Monday, July 15, 2013

Christ, the Good Samaritan Tells Us: "Go and Do Likewise"




Mass Readings for the 15th Sunday of the Year

Listen to my homily for today:



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From Lumen Fidei, written by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, completed by Pope Francis:


Moses tells the people that God’s command is neither too high nor too far away. There is no need to say: “Who will go up for us to heaven and bring it to us?” or “Who will go over the sea for us, and bring it to us?” (Dt 30:11-14). Paul interprets this nearness of God’s word in terms of Christ’s presence in the Christian. “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)” (Rom 10:6-7). Christ came down to earth and rose from the dead; by his incarnation and resurrection, the Son of God embraced the whole of human life and history, and now dwells in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Faith knows that God has drawn close to us, that Christ has been given to us as a great gift which inwardly transforms us, dwells within us and thus bestows on us the light that illumines the origin and the end of life. 
From Pope Emeritus Benedict's Message on this year's World Day of the Sick:

Jesus helps us to understand the deep love of God for every human being, especially those afflicted by sickness or pain. With the concluding words of the parable of the Good Samaritan, “Go and do likewise” (Lk 10:37), the Lord also indicates the attitude that each of his disciples should have towards others, especially those in need.  
Various Fathers of the Church saw Jesus himself in the Good Samaritan; and in the man who fell among thieves they saw Adam, our very humanity wounded and disoriented on account of its sins (cf. Origen, Homily on the Gospel of Luke XXXIV,1-9; Ambrose, Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke, 71-84; Augustine, Sermon 171). 
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta would always begin her day with an encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist and then she would go out into the streets, rosary in hand, to find and serve the Lord in the sick, especially in those “unwanted, unloved, uncared for”.  
In the Gospel the Blessed Virgin Mary stands out as one who follows her suffering Son to the supreme sacrifice on Golgotha. She does not lose hope in God’s victory over evil, pain and death, and she knows how to accept in one embrace of faith and love, the Son of God who was born in the stable of Bethlehem and died on the Cross. Her steadfast trust in the power of God was illuminated by Christ’s resurrection, which offers hope to the suffering and renews the certainty of the Lord’s closeness and consolation.
From Pope Emeritus Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth Book:
If the question had been 'Is the Samaritan my neighbor, too?' the answer would have been a pretty clear-cut no given the situation at the time.  But Jesus now turns the whole matter on its head: The Samaritan, the foreigner, makes himself the neighbor and shows me that I have to learn to be a neighbor deep within and that I already have the answer in myself.  I have to become like someone in love, someone whose heart is open to being shaken up by another's need.  Then I find my neighbor, or -- better -- then I am found by him.
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church on Same-Sex Attraction:
2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. 
2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.



Sunday, July 14, 2013

"Do Not Be Afraid to Go Down to Egypt" and "Out of Egypt I have Called my Son"

The meeting of Jacob and Joseph in Egypt

Listen to my homily for July 12, 2013:



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Mass Readings for the day

Friday, July 12, 2013

The Saints Teach Us to Respond with Radical Generosity to God's Word

This is the cave of St Benedict where he learned to respond to the Word of God.
Today is the feast of St Benedict, Patron of Europe.

Listen to my homily for today:



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Thursday, July 11, 2013

"Go to Joseph, and Do Whatever He Tells You"

It was Joseph, as governor of the country, who dispensed the rations to all the people.In the Godless nation of Egypt, a God-fearing man saved the world. In this Godless society, a God-fearing man can help save the starving Masses. Just as the Pharoah told the people, to "Go to Joseph!"  We ought to go to St Joseph, the dispenser of the rations of graces to people starving for God.




