Author Topic: Forgive So We Can Live and Let Live (Read 1771287 times)

cassini · « **Reply #50 on:** May 08, 2024, 10:28:11 AM »

Fr Sean again.
Heaven’s Door Is Opened

The Ascension of Jesus marked the end of His mission on earth, namely to open Heaven’s door to mankind that had been closed since Adam and Eve sinned. For the first time, humanity entered Heaven in the Person of Jesus who brought His glorified human body into Heaven. It signified the new hope that man and woman could enjoy eternal happiness through following Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. God originally created man and woman to enjoy perfect happiness in Paradise. Their only requirement was to “Fill the earth and subdue it… (and) not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gn 1: 28; 2:17). But Satan tempted them into thinking that they could be equal to God. In eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil Satan tricked them into thinking that they could determine what was good and evil themselves without having to rely on God’s wisdom. Thus they were led to think they could be gods and be independent of God. Satan lied. Mankind, destined by God for a life of happiness, now doomed themselves to a life of suffering and death because without God, who alone is good (Mk 10:18), they wouldn't be able to distinguish good from evil and so became subject to Satan’s lies. They lost their joyful life in Eden. “The Lord God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden” (Gn 3:23). Man and woman lost God’s protection and guidance and couldn’t redeem themselves from Satan’s grip that brought eternal suffering and death. Heaven was closed to them. All that awaited them was toil and hopelessness. As Dante wrote in his Divine Comedy, the sign over the gate to hell read: “Abandon hope all ye who enter here.”

Jesus’ ascension into Heaven restored the hope of Heavenly happiness. This is why Jesus’ Ascension, as an article of Christian faith enshrined in the Nicene Creed, is worthy of joyful celebration. This is what sets the Christian Faith apart from all other religions. Christianity is the cake and Heaven is the icing. Christianity is the only religion that can assure its followers of entry to Heaven because its founder, Jesus Christ, is the only way to Heaven (Jn 10:9-16). The opportunity to go to Heaven makes life worth living despite suffering and death. To enter Heaven as the dot on our horizon fills us with hope and gives us a reason to begin each day with Faith in Jesus as He leads us to His heavenly home and into the arms of His loving Father. Jesus’ Ascension set the foundation for that hope. As St. Paul assures us, “This hope will not leave us disappointed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom 5:5). His prayer for us is, “May the eyes of your heart be enlightened that you may know the hope that belongs to His call” (Eph 1:18).

Jesus commissioned Peter and the other Apostles, as the first priests of His Church, to “Go out into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature … teach them everything that I taught you” (Mk 16:15). We detect a sense of urgency in Jesus’ command. Why? God creates everyone to enjoy His love, so He wants to save everyone from hell which is a loveless eternity. Therefore He wants everyone to hear and live the Good News that He taught, lived, and fulfilled in His Ascension. He promised Peter and the other apostles that He would ask His Father to send the Holy Spirit to His Church. The Holy Spirit would provide the wisdom and energy required to embrace Jesus, obey His commandments, and enter Heaven with Him. He promised His Apostles that, “John baptized with water, but within a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5). To be baptized is to be cleansed spiritually, which means to be free from the grip of Satan and save our soul from corruption by sinful actions. The Holy Spirit’s truth exposes Satan’s lies and makes us wise to his wiles and ways so we can identify and resist his false promises. Jesus promised them: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes down on you; then you are to be my witnesses … to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Jesus was referring to Pentecost when the Holy Spirit would transform them into His courageous witnesses willing to die for their Faith in Him. What would they witness? The fact that God is their Father-Provider, Jesus their Redeemer, the Holy Spirit their Sanctifier, good conquers evil and the promise of a joyful life after death. Heaven’s door is now opened and God welcomes all who are judged worthy of entering. How does one enter? By freely embracing Jesus as Lord and Saviour in the Sacrament of Baptism making us members of His Church, and obeying His commandments under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Baptism is the beginning of the journey that’s completed in Heaven. Jesus told His Apostles that acceptance or rejection of His Gospel determines our salvation or damnation. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mk 16:16). Jesus has opened the door to Heaven but everyone has a choice to either accept or reject what’s necessary to gain entry. The difference in consequences is drastic. That’s why Jesus tells us, “Enter through the narrow gate. The gate that leads to damnation is wide, the road is clear, and many choose to travel it. But how narrow is the road that leads to life, how rough the road, and how few there are who find it!” (Mt 7:13- 15); “Try to come in through the narrow door. Many, I tell you, will try to enter and be unable” (Lk 13:24).

