Archive for the ‘Personal Thoughts & Reflections’ Category

For Reflection…

Posted: July 20, 2011 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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“I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth for hiding these things from the learned and clever and revealing them to mere children” ( Lk 10:21 JB)

Doctoral degrees are usually worthwhile, but they can trigger conceit in some people and it is the conceit that is the problem.  So also with vanity stemming from other gifts and accomplishments.  It blocks insight into the most important of all human questions, the ultimate whys and hows of being fully beautiful and fulfilled.

Love joins humility as the source of this superior light.

Let us journey from born egocentrism to true love for one another.

Remain In My Love

Posted: May 26, 2011 by CatholicJules in Memory Book, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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The love which our Blessed lady had for God was so great that she suffered keenly through her desire of union with Him; hence the Eternal Father, to console her, sent her his only and beloved Son.  If you wish to come to where I am going, that is, to glory, you must come this road, that is, through thorns.  Before communion, we ought to exercise ourselves in many acts of virtues.  Prayer and communion are not to be made or desired for the sake of the devotion we feel in them, for that is seeking self, and not God; but we must be frequent in both the one and the other in order to become humble, obedient, gentle and patient.  When we see these virtues in a man, then we know that he has really gathered the fruit of prayer and of communion.  Our sweet Jesus, through the excess of his love and liberality, has left himself to us in the Most Holy Sacrament.

He who works purely for the love of God desires nothing but his honour, and thus is ready in everything either to act or not to act, and that is not in indifferent matters only, but even in good ones; and he is always resigned to the will of God.  The Lord grants in a moment what we may have been unable to obtain in dozens of years.  To obtain perfectly the gift of humility, four main things are required; to despise the world, to despise no person, to despise one’s self, to despise being despised.  Perfection consists in leading captive our own will, and in playing the king over it.  A man ought to mortify his understanding in little things, if he wishes to easily mortify  it in great ones, and to advance in the way of virtue.  Without mortification nothing can be done.  We ought to hope for and love the glory of God by means of a good life.

SAINT PHILIP NERI

Saint Philip Neri (1595) was an Italian priest and the founder of the Oratory.

Understanding Is The Reward Of Faith

Posted: May 2, 2011 by CatholicJules in Memory Book, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Understanding is the reward of faith.

Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe,

but believe that you may understand.

St. Augustine

***** PRAYER *****

Posted: April 28, 2011 by CatholicJules in Memory Book, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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O God, wake me out of the nightmare fantasies of sin and temptation that threathens my peace with you, that I may live in the daylight of your purpose and be alert and attentive to your love for me in Jesus Christ, in whose name I pray.  Amen.

AMEN! A Declaration Of Faith..

Posted: April 25, 2011 by CatholicJules in Life's Journeys, Memory Book, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Have you ever reflected on why you say Amen prior to receiving the Body of Christ?  Do you even know why you do? Has it become  routine to do so?

…
We Catholics should all be saying a loud resounding AMEN! A conviction on our part…as for me personally I do so because..

I am saying……

  • I believe wholeheartedly in the Creed I profess.
  • I believe that I am truly receiving the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ my saviour.
  • I am proud to be a catholic.
  • I am in communion with the Church, i.e. part of the body of Christ my saviour.  I am one with my sisters and brothers in Christ.
  • I am receiving Jesus in a state of grace, free from mortal sin and hope to have eternal life.
there are more I could lists but these few are the most important to me.
Here is what  Rev. Jerome A Magat said in a homily I believe or a Gospel reflection…

Jesus said to the crowds: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you , unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

In John 6:51-58, the Gospel provides us with another installment from John’s sixth chapter.- the Bread of Life discourse. In order to solemnize His claims, Jesus would often preface His statements by saying, “Amen, amen, I say to you.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) reminds us that our Lord would use the phrase “Amen, amen” in order “to emphasize the trustworthiness of his teaching. His authority founded on God’s truth” (CCC, 1063). Similarly, we use the term “Amen” after we recite the Our Father at Mass during what is known as the “Great Amen” as well as when we receive Holy Communion.

