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?
 

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

         The three tools to truly change this Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  Fasting must often be added to prayer.
 
When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, "Why could we not drive it (the demon) out?"
He said to them, "This kind can only come out through prayer and fasting."  Mark 9:28-29
 
         Food is the most primordial drives of the human being.  If food is not available to someone, all other desires will be subordinated to it.  So when one struggles with the sometimes disordered desires and passions of the human person, ordering the desire for food is one of the best places to start to gain strength to order the rest.  We must master our passions or they master us.
 
         Namely, fasting on bread and water at least once a week (a Wednesday or Friday is the best day) has been the practice along with prayer that have made saints and given countless people mastery over unruly passions (i.e. vices, bad habits, etc.).  One can also fast by not eating in-between meals or saying no to sweets.  Try this ‘hammer of the spiritual life’ and you will not be disappointed!
 
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
 
Father Robert
P.S.  This coming Sunday is the Third Sunday of Lent.  >> Readings

 
e5 Men
 
http://www.e5men.org/

e5 Men

www.e5men.org
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HUSBANDS FASTING FOR THEIR WIVES. The e5 Man fasts for his bride as a way to imitate Jesus as described by Saint Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 5 (for ...
Based on Ephesians chapter 5 these are Christian men (mostly Catholic) who are fasting for their loved ones, mainly their wives.  They, like Christ, are laying down their lives by fasting for those they love and want to help get to heaven.  I can personally testify to the power of doing this.  I have also met the founder of this site and united action. Women may also sign up to have men fast for them to spiritual help them.  Just do it!
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At the end of his annual Lenten penitential service on Friday, Pope Francis was the first to go to the sacrament of confession, afterward hearing the confessions of seven laypeople, three men and four women, in attendance.

Instead of giving a homily during the service, which he has done in years past, Pope Francis led people in a lengthy silence following the readings in order to reflect and pray prior to receiving the sacrament of confession.
Earlier on March 17, Francis spoke with participants of the Apostolic Penitentiary’s annual course on the internal forum about the importance of confessors being available to people and spiritually well-formed.
In his speech, the Pope said that to be a good confessor, a priest must be a man of prayer, a man who is attentive to the Holy Spirit and knows how to discern well, and who also is a good evangelizer.
Held in St. Peter's Basilica, the penitential service usually takes place on the fourth Friday of Lent, in anticipation of the “24 Hours for the Lord” initiative held yearly on the fourth Friday and Saturday of Lent.
This year, however, the Pope's penitential service was moved to the week prior, March 17. In addition to going to confession and hearing the confessions of seven others, the service included prayers, songs and readings from Scripture.
Afterward, almost 100 priest and bishops were available to hear the confessions of those in attendance.
Led by Pope Francis, “24 Hours for the Lord” is a worldwide initiative which points to confession as a primary way to experience God's merciful embrace. It was launched in 2014 under the auspices of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization.
Taking place on Mar. 24-25, this year's theme is “I Desire Mercy” (Mt. 9:13). The theme is taken from the verse in Matthew which says: “Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Starting in the evening on March 24, churches throughout Rome will remain open for 24 hours to give pilgrims the opportunity to go to confession and take part in Eucharistic Adoration.
While parishes in Rome will be open overnight, churches elsewhere in the world are invited to participate as well, adapting the initiative to suit their local situations and needs.
Additional information on the “24 Hours for the Lord” can be found at the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization's website, www.novaevangelizatio.va. 
​

A bit of humor…
-I saw an ad for burial plots, and thought to myself this is the last thing I need.  
-Just burned 2,000 calories. That's the last time I leave brownies in the oven while I nap.  
-I'm great at multitasking. I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at once.
-I read recipes the same way I read science fiction. I get to the end and I think, ‘Well, that’snot going to happen.'”  
-“A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.”  
-“Money can’t buy you happiness? Well, check this out, I bought myself a Happy Meal!”  
-“The easiest time to add insult to injury is when you’re signing somebody’s cast.”  
-“A TV can insult your intelligence. But nothing rubs it in like a computer.”

Honor Among Thieves
A mother complained to the schoolteacher, that other students in class were stealing her daughter’s pencils.
“It’s not the money—it’s the 
principle,” she insisted. “My husband took those pencils from work.”

