Post self-deleted by Arch Bishop.
Hey old friend!
Great to see you again. It has been awhile. How was death?
We note with sadness the scheduled closing of our Embassy. Although SECFanatics places no arbitrary conditions upon our Embassy friendships, we recognize that other regions feel the need to do so. We wish our friends in Capri continued success and prosperity. Good-bye.
We noted with sadness the close ties your region has with New Reich of Bunicken, a Notorious Nazi and Fascist breeder region.
Lord Jesus,
we adore your cross
which frees us from sin, the origin of every division and evil;
we proclaim your resurrection,
which ransoms man from the slavery of failure and death;
we await your coming in glory,
which will bring to fulfillment your kingdom of justice, joy and peace.
Lord Jesus,
by your glorious passion,
conquer the hardness of our hearts, imprisoned by hatred and selfishness;
by the power of your resurrection,
save the victims of injustice and maltreatment from their suffering;
by the fidelity of your coming,
confound the culture of death and make the triumph of life shine forth.
Lord Jesus,
unite to your cross the sufferings of the many innocent victims:
the children, the elderly, and the persecuted Christians;
envelop in paschal light those who are deeply wounded:
abused persons, deprived of freedom and dignity;
let those who live in uncertainty experience the enduring constancy of your kingdom: the exiles, refugees, and those who have lost the joy of living.
Lord Jesus,
cast forth the shadow of your cross over peoples at war;
may they learn the way of reconciliation, dialogue and forgiveness;
let the peoples so wearied by bombing experience the joy of your resurrection:
raise up Iraq and Syria from devastation;
reunite your dispersed children under your gentle kingship:
sustain Christians in the Diaspora and grant them the unity of faith and love.
O Virgin Mary, Queen of peace,
you who stood at the foot of the cross,
obtain from your Son pardon for our sins;
you who never doubted the victory of his resurrection,
sustain our faith and our hope;
you who are enthroned as Queen in glory,
teach us the royal road of service and the glory of love.
Amen.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
“Peace be with you!” With these words, the Risen Lord
greeted his frightened Apostles in the Upper Room on
the day of his Resurrection. They were troubled, anxious,
and fearful—much like each one of us at some point in
our lives. Christ repeated the words, “Peace be with you.”
But then he added, “Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins
you forgive are forgiven them” (Jn 20:19-23).
What an extraordinary gift! The Risen Lord was
proclaiming that all the suffering he had just endured
was in order to make available the gifts of salvation
and forgiveness. He wanted the Apostles to receive
these gifts. He wanted them to become apostles of this
forgiveness to others.
In the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, also
called confession, we meet the Lord, who wants to grant
forgiveness and the grace to live a renewed life in him. In
this sacrament, he prepares us to receive him free from
serious sin, with a lively faith, earnest hope, and sacri-
cial love in the Eucharist. The Church sees confession
as so important that she requires that every Catholic go
at least once a year.1
The Church also encourages frequent confession in order to grow closer to Christ Jesus
and his Body, the Church. By the grace of the Holy Spirit,
we seek forgiveness and repentance, let go of patterns
of sin, grow in the life of virtue,
and witness to a joyful conversion. Since the graces of the sacrament are so similar to the purpose of the New Evangelization,
Pope Benedict XVI has said, “The
New Evangelization . . . begins in
the confessional!”2
We bishops and priests are
eager to help you if you experience
dif culty, hesitation, or uncertainty about approaching the Lord
in this sacrament. If you have not
received this healing sacrament
in a long time, we are ready to
welcome you. We, whom Christ has ordained to minister this forgiveness in his name, are also approaching this sacrament, as both penitents and ministers,
throughout our lives and at this special moment of
grace during Lent. We want to offer ourselves to you
as forgiven sinners seeking to serve in the Lord’s name.
During Lent—in addition to the various penitential services during which individual confession takes
place—we bishops and priests will be making ourselves
available often for the individual celebration of this
sacrament. We pray that through the work of the Holy
Spirit, all Catholics—clergy and laity—will respond to
the call of the New Evangelization to encounter Christ
in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Come
to the Lord and experience the extraordinary grace of
his forgiveness!
