Why does the priest use bread and wine in the Mass?

 

Why does the priest use bread and wine in the Mass?
The priest takes the paten with the bread and, holding it slightly raised above the altar, says,

- Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation… 
 
We may respond, “Blessed be God for ever.”

The first Christians used ordinary bread at Mass marked with a cross or some other symbol of Christ. From about the ninth century, azyme bread began to be used, recalling the unleavened bread Jesus used at the Last Supper.

Bread is the most eloquent symbol of human existence. To earn your bread means to make a living. 

Also, the little piece of bread on the paten represents, poetically, the union of man’s work with the earth, a natural element.

Therefore, when we offer bread as a participation in Christ’s sacrifice, we intend also to offer all the beauty and goodness of nature united to our own work.

Like in the Gospel episode of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish, Christ wants us to put in whatever we have got. The boy in the Gospel parted with the few loaves and fish he had, even though he could not believe his meager contribution would solve anything.

Then, the celebrant pours wine into the chalice and says,

- Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation... 

Then, bowing in an attitude of profound humility, offering not only these gifts but also our self-oblation, he says,

- Lord God, we ask you to receive us… 

This prayer is taken from the song of the three companions of Daniel who were thrown into the furnace. The priest speaks in his own name and in those of the faithful, and asks God to accept the sacrifice about to be offered. God should find in us true humility and sincere repentance for our sins.

The priest may incense the gifts placed upon the altar and then the cross and the altar itself, to signify the Church’s offering and prayer rising like incense in the sight of God. Next, the priest, because of his sacred ministry, and the people, by reason of their baptismal dignity, may be incensed.

It was an ancient custom to take wine mixed with water, as the chalice of Jesus contained in the Last Supper. The Church retained this gesture to symbolize the sanctification of the Christian, which is accomplished through his union with Jesus Christ. The water becomes a symbol of ourselves: our lives, with all their weaknesses.

Have you stopped to think what happens to the drops of water mixed with the wine? They are absorbed by it and then become inseparable from it. So does Jesus absorb us. The drops of water are of negligible worth; they are not even enough to quench anyone’s thirst. Yet, they will end up being divine blood! And all that because they let themselves be mixed with the wine and be dissolved in it, thus manifesting self-denial, personal renunciation.

At this moment, we grow in our desire to offer ourselves in total self-surrender, as the few drops of water in the chalice have reminded us. So, we will be able to become one with Jesus Christ after the Consecration.
Nov 13 Thu

Did the saints begin again?

 

Did the saints begin again?

Along with the defeats, God gives us hope.

We still have to accomplish a lot on earth, on the way to Glory. St Paul, a convert, after he decided to follow Christ, did not turn back: “Do not throw away the grace of God!"

Let's not waste it. Let's not lose it, let's not make it useless.

We all need light. When it is turned on, do not turn it off!

Our time is a treasure that the Lord places in our hands so that we can take advantage of it. Bear fruit.

Let the wicked abandon their way, and let them return.

Come back! You have gone too far. You have run a lot off the path. Back!

And start again? Yes, start over!

We must follow in the footsteps of the Master; thus, we must abandon the bad paths, retrace them, and return.

After a fall, ask for forgiveness

Let us take refuge in the very great mercy of our God, a God who forgives, and begin your Christian life anew!

Real men always fight, and those who fight often fall, but when they do, they rejoin the struggle. And if the faults are great, great are the penances. Men of God do many things full of love for the Lord, and sometimes, because they are weak, they commit small infidelities or great blunders.

When a fighting soldier receives a wound or retreats a bit, no one thinks it is a crime.

The only ones who do not receive wounds are those who do not fight.

The Lord allows setbacks and relapses in the lives of those who serve Him, so that, repentant, they may begin again with new vigor the usual journey. 

Even when the disloyalties are of great weight, the purpose of amendment must be sincere. And then..., everything leads not only to continue treading along the path, but even to rise to heights never reached in the previous stage. 

