Felices Pascuas!
Chúc Mừng Phục Sinh!
Prospera Pascha sit!
Prospera Pascha sit!
Buona Pasqua!
Joyeuses Pâques!
Frohe Ostern!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Good Friday
The Last Seven Words of Jesus
I.
"Pater, dimitte illis, quia nesciunt, quid faciunt."
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
"Pater, dimitte illis, quia nesciunt, quid faciunt."
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Luke 23:34
II.
"Hodie mecum eris in Paradiso."
"Amen I say to you, this day you shall be with me in Paradise."
II.
"Hodie mecum eris in Paradiso."
"Amen I say to you, this day you shall be with me in Paradise."
Luke 23:43
III.
III.
"Mulier, ecce filius tuus."
"Woman, behold your Son...Behold your mother."
John 19:26-27
IV.
IV.
"Deus meus, Deus meus, utquid dereliquisti me?"
"My God! My God, why have you forsaken Me?"
Mark 27:46
V.
"My God! My God, why have you forsaken Me?"
Mark 27:46
V.
"Sitio."
"I thirst."
John 19:28
VI.
John 19:28
VI.
"Consummatum est."
"It is finished"
John 19:30
VII.
John 19:30
VII.
"In manus tuas, Domine commendo spiritum meum."
"Father, into your hands, I commend my spirit."
Luke 23:46
"The seven last words of Jesus are also our seven last words – the words of terror and loneliness, of fear and horror, of despair and final surrender as we complete our journey and perhaps begin a new one."
--Andrew M. Greeley
"The seven last words of Jesus are also our seven last words – the words of terror and loneliness, of fear and horror, of despair and final surrender as we complete our journey and perhaps begin a new one."
--Andrew M. Greeley
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Tenebrae
The Three Days of DarknessOn Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, SJB will starts its day with Tenebrae at 8:30 AM.
Here are some great notes about Tenebrae:
“Tenebrae” is the name given to the service of Matins and Lauds belonging to the last three days of Holy Week. It differs, in many things, from the Office of the rest of the year. All is sad and mournful, as though it were a funeral service; nothing could more emphatically express the grief that now weighs down the heart of our holy Mother the Church. Throughout all the Office of Thursday, Friday and Saturday, she forbids herself the use of those formulas of joy and hope wherewith, on all other days, she begins her praise of God. Nothing is left but what is essential to the form of the Divine Office: psalms, lessons and chants expressive of grief. The tone of the whole Office is most noticeably mournful: the lessons taken from the Lamentations of Jeremias, the omission of the Gloria Patri, of the Te Deum, and of blessings etc., so the darkness of these services seems to have been designedly chosen to mark the Church’s desolation. The lessons from Jeremias in the first Nocturn, those from the Commentaries of St. Augustine upon the Psalms in the second, and those from the Epistles of St. Paul in the third remain now as when we first hear of them in the eighth century.
“Tenebrae” is the name given to the service of Matins and Lauds belonging to the last three days of Holy Week. It differs, in many things, from the Office of the rest of the year. All is sad and mournful, as though it were a funeral service; nothing could more emphatically express the grief that now weighs down the heart of our holy Mother the Church. Throughout all the Office of Thursday, Friday and Saturday, she forbids herself the use of those formulas of joy and hope wherewith, on all other days, she begins her praise of God. Nothing is left but what is essential to the form of the Divine Office: psalms, lessons and chants expressive of grief. The tone of the whole Office is most noticeably mournful: the lessons taken from the Lamentations of Jeremias, the omission of the Gloria Patri, of the Te Deum, and of blessings etc., so the darkness of these services seems to have been designedly chosen to mark the Church’s desolation. The lessons from Jeremias in the first Nocturn, those from the Commentaries of St. Augustine upon the Psalms in the second, and those from the Epistles of St. Paul in the third remain now as when we first hear of them in the eighth century.