1 Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 1457-1458.
Here is a great search for happiness and fulfillment in life now. The emphasis now is on enjoying life. That search for happiness and fulfillment is symbolized by the prodigal son who went in search of happiness in the parable in today’s Gospel (Luke 15). The only problem was that he thought he could find happiness in what the parable calls a life of debauchery (Luke 15:13). We would say now he tried to find happiness by satisfying his every desire whether moral or immoral. This eventually led him to living with the pigs in the piggery. But true happiness is not to be found outside of ourselves, but within ourselves, in our own hearts. I am sure if his father or anybody else had tried to show him before he left home that he would be wasting his life and money, he would not listen. He had to be left to learn the hard way, from his own mistake, since there was no way you could reason with him. He also had to decide himself to come home. If someone went to bring him home he would resent it.
That younger son reminds me of the struggle of society at this time to be successful. We have a booming economy, we are a Celtic Tiger (1990’s), but in many ways we have a spiritual famine in our country at the moment. Because of that spiritual famine in some ways we have ended up like the younger son living with the pigs in the piggery. We could think of the instances of drug and alcohol abuse, all the fraud and stealing in the workplace, murders and violence, marital infidelity, priestly infidelity, all the rows and tensions between people. Because of these and so many other things we could say we are like the younger son living with the pigs in need of returning to our Father. So let us return, we won’t find happiness with the pigs. Happiness is to be found within, not outside of ourselves.
In the parable we are given a most beautiful description of our heavenly Father. He is outside of the house waiting for the younger son to return (Luke 15:20). When the son returns his father runs to him, clasps him in his arms, kisses him, brings him in and throws a party for him. When we return to God he throws a party for us. Not only does he come out of the house once, but he comes out a second time to try to persuade the elder son to come in (Luke 15:28). Our heavenly Father welcomes each of us to his party. The most beautiful line for me in the parable is what the father says to the elder son, “All I have is yours.” Our heavenly Father says to us, “All I have is yours.” This is a most beautiful promise and invitation. We were not told at the end of the parable whether or not the elder son went in to the party (Luke 15:32). After reading this parable we also have a choice to make, will we stay outside or will we go in to enjoy the Father’s party.
Far away hills look green, there are many attractions in life, there are many voices saying to us, “Follow me” or, “Follow your desires and you will find happiness.” But the best offer of happiness is from God our Father, “All I have is yours.” God our heavenly Father is outside the door waiting for us to come to him. When we return he runs to us, clasps us in his arms and invites us into the party. For the remainder of Lent we might try to make an effort to answer that invitation from our heavenly Father, “all I have is yours.” During every Mass we receive the same invitation from Jesus, “This is my Body which will be given up for you...this is the cup of my blood, it will be shed for you.” Let us go into the house and enjoy God’s party.
Oh most noble Prince of the Angelic Hierarchies, valorous warrior of Almighty God and zealous lover of His glory, terror of the rebellious angels, and love and delight of all the just angels, my beloved Archangel Saint Michael, desiring to be numbered among your devoted servants, I, today offer and consecrate myself to you, and place myself, my family, and all I possess under your most powerful protection.
I entreat you not to look at how little, I, as your servant have to offer, being only a wretched sinner, but to gaze, rather, with favorable eye at the heartfelt affection with which this offering is made, and remember that if from this day onward I am under your patronage, you must during all my life assist me, and procure for me the pardon of my many grievous offenses, and sins, the grace to love with all my heart my God, my dear Savior Jesus, and my Sweet Mother Mary, and to obtain for me all the help necessary to arrive to my crown of glory.
Defend me always from my spiritual enemies, particularly in the last moments of my life.
Come then, oh Glorious Prince, and succor me in my last struggle, and with your powerful weapon cast far from me into the infernal abysses that prevaricator and proud angel that one day you prostrated in the celestial battle. Amen.
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