Post Abortion Healing and The Eucharist

Pope Francis: Pro-Abortion Politicians Ineligible for Communion

A letter Pope Francis sent to the bishops of Argentina in late March is getting note from a pro-life Catholic

group that says it is encouraging for pro-life advocates because it says pro-abortion politicians should not be eligible for communion in the Catholic Church.

In the letter, Pope Francis directed the Argentinean bishops to govern the Church there following the Aparecida Document.

The text states, in part, “[people] cannot receive Holy Communion and at the same time act with deeds or words against the commandments, particularly when abortion, euthanasia, and other grave crimes against life and family are encouraged. This responsibility weighs particularly over legislators, heads of governments, and health professionals.”

“These are the guidelines we need for this time in history,” the pope wrote to the bishops.

Judie Brown, president of American Life League, a U.S.-based pro-life group, and Michael Hichborn, director of Defend the Faith for American Life League, sent a letter to all U.S. Catholic bishops alerting them to what Pope Francis wrote.

For full article go to:  

Life News - Pope Francis: Pro Abortion Politicians Ineligible for Holy Communion

Christ the King Monastery of Perpetual Adoration-El Paso Catholic Diocese

First Pilgrimage of Apostolate of Perpetual Adoration to Knock Shrine - Homily by Archbishop Charles Brown (Papal Nuncio)

Homily Archbishop Charles Brown, Apostolic Nuncio

Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock, Apostolate of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration on 20th April 2013

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68).

My brothers and sisters in Christ, it is a real joy and a privilege for me to be with you this afternoon here at the shrine of Our Lady of Knock, for the pilgrimage of the Apostolate of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration.  It is truly good to be here (cf. Mt 17:4).  Since my arrival in Ireland some fourteen months ago, I have made several visits to this holy and renowned place.  My first visit as Nuncio was less than a week after arriving in Ireland, in February 2012, and since that first experience, I have become ever more convinced that the renewal of the Church in Ireland is, in a profound way, connected to this place of pilgrimage and to Ireland in 1879 was a difficult place.  The effects of the famine thirty years before were still felt sharply in the lives of the people.  The countryside, especially here in the West, had been depopulated; hundreds of thousands of people had died or had emigrated, and in 1879 it seemed very likely that the famine might return.  And so, it was in those challenging and frightening circumstance that she appeared – to comfort and to sustain the faith of her people by her maternal and loving presence.

everything that it represents.  All of us know well the history of Knock; how in 1879 Our Lady appeared to simple people gathered in prayer outside the parish church, to comfort and console them in their struggles and difficulties. 

The apparition of Knock is somewhat unusual for the fact that Our Lady did not speak.  Rather we can say that, instead of speaking, she opened the eyes of those who were present that day to see what our physical eyes do not normally see – a vision not unlike the one given to the Apostle John, the Beloved Disciple, on the Island of Patmos, a revelation of heaven, a vision of the ceaseless act of adoration, which is what heaven will be.  At the centre of Saint John’s vision, recounted in the Book of the Apocalypse, is the Lamb “who seemed to have been slain” (Rev 5:6), that is, with his wounds still visible, surrounded by countless angels and by the symbolic figure of 144,000 redeemed people, coming “from every race and tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and the Lamb” (Rev 7:9).  

Here at Knock, the symbolic 144,000 are represented by just three of the redeemed, three saints: Our Lady, Saint Joseph and Saint John the Beloved Disciple himself.  And here too, as in the vision of Saint John in the Book of the Apocalypse, at the centre is the Lamb, Christ our Lord and our God (cf. Jn 20:28); the Lamb upon the altar; the Lamb of sacrifice.  The apparition here at Knock is, as I have said, a vision of heaven, and in that vision, the presence of the altar is very significant.  The altar, on which the Lamb is standing, connects the realty of heaven – the “life of the world to come,” as we profess ever Sunday in the final words of the Creed – with earth.  The presence of the altar in the apparition here at Knock links heaven and earth.  And that connection is in and through the Mass.  The ceaseless act of worship, which is what heaven will be, already begins for us as Catholics here on this earth in the celebration of the Holy Mass. 

