Your Catholic Sunday Homily Minute - Divine Mercy Sunday

From the Desk of Father Mark, Your Catholic Sunday Homily Minute

My Dear People,

Investing in Divine Mercy

The recent flooding of the local rivers has been very sobering to say the least. Our hearts and prayers go out to those who have lost family members, homes, and properties. It is a stark reminder that life is very short. We can lose all that we have and own, literally within hours. This teaches us the value of truly investing ourselves in the gifts that last into eternity.

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday. Mercy is a spiritual investment that goes forward into eternity. When we are merciful, we are investing in our spiritual portfolio. These are intangible gifts that prepare us for everlasting life. The material things of this world will pass away, but the things of the next world last forever. Be wise, be smart. Invest yourselves and your families in the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ. No one can steal this gift from you; not even the evil one. Take time to pray and ask for the plenary indulgence associated with Divine Mercy Sunday. On the day of your judgment before Our Lord Jesus Christ, you will be glad that you did so. Come spend and hour with Our Lord this Sunday. Rejoice and be glad.

May we always be ready to invest in the Divine Mercy of Our Lord Jesus Christ!

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,


Fr. Mark

St. Robert Bellarmine - Divine Mercy

St. Robert Bellarmine On Divine Mercy

"Return Mercy With Mercy"




BRIEFLY stated, dear Brethren, that is the subject
of today's Gospel. It teaches that divine
clemency and human gratitude should join in indissoluble
wedlock, and bring into this world the lovely
virtues of mercy and charity. Shakespeare compares
mercy to the "gentle rain from heaven," that
gentle downpour that renews the face of the
earth that steals through all earth's devious
windings back to the ocean, and thence back to
the skies whence it came. So, too, divine mercy if
it beget not in us love and mercy one for another
that mercy "that reacheth from end to end mightily,
and ordereth all things sweetly," if it be not exhaled
and returned whence it came, by grateful hearts, the
heavens become as unyielding as polished metal
and God's earthly kingdom an arid waste. For,
blessed are the merciful, and only the merciful, for
they alone shall obtain mercy.

-St. Robert Bellarmine

• More Saint Robert Bellarmine "How Suffering Results In Greater Charity"

Divine Mercy Chaplet and The Stations of The Cross

This is the best!

Being a devotee to the Divine Mercy I am thrilled to introduce to you Mark Mallett, professional singer and fellow blogger, and Fr. Don Calloway performance of the Divine Mercy Chaplet prayed to the Stations of the Cross.

The kids love it. I love it. The wife loves it.

Do yourself a favor, sit back, relax and enjoy this trailer.

Morphine, Mashed Potatoes and Dandelions . . .

"Oh, Dandelions Are The Best!"

Spring is coming on, and that got me thinking about dandelions and Mom.

Mom was very involved with the Drug Free Youth campaign. During her last three weeks battling lung cancer, however, Mom was in an incredible amount of pain and morphine became her friend.

A nurse gave her a hefty dose and was wheeling her away for another test. Mom said, "These days, morphine ranks right up there with mashed potatoes and dandelions."

Thinking she must be on a morphine high already, I said, "Mom, I get the mashed potatoes, but what's so great about dandelions?"

Mom said, "Oh, dandelions are the best! That's how you know you're loved, when your child brings you a handful of dandelions."

Mom never got many bouquets of roses in her lifetime, but she earned many bouquets of dandelions. When you get your first dandelion this spring, say a prayer for Mom, and most importantly, know that you are loved.

Mass Bloopers - "Yo Quiero Taco Bell"

This one will be hard to beat.

Many years back when we had an older sound system, it would sometimes pick up the drive-through window at the nearby Taco Bell.

Once, during Father's homily, we heard static and then "Ya, I'll have a burrito supreme and a..." more static and then it went away.

Father chuckled and said "But your ancestors ate manna in the desert..." We all had a good laugh!

Faithful Condom User Fallout

Nuclear Reaction to HLI Ad in Africa!

My Dear Friends,

I want to tell you about a most amazing project that HLI has initiated ... and then I need your immediate help so HLI can spread this truly life-saving program all over Africa!

First, let me tell you about the project. Last week we got the attention of those who promote "King Condom" in Tanzania (East Africa) ... big time! We did so when our HLI affiliate erected three billboards that featured a skeleton on a bright red background as the attention-grabber (image courtesy of American Life League) and used this title - written in Swahili so that the local population could read it - to drive home the truth about condom failure: "Faithful Condom User" [click here to see a picture of the billboard].

One large billboard was placed near a main road in the capital city of Dar es Salaam while two smaller versions were put up elsewhere in the city.

While we presumed that this message and graphic would be controversial, we didn't expect the international condom lobby to go utterly ballistic over it!

On Tuesday, the main newspaper in Tanzania, The Citizen, ran a story on our billboards. The article described people at "high-profile" anti-life organizations like United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, Family Health International, Population Services International and others as "up in arms" ... and government officials as "jolted." It said that the chairperson of the Tanzania Commission for AIDS was "furious" at HLI's billboards and told of meetings that were held with members of the Prime Minister's office to discuss an "urgent intervention" to suppress and censor our message!

When the power structure of an entire country is rallied against us, that's a sure sign that we're right!

Our billboards are telling the people the TRUTH about condoms ... and the heralds of the culture of death can't stand it!

Now that you see the impact our billboards are having, I need you to send HLI the largest gift you can so we can spread this program to every one of the 55 nations on the continent of Africa!

