Diocesan News AND BEYOND

SUNDAY GUIDE |  APR. 26, 2019
Divine Mercy Sunday: His Mercy Endures Forever
User’s Guide to Sunday, April 28
Sister Mary Madeline Todd, OPSunday, April 28, is the Second Sunday of Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday. Mass readings: Acts 5:12-16; Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24; Revelation 1:9-11-13, 17-19; John 20:19-31.
No need of ours is greater than God’s desire to show us mercy. This is a basis for our hope and a source of consolation, even in our greatest struggles. In today’s readings, we find mercy at every turn.
Often we think of works of mercy in terms of the physical and spiritual needs of our brothers and sisters. In Acts, the apostles, like Christ their teacher, were constantly serving the sick and the poor. Peter, who had been shown life-changing mercy by the Lord, became a font of mercy for others. The sick would be laid in his path because even his shadow could heal (Acts 5:15). Having been radically transformed by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Peter had become a vessel of mercy for others.
The exiled John, given a revelation of the One who was dead but now lives forever, became a chosen instrument to pour out the mercy of truth for all generations to come. John had walked beside Christ during his ministry, witnessing the signs that revealed his glory. He who discovered himself as the beloved disciple would testify again and again to the fact that God is love and that we who are the children of God can place all our trust and hope in the God who first loved us.
In the Risen Christ’s appearance to his apostles found in today’s Gospel reading, yet another dimension of mercy is revealed. The whole group is fearful, behind locked doors and uncertain of the future. Jesus shows that mercy reaches out to those who are afraid. He brings them the message of peace and the calming gift of his presence. He doesn’t rebuke them for their fear, but remains with them in their darkness in order to bring them light.
In a special way, through Thomas, Christ shows a merciful gentleness toward all who suffer confusion and doubt. How many people are like Thomas in our world today? Many have witnessed so much suffering that it is hard for them to believe that new life is possible. Many have heard that Christ is risen, but they cannot see how this has changed the world or the hearts of those who claim to be believers. Whatever were the roots of Thomas’ doubt, Jesus showed exquisite mercy. He invited him to touch his wounds, to know that he is real, to begin to believe that death does not have the final word.
The mercy of our God shown to us in Jesus Christ, risen and ever present to us, is infinite. God did not remain at a distance from us; rather, he came among us and shared our joys and sorrows. He does this still. There is no form of suffering which does not move him, and there is no form of suffering which is greater than his love for us. Whether our need is material or physical, emotional or spiritual, the Lord sees and has compassion. As we are shown mercy by our tender and compassionate Father, may we learn to be merciful in return. Peter was so transformed by the forgiveness he received from Christ that even his shadow could heal. How much our world needs each of us to receive and to extend the infinite and life-giving mercy of our God.
Dominican Sister Mary Madeline Todd is a member of the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation in Nashville, Tennessee.


Remember the Missionaries of Mercy? Here's What They've Been Up ToBy Elise Harris
Vatican City, Apr 6,  (EWTN News/CNA)
Hundreds of Pope Francis' missionaries of mercy are gathering at the Vatican in coming days for formation and fellowship, for the first time since their mandate was extended at the end of the Jubilee of Mercy.

It has been two years since the missionaries were first commissioned on Ash Wednesday 2016 during the jubilee, and it has been nearly 18 months since the pope extended their mandate at the close of the holy year, allowing them to continue hearing confessions freely in every diocese throughout the world and lifting censures - ecclesiastical penalties - that normally require the permission of the pope. 

The missionaries, who number over 1,000 and come from all over the world, have spent much of the past two years working to spread the message of God's mercy and forgiveness through their daily activities and ministries, including talks, retreats, and social communications. An emphasis on confession is central to their work, which many of the missionaries say is greatly needed. 

“I'm very grateful the Holy Father has continued our mandate, because not only is it needed, but also, it's a joy to do this work as a priest,” Fr. John Mary Devaney told EWTN News April 6. 

He said the missionaries originally got a letter informing them that their mandate would end with the close of the Jubilee of Mercy, and were surprised and delighted when Pope Francis published a letter the day after the end of the holy year saying their ministry would be extended. 

Devaney said the majority of American Catholics he meets do not go to confession regularly. But when he has heard the confession of someone who has been away for decades, the experience is largely life-changing for the penitent. 

The encounter with God’s mercy in a new or forgotten way is so powerful, he said, that “I have no doubt that they will continue to go to confession again.”

Devaney, who comes from the Archdiocese of New York, hosts the weekly program Word to Life on SiriusXM radio, and is just one of some 600 Missionaries of Mercy expected to come to Rome for an April 8-11 meeting focused on spiritual formation and building fellowship. 

During the meeting, missionaries will have the opportunity to go to confession themselves and listen to talks dedicated to themes relevant to their ministry, such as confession as a sacrament of mercy, and sin and mercy in the life of the priest. 

The event will open April 8 with Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday, which the missionaries will concelebrate alongside Pope Francis. 

They will hear talks from Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments; Archbishop Rino Fisichella, prefect of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization; and Archbishop Jose Octavio Ruiz Arenas, secretary for the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization.

The missionaries’ work was placed under the jurisdiction of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, from which they receive instruction and ongoing communication throughout the year. 

According to Msgr. Graham Bell, an official working with the council, the main idea for the event is that it offer “ongoing formation” to the missionaries. 

“It's about the exercise of your ministry as Missionaries of Mercy. So it's understanding how mercy works, how it functions in the life of persons, and in the life of priests,” he told EWTN News April 5, adding that the scope is simply “to make them better at what they do.”

What the council wants from the missionaries, he said, is to place a strong emphasis on the sacrament of confession, and to promote their ministry through specific activities, particularly during major liturgical seasons such as Lent and Advent. 

And with no clear end in sight to the missionary mandate, Bell said the idea is to continue having meetings on a regular basis to offer formation and time to share stories. So far, from the feedback the council has received, the missionaries “have a very, very strong impact,” he said. 

For Fr. Roger Landry, a missionary of mercy who works for the Holy See's Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations in New York, the ministry of mercy is always needed in the Church, but is especially crucial in the modern global context. 

Landry told EWTN News that both St. John Paul II and Pope Francis have emphasized that “we are living in a 'kairos of mercy,' a time in which God’s loving forgiveness is especially crucial.”

This, he said, is because “we’re living at a time in which unexpiated guilt is wreaking so much havoc.” 

“After two World Wars and the Cold War, the Holocaust, the genocides in Armenia, Ukraine, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur, after so many atrocities from tyrannical governments, after the waterfalls of blood flowing from more than two billion abortions worldwide, after the sins that have destroyed so many families, after so much physical and sexual abuse, after lengthy crime logs in newspapers every day, after the scourge of terrorism, after so much hurt and pain, the terrible weight of collective guilt crushes not only individuals but burdens structures and whole societies.”

The modern world, he said, is like “one big Lady Macbeth, compulsively washing our hands to remove the blood from them, [but] there is no earthly detergent powerful enough to take the blemishes away.”

People can speak to psychiatrists and psychologists, but their words and advice can only help deal with guilt, “not eliminate it,” Landry said. 

“We can confess ourselves to bartenders, but they can only dispense Absolut vodka, not absolution, and inebriation never brings expiation.”

There is also the attempt by many to try to escape reality through “distractions and addictions” such as sports, drugs, entertainment, food, power, materialism, lust and many other things, Landry said, but stressed that none of this “can adequately anesthetize the pain in our soul from the suffering we’ve caused or witnessed.”

“We’re yearning for a second, third or seventy-times-seventh chance. We’re pining for forgiveness, reconciliation, and a restoration of goodness. We’re hankering for a giant reset button for ourselves and for the world.”

Landry said his mandate has also impacted his work at the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the U.N., much of which is already dedicated to the works of mercy, such as caring for the poor, defending the vulnerable, feeding the hungry and seeking to provide education and care for those suffering due to war. 

In addition to his work at the U.N., Landry said bishops have also sought him out and asked him to come to their dioceses to speak and hear confessions, and “thanks be to God, there has been a lot of fruit.”

Similarly, Fr. John Paul Zeller, a friar with the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word and a missionary of mercy from Birmingham, Ala., said he has had the opportunity to travel around the United States and offer talks and retreats centered on mercy, and has seen enormous fruits. 

One of the things he has emphasized the most is reaching out to people who have been far from the Church or who have had a bad experience in confession, and have either left the Church or refused to go back to the sacrament as a result. 

In comments to EWTN News, Zeller noted that when they were first commissioned in 2016, Pope Francis told them that people had been “lambasted” at times by priests in the confessional, and that this experience did a lot of damage. 

“I really took that to heart,” Zeller said, explaining that there have been multiple times he has stood in front of a group and apologized for these bad experiences, saying “if anybody here has had a bad experience in the confessional, from childhood until now, I beg you in the name of Jesus Christ, I beg you in Jesus' name and as a representative of our Holy Father, I beg your forgiveness.”

The results have been profound, not only in people returning to the sacrament, but in those seeking him out for spiritual advice or guidance.

“So many people are starving for a shepherd, starving for someone to show them love, show them that they care and to listen to them,” he said, adding that “it's been such a privilege” to be put into situations where he is able to offer help to a person in real need. 

However, Zeller stressed that mercy doesn't mean a lack of justice. These two virtues, he said, are not opposed, but rather, according to the logic of God, they are “the same thing.”

“Sometimes we come across as thinking mercy is just being all sappy and not firm with people and not clear with people…. [But] when we're exercising mercy, we need to exercise the virtue of justice too.”

In addition to talks and retreats, Fr. Devaney has turned to media to get the message of mercy out. 

Though his primary ministry is carried out at a hospital, Devaney said that he and another missionary of mercy – Nigerian Fr. Augustine Dada, who is currently one of the missionaries serving in New York – decided to offer a special program dedicated to mercy on his SiriusXM radio show for Lent. 

Looking forward, the missionaries voiced hope that a full list of all the Missionaries of Mercy would be made public so that people would know where to find one if needed.

They also expressed a desire for additional instruction on the technicalities of how to lift censures -  penalties for certain delicts, or canonical “crimes” - which they have been given the faculty to remit. Some of the missionaries said they are uncertain about the process for remitting those penalties. 

The missionaries were initially given the faculty to remit penalties for four of these types of delicts: profaning the Eucharistic species by taking them away or keeping them for a sacrilegious purpose; the use of physical force against the Roman Pontiff; the absolution of an accomplice in a sin against the Sixth Commandment, (“thou shalt not commit adultery”) and, in limited circumstances, a direct violation against the sacramental seal by a confessor.

In an April 2017 letter confirming their mandate, the pope added an additional delict to the list, allowing the missionaries to remit the penalty associated with recording what a priest or penitent says in confession, and the diffusion of that the recording online. 

Fr. Zeller told EWTN News that while he was in Rome for the commissioning of the missionaries during the jubilee, he was able to visit the Apostolic Penitentiary, the Vatican court dealing with some cases of excommunication and with matters addressed in confession, where he got an explainer from an official on how remitting censures works.

For more than an hour, “I asked questions upon questions, and we went over the different censures,” Zeller said, adding that “to see how the Church deals with them and how much the Church deals with the salvation of souls was astounding to me.”

“I came away from there with a renewed sense of how much the Church cares about the soul,” he said, explaining that when the Penitentiary gets an inquiry from a priest involving a delict that incurred automatic excommunication, a response, remission, and penance are sent back within 24 hours.

“Nothing happens that quickly in the Church, nothing,” he continued. “Everything, on every level of the Church, everything takes so long...but when it comes to sin, when it comes to that restoring people to grace...I am just so grateful for...how much the Church cares about the salvation of souls.”

A response is “sent out in less than 24 hours. That's saying a lot,” Zeller emphasized. He said he has had the opportunity to explain the process to other priests, and hopes that in the future, better formation will be offered in seminaries for how to handle these delicts if they are confessed. 

However, while remitting censures is a part of their mandate, the missionaries agreed that it is not the most important part.

Fr. Devaney told EWTN News that the circumstances that incur censures are rare, and that while they have been given the faculty to remit them, “the core and heart of what [Pope Francis] wants is for us to just go and renew Catholics, in particular, with God's mercy.”

Vatican City, Mar 20,  (EWTN News/CNA) - On Palm Sunday Pope Francis said the path toward salvation can be summed up by humility and service, and encouraged pilgrims to contemplate Jesus' shameful Passion and Death throughout Holy Week.

"Today's liturgy teaches us that the Lord has not saved us by his triumphal entry or by means of powerful miracles," the Pope said March 20. 

Instead, in the day's second reading from St. Paul to the Philippians, the apostle "epitomizes in two verbs the path of redemption: Jesus 'emptied' and 'humbled' himself."