Listen to my homily for today:


In the Godless nation of Egypt, a God-fearing man saved the world.
In this Godless society, a God-fearing man can help save the starving Masses.
Just as the Pharoah told the people, to "Go to Joseph!"  We ought to go to St Joseph, the dispenser of the rations of graces to people starving for God.
St Andre Bessette, a simple and humble Holy Cross Brother, who founded the National Shrine to St Joseph in Montreal, frequently told the millions who visited him asking for prayers and healing, "Go to Joseph!"
Why?
Let me point out one simple reason.  The blessed Patriarch of patriarchs touched Jesus.  St Joseph held the baby Jesus, and in doing so realized that it was the Lord who was holding Him. 
St Joseph teaches us how to be touched by God.  The touch of God is greatly needed today to heal and help the apostles of the Lord so, as in the Gospel, He may send us out to help heal the sick and proclaim the Good News.
Jesus touches us in Holy Communion.  It is here St Joseph's intercession is most keenly felt, for it is in the same touch of Jesus, that St Joseph perhaps more frequently and intensely than any other, save the Blessed Mother. 
To allow Jesus to touch you, may I suggest to you the recommendation of St Teresa of Avila, who had a great devotion both to St Joseph and to the Blessed Sacrament.  When you receive holy communion, do not swallow the host.  Let the host dissolve on your tongue.  This will most surely take a good 15 minutes.  It will not allow you to speak or to have interaction with anyone else.  You will have to keep very still.
Think about it.
You might say, well I don't have so much time.  Ok then, five minutes.  Give God five minutes where He can simply touch you.  Pure Love Himself is touching you, why would you want to go anywhere else or speak to anyone else?  Eternal Light Himself is touching you, why would you want your mind to be dissipated or distracted about anything else? 
Just hold the host on your tongue for a moment.  Allow Him to pray over that tongue, that thing that can cause so much damage or be the instrument of healing.  That thing that St James said "is a fire!"  Allow yourself to hold the host and in doing so realize that God is holding you.
In this touch of God amazing things happen.  He elevates you.  He transforms you.  If you stop for a moment and turn away from everything and everyone else and simply allow God to touch you.  You don't know how?  Go to Joseph!  Ask him.  He will show you how it is done.  While Jesus touched him for so many years He imparted to good St Joseph so many graces, merits, blessings, treasures, and infused into him divine contemplation, allowing him to become elevated above the saints and angels to the sublime vision of God.  He didn't do this just for St Joseph's own sake, but so that St Joseph could be a great intercessor and friend to you, to show you how to hold Jesus and show you how to be held by God.
If you do this just for 15 minutes, ok maybe 5 minutes, or hey, even for 60 seconds, the other seconds of the day will be different.  Your life will be deeply changed.
Pope Francis realizes the great importance of St Joseph.  He recently added him to the Eucharistic Prayers II, III, and IV, and he consecrated the Vatican to St Joseph together with St Michael.
May the prayers and intercession of St Joseph help heal, elevate, and inspire us, so that we may realize the lofty apostolic calling that Christ bestows on we who allow the divine Master to touch.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Sts Philip and James Show Us How to Behold the Face of the Father


Church of the Twelve Holy Apostles, Rome

Listen to my homily for the Feast of Sts Philip and James:



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Readings for the Day


Reliquary of Sts Philip and James
James, son of Alphaeus (Ἰάκωβος, Iakōbos in Greek) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, appearing under this name in all three of the Synoptic Gospels' lists of the apostles. He is often identified with James the Less (Greek Iacobos ho mikros, Ἰακώβος ο μικρος Mark 15:40) and commonly known by that name in church tradition. He is also labelled "the minor", "the little", "the lesser", or "the younger", according to translation.  
James, the son of Alphaeus, is rarely mentioned in the New Testament. He is distinguished[citation needed]from James the Lord's brother (Gal.1:19), an important leader in the New Testament church, and James, son of Zebedee, another one of the Twelve Apostles.

Philip the Apostle (Greek: Φίλιππος, Philippos) was one of theTwelve Apostles of Jesus. Later Christian traditions describe Philip as the apostle who preached in Greece, Syria, and Phrygia.
In the Roman Catholic Church, the feast day of Philip, along with that of James the Just, was traditionally observed on 1 May, the anniversary of the dedication of the church dedicated to them in Rome (now called the Church of the Twelve Apostles). TheEastern Orthodox Church celebrates Philip's feast day on 14 November. One of the Gnostic texts found in the Nag Hammadi library in 1945 has been given the modern title "Gospel of Philip", though this text makes no claim to have been written by Philip. It gets the name simply because Philip is the only apostle ever 

