Sat Oct 8, 2011 - St. John Leonardi | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

St. John Leonardi, pray for us!!

St. John Leonardi | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

Our Lady of The Rosary: 'People must say the Rosary' - Living Faith - Home & Family - Catholic Online

Catholic News | Estevez Makes Film He Sees as Metaphor for Life | American Catholic

Ecclesia de Eucharistia - Pope John Paul II

28. Lastly, the Church is apostolic in the sense that she “continues to be taught, sanctified and guided by the Apostles until Christ's return, through their successors in pastoral office: the college of Bishops assisted by priests, in union with the Successor of Peter, the Church's supreme pastor”.⁵³ Succession to the Apostles in the pastoral mission necessarily entails the sacrament of Holy Orders, that is, the uninterrupted sequence, from the very beginning, of valid episcopal ordinations.⁵⁴ This succession is essential for the Church to exist in a proper and full sense.

The Eucharist also expresses this sense of apostolicity. As the Second Vatican Council teaches, “the faithful join in the offering of the Eucharist by virtue of their royal priesthood”,⁵⁵ yet it is the ordained priest who, “acting in the person of Christ, brings about the Eucharistic Sacrifice and offers it to God in the name of all the people”.⁵⁶ For this reason, the Roman Missal prescribes that only the priest should recite the Eucharistic Prayer, while the people participate in faith and in silence.⁵⁷

Carmelite retreat -
Satan - living for transitory pleasures, starts with gratification, ends with sorrow
God - living for eternal pleasures, starts with emptiness and discomfort, ends in joy

Fri Oct 7, 2011 - Our Lady of the Rosary | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!!

Our Lady of the Rosary | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

The Happy Priest On Continuing Our Preparation of the New Mass Translation - Living Faith - Home & Family - Catholic Online

Steve Jobs, Adoption and Abortion


http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/steve-jobs-the-edison-of-his-time/

Ecclesia de Eucharistia - Pope John Paul II

27. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in explaining how the Church is apostolic – founded on the Apostles – sees three meanings in this expression. First, “she was and remains built on 'the foundation of the Apostles' (Eph 2:20), the witnesses chosen and sent on mission by Christ himself”.⁵¹ The Eucharist too has its foundation in the Apostles, not in the sense that it did not originate in Christ himself, but because it was entrusted by Jesus to the Apostles and has been handed down to us by them and by their successors. It is in continuity with the practice of the Apostles, in obedience to the Lord's command, that the Church has celebrated the Eucharist down the centuries.
The second sense in which the Church is apostolic, as the Catechism points out, is that “with the help of the Spirit dwelling in her, the Church keeps and hands on the teaching, the 'good deposit', the salutary words she has heard from the Apostles”.⁵² Here too the Eucharist is apostolic, for it is celebrated in conformity with the faith of the Apostles. At various times in the two-thousand-year history of the People of the New Covenant, the Church's Magisterium has more precisely defined her teaching on the Eucharist, including its proper terminology, precisely in order to safeguard the apostolic faith with regard to this sublime mystery. This faith remains unchanged and it is essential for the Church that it remain unchanged.

Thurs Oct 6, 2011 - St. Bruno | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

St. Bruno, pray for us!!

St. Bruno | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

Franciscan University of Steubenville, the Federal Government and the Gates of Hell - U.s. - Catholic Online

Ecclesia de Eucharistia - Pope John Paul II

26. If, as I have said, the Eucharist builds the Church and the Church makes the Eucharist, it follows that there is a profound relationship between the two, so much so that we can apply to the Eucharistic mystery the very words with which, in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, we profess the Church to be “one, holy, catholic and apostolic”. The Eucharist too is one and catholic. It is also holy, indeed, the Most Holy Sacrament. But it is above all its apostolicity that we must now consider.

Wed Oct 5, 2011 - St. Maria Faustina Kowalska | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, pray for us!!

St. Maria Faustina Kowalska | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

Apparent Eucharistic Miracle in Poland Reveals What Catholics Already Know - International - Catholic Online

Ecclesia de Eucharistia - Pope John Paul II

25. The worship of the Eucharist outside of the Mass is of inestimable value for the life of the Church. This worship is strictly linked to the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The presence of Christ under the sacred species reserved after Mass – a presence which lasts as long as the species of bread and of wine remain ⁴⁵ – derives from the celebration of the sacrifice and is directed towards communion, both sacramental and spiritual.⁴⁶ It is the responsibility of Pastors to encourage, also by their personal witness, the practice of Eucharistic adoration, and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in particular, as well as prayer of adoration before Christ present under the Eucharistic species.⁴⁷

It is pleasant to spend time with him, to lie close to his breast like the Beloved Disciple (cf. Jn 13:25) and to feel the infinite love present in his heart. If in our time Christians must be distinguished above all by the “art of prayer”,⁴⁸ how can we not feel a renewed need to spend time in spiritual converse, in silent adoration, in heartfelt love before Christ present in the Most Holy Sacrament? How often, dear brother and sisters, have I experienced this, and drawn from it strength, consolation and support!

