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The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

23/6/2017

On the Friday following the Second Sunday after Pentecost, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Seat and Symbol of His Burning Love for us; Love which moved Him to Die for us, in agony, on the Cross on Good Friday and also moved Him, at the Last Supper, to institute the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in which, through Holy Orders and Father’s words and gestures, that once-for-all Sacrifice will be made present in our churches and offered until the end of time. Christ, of course, does not suffer any more; He just wishes us to join ourselves, in our own particular time and place, to His Sacrifice, and longs to give Himself to each of us in Communion.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart is most often linked to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque who, round about 1673, was privileged to be shown by Jesus His Sacred Heart, lamenting that although He showers unlimited Love on Mankind, so many simply show ingratitude in return. Among the revelations Jesus made was what became known as the Great Promise, namely that those, who on the First Friday of nine months in a row, would receive Communion, would be granted all the Graces they needed to live a life which would bring them safely to Heaven. Of course, as we must recognise, this does not guarantee that one will get to Heaven, come what may. Rather it promises that all the spiritual assistance we need to overcome sin and move closer to God are ours for the asking; we are, of course, expected to make our best efforts to use these helps! Jesus asked for the setting up of this Feast, to make up for Man’s ingratitude.

It is significant that these visions occurred when they did because, at the time, a heresy, known as Jansenism, presented God not as Loving, Merciful and Forgiving, but rather negatively as someone to be feared, something totally at variance with the Church’s Teachings.

In an age when the meaning of the word ‘love’ has been so distorted and debased, this Devotion is another priceless asset to us in our journey to Heaven.

The image above depicts Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque as sculpted by Peter Paul Metz in 1896. The work resides in the Catholic parish church of Ss. Gordian and Epimachus in Merazhofen, Germany

Corpus Christi

16/6/2017

Following the Solemnity of The Most Holy Trinity, we celebrate Holy Communion itself; the precious treasure (His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity) which Christ first gave to His Apostles at the Last Supper and which He longs, every day, to give to us, not as a reward for being good, but to assist us in actually becoming good.

Thanks to the present English translation of the text of the Mass, we can clearly ponder, just before Communion, the fact that, in ourselves, we are totally unworthy to have God come into our body and soul. Indeed, echoing the words of the Centurion, we declare, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed”. In this profound prayer, we not only admit our fallen human nature, but we proclaim our firm belief that Christ can, in His Goodness, providing that we are truly sorry, drive out sin.

It is because Jesus, God the Son, actually comes to each of us personally that the Church insists upon our being in a State of Grace, i.e. free from Mortal Sin. She requires us, also, under normal circumstances, to fast for one hour (water and medicines excepted) before receiving Communion. Hopefully, realising the importance of the Food of our Souls compared to earthly food, this is no big deal. We might also remember that, decades ago, the fast lasted from Midnight on Saturday; it was then reduced to three hours by Pope Pius XII in 1957, until eventually being reduced to the present one hour by Pope Paul VI in 1964.

Should we feel that our desire for Holy Communion is not as strong as it ought to be, then two child-martyrs, Saint Tarcisius and a Chinese girl, Little Li, who both gave their lives for the Holy Eucharist in times of persecution, will help us to re-kindle our love for the closest union with our God before He embraces us in Heaven.

Read the story of Saint Tarcisius here and that of Little Li here. Remember, too, that in various parts of the world, our Brothers and Sisters are still risking their lives for the Privilege of going to Communion. Wonderful stories, here, to inspire you and your children! Happy Feastday!

The Blessed Trinity

12/6/2017

Blessed John Henry Newman wrote some beautiful Hymns and Prayers, one of which begins, “Firmly I believe, and truly, God is Three and God is One….”, very appropriate for the Celebration of the Three Persons in One God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Read more of Newman’s writings here.