Mass Bloopers Catholic Answers Style

My wife keeps laughing every time she reads the Mass Bloopers thread at Catholic Answers Forums. So, I thought why not share the joy?

The first post I shall call,

"My Kind Of Priest"

We were attending Mass at a neighbouring parish in a truly awful "re-covated" church. A visiting priest was saying the Mass and in his homily he said:

"Churches such as these inspire me to pray.......to pray 'My God ! What have they done'?!"

Of course my first Mass Bloopers post wasn't even a blooper. Oh, well.

What Mass Bloopers do you remember? Post your comment.

Your Catholic Sunday Homily Minute - Easter Sunday

From the Desk of Father Mark, Your Catholic Sunday Homily Minute

My Dear People,

"HE IS RISEN!"

"He is Risen!" This the cry of the women at the tomb. It is also the cry of the Church for the "eight days" or octave of Easter. All of the beautiful Resurrection narratives are read at Holy Mass during this week of Easter. How blest we are to have walked the road of Calvary with Jesus. Now we walk the path of the Risen Christ.

To the Holy Apostles, He showed them His Hands and Feet. "Touch and BELIEVE!" Jesus tell Thomas. But, blest are they who have not seen and yet believe. That is us. Share in the joy of Our Risen Savior who has conquered all sin and death for us. Rejoice and be glad. He truly is risen from the dead...

May we give praise and glory to Jesus with our time, talent and our treasures.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,

Fr. Mark

Happy Easter - Archbishop Burke Easter Vigil Homily

Archbishop Raymond L. Burke preached the following homily at a Mass on Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008, at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis.

Praised be Jesus Christ, now and for ever. Amen.

Today, we celebrate with the deepest possible joy our life in Christ in the Church. We mystically return to the baptismal font at which we first came to life in Christ in His holy Church. We mystically return to the church in which our forehead was anointed with the sacred Chrism in the sacrament of Confirmation, strengthening and increasing the life of the Holy Spirit within us, and sealing indelibly our identity as members of the Church, true sons and daughters of God, temples of His Holy Spirit. And, finally, we mystically return to what must always be the happiest day in our lives, the day on which we made our first Holy Communion, receiving the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ into our very being, for the first time, as the heavenly food which both sustains us along the way of our earthly pilgrimage and is the pledge of the final destiny of our pilgrimage: the heavenly Jerusalem.

Today, we celebrate the great mystery of God the Father's love in our lives, His love which reached its fullest expression in the sending of Christ, His only-begotten Son, to us as our true brother; in Christ's taking upon Himself all of our sins by His suffering and dying, and in Christ's winning for us, in our human nature, the victory over sin and death, the victory of life without end, by His rising from the dead. With the apostle John, we stand before the empty tomb of the redeemer, and we believe the truth to which it and so many other signs infallibly point. Dom Prosper Guéranger, in his meditation on the visit of the apostles Peter and John to the empty tomb, helps us to reflect upon the great mystery we celebrate today, and all that it means for our daily living:

This glorious, happy morning has come, O Jesus! and great indeed is our gladness at seeing that this same sepulchre, whither we followed Thee with aching hearts, is now but the trophy of Thy victory! Thy precious wounds are healed! It was we that caused them; permit us to kiss them. Thou are now living, more glorious than ever, and immortal. And because we resolved to die to our sins, when Thou wast dying in order to expiate them, Thou willest that we, too, should live eternally with thee; that Thy victory over death be ours; that death should be for us, as it was for Thee, a mere passage to immortality, and should one day give back, uninjured and glorified, these bodies which are to be lent for a while to the tomb. Glory, then, and honor, and love, be to Thee, O Jesus! Who didst deign not only to die, but to rise again for us! (Dom Prosper Guéranger, The Liturgical Year, Vol. 7–Paschal Time, Book I, tr. Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B., Fitzwilliam, NH: Loreto Publications, 2000, p. 147 indeed, Christ rose from the dead to dwell with us always and to bring us, body and soul, to the glory which is now His at the right hand of the Father.

Through the Easter sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist, we experience personally and directly the abiding presence of our Risen Lord with us, the immeasurable and unceasing love of God for us in His only-begotten Son. We also experience personally and directly the mystery of God's love of us in the sacrament of Penance, in which we regularly meet Christ to confess our sins and to receive absolution. In the sacrament of Penance, Christ renews and restores the life of the Holy Spirit, which we have received in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, and He disposes our minds and hearts to receive His body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Holy Eucharist. Having listened to the preaching of Saint Peter to the household of the centurion Cornelius at Caesarea, we understand, from our own life in the Church, the meaning of his words: Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, "is the one appointed by God to judge the living and the dead," the one to whom "all the prophets bear witness." Through faith in Him, we have received and we receive "forgiveness of sins through His name" (Reading I).

By the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we celebrate today, Christ has brought us to life in Himself, in His Mystical Body, the Church; and He has poured out upon us, from His glorious pierced heart, the gift of His spirit, so that He might live in us throughout the days of our earthly pilgrimage, with our eyes and hearts ever fixed on our final destiny with Him, in the company of the angels and all the saints. Today, we rejoice, in the truth that "[our] life is hidden with Christ in God," through the sacraments, and we lift up our thoughts and affections to Christ, in order to live more deeply His Easter life within us (Reading II).

