Sunday, March 29, 2020

How 'bout a Sunday night update with the abitadeacon

Happy Sunday night y'all. I sincerely pray that all is well with my readers and visitors to this blog. It stands to reason that someone is reading this and is suffering with Coronavirus and someone else is worried about a friend or relative. And again many of us are certainly feeling some level of anxiety, concern or nervousness. I offer my prayers for all of you and my solidarity with you. For the blog follower or reader connectedness is often electronic. It's amazing that it's electronics, social media and technology keeping us so close these days.

As most of you know I returned to work this past Thursday after my wife got the all clear. The sinus issues have since abated and Wendy is very much on the mend. Back at work it was very strange to manage the branch from the drive-up and limited appointments only. Banking will get very interesting in the weeks ahead as everyone will be inquiring about the various loans with the recently passes stimulus package. Please know that banks do not yet have the details or parameters of any of these programs and it may be at least another week. And yes, even if it is a special program or SBA, normal credit criteria remains as will your documentation like tax returns and financial statements. Just a heads up.

For me this weekend brought more around the house chores and activities designed to keep me from losing my mind. Wendy and I did a de-clutter project yesterday then relaxed to watch the movie, 1917. You know, I did not think it lived up to the hype. Just my opinion folks.

Sunday brought my return to church as an assisting deacon at our 10 am video streamed Mass. I even got the opportunity to do a little preaching today. Being in the church, assisting Mass as I've done hundreds of times but today without a congregation, well, it was different. Of course Jesus was right there with us so all was well. Unfortunately our video did not work out so well so I put together my homily here on this blog and on the FB page of our parish church, St. Jane de Chantal in Abita Springs.

Today I also spoke with all of my grandchildren, especially a long Skype with Calvin & Katelyn from North Carolina. I already stay in touch daily with my daughter and granddaughter who live down the road.

So tonight I hope to catch some night prayer on FB live, maybe other devotions as well and then prepare for an early evening so I can be productive and helpful at work tomorrow.

Some reminders all; stay strong, if you can stay home then stay home, wash hands often and pay attention to how you truly feel. Say your prayers, thanking God for all that we are and all that we have. Explore this blog because I have the Spiritual Act of Communion as well as Anima Christi and the Act of Contrition. If you are able to be at home, find a video Mass or other service. It's one day at a time so hope your Sunday was good and I pray we all have a great Monday.

Another great prayer; the Litany of Supplication, prayed worldwide with Pope Francis this past Friday

Pray the litany Pope Francis prayed during ‘Urbi et Orbi’ blessing

Kathleen N. Hattrup | Mar 29, 2020

Save us, O Lord. Console us, O Lord.

Click here to launch the slideshow

During the solemn hour of prayer led by Pope Francis on March 27, the Holy Father led a special litany. Here is an Aleteia translation of the prayer:

Litany of Supplication

WE ADORE YOU, O LORD

True God and true man, truly present in this Holy Sacrament,
We adore you, O Lord.

Our Savior, God-with-us, faithful and rich in mercy,
We adore you, O Lord.

King and Lord of creation and history,
We adore you, O Lord.

Conqueror of sin and death,
We adore you, O Lord.

Friend of humankind, risen and living at the right hand of the Father,
We adore you, O Lord.

WE BELIEVE IN YOU, O LORD

Only begotten Son of the Father, who descended from Heaven for our salvation,
We believe in you, O Lord.

Heavenly doctor, who inclines over our misery,
We believe in you, O Lord.

Sacrificed Lamb, who offers himself to save us from evil,
We believe in you, O Lord.

Good Shepherd, who gives his life for the flock he loves,
We believe in you, O Lord.

Living bread and medicine of immortality, who gives us Life eternal,
We believe in you, O Lord.

FREE US, O LORD

From the power of Satan and the seductions of the world,
Free us, O Lord.

From pride and from the presumption that we can do without you,
Free us, O Lord.

From the deceptions of fear and anguish,
Free us, O Lord.

From unbelief and despair,
Free us, O Lord.

From hardness of heart and the incapacity to love,
Free us, O Lord.

SAVE US, O LORD

From all the evils that afflict humanity,
Save us, O Lord.

From hunger, famine and egoism,
Save us, O Lord.

From disease, epidemics and fear of our brothers and sisters,
Save us, O Lord.

From devastating folly, from merciless interests and from violence,
Save us, O Lord.

From deception, misinformation and manipulation of consciences,
Save us, O Lord.

CONSOLE US, O LORD

Look upon your Church, which is crossing the desert,
Console us, O Lord.

Look upon humanity, terrified by fear and anguish,
Console us, O Lord.

Look upon the sick and dying, oppressed by loneliness,
Console us, O Lord.