This is, indeed, a mystery of Faith! The Gifts of the Holy Spirit, which we thought about last week, help us to accept this fundamental Teaching of the Church. The Doctrine of the Blessed Trinity is, to our limited minds, not the easiest Truth to even begin to comprehend. This, of course, is where the Gifts of Faith, Hope and Charity come in; we believe and trust that God, in His Love for us, will never tell us anything which is not totally true and will not ask the impossible of us in terms of belief. We can be certain that He will bring us, if we do our best to love and obey Him, to Heaven.

If you are looking to better understand this Truth, perhaps to explain it to others, then one of the clearest explanations of the Three-in-Oneness of God is to be found in Frank Sheed’s book, Theology for Beginners, chapter 5, The Three Persons. This can be further simplified in order to explain it to our children; they also have a right to the Truth and we have a duty to do our best to teach them. For those who would postpone such teaching until children are ‘old enough’ (and who of us will ever be ‘old enough’ to understand it?!), you would do well to heed the words of a renowned educational psychologist, Jerome Bruner, who said that anything can be taught to anyone at any age as long as it is properly thought out first. Such forethought will be very beneficial to teachers as well as those being taught.

In this day and age this Doctrine may be a stumbling-block to be overcome in a journey of Faith. It takes Prayer and perseverance to break down barriers; we cannot allow our human limitations to be transferred to God. We have to make a ‘leap of faith’ over the barrier!

The image is 'The Holy Trinity' a miniature from the Grandes Heures of Anne of Brittany, Queen consort of France (1477-1514).
God the Father is depicted on the left, God the Son (Jesus) on the right, holding a book with seven seals open to the Alpha and Omega passage, and the Dove of God The Holy Spirit in the centre. The animal symbols of the Four Evangelists are depicted in the corners.

The Solemnity of Pentecost

2/6/2017

There is a very beautiful hymn, thought to have been written in the 9th Century AD, by Rabanus Maurus, which is very appropriate to this Solemnity and which, fortunately, has not been excluded from modern Catholic hymn books. In it we pray, “Come Holy Ghost, Creator, Come…….take possession of our Souls and make them all Thine own”.

On Pentecost Day we celebrate what is sometimes referred to as the Birthday of the Church, the day when, Confirmed by the Holy Spirit, the timid, fearful and, perhaps, uncertain Apostles, the first Bishops of the Catholic Church boldly emerged from their hiding place. Strengthened by the Gifts of the Spirit, the same Gifts given to each of us at our Confirmation, they gave, quite literally, their all. They received the following seven gifts and attributes:

The window depicting the Dove of the Holy Spirit set into the Throne of St. Peter at the front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome (Gian Lorenzo Bernini - 1598-1860)

Wisdom, which helps us choose God’s way of living, understanding the often challenging teachings of the Church, having compassion and tolerance for the weak, while also being ever ready to ‘grasp the nettle’, to be unpopular – in other words, ‘un-politically correct’ - and point out error, even if we are not thanked for it!

Understanding helps us to see the deep meaning of the truths of our Faith and to hold onto them.

Right Judgement (Counsel) helps us make choices to live as a faithful follower of Jesus, to see the danger of certain ‘alternative’ ways of living.

Courage (Fortitude) helps us stand up for our faith in Christ, avoiding anything which, while the worldly-wise might approve, will separate us from God; this may even separate us from friends who cannot or will not see why we believe and live as we do.

Knowledge, again, helps us choose the path that will lead to God. It encourages us to avoid whatever will keep us from Him.

Reverence (Piety) helps us worship and serve God and inspires us to joyfully want to serve Him and others.

Wonder and Awe bring us to see how utterly great God is, and to love Him so much that we do not want to offend Him by anything we say or do. This Gift is also known as Fear of The Lord, which, if explained correctly, emphasises love and devotion which move us to obey God; far from fearing so Loving a Father, we fear the sins which can separate us from Him.

How childlike are we in our following of God? Let us pray anew for a renewal of these Gifts in our souls and in those of our young people who are growing up in an increasingly godless world.

Let us also pray for all our Confirmation Candidates who will be receiving this great Sacrament on
Friday 30 June 2017.

The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Corpus Christi

The Blessed Trinity

The Solemnity of Pentecost

From St. Bart's

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