out of their hard earned wages. But when he met Jesus, he was so moved by His love that he converted immediately… Promising to pay back everything he had stolen … seeking atonement from the Lord, for the sins he had committed… he was bathed in the Lord’s mercy… Then after his conversion, he did not stray from serving the Lord…with all of his being… God’s mercy is there for us as well. We must remember, for those who repent… there is no sin greater than the mercy of God…

As Catholics, we need to understand that God is still calling saints out of darkness. He is still choosing His disciples from out of the world to go and spread the ‘Good News.’ He is touching hearts and converting many. Before you wonder if He is calling you… rest assured that He is. He has created each of us to be with Him in Heaven… and that is greatness…His created greatness.…for each of us. We need to have Faith and believe and then. we just need to  do as He said ‘and,

“Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. (For) Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; (and) whoever does not believe will be condemned.”( Mark 16:15)

 

 

 

 

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Sixth Sunday of Easter – Gospel of John 15: 9-17

Posted on May 7, 2018 by mikatsa6

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Jesus said to his disciples:
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.”

There is so much about this particular passage from the Gospel of John that should give Christians a sense of authentic hope. It is a proclamation from the very Words of God Himself, that it is not us who chooses Him…but He Who chooses us!  In speaking to His disciples,  Jesus reveals to them that out of the goodness of love; which is God Himself, He has created all men to experience His joy. It is a revelation not only intended for those disciples standing near Him…but for all men who would dare call themselves disciples of this same Lord. It is a message intended for us. It should cause our hearts to spark and ignite in a flame of love so bright that no one would ever doubt our vocation… That no one should ever see us and not want a bit of whatever it is that makes us bright. But unfortunately it is not like that. We are marked with the heavy stain of original sin and it shows. We have the smudges of doubt to prove it.

Just think. Christ has just told His disciples that they are...(in essence…that we are)...no longer slaves, because He has revealed to them what the Father, the Master, is doing…He calls them...He calls us…friends… He has bridged the gap between us and the far off God of the old… That stern Father Whom the prophets could not even approach without fear and trembling.

Daily Reading: 19 May – The Fall of Israel: Elijah and the ...He has removed the distance…. Jesus has given us an intimacy with God the Father that was missing from the old way of worship. If we look in the Old Testament, we find that the great Prophets were called servants of God…Moses…David, Joshua, Elijah, Enoch…they were are prophets of the Lord…and they were all pleased to be called servants of God.

But Jesus, He has come to unite our bond with the Lord in a much closer way. By dying on the cross, by “laying down his life” for us, Christ gave us the greatest gift that one could give…He gave us an intimacy with God the Father who is always there for us. Welcoming us…forgiving us…consoling us.  He has opened the door to His Father’s heart … A place where we can find comfort and strength any time we need it. And even though this is still a place of His Divine Justice…. there flows from it a river of His Mercy which washes over all who seek it. It is an offer made for all men…but we must be willing to accept it.

Jesus came to reveal the Will of His Father… He was sent to bring us…each of us… to reside with Him… and He with us….in our very heart… our very soul!  He came to spread this message…this call, to our new life with Christ. It is a call to recognize that as Christians we are called to experience the true joy that comes with this type of intimacy with the Lord… it is a deep down, all the way to the center of our hearts, kind of joy. As a follower of Christ, we are reminded that we are called to share in this joy. We are chosen to share in this Love.

Because He loves us and wants us to be with Him forever, He has given us this ‘key’. He has revealed it to us in this one command… this One little command…that is so grande, that to obey it, will bring us our eternal happiness. He tells us, “to love one another”… That’s it. So simple and complete. But we can’t do it on our own. We need God. We need His goodness and His grace. We need Him in all things. Every single moment. Every single day. Which ever way we want to read it… It’s a Truth that stays the same. A Truth that doesn’t change. It is constant and unchanging, to the very end… It Is God. Who is Love.

So yes, I guess, that’s all we ever really need, is Love.

 

 

 

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Honoring the Request of Our Blessed Mother at Fatima

Posted on May 5, 2018 by mikatsa6

 

 

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There could perhaps be no better way to honor our Blessed Mother than by trying to do what She asks. Since today is the first Saturday of the month it would be a  good idea to try and make it to Mass and honor our Blessed Mother’s request that she made in Fatima just over 100 years ago. I know everyone’s Saturday are already pretty hectic, but if you could try to attend a First Saturday Mass for just five consecutive months, that is all she has asked. The first Saturday devotion is a wonderful way for us to love Our Dear Mother during this month of May in which is dedicated to her in the Holy Mother Church.

If we truly wish to  love the Lord with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our body we would avail ourselves to fulfilling the requests of His dear Mother. Think about it, she made these requests to simple shepherd children who obeyed and followed Her requests… Are we to think that she would expect anything less than that from us? Probably not.

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