Everything can help us. St Paul tells us that everything is for the good of those who love God, even sins.
Thus, those filled with humility and distrust in their own strength, rise and rise and rise in the life of Love.
And start over!

And after a good confession and the fulfillment of penance, and perhaps of tears, a message of hope springs up again for hearts that want to begin anew: "The Lord has forgiven your sin," they hear. Now, forget what God has forgotten and..., follow the path of the brave.

Were there mistakes, setbacks? Well, get up. And now, with more enthusiasm than before.

"In this tournament of love, we should not be saddened by falls, or even serious falls, if we go to God with sorrow and sincerity in the sacrament of Penance. The Christian is not a maniacal collector of an immaculate service record."

Begin again, my friend. This is what is in your hands. 
Nov 12 Wed

Did the saints have defects?

 

Did the saints have defects?
With the logical exception of the Lord and the Blessed Virgin, all saints had defects.

We could see the temperamental defects of St. Therésè de Lisieux. Many consider her to be an extremely delicate and childish woman. However, this is what his mother wrote: "She is almost invincibly stubborn. 
When she says no, there is no human power that can make her change her mind; even if we put her in the darkroom for a whole day, she would rather sleep in it than say yes."
She was a mischievous, restless, boisterous girl, like so many other girls. Yet over the years, we will see her on the altars.

We can imagine the converted, enthusiastic, and brilliant Saint Augustine as an extraordinary orator, and he must have been. However, it is also recorded that he was very heavy in Catechesis; at least boring enough for part of the auditorium to leave. That is what he said.

We admit all kinds of temptations and battles in the interior life of holy souls. We recognize their errors, but we must not fall into the position of his contemporaries, who, in the fifth century, defended the impossibility of Saint Augustine professing the truth because he had been a great sinner.

St. Augustine, like so many others, had certainly been a great sinner, but later he would follow the authentic path to return to his Father's house, where there is light, love, and truth.

We see that many saints were fickle, boastful, had little faith, were reckless, distrustful, and exhibited attitudes that implied a lack of love at times. Yet they became saints..., because they rectified and persevered. Among the Apostles, only one went away. And he ended badly.

To be effective, we are all asked to persevere in the struggle; this is what authentic holiness consists of. Interior life is manifested in the love of God, in the service to one's neighbor, in lending a hand to those in need, and in overlooking the small defects of relatives or neighbors that provoke us to get irritated.

Holiness does not consist in standing on a pedestal holding a palm in one's hand. Saints must not remain inactive. We have to move, worry about a brother's illness, be careful so that the food doesn't stick to the pan, participate in elections, and talk to your children's teachers.

These are the saints of today, who go on the "subway", pray to the Virgin, work in the fields, use a computer, rest for a weekend with their loved ones and return to work on Monday mornings to do what they always do, what they do every week, what they do all year round. They take care that everything you do today – communion,  work, service...– is done with a little more love, affection, fervor than was done yesterday.

Let us not lose hope. If we have fallen – like the saints – let us also try to imitate them, getting up at once. Let's renew ourselves in love. We need it. Today is a good day to say to God: Now I begin! Perhaps we hadn't told him this for a long time. We still have a long way to go. Now I begin!
Nov 11 Tue

May I propagate doctrinal error for the sake of ‘charity’?

 

May I propagate doctrinal error for the sake of ‘charity’?
Our life, like that of Jesus, unfolds among people in the heart of society. At a banquet, all eyes were fixed on Jesus. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus asked, "Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not?"

Jesus did what he had to do, unconcerned about false scandals. And then, he explained his behavior. That is how we should practice our faith. At times, those around us may not appreciate our example or may even oppose it. But we can never make concessions in essential matters, nor hide our light, in a false attempt to adapt ourselves to the environment around us.

We need strength of character to lead a Christian life with all its consequences. “Therefore, at times, we have no alternative but to give a hard time to ourselves and to others, to help them be better. Even if other people misinterpret our actions and react disagreeably."

“We have to learn to disagree charitably with others - whenever the need arises - without becoming unpleasant."