These two verbs, Francis said, "show the boundlessness of God's love for us. Jesus emptied himself: he did not cling to the glory that was his as the Son of God, but became the Son of man in order to be in solidarity with us sinners in all things; yet he was without sin."

Jesus chose to take on the condition of a servant rather than that of a king or a prince, the Pope observed, adding that "the abyss" of Jesus' humiliation seems to be "bottomless" as Holy Week approaches.
 
However, just as he entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, Jesus also wants to enter our lives and cities in the same way, Francis said. "He comes to us in humility; he comes in the name of the Lord."

Pope Francis spoke to the thousands of pilgrims present in St. Peter's Square for his Palm Sunday Mass. 

Before opening the celebration, he blessed the palms used in the day's liturgy from the obelisk in St. Peter's Square, and led a procession up to the main altar.

After listening to the lengthy account of Jesus' Passion and Death from the Gospel of Luke, Francis told attendees that the first sign of Jesus' humble and endless love in Holy Week is expressed in the washing of his disciples' feet on Holy Thursday.

By washing their feet, Jesus shows us by example "that we need to allow his love to reach us, a love which bends down to us," he said.

"We cannot do any less, we cannot love without letting ourselves be loved by him first, without experiencing his surprising tenderness and without accepting that true love consists in concrete service."

However, Francis noted that this act is "only the beginning," and that Jesus' humiliation reaches its climax during his Passion, when he is sold for 30 pieces of silver and betrayed by the kiss of a man whom he had chosen and called as his disciple, and whom he called a friend. 

In addition to Judas' betrayal, Jesus is abandoned by nearly all the rest of his disciples, he is denied by Peter three times, and is humiliated by mockery, spitting, insults and physical beatings.

Jesus "suffers in his body terrible brutality: the blows, the scourging and the crown of thorns make his face unrecognizable," the Pope said, noting how Jesus was also shamed by the condemnation of religious and political leaders. 

In being sent from Pilate to Herod and then back to the Roman governor, Jesus experiences indifference "in his own flesh," because "no one wishes to take responsibility for his fate," Francis observed.

Even the crowd, who had previously welcomed him, call for his crucifixion and ask that a murderer be released instead, the Pope recalled. This then leads to Jesus' death in the "most painful form of shame" intended for traitors, slaves and the worst of criminals.

However, as if his isolation, defamation and pain weren't enough, Jesus takes it a step further, Pope Francis said, explaining that in order to be in complete solidarity with man, "he also experiences on the Cross the mysterious abandonment of the Father."

Jesus faces his final temptation while hanging from the Cross, when he is challenged to come down and save himself. Though instead of giving in, the Lord entrusts himself to his Father in order to conquer evil for good and show the face "of a powerful and invincible God," he said.

Francis explained that even at "the height of his annihilation, (Jesus) reveals the true face of God, which is mercy," by forgiving those who crucify him, moving the heart of the centurion and promising paradise to the repentant thief.

"If the mystery of evil is unfathomable, then the reality of Love poured out through him is infinite, reaching even to the tomb and to hell," the Pope said.

Jesus, he added, "takes upon himself all our pain that he may redeem it, bringing light to darkness, life to death, love to hatred."

Pope Francis concluded his homily by noting how God's way of acting seems to be distant from our own, since "he was annihilated for our sake, while it seems difficult for us to even forget ourselves a little."

"He comes to save us; we are called to choose his way: the way of service, of giving, of forgetfulness of ourselves," he said, and encouraged attendees to pause during Holy Week to contemplate the Crucifix.

By humbling himself, Jesus invites us to walk the same path, Francis said, urging pilgrims to ask him "for the grace to understand something of the mystery of his obliteration for our sake; and then, in silence, let us contemplate the mystery of this week."

After Mass Pope Francis greeted youth present for the 31st World Youth Day, the national celebration of which will take place July 25-31 in Krakow, and led pilgrims in praying the Angelus.
   
--------------------
 "Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: "All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly." 
When Christ's faithful strive to confess all the sins that they can remember, they undoubtedly place all of them before the divine mercy for pardon. But those who fail to do so and knowingly withhold some, place nothing before the divine goodness for remission through the mediation of the priest, "for if the sick person is too ashamed to show his wound to the doctor, the medicine cannot heal what it does not know." -Catechism of the Catholic Church #1456
 

Chaplet of Divine Mercy​

The different souls prayed for on each day of the novena are: 
DAY 1 (Good Friday)  - All mankind, especially sinners 
DAY  2 (Holy Saturday) - The souls of priests and religious 
DAY 3 (Easter Sunday)  - All devout and faithful souls 
DAY 4 (Easter Monday) - Those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do not yet know Him 
DAY  5 (Easter Tuesday) - The souls of separated brethren 
DAY  6 (Easter Wednesday) - The meek and humble souls and the souls of children 
DAY  7 (Easter Thursday) - The souls who especially venerate and glorify Jesus' mercy 
DAY  8 (Easter Friday) - The souls who are detained in purgatory; 
DAY  9 (Easter Saturday) - The souls who have become lukewarm. 
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy may also be offered each day for the day's intention, but is not strictly necessary to the Novena.


First Day
"Today bring to Me all mankind, especially all sinners, 
and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me." 
Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen.


Second Day
"Today bring to Me the Souls of Priests and Religious, 
and immerse them in My unfathomable mercy. It was they who gave me strength to endure My bitter Passion. Through them as through channels My mercy flows out upon mankind." 
Most Merciful Jesus, from whom comes all that is good, increase Your grace in men and women consecrated to Your service,* that they may perform worthy works of mercy; and that all who see them may glorify the Father of Mercy who is in heaven.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the company of chosen ones in Your vineyard -- upon the souls of priests and religious; and endow them with the strength of Your blessing. For the love of the Heart of Your Son in which they are enfolded, impart to them Your power and light, that they may be able to guide others in the way of salvation and with one voice sing praise to Your boundless mercy for ages without end. Amen.
* In the original text, Saint Faustina uses the pronoun "us" since she was offering this prayer as a consecrated religious sister. The wording adapted here is intended to make the prayer suitable for universal use. 


Third Day
"Today bring to Me all Devout and Faithful Souls, 
and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. These souls brought me consolation on the Way of the Cross. They were a drop of consolation in the midst of an ocean of bitterness."  
Most Merciful Jesus, from the treasury of Your mercy, You impart Your graces in great abundance to each and all. Receive us into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart and never let us escape from It. We beg this grace of You by that most wondrous love for the heavenly Father with which Your Heart burns so fiercely.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon faithful souls, as upon the inheritance of Your Son. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, grant them Your blessing and surround them with Your constant protection. Thus may they never fail in love or lose the treasure of the holy faith, but rather, with all the hosts of Angels and Saints, may they glorify Your boundless mercy for endless ages. Amen.


Fourth Day
"Today bring to Me those who do not believe in God and those who do not know Me,  
I was thinking also of them during My bitter Passion, and their future zeal comforted My Heart. Immerse them in the ocean of My mercy."   
Most compassionate Jesus, You are the Light of the whole world. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who do not believe in God and of those who as yet do not know You. Let the rays of Your grace enlighten them that they, too, together with us, may extol Your wonderful mercy; and do not let them escape from the abode which is Your Most Compassionate Heart.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who do not believe in You, and of those who as yet do not know You, but who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Draw them to the light of the Gospel. These souls do not know what great happiness it is to love You. Grant that they, too, may extol the generosity of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.
*Our Lord's original words here were "the pagans." Since the pontificate of Pope John XXIII, the Church has seen fit to replace this term with clearer and more appropriate terminology.


Fifth Day
"Today bring to Me the Souls of those who have separated themselves from My Church*, 
and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. During My bitter Passion they tore at My Body and Heart, that is, My Church. As they return to unity with the Church My wounds heal and in this way they alleviate My Passion."   
Most Merciful Jesus, Goodness Itself, You do not refuse light to those who seek it of You. Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Church. Draw them by Your light into the unity of the Church, and do not let them escape from the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart; but bring it about that they, too, come to glorify the generosity of Your mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls of those who have separated themselves from Your Son's Church, who have squandered Your blessings and misused Your graces by obstinately persisting in their errors. Do not look upon their errors, but upon the love of Your own Son and upon His bitter Passion, which He underwent for their sake, since they, too, are enclosed in His Most Compassionate Heart. Bring it about that they also may glorify Your great mercy for endless ages. Amen.
*Our Lord's original words here were "heretics and schismatics," since He spoke to Saint Faustina within the context of her times. As of the Second Vatican Council, Church authorities have seen fit not to use those designations in accordance with the explanation given in the Council's Decree on Ecumenism (n.3). Every pope since the Council has reaffirmed that usage. Saint Faustina herself, her heart always in harmony with the mind of the Church, most certainly would have agreed. When at one time, because of the decisions of her superiors and father confessor, she was not able to execute Our Lord's inspirations and orders, she declared: "I will follow Your will insofar as You will permit me to do so through Your representative. O my Jesus " I give priority to the voice of the Church over the voice with which You speak to me" (497). The Lord confirmed her action and praised her for it.





Sixth Day
Today bring to Me the Meek and Humble Souls and the Souls of  Little Children, 
and immerse them in My mercy. These souls most closely resemble My Heart. They strengthened Me during My bitter agony. I saw them as earthly Angels, who will keep vigil at My altars. I pour out upon them whole torrents of grace. I favor humble souls with My confidence.     
Most Merciful Jesus, You yourself have said, "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart." Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven into ecstasy and they are the heavenly Father's favorites. They are a sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon meek souls, upon humble souls, and upon little children who are enfolded in the abode which is the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by the love You bear these souls and by the delight You take in them: Bless the whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen.


Seventh Day
Today bring to Me the Souls who especially venerate and glorify My Mercy*, 
and immerse them in My mercy. These souls sorrowed most over my Passion and entered most deeply into My spirit. They are living images of My Compassionate Heart. These souls will shine with a special brightness in the next life. Not one of them will go into the fire of hell. I shall particularly defend each one of them at the hour of death. 
Most Merciful Jesus, whose Heart is Love Itself, receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls of those who particularly extol and venerate the greatness of Your mercy. These souls are mighty with the very power of God Himself. In the midst of all afflictions and adversities they go forward, confident of Your mercy; and united to You, O Jesus, they carry all mankind on their shoulders. These souls will not be judged severely, but Your mercy will embrace them as they depart from this life.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls who glorify and venerate Your greatest attribute, that of Your fathomless mercy, and who are enclosed in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls are a living Gospel; their hands are full of deeds of mercy, and their hearts, overflowing with joy, sing a canticle of mercy to You, O Most High! I beg You O God:

Show them Your mercy according to the hope and trust they have placed in You. Let there be accomplished in them the promise of Jesus, who said to them that during their life, but especially at the hour of death, the souls who will venerate this fathomless mercy of His, He, Himself, will defend as His glory. Amen.
*The text leads one to conclude that in the first prayer directed to Jesus, Who is the Redeemer, it is "victim" souls and contemplatives that are being prayed for; those persons, that is, that voluntarily offered themselves to God for the salvation of their neighbor (see Col 1:24; 2 Cor 4:12). This explains their close union with the Savior and the extraordinary efficacy that their invisible activity has for others. In the second prayer, directed to the Father from whom comes "every worthwhile gift and every genuine benefit,"we recommend the "active" souls, who promote devotion to The Divine Mercy and exercise with it all the other works that lend themselves to the spiritual and material uplifting of their brethren.


Eighth Day
"Today bring to Me the Souls who are in the prison of Purgatory, 
and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice."    
Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded: Manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen. 


Ninth Day
"Today bring to Me the Souls who have become Lukewarm, 
and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. These souls wound My Heart most painfully. My soul suffered the most dreadful loathing in the Garden of Olives because of lukewarm souls. They were the reason I cried out: 'Father, take this cup away from Me, if it be Your will.' For them, the last hope of salvation is to run to My mercy."  
Most compassionate Jesus, You are Compassion Itself. I bring lukewarm souls into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart. In this fire of Your pure love, let these tepid souls who, like corpses, filled You with such deep loathing, be once again set aflame. O Most Compassionate Jesus, exercise the omnipotence of Your mercy and draw them into the very ardor of Your love, and bestow upon them the gift of holy love, for nothing is beyond Your power.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon lukewarm souls who are nonetheless enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. Father of Mercy, I beg You by the bitter Passion of Your Son and by His three-hour agony on the Cross: Let them, too, glorify the abyss of Your mercy. Amen.  
 