The power of the Holy Spirit was visible in the Apostles as “They went forth and preached everywhere while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs” (Mk 16:20). The signs were both miraculous and sacramental. The greatest sign of all that Jesus was with them through the power of His Spirit was the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As Jesus has ascended into Heaven, so can you and me by entering His company, which begins here on earth in His Church. Jesus’ Ascension calls us, in the words of the Psalmist, to proclaim to the world, “God mounts His throne amid should of joy … sing praise to our King, sing praise” (Ps 472-9). We need to pray each day that the Lord judges us fit for Heaven. “Lord, teach us goodness, discipline, and wisdom, and these gifts will keep us from becoming hardened by evil, weakened by laziness, or ignorant because of foolishness” (Liturgy of the Hours). The Ascension reminds us that for believers the best is still ahead. (fr sean)

cassini · « **Reply #51 on:** May 15, 2024, 12:44:25 PM »

Fr Sean again.
Pentecost: Jesus’ Church in Action

Jews from all over the world were in Jerusalem to celebrate God’s gift of the 10 Commandments through Moses (Ex 20) and the Feast of Weeks (Acts 2:1-11). The Babylonians dispersed their ancestors 500 years earlier when they conquered the Kingdom of Judah. On Pentecost, they came together to remember their history, their Charter (Commandments), and give thanks to Yahweh for His blessings.

A much smaller group of Jews also gathered in Jerusalem, but for different reasons. Peter, the other apostles and disciples were huddled together in prayer waiting expectantly for the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus. They were anxious about their future. Jerusalem was the scene of the brutal death of Jesus. His enemies were their enemies. While in prayer something marvelous happened to this little anxious but faithful band. Suddenly their fear was replaced by a spirit of courage and a zeal that was unimaginable. They left the security of the upper room and took to the streets led by Peter publicly proclaiming their faith in Jesus as the risen Lord and Messiah sent by God to save the world from sin.

What happened to Peter and the others? They received the Holy Spirit who empowered them to show that the goodness of God is stronger than man’s worst inhumanity and stupidity. The Spirit of Truth spoke through Peter and was heard by all despite their different languages. Truth and Faith transcend language. Babel was reversed. The Holy Spirit influences and guides every human spirit that is receptive to Him. He is the Spirit of Truth. There is only one Truth, namely Jesus Christ. Everyone who embraces that Truth is free to speak it. Why? Because the Truth frees us from the lies that we shouldn’t speak it lest it offend or hurt others. The truth hurts or offends only when we try to deny our sin. People who are guided by the Spirit of Truth can’t help but recognize Jesus Christ as the one who gives us the grace of repentance and the gift of forgiveness.

Since the Spirit fully reflects God, and God is a Community of Persons, the Spirit automatically creates community among all who receive Him. When people say they are “spirit-filled” but promote or contribute to disunity they’re led by the spirit of evil, not the Spirit of God.

St. Paul highlights the Spirit as the power that enables people to recognize Jesus as Lord (1 Cor 12:3) so that all may unite with Him and with one another in Jesus’ Church. He uses the metaphor of the human body to show how the Spirit works in everyone for the good of the whole (1 Cor 12:12-13). He explains that every organ in the body performs its own unique task to keep the whole body healthy. If an organ refused its task, the body would become diseased. The body needs all of its organs to function fully for the sake of its overall health. Each member of the Church is an organ of Jesus’ body on earth. Since “to each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit,” St. Paul points out that the Holy Spirit equips every member of the Church with gifts to be used for the health, wealth, happiness, and efficiency of the whole Church body. Just as non-functioning body parts damage a person’s health, so also non-functioning members of the Church damage the Body of Christ on earth. Listen to St. Paul’s inspired words: “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, we were all given to drink of one Spirit.” The Holy Spirit, when embraced, generates unity among Jesus’ followers that gives credibility to His saving presence before a fallen world. Those who call themselves Christian but aren’t active participants in the Church haven’t embraced the Holy Spirit and, as a result, haven’t accept Jesus as Lord and the Church as His body, His Bride.