HISTORY OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES CHURCH IN ROME
Built by Pope Pelagius I to celebrate a Narses victory over the Ostrogoths, and dedicated byPope John III to Saint John the Apostle and Saint Philip the Apostle, the basilica is listed as 'Titulus SS Apostolorum' in the acts of the synod of 499. Santi Apostoli was ruined by theearthquake of 1348, and left abandoned.
In 1417, Pope Martin V, whose Colonna family owned the adjacent Palazzo Colonna, restored the church, while the facade was built at the end of the same century by Baccio Pontelli. It was frescoed by Melozzo da Forlì whose wall-paintings at Santi Apostoli were renowned for their innovative techniques of foreshortening and came to be regarded as Melozzo's masterpiece.
Pope Clement XI instigated dramatic renovations of the church. Melozzo's frescoes were either destroyed or moved partly to the Quirinal and partly to the Vatican Museums. A new Baroque interior was designed by Carlo Fontana and Francesco Fontana, and was completed in 1714. The church was later restored again, with the facade completed by Giuseppe Valadier in 1827.

St Athansius, Champion of Orthodoxy, Help Us Know Jesus Christ the Eternal God Made Man



Listen to my homily on the feast of St Athanasius, champion of Orthodoxy:



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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

What is the Use of a Very Short Pontificate? Ask Pope St Pius V


Listen to my homily for the Memorial of Pope St Pius V:



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Read about Pope St Pius V here.

Watch on Youtube Pope Francis' daily homilies here.


from Wikipedia
St. Pius V (Latin: Pius PP. V, Italian: Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was Pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Catholic Church.[1] He is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of theRoman rite within the Latin Church. Pius V declared Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church and patronized prominent sacred music composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.
As a cardinal, Ghislieri gained a reputation for putting orthodoxy before personalities, prosecuting eight French bishops for heresy. He also stood firm against nepotism, rebuking his predecessor Pope Pius IV to his face when he wanted to make a 13-year old member of his family a cardinal and subsidise a nephew from the Papal treasury.
In affairs of state, Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth I of England for schism and persecutions of English Catholics during her reign. He also arranged the formation of the Holy League, an alliance of Catholic states. Although outnumbered, the Holy League famously defeated the Ottoman Empire, which had threatened to overrun Europe, at the Battle of Lepanto. This victory Pius V attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and instituted the feast of Our Lady of Victory.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Rigorous Reforming the Church with St Catherine of Sienna: Stinky Cardinals, Lack of Faith, Contraceptive Culture

“If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world ablaze!”

St Catherine of Sienna contemplates finality and death

Listen to my homily on the Feast of St Catherine of Sienna, Co-Patroness of Europe:



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Readings for the day

from her Dialogues:

"Open the eye of your intellect, and gaze into Me, and you shall see the beauty of My rational creature. And look at those creatures who, among the beauties which I have given to the soul, creating her in My image and similitude, are clothed with the nuptial garment (that is, the garment of love), adorned with many virtues, by which they are united with Me through love. And yet I tell you, if you should ask Me, who these are, I should reply" (said the sweet and amorous Word of God) "they are another Myself, inasmuch as they have lost and denied their own will, and are clothed with Mine, are united to Mine, are conformed to Mine." 

One Day You Will All Be Dead: Therefore Love Mightily Today


Listen to my homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter:



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Saturday, April 27, 2013

Latin Mass in Honour of Our Lady of Good Counsel: Cheek to Cheek with Jesus and Mary

Latin Mass in honour of Our Lady of Good Counsel


Listen to my homily in honour of Our Lady of Good Counsel:



If you have trouble listening click here.

INTROIT

HAIL HOLY Mother, who in childbirth didst bring forth the King Who ruleth heaven and earth world without end. Alleluia, alleluia.  My heart hath uttered a good word; I speak my works to the King. V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

COLLECT

GRANT US, Thy servants, O Lord God, we beseech Thee, to enjoy continual health of mind and body, and, by the glorious intercession of blessed Mary, ever a virgin, to be delivered from present sorrow and partake of the fullness of eternal joy. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

EPISTLE

FROM THE BEGINNIN, and before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be; and in the holy dwelling-place I have ministered before Him. And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem. And I took root in an honourable people, and in the portion of my God His inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of the saints.