What does the term “Amen” mean, and what does our saying “Amen” mean when we respond to the statement “The Body of Christ” when we receive Holy Communion?

What does the term “Amen” mean, and what does our saying “Amen” mean when we respond to the statement “The Body of Christ” when we receive Holy Communion? Again, the catechism reminds us: “In Hebrew, amen comes from the same root as the word ‘believe.’ This root expresses solidity, trustworthiness, faithfulness. And so we can understand why ‘Amen’ may express both God’s faithfulness towards us and our trust in Him.” (CCC, 1062) And so, more than simply “I believe,” the word “Amen” means that I place my life forward for the truth of a particular claim. It is more than an idea that resides in the mind. It is also an act of the will expressing God’s trustworthiness and my desire to believe, trust and love Him.

When a communicant says, “Amen,” to the words “The Body of Christ” when he receives the Eucharist at Mass, he is saying “Amen” to several realities. First, he is saying “Amen” to the reality of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Next, he is saying “Amen” to the priesthood which confects this Eucharist, the authority of the bishop who ordained the priest and the pope that holds them in full communion with the See of Peter. Finally, he is saying “Amen” to all that the Church proposes as being true and definitively taught as worth of our belief. So, in order to make a genuine communion, a person receiving the Eucharist must be in full communion with the Church – that is, he accepts everything that the Church teaches. To believe in anything less makes that person’s “Amen” a disingenuous act. A true “Amen” links us to Jesus and nourishes us into everlasting life.

This precisely is the reason why Catholics don’t offer Holy Communion to non-Catholics (with the exception of the Orthodox). The reasoning is really quite simple. If, for example, a Protestant or a Jew was to come up to the Communion line and the priest said, “The Body of Christ,” the only response would be “Amen.” However, since neither Protestants nor Jews believe in the Eucharist in the same way that Catholics do, the priest would be asking the Protestant or Jew to violate their conscience in saying “Amen” to realities they do not accept.

Thus, the Church reminds us that the sacraments are not intended to engender unity. Rather, they are intended to express the unity that already exists among believers. Catholics are, therefore, not to receive communion in Protestant ecclesial communities because Catholics are not in communion with Protestants. That is why Jesus’ words in our Gospel are so chilling. “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”