We too must seek the good of all souls. By our good example and sound doctrine, we will try to draw them closer to God. “A saint is an 'uncomfortable' person. But that doesn't mean he has to be ‘unbearable’. His should never be a bitter zeal. When he corrects, he should not do so in a wounding manner. His example should not be a ‘moral slap in the face’ for his friends. Christ's charity, the holy patience towards others I referred to, should soften everything." St. Josemaría

“Our attitude ought to be just the opposite. We don't want anyone to go away because we haven't known how to understand them or treat them affectionately. We should never be people who are looking for a fight."

Our behavior must always be marked by sensitivity and affection. We should listen to and take an interest in other people's concerns and struggles.

Indeed, we must always live among the people of our time, in accordance with their mentality and customs. But always be prepared to make a defense for the hope that is in us in Christ Jesus. We don't have to adapt to your surroundings, since we are already among our fellow men; nor can we be told apart as disciples of Christ. What a great deal of wishful thinking, fear, and cowardice there is in certain desires for adaptation, at the cost of spreading errors!

“The spreading of Christian teaching need not provoke antagonism or harm those who do not know our doctrine. If one proceeds with charity, anyone who might otherwise have been opposed to Christianity and been deceived by error may easily and honestly end up committing himself to it. However, there can be no giving ground in dogma in the name of a naive ‘lee way of belief’, for if anyone acted in this way, he would risk putting himself out of the Church. Instead of winning a benefit for others, he would harm himself."
Nov 10 Mon 

Why are church buildings blessed?

 

Why are church buildings blessed?

When the Jewish people wandered in the desert, God wanted a place set aside for Himself, where He could reveal His plans to Moses and respond to the Israelites' requests. The Lord explained to Moses even the small details for the construction they should undertake: the ark, the tabernacle, the altar of holocausts, and the lampstand. These were visible signs by which He made known to His people that He dwelled among them and was always ready to listen to their pleas and care for them at every moment.

The God who made heaven and earth desires churches dedicated to His worship to show visibly that He is continually present among men and to make it easier to approach Him.

The material building consecrated to God symbolizes the Church, represented on earth by the living stones, your chosen people, that is, Christians. It also symbolizes the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church triumphant in heaven, where human buildings will no longer exist; its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. When the heavens and the earth are renewed at the end of the world, the heavenly tabernacle will be the one true sanctuary, where God will dwell with all the just who have gloriously risen, being their light and life.

Since Christ's coming to earth, the church is truly the place of God's presence among men. The Son of God has chosen to dwell in every tabernacle. The center of our churches is a tabernacle that men could never have imagined. Christ Himself is really present in the sacrament of the Eucharist, with His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Moreover, on the altars of our churches, the sacrifice of the new and everlasting covenant is renewed in the unbloody immolation of the sole victim of Calvary.

Each church is a place dedicated to public worship. It is the house of God; Jesus is there, sacramentally present. It is not surprising, therefore, that we make every effort to adorn our churches in the most dignified way possible. To reach God, we need to use our senses and emotions. Therefore, we need images to aid our devotion, and everything should be clean and attractive. St. Josemaría writes, “Sacred art should lead us to God and respect holy things. Its goal must be to foster piety and devotion. For many centuries, religious art was the best art because it followed that rule, respecting its intrinsic purpose. Some modernistic images are often caricatures. They are as bad as the 'sugar-coated' images. What is ugly and disrespectful is just as bad as what is unctuous and in bad taste."

A Christian can find God anywhere, because he always bears Him within himself. His soul in grace is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Thus, we must always show great refinement and love towards Jesus in the tabernacle, where He has chosen to remain hidden, waiting for us like an eternal lover.

We ask our Lady to teach us how to show Jesus the same refinement and love that she showed Him in Bethlehem, at Nazareth, and throughout her whole life.
Pic: Apse of St John Lateran, in Rome.   Nov 9 Sun

Should I try to develop human virtues?