The name “Tenebrae” has been given because this Office is celebrated in the hours of darkness, formerly in the evening or just after midnight, now the early morning hours. There is an impressive ceremony, peculiar to this Office, which tends to perpetuate its name. There is placed in the sanctuary, near the altar, a large triangular candlestick holding fifteen candles. At the end of each psalm or canticle, one of these fifteen candles is extinguished, but the one which is placed at the top of the triangle is left lighted. During the singing of the Benedictus (the Canticle of Zachary at the end of Lauds), six other candles on the altar are also put out. Then the master of ceremonies takes the lighted candle from the triangle and holds it upon the altar while the choir repeats the antiphon after the canticle, after which she hides it behind the altar during the recitation of the Christus antiphon and final prayer. As soon as this prayer is finished, a noise is made with the seats of the stalls in the choir, which continues until the candle is brought from behind the altar, and shows, by its light, that the Office of Tenebrae is over.
Let us now learn the meaning of these ceremonies. The glory of the Son of God was obscured and, so to say, eclipsed, by the ignominies He endured during His Passion. He, the Light of the world, powerful in word and work, Who but a few days ago was proclaimed King by the citizens of Jerusalem, is now robbed of all his honors. He is, says Isaias, the Man of sorrows, a leper (Isaias 53:3,4). He is, says the royal prophet, a worm of the earth, and no man (Psalm 21:7). He is, as He says of himself, an object of shame even to his own disciples, for they are all scandalized in him (Mark 14:27) and abandon Him; yea, even Peter protests that he never knew Him. This desertion on the part of His apostles and disciples is expressed by the candles being extinguished, one after the other, not only on the triangle, but on the altar itself. But Jesus, our Light, though despised and hidden, is not extinguished. This is signified by the candle which is momentarily placed on the altar; it symbolizes our Redeemer suffering and dying on Calvary. In order to express His burial, the candle is hidden behind the altar; its light disappears. A confused noise is heard in the house of God, where all is now darkness. This noise and gloom express the convulsions of nature when Jesus expired on the cross: the earth shook, the rocks were split, the dead came forth from their tombs. But the candle suddenly reappears; its light is as fair as ever. The noise is hushed, and homage is paid to the Conqueror of death.
Excerpted from the revered Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger, the Catholic Encyclopedia and other sources
http://www.sistersofcarmel.com/tenebrae.php
Monday, March 3, 2008
The Three Pillars of Lent...part three
Part Three: Concerning Fasting/Penance/ConfessionThe thought of fasting usually has been regarding food, abstinence from meat, and eating less on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Then there's the practice of "giving up something" for Lent. This has become a beautiful form of fasting, as spirtual discipline. For example, kids usually candy and sodas, while adults, it's shopping, so as to give the amount saved to the poor, or the things they enjoy, so as to spend more time doing things that matter. In all cases, fasting leads us to a greater self-discipline, a renewal of oneself.
"I speak not, indeed, of such a fast as most persons keep, but of real fasting; not merely an abstinence from meats; but from sins too." --St. John Chrysostom
Fasting can also be a act of penance. Pope Clement XIII wrote "Appetente Sacro" in 1759 to ask his Bishops to explain the reasons for fasting:
"You will begin most appropriately, and with hope of the greatest profit, to recall men to the observance of the holy law of fasting, if you teach the people this: penance for the Christian man is not satisfied by withdrawing from sin, by detesting a past life badly lived, or by the sacramental confession of these same sins. Rather, penance also demands that we satisfy divine justice with fasting, almsgiving, prayer, and other works of the spiritual life. Every wrongdoing -- be it large or small -- is fittingly punished, either by the penitent or by a vengeful God. Therefore we cannot avoid God's punishment in any other way than by punishing ourselves. If this teaching is constantly implanted in the minds of the faithful, and if they drink deeply of it, there will be very little cause to fear that those who have discarded their degraded habits and washed their sins clean through sacramental confession would not want to expiate the same sins through fasting, to eliminate the concupiscence of the flesh. Besides, consider the man who is convinced that he repents of his sins more firmly when he toes not allow himself to go unpunished. That man, already consumed with the love of penance, will rejoice during the season of Lent and on certain other days, when the Church declares that the faithful should fast and gives them the opportunity to bring forth worthy fruits of penance."
"It is only by sacrifice and suffering, offered as penance, that you will be able, by the grace of God, to convert sinners."