[This is a weekly electronic newsletter from Father Robert Zwilling, the parish priest of St. Michael Parish and St. Barbara Parish. This will be sent out weekly on Wednesdays. Please recommend this to individuals you think might be interested. Any suggestions or comments are welcomed, or if you wish to no longer receive this please e-mail: Roman.Catholic.Good.News@gmail.com]
 
 
"It is the irrevocable character of their choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy, that makes the angels' sin unforgivable. "There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death."-Catechism of the Catholic Church #393
 
 
From Roman Catholic Good News e-weekly 4-11-2007
Divine Mercy
 Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
         There was a girl named Elena who lived in Poland during the early part of the 20th century.  While at a dance during her teenage years, Jesus Christ on the Cross appeared to Elena.  Bleeding and bruised He appealed to her with the words, "How long must I wait for you?"  This being the final confirmation that God was calling her to follow Him by being a nun, Elena left the dance immediately going to a nearby church to pray.  Without even returning home, Elena then went to the city of Crawcow so that Jesus would not have to wait anymore.  And the world has never been the same as Elena, later known as Saint Faustina Maria Kowalska, brought the world: Divine Mercy!
 
         Friends, we are now in the time of great joy called the Easter Octave.  The Easter Octave is the 8-day extension of Easter Sunday.  It is as if all this time is one big EASTER SUNDAY.  The Easter Octave extends until the Second Sunday of Easter, which is now called Divine Mercy Sunday.  The Easter Octave is like eight Sundays day after day to celebrate the key of our Faith, the bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
 
            There were three individuals in the early 20th century who lived at the same time, in the same country (Poland), and at one time, were no further than 15 miles away from each,   though they never met face to face. Divine Mercy (that is, the Love of God manifested) enveloped them, and Consecration to Mary infused them with zeal.  Because of their abandonment to Jesus, the world has never been the same.  Their names are St. Faustina Maria Kowalska-the Apostle of Divine Mercy; St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe-Founder of the Militia Immaculatae; and Pope John Paul the Great.
 
            Jesus Christ appeared to St. Mary Faustina many times in her life as she records in her diary called Divine Mercy in My Soul.  St. Maximilian spread the message that Jesus gave, and Pope John Paul II received that message and fulfilled Christ Jesus's will by proclaiming Divine Mercy Sunday in the great Jubilee Year of 2000.
 
         The details of Divine Mercy Sunday can be found below.  The second website is about the message of Divine Mercy, the third website is about St. Maximilian Kolbe, and the fourth is more on the life of Saint Mary Faustina:
 
http://www.divinemercysunday.com/
 
http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/index.htm
 

May the Divine Mercy envelope us all!
 
 
 
"The divine name, "I Am" or "He Is", expresses God's faithfulness: despite the faithlessness of men's sin and the punishment it deserves, he keeps "steadfast love for thousands". By going so far as to give up his own Son for us, God reveals that he is "rich in mercy". By giving his life to free us from sin, Jesus reveals that he himself bears the divine name: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will realize that 'I AM'." -Catechism of the Catholic Church #211
 
The Last Hope of Salvation
First published April 11th, 2007. 
THE FEAST OF WHAT?
THIS coming Sunday, the eighth day in the Octave of Easter, is Divine Mercy Sunday. Many Catholics still have no idea what this is. which as you'll see, is a tragedy.
According to Saint Faustina's diary, Jesus said of this Feast day:
I am giving them the last hope of salvation; that is, the Feast of My Mercy.  If they will not adore My mercy, they will perish for all eternity. tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice, is near. -Diary of Divine Mercy, St. Faustina, n. 965 
The "last hope of salvation"? One might be tempted to dismiss this along with other dramatic private revelation-except for the fact it was Pope John Paul II who inaugurated the Sunday after Easter to be Divine Mercy Sunday according to this private revelation! (See Part II for a complete understanding of Diary entry 965 which does not restrict salvation to Divine Mercy Sunday.)
Consider these other facts:
.    After he was shot in 1981, Pope John Paul asked that the diary of St. Faustina be entirely re-read to him.
.    JPII instituted the Divine Mercy Feast in the year 2000. at the beginning of the millennium which he considered the "threshold of hope."
.    St. Faustina wrote: "From [Poland] will come forth the spark that will prepare the world for My final coming."
.    In 1981 at the Shrine of Merciful Love, John Paul II said,
Right from the beginning of my ministry in St. Peter's See in Rome, I consider this message [of Divine Mercy] my special task. Providence has assigned it to me in the present situation of man, the Church and the world. It could be said that precisely this situation assigned that message to me as my task before God.  -JPII, November 22, 1981 at the Shrine of Merciful Love in Collevalenza, Italy
.    During a 1997 pilgrimage to St. Faustina's tomb, JPII testified:
The message of Divine Mercy has always been near and dear to me. [it] forms the image of this pontificate.
Forms the image of his pontificate! And it was spoken at the tomb of St. Faustina, whom Jesus called His "Secretary of Divine Mercy."
.    And as a rather dramatic exclamation point from Heaven, the Pope died in the beginning hours of the Feast of Divine Mercy. 
The other title I considered for this article was "When God hits us on the head with a hammer." How can the significance of this Feast escape us when we consider these facts? How can bishops and priests fail to preach, then, the message of Divine Mercy which the Pope considered his "task before God", and therefore, the task of all those in communion with him?
 
AN OCEAN OF PROMISES
I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners.  ON THAT DAY THE VERY DEPTHS OF MY TENDER MERCY ARE OPEN. I POUR OUT A WHOLE OCEAN OF GRACES UPON THOSE SOULS WHO APPROACH THE FOUNT OF MY MERCY. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. -Ibid. n. 699
Some pastors ignore this Feast because "there are other days, such as Good Friday, when God remits sins and punishment under similar conditions." That's true. But that's not all Christ said of Divine Mercy Sunday. Jesus is promising to "pour out a whole ocean of graces." 
On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. -Ibid.  
What Jesus is offering is not just forgiveness, but incomprehensible graces to heal, deliver, and strengthen the soul. I say incomprehensible, because this devotion has a special purpose. Jesus said to St. Faustina:
You will prepare the world for My final coming. -Ibid. n. 429
If that is so, then this opportunity for grace has paramount significance for the Church and for the world. This is indicated with a certain urgency when Jesus says to Faustina:
Secretary of My mercy, write, tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of my justice, is near. -Ibid. n. 965
 
TIME OF MERCY
The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three children in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. In one of her apparitions, the children witnessed an angel hovering above the world about to strike the earth with a flaming sword. But a light emanating from Mary stopped the angel, and justice was delayed. The Mother of Mercy was able to implore God to grant the world a "time of grace."
We know this because Jesus appeared a short time later to a Polish nun named Faustina Kowalska to "officially" announce this time of grace:
I am prolonging the time of mercy for the sake of [sinners]. But woe to them if they do not recognize this time of My visitation. Before the Day of Justice, I am sending the Day of Mercy. -Diary of St. Faustina, n. 1160, 1588.
Christ's words further indicate the proximate times we are living in, as foretold in Scripture:
Before the day of the Lord comes, the great and manifest day [.] it shall be that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:20-21)
As I wrote in Prophetic Perspective, God is patient, allowing His plan to come to fruition, even over the course of generations. However, this does not mean His plan cannot enter its next phase at any moment. 
The signs of the times tell us that it could be "soon."
 
TODAY IS THE DAY
"Today is the day of salvation," says Scripture. And this Sunday is the Day of Mercy. It was asked for by Jesus, and made so by John Paul the Great. We should be shouting to the world at this point-for an ocean of graces is to be poured out, and it is only hours away. 
This is what Christ promised on Divine Mercy Sunday:
I want to grant a complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy. -n. 1109
And so, the Holy Father has granted a plenary indulgence ("complete pardon") under the following conditions:
.a plenary indulgence [will be] granted under the usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer for the intentions of Supreme Pontiff) to the faithful who, on the Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, in any church or chapel, in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin, take part in the prayers and devotions held in honour of Divine Mercy, or who, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed or reserved in the tabernacle, recite the Our Father and the Creed, adding a devout prayer to the merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!") -Apostolic Penitentiary Decree, Indulgences attached to devotions in honour of Divine Mercy; Archbishop Luigi De Magistris, Tit. Archbishop of Nova Major Pro-Penitentiary;



​

THOSE UNABLE TO ATTEND MASS MAY MAKE AN ACT OF SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
An Act of Spiritual Communion - It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an Act of Spiritual Communion which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion means uniting ourselves in prayer with Christ’s sacrifice and worshiping Him in the consecrated bread and wine which are His Body and Blood. Always remember that the consecrated bread is the Body and Blood of Christ and the consecrated wine is the Body and Blood of Christ, even if you receive the Eucharist only under one species.  The most common reason for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when a person cannot attend Mass. An act of Spiritual Communion invites Jesus to come anew spiritually into us, increases our desire to receive sacramental Communion and helps us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.  
​
A Prayer for Spiritual Communion-My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.  I love You above all things and I desire to receive You in my body, my soul, and my whole being.  Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally, Come at least spiritually into my heart.  I embrace You as if you were already there And unite myself wholly to You.  Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
​

For Passion (Palm) Sunday’s Homily click here (it may take a while to load, please be patient):
>> Listen

 
For Monday of Holy Week’s Homily click here (it may take a while to load, please be patient):
>> Listen


 
Readings for:
Monday of Holy Week can be found here:  >> Listen

"Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have endowed him with my spirit that he may bring true justice to the nations. He does not cry out or shout aloud, or make his voice heard in the streets. He does not break the crushed reed, nor quench the wavering flame (Is 42:1-2)."

​

HOLY WEEK IN 2 MINUTES


Want to know why Catholics wave palms on Palm Sunday; wash each other’s feet on Holy Thursday; or kiss the cross on Good Friday? Look no further than this two-minute video that describes the final week of Lent we spend preparing for Easter.

Click here:
https://vimeo.com/42361791

A bit of humor…
-Diet Day #1 - I removed all the fattening food from my house. It was delicious.  
-My email password has been hacked. That's the third time I've had to rename the cat.  
-Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited until you try to sit in their pews.

Whom Gave It Away? When my coworker answered his phone, the confused woman on the other end asked, “Who is this?”
“This is Steve. With whom did you wish to speak?”
After a pause: “Did you just say whom?”
“Yes, I did.”
The woman replied, “I have the wrong number,” and hung up.


A Trashy Career“Has your son decided what 
he wants to be when he grows up?” 
I asked my friend.
“He wants to be a garbageman,” 
he replied.
“That’s an unusual ambition to have at such a young age.”
“Not really. He thinks that garbagemen work only on Tuesdays.”



Holding Out
A judge tells the defendant, “You’re charged with hitting your boss with a magazine.”
“What!” yells a voice from
the back of the courtroom.
“You’re also charged with hitting a waiter with a magazine,” 
says the judge.
“WHATTTT!  How dare you!” bellows the same man.
“Sir,” says the judge, “one more outburst, and I’ll charge you with contempt.”
“I’m sorry, Your Honor,” says the man. “But I’ve been this defendant’s neighbor for ten years, and every time I asked to borrow a magazine for reading material, he said he didn’t have one.”



The Three Sisters

Three sisters, ages 92, 94 and 95 years old, were all living together.

The 95 year old went upstairs one evening to bathe. As she was 
getting in the tub, she called down to her sisters, "Am I getting in 
the tub or out of the tub?"

The 94-year-old decided to go upstairs to help.

She got to the third step and stopped, then called out, "Was I going 
up the stairs or down?"

The 92 year old sitting at the kitchen table having tea, listening to 
her sisters shook her head and said, "I sure hope I never get as 
forgetful as my sisters," and knocked on wood for good measure.

Then she yelled, "I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see 
who's at the door."
 
 

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
 
      Jesus' Name means 'God saves.'  But how does God save us and from what?  Sin of course.  How does He do this?  By becoming Mercy and seeking us.  Is that all?  No, your right, we must confess our sins.  Why?  Not so God can condemn us, so that God can forgive us.  No sin, No Savior!
 
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  Hebrews 4:16


 
       Let us go to Confession/Reconciliation/Penance!  Fear and Shame are not awaiting you, comfort and peace are.  You will not meet a yelling priest, you will meet Jesus Christ, Who will forgive you and let you begin again!
 
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
Father Robert
 
P.S.  Sunday was the Fifth Sunday of Lent.  >> Readings
​

Homilies (second one contains the Gospel) from Fifth Sunday of Lent is found below, click with your mouse pointer on the blue lines below (7 and 9 minutes): 
 
Version 1

Version 2
 ​

"Helpful Hints of Life"
 
Beating the Blues
 
-Go for a walk, physical activity such as aerobic exercise like jogging, swimming, or brisk walking, is a great way to perk up a blue mood.  Exercise releases endorphins, a group of proteins produced by the brain that are thought to elevate mood.
-Keep busy by filling up your schedule.  Immerse yourself in a favorite activity, find a new hobby, volunteer, plan a vacation, or take an evening course.

-Don’t isolate yourself from others when you feel blue.  This can make things worse.  Make a date to go out with friends, do some volunteer work, write a letter, or telephone a relative or an old friend.

