September 28, 2025

The highpoint and highlight of Holy Mass is the receiving of Our Lord in the Eucharist.  Whether we receive the Host or from the Cup or both, we receive Jesus Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.  The smallest crumb or the tiniest drop contain Jesus in his entirety.  Each of us is invited to receive the Lord’s Body; it shows the importance of the gathered people as the Body of Christ.  We are all part of the Body of Christ even though we are many people.  With our “Amen” after the minister of Holy Communion says, The Body of Christ, The Blood of Christ we acknowledge Jesus as God, as Savior, as Redeemer, as Head of the Church. We become part of him as he becomes part of us.  Receiving the Eucharist is a privilege and we need to be thankful that we, as the Apostles in Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, recognize that Jesus has the words of everlasting life.  Eucharist means Thanksgiving and we should continually be thankful for the privilege of the Holy Eucharist.  A spiritual communion is possible for those unable to receive, whether not having received First Eucharist or are not in a state of grace.  It is important to spend quiet time after receiving Our Lord “…a sacred silence may now be observed for some period of time…after Communion, they (the people) praise and pray to God in their hearts.”  (GIRM 164, 45) Have a good week in the Lord.  Gay Snell

An Act of Thanksgiving:  From the depths of my heart I thank you, dear Lord, for your infinite kindness in coming to me.  How good you are to me!  With our most holy Mother and all the angels, I praise your mercy and generosity toward me, a poor sinner.  I thank you for nourishing my soul with your Sacred Body and Precious Blood.  I will try to show my gratitude to you in the Sacrament of your love, by obedience to your holy commandments, by fidelity to my duties, by kindness to my neighbor, and by an earnest endeavor to become more like you in my daily conduct.  Amen

September 21, 2025

September 29 is the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. These 3 archangels are named in Holy Scripture.  Saint Michael is called the defender of the Church, while Saint Gabriel is the herald of the Incarnation.  Saint Raphael’s name means “God heals”.  Angels are spiritual beings created by God who are personal and immortal.  They are intelligent and have free will.  They glorify God without ceasing and serve as messengers of His saving plan.  The word angel comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for “messenger.”  We are surrounded by their watchful care and intercession.  The New Testament features 7 classes of angels: angels, powers, and virtues (see 1 Peter 3:22); principalities, dominions (see Ephesians 1:21; 3:10); thrones (see Colossians 1:16); and archangels (see 1 Thessalonians 4:16).  The Old Testament adds 2 more: cherubim (see Genesis 3:24) and seraphim (see Isaiah 6:2).  October 2 is the Feast of the Guardian Angels.  Saint Michael’s name means “who is like God”. He was honored by the Church in a particular way with a prayer that we say immediately following Mass.  Saint Gabriel’s name means “the power of God” and he was the one who announced the Incarnation of the Son of God to the Blessed Virgin.  He also is the one who appeared to Joseph in a dream.  Saint Raphael plays a key role in the Old Testament book of Tobit.  In the Gospels, angels announced the birth of Jesus, worshiped him, ministered to him after his temptation in the desert, and came to his aid in his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Gay Snell

September 14, 2025

Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  This feast commemorates the finding of Jesus’ cross in 326, the consecration of Jerusalem’s Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher some ten years later, and the recovery in 628 or 629 by Emperor Heraclius of a major portion of the cross that had been removed by the Persians from its place of veneration in Jerusalem.  According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1085, the Exaltation of the Cross consists in the fact that “the event of the Cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward life”.  According to Saint Leo the Great “the sign of the cross makes kings of all those reborn in Christ”.  Without the Cross there can be no Resurrection. The feast originated in Jerusalem.  Once the Basilica of the Holy Cross was built at Rome, the feast was generally adopted.  This feast is also known as the Feast of the Holy Cross and the Triumph of the Cross.  

Monday is the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows.  On the feast of her Assumption, August 15, 1233, Our Lady appeared to seven noblemen of Florence, instructing them to establish a religious order which would preach her sorrows to the Christian world.  She appeared again on Good Friday, April 15, 1240.  In the second apparition, Mary presented the seven with a habit, indicated to them the rule for the order, and gave them the name “Servants of Mary.”  They became known as the Servite Order.  

Have a good week in the Lord, Gay Snell

September 7, 2025

What is an indulgence?  We sometimes see at the end of prayers and devotions and novenas that praying that particular prayer, devotion, or novena will give an indulgence.  According to the Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices an indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sin whose guilt has already been forgiven.  In other words, once we have committed a sin, confessed it in Reconciliation, done our Penance, we can obtain through prescribed ways final remission for that sin.  Any sin will place a mark on our soul and once confessed may leave a stain.  One way to remove that stain is through the receipt of an indulgence.  A partial indulgence removes part of the temporal punishment due to sin; a plenary indulgence removes all punishment.  In 2000, a manual on indulgences was published by the Holy See (the Vatican)—Enchiridion Indulgentiarum.  Indulgences are also explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 1471, 1498, 1478-1479.  Indulgences can be obtained for ourselves, for others, and for the Souls in Purgatory.  Keep in mind, that in order to enter Heaven our souls must be pure—thus time in Purgatory…and thus the importance of gaining indulgences.  (Some examples: First Friday or First Saturday devotion/novena; praying the Rosary, Divine Mercy, Angelus, or other daily devotions/prayers…)  Have a good week in the Lord, Gay Snell