1054 was a sad day for Christ’s body when the Patriarch of Constantinople declared the Church in the East to be no longer united under the leadership of the Successor of Peter and so caused a rupture in Christ’s body. It was a sad day for the Body of Christ when Martin Luther declared that the Bible was so self-evident and clear that men and women didn’t need any teaching authority to tell them how it should be correctly interpreted thereby creating Protestantism. He was not guided by the Holy Spirit. He called the Pope, Leo X, the antichrist. It’s interesting that there’s never been unity in Protestantism. The Truth never creates division except between those who embrace it and those who don’t. It doesn’t make sense for people to say they adhere to the same Truth, Jesus Christ, and don’t worship together. This is a scandal and weakens the Church’s ability to witness Jesus’ saving presence in the world.

One of the reasons the Church on that first Pentecost was so powerful was because Peter and all the others, including Jesus’ Mother, were united in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. They presented a united front to all in Jerusalem. Their unity with Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and their willingness to die for that unity raised more than the eyebrows of the bystanders who heard Peter explain what was happening. It raised their curiosity and spurred their conversion. The strength of the Church down through the ages has been her adherence to what Peter and the other apostles experienced on Pentecost under the guidance of the Spirit of Truth expressed in her unity of governance, sacramental system, prayer and worship, theology, and service. The Mass is the ultimate expression of her unity with Jesus where the people identify themselves as sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, celebrating His New Covenant and entering into a Holy Communion with Him empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Mass has been the constant and consistent sign of the Church’s unity with Her Lord and Redeemer under the guidance of His Spirit of Truth assuring her of His presence and the continuity of His teaching until the end of time. The Church herself declares, “The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life” and “the font from which she draws her energy and the center toward which she draws all her members.” The Mass has been, is now, and will continue to be the sign of Jesus’ one true Church in action in the world. In the Mass, we constantly identify ourselves as sinners and, as such, a people in constant need of forgiveness of venial sin made available in the Mass itself and grave and mortal sin in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This Sunday, when you participate in the Holy Mass, remember you’re part of the Church, which Jesus and His Father has empowered through Their gift of the Holy Spirit. We cannot know Jesus without the Holy Spirit who came to us in Baptism and Confirmation and whom we invite every day to guide, purify, strengthen and inspire our human spirit. Let our prayer be, “Come, Holy Spirit, fill our hearts with Your divine love and unite us with Jesus and His heavenly Father and with one another. Amen!” (fr sean)

Act of Consecration to the Holy Spirit

On my knees / before the great multitude of heavenly witnesses / I offer myself, soul and body / to Thee O Eternal Spirit of God. / I adore the brightness of Thy purity / the unerring keenness of Thy justice / and the might of Thy love. Thou art the Strength / and Light of my soul. / In Thee I live and move and am. / I desire never to grieve Thee by unfaithfulness to grace, and I pray with all my heart to be kept from the smallest sin against Thee. / Mercifully guard my every thought / and grant that I may always watch for Thy light / and listen to Thy voice / and follow Thy gracious inspirations. / I cling to Thee / and give myself to Thee / and ask Thee / by Thy compassion / to watch over me in my weakness. / Holding the pierced feet of Jesus / and looking at His five Wounds / and trusting in His Precious Blood / and adoring His opened side and stricken Heart / I implore Thee / Adorable Spirit / Helper of my infirmity, / so to keep me in Thy grace / that I may never sin against Thee. / Give me grace / O Holy Ghost, / Spirit of the Father and of the Son / to say to Thee always and everywhere / “Speak, Lord / for Thy servant is listening.”

Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

O Lord Jesus Christ / Who, before ascending into heaven / did promise to send the Holy Ghost / to finish Thy work / in the souls of Thine Apostles and Disciples / deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me / that He may perfect in my soul / the work of Thy grace and Thy love. / Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom / that I may despise the perishable things of this world / and aspire only after the things / that are eternal, / the Spirit of Understanding, to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth, / the Spirit of Counsel / that I may choose / the surest way of pleasing God / and gaining heaven, / the Spirit of Fortitude / that I may bear my cross with Thee / and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, / the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself / and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, / the Spirit of Piety / that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, / the Spirit of Fear of the Lord / that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God, and may dread in any way to displease Him. / Mark me, dear Lord, / with the sign of Thy true disciples / and animate me in all things with Thy Spirit. / Amen.