But what is living "with Christ in God," if not the piercing, the opening, of our own hearts, so that the love of Christ may pour forth as "living water" for all whom we meet, especially our brothers and sisters who are in most need (John 7:38)? Our mystical return, today, to our baptism, confirmation and First Holy Communion does not turn us inward, as if our deeply personal relationship with Christ could somehow exclude others. As we reflect today upon our living communion with Christ risen, we experience most strongly the dynamism of His life and love within us, drawing us outward in love of our neighbor. Pope Benedict XVI expressed succinctly and powerfully the reality of our life "hidden with Christ in God" when he declared: "Union with Christ is also union with all those to whom He gives Himself" (Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Deus caritas est, "On Christian Love," December 25, 2005, n. 14).

Recognizing the Risen Christ in our midst, above all, in the sacraments, we are drawn, with Him, to love those whom the world considers our "least brethren": the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the imprisoned, and all those who long for a sign of God's mercy and love in their lives. Professing our faith in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are reminded of the question raised to the Heavenly King, in the Parable of Last Judgment, by both the righteous and the condemned. Having heard the King declare their judgment, they wondered about when they had seen their Lord 'hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison" (Matthew 25:44; cf. Matthew 25:37-39). The response of the Heavenly King, the response of our Risen Lord, makes clear the dynamic mandate of our life with Him in God: "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me....Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me" (Matthew 25:40, 45).

Our participation in the Eucharistic sacrifice and our daily prayer united to our communion with our Eucharistic King are not foreign to our acts of charity. They are, in fact, the first and greatest acts of love for our brothers and sisters in need. The example of our Lord Himself and of all the saints teach us that our communion with Him is the source of every genuine act of love of neighbor. Referring to the heroic sanctity of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Pope Benedict XVI taught us:

Prayer, as a means of drawing ever new strength from Christ, is concretely and urgently needed. People who pray are not wasting their time, even though the situation appears desperate and seems to call for action alone. Piety does not undermine the struggle against the poverty of our neighbors, however extreme. In the example of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta we have a clear illustration of the fact that time devoted to God in prayer not only does not detract from effective and loving service to our neighbor but is in fact the inexhaustible source of that service (Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Deus caritas est, "On Christian Love," December 25, 2005, n. 36).

Prayer and the sacramental life are not only not foreign to our charity which is so urgently needed in the world. They are the one and only true source of Christlike charity which is pure and selfless.

As we now lift up our hearts to the glorious pierced heart of our Risen Lord in the Eucharistic sacrifice, let us lift up all our brothers and sisters who are suffering in any way: our innocent and defenseless brothers and sisters whose lives are threatened in the very first stages of their development; our brothers and sisters who have grown weak under the burden of special needs, serious illness, or advanced years; our brothers and sisters who are homeless and without food and drink; our brothers and sisters who are the victims of war and civil strife, and those who give their lives for the sake of peace in our local communities and among the nations of the world; our immigrant brothers and sisters who have come to us, seeking a better life for themselves and their families; our brothers and sisters who are in prison, especially those who have been condemned to death; our brothers and sisters who do not practice the faith or are held captive by habits of sin; in short, all of our brothers and sisters who need so much to know personally and directly the love of God for them in Jesus Christ who died and rose from the dead for us all. Through our prayer and, above all, our participation in the Eucharistic sacrifice, let us draw their hearts to the heart of Jesus, pierced by the soldier's spear on Calvary and now glorious in heaven, remaining always open to receive us, to give us healing, strength, joy, and peace.

Returning mystically to our encounter with Christ in the Easter sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist, let us recognize Him in our midst, offering anew the sacrifice of Calvary to sustain us during the days of our earthly pilgrimage and to bring us safely home to Him who is, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Let us lift up our hearts to His glorious pierced heart; let our hearts rest always in His Sacred Heart; and let us bring from His royal heart the "living water" of His divine love for all our brothers and sisters (John 7:38).

Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, have mercy on us.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of America and Star of the New Evangelization, pray for us.
Saint Louis of France, pray for us.
Saint Vincent de Paul, pray for us.
Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne, pray for us.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Last Supper Art Portrait

Artist: Ferdinand Roccanti

This artwork has hung over the fireplace for four years now. We Love It! If you are looking for an amazing work of art and even a better conversion story then check out Ferdinand Roccanti's
page.

Father Corapi Ask For Your Prayers

Update April 2, 2008. Father John Corapi has a parathyroid tumor!

Full Father John Corapi Update Here.

John Michael Note: It is true! This is confirmed by Father John Corapi's religious order, Society of Our Lady of the Most Blessed Trinity. Mass intentions are being accepted for Father Corapi's benefit. Here is the letter he wrote requesting prayers.

From: John Corapi
To: Stephanie

Dear Stephanie,

Thank you most sincerely for your very kind invitation regarding your May 30, 2008 Celebration of Priesthood. Normally I would be very happy to be there if it were possible.


I am at this moment waiting for a private jet to take me to the Mayo Clinic. I have been quite ill for over six months and the local physicians can't solve the riddle. In addition, for the first time in 20 years I am not traveling at all in 2008.

Please pray that God's will be done in my current situation.

We shall pray for your parish and diocese, your Bishop and all of your seminarians.

