The Mass – Active and Fruitful Participation

From Jesus, Our Eucharistic Love

The infinite greatness of the Holy Mass should enable us to understand the need of attentively and devoutly taking part in this Sacrifice of Jesus. Adoration, love and sorrow ought to have undisputed predominance among our sentiments.

In a very moving reflection, Ven. Pope Pius XII described the state of mind with which one should take part in the Holy Mass: it should be “the state of mind that the Divine Redeemer had when He sacrificed Himself—the same humble spirit of submission—that is, of adoration, love, praise and thanksgiving to the great majesty of God, so that we reproduce in ourselves the condition of victimhood, the self-denial that follows the Gospel’s teaching, by which of our own accord we make a willing sacrifice of penance, sorrow and expiation for our sins.”

Let us ask ourselves seriously: is this the state of mind with which we participate at Holy Mass?

The Crucifix and the Candles

True and active participation at Holy Mass is what makes us into sacrificial victims like Jesus. Such participation succeeds in “reproducing in us the pain-shared features of Jesus” (Pius XII), bestowing upon us “a companionship with Christ in His sufferings” and rendering us “conformable to His Death” (Phil. 3:10). All the rest is mere liturgical ceremony, external dress.

St. Gregory the Great taught: “The Sacrifice of the Altar will be truly acceptable as a Victim offered in our behalf to God when we make ourselves into the Victim.”

As a reflection of this doctrine, in early Christian communities, the faithful, wearing penitential garbs and chanting the litany of the saints, went in procession to the altar for the celebration of Holy Mass, with the Pope presiding. If we would go to Mass in this spirit, we should want to make our own the sentiment St. Thomas the Apostle expressed when he said, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him” (Jn. 11:16).

When St. Margaret Mary Alacoque attended Holy Mass and would gaze at the altar, she would never fail to glance at the Crucifix and the lighted candles. Why? It was to impress on her mind and heart two things: that the Crucifix should remind her of what Jesus had done for her; that the lighted candles recall what she must do for Jesus—that is, sacrifice herself and be consumed for Him and for souls.

Every day the King of France, St. Louis IX, would assist at Holy Mass on his knees, on the bare floor. One time a valet offered him a kneeler, but the king told him, “At Mass God offers Himself as a sacrifice, and when God sacrifices Himself, kings should kneel on the floor.”

St. John Bosco recommended that young people participate at Holy Mass by following the method of St. Leonard of Port Maurice, who divided the sacrificial part of the Mass into three parts, whereby one meditates, first upon the Passion of Jesus (from the Offertory to the Elevation); second, upon our sins, the cause of the Passion and Death of Jesus (until Communion); and third, upon the resolution to live a pure and fervent life (from Communion to the end of Mass).

To be able to do this in the simplest and most fruitful way, it is enough to commit oneself to follow attentively the priest at the altar. In this way one overcomes more easily the distractions and boredom. (And on Sundays one should not go in search for—as some do—the shortest Mass, simply because they can hardly wait for Mass to end!)

One day the father of Guido of Fontgalland asked his son how one should occupy himself during Mass. “During Holy Mass,” the holy youth replied, “our single occupation is to follow it. It is enough to read with the priest the prayers that he recites at the altar….”

It is the same reply that Pope St. Pius X gave to whomever wanted to know what prayers to recite during Holy Mass: “Follow the Mass, say the prayers of the Mass!”

Be like Our Lady on Calvary

The best example of participation at the Holy Sacrifice is given us at the foot of the Cross by the most Blessed Virgin Mary, St. John the Evangelist and St. Mary Magdalene with the pious women (Jn. 19:25).

To assist at Mass is very much like being at Calvary. A meeting of love and sorrow with Jesus Crucified—this is participation at Holy Mass.

St. Andrew of Avellino used to be moved to tears as he said, “One cannot separate the most Holy Eucharist from the Passion of Jesus.” One day a spiritual son asked St. Pio of Pietrelcina, “Father, how should we take part at Holy Mass?” St. Pio replied, “As Our Lady, St. John and the pious women did on Calvary—with love and compassion.”