Ivy League Music
A month after Donald MacDonald started at Harvard, his mother called from Scotland. "And how are the American students, Donald?" she asked. 
"They’re so noisy," he complained. "One neighbor endlessly bangs his head against the wall, while another screams all night." 
"How do you put up with it?" 
"I just ignore them and play my bagpipes." 

Kids in Church 2
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
  A Sunday School teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible - Psalm 23.  She gave the youngsters a month to learn the chapter.  Little Rick was excited about the task - but he just couldn't remember the Psalm.  After much practice, he could barely get past the first line.  On the day that the kids were scheduled to recite Psalm 23 in front of the congregation, Ricky was so nervous.  When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, 'The Lord is my Shepherd, and that's all I need to know.'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
A father was at the beach with his children when the four-year old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore, where a seagull lay dead in the sand.  "Daddy, what happened to him?" the son asked. "He died and went to Heaven," the dad replied.  The boy thought a moment and then said, "Did God throw him back down?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
At Sunday School they were teaching how God created everything, including human beings.  Little Johnny, a child in the kindergarten class, seemed especially intent when they told him how Eve was created out of one of Adam's ribs.  Later in the week his mother noticed him lying as though he were ill, and said. "Johnny what is the matter?"  Little Johnny responded, "I have a pain in my side. I think I'm going to have a wife....!" 
 ​

A Prayer to Say While Fasting


O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, make this time of prayer and fasting
truly fruitful in my life that I may hunger for only you. Amen. 
 
 


  ‘The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others. Alongside the radical purification brought about by Baptism or martyrdom they cite as means of obtaining forgiveness of sins: effort at reconciliation with one's neighbor, tears of repentance, concern for the salvation of one's neighbor, the intercession of the saints, and the practice of charity ‘which covers a multitude of sins’”               -Catechism of the Catholic Church #1434

+JMJ+


Sunday Mass Readings and Questions
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
Third Sunday in Lent  - March 15th, 2020


The First Reading - Exodus 17:3-7
In those days, in their thirst for water, the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt? Was it just to have us die here of thirst with our children and our livestock?” So Moses cried out to the LORD, “What shall I do with this people? a little more and they will stone me!” The LORD answered Moses, “Go over there in front of the people, along with some of the elders of Israel, holding in your hand, as you go, the staff with which you struck the river. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb. Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink.” This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel. The place was called Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled there and tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD in our midst or not?”
ReflectionOf course, “Man does not live by bread alone,” in other words, our physical needs are not the definition of our truest nature.  Extending the metaphor to thirst, we may also say, “Man does not live by water alone.”  The satisfaction of thirst is not the ultimate answer for the human condition.  The physical thirst of the Israelites in the desert is a sign point to a greater thirst, our thirst for God himself.  David puts it this way: “As a hart longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Ps 42:1-2).  The real thirst of the Israelites, whether they knew it or not, was for God himself.
Adults - How do you fill the longing for God in you life?
Teens -Humans need a real and tangible relationship with God. How does your Catholic faith provide this?
Kids - Be sure you are praying every day during Lent!

Responsorial- Psalm 95: 1-2, 6-7, 8-9

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
    as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
    they tested me though they had seen my works.”
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
ReflectionThis psalm recalls Israel’s rebelliousness in the desert and urges us: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart.”  In other words, the same God who led Israel through the Wilderness is still speaking to us now, today.  Do not repeat Israel’s mistakes.  Don’t fight against the God who is the only one able to supply your true desire.  How can you be sure you are not hardening your heart against God?
The Second Reading- Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
Brothers and sisters: Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. 
Reflection -St. Paul here speaks of being “justified by faith.”  We know that justification is a fruit of Baptism (1 Peter 3:21).  But for Baptism to be effective it must be received in faith.  Lack of faith can impede the subjective effects of the sacrament.  Justification is by faith, though not by faith alone. The poured waters represent and actualize the Holy Spirit being poured into our hearts, giving us the gift of divine love, that we may love as God does.  -How do you love as God loves?