God bless you,

Fr. John Corapi


Mass Intentions Cards:
Fr. John Corapi, SOLT
PO Box 152
Robstown, TX 78380

St. Robert Bellarmine On Fasting

St. Robert Bellarmine On Five Advantages Of Fasting

1. "First, fasting is most useful in preparing the soul for prayer, and the contemplation of divine things, as the angel Raphael says: 'Prayer is good with fasting' (Tobit 12:8)"
2. "Another advantage of fasting is that it tames the flesh; and such a fast must be particularly pleasing to God, because He is pleased when we crucify the flesh with its vices and concupiscences, as St. Paul teaches us in his letter to the Galatians; and for this reason, he himself says, "But I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway' (Gal 5:24, 1 Cor 9:27)."
3. Another advantage is that we honor God by our fasts when we fast for His sake. Thus the apostle Paul speaks in his letter to the Romans: 'I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable service' (Romans 12:1). In the Greek, "reasonable service" (logiken latreian) is "reasonable worship"; and St. Luke speaks of this worship when mentioning the prophetess Anna: 'And she was a widow until fourscore and four years, who departed not from the temple, by fasting and prayers serving night and day' (Lk 2:37)
4. A fourth advantage of fasting is that it is a satisfaction for sin. Many examples in Scripture prove this. The Ninivites appeased God by fasting, as Jonah testifies. The Jews did the same, for by fasting with Samuel, they appeased God and gained victory over their enemies (1 Sam 7:8-10). The wicked king Ahab, by fasting and sackcloth, partly satisfied God (1 Kings 21:27-28).
5. Lastly, fasting is meritorious, and is very powerful in obtaining favors. Anna, the wife of Elcanor, although she was barren, deserved by fasting to have a son (1 Sam 7, 20). So St. Jerome, in his second book against Jovinian, thus interprets these words of Scripture: 'She wept and did not take food, and thus Anna, by her abstinence, deserved to bring forth a son' Sarah, by a three days' fast, was delivered from a devil, as we read in the book of Tobit (Tobit 3:10, 8:3).
   

"But there is a remarkable passage in the Gospel of St. Matthew on fasting: 'But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head and wash thy face, that thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father, who is in secret; and thy Father, who seeth in secret, will repay thee' (Mt 6:17:18). The words 'will repay thee' signify 'will give thee a reward,' for they are opposed to these other words: 'For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to fast. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.' Wherefore hypocrites, by their fasting, receive their reward: human praise; the just, by fasting, receive their reward also: divine praise."

Live Well, Die Holy: The Art of Being a Saint, Now and Forever, St. Robert Bellarmine, Sophia Press pgs. 57-62

Do NOT Receive Holy Communion This Easter ! ! !

From the Desk of Father Mark, Your Catholic Sunday Homily Minute

My Dear People,

No Confession This Year?
No Communion

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the holiest of all the weeks in our Church calendar. For 40 days we have prayed, fasted, and completed penances to rid ourselves of sin. The Church still requires a yearly confession call your "Easter Duty". Anyone not going to confession during the past year, is not free to receive communion at Easter. The Church makes NO exceptions. If you plan to receive Holy Communion next weekend, please see to it that you go to confession. Otherwise, the sin piles up even higher.

God is merciful and most forgiving...but we must receive absolution in the confessional first. We cannot sit at home, alone, and expect to be cleansed of our wrongdoings. If you cannot go to confession, please respect Our Lord's Eucharistic presence and do not receive Him in Communion. It is the very least that we can do to respect Our Lord, His Passion and Resurrection.

May we give praise and glory to Jesus with our time, talent and our treasures.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,


Fr. Mark


John Michael Note: Father Mark, a spiritually gifted and courageous priest, writes short weekly Catholic homily reflections for his Church bulletin. A little tidbit to know this week as the title can come across a little strong, is that they are my creation.

Saint Robert Bellarmine; Calling Drunkards To Holiness

St. Robert Bellarmine Quote

This is a Lenten mission the good Cardinal Bellarmine gave while teaching. Strong words. Take a minute, sit back and enjoy.

Brethren, there is one sin at which this Lenten mission aims; the worship of the false god, Bacchus, the Greek god of wine and intoxication. Some say it is a modern vice, but no, it dates back to the Deluge. Bacchus was worshiped in the Egypt of the Ptolemies, and in ancient Greece and Rome nations, mind you, now extinct or fallen under Turkish sway. The Roman Senate once forbade this worship an eloquent contrast to Christian governments that foster it and license it.

It is safe to say, in fact, that Bacchus gets more votaries from Christians than from Pagans. They point to us with scorn. Every Christian drunkard delivers to the Gentiles once again the Son of man to be mocked and scourged and spit upon. Ah! when we think how often and how many celebrate the feast of Bacchus a double feast of the first class, with a vigil and an octave have we not good cause to fear the history of Jerusalem's destruction will repeat itself?

The drunkard is guiltier than the Saviour's crucifiers, for they were irresponsible fanatics, but he deliberately blinds his reason face to face with sin "a double crime," says Aristotle, "deserving double punishment," a crime once under ban of excommunication in the Church. Drunkenness is such folly that, unlike most sins, its very motive is irrational. Every sense will crave its proper object, but that object in excess destroys the sense. The eye craves light, but not the direct rays of the sun; the ear craves sound, but not the shock of an explosion; and an overindulged taste forfeits its power of enjoyment. I will not deny, a little wine may please and benefit betimes, but only as St. Paul prescribes: " a little and that, too, only when necessary for the stomach's sake and one's manifold infirmities." There is danger always, lest, from small libations, one become a too fervent worshipper of Bacchus. "Their God," says St. Paul, "is their belly."

A certain fish discovered by Aristotle has its heart in its stomach, and is called the seadonkey. The drunkard shares the characteristics of that lowly animal; his heart is where his treasure is: he is lazy, stupid, lustful, and open only to one argument a club. He lacks the higher qualities of the brute a healthy appetite for water and the power of judging when he has enough. Talk to him of God and his soul of the Mission or of Lent, and notwithstanding Nature has given Him generous ears, he cannot hear, he cannot understand. But talk to him of banquet halls and liberal potations, and lo, with ears erect, he is eager to begin. The Holy Ghost and Christ, the Doctors of his soul, denounce the drug as deadly, and though the bottle bear the death's head label, he will drink it, come what may.