cassini · « **Reply #52 on:** May 23, 2024, 11:12:29 AM »

Fr Sean again.
God: A Community of Persons

This Sunday the Catholic Church celebrates her creedal belief in God as a Trinity of Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, distinct and equal in all things – but One God. This belief has been part of the Church’s Tradition which she received from the Apostles under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and is enshrined in her Creed proclaimed by her faithful at every Sunday and Holy Day Mass. That God is a community of Persons isn't explicitly stated in the Bible. However, it can certainly be reasonably inferred from Jesus’ teaching. The Bible by itself doesn’t contain all of divine revelation. Jesus’ Church is also a source of revelation through the power of the Holy Spirit bestowed by the risen Jesus and His Father on her ordained leaders on Pentecost Sunday. Jesus told the Apostles before His Ascension, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of Truth, he will guide you to all truth” (Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15). Not everything Jesus said was written down in the Bible. “There are still many other things that Jesus did, yet if they were written about in detail, I doubt there would be room enough in the entire world to hold the books to record them” (Jn 21:25). The teaching that God is a Community of Three Divine Persons, distinct and equal in all things is one that isn’t written in the Bible but yet is a central teaching of the Church. This teaching helps explain Jesus’ references to His Father and the Holy Spirit. This is why only the Church guided by the Holy Spirit has the authority to clarify and complete the Bible’s true message and meaning.

Christianity is the only religion that believes in one God who has revealed Himself to be a community of Persons. This is what makes Christianity unique. God manifests Himself as Father who creates and sustains life; as Son who is the means through which creation takes place and who redeems and saves creation; and as Holy Spirit who empowers and sanctifies creation. God revealed His uniqueness and power in the formation of His people. Thus Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit, reminding the Israelites of all God did for them, told them: “This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the Lord is God in the heavens above and on the earth below, and that there is no other. You must keep His statutes and Commandments … that you and your children may prosper” (Deut 4:32-40).

Belief in a Triune God has many implications for us. As Christians we believe that God created us in His image and likeness. If God is a Community of Persons, completely equal and one with each other, to be created in His image and likeness means that it is in community that we best image God and act like Him. Belief in a triune God requires us to be a community where love is the central characteristic. Jesus founded His Church to be that community wherein people image God and act like Him. Our God reminds us that if we’re to be His image and likeness we must work towards forming and sustaining community. Actually we cannot be Christian without being committed to community building. “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God … You received a Spirit of adoption through Whom you can cry, ‘Abbe –Father!’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God … heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him” (Rom 8:14-17). God entered the human world through a family, a community, wherein “He grew up in wisdom, age, and grace before God and man” (Lk 2:52). Jesus founded His Church as the family, a community, where His followers grow up in wisdom, age, and grace through uniting with Him and His Father empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Psalmist expressed his gratitude for being chosen by the Lord to belong to Him: “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 …Happy the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen for His own inheritance” (Ps 33:4-22).

Belonging is a basic human need. Only community satisfies that need. We need relationships to experience belonging and know that we belong. Belonging cannot take place without commitment to and participation in community. As human beings we need relationships for our fulfillment and happiness. The greatest human pain is the experience of loneliness and isolation – the absence of community. This is why prison can be so dehumanizing. God created us to belong to a community, not one that’s temporary but one that’s eternal, namely the community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Can we build community? Not without God, we can’t. He is the Architect. When man and woman separated themselves from God they cut themselves off from the One who originates and sustains community. As a result their relationship was fractured and they became ashamed of each other. Jesus came to reunite man and woman in a new Covenant with God so they could begin to experience the community for which He created them. This is the reason Jesus brought the gift of forgiveness to mankind and why He empowered His Church with the gift of forgiveness and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. On our own we want to create community but we cannot sustain it due to our sinfulness. We see this in marriage. A man and a woman express their love for one another at the altar but later one abuses the other. What happened? One or both forgot that God alone sustains a community of love. Love requires forgiveness and elimination of sin. On our own we cannot forgive. We can organize. We can have good intentions to change. Only God can take our organization and intentions and create a community that lasts. Only God can empower us to repent, forgive and be reconciled. This is one reason every husband and wife cannot succeed in marriage without God. They need Him to become a true community and enjoy a covenant relationship. They need Him in order to forgive. Without forgiveness, community cannot continue. With forgiveness, community grows stronger because love reigns. God the Father and the Son are one in the Love of the Holy Spirit who personifies their mutual love..

