I normally read the reading before Mass so that I am able to pray about them before hand, and also know what they are if kids act up and I have to step out. So this past weekend, in the Diocese of Savannah, we celebrated the Solemnity of the Ascension so the readings were from Acts, Ephesians, and Matthew.

I was struck by the idea that some of the people at the time of Jesus’ Ascension thought He’d be back soon, yet 2000 years have gone by. Why? Is it so that I could be part of God’s creation and have the chance to live forever with Him in heaven? If so, what am I doing to make sure I am doing my best to make the goal, to finish the race, to make it to the Promised Land?

Sometimes it can feel like my prayers go unheard, sometimes it can be very hard just to utter the words “Jesus I love you” or “Help me, Jesus!”, sometimes it can seem like between diapers and dinner there isn’t time for prayers. Then boom, God gives me a nugget, something to chew on, to ponder, to help me to know that yes, He’s still there.

“…And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”  Matthew 28:20

 

This morning, two men were ordained for the Diocese of Savannah. One of the men, Father John Wright was at our parish for six months in 2014, so we got to know him a bit. Sadly, because I’m due any day now, the drive to Savannah for the ordination was out of the question, but thankfully we were able to watch the ordination on line.
I was getting some screenshots of the ordination for the vocation page, this one being my favorite:

 

Father Wright is hugging our pastor Father Ferguson, look at the smile on his face!

From our parish bulletin for this week:

Dearest Friends in Christ,

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, in Latin Corpus Christi. It is a day within the Church calendar given to the faithful in order to contemplate this great gift of Jesus’ own Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the form of bread and wine. It was before the Eucharist that St. Thomas Aquinas once wrote, “Godhead here in hiding whom I do adore, masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more; see, Lord, at Thy service low here lies a heart lost, all lost in wonder at the God Thou art!” Such contemplation upon the mystery of the Eucharist, which is the Source and Summit of our Christian life, will necessarily lend itself to us perceiving how the Eucharist is truly the heart that gives life to any Catholic family, meaning that we should begin or continue to avail our lives to the life of grace by embracing in our lives the mystery of the Eucharist.

This is why as a parish family we see great importance in adoration. Adoring the Lord in the Holy Eucharist, the sacrament of God’s infinite generosity towards man, is our generous response to Him in this sacrament of love. These moments before the Lord are simple and yet very profound! As one man once described it to St. John Mary Vianney, “I look at Him, and He looks at me.” What could be more profound then those quiet moments before the Presence of our Lord? It is during this time in adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament that we come to the Source and Summit of our Christian lives in order to configure our lives more to that of Christ.

To encourage more people to take advantage of this opportunity to spend time before our Lord, St. John Bosco once wrote, “Do you want the Lord to give you many graces? Visit Him often. Do you want Him to give you few graces? Visit Him rarely. Do you want the devil to attack you? Visit Jesus rarely in the Blessed Sacrament. Do you want him to flee from you? Visit Jesus often…take refuge often at the feet of Jesus.” Also I encourage families to make an effort to come early to Mass or stay a little while after Mass in order to adore our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, to take refuge often at the feet of Jesus. Faithfulness here will unquestionably lead to fruitfulness in your life.

Pax et bonum,
Fr. Justin

This evening I was going over the readings for next Sunday. The second reading is from St. Paul to the Corinthians:

Brothers and sisters:
That I, Paul, might not become too elated,
because of the abundance of the revelations,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness.”
I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults,
hardships, persecutions, and constraints,
for the sake of Christ;
for when I am weak, then I am strong.

In light of recent events in our country, these are great words to ponder.

St. Peter’s List published seven quotes from Alice von Hildebrand’s book “The Privilege of Being a Woman” on their blog recently and it is worth clicking over there to check it out.

 

If you don’t own a copy of her book, may I also suggest that you buy a copy?

This past Sunday, while reading Father’s column (not during the Mass) I spied this:

Thank you, Father, for this beautiful gift!

 

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and suffering of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sins, the reunion of all Christians; I offer them for the intentions of our Bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month.  Amen