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FR. MATEO ON THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS (continued)
THE CONVERSION OF PRODIGALS Sometimes, you hear mention of souls who are “impossible” to convert. To convert souls who seem un-convertible! How great a miracle is necessary to bring a poor sinner to tears of repentance who has been away from the Sacraments and who has led a scandalous life for many years! Yet there he is, cleansed by a sincere confession. Look at him receiving Holy Communion as though for the first time. And, indeed, it is practically the first time, for he has been away from the Sacraments for forty or more years! It was not really impossible after all. The miracle happened! These wonders happen often enough, and it is always at the behest of the Victim of our Altars. The Father cannot refuse this glory, this victory to His beloved Son whose last breath was spent in asking pardon, in offering paradise and an infinite mercy. Still, Heaven always demands the payment of the debt owed in justice. The miracle takes place when justice is perfectly satisfied. Then, it is that mercy opens the graves and puts a song of love on the lips of the risen dead! There are devotions enough, but the queen of them all, the Mass, is very often neglected, which answers the question of why there are so few conversions. I would like to stir up a strong reaction on this important point among good Catholics. Like John and Magdalene, let us stand at the foot of the Cross with the Queen of Sorrows, praying and weeping before the Calvary of the Altar. Let us do violence to the Divine Victim on behalf of the dear prodigals of our homes. Let us wrest these miracles with the omnipotence of the Mass. This has been the classical approach to breaking the rocks of the greatest sinners, since Good Friday. It is my conviction that the home which shelters a fervent soul devoted to the Mass, has one who pays the price and saves those who are in danger of hell. This soul is a great apostle because he carries the chalice of salvation in his heart, and his heart lives in this chalice. In this way, my own mother was the happy instrument before God for the salvation of my Protestant father and brother, and for my own vocation as well. For the most part, I am speaking from happy experiences. I place my hand on the gospel and on the Altar to witness the truth of what I say! I am certain that if you are faithful and docile in following this good advice, you will one day bless me together with the souls you have converted and saved through the apostolate of the Mass! I hope that my colleagues in the priesthood will lend a kindly ear, and that preachers and missionaries and all the apostles of Catholic Action will read attentively. When I speak thus, I am only calling your attention to the prayer of the Church at the offertory of the Mass: “Accept, O Holy Father, this spotless While on the subject of the merciful mission which is necessary in order that wanderers be brought back to the fold, it is most opportune to call to mind here that the best prayer for helping the poor souls in Purgatory, always has been and always will be the offering of Holy Mass. Every morning, Holy Mother Church lets fall drops of the Precious Blood like a shower of refreshing dew, and often this is the price of final liberation for souls who have been purified and have done penance in that place of torment. I like to think that thousands of souls fly off to paradise praising the Divine Mercy, while priest and faithful pay the last penny of their debt at the Altar. Never forget the poor souls in the offering of Holy Mass. In a most special way, we should remember the souls of priests in Purgatory. They have renounced the right to create their own homes and thus, without a family, they are often the most abandoned souls in Purgatory! Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy! |
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| Dear Benefactors of the Living Rosary,Greetings from the Catholic Diocese of Bo and, in particular, St. Theresa’s Parish! With great pleasure, I acknowledge, on behalf of the Parish Community, receipt of your wonderful parcel. We are very glad to be part of the ULRA. Our parishioners are very grateful to you. The people have heard a lot about the ULRA ever since we launched a special devotion to St Philomena and are greatly inspired by the heroic life of this Saint. Once more, I thank you so much for this parcel of Sacramentals. We need the holy oil of St. Philomena and more parcels to reach our various outstations.
Fr. Emmanuel Beecher, Catholic Diocese of Bo
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| My dear Patti,
I hope you saw my e-mail in which I apologized in advance for late sending of the attached lists which carry two dates. (11th February – Our Lady of Lourdes = 12 lists and 25th March – Annunciation of Our Lady = 55) Also enclosed are pictures from St. John’s Complex run by the Sisters of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Convent. The school has Pre-Nursery, Nursery, Primary, Secondary and High School sections. I am not yet finished with the Secondary / High School due to lack of materials. There are many Catholic Schools in Kumba Town. The school authorities are waiting for me. They think this devotion by the students (youths) will go a long way to control their lives positively. To meet their needs, I am anxiously waiting for thousands of Rosaries, Miraculous Medals, Scapulars and other Sacramentals, along with leaflets on these Sacramentals and flyers on Total Consecration, One Day through the Rosary and Scapular, I will save the World, Posters of St. Philomena and Ven. Pauline, booklets etc.. I extend my greetings to your entire staff. I hope your mother is doing fine. Happy Easter! Cletus – Cameroon
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Share Your Gift of FaithFor centuries, our cherished Catholic faith has been passed from person to person, parent to child, etc. Each of us carries in our heart a special memory of how God first graced us with the knowledge of the faith and how Our Blessed Mother, Saint Philomena, Venerable Pauline Jaricot and other saints changed our lives and brought us closer to Christ. In our work in the Universal Living Rosary Association, we see first hand how millions of souls are currently living without that knowledge of God and are living outside of His grace. We have been given a beautiful opportunity to carry out Christ’s work and pass on our faith and blessings to others who would otherwise never be introduced to Our Lord, the Savior of all mankind. Just as we pray for the souls in Purgatory who have no one to pray for them, we should also make it a part of our life’s mission to pass on our faith to as many souls as possible who have no one else to pass it on to them, who don’t know Our Lord and His promise of salvation.
This is the box we send out to the foreign Missions $77.95. It contains Rosaries, Scapulars, Miraculous Medals, Cord & Oil, Newsletters, Calendars, Catechism books, 2 TAN books, large color prints, lists and encouragement for our Promoters. |
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Tags: Catholic, Filomena, Living, Philomena, Philomene, Rosary, Saint, Santa, Universal