In Holy Mass, we, as baptized Christians, are drawn into the heavenly liturgy of the saints and angels.  Our elevation into the adoration of heaven becomes very explicit in the Mass at the end of the Preface prayed by the priest, the prayer which leads us into the “Holy, Holy, Holy”.  Each of the different Prefaces always concludes with some reference to all the angels and saints of heaven and to their unending hymn of praise to God, and then we too here on earth truly join them in their song of adoration of the Thrice-Holy God: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts…”  This is the hymn of the angels, which becomes our hymn here on earth.  The Mass is our act of adoration in which we are united with the Lamb who offers himself to the Father for us.

It is important for us to see the centrality of the Mass as the principal act of adoration of the Church, because the beautiful and worthy apostolate in which all of you are involved, that is, the Apostolate of Eucharistic Adoration is intrinsically connected to the Mass (cf. Pope Benedict XVI,Sacramentum caritatis, 66).  It flows from the Mass and leads back to the Mass.  Pope Benedict XVI designated this year as a Year of Faith; the Eucharist is the mystery of faith, the fact that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.  Eucharistic adoration is, like the Mass itself, an act of faith.  We adore because we believe that he is really present, and through our adoration our faith increases.  As I mentioned earlier, when we think of Ireland in 1879 at the time of the apparition here in Knock, we remember that Catholics faced considerable challenges.  But they held fast to what was most important, namely their Catholic faith.  Our time has its own challenges.  

In my view the greatest challenge in our own age is the erosion of faith.  Eucharistic adoration can be seen as the antidote, the remedy, both personal and communal, to the weakening of faith.  We adore because we believe.  The crisis of faith may be a distinctively modern or postmodern problem, but we see it as well in the Gospel that we have heard proclaimed today.  In the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Saint John, which we have been reading at daily Mass all this week, Jesus teaches his followers about the Eucharist, the bread of life, and, as we heard today, many of those who had been following him said “This is intolerable language.  How could anyone accept it?” (Jn 6:60).  We ourselves in our own time hear the same thing said about the Catholic faith: “This is intolerable language.  How could anyone accept it?”  And Jesus says the same thing to us today that he said to his Apostles in the Gospel: “What about you, do you want to go away too?”  Our response has to be the response of Saint Peter, who as the first of the Apostles, speaks for all of them and for all of us: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We believe and we know that you are the Holy one of God.”  In adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, we put these words into practice; “Lord, to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life”.  In adoration, we recognize that the Lord is here in our midst and that he is the Holy One of God.

A beautiful way of entering into adoration of the Eucharist is to open the Gospels and read slowly and meditatively his words while being in his presence.  When we do that, Jesus truly speaks to us “the words of eternal life,” because the Gospel is not a dead letter or even a just book of history; the Gospel is a living word which speaks directly to the heart of the person in adoration.  The beautiful experience of adoration

increases our faith and it also increases our love.  There are so many fruits of Eucharistic adoration; vocations to the priesthood and religious life flourish when there is adoration.  Adoration should also lead us to a greater love of our brothers and sisters, especially those who are most forgotten, marginalized; the poor, the elderly, unborn children in their mothers’ womb.

And finally adoration leads to joy.  Our Holy Father Pope Francis has spoken so powerfully about the joy that comes from following Christ.  The words of Pope Francis on Palm Sunday in Saint Peter’s Square express this joy so powerfully: “Jesus is God, but he lowered himself to walk with us.  He is our friend, our brother.  He illumines our path here [on this earth].  And in this way we have welcomed him today.  And here the first word that I wish to say to you: joy!  Do not be men and women of sadness: a Christian can never be sad!  Never give way to discouragement! Ours is not a joy born of having many possessions, but from having encountered a Person: Jesus, in our midst; it is born from knowing that with him we are never alone, even at difficult moments, even when our life’s journey comes up against problems and obstacles that seem insurmountable, and there are so many of them! And in this moment the enemy, the devil, comes, often disguised as an angel, and slyly speaks his word to us. Do not listen to him! Let us follow Jesus! We accompany, we follow Jesus, but above all we know that he accompanies us and carries us on his shoulders. This is our joy, this is the hope that we must bring to this world” (Pope Francis, Homily for Palm Sunday, 24 March 2103).

My brothers and sisters, how many saints in the history of the Church found their joy and their strength in Eucharistic adoration.  We need to follow the same path.  Let us ask Our Lady, who opened the eyes of the

visionaries here at Knock to see the reality of Christ on the altar, to open our own eyes through a progressive deepening of our faith.  That is the way forward for the Catholic Church in Ireland.  And so, we will make our own the words of Saint Peter: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life (Jn 6:68).