-Music can have a profound effect on emotions.  Listen to some of your favorite upbeat music.  Sing along at the top of your lungs or dance around the room.  Avoid sad songs or music that reminds you of a loss.
-Express your creativity by painting, sculpting, knitting, embroidery, cooking, or any other art or craft.  Try something new.  This will help you forget your worries.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


+JMJ+


HOW CAN I HELP AT THIS TIME?
1) →Check on family and neighbors to make sure everyone is okay and needs are being taken care of.← (Call if you can. If you drop by, make sure you maintain social distance to the degree possible.)
2) →Donate blood.← (This is much needed now as many blood drives at colleges and churches have had to be cancelled and hospitals will have increased need. Blood donation is very safe and they are taking extra precautions with current illness going around.)
3) →Explore ways to help or volunteer virtually.← (So much can be done over the phone and internet today. Search your local community needs.)
4) →Waste not, want not.← (Use the food in your house. Be careful to stay up on item dates. Freeze food you will not use right away. Buy what you will use.)
5) →Make a donation to those serving others.← (Local, national, and international organization exist to serve and help others. Look up one or ask locally what most needs assistance.)
6) →Be a leader and provide good example.← (Be the first to do the right thing. Explain directions that are hard to understand or follow. Encourage others to look toward their neighbor and fellow human being.)
7) →Take care of yourself.← (As they say, secure your own oxygen mask before assisting others. In other words, self-care is incredibly important at a time like this, and ensuring that you’re making safe and smart choices is a civic duty of the utmost importance. Be patient and kind to all, especially yourself!)




WAYS TO COMBAT OR MITIGATE RESPIRATORY ILLNESSES AT THIS TIME:
1) Wash hands often to remove potential viruses or items that might cause illnesses.
2) Social Distance yourself from another at least 3-6 feet to keep micro-droplets from our mouth or nose (even if we are not sneezing or coughing) from coming into contact with the other person.
3) Stay aware of symptoms and check if you have a fever. If you have symptoms, CALL your doctor’s office or an urgent care to get further instruction of how to proceed. You may also be able to receive care on the phone or be diagnosed through what is called Tele-medicine. (Emergency situations should call 911)
4) Clean surfaces such as door handles, counters, and commonly touched surfaces with a disinfectant often so that viruses or items that cause illness may be wiped away and less likely to infect persons.
5) Get plenty of rest, fluids, eat balanced meals as one is able, and exercise limitedly to stay as healthy as possible



"Finally, through Mary, the Holy Spirit begins to bring men, the objects of God's merciful love, into communionwith Christ. And the humble are always the first to accept him: shepherds, magi, Simeon and Anna, the bride and groom at Cana, and the first disciples."  
​-Catechism of the Catholic Church #725

Diocesan News AND BEYOND
​

By Devin Watkins
​
Pope Francis held the special Urbi et Orbi on Friday from the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Usually a colorful event reserved only for Christmas Day and Easter Sunday, this extraordinary blessing was held in keeping with the gravity of the current global situation, as more than half of the world’s population is confined to their homes to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Standing in a deserted St. Peter’s Square with a steady rain falling, Pope Francis spoke to the world through all the means of modern communication: Facebook, YouTube, TV, and radio.

Symbols of faithHe prayed for the world at this critical juncture in the presence of two images that have accompanied the people of Rome for centuries: the ancient icon of Mary Salus Populi Romani – usually housed in the Basilica of St. Mary Major – and the miraculous crucifix kept in the church of San Marcello on the city’s Via del Corso.

Most importantly, the Pope exposed the Blessed Sacrament for adoration and imparted his Apostolic Blessing, offering everyone the opportunity to receive a plenary indulgence.
READ ALSO

Evening meditation
But first, Pope Francis offered a meditation on the crisis facing the world, reflecting on a passage from the Gospel of Mark (4:35-41).

“For weeks now it has been evening,” said the Pope. “Thick darkness has gathered over our squares, our streets and our cities; it has taken over our lives, filling everything with a deafening silence and a distressing void, that stops everything as it passes by; we feel it in the air, we notice it in people’s gestures, their glances give them away.”

In this situation, he said, we feel afraid and lost, like the disciples whose boat was in danger of sinking while Jesus slept at the stern.

All in the same boat
The Covid-19 pandemic has reminded us that we are all on the same boat, said Pope Francis, and so we call out to Jesus. The disciples ask Him, “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?”

The Pope said these words would have shaken Jesus, “because He, more than anyone, cares about us.”

The storm, said the Pope, exposes “our vulnerability and uncovers those false and superfluous certainties around which we have constructed our daily schedules” and lays bare “all those attempts to anesthetize ourselves”.

What is revealed, he said, is “our belonging as brothers and sisters”, our common humanity.

“Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?"
Pope Francis then picked up the thread of Jesus’ question: “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?”

He said we have all gone ahead “at breakneck speed”, ignoring the wars, injustice, and cries of the poor and our ailing planet. “We carried on regardless, thinking we would stay healthy in a world that was sick.”

In our stormy sea, we now cry out: “Wake up, Lord!”

Now is the time of choosing
Really, said Pope Francis, it is Jesus calling out to us to be converted, calling us to faith.
“You are calling on us to seize this time of trial as a time of choosing,” he said.

Now is not the time of God’s judgment, but of our own: “a time to choose what matters and what passes away, a time to separate what is necessary from what is not.”

The Pope said we can draw lessons from the many people who – even though fearful – have reacted by giving their lives, including medical personnel, supermarket clerks, cleaners, priests, police officers, and volunteers. This, he said, “is the force of the Spirit poured out and fashioned in courageous and generous self-denial.”

Stripped of our self-sufficiency
Pope Francis said faith begins “when we realize we are in need of salvation” and are not self-sufficient.

If we turn to Jesus and hand Him our fears, said the Pope, He will conquer them.

“Because this is God’s strength: turning to the good everything that happens to us, even the bad things. He brings serenity into our storms, because with God life never dies.”

So God asks us now, in the midst of the tempest, “to reawaken and put into practice that solidarity and hope capable of giving strength, support and meaning to these hours when everything seems to be floundering.”

His cross is our hope
Jesus’ cross, said Pope Francis, is the anchor that has saved us, the rudder that has redeemed us, and our hope, because “by His cross we have been healed and embraced so that nothing and no one can separate us from His redeeming love.”

“In the midst of isolation when we are suffering from a lack of tenderness and chances to meet up, and we experience the loss of so many things,” he said, “let us once again listen to the proclamation that saves us: He is risen and is living by our side.”

So we embrace His cross in the hardships of the present time, and make room in our hearts “for the creativity that only the Spirit is capable of inspiring.”

“Embracing the Lord in order to embrace hope: that is the strength of faith, which frees us from fear and gives us hope.”

Turning to the Lord
Concluding his meditation, Pope Francis entrusted us all to the Lord, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that our faith might not waiver in this time of crisis.

“Dear brothers and sisters, from this place that tells of Peter’s rock-solid faith, I would like this evening to entrust all of you to the Lord, through the intercession of Mary, Health of the People and Star of the stormy Sea. From this colonnade that embraces Rome and the whole world, may God’s blessing come down upon you as a consoling embrace. Lord, may you bless the world, give health to our bodies and comfort our hearts. You ask us not to be afraid. Yet our faith is weak and we are fearful. But you, Lord, will not leave us at the mercy of the storm. Tell us again: ‘Do not be afraid’ (Mt 28:5). And we, together with Peter, ‘cast all our anxieties onto you, for you care about us’ (cf. 1Pet 5:7).”

​

CULTURE OF LIFE |  APR. 6, 2019
​
Unplanned Opportunity: How a Movie’s Unexpected Success Is Reinvigorating Pro-Lifers
The film based on pro-life advocate Abby Johnson’s book of the same name is performing big at the box office — and in more important ways, as well.
Elisabeth DeffnerWhen the crowd of moviegoers spotted Mark Cavaliere in his blue 40 Days for Life shirt, it was like they’d spotted a movie star on the street.
“Hey, that’s the same shirt from the movie!” he heard some of them exclaim.
“They couldn’t comprehend it,” said the executive director of the Southwest Coalition for Life with a chuckle.
He was just gathering his 40 Days for Life materials from the theater where his organization had hosted a screening of Unplanned, the movie based on pro-life advocate Abby Johnson’s book of the same name. The people awed by his shirt had been in a neighboring theater, watching the same movie.
“I passed out information to people leaving the general showing, as well,” said Cavaliere, whose organization has hosted more than half a dozen screenings of the film.
At each of those screenings, Cavaliere spoke to the audience before and after the film, telling them about the Coalition for Life and the 40 Days for Life campaign. “This 40-day prayer vigil you just saw [depicted in the movie], and the power of that prayer, is happening right now in our own backyard,” he told them. “This could be your story, just by signing up for an hour of prayer.”
And his presentations have been working. Typically, the Southwest Coalition for Life works with more than 600 volunteers during each 40 Days for Life campaign. The group is able to place volunteers in front of three abortion businesses, 7am-7pm, each day of the campaign.
Cavaliere is still working his way through all the cards of interested volunteers submitted to him at the Unplanned screenings his group hosted — but he’s already topped more than 100 new potential vigil participants and expects that number to more than double.
“With all the laws going on recently, with late-term abortion and infanticide laws — people are just fed up,” he said. “It’s finally a wake-up call.
“They want to do something. They just need a little bit of direction.”


By the Numbers
Independently made with a budget of $6 million, Unplanned officially opened March 29 in 1,059 theaters. Disney’s Dumbo, with a budget of $170 million, opened the same day, in roughly four times as many theaters.
The next day, Forbes ran a story headlined “Friday Box Office: ‘Dumbo’ Disappoints, ‘Unplanned’ Surprises and ‘Beach Bum’ Bombs.” On more than 4,000 screens, Dumbobrought in a little more than $15 million on opening day; Unplanned earned $2.72 million.
As of this writing, Unplanned remains No. 4 at the box office and has brought in more than $8.6 million (including nearly $900,000 in ticket sales Tuesday).
“Every single number is off the wall,” said Cary Solomon, who co-wrote and co-directed the film with Chuck Konzelman.
An additional 457 theaters will be showing the film this weekend, but the duo — who are also the team behind God’s Not Dead and God’s Not Dead 2 — don’t expect the phenomenon to stop there.
“I think if we have a good weekend, we’ll do that again. We’ll go over 2,000 [theaters],” said Solomon.
Largely, the film’s early success has been achieved without benefit of coverage in the secular media, which has dismissed the film as merely “a faith-based film” — in other words, one that will not appeal to the general public — and pro-life “propaganda.”
Given the subject matter and a CGI depiction of an abortion, the film was rated R (no one under 17 admitted without a parent or guardian). Many in the pro-life community wondered why an underage girl can, in many states, obtain an abortion without parental consent … and yet would not be allowed to see a movie about abortion without being accompanied by a parent or guardian.
But now that R rating seems like a blessing. “It lent credibility to the movie,” said Konzelman. “It gave credibility to a movie that was being frozen out by mainstream media.”
It was also a big talking point that may have increased the film’s exposure before release.
An open letter signed by evangelical Protestant celebrities, including Alveda King, Mike Huckabee, singer/actor Pat Boone and actor Kevin Sorbo, pointed out that The Passion of the Christ also received an R rating — which, in the writers’ opinions, should in this case stand for “recommended.”
Archbishop Joseph Naumann, the head of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, wrote a commentary for The Wall Street Journal, “Hollywood Admits Abortion Is Violent,” in which he recommends the film “to all people of goodwill.”
“Unplanned wasn’t produced to shame women who have had abortions or to condemn those who perform them. It’s about redemption,” he wrote. “Perhaps Abby Johnson’s courage in coming forward will change our nation from one that embraces violent, R-rated solutions for unplanned pregnancies to one that sees each human life as a gift to be celebrated.” 
When the film’s Twitter account was mysteriously suspended on opening day, and the social-media platform provided no reason for the suspension, that seemingly injurious action may have actually benefited the film, theorize the people behind the project.
Later on opening weekend, the Twitter account was restored … but when Twitter users clicked to follow the account, they were unable to complete the action. Both incidents got significant publicity from people frustrated that they could not follow the account — and ultimately may have resulted in even greater follower numbers.
On Friday, the @UnplannedMovie Twitter account had 7,000 followers. As of this writing, it has 348,698 followers; that’s more than Planned Parenthood, which has slightly over 260,000 Twitter followers.
“There was a passive-aggressive resistance toward any publicity for the film,” said Solomon, referring to — among other things — major networks’ rejection of the film’s ads.  “All [Twitter] did was give us a wonderful story to back up that fact.”