The Holy Gospel according to John 4:5-42Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” —For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.— Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.” The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand; we worship what we understand, because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one speaking with you.” At that moment his disciples returned, and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, but still no one said, “What are you looking for?” or “Why are you talking with her?” The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?” They went out of the town and came to him. Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” So the disciples said to one another, “Could someone have brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest. The reaper is already receiving payment and gathering crops for eternal life, so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work.” Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me everything I have done.” When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his word, and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”


Reflection - This is a woman with a checkered personal history, which is no doubt why she is coming to the well at noon, to avoid the other women in the town who came at the usual times of dawn and dusk. But the woman’s personal history is an icon of the history of her people.  She is a woman of Samaria, after all.  The Samaritans were mixed descendants of the poor people of Northern Israel (left behind by the Assyrians in 722BC) and five foreign nations brought in by their conquerors, with whom the Israelites intermarried and also worshipped their gods! The woman’s experience mirrors that of her people.  The people of northern Israel, her ancestors, left their husband-God all the way back in 1 Kings 12 (see also Hosea 1-3, all oracles directed to Northern Israel!).  Now the Lord, the Bridegroom of Israel has returned to woo the people of Samaria (and all the nations), as he said he would long ago.


Adults - Reflect on your faith journey and how it has, or hasn’t been influenced by family and circumstances. Thank God that He has led you to Himself!
Teens - What does the phrase “Body of Christ” mean to you?
Kids - What are some ways Jesus gathers all people to Himself, both in Scripture and now?


LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK!  - Mother Teresa of Calcutta, with wisdom typical of saints, explained why we should give ourselves to God: “Why should we give ourselves completely to God? Because God has given Himself to us. If God who owes us nothing is ready to give us nothing less than Himself, can we respond with only a small part of ourselves? Giving ourselves totally to God is a way of receiving God. I am for God and God is for me. I live for God and renounce myself, in this way I allow God to live for me. To possess God we must allow Him to possess our souls. (Blessed Teresa di Calcutta).  — Mgr Luciano Alimandi, Ave Maria, Agenzia Fides 27/2/2008

​

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,
 

         The three tools to truly change this Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  And, if there is one thing we can never do enough of, it is pray.
 
         Prayer needs not be only time in church, on our knees, or at specific times.  Prayer needs to become a way of life.  We must strive to be constantly united to Jesus Christ in our way of living, that we “pray always.”  How wonderful it would be if praying became as natural as breathing. 
 
         I was at a profession of a dear friend of mine some years ago, when she united herself formally to a Carmelite convent.  She pointed out to me that some of the nuns that ‘never break prayer.’  Even if they talk to you or do some task they keep themselves fully united to their Lord in constant prayer, with heart and mind raised to Him.  I soon experienced what she was pointing out to me as I spoke with one of the Carmelites.
 
         While the average Catholic is not called to this specifically, you and I are called to strive to pray constantly by uniting whatever we think, say, or do to Jesus Christ, the REAL person who loves us more than others do and more than we love ourselves. That is the challenge and joy of the Good News!
 
Peace and prayers in Jesus through Mary, loved by Saint Joseph,
 
Father Robert

 
P.S.  This past Sunday was the Second Sunday of Lent.  >> Readings 

1) Be my best friend.
2) I need to know you call my name in your prayers
3) Hold me when I cry 
4) Show and tell me that you love me often, and leave no doubt about it in my mind.
5) Show me your approval when I make a decision that is good.
6) Talk to me about what's important to you and to me.
7) Listen to me and don't treat me like I am stupid and don't know anything.
8) I need intimacy, and not just sexually.  Anyone can have relations, but it takes a REAL man to be intimate.
9) Make me feel wanted and trusted in the things I can do for you.
10) Don't try to make me like your mother.
11) Remember that I am your "Help Mate".  I am not someone to be stomped on and just used for your "whims".
12) Understand that I like to have our family near and want all relationships to be what God intended.
13) Comfort and hold me.
14) Be a one woman man.
15) Take the spiritual lead in giving me (and our children) direction and guidance.
16) Ask me for my help - it is good to be regarded as a helper and useful.
17) Make appropriate adjustments to your lifestyle and preferences as a married / family man.
18) Treat me with love and respect in the company of others.
19) Show appreciation and affirmation.
20) Tell me you love me often, even if you think I should already know this.
21) Show affection for no "reason" at all.
22) Make me feel as though I am still desirable.
23) Be devoted to caring, giving protection, and affirming your love.
24) Encourage me to realize my goals, and don't put me down for trying something new.  Try to understand how I feel and listen to me when I try to tell you something that is important to us or that is hurting us.
 
“Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort.  The great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle.  Against whom?  Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God. We pray as we live, because we live as we pray. If we do not want to act habitually according to the Spirit of Christ, neither can we pray habitually in his name. The "spiritual battle" of the Christian's new life is inseparable from the battle of prayer.”
​
Catechism of the Catholic Church #2725

​

​The Rosary Foundation

http://www.erosary.com

The Rosary Foundation - Pray the Rosary for World Peace

www.erosary.com
​
Welcome to eRosary, the official homepage of The Rosary Foundation. We are a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting rosary prayer and the benefits gained by ...
The Rosary Foundation is a charitable organization that is dedicated to promoting the benefits gained through recitation of the rosary. Its mission is to enlighten the world about the special graces available to all those who pray the rosary.

The Rosary Foundation organizes and manages several Rosary Awareness campaigns in an effort to promote the use of the rosary. Its members promote the rosary through search engine marketing and online media advertising; they promote prayer offline via word-of-mouth; they also promote prayer for several nonprofit charity organizations.

Throughout Lent, many people deepen their prayer life with spiritual practices and devotions.
Some choose to pray the rosary daily. Others pray the Stations of the Cross. Some might even sing the Stabat Mater along the way.
Mary is an excellent companion during the Lenten season, especially her messages and apparitions.
Prayer, penance, and almsgiving are the three pillars of the Lenten season. In Our Lady’s approved apparitions, she directs us to these pillars and encourages us to live them.
In the village of Beauraing in Belgium, Our Lady appeared to five children. She told the children to “pray, pray very much, pray always.”
In other apparitions, Our Lady told the seers for what or who they should pray.
In Fatima, she requested they pray the rosary for peace in the world. In Champion, Wisconsin, she requested they offer their holy communion for the conversion of sinners.
Not only did Our Lady tell us who or what to pray for, she requested different methods of prayer. Mary encourages us to become more prayerful, as well as intercessors for others.

To St. Bernadette in Lourdes she said, “penance, penance, penance.”
At Fatima, she told the three children to offer their small sacrifices out of love for God and the Immaculate in reparation for sin and the conversion of sinners.
We fast and make acts of self-denial throughout Lent. Be sure to offer these sacrifices to God as a prayer. As you do so, Mary will accompany you on your Lenten journey, for she encouraged us to do penances.

In Mary’s Magnificat, she prays that God “casts down the mighty from their thrones and lifts up the lowly.” Mary has a special place in her prayer and heart for the poor.
The visionaries in Our Lady’s apparitions came from poor families. St. Bernadette’s family was incredibly poor. In Lourdes, the sick and those poor in health come and pray for healing.
In 1933 when Mary appeared to Mariette Beco in Banneux, Belgium, she told the child she was the “Virgin of the Poor.”
During this season of almsgiving, we journey with a woman who identifies with the poor, and allow those who are poor financially, physically, spiritually, or emotionally, to turn to her motherly intercession.
Throughout your Lenten journey, consider doing so in prayer with the Blessed Virgin. And if you’d like, listen to Mary’s words from her approved apparitions and allow them to guide your life, not only during Lent, but for the rest of your life.

Madrid, Spain, Mar 6 (EWTN News/CNA) -After an anti-clerical childhood and adolescence, filled with hatred for the Church, Fr. Juan José Martínez says he discovered “that God exists and wants me as his priest.”

“Sunday mornings I would peer out of the balcony of my house, and when the people were going by on their way to Mass, I would spit on them. I told them that the Church was a sect that wanted their money,” explained the priest, who ministers in the Diocese of Almeria, Spain.


Fr. Juan José's parents were not believers, and he had received no religious formation, but he said they did not raise him to be intolerant. In fact, he says he does not know where he got all those ideas, because the perception he had of the Church and God was that of a “multinational corporation with branches in every neighborhood to extract money, like a sect.”


“I was absolutely anticlerical, I was the first student in my school and the town of Carboneras, Almeria Province, to never be taught Religion because when I was 8 or 9, I chose the alternative course which was Ethics. In the following years, I went on convincing my friends to quit Religion classes and to take Ethics with me. In the end, my whole class ended up being taught Ethics and none of them Religion.”


But what he never imagined is that the end of his journey would be to help his friends to come back to the Church. Fr. Juan José remembers quite well that the first day he went into a Catholic church, “I went to make fun of those who had invited me.”


“It was in January 1995, some friends from class invited me to a Catholic Charismatic Renewal prayer group at the parish. Obviously I told them I wasn't planning on going because I didn't want them to brainwash me. For a whole month they persisted. I finally gave in – it was a Thursday in February 1995 when I went into a Catholic church for the first time.”




