Bishop Giles published this on facebook yesterday and it is so interesting and so worthy of our time that it's being posted here for you:



"I am in Atlanta and was reading St. Augustine. I find his interpretation of various scriptural numbers very interesting -- principally the numbers 7, 10, 40, 50. He states that there are many more interpretations that he does not have the time to mention. I began to wonder about the scourging of our Lord -- 40 less one. I know from other readings that to scourge more than 40 meant to scourge to death. It was considered the final death blow. Therefore, because they wanted to crucify Him, they limited the number to 39. There are ten commandments that we break in four ways (thought, word, deed, and -- the one everyone forgets -- omission) this makes a total of 40. Christ's scourging was not complete. His sacrifice (as St. Paul tells us) must be completed by us. Rather than have us die in making the necessary reparation for our sins, Jesus has taken 39 of our lashes leaving us to receive only one. This little bit of penance/sacrifice on our part fills up that which was lacking in Christ's sacrifice. Christ has died for us and offered a perfect sacrifice, but for that sacrifice to become applicable to us we must take the final blow ourselves. We must willingly (lovingly) embrace our daily crosses with Him. The sacrifices that God and the Church demand of us are nothing compared to what we actually deserve. Mathematically we might consider it 1/40th or a miniscule part. Considering this we are more convinced of the heinousness of our sins and the magnificent love of God for us. Truly we must see great cause for rejoicing in the wondrous life that God has given us, His love for us, and the ease that He creates for us to make reparation and return to Him."

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Sermon for April 20 - Bishop Giles, OFM
Third Sunday After Easter - Bishop Giles, OFM

Third Sunday After Easter - Bishop Bonaventure, OFM

Third Sunday after Easter - Holy Mass from Our Lady of the Rosary - Fr. Bernard, OFM

For a long time the parish priest of Moncada in Spain had
celebrated Mass without any scruples of conscience, when suddenly he
became the prey of a violent doubt as to whether he had been rightly
ordained. In his distress, to allay his doubts he determined to put
his case before his bishop. He immediately set out on foot and
journeyed to Valencia, the seat of the diocese. In this place it
pleased Almighty God to deliver him from his trouble, and to give him
light and peace by means of a very remarkable miracle.

The priest had been appointed to say Christmas Mass. He had reached
the awful moment of Consecration, and with trembling hands took the
host and pronounced the words of transubstantiation with a quivering
voice. As he raised the Sacred Host aloft, and knelt again in
trembling adoration, the cry of a little five-year-old child rang out
from the congregation: "O Mama, what a lovely child! See there, Mama!
He is up on the altar." A little lad nearby, apparently forgetful of
everything else, stood upon the chair and clapped his hands with joy.
The boy's mother was embarrassed and bade him hush, for no one else
had seen the vision of beauty; only the innocent child saw it when
the Sacred Host was raised on high. Again and again he entreated his
mother to look. "Such a beautiful child, Mama," he whispered, "just
like the little baby over there in the crib."

The mother and child awaited to hear a second Mass which was said by
the same priest at dawn, and again at the Elevation the little boy
exclaimed, "Oh, there he is again, Mama, don't you see? The priest is
holding him up in his hands and now he has laid him on the altar!" The
mother bade the child be silent; she could not see anything, the great
grace being granted only to her little son.