Our life is warfare, and, says St. Paul, "whoever strives for the mastery, refrains him from all such noxious things, that weaken us or stupefy." Our adversary, the devil, knows no rest and it behooves us, lest we be surprised, to be sober and to watch. Drunkenness led to Noah's shame and his curses on his family; drunkenness caused Lot's crime and Samson's downfall; it led the Israelites to adore the golden calf, and through it Holofernes lost his head. " Drunkenness" says St. Basil, " is the ruiner of reason, the waster of our body's strength, it is premature old age and in a little while it is death."

Saint Robert Bellarmine Quote Calling Drunkards To Repentance

A Wee Bit O' Irish Fun

In honor of all of our Irish (and not-so-Irish) friends out there...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sook Cow!

Time to feed the cows. "Sook cows," was the phrase we used to get their attention. Why? Who knows. If you do let me know.

The title is a little misleading because my RSS Feeds are updated. It came to my attention that the Google Reader wasn't working. Oops, sorry.

Here are my feeds.

Go ahead and subscribe. If you have issues let me know.

Subscribe

Rmail

Peace ;)

Your Catholic Sunday Homily Minute - 4th Sunday of Lent

From the Desk of Father Mark,

My Dear People,

Martha & Peter's Confession of Faith

Rising from the dead, is the theme of today's Gospel. Lazurus was seriously ill and died before Jesus could see him. Martha and Mary were mourning the death of their brother, when Jesus arrived on the scene. Lazarus had been dead for four days. Martha greets Jesus upon His arrival. She says, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would never have died. God will give you whatever you ask of "Him". Jesus says to Martha, "Your brother will rise again." "I know he will rise, in the Resurrection on the last day", says Martha. Jesus asks Martha if she truly believes this. She replies, YES! "I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."

Peter gives this same confession of faith to Jesus. For a woman to confront Jesus, and acknowledge His Authority, was a powerful statement on the part of the Gospel writer. Like St. Peter, St. Martha confesses her faith for our sake as well. Both Peter and Martha stand in for us. As we draw closer to Easter, give your YES to Our Lord.

May we live our lives in the light of the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ!

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,

Fr. Mark

How will Satan attack you?

It's An Honor!!!

A special thanks to Easter A at Mostly Prayers for letting me know that I make the world a better place. It is an honor to be honored by such a special blogger!

I pass this award on to all of the bloggers at Catholic Dads.

Our Penance Service

We had about a third of our parish show up for a penance service. How active is your Church in the confessional?

How Many People Show Up To Yours?

Post your comment below. I would love to read it.

Your Catholic Sunday Homily Minute - 4th Sunday of Lent

From the Desk of Father Mark, Your Catholic Sunday Homily Minute

My Dear People,

Rediscover The Freedom Of The Ten Commandments

A "Garmin" is a GPS satellite device that tracks your position via space co-ordinates. It tracks your exact longitude and latitude. When you desire to go somewhere, you simply feed the proper co-ordinates, and within a few moments, it points you in the right direction. It even lets you know when you are off track. Can't beat that for not losing your way around town. From the Book of Exodus, we find Yahweh giving correct co-ordinates leading the Jew back home. Moses was their external guide. In fact, the word "exodus" in Hebrew means "from the way".

Using the Ten Commandments as their proper co-ordinates, the Jews stayed on course as long as they were obedient to the Ten Commandments. They lost "the way when they chose to ignore them. We are no different. We, like the Jews in the desert, will stay on course as long as we remain obedient to the "Way of the Lord!" If you have gotten off course, rediscover the freedom of the Ten Commandments.

May we worry less about our worldly appearance and instead, spend more time building a relationship with God.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,
Fr. Mark

A Guadalupe Prayer

Dearest Mother of Heaven and of earth
Wrapped in the Mystery of the Universe
Stars sparkling, twinkling, radiating His Glory
Interceding for all your Children of the world.

Golden rays emanating from the brightest Star
The Son of God – Jesus Christ – Emmanuel
You stand in prayer with head bowed down
Your eyes fixed on your servants Juan and your Bishop son.

Dearest Mother-to-be with the Child Jesus in your womb
You, the virgin – mother chosen as God’s monstrance
Carry the Hidden Christ Child to be Adored
Blessed Mother, how privileged are we to behold God’s Glory.

Your embossed golden gown speaks of royalty
Your teal mantle trimmed with finest gold
Adorned with stars of glimmering hope
Blessed Mother, Mary, pray for us.

By Judy

A Touching Eulogy From A Family Friend

Blogger note: This is the most touching eulogy. How hard it must have been to write it. This is a dear friend of ours.

May eternal rest grant unto him o Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

It is with enormous sadness that I tell you my father Steve passed away in the early afternoon of Wednesday, February 27. My dad had suffered a brain hemorrhage Saturday night but was able to recognize and communicate with all of his family. He had paralysis on his left side but was moved out of ICU Sunday evening. Early Wednesday morning, he became unresponsive after he started to hemorrhage again and was rushed back to ICU. With all of his family at his side, he passed away peacefully just after noon on Wednesday. My dad was not in any pain, and we are so thankful that we all had a chance to say goodbye.


In the last few years, my dad had endured several medical challenges including six heart bypasses in December 2006. With courage and determination along with a truly incredible and compassionate doctor, he triumphed through all of those episodes. He was a happy man throughout and retained a good quality of life right up until Saturday night. Nothing made him happier than to spend time with his family and especially his burgeoning grandchildren. We just recently celebrated my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary with dinner at our house with the rest of our family. He continued to rave about how much he enjoyed that evening.