A golden box


A lot of his friends were there, and he was surprised because “they were all looking at a golden box at the back of the church. I didn't know what it was, but I thought it was where the parish priest kept the money.”


That golden box was the Tabernacle.


Fr. Juan José says that he came to make fun of them because “I thought they were crazy. Inside, I was laughing at them a lot, but I was polite and concealed it.  But I decided to come back the following Thursday to laugh at them some more.”


And so one Thursday after another, Fr. Juan José was letting go of his prejudices against the Church and religion.


“The pastor seemed to me to be a very wise man who was helping the people,” he told CNA. And little by little, the love of God was penetrating his heart: “I was 15 years old and I started to sing at Mass, which meant I would attend Mass on Saturdays. I liked being in front of the tabernacle and little by little, I realized that God existed and loved me. I felt the love of God. The Charismatic Renewal group, which I had come to make fun of, helped me a lot.”
“My eyes were being opened and I saw that God was not a legend or story for the weak, but that he existed and that he was supporting and guiding me. I experienced that he loved me so much that he wanted me for himself and was calling me,” he recalled.




“I am yours for whatever you need”


Fr. Juan José had been baptized and made his First Communion because of his grandparents' wishes, but he did not have a relationship with God after that. “I made my Confirmation as I was right in the midst of the process of conversion, and it was a genuine gift. That day I told the Lord, 'I am yours for whatever you need.' My mother came but my father did not. It was a unique moment in my life to receive the Holy Spirit and to put my trust in the Lord.”
For months, the young Juan José was resisting the call to the priesthood. “I told the Lord that I didn't want any hassles and to quit talking to me. Until I had to make a decision and it was to follow him, becoming a priest.”


One Saturday afternoon when he was 17, Fr. Juan José told his father he wanted to go to the seminary. His father beat him and said that “he would be a priest over his dead body.”
“They did not understand that I would want to be a priest. In fact, my father offered to pay for me to go to college in the United States but (he told me) he would never pay for the seminary.”


In such a difficult moment, Fr.  Juan José recalled that all he could think of was the prayer of Saint Teresa of Avila: “Let nothing disturb you, nothing frighten you. All you need is God” and when his father stopped rebuking him, the young man gave him a hug and said to him, “I knew you were going to react like that, but I also knew that one day you'd understand.”


“Welcome”
In fact, his father went so far as to threaten to report the pastor to the police if kept helping his son discern his vocation. “My father was trying everything, but the Lord is stronger,” he said.


To obey his father, Fr. Juan José could not start the seminary, and so he began to study teaching at the University of Almeria. For years he was patient, and continued to be faithful to his vocation to the priesthood. Until one day in May 1999, as he recalled, his mother told him that she had spoken to his father and that finally he would let him enter the seminary. “I began to cry and cry. I remember when I told the pastor about it he said “welcome” and gave me a great big hug.”


In September 2000, he finally entered the seminary.


In 2006, Fr.Juan José was ordained in the Almeria cathedral and his father even attended the ceremony. “In no way did he want me to become a priest, but he saw that I was happy and even though he was totally anticlerical, he decided that the happiness of his son came before his ideology and if I was happy, even though he didn't understand it, he would have to accept it. “


In fact, he recalled that two years ago, “before dying, my father received the Anointing of the Sick. And it was I who administered it to him.”


“When somebody tells me he doesn't believe in God, I always tell him that neither did I believe in Him, but I was mistaken, because I have discovered the genuine happiness that Jesus has given to me. If you're not completely happy, ask the Lord to help you, because only He will give you the happiness that your heart needs.”

​

(Vatican City, Feb 17 (EWTN News/CNA) - As homeless men and women line up under the massive arms of Saint Peter's colonnade waiting to take advantage of the Vatican's newly-christened showers and barbershop, volunteers who assist them say they are deeply moved by their encounter with a population often rejected by society.

“Initially when they offered me this (job) I thought I would find myself confronted with grouchy, perhaps mean people,” said volunteer barber Danielle Mancuso.

“Instead, I discovered a truly tremendous humanity.”

“You see these poor people out in the middle of the street, discarded. Then, you speak to them, and they're human,” he said, recounting his first day.

Officially inaugurated on Feb. 16, the facilities provide the opportunity for homeless individuals to have their hair cut each Monday – a day when barber shops in Italy are traditionally closed – by volunteer barbers. Meanwhile, the shower services will be offered daily, with the exception of Wednesday due to the large crowds which attend the weekly general audience. 