 

Should I try to develop human virtues?
There are two levels in the virtues (or ‘powers’ of man), the human virtues and the supernatural virtues. The latter ones develop our relationship with God with the help of grace. Human virtues constitute the foundation for the supernatural virtues.

First, we must develop the human virtues to be friends of freedom and personal responsibility; to be sincere, loyal, generous, self-sacrificing, optimistic, tenacious, determined, rightly-intentioned, and capable of working hard. 

“These human virtues, when supernaturalized, enable us to practice the theological virtues and to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit with greater docility."

We need both human and supernatural virtues to be mature. Thus, hardly could a person be sincere with God if he is not sincere with his companions.

“Human maturity, the Second Vatican Council teaches, will be chiefly attested to by a certain stability of character, the ability to make carefully weighed decisions, and a sound judgment of events and people." People who are humanly mature judge themselves realistically and objectively. They recognize their limitations and know what they want as well as what they can do. And so, they are self-confident and balanced, and can always act consistently and responsibly.

Very different is the attitude of immature people. Such individuals have not achieved full human development and deceive themselves by hiding their timidity beneath a façade of arrogance or false humility. They live in a state of insecurity, avoiding openness and commitment. Above all, immature people fear themselves.

In their relations with others, mature people can always find the right place. This is how God wants us to be: “prudent, thoughtful and measured in all we do; ready to learn and diligently carry out whatever we are asked; prompt to avoid danger, with a balanced spirit of initiative; ready to judge - if it's our duty to - when we possess all the necessary information; and quick to flee from excessive concern for temporal things."

By contrast, people who are not yet mature are uneasy in their relations with others. They are either weak and condescending, or they take refuge in an authoritarian and barren rigidity. “A clear sign of ... immaturity is the desire to reform everything and do so immediately. Such people think that all their predecessors and their superiors were fools." 

Immature people are stubborn and grumpy, incapable of listening to others or rectifying their mistakes. We must have the sense of proportion, the calm, the fortitude, and the sense of responsibility that many acquire only after years have passed.

In our efforts to acquire rapidly the necessary maturity, we also must rely on the powerful help of a life of piety. “By fulfilling the Norms of piety, St. Josemaría wrote, we will learn to practice the necessary virtues. And along with these virtues, they will acquire a whole range of spiritual values: shining precious stones that we must gather along the way and place at the foot of God's throne: simplicity, cheerfulness, peace, small mortifications, and the faithful fulfillment of our duty..."
Nov 8 Sat

Why is it important to make good use of my time?

 

Why is it important to make good use of my time?
Our Lord has called each of us to work in his vineyard.
“God, in his mercy, calls each one bearing in mind their personal circumstances, because he wants all men to be saved. In our case, we were born Christians, brought up in the faith, and then we received a clear calling from our Lord. The facts are undeniable. Therefore, when you sense he's beckoning you, even if it is at the last hour, how can you think of lingering in the marketplace, basking in the sun as so many of those workers did, because they had time on their hands?”

“St Paul says to the faithful of Ephesus, renew the world in the spirit of Jesus Christ, place Christ at the summit and at the heart of all things. We have come to sanctify all noble human tasks –ordinary human work– right in the middle of the world, in a lay and secular way, as a service to the Holy Church, the Roman Pontiff and all souls.”

Our Lord continually invites us to work. “For us, work is what gives worth to our lives; and it is a duty imposed by our Creator, since man was created ‘ut operaretur’ (to work). Work is a means whereby mankind shares in the work of creation. Thus, it is not only noble, whatever it is, but it is an instrument for attaining earthly perfection and supernatural perfection.

Furthermore, work is a bond of union with others and a means of contributing to the progress of humanity. It is the source of means to support one's family; it is an occasion of self-improvement; it is –and this needs to be stated very clearly– a means and a way to holiness, something to be sanctified and which sanctifies.”

We need to make good use of time. Some were called at first light to work in the vineyard; others when the day was well advanced. “You, my daughter, my son, when did you feel you had been called? At the eleventh hour? Are you like those workers in the public square, sunning themselves because they had time to kill?”