GRADUAL

BLESSED and venerable art thou, O Virgin Mary, who, without spot, wast found the Mother of the Saviour. V. Virgin Mother of God, He Whom the whole world containeth not, being made man, shut Himself in thy womb.

TRACT

REJOICE, O Virgin Mary, for alone thou hast put an end to all heresies. V. Thou that didst believe the words of the archangel Gabriel. V. Still a virgin, thou didst bring forth God and man, and after childbirth thou didst remain an inviolate virgin. V. Mother of God, intercede for us.

GOSPEL (PASCHALTIDE)


AT THAT time, there stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and His mother's sister Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen His mother and the disciple standing, whom He had loved, He said to His mother, Woman, behold thy son.After that He saith to the disciple, Behold thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own.

OFFERTORY

HAIL, MARY, full of grace; the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Alleluia.

SECRET

BY THY CLEMENCY, O Lord, and the intercession of blessed Mary, ever a virgin, may this oblation profit us unto eternal and also present well being and peace. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

PREFACE

IT IS TRULY meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God: and in veneration of the blessed Mary, ever a virgin, should praise and bless and proclaim Thee. For she conceived Thine only-begotten Son by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost; and losing not the glory of her virginity, gave to the world the everlasting light, Jesus Christ our Lord.Through whom the angels praise thy majesty, the dominions worship it, and the powers are in awe. The heavens and the heavenly hosts, and the blessed seraphim join together in celebrating their joy. With these we pray Thee join our own voices also, while we say with lowly praise: Holy, Holy, Holy...

COMMUNION

BLESSED is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the eternal Father.

POST COMMUNION

HAVING RECEIVED the aids of our everlasting salvation, O Lord, we beseech Thee, grant us to be everywhere protected by the patronage of blessed Mary, ever a virgin, in veneration of whom we have made these offerings to Thy majesty. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

God's Action and Our Response


Do not let your hearts be troubled. 
You have faith in God; have faith also in me. 
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.



Listen to my homily for the Friday of the 4th week of Easter:




If you have trouble listening, click here.

The Story of Our Lady of Good Counsel and What "Good Counsel" Means


Listen to my homily for the second Mass in preparation for the Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel in our parish, at Hythe, Kent, UK on the Feast day of St Mark, 2013:



Readings for the day

If you have trouble listening, click here.


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Faithlessness Breeds a Guilty Conscience: Jesus Came to Give us Faith and Innocence

This homily appeared on Catholic Online today.




Don't judge me.  How many times have you heard this?
It is a fascinating phenomenon that the more a person or a culture strays from right conscience, from the law that is written on every human heart and is perceptible to anyone of good will, the more guilty they feel, and the more quickly they will cry out, "Don't judge me!"
When I walk down the street dressed in my religious garb it is quite common for me to get this exact look, as if by representing Jesus Christ on the street I was already manifesting a judgment on this generation.  It is not uncommon for some to scurry away as if at the sight of a religious priest the moral cops had just come for a bust.
Because we live in a faithless generation it is generation hypersensitive to judgment, kind of like someone whose eyes are really sensitive to light who has to cover their eyes when it shines out.
In the Gospel for today, Jesus explains why faithlessness brings about a guilty conscience. "Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke."
Yet, Jesus "did not come to condemn the world but to save the world."  Faith is a decision.  It is a moral decision.  If you choose to reject what you know is right, to believe in Jesus Christ, you sin.  If you chose to believe him, you do a good and holy thing. 
The Second Vatican Council teaches this in the beautiful document on conscience, Dignitatis Humanae, the Declaration on Religious Freedom.
"All men are bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also bound to adhere to the truth, once it is known, and to order their whole lives in accord with the demands of truth." (Dignitatis Humanae 2)
Let me repeat, Vatican II says that it is a sin to not believe in Christ if he reveals himself to you.  It does not say, you can believe what ever you damn well please.  Here I would like to point out that the word "damn" is a descriptive adjective, for by believing something to be false that you know very well to be true you commit a sin and therefore incur damnation.
Vatican II teaching on conscience basically rephrases Jesus' teaching from today's Gospel:
1.  Jesus came to save us, but if we reject him we reject the salvation he offers.
2.  We are free to accept or reject him
3.  We are bound in conscience to accept him once he reveals himself to us.
4.  He has not been revealed to us if the witness - the person or culture or congregation - who is proclaiming Christ is not living a Christian life and therefore we are still not responsible for accepting him.
5.  If we respect people's consciences, we will live our faith that Christ may be revealed to them and that they might be saved.
6.  Catholics have a special moral obligation therefore to preach the truth both in word and in deed.
7.  "In order to be faithful to the divine command, 'teach all nations' (Matt. 28:19-20), the Catholic Church must work with all urgency and concern 'that the word of God be spread abroad and glorified' (2 Thess. 3:1)." (Dignitatis Humanae 14)
The first reading for today, where St Paul and St Barnabas were set apart for the preaching of the Gospel has not at all been outdated.  In this faithless generation, there is a terrible urgency for missionaries to go out, not just to people who have never heard of Christ, but to to people who have never seen real witnesses of Him.
May Our Lady, star of the New Evangelization, pray that new saints of our times may go forth to proclaim the saving truth of the Gospel.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Solemnity of St George, Patron Saint of England