“I cut my hair, took a shower, beard, everything. It's wonderful!” 51-year-old Gregorio from Poland, who's been living in Rome for 13 years, told EWTN News. 

Construction began in November on new showers and bathrooms under the colonnades of St. Peter’s Square. 

Many barbers have volunteered with enthusiasm, including two barbers from the national Italian organization that transports the sick to Lourdes, France and other international shrines (UNITALSI). Other volunteers are finishing their final year in barber school. 

“It's been a great lesson for me,” said Andrea Valeriano, an UNITALSI volunteer. “Everyone has waited (their turn) calmly. And I've seen a lot solidarity among them.”

Papal almoner Archbishop Konrad Krajewski spearheaded the reconstruction of St. Peter's square bathrooms to include the shower and barbershop facilities, which have witnessed a substantial response since their opening.

The Polish bishop is charged with the dual responsibility of carrying out acts of charity for the poor and raising the money to fund them. When the archbishop was appointed, Pope Francis urged him not to stay at his desk but rather to be an active worker for the benefit of the poor.

Vatican Insider reported that Archbishop Krajewski received his inspiration for the showers after taking a homeless man to dinner in order to celebrate his birthday. The man, who turned 50, told the archbishop that finding food in the city is easy, but staying clean was not. 
 

“Prayer to Jesus is answered by him already during his ministry, through signs that anticipate the power of his death and Resurrection: Jesus hears the prayer of faith, expressed in words (the leper, Jairus, the Canaanite woman, the good thief) or in silence (the bearers of the paralytic, the woman with a hemorrhage who touches his clothes, the tears and ointment of the sinful woman). The urgent request of the blind men, "Have mercy on us, Son of David" or "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" has-been renewed in the traditional prayer to Jesus known as the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" Healing infirmities or forgiving sins, Jesus always responds to a prayer offered in faith: "Your faith has made you well; go in peace." 
St. Augustine wonderfully summarizes the three dimensions of Jesus' prayer: "He prays for us as our priest, prays in us as our Head, and is prayed to by us as our God. Therefore let us acknowledge our voice in him and his in us." 
Catechism of the Catholic Church #2616

A bit of humor…
 -I saw an ad for burial plots, and thought to myself this is the last thing I need.  
-Just burned 2,000 calories. That's the last time I leave brownies in the oven while I nap.  
-I'm great at multitasking. I can waste time, be unproductive, and procrastinate all at once. 



For My Next Impression…
I’m now in high school, so when I ran into my third-grade teacher, I doubted she would remember me.
“Hi, Miss Jones,” I said.
“Hi, Eddie,” she replied.
“So you do remember me?” I asked.
“Sure. You don’t always leave a good impression, but it is a lasting one.”


They Still Fit
I don’t want to brag or make anybody jealous or anything, but 
I can still fit into the earrings I wore in high school.




Drunk Driving 
A man is driving down to New York to see a show, and he's stopped in Connecticut for speeding. The state trooper smells alcohol on his breath, sees an empty wine bottle on the floor, and asks, "Sir, have you been drinking?" 
The man replies, "Just water." 
The trooper asks, "Then, why do I smell wine?" 
The man looks down at the bottle and exclaims, "Good Lord, Jesus has done it again, just like at the Wedding Feast of Cana!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
After a church service on Sunday morning, a young boy suddenly announced to his mother,
"Mom, I've decided to become a minister when I grow up."
"That's okay with us, but what made you decide that?"
"Well," said the little boy, "I have to go to church on Sunday anyway,
And I figure it will be more fun to stand up and yell, than to sit and listen."
 
The Sunday School Teacher asks,
"Now, Johnny, tell me frankly do you say prayers before eating?"
"No ma'am," little Johnny replies, I don't have to.
My mom is a good cook."

​

 

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all my relatives and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen.