Time is short for all we have to do; our Lord nevertheless expects us to make good use of the years he grants us. The days of our lives are part of the "talents" we have received from God, and we have no idea how long they will last. To use St Augustine's phrase: ‘God has never promised tomorrow to anybody.’
Illustration: Our Lady drying the clothes.  Nov 7 Fri

What is the meaning of the offertory of the Mass?

 

What is the meaning of the offertory of the Mass?

At the beginning of the liturgy of the Eucharist, the gifts, which will become Christ’s body and blood, are brought to the altar.

First, the altar, the Lord’s table, which is the center of the entire Eucharistic liturgy, is prepared: The corporal, purificator, missal, and chalice are placed on it. The gifts are then brought forward. While the priest receives the offerings, the offertory song is sung. Singing may always accompany the rite at the offertory, even when there is no procession with the gifts.

This rite is described by St Justin (second century) with stark impersonal simplicity: “Bread, water, and wine are brought.” The first Christians had no special ceremonies accompanying this rite, for they desired to depart from pagan sacrificial practices. At the same time, they emphasized the special character of the Victim, which is not the bread and wine, but our Lord himself.

However, later on, it became necessary to defend the intrinsic goodness of created things against Gnosticism, while making it clear that the gifts brought to the altar are not the Victim to be sacrificed. The congregation participated in the act of offering by approaching the altar in procession and presenting various gifts: not only bread and wine, but also other edible items, and even flowers. The deacons sorted out these gifts and put aside those that would be used in the Mass. The rest was given to the poor or used for the needs of the Church. During this procession, a chant was sung—a custom that gave birth to the offertory antiphon.

Even though the faithful no longer, as in the past, bring the bread and wine for the liturgy from their homes, the rite retains the same spiritual value and meaning. 

The bread and wine that we offer are poor and humble gifts. Yet, precisely for that reason, they aptly represent our smallness before God. However, because of the Eucharistic transubstantiation, we will actually be offering to God not these lowly tokens, but his only begotten Son, the only Victim worthy of him. This Victim, offered by us and for us, will absorb our own oblation. 

Together with Christ, we offer everything that we are and all that we possess, all that we have done or try to do. We offer our memory, intelligence, and will; our family, profession, hobbies, success, sufferings, failures, and worries; and our aspirations and spiritual communions. 

Likewise, we offer our small and big mortifications: all those acts of love we performed yesterday and as many as we plan to perform today. “The appropriate word you left unsaid; the joke you didn’t tell; the cheerful smile for those who bother you; that silence when you’re unjustly accused; your kind conversation with people you find boring and tactless; the daily effort to overlook one irritating detail or another in those who live with you...”

But let us not forget to offer also the happy events and the pleasant things that mark our day and our entire life. 
Nov 6 Thu 

Is there a remedy for sadness?

 

Is there a remedy for sadness?
Pope Leo XIV reflected on the Resurrection of Christ.

Jesus’ Resurrection can heal one of the challenges of today’s world: sadness. Intrusive and widespread, sadness accompanies the days of many people. It is a feeling of instability, at times profound desperation, which invades one’s inner space and seems to prevail over any impetus to joy.

Sadness is a thief. It robs life of meaning and vigor, turning it into a directionless and meaningless journey.

This modern experience can also be seen in the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus in the Gospel of Luke, who are discouraged by Jesus’ death. This story gives us an example of human sadness: the end of the objective to which so much energy has been invested, the destruction of what seemed to be the essence of their lives.

Their hope was dashed; desolation had taken hold of their hearts. Everything had imploded in a very short space of time, between Friday and Saturday, in a dramatic sequence of events. The Gospel described them as standing still, “looking sad”. 

Yet this sad journey of defeat and return to ordinary life occurred on the same day as the victory of light, of the Resurrection, had been fully consummated. 

When all seemed lost to the two men, Jesus appeared as a stranger to them. It was the risen Jesus, but they did not recognize him. Sadness clouded their gaze, erasing the promise that the Master had made several times: that he would be killed and that on the third day he would rise again. 