So, receiving Holy Communion with a resounding “Amen” expresses the unity of believers in the Catholic Church under the headship of the Roman Pontiff and his collaborators, the bishops. May the “Amen” that we say at Holy Communion be authentic – reflective of our unity of belief in all that our Lord has deemed necessary for our salvation and made known through His Bride, the Church.

~~~~~~~~

It is a statement of belief that the gathered Church makes in Christ’s presence in the Eucharist. It is further an acknowledgement of the presence of Christ in the faithful and union with Christ in his Body, the Church.

See how St. Augustine framed both of these aspects of the mystery of the Body of Christ in the early 5th
century:

“If you wish to understand the body of Christ, listen to the Apostle as he says to the faithful, ‘You are the body of Christ and His members.’ (1Cor 12:27) If therefore, you are the body of Christ and His members, your mystery has been placed on the Lord’s table, you receive your mystery. You reply “Amen” to that which you are, and by replying, you consent. For you hear, “The Body of Christ,” and you reply, “Amen.” Be a member of the body of Christ so that your “Amen” may be true.” But, why in bread? … Let us listen to the Apostle who said, ‘We though many, are one bread, one body.’”

(1Cor 10:17) [Augustine, IIA6.1 Sermon 272 (dated 405-411) Ed PL 38.1246-1248]

How is “Amen” an Act of Reverence?


Saying “Amen,” means we assent to our faith with our head and heart and will. Not only do we believe in the real presence but we also commit ourselves to living and acting as Jesus did and does. Tertullian, a 3rd century North African theologian, applied the Latin term sacramentum to the rites of baptism and Eucharist. Sacramentum referred to the oath of allegiance that soldiers made to the Roman emperor to serve him, even with their life. At this time in
the Church’s history, persecutions were common enough to make baptism into Christ a commitment that could mean dying for the faith. Thus, saying “Amen” to the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ serves as a Catholic pledge of allegiance to follow Christ.

How is Receiving Communion Itself an Act of Reverence?


The act of receiving is itself another powerful and meaningful gesture. “To receive” means to get, to obtain, to admit, to let in, and to accept. It implies a certain openness in the person receiving. It points to a hoped-for capacity in the person to be nourished by what one receives and to be nourished by the generosity of the Giver. Receiving, therefore, is an act that renders one vulnerable to what is given and to the one giving. Will the gift meet all my needs? Will the gift
be truly what I desire? Will I ever be hungry again? The procession of the faithful, the Body of Christ in the world is a procession of the hungry, the needy, and the hopeful. We may not always recognize each other in this manner, but all of God’s people (except possibly the very youngest) approach the minister of Communion with some experience of these things. What then do we see? We see members of our worshiping assembly engaging in a dialogic act of proclamation and response as well as a reciprocal act of giving and receiving. The minister of Communion, who herself has just been nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ, now serves the assembled Body by giving them food and drink. Even with her own vulnerability, demonstrated in needing to receive Communion, she and other ministers welcome fellow
sinners and nourish these same members of the Body with food and drink from heaven.

FOR REFLECTION

…
“What you see is transitory, but the invisible reality signified does not pass away, but abides. Behold, it is received, eaten, and consumed. Is the body of Christ consumed? Not at all! Here, on earth, His members are purified, there they are crowned. Thus, what is signified will endure eternally, even though what signifies it seems to pass away. Receive,
then, in such a way that you may take thought for yourselves, that you may have unity in your hearts, that you may fix your hearts always on high.” St. Augustine, IIA6.2 Sermon 227 (dated 412-413, 416-417)

Be Filled With The Holy Spirit – St Augustine

Posted: April 14, 2011 by CatholicJules in Memory Book, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Reflection Of Being An Extraordinary Minister Of Communion

Posted: March 19, 2011 by CatholicJules in Life's Journeys, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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I had a strong desire a few years ago to serve in our Church in whatever Ministry that allowed me some form of flexibility in managing my time.  The reason for this, is because I am doing shift work at my employ and so it is almost impossible to commit to a fixed weekly schedule.   To my limited knowledge at that time, I knew a few ministries and almost all of them would require a rather fixed schedule.  So I shelved the idea, thinking it best that I wait till either I find an office hour job or serve when I retire.   Deep in my heart I wanted to serve as an Extraordinary Minister Of Communion, but felt that I was not worthy as I led a rather sinful life.  So in my mind I was considering an alternative, and that it would likely be to serve  in the capacity of a warden.