For more info on the Papal Nuncio in Ireland go to:
Homilies and Pastoral Visits of the Papal Nuncio to Ireland Archbishop Charles J.Brown

Adoro Te Devote

Monsignor Guido Marini on Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff (Now, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI)

OFFICE FOR THE LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF  

Benedict XVI’s liturgical celebrations

An interview with the Pope’s Master of Ceremonies
Monsignor Guido Marini
by Włodzimierz Rędzioch in "Inside the Vatican" magazine

Włodzimierz Rędzioch

-         In what terms is your collaboration with the Holy Father defined? Does he make all decisions?

        

Monsignor Guido Marini 

- It is my duty to point out first of all that the celebrations presided over by the Pope are to be taken as a reference point for the whole Church. The Pope is the Supreme Pontiff, the great officiator of the Church, the person who, even through his celebrations, gives a highly authoritative liturgical teaching which everybody must refer to. Bearing this in mind, it is easier to understand what style the Master of Ceremonies must adopt in his collaboration with the Holy Father. His task is to make the liturgy an authentic expression of the Pope’s liturgical guidelines. From this point of view the real Master of Ceremonies is the one who becomes a humble and faithful servant of the Church’s liturgy. It is in these terms that I defined my  work at the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.

- Believers notice the liturgical changes introduced by Benedict XVI. How would you sum up these changes?

- These changes could be summed up as follows: they are, first of all, introduced as a development of the past. There is therefore no contrast with or departure from the work of previous popes; second, the changes introduced are aimed at the promotion of the liturgy’s authentic spirit, as suggested by Vatican Council II, which maintains that: “The subject of the liturgy’s intrinsic beauty is Christ himself, risen from the dead and glorified in the Holy Spirit, who includes the Church in His action.”

- The officiator’s being turned to the crucifix and turning his back on the congregation, the faithful’ s taking the communion on their tongue and on their knees, the moments of silence are all liturgical changes introduced by Benedict XVI which many people see as a return to the past, without understanding their historical or theological meaning. Could you please illustrate the meaning of these changes in a few words?

- Actually, our office receives declarations from many people who receive the above changes with favour and see them in line with an authentic renewal of the liturgy. As for the meaning of some of these changes, the following remarks could be made. The priest’s being turned to the cross is meant to emphasize the correct direction of liturgical prayer, which is addressed to the Lord; when praying, the faithful are supposed not to

look at each other, but all together, towards the Saviour. The faithful’ s taking the communion on their knees is meant to rediscover the aspect of Eucharistic adoration, both as an essential part of the celebration and as an attitude towards the mystery of the Lord’s real presence in the Eucharist. The moments of silence are intended to remind the faithful that during the liturgical celebration prayer can be expressed in many ways: through words, song, gestures, music ... Among the ways of expressing prayer, however, there is also silence, which has the power to foster authentic religious participation in the celebration, hence to animate all other forms of prayer from within.

- The Holy Father attaches great importance to vestments. Is it mere decoration?

- In this connection a passage from the apostolic exhortation Sacramentum caritatis throws light on the meaning of beauty as an essential part of the liturgical celebration in the Pope’s vision: “This relationship between creed and worship is evidenced in a particular way by the rich theological and liturgical category of beauty. Like the rest of Christian Revelation, the liturgy is inherently linked to beauty: it is veritatis splendor ... This is not mere aestheticism, but the way in which the truth of God’s love in Christ encounters us, attracts and delights us enabling us to emerge from ourselves and drawing us towards our true vocation, which is love ... the true beauty of the love of God, who definitely revealed himself to us in the paschal mystery. The beauty of the liturgy is part of this mystery, it is a sublime expression of God’s glory and, in a way, a glimpse of heaven on earth ... Beauty then is not mere decoration, but rather an essential element of liturgical action, being an attribute of God himself and His revelation.

- Benedict XVI has changed his pastoral staff: it is now in the shape of a cross. What’s the reason for this change?

- It is worth remembering  that popes did not use the pastoral staff until the pontificate of Paul VI. During more solemn celebrations they used the ferula. Under Paul VI, on the contrary, the use of the pastoral cross with the crucifix became normal. Benedict XVI, who continued to use it until Whit Sunday 2008, decided to restore the use of the ferula, i.e. the cross without  the crucifix, as this more suited to the tradition of the papal liturgy.

