Tag Archives: mercy

Family Devotion to the Two Hearts

11 Friday Jun 2021

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Two Hearts_01

Today, the Church celebrates the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and tomorrow, the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Friday, June 11 and Saturday, June 12, 2021). Devotion to both the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart is encouraged three times in the Fatima message.

First, in the spring of 1916, the Angel of Peace spoke these words to the three children of Fatima: “The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications.”

Again in the summer of 1916, the Angel says: “The Holy Hearts of Jesus and Mary have merciful designs for you.”

Finally, in the fall of 1916, the angel dictates a prayer to the children which in part says: “And I draw upon the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary that You might convert poor sinners.”

In addition, on several occasions, Jesus told Sister Lucia that He desired adoration of both hearts.

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Divine Mercy Sunday 2021

11 Sunday Apr 2021

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Divine Mercy JPII Faustina

St. John Paul II and St. Faustina Praying to the Image of Divine Mercy

Today, the Church celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday. St. John Paul II instituted this feast on April 30, 2000 when he canonized St. Faustina Kowalska. Jesus instructed St. Faustina to create the now famous image showing two rays of light radiating from His heart and illuminating the world. “The two rays,” Jesus explained to her, “represent blood and water.”

Following is the Regina Caeli written by St. John Paul II just before his death:

Feast of Divine Mercy
Second Sunday of Easter, 3 April 2005

Pope John Paul II died peacefully on the evening of 2 April, 9:37 p.m. Rome time. The last gift of the Holy Father for Divine Mercy Sunday, 3 April (also the Second Sunday of Easter), was the Regina Caeli, read by Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, Substitute of the Secretariat of State, at the end of the Holy Mass celebrated that day in St Peter’s Square for the deceased Pope. “I have been charged”, Archbishop Sandri said, “to read you the text that was prepared in accordance with his explicit instructions by the Holy Father John Paul II. I am deeply honoured to do so, but also filled with nostalgia”.

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The Way of the Cross: Path to Joy

04 Sunday Apr 2021

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The Resurrection_Andrea Mantegna, 1459

The Resurrection
Andrea Mantegna, c. 1459

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Halleluiah!

On this day that Jesus burst forth from the tomb, conquering sin and death, it is important to comprehend and appreciate what He has done for us by dying on the cross. Let us begin with prayer:

Lord, help me to understand the cross. Help me to comprehend all that Christ has done for me in dying for the forgiveness of my sins. Lord, give me grateful awe as I ponder the mystery of the cross. Give me the grace to respond to your generosity by giving you my all, my very life, for your love and mercy are beyond compare. I ask this through Christ Jesus, Amen.

To begin to understand Christ’s willingness to suffer and die for you, imagine heaven. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are looking at you with unimaginable love. They are discussing your life, how you have sold yourself into sin and slavery. They see you lost and without hope, heading to eternal destruction. The Father speaks, “Who will bring him back?” The eternal Son of God, robed in majesty and splendor, immediately responds, “I will go.” The Holy Spirit realizes what this will cost. God’s magnificent plan for your salvation is set into motion. The Son leaves heaven to be nailed to a cross…for you!

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Spiritual Checkup: Fifth Sunday of Lent

21 Sunday Mar 2021

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This Lent we invited you to go on mission, to take a spiritual checkup of the depth of your love for God. We have been using this key passage from Scripture to guide our reflection:

And one of [the Pharisees], a lawyer, asked [Jesus] a question, to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” And [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.” Matthew 22:35-40 (emphasis added)

During the first four weeks of Lent, we examined the first and great commandment (1st week, 2nd week, 3rd week, 4th week). Today, we look at the second commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt 22:39).

Jesus commanded His disciples to “Love one another even as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). It is through the love of Christ that we can love our neighbor, even the one that we find most irksome. Jesus also told His disciples, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (19:26). To be able to love as God loves, we must know God intimately. St. John the Evangelist tells us, “He who does not love does not know God; for God is love” (1 Jn 4:8).