After a few years had passed and as my elder son was preparing that year to receive his first Holy Communion.  Parents had to meet regularly with the Parish Priest so that all of us could equip ourselves with the knowledge necessary to share our faith with our kids.  While this was going on, our Parish Priest was also started a basic bible knowledge course of which both my wife and I made a commitment to attend, as we were learning so much from him.  That was how I received my calling to the EMC.

I desperately needed to change my lifestyle and my life! But how?  So I prayed earnestly to God to for help and His guidance and was led to join the LISS seminars.  Needless to say that it was life changing, thereafter I developed a deeper and closer relationship with the one triune God.

Close to a year now since I started this journey, I am now serving as EMC.  On the first two occasions that I served during Mass, it was slightly overwhelming because not only was I elated to serve, but had to observe and remember quite a fair bit all while being reverent.  I have pondered and prayed and still pray everyday on how I can serve our Lord to the best of my ability.  The other day as I prayed on how to always remain focussed on Jesus especially when I am serving Mass as EMC, the Holy Spirit led me with this thought, “You are holding Jesus in your hand” then I had a vision of St Anthony holding the child Jesus.  I teared with joy in my heart…….and uttered a resounding AMEN.

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I extracted this from a book which I think is wonderful and does an incredible job in describing what it truly means to be a Eucharistic Minister of Holy Communion….

For special ministers of Holy Communion, there is another dignity and responsibility: you must become what you give.  You must become and live as the Body of Christ that you give to your brothers and sisters.  In you as in the bread and wine of the Eucharist, God the Father starts with the human and brings out the beyond-the-human.  God the Father gives you a share in a ministry that humans could not deserve and would not dare ask for their own! Your call to serve is as unexpected and as undeserved as the young boy’s at the multiplication of the loaves and fishes out of thin air. (John 6:1-15) He could have, but didn’t.  When Jesus wanted to feed the large, hungry crowd of his hearers, he didn’t ask the Father to create loaves and fishes out of thin air.  He could have, but he didn’t.  Jesus began this great miracle with loaves and fishes provided by a young boy.  How happy and surprised that boy must have felt in knowing that Jesus had chosen to use his loaves and fishes in so great a miracle!  The boy and the crowd that shared his lunch realized that God likes to start with the human when he is acting for and with human beings,  God starts with the human-with-us to lead us beyond human possibilities.  That is what Jesus did for the hungry crowd on the hillside in Galilee; that is what Jesus does for us who accept God’s call to ministry and for those we serve.

Through your humble service as minister of Communion, God unites you to your fellow members of the Body of Christ and actually forms all of you into that Body.  But God doesn’t do this without the human: God loves the human too much to ignore it! A special minister’s human, personal, interior qualities will either build up or tear down the Body of Christ, that temple for God in the Spirit made up of brothers and sisters in Christ.  The “Rite of Commissioning Special Ministers of Holy Communion” contains words that are worth recalling often: “In this ministry, you must be examples of Christian living in faith and conduct; you must strive to grow in holiness through this sacrament of unity and love.  Remember that, through many, we are one body because we share the one bread and one cup.”

There must be an essential unity between your life inside and outside the liturgy, as the liturgical scholar Aidan Kavanagh states: “The common end for which the diverse liturgical ministries work is not a ceremony but a corporate life in faithful communion with all God’s holy people and holy things.  For this reason liturgical ministers should never be seen to do in the liturgy what they are regularly seen to do outside the liturgy.”  To put his another way: your service as ministers inside the liturgy should only make visible the faith and love you are seen to manifest outside the liturgy.  Generous self-giving, conformed to the pattern of Chris’s self giving unto death, must mark both your interior and exterior life both inside and outside the liturgy.

St Augustine exhorted his hearers to such self-giving while praising St Lawrence , deacon and martyr , who had ministered the chalice of the Lord’s Blood:”Just as he had partaken of a gift of self at the table of the Lord, so he prepared to offer such a gift. In his life he loved Christ; in his death he followed his footsteps.”  Similarly, your love for Christ present in the Eucharist and in his people will make the bread and wine you minister to others genuine signs of Christ’s self-sacrifice and your own.  The bread and wine that you minister to others will be outward signs of the love that flows from the heart of Christ and from your own heart.