In a missal of one of his spiritual children St. Pio wrote: “In assisting at Holy Mass, concentrate intently on the tremendous Mystery which is taking place before your eyes, which is the Redemption and reconciliation of your soul with God.”

At another time he was asked, “Father, why is it that you weep so much during Mass?”

“My daughter,” replied St. Pio, “what are those few tears compared to what takes place at the altar? There should be torrents of tears!”

Don’t insist on perfection. Expecting perfection from yourself and others is a setup for disappointment. Things won’t go as planned and you won’t be perfectly organized. Let it go. This, too, shall pass. -Charlotte Siems

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The Little Flower’s Tidbits on Holy Communion

The following tidbits are taken from this lovely, old “Little Flower Prayer Book” of my mother’s…..

This was Mom’s beautiful (and much used) Little Flower Prayer Book that she had for many years.

It has all sorts of notes throughout, post-it notes, holy cards, etc. As you can see by this page at the back Mom wrote some of the novenas she had done for her family. One of the novenas she said a Hail Mary for 240 days….and she did that one for each of her siblings, her children and grandchildren.

It was a fluke I found this book. And when I did, I was happy to find this note in the front.

St. Therese:

How sweet it was, the first kiss of Jesus to my soul! Yes, it was a kiss of Love. I felt I was loved, and I too said: “I love Thee, I give myself to Thee forever!”

Jesus asked nothing of me, demanded no sacrifice. Already for a long time past, He and the little Therese had watched and understood one another . . .

That day our meeting was no longer a simple look but a fusion. No longer were we two: Therese had disappeared as the drop of water which loses itself in the depths of the ocean, Jesus alone remained; the Master, the King!

Had not Therese begged Him to take away from her, her liberty? That liberty made her afraid; so weak, so fragile did she feel herself that she longed to be united for ever to Divine Strength.

I had taken as my rule of conduct, to receive most faithfully Holy Communion as often as my confessor permitted, without ever asking that it might be more frequent.

I would act differently now; for I am quite sure that a soul ought to make known to her director the attraction that she feels to receive her God.

It is not to remain in a golden ciborium that He comes down each day from Heaven, but to find another Heaven, the Heaven of our soul in which He takes his delight.

What shall I say of my thanksgivings after Holy Communion? There are no moments in which I feel less consolation. And is not this very natural, seeing that my desire is to receive our Lord’s visit, not for my own satisfaction, but solely for His pleasure.

I imagine my soul to be as a plot of waste ground and beg the Blessed Virgin to remove from it all the rubbish—meaning its imperfections; then I beseech her to erect thereon a vast canopy worthy of Heaven and to decorate it with her own treasures, and I invite all the Angels and Saints to come and sing canticles of love.

It seems to me then that Jesus is pleased to see Himself so magnificently received; and I, I share His joy. All this does not hinder distractions and sleep from molesting me; therefore it not rarely happens that I resolve to continue my thanksgiving all the day long, since I have made it so badly in the Choir.

At the time of Holy Communion I sometimes picture my soul under the figure of a little child of three or four years, who at play has got its hair tossed and its clothes soiled.—

These misfortunes have befallen me in battling with souls.—But very soon the Blessed Virgin hastens to my aid: quickly she takes off my little dirty pinafore, smooths my hair and adorns it with a pretty ribbon or simply with a little flower . . . and this suffices to render me pleasing and enables me to sit at the Banquet of Angels without blushing.

The demon, traitor that he is, knows well, that he cannot make a soul who wills to belong wholly to the good God, commit sin; therefore he endeavors only to persuade her that she sins. That is a great deal gained, but it is not yet enough to satisfy his rage; he aims at something further, he wants to deprive Jesus of a loved tabernacle.

Not being able himself to enter into this sanctuary he wishes that it may at least remain empty and without its Lord.

Alas! what will become of this poor heart? . . . When the devil has succeeded in driving away a soul from Holy Communion he has gained his ends, and Jesus weeps . . .

A novice relates that she wanted to deprive herself of Holy Communion because of some lack of fidelity.