 
“In the battle of prayer, we must face in ourselves and around us erroneous notions of prayer.  Some people view prayer as a simple psychological activity, others as an effort of concentration to reach a mental void.  Still others reduce prayer to ritual words and postures.  Many Christians unconsciously regard prayer as an occupation that is incompatible with all the other things they have to do: they "don't have the time."  Those who seek God by prayer are quickly discouraged because they do not know that prayer comes also from the Holy Spirit and not from themselves alone.”                -Catechism of the Catholic Church #2726

+JMJ+
SUNDAY MASS READINGS AND QUESTIONS
for Self-Reflection, Couples or Family Discussion
Second Sunday in Lent - March 8th, 2020


The First Reading - Genesis 12:1-4a
The LORD said to Abram: “Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.” Abram went as the LORD directed him.
Reflection
In this way Abram is called to begin a journey of faith, which lead him from Chaldea (modern Iraq) to the Canaan (modern Israel). Journeying by faith will become a motif throughout salvation history. Generations later, Abram’s descendants the Israelites will journey by faith into the wilderness in the hopes of arriving at the same Promised Land to which Abram himself journeyed, in an event we call the Exodus. Generations later still, the people of Judah will be forced to journey to Babylon, where they will struggle to keep faith for seventy years, before being allowed to journey back to that same Promised Land. As Lent is still young, we continue to hear God’s call on our own lives to begin a spiritual journey with him over these forty days, to a destination we don’t know, but God will show us.
Adults - Do you feel like you are fully entering into Lent? What can help you truly make this a time of transformation?
Teens -What can most help you build your relationship with the Lord this Lent?
Kids - How are you working to grow closer to Jesus this Lent?

Responsorial- Psalm 33: 4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Reflection
These verses are meant to encourage us on our journey of faith, both the journey that is Lent, and the larger faith journey of our lives: “Lord, let your mercy be upon us, as we place our trust in you.” As you might guess, the Hebrew word translated as “mercy” here (from Ps 33:22) is actually hesed, one of the most common and theologically rich terms in the Psalter. Hesed, often translated “mercy” or “steadfast love,” actually has a more technical meaning: covenant fidelity, the kind of unwavering love and faithfulness that covenant partners were to show toward one another. So in this Psalm, we call on God to continue his covenant faithfulness to us, since, through Jesus the Son of Abraham (Matt 1:1), we are heirs of the covenantal promises given to Abraham so long ago. Our focus on the mercy and love of God continues.
What does the phrase “the fidelity of God” mean to you?

The Second Reading- 2 Timothy 1:8b-10
Beloved: Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God. He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began, but now made manifest through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
Reflection - St. Paul begins this passage by calling us to “bear our share of hardship.” Lent should be a time of hardship, to a certain extent. The Church leaves each one of the faithful a great deal of discretion in terms of what mortifications to take on during Lent. It is up to each one of us to challenge ourselves. However, it should be a real challenge. Giving up a few small treats that we hardly notice is really not sufficient. We should set ourselves some goals that stretch us out of our comfort zone. We should wake up in the morning and know it’s Lent. -What can you undertake this Lent to challenge yourself a bit more?


The Holy Gospel according to Matthew 17:1-9
Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him. Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud cast a shadow over them, then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate and were very much afraid. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and do not be afraid.” And when the disciples raised their eyes, they saw no one else but Jesus alone. As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, “Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”
Reflection
As the Fathers long recognized, the Transfiguration is a foretaste or glimpse of the glory of Christ in his resurrected state. The sight of his glory is given to Peter, James, and John to encourage them to persevere through the difficult times that lay in front of them before they witness Christ’s resurrection. For us now hearing this Gospel proclaimed at Mass, it is meant to encourage us to persevere not only in Lenten mortification and asceticism until we sacramentally experience Christ’s triumph at Easter, but more broadly in embracing the sufferings of the Christian life until our lowly bodies become like his glorious body (Phil 3:21).
Adults - How would you have responded if you were in the position of the Apostles, seeing Christ transfigured before you?
Teens - Look up the meaning behind the appearance of Moses and Elijah. Why were they there?
Kids - How do you think the Apostles felt in this story? Why did Jesus transfigure before them?


LIVING THE WORD OF GOD THIS WEEK! - Christ has asked us to follow him, carrying our daily cross, and the end of our journey is not Calvary but resurrection, the entrance to a life of glory with our risen Savior. The Christian who grasps his cross closely and willingly, knowing its value for his real life, will find it becomes lighter and often not a burden but a pleasure. The man who tries to shuffle off his cross, and who curses and rebels against him who sent it, will find it doubles its weight and loses all the value it was intended to have for his true welfare. Let the thought of the Transfiguration encourage each one of us today, to do the little God demands of us, so that when we pass out of this life we may be assured of seeing Christ in his glory, ready to welcome us into his everlasting, glorious kingdom.
— Excerpted from The Sunday Readings Cycle A, Fr. Kevin O' Sullivan, O.F.M.