- Why is it so important for the Church to preserve the use of Latin?        

- Even Vatican Council II, though introducing the use of the national language of each country, advised the preservation of Latin in the liturgy. In my opinion, there are two reasons for preserving the use of Latin. The first is that there is an invaluable cultural heritage in Latin; just think of Gregorian chant and polyphony, as well as venerable prayer books on which generations of Christians have prayed. The second is that, even nowadays, Latin is able to show the universality of the Catholic Church. Can you help experiencing this  universality inside Saint Peter’s basilica or in any other place of worship where people from all over the world, who speak different languages meet, pray and sing in the same language? Who does not feel the warm welcome of a common home when, entering a church in a foreign country, he can joy, at least in part, his brethren in  Christ thanks to the use of the same language?

- Is it true that the officiator’s faith is first of all expressed in the liturgy?

- Definitely. Since the liturgy is the celebration of the mystery of Christ in present of history, the priest is called on to express his faith in two ways. First, by going beyond the visible to touch the invisible i.e. the Lord’s presence and action. This is the origin of ars celebrandi, through which the faithful realize that the liturgy is not mere performance, but a living relation to and total assimilation in the mystery of God. Second, be being renewed at the end of the Eucharistic celeb ration and be ready to imitate the rite he has celebrated, i.e. to turn his life into a celebration of the mystery of Christ.

- An the Pope’s care for liturgical celebration set an example for other bishops and priests?

- It is absolutely desirable.

The Passion of the Catholic Church

The Sacred Character of the Eucharist - From Dominicae Cenae (Bl. John Paul II - 1980)

Sacred Character

8. Beginning with the Upper Room and Holy Thursday, the celebration of the Eucharist has a long history, a history as long as that of the Church. In the course of this history the secondary elements have undergone certain changes, but there has been no change in the essence of the "Mysterium" instituted by the Redeemer of the world at the Last Supper. The Second Vatican Council too brought alterations, as a result of which the present liturgy of the Mass is different in some ways from the one known before the Council. We do not intend to speak of these differences: It is better that we should now concentrate on what is essential and

immutable in the Eucharistic Liturgy.

There is a close link between this element of the Eucharist and its sacredness, that is to say, its being a holy and sacred action. Holy and sacred, because in it are the continual presence and action of Christ, "the Holy One" of God,(36) "anointed with the Holy Spirit,"(37) "consecrated by the Father"(38) to lay down His life of His own accord and to take it up again,(39) and the High Priest of the New Covenant.(40) For it is He who, represented by the celebrant, makes His entrance into the sanctuary and proclaims His Gospel. It is He who is "the offerer and the offered, the consecrator and the consecrated."(41) The Eucharist is a holy and sacred action, because it constitutes the sacred species, the Sancta sanctis, that is to say, the "holy things (Christ, the Holy One) given to the Holy," as all the Eastern liturgies sing at the moment when the eucharistic Bread is raised in order to invite the faithful to the Lord's Supper.

The sacredness of the Mass, therefore, is not a "sacralization," that is to say, something that man adds to Christ's action in the Upper Room, for the Holy Thursday supper was a sacred rite, a primary and constitutive liturgy, through which Christ, by pledging to give His life for us, Himself celebrated sacramentally the mystery of His passion and resurrection, the heart of every Mass. 

Our Masses, being derived from this

liturgy, possess of themselves a complete liturgical form, which, in spite of its variations in line with the families of rites, remains substantially the same. The sacred character of the Mass is a sacredness instituted by Christ. The words and actions of every priest, answered by the conscious active participation of the whole eucharistic assembly, echo the words and actions of Holy Thursday.

The priest offers the holy Sacrifice in persona Christi; this means more than offering "in the name of' or "in place of' Christ. In persona means in specific sacramental identification with "the eternal High Priest"(42) who is the author and principal subject of this sacrifice of His, a sacrifice in which, in truth, nobody can take His place. Only He-only Christ-was able and is always able to be the true and effective "expiation for our sins and...for the sins of the whole world."(43) Only His sacrifice-and no one else's-was able and is able to have a "propitiatory power" be fore God, the Trinity, and the transcendent holiness. Awareness of this reality throws a certain light on the character and significance of the priest celebrant who, by confecting the holy Sacrifice and acting "in persona Christi," is sacramentally (and ineffably) brought into that most profound sacredness, and made part of it, spiritually linking with it in turn all those participating in the eucharistic assembly.