She wrote her determination to Sister Therese of the Child Jesus who thus replied: “Little flower cherished by Jesus, it is amply sufficient that by the humiliation of your soul, your roots eat of the earth . . . You must open a little, or rather raise on high your corolla so that the Bread of Angels may come as a divine dew to strengthen you, and to give you all that is wanting to you.”

Goodnight, poor little floweret; ask of Jesus that all the prayers offered for my recovery may serve to augment the fire which must consume me.”

“Love and sacrifice is thus as closely connected as the sun and the light. You can’t love without suffering and suffer without loving. It is with sacrifice that so confirms love “. – Santa Gianna Beretta Molla
Painting by Hermann Kaulbach (1846 – 1909, German)

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Where There Is No Mass, There Is No Christianity

I was introduced to this book from a dear friend and it has been a source of joy and inspiration! The Holy Mass is there for us, do we take advantage of the multitude of graces it offers? Do we have special intentions, do we have anxieties and fears, do we have sinners to pray for? The Mass is the greatest prayer….life is short! Let’s get to it!

The Hidden Treasure by St. Leonard of Port Maurice

“Where there is no Mass,” writes one of the Fathers of the English Oratory, “there is also no Christianity.”

The reason is plain: Christ’s life was one of sacrifice—not merely of the figurative sacrifice of praise and prayer, but one of outward act, of suffering and of death.

His religion must be like Himself: it must be the continuation of the divine-human life that He led upon earth, representing and perpetuating, by some sacred rite, the sacrifice that began in the womb of Mary and ended upon the Cross of Calvary. That rite is the holy Mass.

Do we always realize it as such? Does the conviction sink deep into us, when offering, or assisting, at the adorable Sacrifice, that Jesus is reenacting, in our presence, the mysteries of His life and death?

The altar of the Mass is the holy house of Nazareth, the crib of Bethlehem, the Egyptian place of exile, the hill of Calvary, the garden-tomb in which Our Savior’s corpse reposed, and the Mount of Olives from which He ascended.

The Passion, it is true, is that which is primarily represented and continued in the holy Mass; yet the prayers and rites of the Sacrifice refer, at times, to other mysteries. Thus the dropping of a part of the sacred Host into the Chalice, before the Agnus Dei, represents the reunion of Christ’s soul with His body and blood on the morning of the Resurrection.

For a description of the many and beautiful analogies between the Eucharistic life of Our Lord and His sacred Infancy, we refer the reader to Father Faber’s Treatise on the Blessed Sacrament.

The Mass is truly a “hidden treasure,” and, alas, our cold, dead faith allows it to remain so. If we valued it as we ought, we would hurry every morning to the church, careless of the snows of winter and the heats of summer, in order to get a share of the riches of this treasure.

The saints knew the value of one Mass: that was a dark day in their calendar on which they were deprived of the happy privilege of saying or hearing Mass.

Although St. Francis de Sales was overburdened with apostolic work on the Mission of the Chablais, he made it a point never to miss his daily Mass. In order to keep his holy resolution, he had frequently to cross the river Drance, to the village of Marin, in which there was a Catholic church.

It happened, in the winter of 1596, that a great freshet carried away a portion of the bridge over the stream, and the passengers were, in consequence, compelled to cross on a plank laid over those arches of the broken structure that had withstood the waters.

Heavy falls of snow, followed by severe frosts, made this board very slippery, so that it became dangerous to attempt passing on it; but St. Francis was not to be deterred, for, despite the remonstrances of his friends, he made the perilous journey every morning, creeping over the icy plank on his hands and feet, thus daily risking his life rather than lose Mass.

Dear Christian reader! Beg this glorious Saint to obtain for you and me some portion of his burning love for the most holy and adorable Sacrifice of the altar.

 If we really have in our hearts good-will to men, we shall not only wish every one well, but we shall seek every opportunity to do good to every one, beginning with those at home. It will make us good wives, good mothers, good neighbors, kind, obliging, ready always to lend a hand, to do another a good turn. -Finer Femininity

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Jesus On Our Altars – Stirring the Hearts of Men

An Easy Way to Become a Saint by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan

JESUS ON OUR ALTARS

Jesus remains on the Altar, waiting for our visits, ready to console and comfort us, ready to pardon the most depraved sinner, even as He pardoned the Publican in the Temple, to give help and strength to the weak, to comfort the sad, to console the sorrowful.