-St. John Vianney
Here are the penance services and confession hours at SJB:
Penance Services
-St. John Vianney
Here are the penance services and confession hours at SJB:
Penance Services
--Thursday, March 6th at 7:15 PM in Vietnamese and English
--Thursday, March 13th at 7:30 PM in English and Spanish
Confession Hours
--Saturday, March 8th at 3:30-4:30 PM
--Satuday, March 15th at 3:30-4:30 PM
--Tuesday, March 18th at 8:00-9:00 PM
It is highly recommended that one goes to one of the Penance Services to avoid long lines during the confession hours.Just for reference: The Seven Penitential Psalms are Psalms 6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, & 142
By order of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216), these prayers are to be prayed during the days of Lent. If they can't be said on each day of the Season, they can at least be prayed on Lenten Fridays (or one could pray one prayer on each of the 7 Fridays of Lent). One kneels when praying these Psalms, begins and ends with a short antiphon, and recites a Gloria in between. To download these Psalms in Microsoft Word format (10 pages), in both English and Latin, with Antiphons and Glorias, click here. (fisheaters.com)
The Sacrament of Confession is one of God's greatest gift. During Lent, by fasting, one will be able to reflect and meditate on God's mercy and His love.
Confession!
------------
John 20:22-23
And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
--------------------
The cry goes up "Why confess your sins to men? Why not just confess to God?" The answer is, as ever, the Incarnation. Jesus is not the Word made word or the Word made abstract theology or the Word made warm fuzzy feeling. He is the Word made flesh. And so, He commits His gospel into the flesh and blood hands of flesh and blood people and gives them the power to forgive sins in His name by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are creatures, not only of spirit, but of skin and bone. We need somebody with skin on to say "You are absolved of all your sins." So Jesus gives us the sacrament of reconciliation. (catholicexchange.com)
Contrition !
------------
Psalm 51:17
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.
--------------------
Contrition is the second element of a good confession. It is part of the typically Catholic insistence of a marriage between word and deed, spirit and flesh, inner and outer. If you confess but don't mean to change, your confession is just a show. If you claim to have undergone a change of heart, but then refuse to confess your sins or change, you're just kidding yourself. By far, contrition is the most important element of the sacrament. If you are truly and fully contrite for your sins, but get killed in battle, or run over by a bus, or struck by a meteor before you get a chance to go to confession, you are still fully forgiven by God. But, of course, if you are seriously contrite and none of these somewhat improbable occurrences befalls you, then you should get to confession. And, wherever you are, you should pray the prayer of the psalmist: "Create in me a clean heart, and renew a steadfast spirit within me!" (catholicexchange.com)
The Acts of the Penitent!
------------
John 20:22-23
And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
--------------------
The cry goes up "Why confess your sins to men? Why not just confess to God?" The answer is, as ever, the Incarnation. Jesus is not the Word made word or the Word made abstract theology or the Word made warm fuzzy feeling. He is the Word made flesh. And so, He commits His gospel into the flesh and blood hands of flesh and blood people and gives them the power to forgive sins in His name by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are creatures, not only of spirit, but of skin and bone. We need somebody with skin on to say "You are absolved of all your sins." So Jesus gives us the sacrament of reconciliation. (catholicexchange.com)
Contrition !
------------
Psalm 51:17
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.
--------------------
Contrition is the second element of a good confession. It is part of the typically Catholic insistence of a marriage between word and deed, spirit and flesh, inner and outer. If you confess but don't mean to change, your confession is just a show. If you claim to have undergone a change of heart, but then refuse to confess your sins or change, you're just kidding yourself. By far, contrition is the most important element of the sacrament. If you are truly and fully contrite for your sins, but get killed in battle, or run over by a bus, or struck by a meteor before you get a chance to go to confession, you are still fully forgiven by God. But, of course, if you are seriously contrite and none of these somewhat improbable occurrences befalls you, then you should get to confession. And, wherever you are, you should pray the prayer of the psalmist: "Create in me a clean heart, and renew a steadfast spirit within me!" (catholicexchange.com)
The Acts of the Penitent!
-------------
Isaiah 58:6
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
------------------
One of the funniest things about the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the strange paroxysms that some opponents of the Church put themselves through to complain about penance. On the one hand, we're told that penance is an outrageous form of "works salvation" which allegedly requires us to do something in order to "earn" the grace of God. On the other hand, we're also told that penances are trivial and light and no work at all and that if the Church were serious, its priests would assign "meaningful" penances. So there you are: penance is a burden and it's not burden enough, according to the critics.