This sacred rite, which is actuated in different liturgical forms, may lack some secondary elements, but it can in no way lack its essential sacred character and sacramentality, since these are willed by Christ and transmitted and regulated by the Church. Neither can this sacred rite be utilized for other ends. If separated from its distinctive sacrificial and sacramental nature, the Eucharistic Mystery simply ceases to be. It admits of no "profane" imitation, an imitation that would very easily (indeed regularly) become a profanation. This must always be remembered, perhaps above all in our time, when we see a tendency to do away with the distinction between the "sacred" and "profane," given the widespread tendency, at least in some places, to desacralize everything.

In view of this fact, the Church has a special duty to safeguard and strengthen the sacredness of the Eucharist. In our pluralistic and often deliberately secularized society, the living faith of the Christian

community-a faith always aware of its rights vis-a-vis those who do not share that faith-ensures respect for this sacredness. The duty to respect each person's faith is the complement of the natural and civil right to freedom of conscience and of religion.

The sacred character of the Eucharist has found and continues to find expression in the terminology of theology and the liturgy.(44) This sense of the objective sacred character of the Eucharistic Mystery is so much part of the faith of the People of God that their faith is enriched and strengthened by it.(45) Therefore the ministers of the Eucharist must, especially today, be illumined by the fullness of this living faith, and in its light they must understand and perform all that is part, by Christ's will and the will of His Church, of their priestly ministry.

Give honor and Glory to God in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar

Mother St. Joseph (Francis Horne) was the second Abbess of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim, Ireland. as they were called then, but who are now part of the Poor Clare Order.    On 25th March 1870 Perpetual Adoration began in the Monastery.  Mother St. Joseph was a very saintly nun who also had inspirations from the Lord. Below are some of those inspirations from the Lord regarding the Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament in their Chapel.  She went home to the Lord in 1879 on the Eve of Corpus Christi 11th June.

On one occasion, speaking in a rapture of Divine Love, Mother St. Joseph said to a witness:

. that Our Divine Lord wished the Devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament to be increased over the whole world; that we were to have Perpetual Adoration and Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament in our Convent Chapel; that we should be the Adorers to keep watch, hour by hour, day and night, before the Most Holy; that a high Tower should be built, and that the Bell should toll every hour, one, two, three; and that men's hearts should be touched thereby; that ladies would furnish the pecuniary aid necessary for the Perpetual Adoration which implied Exposition. She also told me that our Constitutions brought from France should be revised and sent to Rome. . . .

Our Divine Lord also spoke about the Churches of Ireland -- that poverty prevented the Blessed Sacrament being reserved in the Tabernacle [in many cases]; but He wished His priests to be zealous for the adornment of the Sanctuary, and that they would thus minister to Him personally. No heed should be paid to those who murmured against what they would term 'this waste,' as the Pharisees had murmured that the price of the precious ointment was not given to the poor -- adding that the multitude see and compassionate the wants of the Poor, but the enlightened soul of the consecrated spouse best discovers the needs of her Lord!

Our Divine Lord again made known to our dear Mother St. Joseph that great blessings would descend upon our country through means of Devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament -- that external demonstrations and the decoration of Churches honoured Him, and that even regal honours should be paid Him as a King upon His Throne in the Sacrament of His Love; . . . that the Jews would be converted and acknowledge Our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament to be their King and their God.

The pictures above are of the Monastery as it was and in 1964 the Old Chapel (above in black and white)  had to be demolished and the new Chapel was Consecrated in 1966 (colour picture).  

Homily of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on Holy Thursday 2012

Habemus Papam.....