This Sacrament is indeed a Sacrament of peace and love. Here Our Lord is on a throne of Mercy, continuing the work of His life on Earth, but—dare we say it—in a more merciful way.

When on Earth, He was in one land; only the people of that land could hope to approach Him. In the Blessed Eucharist, He is in all lands, in all cities and towns, even in the deserts, wherever a Catholic missionary is found.

He is really and truly present; He sees us distinctly; He hears us; He loves us. He is waiting, longing for our visits.

A few incidents of recent occurrence will show us how really Our Lord is on the Altar.

A Protestant Minister in England was taking a walk with his little daughter, six years old. They entered a Catholic Church, where the minister explained to his little girl the meaning of the Way of the Cross and other objects of note in the church.

The little one, attracted by the red lamp burning before the Tabernacle, asked what that meant. Her father replied that it was to show that Jesus was in the Tabernacle.

“Jesus!” she exclaimed. “Our Jesus, the Son of God?”

“Yes, dear.”

The child was deeply impressed. Even after, when walking with her father or mother, she insisted on going into a Catholic church to see the lamp and to visit Jesus.

Wonderful visits! Our Lord was speaking to their hearts. After six months the child with her father and mother became fervent Catholics.

In London, two girlfriends, one a Catholic and the other a Protestant, went shopping. Passing a church, the Catholic said goodbye to her friend, as she wished to assist at Benediction. The Protestant, however, entered the church to wait.

She remained standing, looking about. It was the first time she had been in a Catholic church. When, however, the priest placed the Monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament on the Altar, she instinctively fell on her knees and folded her hands on her breast, gazing at the Sacred Host.

On leaving the church, to the surprise of her friend, she asked to be introduced to the priest. She wished to become a Catholic, though never before had she thought of it.

A Protestant young man fell in love with a Catholic girl, but after some time, as he refused to become a Catholic, she declared that she could not marry him, though she loved and respected him very much.

She begged him to consider the affair ended and asked him not to write to her again. Broken-hearted, the young man took his annual holiday and went off to a country village to try to forget his grief.

The hotel in which he stayed was near the Catholic church, and he could see from his room the Tabernacle lamp. The lamp became a fascination for him; sitting at his table, his eyes invariably turned toward it. It became an obsession.

He asked the servant who had charge of his room what that red lamp meant. Smiling, she answered, “It is the red lamp that burns before the Blessed Sacrament.”

The obsession continued, and finally he resolved to enter the church and see it for himself. On entering the church, great was his surprise to come face to face with the girl whom he had so wished to marry.

“What has brought you here?” he exclaimed.

“I came,” she answered, “to nurse my aunt, who is ill.”

“And what,” she asked in turn, “brought you into this Catholic Church, you who refused to think of becoming a Catholic?”

He told her simply that the red lamp, which he could see from his room in the hotel, fascinated him and he had to come to see it.

“Then continue,” she said, “Our Lord Himself is calling you.” He did so and gradually his doubts and dislikes for the Church cleared away and he became a fervent Catholic and the happy husband of the girl he loved.

STILL ANOTHER INCIDENT

A gentleman and his wife, both staunch Protestants, had a business transaction with the priest in whose parish they lived. Unfortunately the settlement of this affair caused annoyance to both parties, and the Protestants became more embittered than ever against the Catholic Church.

Some time elapsed, and the lady happened to be passing the church. Feeling tired, she went in to rest. She remained for twenty minutes, enjoying the calm and silence and looking at the High Altar.

This visit was repeated frequently, at first merely with the wish to rest, but gradually this gave way to a feeling of pleasure and peace.

A few months passed and both husband and wife became Catholics!

If then Our Sweet Lord works so wonderfully on those souls who did not even pray to Him, what will He not do for those who pray fervently to Him?