The priest completed the Christmas offering by saying the third Mass.
At the Elevation the boy was all excitement, and the same scene was
enacted as before. The happy mother repeated this strange occurrence
to others, and through them it reached the ears of the priest himself
who, it may be believed, was greatly comforted thereby. However, his
scruples were not entirely removed. He doubted whether the child
might not have been deceived, and therefore he requested that the
little boy be cross-examined by him. But the answers of the child
were so accurate that he found no reason to doubt the reality of the
manifestation. Full of joy and filled with gratitude towards God, he
invited the little boy and his mother to be present as often as
possible at his Mass, and on each occasion the miracle was renewed.
As doubts still lingered in his mind, he resolved to receive a final
convincing proof. Taking three particles with him to the altar, he
placed two upon the corporal and consecrated them, leaving the third
one unconsecrated but within reach. After Holy Mass was ended he
called the little boy to the altar, and asked him if he saw the
divine Infant in either of the particles, and, if so, in which. "Oh
yes, Father," said the boy, "there He is! See, He is stretching out
His hands." The little fellow seemed quite ravished with delight. On
pointing to the other host the priest asked: "And what about it? Is
the Divine Infant also in that other host?" The child answered, "No."
"But are you sure?" queried the priest. "Oh yes, Father, there is
nothing there." At the last manifestation the peace of the good
priest returned to him. Unrest and scruple vanished from his mind
forever, and for the remainder of his life he served God with greater
love and piety.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Third Sunday after Easter 21 April 2013

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

“In a little while…” Our lives here on earth (no matter how long) are but a little while. We must constantly remind ourselves to think of life from God’s perspective – the eternal perspective. When we think of the fleeting days that we have before us in comparison with the forever of eternity, we begin to appreciate these words of Our Lord.

Jesus also, speaks of sorrow and suffering in today’s Gospel. Strangely enough it is in sorrow and suffering that time seems to drag on the longest. In pain and suffering time seems to just stand still. Joy and pleasure seem to have the opposite effect upon us. They say: “time flies when you are having fun.” There is probably some natural psychological reason for this, but what concerns us more at this point is the spiritual or supernatural aspect.

Our souls long for joy and pleasure that is only to be found in God. St. Augustine confirms this in his Confessions “Our hearts are restless, O Lord, until they rest in You.” Contrariwise our souls flee from the pain and suffering of being separated from God, which is manifested in Hell.

In the presence of joy our souls experience no satiety, and so the time appears to rush by as we never tire and are ever eager for more. In the presence of pain and suffering we are ever eager for the end of the pain or suffering and so the time appears to drag out. In eternity there is no time. God lives in an eternal present. This is a difficult concept for us to fathom, but in considering the little while of this earth it seems a little more approachable.

In Heaven there will be no end to the joys. There will be no anxiety for the necessary end to our pleasures that we experience here on earth. In Hell there will be no end to the suffering, and so time will cease. There will be the experience of being stuck and never having an end to the misery. In either situation there is a continual experience of the same situation without end. Hence there is no time.

When we consider this situation of the soul in Heaven or Hell, we can appreciate just how short time is here on earth. We can make a somewhat feeble attempt to compare the temporary joys and sufferings of this life with the eternal joys and sufferings of the next life. There is joy for us either here or there, and there is suffering for us either here or there. The question is: do we want a temporary joy here and now or a permanent one in eternity, or do we want a temporary suffering here and now or a permanent one in eternity?

There are in this life some times of joy and some times of suffering, but in eternity it is one or the other. If we embrace the cross and the suffering now as Jesus invites us (Take up your cross daily and come follow Me) then we will find the eternal joy in Heaven. If we refuse the cross now then we will find eternal suffering in Hell.

We must have suffering here or there and the choice is in our own hands. A relatively short and temporal cross for eternal joy; or a relatively short and temporal joy for an eternal misery.

Jesus of course was speaking to the Apostles of his Death, Resurrection, and Ascension, each of which was truly just a little while. To us, however, He is encouraging us to persevere and not grow weary in our labors carrying our crosses; nor to become complacent and satisfied with the fleeting pleasures of this world. We must keep both the passing joys and sorrows of this life in perspective by contemplating the eternal rewards or punishments that await every one of us in eternity.

We must daily seek to increase our love of God and our desires to be with Him, counting the burdens and crosses of this world as nothing. The greatest suffering in this life cannot be compared to the eternal joys of Heaven. And the greatest joys of this world cannot be compared to what it is like to suffer eternally in Hell.