My dad was the greatest man I will ever know. He lived his entire life for his family. As a WWII veteran in the Army Air Force, he served his country with great distinction. He served over 45 years in the Federal government before retiring in 1981. His kindness, thoughtfulness, heroism, friendship, and unconditional love touched countless lives over his 89 years on this earth. The lessons he taught me and the values he instilled in me will remain all the days of my life. While we are all devastated by this tremendous loss, we are blessed that we have endless, beautiful memories of my dad. He knew how much we loved him, and we knew how much he loved us. That love remains stronger than ever as he watches over all of us from heaven.


Our sincerest thanks to all of you for your thoughts, prayers, and support. That will continue to sustain us through this difficult time. With all our gratitude…

Catholic Lenten Prayer

“LORD, as we begin this way of the cross, help us to join You in Your passion so that we may be lifted up in Your Resurrection.

Thank you, Jesus, for this opportunity to know You in Your suffering more intimately and through You be more united with suffering humanity.

May the spiritual steps we take in accompanying You, Jesus, in the way of the cross lead us closer to You and through You to the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Mary, Blessed Mother, grace us with your faithfulness, your perseverance, and your hope, by clinging to God’s promises so that we, too, may be faithful, persevering and full of hope.

We pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen”

Author: Father Ed and Judy

Saint Robert Bellarmine Quote - "Turn To Him"

"Turn To Him"
St. Robert Bellarmine

Turn then to Him, thou Peter, though thou hast denied Him thrice, turn to Him weeping bitterly.

Turn to Him, thou Magdalen, and learn to love Him much and much will be forgiven.

Arise, thou prodigal! No more of husks or swinish company, but arise and return to your Father. Doubt you how He will receive you? Ah! see His arms stretched out ready to embrace you; behold His bosom whereon to lay your weary head with tears of joy and thankfulness; hear His angels rejoicing because you who were lost are found, you who were dead are come to life again.


"Come to Me" He says, "come to Me all ye that labor with temptation and I will fortify you with sin-resisting grace; come to Me all ye that are heavy-laden with sin and I will refresh you with forgiveness; come to Me and you shall find peace for your souls."

Saint Robert Bellarmine, Doctor of the Church

Clinic Uses Same Syringe On Patients!

We had a family member go to this clinic. Read what I highlighted.

Was this done on purpose? This is crazy, crazy. Please pray for the family member, especially for the gift of forgiveness.

Vegas Clinic Patients May Have Been Exposed to Disease

Vegas Clinic Patients May Have Been Exposed to DiseaseA Las Vegas clinic may have infected a handful of patients with hepatitis C, and some 40,000 more should be tested for the blood-borne virus, health officials said Wednesday."

A Las Vegas clinic may have infected a handful of patients with hepatitis C, and some 40,000 more should be tested for the blood-borne virus, health officials said Wednesday.

Thousands of locals now have to get tested for possible exposure to Hepatitis C and other dangerous diseases. It is the largest Hepatitis scare in Nevada history.

The word came today from the Southern Nevada Health District. The patients had procedures done at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada.

SNHD officials say they first learned of the problem in early January, when a routine investigation process found that practitioners at the Endoscopy Center were using the same syringe on more than one patient -- exposing those patients to the blood of other patients.

"Hepatitis C is the worst of the infections." Dr. Mel Pohl is a local physician, and medical director of the Las Vegas Recovery Center. He outlines the risks at least six patients face after they contracted Hepatitis C while undergoing procedures at the Endoscopy Center.

"The virus infects people, they get liver inflammation, it can be Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and there's a number of other letters associated," said Pohl.

As many as 40,000 others are being advised to be tested for the virus.

An investigation by the SNHD found that, "Unsafe injection practices, related to the administration of anesthesia medication might have exposed patients to the blood of other patients."

"The decision to notify such a large number of people and to recommend testing is based on an identified public health risk, and out of concern for the long term health of those that may have been infected," said Dr. Lawrence Sands, Chief Health Officer with the Southern Nevada Health District.

"During the course of the investigation, we identified serious problems with the center's injection practices. We found the re-use of syringes on a patient and the re-use of vials labeled for single patient use. The combination of these two practices could have exposed patients to the blood of other patients," said Brian Labus with the Southern Nevada Health District.

A spokesman for the endoscopy center was also on hand for the news conference -- to express the center's concern for its patients, and to say the health threatening situation has been corrected.

"The recent events related to the district's study marks the first time anything like this has happened at our facility. We have taken steps to ensure it will never happen again," said Dr. Eladio Carrera with the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada.

While those words may be of little comfort to the patients exposed to the viruses during the time frame of March 2004 and January 11th 2008, Dr. Pohl says there is still some hope for those who've been infected.

"Hepatitis C is very serious. It can lead to liver damage and even liver cancer. HIV can lead to AIDS and that can be potentially fatal. But again, people are living longer and longer with that disease," said Pohl.

Health officials are also recommending that Endoscopy Center patients also be tested for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Meanwhile, the notification of the estimated 40,000 patients who may have been exposed to disease, is the largest patient notification effort in the nation.

This won't be pretty. :(

Sacramental Power - A Scourge To The Devil

The Sacraments are a great scourge to the devil. When used in faith they are a great torment to him and his demons. The saints know this.