Look upon doctors and health care workers, overwhelmed by fatigue,
Console us, O Lord.

Look upon politicians and administrators, who bear the weight of decisions,
Console us, O Lord.

GIVE US YOUR SPIRIT, O LORD

In the hour of trial and confusion,
Give us your Spirit, O Lord.

In temptation and in weakness,
Give us your Spirit, O Lord.

In the battle against evil and sin,
Give us your Spirit, O Lord.

In the search for true good and true joy,
Give us your Spirit, O Lord.

In the decision to remain in You and in Your friendship,
Give us your Spirit, O Lord.

OPEN US TO HOPE, O LORD

If sin oppresses us,
Open us to hope, O Lord.

If hate closes our hearts,
Open us to hope, O Lord.

If suffering visits us,
Open us to hope, O Lord.

If indifference distresses us,
Open us to hope, O Lord.

If death annihilates us,
Open us to hope, O Lord.

I am a big fan of this prayer; we pray it every time I visit Rayburn Correctional and am praying it now during the Coronavirus crisis

The Anima Christi is a perfect prayer of spiritual communion

Tinnakorn jorruang | Shutterstock

Philip Kosloski | Mar 29, 2020

“Suffer me not to be separated from Thee …”

While it is commonly used as a prayer after communion, the Anima Christi can also be used as a prayer of spiritual communion when you are unable to receive the Eucharist in Holy Communion.

The prayer is believed to have been written in the 14th century by Pope John XXII, but most know it through the writings of St. Ignatius of Loyola. It remains a beautiful prayer, one that asks God to shower a soul with his loving presence.

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from the side of Christ, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malignant enemy defend me
In the hour of my death call me
And bid me come unto Thee
That with Thy saints I may praise Thee
Forever and ever.
Amen.

My homily for 5th Sunday in Lent, during this Coronavirus

This morning my Pastor asked me to deliver a brief homily/message after we concluded Mass. All of this was part of our effort to live stream everything but today we had a rough morning. For some reason we had broadcast interruptions and buffering which made viewing the 10 am Mass and my homily difficult to watch. I won't even mention we were also kind of sideways, I guess it happens. For now I will attempt to recreate my homily so at least you may be able to read it:

Thank you for joining us this morning as I greet our St. Jane family and everyone watching by video. Live streaming, YouTube channels and Facebook Live have all been a great blessing for us and for the Body of Christ. Now you know, if you know me that I probably have a song lyric or two to share and indeed I do. The song is called the Big Yellow Taxi and is best known for the lyric: they paved paradise and put up a parking lot. That's not the lyric I have in mind this morning. Nope, instead listen to this: Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got til its gone. Perhaps that is us today. We are missing many things today, especially our routines. Kids are missing school, many of you are missing work, most of us are missing opportunities to gather socially and we are most certainly missing our faith gatherings; holy Mass, going to Holy Communion, parish Fish Fry dinners, Stations of the Cross, Bible study classes. Indeed we miss all of this and more, in so many ways it simply feels "gone". Yet we know these things are not gone.

Father Ken and Father Charles have made sure we have mass via live stream everyday and we even have now heard from both of them with heartfelt messages and homilies and reflections. You know in a really beautiful way this separation from our parish church and our liturgies has actually sparked a renewal and increase in our faith. I hear from many how they are participating in video masses and devotions, are praying their Spiritual Communion and praying for one another, especially those directly impacted by this Coronavirus. Some, who have admitted their faith was lukewarm or had been taken for granted are now on fire for the faith. I even saw a story of an avowed atheist proclaiming she needs God! What I see and hear is a holy desire for the faith and a spiritual hunger and thirst for Jesus, and of course Jesus in Holy Communion. We are called to stay hungry, stay thirsty and persevere in prayer during this time of separation.

Today we heard the 3rd Gospel in a row from St. John that are Lenten staples: the man born blind, the woman at the well and the raising of Lazarus at Bethany. All these Gospels remind me of that scene in the move the Passion of Christ, whereby Jesus falls with the Cross on top of him and he sees his mother. He tells her: I make all things new. While the movie took a little license with this saying of Jesus it is in the Scripture but in the Book of Revelation, 21:5. In these three Gospels I am reminded of this line. With all things new we are called to rid ourselves of spiritual blindness, we are called to thirst for living water and finally we are called to trust totally in God through His Son, Jesus who can even raise the dead to life. You raise us to new life, Lord have mercy.

In the days ahead, maybe we can reread these powerful three Gospels. And by all means remember to pray that Act of Spiritual Communion. Add an Act of Contrition and perhaps pray the beautiful prayer, Anima Christi. By all means please pray for one another, for those impacted by this horrible disease, for the souls of those who have died and pray for every doctor, nurse, therapist and first responder out there fighting for all of us; sacrificing themselves so we may stay healthy and safe.

