Messages from the Mass
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Read MoreENCOURAGEMENT
This Sunday’s Gospel is our final selection from Mark for this liturgical year. It is taken from the end of Jesus’ teaching in Jerusalem immediately preceding the account of his arrest and passion. In it Jesus gives his disciples hope to sustain them through his passion and death and any persecution or suffering that they would encounter after his resurrection.
The words from the book of Daniel also provided hope and encouragement to the people of Daniel’s time. The encouragement in these scriptures is meant for us as well, for none of us will escape tribulation in our lives. Followers of Jesus will be able to endure suffering with joyful hope, knowing that Christ’s love will lead us along the way of discipleship and give us eter- nal life with God.
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Read MoreNovember is a month of remembrance for the dead, and cemeteries have long been a focus for prayer. Our tradition holds great respect for bodily remains, since the body was created and redeemed by God, was once the “dwelling place of the Holy Spirit,” and has a destiny of life with God in glory. The funeral practices of the early church contrasted greatly with those of the pagans, who had a great dread of the dead body. The ancient Christian funeral liturgy ended with the relatives and friends giving a final kiss to the body. It expressed affection and showed their faith that the grave would not be the last word. This kiss horrified pagans, who thought that any contact with the dead was degrading.
Every year on their loved one’s “birthday to life,” the Christians would return to the place of their burial to mark their profound communion with those whose lives were hidden in Christ. Typically, they buried the dead with their faces turned toward the east, symbolizing the rising of the Sun of Justice, Christ, at the end of days. They were attracted to the catacombs or burial grounds just as we are today. They would often celebrate the Eucharist at the tomb. Before long, as soon as Christians were allowed to build places for worship, they relocated cemeteries from beyond the city walls to surround the church. This was not so much because the church made the ground holy, but because the bodies of the saints hallowed the ground on which the church was built, a subtle but beautiful difference.
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God's Presence
A Prayer to the SpiritRealize above all that you are in God's presence ... empty yourself completely and sit waiting, content with the grace of God, like a chick who tastes nothing and eats nothing but what its mother gives it. - St. Romuald
A Prayer to the Holy SpiritSpirit of Jesus, poured out in flames of fire upon your disciples on the day of Pentecost, we pray to you.
Set afire the hearts of your faithful so that they will announce in all the languages of the world the wonders of the salvation of God.
Holy Spirit, who sent Christ Jesus
to carry the Good News to the poor,
We pray to you: Help us to contiinue your work
by serving the poor, our brothers and sisters
The Gifts of the Holy SpiritWisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Knowledge,
Fortitude, Piety, Fear of the Lord
Walk With Us LordWalk with us, Lord,
Along the road of resurrection!
Explain for us, so slow to believe,
the things that Scripture says of you.
Break the bread of the Eucharist with us
whenever we share our lives
with our brothers and sisters.
Stay with us
each time night approaches
and the daylight fades in our hearts!
Come to us, Spirit of HolinessHoly Spirit,
You banish fear from our hearts;
You bear witness in us that we are children of God;
We pray to you;
Remove from our hearts the spirit of slaves;
Place in us the spirit of adopted children to make us cry out, "A bba, Father!"
Jesus Gives Us the Gift of Himself
When we go to Mass, we are doing what Jesus commanded his followers to do. It is a command to love and to be loved by God. Jesus offers himself to us in the Word of God that we hear, and in his Real Presence, offered to us in the Blessed Sacrament at Communion.
People Need Our Prayers
When we go to Mass, we speak to God through out singing, our communal responses and prayer, and our personal prayers from the depths of our hearts. During the Mass, we have the opportunity to ask God for what we need, promise that we will do what He wants us to do, and thank Him for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us.
The Gift of GraceYou are What You Eat
The gift of grace increases as the struggles increase. - St. Rose of Lima
The effect of receiving the body and blood of Christ is to change us into what we receive. - Pope Saint Leo the Great
CharityCharity is that with which no one is lost, and without which no one is saved.- St. Robert Bellarmine
Holy Spirit, Guide Us Today.Holy Spirit, you who pointed out the way for your disciples to announce the Gospel, we pray to you: "As in the time of the apostles, guide today's messengers of the Good News."
God Asks Us to Make One Day Holy.God asks us to set aside one day to refocus physically, mentally, and spiritually. We live in a secular world. Going to Mass helps us to see everything from a different perspective. We begin to see in the depths of our being that God is in charge. We can let go of our own agenda because we know that God will inspire us, guide us and strengthen us for the week ahead.
What the Mass Tells Us.When we listen to the readings, the homily, and the prayers at Mass, God speaks to us in a special way. We should come away from each Mass with at least one inspiration that will impact our lives in some way. We just have to pay attention and be open to what the Lord is trying to tell us.
Praying During Mass.We can pray for other people anytime, but when we pray for others during Mass, we pray in a special way. It doesn't matter if the other people are separated from us by distance or by death. The Mass brings us together in the Body of Christ, and we become the communion of saints. It is part of the cosmic dimension of the Mass that unites heaven and earth by reaching across time and space.