“If then, you want to understand the body of Christ,” says Saint Augustine, “remember what the Apostle says: ‘You are the body of Christ and members thereof’(1Cor 12:27).  If, then, you are the body of Christ and his members, it is your mystery which is set forth on the Lord’s table; it is your own mystery that you receive.  You say ‘Amen’ to what you are, and in saying ‘Amen’ you subscribe to it.  For you hear the words ‘The body of Christ,” and you answer ‘Amen.’ Be members of the body of Christ then, so that your ‘Amen’ may be authentic.”  As special ministers of Holy Communion, you join with your brothers and sisters to say “Amen” to Christ as you receive him in the Eucharist; you also lead your brothers and sisters, through their “Amen,” to make a personal act of faith in the Christ who is present in the Eucharist and in themselves. Let your “Amen” to being a member of the Body of Christ be true, so that you can help make others’ “Amen” to being members of the Body of Christ also be true.  This true “Amen” is a Christian Commitment: the liturgical ministries, ”As special ways of living out the baptismal life of faith….demand a renewal of faith in view of the new charge given by the community to the individual.  These moments of personal dedication demand reflection, prayer, and discernment so that the decisions to be made may be truly responsive to God’s call.

Such reflection, prayer, and discernment are not one-time only nourishment, but a necessary diet for sustaining a life of generous service to God’s people, both inside and outside the liturgy.  Your life as a special minister of Holy Communion must be one of both being and giving the Body of Christ .  Let your “Amen” to that life of service be real and complete.  Then you will find great joy in the Lord who chooses to be present in you, in those your serve, and in the Eucharist that forms you into his Body.

My Lenten Prayer For You..

Posted: March 10, 2011 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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I pray for you my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as I hope you’d pray for me….
That as we have embarked on this Lenten journey, we never lose focus on Jesus our Lord and Saviour who is leading us closer and deeper into our Father’s bosom.
That we remain humble, prayerful and steadfast in relinquishing all bonds we have that is of our kingdom, for it is His kingdom we seek to rest in. Let us be beacons of light for one another instead of candle snuffers. May the Grace of God be upon us and may He unite all of us in His love.
Amen.

Whenever There Is Silence

Posted: March 2, 2011 by CatholicJules in Memory Book, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Whenever there is silence around me,
by day or night,
I am startled by a cry.
The first time I heard it,
I went out and searched
and found a man in the throes of crucifixion.

I went to him and said,
“I will take you down.”
And I began to take the nails
out of his hands and his feet.
But he stopped me and said,
“You cannot take me down.
For I cannot come down
until every man, every woman, and every child in the world
shall come together to take me down.

“But sir,” I said, “your cry: I cannot bear your cry.”

“This cry,” he told me,
“It is the anguish of those with no food,
of those who thirst,
the ones huddled naked against the cold,
the cry of those who are lonely and in prisons.
This is the cry of the homeless,
of the ones rejected and hated by society.
It is the cry of those whose lives are snuffed out
by anger, hate or fear.
This is the cry of those living on the edge of war,
those made to wander from their homes in search of peace.”

“Then what am I to do?” I asked him.

“Go about the world,” he said,
“Tell everyone you meet: It is a shared cross on which we all do hang.”

 

For A nice PDF copy Download it here

 

Adapted by Bill Huebsch from an unknown source.

FTFF

Posted: February 10, 2011 by CatholicJules in Memory Book, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Freely, Totally, Faithfully, Fruitfully

 

Christ gives us all the above, when he gives of himself in the Eucharist he instituted.

Use this easy to remember gauge or rather ‘A Love Standard’ when we give of ourselves whether in marriage, or in servitude of others.

Face Prayer By James And Joy Pinto

Posted: February 8, 2011 by CatholicJules in Memory Book, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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I think this is a simple but wonderful prayer…..

..

Posted: December 21, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Lord Jesus I decrease myself and ask that you increase within me Oh Lord.

7 Advent Stations

Posted: December 5, 2010 by julesplife in Life's Journeys, Memory Book, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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What are the Advent Stations?