Beyond the Numbers
The film’s real-life protagonist, Abby Johnson, has also been thrust into the spotlight because of the film’s success. Before the film’s release, she had 45,000 Twitter followers — a community she’d grown over a number of years. As of this writing, she has 113,634.
More importantly, she says she’s receiving about 150 messages a day across various platforms — social media, email and so on — from abortion workers seeking assistance from Johnson’s organization And Then There Were None to leave the industry. But, Johnson said, “Ninety percent of those messages are people saying, ‘I’m pro-life, I’ve been pro-life, but I’ve never been active in this movement. What can I do?’”
Before the release of Unplanned, some might have wondered if the film — which portrays Johnson’s journey from a Planned Parenthood employee of the year to one of the pro-life movement’s most vocal advocates — would simply preach to the choir. That is simply not the case, Johnson said.
“It’s awakened the choir!” she said. “It’s not just preaching to the choir: I feel like we’re teaching the choir how to sing.”
Shawn Carney, founder of 40 Days for Life and a key character in the cinematic adaptation, agrees.
“The ‘preaching to the choir’ argument is true if Unplanned makes $2 million opening weekend; but I think that myth was gone by midday Saturday,” he said. “What kind of ‘Christian movie’ makes nearly $1 million on a Tuesday?”
Konzelman and Solomon bought the film rights to Johnson’s book six years ago, and it has been a challenging journey to get funding, to get distribution and to get publicity for the project. But they are not surprised that the timing for the film’s release seems so providential, in the wake of New York’s aggressive late-term abortion legislation and resulting debate about infanticide of babies who have the temerity to survive the procedure.
“The timing of the movie was divine, for sure,” Carney said. “It’s not just bringing us new waves of volunteers. It’s bad for the abortion industry.”
“More than anything, the Unplanned movie has contributed to the desire for more and more people to continue to be out there after 40 Days for Life,” added Cavaliere. “We’ve never had so many people say, ‘We don’t want to stop.’
“If [abortion providers] are doing this, that we saw on the screen, full time, year-round … how can we be out here part time?”

​On the Sacrament of Marriage
"Married life is a most beautiful thing and we must guard it always"

VATICAN CITY  (Zenit.org) - Here is a translation of the Holy Father's catechesis on the sacraments today during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!

Today we conclude the series of catecheses on the Sacraments speaking of Marriage. This Sacrament leads us to the heart of God's plan, which is a covenant plan with His people, with all of us, a plan of communion. At the beginning of the Book of Genesis, the first Book of the Bible, as the crowning of the account of creation, it states: "God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them ... Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh" (Genesis 1:27; 2:24).

The married couple is the image of God: the man and the woman, not only the man, not only the woman, but both. This is the image of God: the love, the covenant of God with us is represented in that covenant between man and woman. And this is very beautiful! We are created to love, as reflection of God and of His love. And in the conjugal union the man and the woman realize this vocation in the sign of reciprocity and of communion of a full and definitive life.

When a man and a woman celebrate the Sacrament of Marriage, God, so to speak, is "mirrored" in them, He imprints in them His own features and the indelible character of His love. Marriage is the icon of God's love for us. God, in fact, is also communion: the three Persons of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit have lived always and forever in perfect unity. And this is in fact the mystery of Marriage: God makes of the two spouses a single existence. The Bible uses a strong expression and states "one flesh," so intimate is the union between man and woman in marriage. And this is precisely the mystery of marriage: the love of God that is mirrored in the couple that decides to live together. Therefore, man leaves his home, the home of his parents and goes to live with his wife and unites himself so strongly to her that the two become � the Bible states � one flesh.

In the Letter to the Ephesians, Saint Paul highlights the fact that a very great mystery is reflected in Christian spouses: the relationship established by Christ with the Church, a nuptial relationship (cf. Ephesians 5:21-33). The Church is the Bride of Christ. This is the relationship. This means that Marriage responds to a specific vocation and must be considered as a consecration (cf. Gaudium et spes, 48; Familiaris consortio, 56). It is a consecration: the man and the woman are consecrated in their love. By virtue of the Sacrament, the spouses are invested in fact in a true and proper mission, so that they can render visible, from simple ordinary things, the love with which Christ loves his Church, continuing to give his life for her, in fidelity and in service.

It is truly a stupendous plan that is inherent in the Sacrament of Marriage! And it is acted out in the simplicity and also in the fragility of the human condition. We know well how many difficulties and trials the life of two spouses has. What is important is to keep alive the bond with God, who is the basis of the conjugal bond. And the true bond is always with the Lord. When the family prays, the bond is maintained. When the husband prays for the wife and the wife prays for the husband, the bond becomes strong; one prays for the other.

It is true that in matrimonial life there are many difficulties, many: work, lack of money, children having problems � so many difficulties. And so often the husband and wife become a bit nervous and quarrel between themselves. They quarrel -- it is always so in marriage -- sometimes even plates fly. However, we must not become sad because of this; the human condition is like this. And the secret is that love is stronger from the moment there is quarreling, so I always advise spouses: Never end the day when you quarreled without making peace. Always! And it is not necessary to call the United Nations to come to one's home to make peace. A small gesture, a caress, a hello is sufficient! And until tomorrow -� and tomorrow one begins again. And this is life; it must be carried forward thus, carried forward with the courage of wanting to live it together. And this is great, it is beautiful! Married life is a most beautiful thing and we must guard it always, protect the children.

At other times I have said in this square something that helps marital life a lot. They are three words that must always be said, three words that must be in the home: please, thank you, sorry [permesso, grazie, scusa] -- three magical words.

Please, so as not to be invasive in the life of the spouse. Please, but what does this seem to you? Please, allow me.

Thank you: to thank one's spouse: thank you for what you did for me, thank you for this. The beauty of rendering thanks!

And as we all make mistakes, the other word which is a bit difficult to say, but which must be said: sorry.

Please, thank you, sorry. With these three words, with the prayer of the husband for his wife and vice versa, with making peace always before the day ends, the marriage will go forward -- the three magical words, prayer and always making peace.

May the Lord bless you and pray for me.

* * *

Speaker:

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

Today we conclude our catechesis on the sacraments with the sacrament of Matrimony, which brings us to the very heart of God's loving plan for the human family. The Triune God created us � men and women � in his image and calls us to mirror the mystery of his love. Married couples carry out this vocation in a full and definitive communion of life. As "one flesh", they become living icons of God's love in our world, building up the Church in unity and fidelity. Christian marriage also reflects the mystery of Christ's own faithful and sacrificial love for his body, the Church. Christian spouses thus receive a special consecration and a special mission. While a noble vocation, marriage is not an easy one: it must constantly be strengthened by a living relationship with the Lord through prayer: mornings and evenings, at meals, in the recitation of the Rosary, and above all through the Sunday Eucharist. Today let us pray for all families, especially those experiencing difficulties, so that by God's mercy they can always be joyful models of faith, love and generous service in our communities.

Holy Father (In Italian):

I greet all the English-speaking pilgrims present at today's Audience, including those from England, Wales, Denmark, Norway, Malta, Japan, Canada and the United States. I am pleased to welcome the Catholic Health Care Federation from the United States and the priests of the Institute for Continuing Theological Formation at the Pontifical North American College. Upon all of you, and upon your families, I invoke joy and peace in Christ our Lord.

* * *

I welcome the Italian-speaking pilgrims! I welcome the participants in the Seminar organized by the Pontifical Council for the Family; the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, who are holding their General Chapter, and the other women religious present. I greet the faithful of the parishes and the numerous groups, in particular the representation of the workers of ALCOA of Portovesme. I greet the Multiple-Sclerosis Association; the Association of Artillery Men of Italy and the Professional Soccer League. May this pilgrimage reinforce in everyone faith, hope and charity.

A special thought goes to the Jemo 'Nnanzi group of Aquila, Jemo 'Nnanzi. Five years after the earthquake devastated your city, I join you in prayer for the numerous victims, and I entrust to the protection of Our Lady of Roio all those who still live in hardship. I encourage all to keep hope alive! May the reconstruction of dwellings be accompanied by that of churches, which are houses of prayer for all, and of the artistic patrimony, to which the re-launching of the territory is linked. Jemo 'Nnanzi.

I greet the young people, the sick and the newlyweds, remembering them with the liturgy of Saint Francis of Paola. Dear young people, especially you, of the Village of youngsters of Maddaloni, learn from him that humility is strength and not weakness! Dear sick, do not tire of asking in prayer for the Lord's help. And you, dear newlyweds, compete in esteeming and helping one another.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Pope Interviewed by Belgian Youth GroupSpeaks Candidly on Poverty, Throwaway Culture, Personal Experiences

VATICAN CITY  (Zenit.org) - Pope Francis has given a candid interview to five young people from a youth group in Fiandre, Belgium, who interviewed him for a communications project entitled, "Verse Vis.".

The 30 minute video, entitled "Habemus Papam", documents the journey of the young journalists, who come from various backgrounds and beliefs, and culminates with their interview with the Holy Father. Bishop Lucas Van Looy of Ghent arranged the interview with the Pope, which took place on March 31st.

The first question was about the Holy Father's focus on the poor. Pope Francis said that the poor and those affected by poverty are at the heart of the Gospel.

"Two months ago," the Pope recalled, "I heard a person saying, when I spoke about the poor: 'This Pope is a communist.' And no, this is the banner of the Gospel, not of Communism but of the Gospel! It is poverty without ideology and that is why I believe the poor are at the center of the proclaimation of Jesus."

One of the young people, who declared she was an atheist, said she was inspired by the Holy Father's words and asked for a message for believers and nonbelievers alike. The Pope stressed the need for a dialogue spoken with authenticity and a knowledge that "we are all brothers."

While man is at the center of history, he said, in today's world, man has been taken away and replaced with power and money. The Holy Father emphasized the existence of a "throwaway culture" that regards, children and youth as an impediment. Highlighting the plight of the elderly, the Pope also said there is a "hidden euthanasia" that occurs because the elderly are no longer cared for.

However, the Holy Father expressed his hope that young politicians today are recognizing this and will act. These young politicians, he said "are happy because they - whether they are from the left or the right - speak a new 'tune', with a new tune, a new style of politics, and that gives me hope."

When asked a question on what has he learned from past mistakes, the Pope replied laughing: "I have made mistakes and I [continue to] make mistakes." The 77 year old Pontiff regarded mistakes as "the great teachers of life."

"They are great teachers, they teach you so much. I won't say that I have learned from all my mistakes, I haven't because I am (knocks on desk), I'm hard-headed and it is not easy to learn. But I have learned from many mistakes and this has done me well."

The Holy Father spoke candidly during his role as Superior General of the Jesuits, a time where he said he made "many mistakes with authoritarianism."

"I was very authoritarian at 36 years old. And then I learned that you must dialogue, you should hear what others think, But it wasn't learned once and for all. The path is long and I learned from my attitude that was a bit authoritarian as a religious superior to find a path to not be so much [...] but I still make mistakes."

Before concluding their interview, the young journalists asked the Pope if he had a question for them. Pope Francis replied by saying he would ask them something from the Gospel: "Where is your treasure?"

"What treasure does your heart rest in?" he asked. "Because where your treasure is, that is where your life is. The heart is attached to treasure, a treasure that we all have, It can be power, money, pride, there are so many. Or is it goodness, beauty, the will to do good? There are so many treasures we can place our heart in. So where is your heart? That is the question that I will ask but you have to answer to yourselves alone, in your home." (J.A.E.)

--- --- ---

On the NET:

For the video of the interview, go to: http://www.een.be/programmas/koppen/habemus-papam

Note: Video is in Flemish (Belgian Dutch), though questions are asked in English. The Pope responds in Italian.



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  "Now - and this is daunting - this outpouring of mercy cannot penetrate our hearts as long as we have not forgiven those who have trespassed against us. Love, like the Body of Christ, is indivisible; we cannot love the God we cannot see if we do not love the brother or sister we do see. In refusing to forgive our brothers and sisters, our hearts are closed and their hardness makes them impervious to the Father'smerciful love; but in confessing our sins, our hearts are opened to his grace." -Catechism of the Catholic Church#2840
 

A bit of humor…

Tried and True Method

Flummoxed by his true-false final exam, a student decides to toss a coin up in the air. Heads means true; tails, false. Thirty minutes later, he’s done, well before the rest of the class. But then the student starts flipping the coin again. And soon he’s murmuring and sweating over each question. 
"What’s wrong?" asks the concerned teacher. 
"I’m rechecking my answers," says the student. 

That's It
When my coworker Donsa was promoted, we decided to celebrate. Her boss called the baker and ordered a cake. 
"Two questions," said the baker. "Is Donsa a man or a woman? And what do you want the cake to say?" 
"The cake should read ‘Congratulations’" the boss said. "Oh, and Donsa"s a woman." The next day, the office celebrated with a cake that read "Congratulations—Donsa’s a woman." 