Our new Holy Father, Pope Francis.  Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Jesuit, 76 years old has become the new Vicar of Christ on 13th March 2013.  A man of simplicity asked for prayers for Benedict XVI and prayer for himself as he now takes on this heavy Cross to lead the Catholic Church in these most turbulent times.  As he asked for prayers for himself, a great silence descended on the whole of St. Peters.  It was so emotional, a beautiful moment.  We pray for our Holy Father and we continue to pray also for Benedict XVI.  May the Lord bless and protect them both.  Let us also be watchful and discerning and keep our eyes always on the Lord and remember the True Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist and the Sacredness and Beauty of the Holy Mass and the beauty of the Vocation to the Priesthood.  Let us pray for all our Priests, Bishops and Cardinals also at this time of change.   The Lord is in charge and He will look after us always.  Mary Mother of the Church, protect us and our Holy Father and all the Church at this time.  Holy Saints and Martyrs pray for us.  St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church pray for us.  Let us be vigilant in the days ahead in Prayer and come closer to Christ.

Over 30,000 people attend Vigil for Life, Dublin 19.1.13 - Please share this Video

The Priesthood requires Personal Holiness

All Christian Tradition, based on Sacred Scripture, speaks of the priest as a "man of God," a man consecrated to God. Homo Dei: this definition is valid for every Christian, but St. Paul refers it especially to Bishop Timothy, his disciple, when he recommends the use of Sacred Scripture to him (cf. 2 Tim 3:16). It is appropriate to the presbyter as well as to the bishop, by reason of his special consecration to God. In truth, a person already receives a first, basic consecration in Baptism, with deliverance from evil and entry into a special state of belonging ontologically and psychologically to God [1] . Priestly ordination confirms and deepens this state of consecration, as the 1971 Synod of Bishops recalled when it referred to the priesthood of Christ shared by the presbyter through the anointing of the Holy Spirit [2] .

Continued in my new blog on the Priesthood here:  The Catholic Priesthood Blog

Holy Communion by Fr. William G. Most

In the ancient sacrifices, both Jewish and pagan, those who took part were given part of the meat of the sacrificed animal, in the hope of a sort of communion with the divinity. In the Mass, after the sacrifice itself is completed, we have the unspeakable privilege of receiving the flesh and blood of the Divine Victim, who is not dead, but living, and comes to give life in abundance to our souls.

This Holy Communion, if we are rightly disposed, produces an increase in sanctifying grace - the ability to take in the vision of God in the life to come - plus a special claim to actual graces as needed, forgiveness of venial sin for which one is repentant, help to keep from mortal sin, and an increase in the virtue of love.

But dispositions are needed, for even though the Eucharist contains the very Author of all grace, it does not operate like magic: we must do what we can.

We must of course have the state of grace. Without it it would be sacrilege, and an added mortal sin to receive. Right intention is also needed, i.e., to please God, to be more closely united with Him, to gain a remedy for our weaknesses.

It is not required to be free from all venial sin. The reception itself may forgive venial sins for which one is sorry. But the fruits of receiving are reduced. It is especially needed that one be free from all deliberate venial sin - in contrast to sins of weakness, sins when one is taken off guard.

For fullest benefits, we should be free from all attachment to anything sinful. Some have as it were a gap in their purpose of amendment, as if they said, for example: "I do not intend to commit mortal sins, nor all venial sins. But there are some reservations: if it is hard to stick to the truth, I will not do so, or if it is hard to keep a conversation going without a bit of detraction, that is all right too. These dispositions, sometimes called "affection to venial sin" impose as it were a clamp on one's heart, for he/she has decided to go so far and no farther. So they effectively prevent spiritual growth beyond a certain point. How sad that many who could grow much, block growth by this means.

But mere carelessness, lack of preparation, or lack of thanksgiving can be harmful. Pope John Paul II, in his very first Encyclical, Redemptor hominis #20, said that if one does not constantly try to grow spiritually, receiving the Eucharist would "lack its full redeeming effectiveness" and there could even be a spiritual loss. To receive out of mere routine, with no special care, no thanksgiving, is more apt to cause spiritual loss than gain.

To prepare, one should think in advance about what he/she is going to do, especially during the Mass. After receiving, it is valuable to try for recollection, in humility to adore the Lord present we adore the Lord present within us, to give thanks, to express sorrow for deficiencies, to ask for helps to do better. It is very good to stay a few minutes after the end of the Mass to continue this thanksgiving.  Of course one should be decently dressed to receive. Some give scandal and lead others into sin in the very act of coming.

The Eucharistic fast has now been reduced to one hour - abstaining from food and drink (except water). The time is computed up to the actual time of reception. The sick, even if not confined to bed, and those actually engaged in caring for them at the time, need not observe any period of fasting. The same applies to the elderly, according to the new Code of Canon Law # 919. 3.