The Advent Stations take us on a tour of the Old Testament.  Like the traditional Lenten Stations of the Cross, these Advent “stations” or “stopping points” provide a way to ponder the mystery of how God prepared the world to receive his Son at the moment of Annunciation.  Each station contains an Old Testament foreshadowing of the incarnation, a meditation, the New Testament fulfillment in Christ, and then a prayer.  They can be prayed alone, or with you family, or even in the church with a group of the faithful.

Join me as we prepare ourselves for the coming of our Lord, Jesus.

The 7 Adventstations (Click Here)

Thought Of The Day..

Posted: December 2, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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“It is only when we die unto ourselves that we can rise with Jesus, our Saviour.”

 

Thought Of Day…

Posted: November 24, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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As I was reflecting on why it is so difficult for one to remain holy.

 

For the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good, and roving desire perverts the innocent mind.

Wisdom 4:12

 

And then I was led to this passage….

 

For the lowliest may be pardoned in mercy, but the mighty will be mightily tested.

Wisdom 6:6

 

Thought Of The Day…Why did Jesus have to die?

Posted: November 4, 2010 by CatholicJules in Life's Journeys, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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I have been reflecting on this very question for nearly a month now, and it all started with a lady who said this in a prayer meeting.  She said, “If you think about it, Jesus didn’t really have to die but he did so for us to remember.”

She has a point, though it is an overly simplistic and minuscule one.

Upon deep reflection, I have found that to answer this question ,”Why did Jesus have to die.”  You must first ask, “Why did he live?”

And you would have found your answer…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If at the end of your reflection on this, you still have no answer then perhaps we can arrange a sit down and I will share what I have learnt with you.  Else I can always share my very own personal testimony with you (no matter how hard it is for me) and we can go from there….

Thought Of The Day…On Sharing God’s Love

Posted: November 3, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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“Some people need spirituality more than others, right now I am comfortable with where I am at.”

This is a common line or reply whenever one is called to either deepen their faith or relationship with God.  Even before sharing can begin, a full stop followed by an exclamation mark is laid down.  So does it mean we who are trying to share God’s love with our brethren should give up? No, it just means we should pray for the people we are reaching out to and let God soften their hearts. In time if God willing and by their own free will they too will get to experience His love.

Here are some thoughts of our holy Father Pope Benedict XVI

  • A Christian knows when it is time speak of God and when it is better to say nothing and to let love alone speak.  He knows that God is love and that God’s presence is felt at the very time when the only thing we do is to love.
  • We all ask ourselves what the Lord expects of us.  It seems to me that the greatest challenge of our time is secularization: that is, a way of living and presenting the world as if “Deus non daretur”, in other words, as if God did not exist.  There is a desire to reduce God to the private sphere, to a sentiment, as if He were not an objective reality.  As a result, everyone makes his own plan of life.  But this vision, presented as though it were scientific, accepts as valid only what can be proven.  With a God who is not available for immediate experimentation, this vision ends by also injuring society.  The result is in fact that each one makes his own plan and in the end finds himself opposed to the other.  As can be seen, this is definitely an unlivable situation.  We must make God present again in our society.  This seems to me to be the first essential element: that God be once again present in our lives, that we do not live as though we were autonomous, authorized to invent what freedom and life are.


Easy Prayer For Hard Times…

Posted: October 15, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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“Immaculate Heart Of Mary, I place all my trust in you.”

Fr.John Corapi

Reflection Of The Day…

Posted: October 12, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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“Your apostolic effectiveness and mutual communal enrichment depends not on the amount of time you spend with people but of the quality of your presence.”
Fr. Thomas Dubay

Reflection of the day…

Posted: October 10, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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“What I have come to understand is that this whole groundwork of prayer is based on humility and the more a soul lowers itself the more God raises it up.”

Teresa of Avila

Thought Of The Day…On Discernment Of Spirits