This practice, repeatedly praised and recommended by the Magisterium,⁴⁹ is supported by the example of many saints. Particularly outstanding in this regard was Saint Alphonsus Liguori, who wrote: “Of all devotions, that of adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the greatest after the sacraments, the one dearest to God and the one most helpful to us”.⁵⁰ The Eucharist is a priceless treasure: by not only celebrating it but also by praying before it outside of Mass we are enabled to make contact with the very wellspring of grace. A Christian community desirous of contemplating the face of Christ in the spirit which I proposed in the Apostolic Letters Novo Millennio Ineunte and Rosarium Virginis Mariae cannot fail also to develop this aspect of Eucharistic worship, which prolongs and increases the fruits of our communion in the body and blood of the Lord.

¹“In the course of the day the faithful should not omit visiting the Blessed Sacrament, which in accordance with liturgical law must be reserved in churches with great reverence in a prominent place. Such visits are a sign of gratitude, an expression of love and an acknowledgment of the Lord's presence”: Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Mysterium Fidei (3 September 1965): AAS 57 (1965), 771.

Carmelite Retreat -

We need faith to train the intellect, hope to train the memory, and charity to train the will.

Tues Oct 4, 2011 - St. Francis of Assisi | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us!!

St. Francis of Assisi | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

US Bishops Defend the Freedom of Religion in the Face of Growing Threats - U.s. - Catholic Online

Ecclesia de Eucharistia - Pope John Paul II

24. The gift of Christ and his Spirit which we receive in Eucharistic communion superabundantly fulfils the yearning for fraternal unity deeply rooted in the human heart; at the same time it elevates the experience of fraternity already present in our common sharing at the same Eucharistic table to a degree which far surpasses that of the simple human experience of sharing a meal. Through her communion with the body of Christ the Church comes to be ever more profoundly “in Christ in the nature of a sacrament, that is, a sign and instrument of intimate unity with God and of the unity of the whole human race”.⁴⁴

The seeds of disunity, which daily experience shows to be so deeply rooted in humanity as a result of sin, are countered by the unifying power of the body of Christ. The Eucharist, precisely by building up the Church, creates human community.

Mon Oct 3, 2011- St. Mother Theodora Guérin | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

St. Mother Theodora Guerin, pray for us!!

St. Mother Theodora Guérin | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

The Happy Priest On Continuing Our Preparation for the New Mass Translation - Living Faith - Home & Family - Catholic Online

Ecclesia de Eucharistia - Pope John Paul II

23. Eucharistic communion also confirms the Church in her unity as the body of Christ. Saint Paul refers to this unifying power of participation in the banquet of the Eucharist when he writes to the Corinthians: “The bread which we break, is it not a communion in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor 10:16-17). Saint John Chrysostom's commentary on these words is profound and perceptive: “For what is the bread? It is the body of Christ. And what do those who receive it become? The Body of Christ – not many bodies but one body. For as bread is completely one, though made of up many grains of wheat, and these, albeit unseen, remain nonetheless present, in such a way that their difference is not apparent since they have been made a perfect whole, so too are we mutually joined to one another and together united with Christ”.⁴² The argument is compelling: our union with Christ, which is a gift and grace for each of us, makes it possible for us, in him, to share in the unity of his body which is the Church. The Eucharist reinforces the incorporation into Christ which took place in Baptism though the gift of the Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 12:13, 27).

Carmelite Retreat:
Our hunger for things makes us forget that we were created for something better.
God has a project: to know his love and to have it more abundantly

Sat Oct 1, 2011 - St. Thérèse of Lisieux | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

St. Therese of Lisieux, pray for us!!

St. Thérèse of Lisieux | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

Film Reveals Life of Cloistered Benedictine Nuns - Vocations - Catholic Online

Ecclesia de Eucharistia - Pope John Paul II

22. Incorporation into Christ, which is brought about by Baptism, is constantly renewed and consolidated by sharing in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, especially by that full sharing which takes place in sacramental communion. We can say not only that each of us receives Christ, but also that Christ receives each of us. He enters into friendship with us: “You are my friends” (Jn 15:14). Indeed, it is because of him that we have life: “He who eats me will live because of me” (Jn 6:57). Eucharistic communion brings about in a sublime way the mutual “abiding” of Christ and each of his followers: “Abide in me, and I in you” (Jn 15:4).

By its union with Christ, the People of the New Covenant, far from closing in upon itself, becomes a “sacrament” for humanity,³⁹ a sign and instrument of the salvation achieved by Christ, the light of the world and the salt of the earth (cf. Mt 5:13-16), for the redemption of all.⁴⁰ The Church's mission stands in continuity with the mission of Christ: “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you” (Jn 20:21). From the perpetuation of the sacrifice of the Cross and her communion with the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist, the Church draws the spiritual power needed to carry out her mission. The Eucharist thus appears as both the source and the summit of all evangelization, since its goal is the communion of mankind with Christ and in him with the Father and the Holy Spirit.⁴¹

Carmelite Retreat -
The project of Satan is to draw us away from God and the project of God is to draw close to Him. Satan tempts us through our senses. We become one with the things we possess.