Jesus commissioned Peter and the eleven apostles to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold I am with you always, until the end of the world,” (Mt 28:16-20). He was commissioning them to call all peoples to be like Him by becoming a community of persons committed to the belief that, “There is but one body and one Spirit, just as there is but one hope given to all of you by your vocation. There is but one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all, and works through all, and is in all” (Eph 4: 4-6). Sadly, today this seems to be ignored or forgotten even within the Church whose mission it is to call all people to model themselves after the Holy Trinity. Those ordained leaders of the Church and her members who reject what Jesus handed on to the Apostles do not give witness to faith in the Trinity. Rebellion, alienation, separation, fragmentation, and disconnectedness among and within people reflect Satan who hates God. Where God is absent, whether through ignorance or rejection, community is impossible and human beings become dysfunctional. Many groups today referred to as “community” aren’t communities at all but only people who have a common agenda. They do not reflect the Holy Trinity and so can easily become instruments of Satan.


Whenever we make the Sign of the Cross on our person we identify ourselves as believers in God the Father as our Father, God the Son as our Redeemer, and God the Holy Spirit as our Sanctifier and Advocate – One God who is a Community of Persons to which we belong through Baptism. We’re also reminding ourselves of our commitment to cooperating with God in the formation of community through building the Church. Our Triune God reminds us that He has destined us for community and sends us His Spirit to pull us into the eternal and unconditional love the Father and the Son have for each other. (fr sean)

cassini · « **Reply #53 on:** May 29, 2024, 12:33:04 PM »

Fr Sean again.
The Body of Christ: Visible Sign of the New Covenant

When Jesus, during the Passover Supper with His apostles on Holy Thursday, “took” unleavened , “bread, blessed and broke it and said to His apostles, ‘Take it, this is my body’” (Mk 14: 12-26), He expressed His heartfelt desire for them to physically, spiritually and intimately participate in His life in a Holy Communion. Bread symbolizes physical nourishment. He also “took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them and they all drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which shall be shed for many.’” Blood symbolizes life. Thus Jesus entered into a New Covenant with God on behalf of mankind and signed it with His blood on Good Friday. In this action He showed that His love for mankind would be unsurpassed. “No greater love does a man have than to lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Jesus’ love was even greater because He laid down His life not just for His friends but also for His enemies in the hopes of saving them from their sins. He instituted the Holy Eucharist as the sign of His self-sacrifice and the beginning of a new covenant to break Satan’s grip on mankind. Eating His body would nourish people’s souls and drinking His blood would give them life everlasting.

In the Book of Exodus (Ex 24:3-8) we have an account of a previous covenant between God and the Israelites. Moses assembled the people and reminded them of all that God had done for them and their ancestors. He related God’s words and ordinances that brought them protection and guidance. On hearing these from the Book of the Covenant they shouted, “We will do everything the Lord has told us… All that the Lord has said we will do.” Then Moses took the blood of a sacrificed animal saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words of His.” He sprinkled half of it on the altar of sacrifice and the rest on the people symbolizing the special covenant relationship that God entered into with them and them with Him. The sprinkling of blood on the altar and the people symbolized the mutual investment of life on the part of God and the people. A covenant is an exchange of persons lovingly investing themselves unconditionally in one another to become a unified family. Covenants are for life and the highest expression of mutual love between God and His people or between a man and a woman in holy Matrimony.

This is the love we’re called to witness and participate in at every Mass. In every Mass Jesus makes it possible for Himself to physically enter our life and for us to enter His life reflecting the covenant relationship between God and us. This is why the Mass is such a sacred covenantal experience. It motivates us to worship God with the Psalmist (116:12-18), “To You will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call on the Name of the Lord. My vows to the Lord I will pau in the presence of all His people.” In the Mass, God the Father unites us as His children by giving us the opportunity to join with Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit as He sacrifices Himself for our freedom from sin. Reflecting this reality, the priest says in the Mass just before Holy Communion: “Blessed (happy) are those called to the supper of the Lamb” and the faithful respond: “Lord I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the Word and my soul shall be healed.” To be blessed and to be happy is to be loved by the Creator. The Mass is both a sacrifice and a sacrament in which God tells us how much He loves us. In the Mass you and I stand at the foot of Jesus’ Cross and at the same time sit with Him at His banquet in Heaven. The Altar is both a place where Jesus sacrifices Himself and a table where He nourishes us. This is a foretaste of Heaven which affords believers the happiness of being, even now here on earth, in the company of the Lord enjoying this covenant relationship.