I recall one saint was walking and a possessed soul walked toward him. Immediately the demon in this sojourner recognized this humble and pure saint and verbally attacked him. Realizing the situation the saint calmly and confidently placed his scapular around the travelers neck. Instantly the demon was expelled from the poor traveling soul, never to come back again.

That Is Sacramental Power

Here is a story I will share.

My wife and I were in an verbal argument. During the heavy "discussion" my wife, in her great wisdom, sprinkled holy water around the house. The instant she did this the argument stopped in mid- sentence and peace was restored in the house.

God is good.

Do you have any stories about the power of sacramentals?
Please do share.


Blogger Note: Is this picture of Jesus miraculous?

Your Catholic Sunday Homily Minute - 3rd Sunday of Lent

From the Desk of Father Mark, Your Catholic Sunday Homily Minute

My Dear People,

Jesus Pursues Your Love

Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. How could He not know our mind and heart? This is never more evident, than it is in today's Gospel. The woman at the well is a classic encounter between God and man. When Jesus asks the woman for a drink, He is inviting her into a deeper walk with Him. She misunderstood. For Our Lord to know all about her life, was an indication of His deep desire for her love. Jesus pursues her love. She responds, after the question and answer session draws to a close, Jesus declares, "I AM He, the Messiah you have been awaiting."

We are like the woman at the well. We presume that we must seek Christ. We believe that it is our task to search for His Love. We think that this is all of "our doing". Nothing could be further from the truth. If we have a "hunger" to know the Lord, it is only because HE has begun the process. Jesus is the source of our desire to know, love, and serve Him. Be like the woman at the well. Have a profound hunger for Our Lord this Lent!

May we use our many talents, blessings and resources to help bring Jesus to all those who hunger and thirst for His Love.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,


Fr. Mark

What else does Father Mark have with your Catholic Homily Minute?

Do You?

Do you abstain from meat on Fridays?

Not just during Lent, but the entire year?

Some form of Friday penance is mandated throughout the year by the USCCB.

This shocked me when I found out.

How about you?

On Penance and Abstinence

taken from the USCCB

For these and related reasons, the Catholic bishops of the United States, far from downgrading the traditional penitential observance of Friday, and motivated precisely by the desire to give the spirit of penance greater vitality, especially on Fridays, the day that Jesus died, urge our Catholic people henceforth to be guided by the following norms:

1. Friday itself remains a special day of penitential observance throughout the year, a time when those who seek perfection will be mindful of their personal sins and the sins of mankind which they are called upon to help expiate in union with Christ Crucified;

2. Friday should be in each week something of what Lent is in the entire year. For this reason we urge all to prepare for that weekly Easter that comes with each Sunday be freely making of every Friday a day of self-denial and mortification in prayerful remembrance of the passion of Jesus Christ;

3. Among the works of voluntary self-denial and personal penance which we especially commend to our people for the future observance of Friday, even though we hereby terminate the traditional law of abstinence as binding under pain of sin, as the sole prescribed means of observing Friday, we give first place to abstinence from flesh meat. We do so in the hope that the Catholic community will ordinarily continue to abstain from meat by free choice as formerly we did in obedience to Church law. Our expectation is based on the following considerations;

a. We shall thus freely and out of love for Christ Crucified show our solidarity with the generations of believers to whom this practice frequently became, especially in times of persecution and of great poverty, no mean evidence of fidelity in Christ and his Church.

b. We shall thus also remind ourselves that as Christians, although immersed in the world and sharing its life, we must preserve a saving and necessary difference from the spirit of the world. Our deliberate, personal abstinence from meat, more especially because no longer required by law, will be an outward sign of inward spiritual values that we cherish. Every Catholic Christian understand that the fast and abstinence regulations admit of change, unlike the commandments and precepts of that unchanging divine moral law which the Church must today and always defend as immutable. This said, we emphasize that our people are henceforth free from the obligation, traditionally binding, under pain of sin in what pertains to Friday abstinence, except as noted above for Lent. We stress this so that no scrupulosity will enter into examinations of conscience, confessions, or personal decisions on this point.

Your Catholic Sunday Homily - Second Sunday of Lent

From the Desk of Father Mark,

My Dear People,

Jesus Is My Son!

When Jesus was "transfigured" before Peter, James and John, He again receives approval from His Father in Heaven. God the Father says, "This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!" Seldom do we hear the Father speaking in the Sacred Scriptures. When we do, His words are very significant. Abraham, Moses and Elijah were but a few who were privileged to encounter God the Father. They too heard Him speak. His words are noteworthy. Jesus is my Son, a pre-Trinitarian revelation. I am very pleased and delighted in Him. The WORD Jesus speaks are MINE! Be attentive and heed MY WORD in Him. WOW! We have an intimacy that the Father shares with us in His only Son, Jesus Christ.

WE can be assured that when the Son speaks, the Father is speaking through Him as well. This is why Peter can confess for us at the time of the Eucharistic Teachings in John chapter six, "to whom shall we go Lord, YOU have the WORDS of everlasting life." Lent is a time to seek the intimate presence of the Lord. Holy Scripture is a sound spiritual way to "encounter" the Lord. Dust off your Bibles. Open them, read them this Lenten season. Pick a favorite book and read a little each day. Come to know God the Father's love for us in His Holy Word!

May we trust in the Lord by putting our time, talent and treasure into His hands.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,


Fr. Mark


What else does Father Mark reveal in his Catholic Homily Minute?

A Lenten Examination Of Conscience

Who Else Needs A Fruitful Examination Of Conscience?

By fruitful I mean a real examination of conscience, one that's not watered down. Well, here you go. This one comes from Father Mark of Your Sunday Catholic Homily.