Finally, if you need your parish clergy, contact us through the website, the parish app and Facebook. We miss all of you greatly but know we are praying for each and everyone of you.

Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got til its gone. Yep, there are many things temporarily "gone" but our faith is not gone, our church is not gone, Jesus is certainly not gone and faith, hope and love is not gone. Until we gather together again, stand firm, be strong, cling to the faith and pray, and oh yea, wash your hands and social distance.

We love you, God loves you, may God richly bless us all.

Angelus Address for 03.27.2020 via video in this time of Coronavirus

Angelus Address: Fifth Sunday of Lent: The Resurrection of Lazarus

‘Jesus Makes Himself Seen as the Lord of Life, Who Is Able to Give Life also to the Dead’

March 29, 2020 15:49Jim FairAngelus/Regina Caeli

Pope Francis on the Fifth Sunday of Lent recalled Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead, described in the 11th chapter of the Gospel of John. His comments came before reciting the Angelus from the Library of the Apostolic Vatican Palace.

The Holy Father noted how Lazarus’ sister lamented that if only Jesus had arrived earlier her brother would not have died. Of course, Christ had other plans.

“Jesus would have been able to avoid the death of his friend Lazarus, but He wished to make our grief His own for the death of dear persons, and He wished especially to show God’s dominion over death.,” Pope Francis said. “In this passage of the Gospel, we see that man’s faith and the omnipotence of God’s love seek one another and finally meet.”

Here is a translation of the Pope’s address before and after the Marian prayer.

* * *

Before the Angelus:

Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!

The Gospel of this Fifth Sunday of Lent is that of Lazarus’ resurrection (Cf. John 11:1-45). Lazarus was the brother of Martha and Mary; they were very good friends of Jesus. When He arrived at Bethany, Lazarus had been dead already for four days. Martha runs to meet the Master and says to Him: “If You had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 21). Jesus answered her: “Your brother will rise again” (v. 23), and He added: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live” (v. 25). Jesus makes Himself seen as the Lord of life, He who is able to give life also to the dead. Then Mary and other people arrived, all weeping, and then Jesus — says the Gospel — was deeply moved and [. . . ] He wept” (vv. 33.35). With this trouble in his heart, He goes to the tomb, thanks the Father who always listens to Him, has the sepulcher opened and cries loudly: “Lazarus, come out” (v. 43). And Lazarus came out with “his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth” (v. 44). Here we see with our own eyes that God is life and gives life, but He takes charge of the drama of death. Jesus would have been able to avoid the death of his friend Lazarus, but He wished to make our grief His own for the death of dear persons, and He wished especially to show God’s dominion over death. In this passage of the Gospel, we see that man’s faith and the omnipotence of God’s love seek one another and finally meet. We see it in the cry of Martha and Mary and of all of us with them: “If you had been here!… “ And God’s answer isn’t a speech, no, Jesus is God’s answer to the problem of death: “I Am the resurrection and the life . . . Have faith! In the midst of weeping, continue to have faith, even if it seems that death won. Take away the stone from your heart! Let the Word of God bring life where there is death.”

Today too, Jesus repeats: “Take away the stone.” God hasn’t created us for the tomb; He has created us for a beautiful, good and joyful. “But through the devil’s envy death entered the world” (Wisdom 2:24), says the Book of Wisdom, and Jesus Christ came to free us from his snares. So, we are called to take away the stones of all that has to do with death: for instance, the hypocrisy with which the faith is lived, is death; destructive criticism of others, is death; offense slander, is death; the marginalization of the poor, is death. The Lord asks us to take away these stones from our heart and then life will flourish again around us. Christ lives and he who receives Him and adheres to him enters into contact with life. Without Christ, or outside of Christ, not only is life not present but one falls into death.

Lazarus’ resurrection is also a sign of the regeneration that is brought about in the believer through Baptism, with a full insertion in Christ’s Paschal Mystery. By the action and strength of the Holy Spirit, a Christian is a person that walks in life as a new creature: a creature for life and that goes to life.

May the Virgin Mary help us to be compassionate as Her Son Jesus, who made our grief His own. May each one of us be close to those being tested, becoming for them a reflection of God’s love and tenderness, which frees from death and makes life win.

[Original text: Italian] [ZENIT’s translation by Virginia M. Forrester]

After the Angelus:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the past days, the UN Secretary-General launched an appeal to “cease the global and immediate fire in all corners of the world,” recalling the present COVID-19 emergency, which knows no borders – an appeal to total cease-fire.