The term “Body of Christ” has two meanings, namely Jesus’ Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist and the family of believers we call His “Church.” In Holy Communion we receive the Body of Christ wherein He unites Himself with us in a nourishing companionship that cannot be fully expressed in words. He makes it possible for us to join our life with His in the most intimate relationship possible on this earth. His life is without end. In receiving Jesus in Holy Communion we receive life without end. We don’t receive Jesus in Holy Communion as isolated individuals but rather as members of His family covenanted together with God. Therefore, when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion along with other members of the Church, His presence in each of us calls for a deeper understanding, cooperation, and support between and among us in a Holy Community with Him as the Head leading us to His Father in the Spirit of charity. If we receive Jesus in Holy Communion and aren’t active members of the Church through using our gifts, whether in prayer or action or both, we’re not letting the Body of Christ form us into His body on earth whose mission it is to continue His mission to save mankind from sin by calling everyone into a new covenant relationship with Him. “He is the mediator of the new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from sins under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance” (Heb 9:12-18). The first covenant saw unfaithful man (Adam and Eve) bringing sin and death into the world. The new and last covenant sees faithful man (Jesus Christ) bringing life through sharing His Body and Blood that made repentance, forgiveness, and life after death possible.

As baptized persons you and I belong to the body of Christ, the Church that He nourishes and energizes with His Body and Blood in the Holy Mass. We need to receive the Body of Christ in the Mass so that His light shines through us to dispel the darkness of the fallen world. The body of Christ – the members of the Church – needs the Body of Christ to become a credible witness to His presence in the world offering the opportunity to come to know and love Him. There’s no other saviour who can enable men and women to rise above their selfishness, sinfulness, and the death they carry in their bodies. Jesus wants everyone to have an opportunity to join Him in the new covenant fulfilled in Heaven. He makes this possible through His Church, where He promised to be until the end of time. His Church makes this promise especially visible and effective in the celebration of the Holy Mass where we can receive His Body and Blood and, in the words at the end of Mass, “go forth to live the Gospel with our lives.” The body of Christ, the Church, cannot exist without the Body and Blood of Christ, namely the Holy Eucharist. Likewise you and I cannot be truly Christian without receiving Jesus’s Body in Holy Communion. He is “the bread of life” (Jn 6:35) without which we can’t have His life in us.

Please encourage all the baptized to keep the Lord’s Day holy by attending Holy Mass and renewing the covenant with God made possible by Jesus' sacrifice of His body and blood that alone gives life that's eternal (Jn 6:53-58). (fr sean)

cassini · « **Reply #54 on:** June 04, 2024, 10:36:33 AM »

Fr Sean again.
Keep Holy the Lord’s Day

In forming His people God told them to take care to observe the last day of the week as a time to rest from their work and worship Him. “Six days you may labour and do all your work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. No work may be done then, whether by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female servant …” (Deut 5:12-15). In Hebrew ‘sabbath’ means ‘day of rest’ meaning to ‘cease from work.’ Keeping the Sabbath holy was enshrined in God’s third Commandment and demonstrated the people’s adherence to the first two Commandments, namely their belief in God as the only God and reverencing His Name. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Par 348) points out “the Sabbath is at the heart of Israel’s law. To keep the Commandments is to correspond to the wisdom and will of God as expressed in His work of creation.” So keeping the Sabbath holy by devoting to God in accord with His Commandments honoured His wisdom and will displayed in His creation, especially in creating human beings in His image and likeness. It also made sure in the words of the Psalmist that “There shall be no strange God among you nor shall you worship any alien God. I, the Lord, am your God who led you forth from the land of Egypt” (Ps81:10-11). He alone freed them from slavery.