I Have a Question

During our computer class, the teacher chastised one boy for talking to the girl sitting next to him. 
"I was just asking her a question," the boy said. 
"If you have a question, ask me," the teacher tersely replied. 
"Okay," he answered. "Do you want to go out with me Friday night?"

Grannies on the Road

Sitting on the side of the road waiting to catch speeding drivers, a
state trooper sees a car puttering along at 22 mph. He thinks to
himself, "This driver is as dangerous as a speeder!" So he turns on his
lights and pulls the driver over.

Approaching the car, he notices that there are five elderly ladies - two
in the front seat and three in the back, wide-eyed and white as ghosts.
The driver, obviously confused, says to him, "Officer, I don't
understand. I was going the exact speed limit. What seems to be the
problem?"

The trooper trying to contain a chuckle, explains to her that 22 was the
route number, not the speed limit. A bit embarrassed, the woman grinned
and thanked the officer for pointing out her error.

"But before you go, Ma'am, I have to ask, is everyone in this car OK?
These women seem awfully shaken."

"Oh, they'll be all right in a minute, officer.. We just got off Route 127 
: )

 

 

Love the Irish

Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place.   Looking up to heaven he said, 'Lord take pity on me.   If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!' 

Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

Paddy looked up again and said, 'Never mind, I found one.'
​

+JMJ+


PRAYER DURING TIME OF ILLNESS
Holy Virgin of Guadalupe,
Queen of the Angels and Mother of the Americas.
We fly to you today as your beloved children.
We ask you to intercede for us with your Son, as you did at the wedding in Cana.
Pray for us, loving Mother,
and gain for our nation and world,
and for all our families and loved ones, the protection of your holy angels, that we may be spared the worst of this illness.
For those already afflicted,
we ask you to obtain the grace of healing and deliverance.
Hear the cries of those who are vulnerable and fearful,
wipe away their tears and help them to trust.
In this time of trial and testing,
teach all of us in the Church to love one another and to be patient and kind. Help us to bring the peace of Jesus to our land and to our hearts.
We come to you with confidence,
knowing that you truly are our compassionate mother, health of the sick and cause of our joy.
Shelter us under the mantle of your protection, keep us in the embrace of your arms, help us always to know the love of your Son, Jesus. Amen.

Many people have avoided celebrating the Sacrament of Penance, sometimes for years at a time, because they “don’t know what to do.” But confession doesn’t need to be scary or intimidating! The following brief explanation will help you understand how the Sacrament is celebrated individually.
 
1 Preparation
The celebration of this sacrament begins at home, with the private preparation you make. This preparation is called the examination of conscience. “The penitent compares his or her life with the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the example of Christ and then prays to God for forgiveness.” The examination of conscience should take into account your relationship to God and to others. Usually, we know our sins all too well; the examination of conscience will help us to look at them in the light of the Gospel, and be better able to express them in confession.  Also, we are sometimes unaware of how serious some sins are and the effect they have on our lives.  A thorough examination of conscience will help us identify and remove all that is hindering us in our relationship with God, one another, and ourselves.  A doctor needs help to remove all the illness or cancer from a patient, thus we need help to remove all sin so as to have true health and divine life.  (Please pray over attached Examination of Conscience for Adults.)
 
2 Welcome of the Priest
You have the option of confessing your sins face to face, or of confessing anonymously. This is your choice. The priest welcomes you and then both you and he make the sign of the cross, saying, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Then in his own words the priest urges you to have confidence in God. Then you continue, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.  It has been (# weeks, months, or years) since my last Confession.”  If you don’t know the priest, you may want to indicate your state of life (i.e. married, single, widowed, divorced), and anything else that may help your confessor.  Be sure to mention how long it has been since your last confession.  The true priest will be glad you are there and not judging you on how long it has been since you lasted came to this Sacrament.
 
3 Confession of Sins
Next the priest invites you to confess your sins. Occasionally, the priest may ask questions to help you in making a full confession. The confession of sins should be as complete as possible. That doesn’t mean it needs to take a long time. The important thing is that the penitent “looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible” (Catechism 1455).  Venial sins and faults may be confessed in general, however, all mortal/serious sins must be confessed by their name and the number of times they were committed since the last Confession.  If you need help confessing your sins, let the priest know.  He can ask you questions or help you examine your life in light of God’s law.
 
4 Advice of the Priest
Sacramental confession is not therapy; the priest will not attempt to solve your problems for you.  What he will do, however, is offer some advice to help you in starting a new life. He will give a “penance,” which may take the form of prayer, self-denial, service to one’s neighbor, or works of mercy.
 
5 Act of Contrition, the Prayer of the Penitent
Next the priest invites you to pray an act of contrition. There are many different options for this prayer. There is one on the Examination of Conscience that you may take with you.  It should also be available for you in the Confessional.
 
6 Prayer of Absolution
Now the priest extends his hands over your head and prays the prayer of absolution, making the sign of the cross over you during the final words: “through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” You respond, Amen.  These are generally considered the sweetest words this side of heaven for those who know anything can be forgiven in this life if we confess it with true sorrow.
 
7 Dismissal
Now the priest dismisses you. You respond, “Thanks be to God.” If you are making your confession as part of a communal celebration, remain in the church for the conclusion of the celebration. If not, ‘go in peace to love and serve the Lord’! 
 
Based on Celebrating the Sacrament of Penance: Questions and Answers, a publication of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.


   
 
Guide for Examination of Conscience for Confession of Sins
 
6 STEPS FOR A GOOD CONFESSION
1)  Examine your conscience - what sins have you committed since your last good confession.
2)  Be sincerely sorry for your sins.
3)  Confess your sins to the priest.
4)  Make certain that you confess all your mortal sins and the number of them.
5)  After your confession, do the penance the priest gives to you.
6)  Pray daily for the strength to avoid the occasion of sin, especially for those sins you were just absolved from.
 
ACT OF CONTRITION
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of Hell, but most of all because they offend You, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.
Amen. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. You shall not have other gods before Me.
___How have I acted toward God?
___ Do I think of God and speak to Him by
praying to Him every day?
___ Have I made a bad confession (purposely
avoiding to confess a mortal sin)?
___ Have I received Jesus in Holy Communion
unworthily (with mortal sin on my soul)?
2. You shall not take the Name of the
Lord your God in vain.
___ Have I used bad words?
___ Have I jokingly or irreverently spoken about
God or holy things?
___ Have I tried hard to keep the promises and
resolutions which I have made to God?
___ Have I spoken God’s Name in anger?
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.
___ Do I go to Mass on Sunday?
___ Do I do all I can to make Sunday a day of rest
and joy for my family?
___ Do I take part in the Mass, or do I distract
others by laughing, talking, or playing?
___ Have I deliberately failed to pay attention at
Mass?
___ Am I generous in helping the Church,
contributing some of my allowance or savings
at collection time to help the Church in her
necessities as much as I can?
___ Have I fulfilled my yearly Easter duty of
receiving Holy Communion (and going to
Confession, if necessary)?
4. Honor your father and your mother.
___ Do I pay attention to my parents, priest, and
teachers, especially when they talk to me about
God?
___ Do I obey my parents and teachers quickly and
cheerfully, or must I be reminded many times?
___Do I tell my parents or those in authority over
me that I am sorry and ask them to forgive me
when I have not obeyed them or have not been
respectful toward them?
___ Have I failed to express my love for my
parents?
___ Do I nurse angry feelings or show resentment
when I am corrected by my parents?
___ Do I obey the rules of my home and school?
___ Do I pray every day for the help I need to be a
holy child, and a holy brother or sister?
5. You shall not kill.
___ Have I treated other people badly?
___ Do I help my brothers, sisters, and classmates
when they need my help?
___ Am I kind to everyone?
___ Did I hurt anyone on purpose?
___ Have I fought with my brothers, sisters, or
friends?
___ Am I willing to talk or play with everyone?
___ Have I forgiven all those who have hurt me,
for love of Jesus?
___ Did I make fun of anyone, put anyone down,
or tease anyone to the point of upsetting
them?
___ Have I hated anyone or nursed bad feelings,
resented, or refused pardon toward any
person?
___ Have I sought pardon of those whom I have
offended?
___ Do I do all my class work and my chores at
home well?
___ Do I take care of my health by eating the
right food, getting enough sleep, and doing
other things that I know are good for me?
6. You shall not commit adultery.
___ Have I kept my mind, heart, and body pure,
as the dwelling, or temple, of God?
___ Have I been impure with touches (by myself
or with another person)?
___ Have I been impure with words or thoughts?
___ Have I watched impure movies or television
programs or listened to music that offended
God?
___ Have I engaged in impure conversations?
Did I begin them?
___ Have I neglected to dress modestly or to
otherwise safeguard purity?
___ Have I willfully looked at immodest pictures?
___ Have I displayed immodest looks or glances at
myself or others?
7. You shall not steal.
___ Did I steal or keep things that are not mine?
___ Am I willing to share my things with others?
___ Did I return things I have borrowed or stolen?
___ Have I seriously entertained temptations to
steal?
___ Have I been greedy?
8. You shall not lie.
___ Did I tell the truth?
___ Have I lied?
___ Did I say things about other people that are not
true?
___ Did I cheat in class or in games?
___ Have I gossiped about another person?
9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
___ Do I think mostly about myself and what I
want?
___ How often do I think about other people and
what they would like?
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s
goods.
___ Do I thank God for the things that He has
given me?
___ Do I thank my parents and relatives for the
things they have given me?
___ Do I spend more time thinking about things
that I want than I do talking to God?
Steps to a Good Confession:
1. Carefully examine your conscience.
2. Be sincerely sorry for your sins.
3. Make a firm resolution not to sin again and to
avoid the near occasion of sin.
4. Tell your sins to the priest and receive
absolution.
5. Do the penance the priest gives you.
Suggested Dialogue:
Priest: May the Lord be on your heart, on your
mind, and on your lips so that you may know your
sins, and confess them with true repentance and a
firm purpose of amendment.
Penitent: Bless me Father, for I have sinned.
It has been ________ since my last confession.
Here state your sins.
Priest gives counsel and penance.
Penitent makes Act of Contrition:
Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having
offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because
I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell,
but most of all because they have offended Thee,
my God, Who art all good and deserving of all my
love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace,
to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend
my life. Amen.
Receive absolution and then respond “Thanks be to God.”
---------------------------------------------------------------
"Whoever eats the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily sins against the Body and Blood of the Lord. ... He who eats and drinks without recognizing the Body eats and drinks judgment on himself." (1 Cor 11:27-29) 
 
So, to receive Holy Communion while in the state of mortal sin (having committed a mortal sin which has not been confessed and forgiven in the Sacrament of Confession) is itself a mortal sin - a mortal sin of sacrilege. 
 
"When he celebrates the sacrament of Penance, the priest is fulfilling the ministry of the Good Shepherd who seeks the lost sheep, of the Good Samaritan who binds up wounds, of the Father who awaits the prodigal son and welcomes him on his return, and of the just and impartial judge whose judgment is both just and merciful. The priest is the sign and the instrument of God's merciful love for the sinner." -Catechism of the Catholic Church #1465

+JMJ+
SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
Fifth Sunday in Lent - March 29th, 2020


The First Reading - Ezekiel 37:12-14
Thus says the Lord GOD: O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the LORD. I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.
Reflection
“You shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people!” Ezekiel 37:12 Thus, when Jesus opens Lazarus’ grave and causes him to rise, we know that Jesus is “the LORD,” that is, YHWH, the God of Israel. The sign of Lazarus’ resurrection points to the divinity of Christ. Now, most study bibles will have notes in the margin or the bottom of the page informing the reader that this passage from Ezekiel 37 has nothing to do with resurrection from the dead, but only pertains to the restoration of the national hopes of Israel. It is true that it pertains to the national hopes of Israel. However, the ancient manuscripts of Ezekiel were circulated without the notes in the RSVCE2 or NAB, etc., and the ancient readers tended to assume that, since the text explicitly describes resurrection from the dead, it was about the resurrection of the dead. The issue has to do with God’s promises to Israel. In Ezekiel’s lifetime (c. 637-572 BC), many Israelites were nearing death in exile and realizing that they would never see the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises personally. So was their faith in God meaningless? The point of Ezekiel’s vision is this: “If he has to, O Israelites, God will drag you out of your graves in order to fulfill his covenant promises to you. So your faith is not in vain!” God is able to do the unthinkable to be faithful to his word. The same is true for us. The basis of Christian hope is in the resurrection from the dead, because in this life none of us receives the fullness of all the good that God has promised us in Christ.
Adults - What is helping you focus on hope during these difficult times?
Teens -Spend some time this week learning about the covenants of Salvation History.
Kids - What helps your hope in Jesus grow?