I join all those that have listened to this appeal and I invite all to follow it up, halting all forms of warlike hostility, fostering the creation of corridors for humanitarian aid, openness to diplomacy and attention to those that find themselves in a situation of greatest vulnerability. May the joint commitment against the pandemic be able to bring all to recognize our need to reinforce fraternal bonds with members of the one family; in particular, may it awaken in nations’ leaders and other parties involved a renewed commitment to overcome rivalries. Conflicts aren’t resolved through war! It’s necessary to overcome antagonisms and oppositions through dialogue and a constructive search for peace.

At this moment, my thought goes especially to all those people suffering the vulnerability of being constrained to live in a group: rest homes, barracks . . . I would like to mention particularly persons in prisons. I read an official note of the Human Rights Commission, which speaks of overcrowded prisons, which could become a tragedy. I ask the Authorities to be sensitive to this grave problem and to take the necessary measures to avoid future tragedies.

I wish you all a good Sunday. Please, don’t forget to pray for me; I do so for you. Enjoy your lunch and goodbye.

Pope Francis offers Sunday Mass and prayers for all who are weeping

POPE FRANCIS

Pope at Mass: 'I am thinking of the people who are weeping'

Pope Francis expresses the desire during Mass on Sunday morning at the Casa Santa Marta that this Fifth Sunday of Lent be a Sunday of tears. (playback included)

By Sr. Bernadette Mary Reis, FSP

“I am thinking of the many people who are weeping”, Pope Francis said, introducing the liturgy for the Fifth Sunday of Lent at the Casa Santa Marta chapel. People who are isolated, in quarantine, the elderly; people who are alone, in the hospital, parents who do not foresee receiving their salary and do not know how they will feed their children, he continued.

“Many people are weeping. We too, from our hearts, accompany them. It wouldn’t do us any harm to weep a bit as our Lord wept for all of His people”.

During his homily, the Pope continued with the theme of weeping, reflecting on the raising of Lazarus (Jn 11:1-45).

Jesus had friends

Jesus loved everyone, the Pope affirmed. But He did have friends. This included a special relationship with Lazarus, Martha and Mary. “He would stay at their house a lot”, the Pope said.

"Jesus felt pain because of the sickness and death of His friend…. He arrives at the tomb and is profoundly moved and troubled. And Jesus breaks out in tears. Jesus, God, and man, weeps. There is another time in the Gospel that says that Jesus wept: when He wept over Jerusalem. With what tenderness Jesus weeps! He weeps from the heart. He weeps with love. He weeps with His own who weep…. Jesus always weeps out of love, always."

Moved with compassion

How many times the Gospel repeats that Jesus “was moved with compassion”, the Pope recalled.

“Jesus could not look at the people and not feel compassion. His eyes are connected to His heart. Jesus sees with His eyes, but He sees with His heart and is capable of weeping.”

Listen to our report

Are we capable of weeping?

With everything that is happening, with all the people who are crying because of the pandemic, the Pope invites us to ask ourselves if we are capable of weeping.

“Am I capable of weeping, as Jesus would certainly have done and does now? Is my heart like Jesus’s? And if it is too hard, [even if] I can speak and do good in order to help, if my heart isn’t entering in and I’m not capable of weeping, ask the Lord for this grace: Lord, that I might weep with You, weep with your people who are suffering right now”.

The Sunday of tears

The Pope then concluded his homily reminding everyone that many people are weeping today. “We ask the grace to weep” with “Jesus who was not ashamed to weep”.

“May today be for everyone like a Sunday of tears”.

Spiritual communion

After the Pope received communion, he invited all those watching or listening to the liturgy to make a spiritual communion. He used the prayer composed by St. Alphonsus di Liguori:

My Jesus, I believe that You are present
in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot now receive you sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart.
I embrace You as if you were already there,
and I unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.

Then followed a brief period of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, after which the Pope gave Benediction with the Blessed Sacrament. The liturgy ended with the intonation of the ancient Marian antiphon Regina Caelorum (Hail, O Queen of Heaven).

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Sunday Saint of the Day

St. Ludolf of Ratzeburg

Ludolf was a Norbertine priest (a canon regular of the Premonstratensian Order). In 1236 he was chosen to become bishop of the German see of Ratzeburg. While fulfilling his episcopal duties, he continued the practices of his Norbertine religious life. For his courageous defense of the Church, he was imprisoned and harshly treated by Duke Albrecht of Saxony-Lauenburg. Subsequently he fell ill and died from what he had suffered. A soldier tormented by excruciating pains in his head resulting from an arrowhead that had become embedded in his flesh during battle invoked the intercession of Saint Ludolf. Soon afterward, he found that the arrowhead had shifted to the surface of his head wound, so that he was able to extricate it with his hand. In thanksgiving to God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Saint Ludolf, the soldier donated to the Church a lavishly decorated missal and several beautifully adorned liturgical vestments.

abitadeacon