Good Friday

It is Good Friday. The altar is bare. Jesus is gone.

How many altars have we seen in our lives that are bare?

Have you ever been in a Catholic Church and been unable to find the tabernacle? Where is the burning candle that should be there? Our souls should cry out: “Where have they taken Him? Where have they taken my Lord?”

Is the altar of your soul bare? Where is Christ?

Good Friday

It is Good Friday. The altar is bare. Jesus is gone.

How many altars have we seen in our lives that are bare?

Have you ever been in a Catholic Church and been unable to find the tabernacle? Where is the burning candle that should be there? Our souls should cry out: “Where have they taken Him? Where have they taken my Lord?”

Is the altar of your soul bare? Where is Christ?

Suffering with Christ

The psalm for yesterday's Mass was taken from Psalm 69.

For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother’s sons,because zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.

Obviously, we see this psalm as pertaining to the shame and humiliation Jesus suffered while on this earth.

But the last 2 lines jumped out at me while at Mass last night.

Does "zeal for the house of the Lord" consume us? Do we hunger for the Jesus in the Eucharist?

When someone blasphemes Christ, do those insults "fall on us"? When someone insults God, do we feel it? Do we hurt? Do we flinch in pain when we watch or hear something in the media that makes fun of Christ, His Church, or His values?

Do we ever consider making reparations for all the times when Christ is insulted and ignored?

The late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II asked the faithful for reparation in his letter, “Mane Nobiscum Domine” or “Stay with us, Lord”.

Eucharistic adoration outside Mass should become a particular commitment for individual parish and religious communities. Let us take the time to kneel before Jesus present in the Eucharist, in order to make reparation by our faith and love for the acts of carelessness and neglect, and even the insults which our Saviour must endure.

There is a lot going on during Holy Week. Many Masses and services, which many find difficult to attend. What better time, and in what better way is there to offer our sufferings with our Crucified Lord?

Suffering with Christ

The psalm for yesterday's Mass was taken from Psalm 69.

For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother’s sons,because zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.

Obviously, we see this psalm as pertaining to the shame and humiliation Jesus suffered while on this earth.

But the last 2 lines jumped out at me while at Mass last night.

Does "zeal for the house of the Lord" consume us? Do we hunger for the Jesus in the Eucharist?

When someone blasphemes Christ, do those insults "fall on us"? When someone insults God, do we feel it? Do we hurt? Do we flinch in pain when we watch or hear something in the media that makes fun of Christ, His Church, or His values?

Do we ever consider making reparations for all the times when Christ is insulted and ignored?

The late Holy Father, Pope John Paul II asked the faithful for reparation in his letter, “Mane Nobiscum Domine” or “Stay with us, Lord”.

Eucharistic adoration outside Mass should become a particular commitment for individual parish and religious communities. Let us take the time to kneel before Jesus present in the Eucharist, in order to make reparation by our faith and love for the acts of carelessness and neglect, and even the insults which our Saviour must endure.

There is a lot going on during Holy Week. Many Masses and services, which many find difficult to attend. What better time, and in what better way is there to offer our sufferings with our Crucified Lord?

I wake up
exhausted from too much work
in my dreams

The Holy Eucharist

Holy Thursday is the day in which Christ instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It is so much more than a "supper" with "friends". Through the Holy Eucharist, Jesus kept His promise to be with us "until the end of time."

Whether or not we are actually inside a Catholic Church building, Jesus is there. Whether or not we actually can receive the Holy Eucharist at any given moment, Jesus is there, waiting for us to "watch one hour" with Him.

One wonderful fruit of the papacy of Pope John Paul II is an increase in Eucharistic adoration. Eucharistic Adoration is open to anyone at any time, in those parishes who have a 24 hour adoration chapel. Even if you do not have an adoration chapel near you, Jesus still resides in the tabernacle 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When you go by a Catholic Church, say a prayer to Jesus, who is there in the Blessed Sacrament.

If you can't get to a Catholic Church to be with Jesus in the Eucharist, you can now, through the miracle of modern technology, have a Eucharistic Adoration website on your computer. This site in Kentucky has a beautiful Eucharistic Adoration chapel that you can view live, 24/7 via their webcam.

The Holy Eucharist

Holy Thursday is the day in which Christ instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It is so much more than a "supper" with "friends". Through the Holy Eucharist, Jesus kept His promise to be with us "until the end of time."

Whether or not we are actually inside a Catholic Church building, Jesus is there. Whether or not we actually can receive the Holy Eucharist at any given moment, Jesus is there, waiting for us to "watch one hour" with Him.

One wonderful fruit of the papacy of Pope John Paul II is an increase in Eucharistic adoration. Eucharistic Adoration is open to anyone at any time, in those parishes who have a 24 hour adoration chapel. Even if you do not have an adoration chapel near you, Jesus still resides in the tabernacle 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When you go by a Catholic Church, say a prayer to Jesus, who is there in the Blessed Sacrament.

If you can't get to a Catholic Church to be with Jesus in the Eucharist, you can now, through the miracle of modern technology, have a Eucharistic Adoration website on your computer. This site in Kentucky has a beautiful Eucharistic Adoration chapel that you can view live, 24/7 via their webcam.