SATURDAY MORNING MASS HOMILY – FATHER SHANNON 

Father talked on Christ as the bridegroom and the Church as the Bride - how in receiving communion we receive the body of the groom and the two become one.   

The priest venerates the altar with a kiss. This represents Jesus Christ in place of the sacrifice. 
The priest is greeting the Bridegroom of Holy Mother Church, the Bride. "I will espouse you to me forever." The priest represents the High Priest for the Mass. The nuns are dressed as a bride – the Church and the Bride. The Church is the Bride. The highest exchange of mutual giving of oneself. We become more like Christ. Jesus will never be unfaithful to us. Infidelity towards God is adultery. 

St. Collette was a 15th century virgin of the Franciscan Order. She prayed that her beauty would be taken away. She lived as a hermit in the Third Order of St. Francis. She would be the one to spread the Gospel purity reform throughout France. Her last years were spent in prayer and intercession, because she had a great desire to save souls. She had a vision of souls falling from grace as snowflakes into hell. She died in the midst of her intercession and prayer for the unfaithful.

SATURDAY MORNING INSTRUCTION – FATHER SHANNON 

Father continued his earlier discussion on marriage.

Marriage – a vocation and a vocation that is very much under attack. The image of Christ loving the Church is the image of a marriage between one man and one woman. 

One of the great privileges of a priest is to give a blessing. The most powerful thing a priest can do is say the words of Consecration. Christ forgives sins using the priest's voice to forgive sins. Christ is the priest in that confessional. An amazing blessing!

In the Sacrament of Marriage, the priest has very little to do. The ministers of  the sacrament of matrimony are the husband and wife. They provide the matter and form for the sacrament. They give their vows and receive their vows. The priest and the people are the witnesses of that sacrament. 

The couple's responsibility is: (1) to get each other to Heaven;  (2) to have responsibility to their children to form them as saints; (3) to witness to the world, their families, their neighborhoods, and the Church herself. A huge responsibility! The two families are also getting married, because they will be in-laws. 

Symbolism – The priest kisses the altar before Mass when he comes to the altar. The altar represents Christ who is the Bridegroom of His Church. God marries the human race. He visited the wedding in Cana not only to show the beauty of marriage, but to show He is the Bridegroom. 
 
Marriage has always been between one man and one woman and is being attacked. Marriage  is the divine law and a divine institution, a most sacred institution. The sacrament of marriage was given to us by God. Marriage is part of natural law. The two spouses living their marriage in response to each other – to complete one another. A woman perfects man; a man perfects woman – head and heart. A man has a gift of providing and protecting his wife. The wife is like a hearth, a warmth. The head completes the heart, and the heart completes the head. Fidelity is a life long union with one another. If you lose the definition of marriage, it can go anywhere and then anything goes. You cannot cut the sacrament of marriage in half. When you get married, there is a blessing of rings. This means fidelity to each other – that each spouse possess each other, serving each other, and to be possessed by the other. "Totus Tuus".  The couple need to encourage openness to children. The marital act is something divine and good.   

Priests have a wife, 2000 years old, which is the Church. Priests have to have the Blessed Virgin Mary in their lives. Mary will be there to warm him and give him that completion.  

Christ will never leave His Bride. Father told us about how the Croatian couples are given a crucifix as part of their wedding ceremony. It is placed on the kneeler, and they put their hands on the cross when they take their vows. We have found our cross when we have found our spouse. A cross is to be loved, cherished, and caring. Salvation comes through that cross. He said the couples kiss the cross. They bring that cross back home. They go to that crucifix when there is a problem and they pray.  

HEALING SERVICE – FATHER FRANCIS 

The Eucharistic Lord is the center of our attention here at the Shrine. The actual monstrance is seven feet tall that holds the Sacred Host. All of our attention is drawn to Him, the Divine Physician.

We are plagued by immoral relativism. The objective truth is something directly opposed to subjective truth. Today, if it feels right to me, then it is true. Today it is the denial of objective truth.

He is the Divine Physician, seeking Our Lord, begging Him to heal us. Whatever chronic illnesses we have, we bring them to Him. "Lord, help me." We look to physical healings as the base of lowest form of healings. The greatest healings that take place are those of our faith. "Your faith has healed you."  We pray for an increase in our own faith. "Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief." "Lord, I trust, but help my unbelief." St. Paul says we are all called to be holy. Holiness is simply doing the will of God. We are here to increase our faith.

Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds. Our minds are being formed by the media and the world. Pray for the gift of faith and of trust.