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Pray for Our Nation and Our Families

17 Sunday Jan 2021

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heal-our-land

We are living in tumultuous times in the United States. We are a divided nation; there is no common ground to rally around. The very existence of our country as founded is on shaky ground. Our nation has been besieged by unrest and rioting. A dark cloud of division and strife is covering our land. Families are crumbing at an alarming rate. We are living in a time of despair, despondency, and hopelessness. Let us rise up and call out to God to heal our nation and our families.

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” Matthew 8:23-25

This story from scripture is not about the storm. As in our lives, the biggest issue is not the crisis. The issue at hand is whether we are trusting in the Lord to bring us through the storms of life. An even bigger issue is whether we can trust in Jesus for his protection and care even when He does not appear to be paying attention to our needs.

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Healing Marriages: Forgiveness and Mercy

16 Sunday Aug 2020

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Forgiveness Chains Broken

In our work with couples, we find the biggest roadblock to a thriving marriage is unforgiveness. We stop the flow of grace when we sin against each other and hurt each other. If we do not forgive each other, little by little, we can find ourselves bound by the chains of bitterness, resentment, and anger. We build walls to protect ourselves from more hurt, further damaging the relationship.

In marriage, husband and wife are on the same team. When issues arise, we need to stop and ask God what is going on. Most times, it is Satan working to drive a wedge in the relationship. He hates you individually and especially as a couple. He will work overtime to divide you and cause disharmony in your relationship. He knows our vulnerabilities and he will use us to attack each other’s weak areas.

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An Ocean of Mercy

19 Sunday Apr 2020

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Divine Mercy mosaic

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.[1]

We are living in unprecedented times. We are faced with a global pandemic the likes of which the world has not experienced in a century. Stay-in-place orders are common in most areas of the United States. Schools and businesses are closed. Parents are struggling with schooling children while working from home themselves. Tensions are rising and patience is wearing thin. Despair and hopelessness are at all-time highs. And with churches unable to celebrate Mass, the domestic church has become the norm for families.

In the midst of all this, today the Church celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday. St. Maria Faustina Kowalska was a Polish nun who experienced apparitions of Jesus. She recorded these apparitions and messages from Jesus in a detailed diary. Her diary records 14 occasions when Jesus requested that a Feast of Mercy (Divine Mercy Sunday) be observed. Here is one of those messages…

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Confronting Avarice

15 Sunday Mar 2020

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For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs. 1 Timothy 6:10

This week, we will take a look at the vice of avarice and its opposing virtue mercy. Avarice is the immoderate desire for extreme wealth and material goods. In ancient times, it was known as “covetousness;” today it is known as “greed.” It is natural for man to desire material goods as a means to the basic necessities of life, but avarice turns these goods into gods. “Christian tradition ranks…[avarice]…ahead of lust and second only to pride in the list of all-time spiritual villains,”[1] says Peter Kreeft in his book Back to Virtue.

“Avarice has two parts,” says Kreeft, “greed to get what we don’t have and greed to keep what we have.” “The two opposites of avarice are 1) contentment, voluntary poverty and 2) liberality, generosity, having mercy on others.”[2]

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Putting Christ at the Center of Your Marriage

11 Saturday Jan 2020

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Invite me to the marriage_God

Jesus also was invited to the marriage… John 2:2

Honestly answer the following questions:

Is Christ part of your life but on the fringes of your daily life?

Is Christ just one of many things in your life?

Or is Christ the center of your life?

Making Christ part of your life is not enough. He must occupy the very center of your life and marriage with all other things revolving around Him. In marriage, we are two imperfect and wounded people. At times, we will let each other down. No person can fulfill the deepest longings of our heart for love. Only God can do that. To believe otherwise is to set yourself up for disappointment. Only Jesus can help you find genuine fulfillment in your life and in your marriage.

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The Epiphany of the Lord

05 Sunday Jan 2020

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It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” Isaiah 2:2-3

Today the Church celebrates the Epiphany of the Lord. The word “epiphany” comes from the Greek epiphainen, which means “to shine upon,” “to manifest,” or “to make known.” The feast of the Epiphany celebrates how God made Himself known to the world through the mission and divinity of Christ at the Visitation of the Magi (Mt 2:1-12). There are two other epiphanies in Scripture: The Baptism of Jesus (Mk 1:9-11) and the Wedding Feast at Cana (Jn 2:1-11).

And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:9-11

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