Responsorial- Psalm 130: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R.With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the LORD.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Reflection
“Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!” What depth is deeper than that of death? God’s salvation reaches even the realm of the dead, the biblical Sheol, the lowest level of the cosmos in biblical cosmology. The Psalm is thus understood as the cry of the penitent soul from Sheol. Though the soul knows of his iniquities, nonetheless he hopes in God’s abundant mercy and awaits the resurrection: “more than sentinels wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the LORD.”
-What is your favorite bible verse hope?


The Second Reading- Romans 8:8-11
Brothers and sisters: Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.
Reflection - St. Paul speaks first of all of spiritual life and death: to be in sin is spiritual death; to be in Christ is to be alive. But the spiritual reality has implications for physical reality. Christ “will give life to our mortal bodies also.” The Church continues, obstinately, to believe not just in the resurrection of the “dead,” but the resurrection of the “body.” While the next life retains many mysteries, we will certainly have a new body. -Consider that the spiritual realities of this life are just as, if not more, real than the physical.


The Holy Gospel according to John 11:1-45
Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. So the sisters sent word to him saying, “Master, the one you love is ill.” When Jesus heard this he said, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” He said this, and then told them, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him.” So the disciples said to him, “Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.” But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep. So then Jesus said to them clearly, “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.” So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go to die with him.” When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, “The teacher is here and is asking for you.” As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him. For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still where Martha had met him. So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Sir, come and see.” And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” But some of them said, “Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?” So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, “Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.” And when he had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, “Untie him and let him go.” Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
Reflection
In response to Mary’s weeping and that of the other mourners, Jesus becomes “perturbed”—in verse 33 and also 38. The Greek word used here (embrimaomai) is very strong—“he became angry within himself.” What is the cause of Jesus’ anger? The brute fact of death in a fallen, sinful world? A lack of faith among the mourners? Commentators have not come to a satisfactory consensus. Surely, though, one of the purposes of St. John in reporting the emotion of Jesus is to stress his sharing in our human nature, including the depth of human emotion. It is often said that the Gospel of John portrays Jesus as most clearly divine among all the Gospels; at the same time, John portrays Jesus in some of the most deeply human moments of his ministry: “Jesus wept.”
Adults - Jesus is close to us in all of the events of our lives. How can time with Christ bring you comfort in this time?
Teens - What does it mean to you that “Jesus wept?”
Kids - Thank Jesus for always being close to you!

PRAYER DURING TIME OF ILLNESS (from the US Bishops; Please try to say everyday, if you are able.  Thanks!)

Holy Virgin of Guadalupe,
Queen of the Angels and Mother of the Americas.
We fly to you today as your beloved children.
We ask you to intercede for us with your Son, as you did at the wedding in Cana.

Pray for us, loving Mother,
and gain for our nation and world,
and for all our families and loved ones, the protection of your holy angels, that we may be spared the worst of this illness.

For those already afflicted,
we ask you to obtain the grace of healing and deliverance.
Hear the cries of those who are vulnerable and fearful,
wipe away their tears and help them to trust.

In this time of trial and testing,
teach all of us in the Church to love one another and to be patient and kind. Help us to bring the peace of Jesus to our land and to our hearts.

We come to you with confidence,
knowing that you truly are our compassionate mother, health of the sick and cause of our joy.

Shelter us under the mantle of your protection, keep us in the embrace of your arms, help us always to know the love of your Son, Jesus. Amen.

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
      Sometimes in life we have long projects or difficult journeys to complete.  Some view the season of Lent this way.  So the Church helps us and encourages us at such times.

 
        One way the Church does this is by marking the middle of a journey or when it is over half-way completed, and this is the case with Lent.  Generally, Lent is a subdued time with focus and work on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  Music is less during the Masses of Lent, and the organ is recommended not to be used at all.  Longer readings of Sacred Scripture and silence tends to play a big part in the Mass.  Flowers are not used to adorn the altar.  But all this is lessened with Laetare Sunday.
 
            The Thursday before Laetare Sunday (read more below) is actually the middle day of Lent, and it was at one time observed as such, but afterwards the special signs of joy permitted on this day, intended to encourage the faithful in their course through the season of Lent, were transferred to the Sunday following this Thursday. These special signs of joy consist (like those of Gaudete Sunday in Advent [3rd Sunday of Advent]) in the use of flowers on the altar, and of the organ at Mass; rose-colored vestments (NOT pink :o) ) are allowed instead of purple. The contrast between Laetare and the other Sundays of Lent is thus emphasized, and is characteristic of the joys of this life, restrained rejoicing mingled with a certain amount of sadness.   
 
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,

Father Robert
 
P.S.  This Sunday is Laetare Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Lent.  >> Readings

“Helpful Hints of Life”

Living and Loving Others
Never take a "You did", "You said", "You always", and "You never" approach to any discussion with someone you know.  Use non-threatening language, and voice tones that bring forth the spirit of cooperation and trust you should have with another especially if you profess to love that person.
 
“This is the day which the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 
Jesus rose from the dead "on the first day of the week." Because it is the "first day," the day of Christ's Resurrection recalls the first creation. Because it is the "eighth day" following the sabbath, it symbolizes the new creation ushered in by Christ's Resurrection. For Christians it has become the first of all days, the first of all feasts, the Lord's Day (he kuriake hemera, dies dominica) Sunday:
We all gather on the day of the sun, for it is the first day [after the Jewish sabbath, but also the first day] when God, separating matter from darkness, made the world; and on this same day Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead.”   
​Catechism of the Catholic Church #2174

​

Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain / Pixabay, Public DomainThe Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary announced an opportunity for a plenary indulgence during the current coronavirus pandemic.
According to the decree, “the gift of special Indulgences is granted to the faithful suffering from COVID-19 disease, commonly known as Coronavirus, as well as to health care workers, family members, and all those who in any capacity, including through prayer, care for them.”
A Plenary indulgence removes all temporal punishment due to sin, but one must have “a spirit detached from any sin” for it to completely apply.

The faithful who qualify for a plenary indulgence during the coronavirus pandemic:

• Those suffering from the coronavirus illness
• Those ordered to quarantine themselves due to the virus
• Health care workers, family members, and others caring for those with the coronavirus (exposing themselves to contagion)

Do at least one of the following:

• Unite yourself spiritually through the media in the celebration of the Holy Mass
• Recite the Rosary
• Pious practice of the Way of the Cross (or other forms of devotion)
• Recite the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and “a pious invocation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, offering this trial in a spirit of faith in God and charity towards their brothers and sisters.”

Also must perform all of the following as soon as possible: (considered the three usual conditions for a plenary indulgence)

• Sacramental Confession
• Eucharistic communion
• Pray for the Pope’s intentions

The faithful not suffering from the coronavirus can:
“Implore the Almighty God for the end of the epidemic, relief for those who are afflicted, and eternal salvation for those whom the Lord has called to Himself.”
In addition to the usual conditions mentioned above for a plenary indulgence, do at least one of the following:

• Visit the Blessed Sacrament or go to Eucharistic adoration
• Read the Holy Scriptures for at least half an hour
• Recite Holy Rosary
• Pious exercise of the Way of the Cross
• Recite the Chaplet of Divine Mercy

Plenary indulgence for those unable to receive Anointing of the Sick:
The decree adds that “the Church prays for those who find themselves unable to receive the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and of the Viaticum, entrusting each and every one to divine Mercy by virtue of the communion of saints and granting the faithful a Plenary Indulgence on the point of death, provided that they are duly disposed and have recited a few prayers during their lifetime (in this case the Church makes up for the three usual conditions required). For the attainment of this indulgence the use of the crucifix or the cross is recommended.”

Pray for an end to the coronavirus pandemic and all suffering from the coronavirus!


SDG Reviews ‘Unplanned’: The Abby Johnson Story
Pure Flix’s adaptation of the Planned Parenthood clinic director-turned-pro-life activist makes for a rousing conversion story for the pro-life faithful that’s not entirely without a challenge to the movement.
Steven D. GreydanusBased on the memoir by Planned Parenthood clinic director-turned-pro-life activist Abby Johnson, Unplanned opens on the crucial Saturday in September 2009 when, per Johnson’s conversion story, Abby (Ashley Bratcher, War Room) is asked to assist with an ultrasound-guided abortion and witnesses the image of a 13-week-old unborn child squirming in an apparent effort to avoid the vacuum cannula that proceeds to dismember its body piece by piece.


The extended flashback that follows over the next hour or so includes a number of other disturbing abortion incidents from Abby’s life and career, including two of her own. One of hers goes badly wrong, as does one at the Bryan, Texas, facility where she works. Unplannedisn’t the most disturbing treatment of abortion I’ve seen in film, but it’s queasy enough, which is the intent.


The most horrific abortion-themed film I’ve ever seen would be Cristian Mungiu’s 2007 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, which is about an illegal abortion in 1980s Romania.


Mungiu’s film took no position for or against abortion, but viewers on both sides of the abortion debate found in it at least some support for their own views — a token, I think, of the film’s trueness to life.
Abortion advocates saw in the nightmare circumstances entangling two young women a scathing indictment of the Romanian anti-abortion laws, making desperate women vulnerable to predatory black-market abortion providers.


For pro-lifers, the human dignity of unborn life was attested in the film’s attention to the fate of the fetus, from the unflinching shot of the tiny face and ruined body lying on a tile floor amid bloody towels to the mother’s urgent need to see her baby buried rather than disposed as waste, and the guilt and grief when this doesn’t happen.
Although the abortions in Unplanned are legal, an illicit back-alley aura hangs over a horrible scene in which a sedated young woman (Bella Altamura) in the recovery room begins bleeding out from a perforated uterus, leading to a panicky, prolonged effort to stabilize her without the PR hit of summoning an ambulance. Compounding the queasiness, Abby is forced to tell reassuring lies to the worried father in the waiting room.
Another scene includes a close-up on translucent fetal remains that Abby examines with detached fascination in the the POC room, where dismembered body parts are reassembled to ensure that nothing has been left in the uterus. POC stands for “products of conception,” though one of the other employees morbidly jokes that it really stands for “pieces of children.”  