In reality, however, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is, like all things Catholic, incarnational. Repentance is supposed to issue in action, not just words. So the Church calls for some small act of penance to be done, not as a way of earning grace, but as a way of living out the grace we have received. Typically, this act is small precisely in order that it may not be a burden. But it is real because grace must be incarnate just as the Word had to become flesh. Real penance is not just a ritual: rather, it is a way of saying thanks!
(catholicexchange.com)
One of the funniest things about the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the strange paroxysms that some opponents of the Church put themselves through to complain about penance. On the one hand, we're told that penance is an outrageous form of "works salvation" which allegedly requires us to do something in order to "earn" the grace of God. On the other hand, we're also told that penances are trivial and light and no work at all and that if the Church were serious, its priests would assign "meaningful" penances. So there you are: penance is a burden and it's not burden enough, according to the critics.
In reality, however, the Sacrament of Reconciliation is, like all things Catholic, incarnational. Repentance is supposed to issue in action, not just words. So the Church calls for some small act of penance to be done, not as a way of earning grace, but as a way of living out the grace we have received. Typically, this act is small precisely in order that it may not be a burden. But it is real because grace must be incarnate just as the Word had to become flesh. Real penance is not just a ritual: rather, it is a way of saying thanks!
(catholicexchange.com)
One just soul can attain pardon for a thousand sinners.
-St Margaret Mary Alacoque
-St Margaret Mary Alacoque
Sunday, February 24, 2008
The Three Pillars of Lent...part two
Part Two: Concerning Prayer
Also at SJB, we are blessed to be able to pray before the Blessed Sacrament through Perpentual Eucharistic Adoration, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, in the Blessed Sacramanet Chapel, along with daily Adoration from 7-8 AM in the church and our monthly Adoration on the 10th of the month. Time before the Blessed Sacrament is time well spent.
If you have not signed up for Perpentual Eucharistic Adoration, please do at our homepage http://www.sjboc.org/ under "Ministries."
"Every moment of prayer, especially before our Lord in the tabernacle, is a sure, positive gain. The time we spend in having our daily audience wiht God is the most precious of the whole day." --Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
As St. Paul tells us, we should "do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus." Blessed Mother Teresa concurred as she said, "You can pray while you work. Work doesn't stop prayer and prayer doesn't stop work. It requires only that small raising of the mind to him: I love you God, I trust you, I believe in you, I need you now. Small things like that. They are wonderful prayers."
This week, from Monday through Friday, SJB will have its Lenten Parish Mission by Fr. Wolfgang Seitz. Schedule is as follow:
"In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. "
The Sign of the Cross is a prayer in itself. It lets us acknowledge the Holy Trinity and be in the presence of God.
Prayer is a conversation with God. In any conversation, there must be a two-way communication. Therefore, listening and being silent is just as important as talking. This would let us hear what God has to say: "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. (1 Samuel 3:9)"
"I always begin my prayer in silence, for it is in the silence of the heart that God speaks. God is the friend of silence - we need to listen to God because it's not what we say but what he says to us and through us that matters."
Prayer is a conversation with God. In any conversation, there must be a two-way communication. Therefore, listening and being silent is just as important as talking. This would let us hear what God has to say: "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. (1 Samuel 3:9)"
"I always begin my prayer in silence, for it is in the silence of the heart that God speaks. God is the friend of silence - we need to listen to God because it's not what we say but what he says to us and through us that matters."
--Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
"The fruit of Silence is Prayer.
"The fruit of Silence is Prayer.
The fruit of Prayer is Faith.
The fruit of Faith is Love.
The fruit of Love is Service.
The fruit of Service is Peace."
--Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
As Catholics, we are encouraged to pray always. St. Paul in Letter to the Colossians tells us about prayer; "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymn, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:16-17)"
At SJB, we are blessed with the Norbertines presence and are fortunate for the opportunity to pray with psalms, hymn, and songs through the Liturgy of the Hours three times a day, on the weekdays. The schedule is as follow:
Weekday Liturgy of the Hours:
At SJB, we are blessed with the Norbertines presence and are fortunate for the opportunity to pray with psalms, hymn, and songs through the Liturgy of the Hours three times a day, on the weekdays. The schedule is as follow:
Weekday Liturgy of the Hours:
Office of Readings and Morning Prayer: 6:00 - 6:30 AM
Mid-Morning Prayer: 8:15 AM (*Rosary is after the 8:30 AM Mass)
Evening Prayer: 5:15 PM
The Liturgy of the Hours prayers in the Church each are followed by the Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the highest form of prayer. At SJB, it is a blessing to have three Masses daily, at 6:30 AM, 8:30 AM, and 5:30 PM, making it convenient for many to attend Mass everyday. Also, on the weekends, SJB provides ten Masses, including one at Fairview Developmental Center, in four different language, which are English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and our latest addition of the Traditional Latin Mass. It is a true blessing to know that Jesus loves to meet us where we are.
The Liturgy of the Hours prayers in the Church each are followed by the Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the highest form of prayer. At SJB, it is a blessing to have three Masses daily, at 6:30 AM, 8:30 AM, and 5:30 PM, making it convenient for many to attend Mass everyday. Also, on the weekends, SJB provides ten Masses, including one at Fairview Developmental Center, in four different language, which are English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and our latest addition of the Traditional Latin Mass. It is a true blessing to know that Jesus loves to meet us where we are.
Also at SJB, we are blessed to be able to pray before the Blessed Sacrament through Perpentual Eucharistic Adoration, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, in the Blessed Sacramanet Chapel, along with daily Adoration from 7-8 AM in the church and our monthly Adoration on the 10th of the month. Time before the Blessed Sacrament is time well spent.
If you have not signed up for Perpentual Eucharistic Adoration, please do at our homepage http://www.sjboc.org/ under "Ministries."
"Every moment of prayer, especially before our Lord in the tabernacle, is a sure, positive gain. The time we spend in having our daily audience wiht God is the most precious of the whole day." --Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
As St. Paul tells us, we should "do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus." Blessed Mother Teresa concurred as she said, "You can pray while you work. Work doesn't stop prayer and prayer doesn't stop work. It requires only that small raising of the mind to him: I love you God, I trust you, I believe in you, I need you now. Small things like that. They are wonderful prayers."
This week, from Monday through Friday, SJB will have its Lenten Parish Mission by Fr. Wolfgang Seitz. Schedule is as follow:
8:30 AM --Mass
9:15 AM --Conference by Fr. Seitz in Church
10:00 AM --Rosary & Confessions
5:30 PM --Mass in Church (*Tuesday - Solemn Anniversary Mass of SJB Dedication)
6:00 PM --Soup Meal in Parish Hall (*Tuesday - Refreshments)
7:00 PM --Repeat of Morning Conference in Church
7:45 PM --Exposition, Rosary & Confessions (*Friday - Stations of the Cross & Confessions)
8:45 PM --Benediction (*Friday - No Benediction)
Please make an effort to come and see how we can better prepare for Easter.
Here's what the saints have to say about Prayer:
Singing is praying twice.
Singing is praying twice.
-St. Augustine
Prayer is to our soul what rain is to the soil. Fertilize the soil ever so richly, it will remain barren unless fed by frequent rains.
-St. John Vianney
Our Lord gives to souls of prayer a deep understanding of Himself.
He never deceives them.
-St. Peter Julian Eymard
When our hands have touched spices, they give fragrance to all they handle. Let us make our prayers pass through the hands of the Blessed Virgin. She will make them fragrant.
-St. John Vianney
Prayer is the bulwark of chastity.
-St. Gregory the Great
Vigilance and prayer are the safeguards of chastity. You should pray often and fervently to be preserved from temptations against purity, and for the grace to overcome them.
-St. John Baptist de la Salle
Prayer is necessary for salvation; and therefore God, who desires that we should be saved, has enjoined it as a precept.
-St. Alphonsus Liguori
Prayer should be accomplished by grace and not by artifice.
-St. Jane Frances de Chantal
Faith believes, hope prays, and charity begs in order to give to others. Humility of heart forms the prayer, confidence speaks it, and perseverance triumphs over God Himself.