• First of go here for the list of Mortal Sins. Sorry, but you don't get to skip this one.

• Now you can follow that up with the list of Venial Sins.

Tell me what you think!

Jesuits Being Called Out For Holiness

Blogger Note: This is a hard hitting article challenging the Jesuits to
return to their founder's mission.

Questions St. Ignatius Would Ask the New Jesuit General

St. Ignatius Loyola would undoubtedly
be happy that a fellow Spaniard, Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, is once again
at the helm of the Society of Jesus, but I doubt St. Ignatius would be
happy about the state of his order at this moment in church history.
While I have a healthy respect for the many good Jesuits I have known,
I can’t be as optimistic about their ability to pull off an internal
reform that would make this company, once known as the pope’s shock
troops, the pre-eminent force of orthodoxy and spiritual renewal in the
world. For this to happen, the Jesuits will need strong, decisive leadership—in
other words, Fr. Nicolás has his work cut out for him.

Fr. Nicolás has received
his share of accolades for his 40 years of missionary work and solid character,
but the “hard questions” have yet to be asked, and his accountability
is not merely to the Catholics waiting for a resurrection of this order,
but also to St. Ignatius himself, who will undoubtedly be posing the hardest
questions of all. I believe that the answers to these questions are what
will make or break our confidence in the new General’s leadership.

First and foremost, Ignatius
would ask if he was planning to use his authority to return Jesuit
universities to orthodoxy. The list of Jesuit university horror stories
is simply appalling to any decent Catholic let alone a saint like Ignatius.
When I was in Ecuador last November, the Jesuit university in Quito sponsored
a seminar on the “Theology of Che Guevara” (the radical companion
of Fidel Castro) as a legitimate public lecture. In America the horrors
range from ten Jesuit universities sponsoring the despicable V-Monologues
on campus this year, others hosting gay and lesbian student groups, one
giving scholarships for training in pro-abortion activism and many others
bestowing honorary degrees and speaking platforms to pro-abortion politicians
in commencement ceremonies. What will be done about this?

Second, Ignatius would want
to know whether Fr. Nicolás will discipline dissenting theologians
in their ranks before the US Bishops or the Vatican have to. Fr.
Peter Phan of Georgetown is the most recent example, but other “theologians”
like ex-priest Daniel McGuire at Marquette and at least one Jesuit “ethicist”
who endorsed the killing of Terri Schiavo are outright predators on the
faith of young souls and need to be removed. Then there is the nagging
scandal of deceased Jesuit, Robert Drinan. Fr. Drinan was a US Congressman
in the 70s with a 100% pro-abortion voting record and was never once disciplined
by his superiors for his blatantly heretical positions. In fact, he was
so benignly pardoned by his superiors that Georgetown Law School rewarded
him with an honorary Endowed Chair for human rights!

Third, what will be done to
purge the Jesuits of its misfits, Ignatius would ask. For a starter,
Fr. Nicolás could show his seriousness in reform by suspending
and removing from office Fr. Michael McFarlane, president of Holy Cross
College in Worcester, Massachusetts, who flagrantly disobeyed the directive
of Bishop Robert McManus not to allow a pro-abortion group to meet on
campus. Better yet, he should remove Fr. McFarlane’s Provincial
who stood by in silent assent to this disgraceful conduct. He might also
clean up the ranks of the Jesuit sex offenders who have cost various Jesuit
Provinces more than $60 million in lawsuits in the past decade, including
the largest single payout from a religious order in history for more than
a hundred victims.

Jesuits ranks have thinnedfrom 38,000 Jesuits worldwide in 1965 to
about half that number today.Their average age is rising and their
seminaries are anything but full.There is a reason for that: lack of
orthodoxy coupled with toleration of dissent and misconduct
in the ranks. Only strong leadership and a return
to discipline will restore the Jesuits to their position as the world’s
pre-eminent defenders of the Faith—and, like the rest of us, St.
Ignatius will surely be watching.

Sincerely
Yours in Christ,


Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,

President, Human Life International

Your Sunday Catholic Homily - First Sunday of Lent

From the Desk of Father Mark - Your Sunday Catholic Homily Minute


My Dear People,

Satan Will Attack You!

The temptations of Christ in the desert teach us a lot about ourselves. Our Lord always carries our cross before we do. Special graces abound during Lent. The devil knows this. We must protect these extra-ordinary blessings in advance. The devil's attacks will come in three ways. First, we will be attacked through our five senses. Then, we will be attacked through our pride. And lastly, we will be attacked through our desire to honor and adore Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Without a good and holy confession, we do not stand a chance in these attacks. Confession cuts us to mend, by the holy hand of Jesus our Divine Physician. Don't put off confession this Lent. Come often to receive this necessary protection of Our Lord to fight the good fight. Included in this week's bulletin, is a good examination of conscience. Use this holy tool to prepare well for a good and holy confession this Lent. May we always use wisely, the sacramental graces of the Catholic Church.

Entrusting you to the care of Our Lady,

Fr. Mark



Go Here To Get The Best of Father Mark's Short Homilies

Praying For God's Intention

Do you ever try to pray for the intentions God wants you to pray for?

I try to. It's simple. You just take the messages God gives you naturally and make that your prayer intention.

Here is your example. I accidentally slit both of my wrist. One unsuccessfully trying to catch a ten pound box of saran wrap, got it pretty good. It looks like the real deal. The other is a burn from a hot piece of metal.

My prayer intention? For those people fighting depression and contemplating suicide.



Do you have some examples? Leave a comment.