As we get warmth and comfort when we approach a blazing fire in the wintertime, even so, our poor cold hearts are filled with the fire of love when we kneel lovingly before Jesus in the Sacrament of the Altar.

He is the same God who in Heaven fills the Angels with love. Here in the Blessed Sacrament He is on a throne of mercy and wishes to fill our poor souls with peace and joy.

We are in the midst of Angels, who stand around the Altar praying with us and for us. Our Lord has many times shown Himself in the Blessed Sacrament to help our faith.

We will mention just one fact. Thomas of Cantimbre, the celebrated Dominican Bishop, famed for his profound learning and deep piety, describes a miracle which he himself witnessed in company with many others.

Having heard that Our Lord had appeared visibly in a consecrated Host in the Church of St. Amand in Douay, he immediately hastened thither and begged the priest to open the Tabernacle and expose the Sacred Particle.

Many persons flocked to the church on learning of the Bishop’s arrival and were privileged to see the miracle once more.

The Bishop tells us what he himself saw: “I saw my Lord face to face. His eyes were clear and had an expression of wondrous love.

His hair was abundant and floated on His shoulders; His beard was long, His forehead broad and high; His cheeks were pale, and His head slightly inclined.

At the sight of my loving Lord, my heart well-nigh burst with joy and love. ”

After a little time Our Lord’s face assumed an expression of profound sadness, such as it must have worn in the Passion. He was crowned with thorns and His face bathed in blood.

“On looking on the countenance of my Sweet Savior thus changed, my heart was pierced with bitter grief; tears flowed from my eyes, and I seemed to feel the points of the thorns enter my head.”

Though we do not see Our Dear Lord as the Bishop did, He is there on the Altar, the same loving Lord.

“We’re terribly in danger all the time of taking God’s goodness too much for granted; of bouncing up to Communion as if it were the most natural thing in the world, instead of being a supernatural thing belonging to another world.” – Msgr. Ronald Knox, 1948

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Painting by Gennaro Befanio

 

Holy Communion: Jesus is Mine

French Vintage Holy Card, 1920’s

From Jesus Our Eucharistic Love

In Holy Communion Jesus gives Himself to me and becomes mine, all mine, in His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.

One day St. Gemma Galgani said to Jesus with artless simplicity, “I am Your master.”

With Communion, Jesus enters my heart and remains corporally present in me as long as the species (the appearance) of bread lasts; that is, for about 15 minutes. The Holy Fathers teach that during this time the angels surround me to continue to adore Jesus and love Him without interruption.

“When Jesus is corporally present within us, the angels surround us as a guard of love,” wrote St. Bernard. He in me and I in Him

Perhaps we think too little about the sublimity of every Holy Communion. Yet St. Pius X said that “if the angels could envy, they would envy us for Holy Communion.”

And St. Madeleine Sophie Barat defined Holy Communion as “Paradise on earth.”

All the saints have understood by experience the divine marvel of our meeting and our union with Jesus in the Eucharist. They have understood that a devout Holy Communion means being possessed by Him and possessing Him.

“He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me and I in him” (Jn. 6:57).

On one occasion St. Gemma Galgani wrote, “It is now night. Tomorrow morning is approaching, and then Jesus will possess me and I will possess Jesus.”

It is not possible to have a union of love which is deeper and more total: He in me and I in Him; the one in the other. What more could we want?

“You envy,” said St. John Chrysostom, “the privilege of the woman who touched the vestments of Jesus, of the sinful woman who washed His feet with her tears, of the women of Galilee who had the happiness of following Him in His pilgrimages, of the Apostles and disciples who conversed with Him familiarly, of the people of the time who listened to the words of grace and salvation which came forth from His lips.

You consider fortunate those who saw Him…. However, come to the altar and you will see Him, you will feel Him [when received in Communion], you will give Him holy kisses, you will wash Him with your tears, you will carry Him within you like Mary Most Holy.”

For this reason the saints desired and longed for Holy Communion with ardent love; for example, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Paschal Baylon, St. Veronica, St. Gerard, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, St. Dominic Savio, St. Gemma Galgani…. It is pointless to continue, for one would need to list all the saints.