Johnson’s story is dramatic and powerful. The writing-directing team of Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon (whose previous collaborations include the screenplays for Pure Flix’s God’s Not Dead movies) capture at least some of that drama and power, with one crucial caveat.
From the very beginning, Unplanned is crafted specifically for Pure Flix’s target audience, an audience that is already pro-life. This is a regular issue with faith-based films, including the recent abortion-themed Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer — though Gosnelltook a somewhat broader approach by emphasizing the consequences of treating abortion as politically untouchable and even unregulatable.
Before the first image appears onscreen, Abby addresses the audience in a voice-over running through the whole film: “My story isn’t an easy one to hear. I think I probably ought to warn you about that.”
As Abby arrives at the facility, the voice-over continues, “I’ve been asked a thousand times: Were you so gullible? So ambivalent, so naive, so foolish … ? My answer? Yes. I often find people don’t like my answers. That’s understandable. Because my story isn’t a neat and tidy one.”
That tone establishes Unplanned as a kind of cinematic personal testimony, told from Johnson’s post-conversion point of view, rather than the journey of a character whose shifting point of view we follow as she becomes increasingly committed to her Planned Parenthood career before starting to become more conflicted.
That story, told without voice-over and without the promise of Abby’s tears of repentance in the opening scene, might be a more effective drama for viewers of any point of view, but perhaps it would have been felt to be too alienating for the Pure Flix audience.
By starting at the end of Abby’s career and then flashing back with voice-over providing Abby’s post-conversion perspective, the film anchors the story in the destination.
To its credit, Unplanned isn’t entirely without challenge to pro-life viewers.
When Abby first shows up at Planned Parenthood to act as an escort accompanying clients from their cars to the door, the small knot of protesters outside the gate includes a black-robed Grim Reaper waving a scythe.
Another escort instructs Abby to engage clients as soon as they arrive on any topic — the weather, her clothes — anything “to distract her from the voices through the fence. They’re going to be harassing her. You need to make sure yours is the voice she hears.”
These aren’t idle words. When the first client arrives, a heavyset, middle-aged man with a gray goatee and sunglasses spits despicable taunts through the fence at her and the escorts coming to assist her.
Later, when a chipper young woman named Marilisa (Emma Elle Roberts) from the Coalition for Life tries to engage Abby, Abby incredulously accosts her: “In what world would a woman run to someone dressed as the Grim Reaper for help with her crisis pregnancy?”
Such tactics don’t help, Marilisa agrees candidly, adding that those people weren’t with the Coalition for Life.
Much later, the story breaks of the assassination of Dr. George Tiller, who gained notoriety for specializing in late-term abortions.
Tiller’s murder deeply affects Abby, who notes that he had a family, and she is especially appalled that he was killed in church. We see, too, that this leads to concern for Abby’s own safety, as well as that of her family and staff.
The film doesn’t include the death threats and other harassment that Abby herself received from anti-abortion activists. Still, I appreciate Unplanned going as far as it does in acknowledging that, as appalling as abortion is, anti-abortion zeal can take grotesque and even occasionally violent forms.
Imagine a version of this story that dared to open with the start of Abby’s first day — in which, rather than Abby’s opening statement, the first thing we heard was the taunts of the goateed man and the first image was the Grim Reaper with his scythe. An opening like that would signal trust in the audience and in the power of the story to convey the message without handholding.
But that’s not the kind of movie Pure Flix appears to be interested in making. Judged for what it is, a rousing personal testimony of conversion addressed to the pro-life faithful, Unplanneddelivers.
Camerawork and editing are solid, with attention to camera movements carried across shots and scene transitions to facilitate a sense of narrative flow. I’ve seen the film twice, once on the big screen (in a nearly finished cut) and once via screening link, and it’s among the better constructed faith-based films I’ve seen.
As with Gosnell, the film’s most notable display of technique is connected to its central concern. When Abby wakes up on a table after her first abortion, the camera pushes into a tight close-up and comes into focus to convey her disorientation — and it’s turned sideways so that her face in profile appears upright in a sideways room.
Then, as she tries to sit up, there’s a graphic match cut to the recovery room, where she really is upright in a chair, her head slumping forward to follow the movement from the previous shot. It’s good filmmaking (and it plays even better without the soundtrack, told visually without voice-over explanation).
There are other small virtues. Most of the Planned Parenthood staff seem likable and decent, aside from the occasional cheerful callousness of acerbic Renee (Tina Toner).
The weight of villainy falls solidly on Abby’s boss and mentor, Cheryl (Robia Scott). When Abby, to Cheryl’s open disapproval, decides that with her third pregnancy she’s finally ready for a child, Cheryl sneers that at least the sight of Abby’s baby bump will encourage clients to abort.
Cheryl mentors Abby like a predator grooming a victim, but without the subtlety. When Abby steps out of line and Cheryl turns on her, she becomes even more cartoonishly villainous.
Marilisa and her husband, Shawn Carney (Jared Lotz), who run the Coalition for Life, are entirely angelic. (Carney is now the head of 40 Days for Life.)
Abby’s easygoing husband, Doug (Brooks Ryan), and her pro-life parents (Robert Thomason and Robin DeMarco) are also saintly, and they love Abby unconditionally through all her years at Planned Parenthood. The lack of family conflict is really extraordinary. Oh, and little Andee Grace Burton is Hallmark-movie cherubic as Abby and Doug’s daughter Grace.
“My story isn’t a neat and tidy one,” Abby tells us at the start, but this telling is still pretty neat and tidy. Perhaps the real story was messier. Questions have been raised about the accuracy of some details of Johnson’s account of her departure from Planned Parenthood. Some details of the film may be couched to address such questions. At any rate, the film is at least somewhat fictionalized and can be watched for what it is.
One thing missing from Unplanned is a concrete depiction of the Coalition for Life’s expressed interest in offering help to pregnant women in crisis. Marilisa and later Abby herself offer caring and reassuring words to distraught women in the Planned Parenthood parking lot, but we never see, for instance, deliveries of diapers or baby clothes or other practical forms of help.
Abortion is appalling, violent and inhuman, and no one should be involved in it. But the answer to appalling violence is love and support, not more violence or appalling behavior. That’s the message of Unplanned. The more people take that message to heart, the better off the world will be.
Deacon Steven D. Greydanus is the Register’s film critic and creator of Decent Films.
He is a permanent deacon in the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey.
Caveat Spectator: Disturbing ultrasound images of an unborn child being dismembered; much medical gore and brief images of fetal parts; some cursing; a couple of sexual references. Mature viewing.

​

Rome, Italy, Feb 2  (EWTN News/CNA)  - As Pope Francis' year dedicated to consecrated life comes to a close, one nun shared her thoughts on the how her religious garb serves as a “visible sign” that God exists and loves every person. 
Though the official Year for Consecrated Life just concluded, it's actually “the beginning of helping people get reacquainted with religious life,” said Sr. Mary Christa of the Sisters of Mercy of Alma.
She said that while there are those who have a general idea about religious sisters, there's still a degree of uncertainty on the part of many about what religious life looks like.
Right now, Sr. Mary Christa added, there's “confusion”  – over questions such as why some sisters wear habits and some don't – and her hope is that this year marks the start of “a fruitful understanding of religious life in the Church in its most authentic, visible witness.”
The Year for Consecrated Life, which began Nov. 30, 2014, concluded Feb. 2 on the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus.
Sr. Mary Christa, who also runs U.S. bishops' visitor's office in Rome with several other Sisters of Mercy, called the habit of a religious sister an important part of being a witness.
“The religious habit should say a number of things, both to the sister herself, and to those who see her,” she said, recounting how she is often approached by strangers asking for prayers, who automatically trust her on account of her appearance.
“The habit is a visible sign of the love of God,” she said. “But it’s also, I have found, a great responsibility and a reminder to me: the responsibility to be what I show that I am.” 
“It’s a sign of the love of God and that this life is not all there is: that God exists and loves them,” she said.
One of the distinguishing aspects of their habit – a dark veil and a simple, pale blue frock in the summer, and a darker color for the winter – is a simple black cross, overlaid by a smaller white cross, which is worn around the neck. 
“The black of the cross represents the misery of mankind that we find in the world, and the white represents God’s mercy, which we are called to bring into the world as Sisters of Mercy,” explained Sr. Mary Michaela, who works at the visitor's office. 
“There is a long tradition in religious life of wearing a habit as a visible sign that we are consecrated to God and to the service of the Church in a special way,” she said. “It’s also part of poverty,” she added. “Our habit is simple, so we don’t buy a big wardrobe.”
Living in Rome, Sr. Mary Michaela noted how she too is approached by people asking for prayers on account of her habit. 
“When they see the habit, they realize that there is something particular about our life,” she said. 
“They recognize that we represent, in some way, God’s presence. We remind people of God’s presence here in the world.”
First established in Ireland in 1831 by venerable Catherine McAuley, the Sisters of Mercy centered their work on education, catechesis, healthcare. Spreading to the United States, the order was re-founded in 1973 in Alma, Michigan, where its motherhouse is currently located. 
In addition to the three vows taken by all religious sisters, the Sisters of Mercy take a fourth vow of service to the poor, sick, and ignorant.
In Rome, the Sisters of Mercy offer orientation to U.S. Pilgrims – obtaining tickets for papal events, answering their questions about the city, and helping them with the pilgrimage aspect of their visit.
“This is one of the apostolic works that we do as a community,” said Sr. Regina Marie, speaking on her work at the visitor's office.
Pilgrims “can come here and learn about the faith,” she said. “We will often have a priest that will come at a certain time for a half hour and give catechesis for anyone who wants to. We have catechetical materials out for the pilgrims, (or) even just a place for them to sit down for a few minutes.”
“Our charism is the mercy of God,” she said. “Our apostolates are usually focused around the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, which can manifest themselves in many ways.”  
Sr. Anna Marie, another sister at the office, adds that “the consecrated life is a sign of his presence on earth.” 
“We live our vows so that when people see us, they think of God, and they think of Jesus, and they think of the Church. That’s a tremendous privilege.”
On how people will often ask her about her life as a religious, Sr. Anna Marie said she is excited to answer their questions.
“It’s a gift not only for me, but a gift for the whole Church and for the world,” she said. ​

“Christ and his Church thus together make up the "whole Christ" (Christus totus). The Church is one with Christ.
The saints are acutely aware of this unity:
Let us rejoice then and give thanks that we have become not only Christians, but Christ himself. Do you understand and grasp, brethren, God's grace toward us? Marvel andrejoice: we have become Christ. For if he is the head, we are the members; he and we together are the whole man. . . . The fullness of Christ then is the head and the members. But what does "head and members" mean? Christ and the Church.
Our redeemer has shown himself to be one person with the holy Church whom he has taken to himself.
Head and members form as it were one and the same mystical person.
A reply of St. Joan of Arc to her judges sums up the faith of the holy doctors and the good sense of the believer: "About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they're just one thing, and we shouldn't complicate the matter.”   Catechism of the Catholic Church #795

 “To the Lord's Sermon on the Mount it is fitting to add the moral catechesis of the apostolic teachings, such as Romans 12-15, 1 Corinthians 12-13, Colossians 3-4, Ephesians 4-5, etc. This doctrine hands on the Lord's teaching with the authority of the apostles, particularly in the presentation of the virtues that flow from faith in Christ and are animated by charity, the principal gift of the Holy Spirit. "Let charity be genuine. . . . Love one another with brotherly affection. . . . Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality." This catechesis also teaches us to deal with cases of conscience in the light of our relationship to Christ and to the Church..”   Catechism of the Catholic Church #1971

+JMJ+
SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
Fourth Sunday of Lent - Laetare Sunday- March 22nd, 2020


The First Reading - 1 Sm 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
The LORD said to Samuel: “Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons.” As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.” But the LORD said to Samuel: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart.” In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any one of these.” Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him; we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.” Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them. He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid appearance. The LORD said, “There—anoint him, for this is the one!” Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
Reflection
The anointing of David is typologically related to the anointing of the Blind Man in the Gospel. Like David, the Blind Man enters into communion with God through this anointing. As we will see, he is “recreated” by Jesus through this miracle. But the Spirit is connected to creation. The Holy Spirit is the “Creator Spirit,” who moved over the waters of the abyss at the beginning and caused creation to come into being. When David receives the Spirit of the LORD at the hands of Samuel, he is in a sense becoming a new creation of God. As St. Paul will later say, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!” (2 Cor 5:17).
Adults – What do you need Jesus to “recreate” in your life?
Teens -As a new creation in the Lord, how should we live differently from the rest of the world?
Kids – Why do you think God wants us to live in the ways that He teaches?
Responsorial- Psalm Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Reflection
The Responsorial Psalm is the well-known and much beloved Psalm 23. “The LORD is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.” Besides the LORD, the only other individual identified as the Shepherd of Israel in the OT is the Davidic King. Like their forefather, the heirs of David were Shepherds of Israel. Ezekiel prophesied a day when both the LORD God himself (Ezek 34:15) and David (Ezek 34:23) would be Shepherd of Israel, yet mysteriously, there would only be One Shepherd (Ezek 34:23).
-Do you rely on the Lord as a sheep relies on its shepherd?


The Second Reading- Eph 5:8-14
Brothers and sisters: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”
Reflection - In today’s Gospel, Jesus grants light to a man born into darkness. Yet the natural darkness of the Blind Man is a type of the condition into which all of us are born, namely, the spiritual darkness of original sin. In Baptism we arise from spiritual death (“Awake, O Sleeper, and arise from the dead”) and become enlightened with the illuminating gift of the Holy Spirit.
-Where could you use the light of Christ in your life?


The Holy Gospel according to Jn 9:1-41
As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—. So he went and washed, and came back able to see. His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is, “but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I am.” So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?” He replied, “The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went there and washed and was able to see.” And they said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I don’t know.” They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees. Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath. So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” So some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man do such signs?” And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, “What do you have to say about him, since he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” Now the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and gained his sight until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight. They asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How does he now see?” His parents answered and said, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. We do not know how he sees now, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age; he can speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ, he would be expelled from the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; question him.” So a second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give God the praise! We know that this man is a sinner.” He replied, “If he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” So they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” They ridiculed him and said, “You are that man’s disciple; we are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this one is from.” The man answered and said to them, “This is what is so amazing, that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him. It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.” They answered and said to him, “You were born totally in sin, and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out. When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him. Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.” Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.
Reflection - The Man Born Blind is a type of the Baptizand. All of us are born into spiritual blindness, original sin. The disciples’ question “Who sinned, this man or his parents?” reflects a Pharisaic belief that birth defects were the result of parental sin, or else the child himself sinned in the womb. Jesus says “Neither have sinned.” Instead, this is an opportunity for God’s glory to be revealed. “I am the light of the world,” Jesus asserts. To fully appreciate this statement, and indeed the entire account of this healing, we must notice that it occurs in a long section of John (chapters 7-9) which takes place during the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. This resplendent festival was marked by two themes: light (Zech 14:7) and water (Zech 14:8). The Temple was lit with gigantic menorahs all through the night for a week, and on the last day of the festival water was taken from the Pool of Siloam and poured out on the altar of the Temple as a prayer for rain, and as an actualization of various OT prophecies of a river flowing from the Temple in the last times (see Ezek 47; Joel 3:18; Zech 14:8). John 9 ends this long section of John, and draws together the themes of water and light, as Jesus uses water to bring light to this man. Obviously, water and light are connected to creation, too, because first the waters covered the deep, and then God said, “Let there be light!”
Adults – In this time of trial for our world, where do you see God’s light?
Teens – How is the love and mercy of God bringing you comfort?
Kids – Where do you experience the love of Jesus?