Yet hope is real and tangible. Jesus’ words to the disciples called out the foolishness of their hearts. Rather than driving them further into sadness, his frankness rekindled a sense of hope in them. 

Jesus accepted their invitation to remain with them. He took his seat at the table with them. Then he took the bread, broke it, and offered it to them. At that moment, the two disciples recognized him… but he immediately disappeared from their view.

The culmination of the story was at the breaking of the bread, which reopened the eyes of the heart, illuminating once again the vision clouded by despair.

That moment reignited joy within the disciples and encouraged them to share their experience with others.

The Lord has risen indeed. Jesus did not only rise in words, but in action, as his body showed the marks of the crucifixion. The victory of life is not an empty word, but a real, tangible fact.

May the unexpected joy of the disciples of Emmaus be a gentle reminder to us when the going gets tough. Only the Risen One can radically change our perspective, instilling the hope that will fill the void of sadness.

On the paths of the heart, the Risen One walks with us and for us. He bears witness to the defeat of death and affirms the victory of life, despite the darkness of Calvary. History still has much goodness to hope for.
Nov 5 Wed

Nov 4 Tue Can Christ overcome evil?

 

Nov 4 Tue
Can Christ overcome evil?
In his first homily as pope, St John Paul II explained:

Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ.
Peter came to Rome! What else but obedience to the inspiration received from the Lord could have guided him and brought him to this city, the heart of the Empire? Perhaps the fisherman of Galilee did not want to come here. He would have preferred to stay on the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret, with his boat and his nets. Yet, guided by the Lord and obedient to His inspiration, he came here!

According to an ancient tradition, Peter tried to leave Rome during Nero’s persecution. However, the Lord intervened and came to meet him. Peter spoke to Him and asked, “Quo vadis, Domine?” — “Where are you going, Lord?” And the Lord answered him at once: “I am going to Rome to be crucified again.” 
Ashamed, Peter returned to Rome and stayed there until his crucifixion.

The Lord came to make us all “a kingdom of priests.”
By the mystery of His power, Christ’s mission as Priest, Prophet-Teacher, and King continues in the Church. Each one of the members of the People of God shares in this threefold mission and power to overcome evil. 

Perhaps in the past, the tiara, that triple crown, was placed on the Pope’s head to signify the Lord’s plan for his Church, namely that all “sacred power” exercised in the Church, is nothing other than service, service with a single purpose: to ensure that the whole People of God shares in this threefold mission of Christ and always remains under the power of the Lord; a power that has its source not in the powers of this world, but instead in the mystery of the Cross and the Resurrection.

Christ’s power does not speak the language of force but expresses itself in charity and truth.

Christ made the pope become and remain the servant of his unique power, the servant of his sweet power, the servant of his power that knows no dusk. He made the pope a servant: indeed, the servant of his servants.

Help the Pope and all those who wish to serve Christ and, with Christ’s power, serve the human person and the whole of mankind.

Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ. To His saving power, open the boundaries of states, economic and political systems, the vast fields of culture, civilization, and development. Do not be afraid. Christ knows “that which is in man.” He alone knows it.

So often today, man does not know what is in him, in the depths of his mind and heart. So often, he is uncertain about the meaning of his life on this earth. He is assailed by doubt, a doubt that turns into despair. We ask you, therefore, we beg you with humility and trust, let Christ speak to man. He alone has words of life, yes, of life eternal.

How should I face the fact of dying?

 

How should I face the fact of dying?
“Always, forever! Words brought to our lips by the human desire to prolong - to make eternal - what is pleasant.
Lying words, on earth, where everything must end."

We are wayfarers. Therefore, while treading firmly on the ground, we should always keep our gaze set firmly on the goal of our journey, on our Father God.

“Death comes, St. Josemaría wrote, and cannot be avoided. What empty vanity it is, then, to center our existence on this life. See how many men and women suffer. Some suffer because life is coming to an end, and it pains them to leave it; others because it goes on, and they are sick of it. In neither case is there room for the mistaken view that makes our passage through this world an end in itself."