Children should begin to receive when they have reached the use of reason, but not before they have made their first confession. Once one has begun to receive, there is the obligation of receiving at least once a year, at Easter time, unless there is a reasonable cause for using a different time.

Pastors should see to it that the sick can receive at times. Those who are in danger of death are obliged to receive the Sacred Host as Viaticum, which means provision for the journey -into the next life.
The present law allows quite a few occasions when the Holy Eucharist may be received under both species. However, Christ is received whole and entire under one form only, for He dies no more: body and blood are never separated. (Cf. First Corinthians 11. 26-27, noting that in v. 26, the word and shows that both species are needed to express the death of the Lord, but for Holy Communion, only one species is needed. Hence the word or is used in v. 27).

When actual reception is not possible, one may profitably make a spiritual communion, by a fervent desire to receive sacramentally. This keeps the soul united with Jesus during the day, and prepares better for the actual reception.

IPad App on the Holy Mass

Eucharistic Adoration spreading in the Lebanon

Forty Hours Devotion Promoted by Lay Group

BEIRUT, Lebanon, DEC. 12, 2011 (Zenit.org).- A group of Lebanese lay Catholics have formed a group called New Creation, with the objective of fostering devotion to Jesus. They took their name from a phrase in the Second Letter to the Corinthians: "So whoever is in Christ is a new creation," (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The principal means they are using in their endeavor to help people develop a personal relationship with Christ is promotion of the Forty Hours Devotion, during which time there is continuous prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in solemn exposition.

"This initiative seeks an opening to create this relationship with Jesus through a direct encounter with Him in the Eucharist," says Antoine Naanouh, the founder of New Creation.

"The Master teaches and the disciple learns, in silence, and then he can live and practice the Master's teachings," he added.

The first Forty Hours Devotion organized by the group took place Oct. 14-16 in the "Convent of the Savior" of the Trappist monks in Dlebta, Lebanon. Although 110 people had registered for adoration the actual number who turned up was more than 170. 

A further period of Eucharistic adoration was held in November in the church of "Our Lady of Khassale" in Kobayat in the North of Lebanon, where more than 400 people participated in the event.

Naanouh commented that after the way in which so many people demonstrated their thirst for this devotion, his group coordinated the practice among various parishes. There will be two more sessions of adoration, in the regions of Kesserwan and Beirut before the end of the year. 

Meanwhile New Creation will try and spread this practice through all the parishes of Lebanon.

Above post from Zenit at:  Eucharistic Adoration Takes off in Lebanon - Zenit

Six New Cardinals for the Church

Please pray for Ireland to Uphold the Sanctity of Life

“Give us the grace... When the sacredness of life before birth is attacked, to stand up and proclaim that no one ever has the authority to destroy unborn life.” 
Blessed John Paul II 

Please pray for Ireland at this time as it faces a battle against those who wish to bring in abortion.  The lies and falsehoods that are currently being spread so much all around the world are beyond belief.  The media seems unwilling to recognise the truth and does not wish to consider all those women who lost their lives through abortion, all those who are now suffering greatly because of abortion and all those little children who have died because of abortion and infanticide.  

Prayer to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist for the Child in the Womb

Lord Jesus, I firmly believe that the Blessed Sacrament is Your very Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. Senses cannot grasp this marvel. Faith, however, reaches beyond what the eyes can see and assures us that You are present.

Grant, O Lord, that our faith in the Eucharist may also strengthen our ability to recognize the dignity of every human life. We know that the senses can fool us there as well. Some may not be attractive, others may seem too small, some may appear as less than human.

But we, who can see You in the Sacred Host, can certainly see you in our brothers and sisters. We can also see You, O Lord, in the children in the womb. 

In a day when so many have forgotten these children, and dismiss them as less valuable than those who are born, grant that we may grow all the more convinced of their dignity and worth.

Then grant, O Lord, that we may act accordingly. Amen.

Above prayer from Priests for Life site http://www.priestsforlife.org/prayers/prayerjesuseucharist.html

Please pray for Ireland at this difficult time when the media, the EU and others are putting Ireland under pressure to give way to the horror of abortion which is a great evil against the sanctity of human life. 

Please check news on life issues on my sidebar for the more truthful side on the case of Savita currently going on in Ireland.