“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
True Worship is to reject all idols and sacrifice them in union with the sacrifice of calvary present in the Eucharist. Here I am offering Mass at Mont St Michel in Normandy, France.
Read HERE about how Pope Francis called a woman who wrote him a letter, congratulated her for her courage in choosing not to abort her baby, and offered personally to baptize her child. She is going to name him Francis.
Today, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to make add my voice to the cry which rises up with increasing anguish from every part of the world, from every people, from the heart of each person, from the one great family which is humanity: it is the cry for peace! It is a cry which declares with force: we want a peaceful world, we want to be men and women of peace, and we want in our society, torn apart by divisions and conflict, that peace break out! War never again! Never again war! Peace is a precious gift, which must be promoted and protected.
Today, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to make add my voice to the cry which rises up with increasing anguish from every part of the world, from every people, from the heart of each person, from the one great family which is humanity: it is the cry for peace! It is a cry which declares with force: we want a peaceful world, we want to be men and women of peace, and we want in our society, torn apart by divisions and conflict, that peace break out! War never again! Never again war! Peace is a precious gift, which must be promoted and protected.
The Church is called upon to manifest anew to everyone, with clear and stronger conviction, her will to promote human life by every means and to defend it against all attacks, in whatever condition or state of development it is found.
Today is the Feast of St Monica, who prayed for the conversion of her son for 19 years. He became one of the greatest doctors of the Church, St Augustine of Hippo, whose feast we celebrate tomorrow. Read more about her life here.
"One cause of this situation, in my opinion, is in the our relationship with money, and our acceptance of its power over ourselves and our society. Consequently the financial crisis which we are experiencing makes us forget that its ultimate origin is to be found in a profound human crisis. In the denial of the primacy of human beings! We have created new idols. The worship of the golden calf of old (cf. Ex 32:15-34) has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal.
"A new, invisible and at times virtual, tyranny is established, one which unilaterally and irremediably imposes its own laws and rules.
"Concealed behind this attitude is a rejection of ethics, a rejection of God. Ethics, like solidarity, is a nuisance!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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. 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.
"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."
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.
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:
