Stational Church: April 6, 2006

Today's Stational Church is the Church of St. Apollinaris

There are actually two stational churches indicated for today. The first Lenten Station was established by Pope Gregory II (715-731) in the Church of St. Apollinaris and the second established by Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) with apostolic privilege in the Church of St. Mary the New in the Roman Forum as a closing for a Holy Year of Redemption.

A week from today we shall begin the Pascal Mysteries. The truer the sorrow for our sins and the greater the realization of the need of God's grace, the more fruitful will be the efficacy of these Pascal Mysteries.

Let us pray: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that the dignity of human nature wounded by excess, may be reformed by the practice of self-denial. Through Christ, Our Lord.
Amen.

Source: St. John Cantius Parish

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Prayer Before a Crucifix

O good and dearest Jesus, I kneel before your face. With all my heart I ask you to place in my heart more faith, hope and charity. Give me a true sorrow for my sins and a strong will to do better With great sorrow and grief I look upon your five wounds and think about them. Before my eyes are the words that the prophet David said of you, O good Jesus: "They have pierced my hands and feet They have numbered all my bones."

Prayer Source: Holy Lent by Eileen O'Callaghan, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1975

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A Science v. Religion Joke

I opened up my email this afternoon and found this quite amusing joke.

God is sitting in heaven when a scientist prays to Him, "God, we don't need you anymore.

Science has finally figured out a way to create life out of nothing. In other words, we can now do what you did in the "beginning."!

"Oh, is that so? Tell me..." replies God. "Well," says the scientist, "We can take dirt and form it into the likeness of you and breathe life into it, thus creating man. "God answered; "Well, that's interesting...show Me." So the scientist bends down to the earth and starts to mold the soil.

"No, no, no...interrupted God; "Get your own dirt."

"SCORE------God 1 Scientist 0"

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Words of Inspiration: April 6, 2006

Today is Thursday, April 6, 2006. Let's try something new today. As Lent begins to near its end, we will soon remember Christ's death on the cross on Good Friday. Let's begin reflecting on our Lent and, if necessary, begin incorporating extra penance this week. Remember, we don't perform penance to earn salvation, but rather to show God that extra love for Him - who loved us so much that He allowed nails to be driven into His Hands and feet. He allowed a crown of thorns to pierce His Precious Head, and He allowed himself to be beaten with a rod. He allowed a Cross to burden him and wound his shoulder. Christ allowed himself to have his skin ripped apart in the scourging. He allowed Himself to die. The King of Glory came not to be honored but to die - to be condemned by sinners and to die on a tree. All of this was done out of pure love that we, His executioners, may one day be pardoned.

Today's scripture meditation:

"But sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you" (1 Peter 3:15)

I also had to include some words of Blessed Mother Teresa:

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world."

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The Saint for the Year Devotion Continues

(Moved to the top of my blog)

This is my last reminder about this devotion for this year. If you have not participated yet, I strongly encourage you to do so.

The devotion of having a special patron saint for the year chose you is still ongoing! This isn't built on superstition or the like. Rather, a friend of mine over the Internet has a tin of 1500 saint names. I relay each name/screenname to her that askes for a saint, and she pulls a saint name for each person. The connections for some have fit to the tee and others have had to dive deeper into a relationship with their saint.

Above all, saints are alive in Heaven and continue to intercede for us. This is a part of our faith as stated in the Nicene and Apostle's Creeds. Their intercession is a wonderful part of our faith

If you would like more information please see the original post, and I've just posted more results so please also see my Results Page.

If you'd like a special saint, just ask and it shouldn't be more than a few days. This is a great tradition and if you have not participated yet, it's a great addition to our lenten purpose of getting back to Christ.

Here is a comment below that is from the person that is drawing the saints:

Let me just say that it is NEVER too late to request a patron saint for the year! Believe me, they are just sitting back and waiting for you to request them! For those that are wondering how to build a deeper relationship with their saints, I would recommend "googling" their saint and getting as much information as possible ... for so many, the connections will be obvious and almost frightening! For others, the connections will not seem to be there at all ... but don't fret and don't give up hope! Pray, meditate and talk to your saint and ask them why they chose you. Believe me, you will find out! Probably when you least expect it. Take a good, hard look at your life and compare things in your saint's life with your own. Maybe your saint is telling you something about how you are living your life. Perhaps your saint is a patron saint for some difficulty or cross in your life. Perhaps your saint's feast day is an important day in your life. Maybe your saint bore their cross in a way that will make your cross easier for you. Who knows and who will know better than you? And when you find out ... let us know. God bless and have fun finding out what your heavenly intercessor is all about!

Image Source: Believed to be in the Public Domain

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Stational Church: April 5, 2006

Today's Stational Church is at the Church of St. Marcellus

A patient sufferer, condemned by his enemies to work in a horse-stable, the good shepherd, Pope Marcellus, is our leader today to the King of Martyrs, Christ, our Good Shepherd.Why must a human being suffer, physically, spiritually, or both? This has always been and ever will be, the great problem—indeed a problem and a riddle for the worldly individual, but not for the follower of Christ, who finds the answer at the foot of the Cross.

For the Christ-loving soul, there is no suffering for suffering sake, there is suffering only for Easter sake, with its peace and strength and never fading victory.The mystery of the Cross is the great answer, a solution, which the carnal-minded man will never find. St. Marcellus found it, and having found it, suffered gladly as a true athlete of Christ. "I will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou has upheld me and has not made my enemies to rejoice over me."

Let us pray: Sanctify this fast, O God, and mercifully enlightening the hearts of Thy faithful, do Thou hear favorable those to whom Thou grant the grace of devotion. Through Christ, Our Lord. Amen.

Source: St. John Cantius Parish

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Words of Inspiration: April 5, 2006

"Anyone is capable of going to Heaven. Heaven is our home. Dying is not the end, it is just the beginning. Death is a continuation of life. This is the meaning of eternal life; it is where our soul goes to God, to be in the presence of God, to see God, to speak to God, to continue loving Him with greater love. We only surrender our body in death - our heart and our soul live forever."

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Breast Cancer Risks from Abortions

The Philippine Foundation for Breast Cancer is now the 8th Medical Association claiming a high risk of breast cancer because of abortion. Not only does abortion murder an innocent child, but it hurts the mother too.

"[W]e acknowledge the abortion and breast cancer link based on the physiologic changes in the breast lobules of a woman who chose to deliberately interrupt her pregnancy (induced abortion) and the risk for breast cancer this will pose to that woman," Dr. Santos wrote.

Source: LifeNews

Prayer written by Fr. Frank Pavone:

Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life, And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters. I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the Resurrection of Your Son. I am ready to do my part in ending abortion. Today I commit myself Never to be silent, Never to be passive, Never to be forgetful of the unborn. I commit myself to be active in the pro-life movement, And never to stop defending life Until all my brothers and sisters are protected, And our nation once again becomes A nation with liberty and justice Not just for some, but for all, Through Christ our Lord. Amen!

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A Passage of Scripture for Lent

This passage of scripture came from last Sunday's Mass readings, but how appropriate they are as we journey closer to Lent. We must remember that we too must follow the Lord - we must serve Him.

But Jesus answered them, saying: The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. 24 Amen, amen I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground die, 25 Itself remaineth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world, keepeth it unto life eternal. 26 If any man minister to me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall my minister be. If any man minister to me, him will my Father honour. John 12:23-26

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Pope Benedict XVI Continues to Advocate the Pro-Life Message

Last year John Paul ll left this world for the next, but Pope Benedict XVI has continued to preach the truth of the pro-life movement. This not only includes the sinfulness of abortion but also embryonic stem cell research, in-vitro fertilization, artificial insemination, artificial contraception, gay marriage, and euthanasia to name only a few.

Pope Benedict XVI said, "Every human life as such deserves to be always defended
and promoted," Benedict observed. "Life is exalted while it is enjoyable, but there is a tendency to stop respecting it when it is sick or experiences some kind of disability."

An April 2005 Quinnipiac poll found that most American Catholics agreed with John Paul ll's condemnation of abortion. The poll also found that two-thirds of Catholics oppose abortion in all or most cases. Eighty percent said that the pope's position should also remain the same.

Let us pray that two-thirds will become three-thirds one day because abortion is an intrinsic evil, something that is never acceptable in any situation.

I am also pleased to report that abortions have substantially declined in recent years according to LifeNews.

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