Listen to my homily for the Solemnity of St George:



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To learn more about St George, click here.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, Calms the Sheep with His Voice

I am the gate.
Whoever enters through me will be saved,
and will come in and go out and find pasture.
A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy;
I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.


Listen to my homily for Monday, the 4th Week of Easter:




If you have trouble listening, click here.

Monday, April 22, 2013

The Good Shepherd Loves His S.H.E.E.P.


Listen to my homily for Good Shepherd Sunday, 4th Sunday of Easter,




If you have trouble listening, click here.

Here are the ways to practically allow God to shepherd you:

S. acraments
H. erald of the Word of God
E. ucharist
E. xercise of Service
P. astors of the Church

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Feast of the Interior Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Old Latin Mass Calendar



Listen to my homily on the feast of the interior life of the Blessed Virgin Mary:



If you have trouble listening, click here.

Epistle Canticle 2:1-17
I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys.  As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.  As the apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow, whom I desired: and his fruit was sweet to my palate.  He brought me into the cellar of wine, he set in order charity in me.  Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples: because I languish with love.
His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me.  I adjure you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and the harts of the, fields, that you stir not up, nor make the beloved to awake, till she please.  The voice of my beloved, behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills.  My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart. Behold he standeth behind our wall, looking through the windows, looking through the lattices.  Behold my beloved speaketh to me: Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come.
For winter is now past, the rain is over and gone.  The flowers have appeared in our land, the time of pruning is come: the voice of the turtle is heard in our land:  The fig tree hath put forth her green figs: the vines in flower yield their sweet smell. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come:  My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hollow places of the wall, shew me thy face, let thy voice sound in my ears: for thy voice is sweet, and thy face comely. Catch us the little foxes that destroy the vines: for our vineyard hath flourished.
My beloved to me, and I to him who feedeth among the lilies, Till the day break, and the shadows retire. Return: be like, my beloved, to a roe, or to a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.

Gospel  Luke 1:26-38
And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin' s name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God.
Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus.  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever.  And of his kingdom there shall be no end.  And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man?  And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren: Because no word shall be impossible with God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. 

Monday, April 8, 2013

Divine Mercy Sunday: Jesus Walks Through Your Walls to Grant You Peace

“Receive the Holy Spirit.

Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them"


Carvagio's



If you have trouble listening, click here.


Concerning the Feast of Mercy Jesus said to St Faustina:
Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary300) 
I want the image solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it. (Diary341) 
This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of my tender mercies. (Diary420 
On one occasion, I heard these words: My daughter, tell the whole world about My Inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy.The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.*[our emphasis] On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will I contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. (Diary699) 
Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to our neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to absolve yourself from it. (Diary742) 
I want to grant complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy. (Diary1109)