For example, one night St. Catherine of Genoa dreamed that the following day she would not be able to receive Holy Communion. The sorrow that she experienced was so great that she cried unceasingly, and when she woke up the next morning, she found that her face was all wet from the tears she shed in her dream.

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus wrote a little Eucharistic poem, “Desires near the Tabernacle,” in which, among other beautiful things, she said, “I would like to be the chalice and adore the Divine Blood therein. I can, however, in the Holy Sacrifice, gather Him in me every morning. My soul is therefore dearer to Jesus, it is more precious than vessels of gold.”

And how great was the happiness of that angelic Saint when, during an epidemic, daily Communion was given to her!

“You should fear nothing, if you are equipped with the strongest spiritual weapon —Holy Communion. It prevents mortal sin—the greatest evil in the world—from taking root in your soul and even washes away the stains of venial sin so long as you have no affection for it nor desire to commit it in the future. The coming of Jesus in Holy Communion awakens new love in your heart and encourages you to live in purity and sinlessness, which is a necessary condition for happiness.” -Clean Love in Courtship, Fr. Lovasik http://amzn.to/2fOwQm9 (afflink)

Happy Feast Day!

Saint John Vianney
The Cure d’Ars
1786 – 1859
Feast Day: August 4
Patronage: all priests
After many obstacles and suffering, St. John Mary Vianney ( Jean-Baptiste-Marie Vianney) became one of the most celebrated parish priests in the Catholic Church. He fought for souls in his small town in Ars, France by fasting, praying and hearing confessions until the wee hours of the morning. He converted many souls and because of this, the Devil often tempted him in the middle of the night, but he was so strong and so rooted in prayer that he was able to triumph. It is said that the Devil once told St. John Vianney, “If there were three such priests as you, my kingdom [in France] would be ruined.”
From Portrait of Saints

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What does it take to be a holy family especially in today’s world where everything is anti-family? Dating? Courting? How do you prepare for marriage? Tips & rules to follow…

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Notes on Daily Mass by St. Leonard of Port Maurice

Many years I was not able to attend daily Mass because of homeschooling, pregnancies, toddlers, sicknesses, etc.  So this post is not to cause us to feel guilty and push us to neglect our home duties….

At the same time, it is a good reminder that, if we can,  take in an extra Mass during the week. And if we are in a time of life we can get to daily Mass, it will be the most efficacious thing you will do in your day!

It is also a call to priests to fulfill their serious obligation of offering daily Holy Mass….

Angelo is second altar server from the right.

from The Hidden Treasure by St. Leonard of Port Maurice, 1676

VARIOUS EXAMPLES TO INDUCE THE FAITHFUL OF EVERY CONDITION EACH MORNING TO HEAR HOLY MASS

Many are the excuses which those who attend holy Mass grudgingly and with reluctance find for their tepidity. You may observe them all immersed in business, all anxious and intent (to use a common and most accurate expression) on promoting their own interests.

For these, every fatigue is a trifle; nor is there any inconvenience which they will allow to stand in their way; while, for attending holy Mass, which is the great affair of all, you will perceive them languid, cold, with a hundred frivolous pretexts at hand about important occupations, weak health, family troubles, want of time, multiplicity of business, and so on.

The Mass – Active and Fruitful Participation

From Jesus, Our Eucharistic Love

The infinite greatness of the Holy Mass should enable us to understand the need of attentively and devoutly taking part in this Sacrifice of Jesus. Adoration, love and sorrow ought to have undisputed predominance among our sentiments.

In a very moving reflection, Ven. Pope Pius XII described the state of mind with which one should take part in the Holy Mass: it should be “the state of mind that the Divine Redeemer had when He sacrificed Himself—the same humble spirit of submission—that is, of adoration, love, praise and thanksgiving to the great majesty of God, so that we reproduce in ourselves the condition of victimhood, the self-denial that follows the Gospel’s teaching, by which of our own accord we make a willing sacrifice of penance, sorrow and expiation for our sins.”