Posted: October 8, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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I attended just one of a series of talks on the discernment of spirits so far and had even bought the book ‘Landmarks’ an Ignatian journey which briefly covers some aspects of it. (Haven’t finished reading it )  Both of them are great resources on the subject.  But lately this is what comes to mind :-

If I continue to thirst and hunger for righteousness, would I not instantly recognize my Lord’s voice?

“To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” John10-3:5

Thought of the day…

Posted: September 28, 2010 by CatholicJules in Life's Journeys, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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In the beautiful words of Pope John Paul II:
“To recite the Rosary is nothing other than to contemplate with Mary the face of Christ.”

Thought Of The Day…

Posted: September 27, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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On a Facebook newsfeed this question was asked of Catholics :-

Share you faith with us, what’s good about being a Catholic?

Well I suppose you’d never think of such an answer unless you’ve been asked the question.

Here’s my answer (Comment on Facebook)….

The fullness and completeness of our faith together with it’s sacred traditions in total communion with the Holy Trinity and the Faithful built on a foundation of love.

What would your answer be dear brethren?

Thought of the day

Posted: September 18, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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When we reflect on just how much forgiveness we need for ourselves, are we then able to be more forgiving of others.

Forgiveness is an act of profound love given to the unworthy. This is what we receive, this is what we should give readily.

Thought Of The Day…

Posted: September 12, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Once again I felt uncomfortable at what was communicated to us through today’s homily.  Uncomfortable not because I totally disagreed with this loving Priest of ours, but because I felt it was once again incomplete and was left to misintepretation.  At first I thought it best that I should just remain silent but after the Eucharistic Celebration and dimissal, I made my way to speak with him to clarify what he meant because I did not want to go against Church teachings nor did I want to misinterpret what he said.  However I believe that after our discussion he meant what he said to begin with. 

I am still groping myself and trying very hard to increase my faith reading Scripture and learning from our Church Fathers and so my aim is not to prove the Priest wrong but to explore what is taught to us through the Catechism of The Catholic Church.

I cannot repeat word for word what he said in his homily but in essense it is about God’s infinite love for us.  Sinners by definition are not necessarily those who do wrong but those who acknowledge that they have wronged God.  He then showed us a slide to discuss among ourselves what we thought God’s love means to us when we wrong him. ( again the below may not be word for word )

1. God is angry with us and wants to go for confession.

2.God loves us so much that he still wants us to receive Jesus through the Eucharist.

3. God loves us even more and wants us to go back to him.

I personally chose 3. because that it what I believe the Gospel is teaching and showing us.  That is no matter, how much we have sinned against God he is still waiting for us with open arms to receive us so long as we have a contrite heart and are truly repentant.  We do not have to fear or stay away from him.  Jesus our shepherd is willing to leave behind the ninety in his fold behind, face the wolves and weather just to look for his one strayed sheep. 

The loving priest on the other hand said something like this… perhaps the people in the Old testament viewed God like that, which is an angry God.  He then said that God’s love for us is actually nos. 2 & 3. That is why he says when people who ask him in the confessional if it is a sin to receive Jesus in the Eucharist without having gone for the sacrament of reconciliation he says NO.  After all we say ” Lord I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed” before going for communion.

Now this is what got me uncomfortable…..At first I thought he meant that if we had not committed any mortal sins and are truly sorry for all our venial sins that we may have unwittingly committed.  Then during the penintential rite; the breaking of bread when we sing the ‘Lamb of God’;and when we ask God to make us worthy through the prayer mentioned above, only then we are made worthy to receive Jesus.  Apparently he meant what he said, that we can partake in the Eucharist so long as we are truly sorry for our sins.

So what did St Paul mean in his letter to the Corinthians? (1 Cor 11-27:29) when he said ” Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.  CCC1385  Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion. For the different kind of sins kindly refer to CCC1852.

And what about the the second precept of the Church? CCC 2042 (“You shall confess your sins at least once a year.”) ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation,which continues Baptism’s work of conversion and forgiveness.