“One must leave that way of thinking behind and anchor oneself to another, an eternal one. A total change is required, to empty oneself of self-centered motives, which pass away, and to be renewed in eternal Christ."

We prepare for our definitive meeting with God by practicing detachment from everything.

Jesus vividly describes the rich man's abundance of possessions, with which he could have done so much good. But the man was foolish and set his heart on his riches. Take your ease, he told himself, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, "Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?"

The lesson is clear: we have to be detached from material possessions, ready to render an account to God whenever he calls us. 

Nothing we enjoy here will accompany us to the grave. “Don't set your heart on loves here below. -Such loves are selfish... Those whom you love will recoil from you, in horror and disgust, within hours of God calling you to his presence. -Elsewhere are the loves that endure."

 Since we will enter God's presence empty-handed, why do we latch on to things? They are a dead weight, an obstacle on our journey. In the end, we'll have to abandon them anyway. Before God, only our good deeds have any value.
Therefore, we want to be completely detached from everything on earth. St. Josemaría taught us how we should prepare for this decisive moment: “You were consoled by the idea that life is to be spent, burned in the service of God. And spending ourselves entirely for him is how we shall be freed from death, which brings us the possession of Life."

If we are faithful, death will bring us complete happiness, but we should seek to die old, after a long life working for God.
“Have you heard how sadly the worldly-minded lament that, 'Each day that passes is to die a little’?
Well, I say to you: rejoice, apostolic soul, because each day that passes brings you closer to Life."

For the children of God, for those who trust in the mercy of their Father in heaven, death is the definitive, long-awaited meeting with our Lord and his Blessed Mother. 
Nov 3 Mon

Challenge: Should I pray for the dead? Isn’t it unbiblical?

 

Challenge: Should I pray for the dead? Isn’t it unbiblical?

– The practice is not just Catholic, it is biblical.

First, it isn’t only Catholics who pray for the dead, many others also do. Further, prayer for the dead has been practiced by Jews since before the time of Christ and continues to be practiced by them today.

In Scripture, Judah Maccabee and his men were retrieving the bodies of fallen comrades when they discovered that some who had fallen were wearing pagan amulets, and so “they turned to prayer, praying that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out” (2 Macc. 12:42). This gives evidence of prayer for the dead among Jews, before the time of Christ; and Jews continue to pray for the dead today, particularly using a prayer known as the Mourner’s Kaddish.

The New Testament also contains a plausible instance of prayer for the dead. After praying for the household of a man named Onesiphorus, Paul goes on to pray “may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day” (2 Tim. 1:18). Paul twice mentions “the household of Onesiphorus” (2 Tim. 1:16, 4:19), but does not greet him with the rest of his household and speaks of him only in the past tense. Many scholars have concluded that Onesiphorus had passed away, and thus Paul was praying for the departed.

The Protestant apologist C.S. Lewis writes: “Of course I pray for the dead! The action is so spontaneous, so all but inevitable, that only the most compulsive theological case against it would deter me… At our age, the majority of those we love best are dead. What sort of interaction with God could I have if what I love best were unmentionable to Him?” (Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, 107).

It is a natural human impulse to pray for our loved ones, even when they have passed from this life. Prayer for the souls in purgatory is a duty of charity; and in many cases, also one of justice.

The most valuable suffrage we can offer is the holy sacrifice of the Mass. The Mass can be applied for the deceased to satisfy for the temporal punishment due to their sins. With a mother's love, the Church has also established that the faithful can gain indulgences that are applicable to the deceased. These indulgences flow from the treasury of graces formed by the merits of Christ, our Lady, and the saints.

Personal penance, offered as expiation for sins, can also be offered for the deceased. Our hope that God will heed our prayers, our suffrages, and our penance on behalf of the souls in purgatory stems from the certainty that all who are united to Christ form a single Body in Him.

We ask our Lady, Gate of Paradise, to open the gates of heaven for those who have left us, and that some day we may all be reunited there forever.
Nov 2 Sun