Since the Jєωιѕн Sabbath was the seventh day of the week why did the followers of Jesus make Sunday their Sabbath? The Catechism answers our question: “But for us (Christians) a new day has dawned: the day of Christ’s Resurrection. The seventh day completes the first creation. The eighth day begins the new creation. Thus, the work of creation culminates in the greater work of redemption” (Par 349). The Catechism goes on to state that, “Sunday is expressly distinguished from the sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath. In Christ’s Passover, Sunday fulfils the spiritual truth of the Jєωιѕн Sabbath and announces man’s eternal rest in God. The celebration of Sunday observes the moral commandment inscribed by nature in the human heart to render an outward, visible, public, and regular worship ‘as a sign of God’s universal beneficence to all’ (Aquinas). Sunday worship fulfils the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of His people. The Sunday celebration of the Lord’s Day and His Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s life” (Pars 2175-2177). Because the Eucharist celebrated in the Holy Mass is the heart of the Church’s life it is also the heart of the Christian’s spiritual life. This is why the Church makes attendance at Sunday Mass obligatory because without it the person’s spiritual life will die. “On Sunday’s and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass” (Par 21:80), because “The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice … Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin” (Par 2181). The sin is that in refusing to participate in the celebration of the Holy Mass the person is breaking the first and third Commandments, which means that the individual does not love Jesus Christ. Remember that Jesus said: “If you love me, keep my commandments (Jn 14:15); “anyone who says that he loves God but does not keep His commandments is a liar and the truth is not found in him” 1 Jn 2:4-7). Neglecting to attend Holy Mass on Sunday is an act of ingratitude to God who created the individual and bestowed gifts on him or her.

At every Holy Mass the priest, on behalf of the people, addresses God in the Preface: “It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give You thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Christ our Lord.” Belonging to the Church involves being just to God which is our duty as Christians and essential for our salvation. If we want God to bring us to Heaven, then this is what we must do. If we don’t, then hell is our destiny. We attend Holy Mass because we cannot function without Him and so we are indebted to Him for everything. The Holy Spirit tells us: “ For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts, that we in turn might make known the glory of God shining on the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor 4:6). Jesus brings us God’s glory, namely His surpassing power, because when “we are afflicted in every possible way, we are never crushed; full of doubts, we never despair; persecuted, but never abandoned; struck down but never destroyed. We carry in our bodies the dying of Jesus (that He suffered for us), so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may be revealed” (1 Cor 2: 8-10). It is in our weakness and frailty that God makes us victorious if we are faithful to Him.

Jesus said that, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk 2: 23-26) along with the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Church emphasizes the importance of keeping the Lord’s Day holy by participating in the holiest of actions, namely the Holy Mass. “Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and to His Church. The faithful give witness to this by their communion in faith and charity. Together they testify to God’s holiness and their hope of salvation. They strengthen one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit” Par 2182). Besides attending Sunday Mass, keeping the Lord’s Day holy also involves “refrain(ing) from engaging in work or activities that hinder the worship owed to God, the joy proper to the Lord’s Day, the performance of works of mercy, and the appropriate relaxation of mind and body. Family needs or important social service can legitimately excuse from the obligation of Sunday rest. The faithful should see to it that legitimate excuses do not lead to habits prejudicial to religion, family life, and health” (Par 2184).

Sunday Mass is the highpoint of keeping Holy the Lord’s Day, remembering Jesus’ sacrifice and Resurrection. We attend Holy Mass not for what we can get but for what we can give. What are we doing at Holy Mass? We are worshipping and praising God, our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier who created us, redeemed us, and saves us. We being just to God, giving Him His due. We are carrying out our duty to honour His wisdom and will that He has demonstrated in His creation. We are doing what is necessary to assure our salvation. We are witnessing that we belong to God’s family and expressing our faith in Jesus Christ. We are identifying ourselves as brothers and sisters in the Lord who calls us into community in imitation of Him who is a Community of Persons, the Holy Trinity. By not attending Holy Mass we demonstrate that we don’t belong to God’s family; we disobey God’s commandments; we don’t have faith in Jesus Christ; we don’t identify with those who believe as our brothers and sisters; we are being unjust to God on whom we depend for our salvation; and we reject what God says is necessary for our salvation. Sadly, on any given Sunday, this is true of many who say they are Catholic. Do they know what they are doing and where they’re headed? (fr sean)

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