Even in the love story of the prodigal son, we see that the son was truly repentant not just sorry. (Luke15:18) The father of course knew this immediately by the fact that his son had come back to him, hence he was filled with compassion and joy.  Because sin in essence keeps us far away from our loving Father.

I believe that if we want to receive the divine body of Jesus our saviour in the Eucharist, we must receive him with the purity of a contrite heart and are repenting from our sinful ways. (Words and Actions) Only when we do so, will we experience the fullness of communion with Him and his Church.

Being sorry or remorseful is not good enough, we must be repentant. Take the case of Judas Iscariot, was he repentant or remorseful?  I believe he was remorseful but not repentant.  If he was repentant, he would have submitted to the will of God and asked for forgiveness instead of taking his own life by hanging himself. (Matthew 27:4-5)  So then if we are truly repentant, then we must listen to Jesus who teaches us how to live our lives.  The first step is to go for the sacrament of reconciliation which Jesus himself established through his apostles. Matthew 16:19 / Matthew 18:18   

Like the Apostles, we too are sent out to search for lost sheep and welcome them back into the fold.  But I believe we are to also guide them so that they may receive fully the fruits of communion with God and his Church.

*update 2045hrs*God is first to welcome the sincerely repentant sinner, teaches Benedict XVI

Thought Of The Day…

Posted: September 3, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We should always pray to know God’s Will for us, we shall then not question nor seek first to understand His Will, but accept in humility and utter “Thy Will be done.”

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Awesome is Our God!

I talked to Jesus today in the Adoration room, before attending the Divine Mercy Devotion followed by the Eucharistic Celebration.  I did not plan for it at all,  in fact I was totally unaware that the first Friday of the Month is dedicated to the Divine Mercy followed by the Eucharistic Celebration which begins only at 8pm here in the Church Of St Anthony.  But I thank Almighty God for the wonderful experience.

It is so liberating to humble yourself before God, raising your hands in total surrender high above your head in Praise and Worship! I was given the opportunity today when the Eucharistic Celebration ended with the final hymn…..”How Great Thou Art!”

*Added Note on 4 Sept 0007hrs*  It has just dawned on me that the Holy Spirit had given me ‘new wine’ to drink.  And so I pray for you by brothers and sisters in Christ, that you too will partake in the ‘new wine’ offered to you.

Luke 5:33-39

Thought Of The Day…

Posted: August 30, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Bible Literacy

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Bible literacy is highly important for all Catholics and reading the bible requires a certain discipline.  While we pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us, we too must yearn to know God for ourselves and His love for us through his Word.  Only then will we approach the Bible with reverence,  and the practical knowledge to unlock it’s treasures will be made available to us.

Below is a humorous example of a man with a certain single attitude towards reading the bible :-

He says…..

Lord guide me, he then opens the bible, uses his finger wiggles it a little and lets it point down to ‘Judas hung himself’..’
Oh No! he says to himself then quickly closes and reopens the bible for a second time.  He lets his finger glide down and the passage reads “Go now and do likewise..”  He repeats the process quickly and on the  third attempt it reads, “What you must do, do quickly!”

This might happen if we do not have the discipline or proper attitude…  
😀

Thought Of The Day…

Posted: August 27, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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We spread our faith not by going from one place to another knocking on doors  or standing on a soapbox with a megaphone in hand.  Instead we do so by building relationships with others on the foundation of Love and Truth.

Personal Thoughts…

Posted: August 22, 2010 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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On today’s homily…..

I just felt the homily given today by one of our Priest, on the Gospel Luke 13:22-30 was not complete somehow.  I mean the Priest’s message in our Church that God does not punish but rather has only infinite love for us and is calling us to receive him is only one aspect.

I on the other hand think God allows us to experience the consequences of our actions or inactions, so in essence that is the real punishment.  Also the Gospel has two dimensions to it, one is already mentioned by the Priest today and the other I feel was about the unrepentant who presumed in God’s mercy.  These are the ones who reject God’s call to come back into his loving care and choose instead to live in sin, thinking that there would always be time for repentance.  However their time had run out.

I could be wrong……

What do you think?

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