 


In Valpariso, Chile, at the beginning of the 20th century, Fr.
Mateo Crawley-Boevey SS, CC., well known as the great Apostle of the
Sacred Heart of Jesus, was a young priest. Fr. Mateo told this story
wherever he preached and he found that where people were prepared to
earn "three golden coins" with love, many graces were obtained and
many conversions followed.
He relates that one day an 8 year old girl told him that Jesus spoke
to her every time she received Holy Communion. Father was somewhat
skeptical and requested her to ask Jesus to give him proof. The proof
Father requested was the sudden conversion of a certain man who was a
big sinner, a fallen away Catholic, and enemy of the Church ... and
also that this man should come to him for Confession.
About a week later when Fr. Mateo was hearing confessions, the young
girl told him that this sinner was coming up to the church. As the
priest was leaving the confessional, the fallen away Catholic came
into the church and walked over to Fr. Mateo and asked him to help
him with his confession. He said that it was the first one since he
was baptized. He did not know what came over him that morning but he
suddenly understood the necessity of going to confession. Father
realized that he had received the proof he requested.
The young girl told the priest that Our Lord revealed to her that He
would give the graces to repent and mend his ways to this fallen away
Catholic, and also to many other souls. He said, "Always ask Me for
souls and I will give them to you, and tell Father Mateo to ask Me
for souls. I will give them to him, too, but first you must become My
missionary."
She thought she was too young to be a missionary. Our Lord assured
her that He would make her His missionary and that she would have to
pay a certain price for souls. "I want you," said Jesus, "to earn
three golden coins a day." Our Lord then explained what He meant by
golden coins.
1) The first golden coin was her prayers to Him for souls.
2) The second golden coin was her little sacrifices, especially acts
of obedience.
3) The third golden coin was a promise: "never to miss Mass or Holy
Communion through your own fault and to visit Me often in the Blessed
Sacrament."

Yesterday, we laid to rest a most pious and devout Catholic man by the name of Victor Evans.  Our Catholic faith has the most beautiful  Mass for the day of burial but this particular Mass  had the most beautiful and touching sermon given by Father Bernard.  There wasn't a dry eye in the entire church.
In addition to this, we used for the first time a booklet that one of our parish members assembled for use by people who attend the Mass on the day of burial.  It has the entire service including the Mass in logical order and it was so easy to follow.  The one part that struck me the most was the translation of the "Dies Irae, Dies Illa".  This is one of my personal favorites but I think you wil be particularly impressed with this translation:

Sequence:

Day of wrath, that final day,

Shall the world in ashes lay;

David, Sibyl, this display.

Most intense will be the fear,

When the Judge shall reappear;

For a judgment most severe.

Then shall trumpet’s wondrous tone

Sound through death’s sepulchral zone,

Forcing all before the throne.

Death and nature too shall quake,

As humans from dust awake;

To their Judge reply to make.

Then will written book appear,

Which records all deeds done here;

For the judgment hour is near.

Now before the Judge’s Throne,

Will each secret sin be known;

For them all, one must atone.

Wretched one, what shall I say,

To what patron can I pray,

When the just are in dismay.

Thou majestic dreaded King,

Piety’s perennial spring;

Our salvation freely bring.

Think, O Jesus, it was I,

Brought Thee to this earth to die,

Save me on that day, I cry.

Seeking me though faint with pain,

Saving by the cross, now deign,

That such labor be not vain.

Judge to punish, just Thou art,

Thy forgiveness now impart;

Ere the time of vengeance start.

Trembling culprit full of tears

Red my face with shame appears;

God spare suppliant me, in tears.

Who absolved the Magdalen,

And the thief from blackest sin;

Give me also hope again.

Mid the sheep,

O bid me stand,

Far from that rejected band;

Safely placed at thy right hand.

When the cursed,

By Thee addressed,

Go to flames at thy behest;

Call me then to join the blest.

Suppliant in prayer I bend,

Contrite as my breast I rend;

Help me reach to my last end.

Sorrowful shall be the day,

When guilty raised from clay,

Called to judgment must obey;

Save us Lord,

From that doom’s day,

In thy mercy Jesus blest,

Grant thy servants endless rest.

Amen

 

Good Shepherd Sunday - Bishop Giles, OFM