- St. Peter Julain Eymard
If we are able to enter the church day and night and implore God to hear our prayers, how careful we should be to hear and grant the petitions of our neighbor in need.
-St. John the Almoner
-St. John Vianney
Our Lord gives to souls of prayer a deep understanding of Himself.
He never deceives them.
-St. Peter Julian Eymard
When our hands have touched spices, they give fragrance to all they handle. Let us make our prayers pass through the hands of the Blessed Virgin. She will make them fragrant.
-St. John Vianney
Prayer is the bulwark of chastity.
-St. Gregory the Great
Vigilance and prayer are the safeguards of chastity. You should pray often and fervently to be preserved from temptations against purity, and for the grace to overcome them.
-St. John Baptist de la Salle
Prayer is necessary for salvation; and therefore God, who desires that we should be saved, has enjoined it as a precept.
-St. Alphonsus Liguori
Prayer should be accomplished by grace and not by artifice.
-St. Jane Frances de Chantal
Faith believes, hope prays, and charity begs in order to give to others. Humility of heart forms the prayer, confidence speaks it, and perseverance triumphs over God Himself.
- St. Peter Julain Eymard
If we are able to enter the church day and night and implore God to hear our prayers, how careful we should be to hear and grant the petitions of our neighbor in need.
-St. John the Almoner
Love to pray. Take the trouble to pray. Prayer opens your heart until it is big enough to hold and keep God. We must know Jesus in prayer before we can see him in the broken bodies of the poor.
-Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Next week: Part Three - Fasting/Penance/Confession
Sunday, February 17, 2008
The Three Pillars of Lent..part one
The three traditional pillars of Lenten observance are prayer, fasting and almsgiving.Part One: Concerning Almsgiving
"I ask you one thing: do not tire of giving, but do not give your leftovers. Give until it hurts, until you feel the pain."
--Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Last week and this week, Fr. Hildebrand comments how important it is to give, especially during Lent and making a pledge in the Pastoral Services Appeal (PSA). The PSA will help the Catholic schools in need, Religious Educcation, Youth and Young Adult Ministry, Catholic Charities of OC, Detention Services, Catholic Deaf Community, Vocations, and many other ministries within the Diocese of Orange, as well as our very own Parish, SJB. When we give, we are not just helping others, but we, in return are helping ourselves too. Please give generously.
Watch the PSA Video:
http://www.rcbo.org/videos/videos/PSA_English.wmv
Online PSA Donations:
http://www.rcbo.org/donations/PSA/PSA_donations.php
Where it says: "Select Parish to Receive Credit For Your Gift", please scroll down and make sure to select: 2008 PSA St. John the Baptist Church
Pope Benedict XVI in his 2008 message for Lent said: "Almsgiving helps Christians conquer the constant temptation to become slaves to wealth and material goods." He continues, "Almsgiving helps us overcome this constant temptation, teaching us to respond to our neighbor's needs and to share with others whatever we possess through divine goodness." In another release, the pope said that the practice of almsgiving "represents a specific way to assist those in need and, at the time, an exercise in self-denial to free us from attachment to worldly goods."
Here's what catholic.org has said about almsgiving:
"It is a sign of our care for those in need and an expression of our gratitude for all that God has given to us. Works of charity and the promotion of justice are integral elements of the Christian way of life we began when we were baptized."
Here's are what the saints has said about almsgiving/charity:
"Charity begins today. Today somebody is suffering, today somebody is in the street, today somebody is hungry. Our work is for today, yesterday has gone, tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today to make Jesus known, loved, served, fed, clothed, sheltered. Do not wait for tomorrow. Tomorroe we will not have them if we do not feed them today."
--Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
"Charity unites us to God... There is nothing mean in charity, nothing arrogant. Charity knows no schism, does not rebel, does all things in concord. In charity all the elect of God have been made perfect."
--Pope St. Clement I
"Charity is the sweet and holy bond which links the soul with its Creator: it binds God with man and man with God."
--St. Catherine of Sienna
"One thing that I ask of you: Never be afraid of giving. There us a deep joy in givng, since what we receive is much more than what we give."
--Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Next week: Part Two - Prayer
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