SUMMARY OF INSTRUCTIONS AND HOMILIES

SUMMARY OF INSTRUCTIONS AND HOMILIES
DURING MARCH 5, 2005
RETREAT AT THE SHRINE OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT


SATURDAY MORNING MASS HOMILY – FATHER MARK

    "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner." We can be renewed. We cannot overcome our faults without  grace. The purpose of this parable, (the sinner and the tax collector), is addressed to the people who are self-righteous. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says this parable is a prelude to prayer. We desperately need God. We thirst for God. In our very being God holds us in existence. If He withdrew His hand from us, we would go back to nothingness. In the 20th century, man was devoid of God. We need to look at Jesus Christ to see how to live.

    We are made for God. We have to be humble before God. We cannot find peace in this world. If we submit our will to God, then we will have peace. In all humility we are true beggars of the Lord. Bishop Sheen said in referring to making a holy hour that we come before Him as dogs seeking scraps.

    The tax collectors were not honest; they were viewed as traitors. The Pharisees added to the law. They had 600+ laws or priesthood prescriptions adding burdens to the people. They missed the weightier matters of the law, like mercy.

    Our Lord is not telling us not to make sacrifices in the reading today. He is making a point that charity (love) alone unites us to God. Psalm 51, the Miserere, is a beautiful beginning if we go to make a Holy Hour. The tax collector had this attitude – "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner." If we want to be judgmental and critical, say "Lord, be merciful to me a sinner." That chases away the envy and pride. We have to be absolutely sure that we cannot save ourselves. We need God's grace. Grace is absolutely necessary to avoid sin. We need to ask for strength not to sin. We need self-knowledge. Some of the Saints had big conversions. Prayer is so necessary, and draw close to the Lord. Way to self – knowledge and humility is to listen to our friends. If it keeps coming back to us, maybe there is some truth to what they are saying. If you have a friend who tells you the truth and can be honest with you, that is a treasure.

Look at our confessions. What do we confess always. Try to move that predominant fault out of your life. Ask the Lord for strength to be holy.

SATURDAY MORNING INSTRUCTION – FATHER MIGUEL

    This is a very special visit you are making to this Shrine. We are in the Year of the Eucharist right now.  Father said he wanted to touch on four words, four points in this talk. This is a basic talk on the Eucharist, not a whole treatise on this topic. The four points are: Presence, Sacrifice, Banquet, and Unity.

    All have to be equal as a table with four legs. To talk about the Eucharist without the four points, we may distort what our Lord is revealing to us in this gift of the Eucharist. The Mass (Eucharist) is a meal. People focus on the meal itself, but they forget the Mass is a sacrifice. It is a sacrificial meal, the sacrifice of Calvary.
Presence  -  Our Lord revealed the Eucharist in John 6, but it goes back to the Old Testament that Our Lord gives us what the Eucharist is. Father spent his retreat day doing the twelve stations of the Holy Eucharist behind the castle. Today Father focused only on John 6. Presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist – John 6 – "I am the living bread that came down from Heaven, etc." His flesh – true food; His blood – true drink. Our Lord is truly present in the Eucharist. He is the second divine person of the Blessed Trinity. We call the Eucharist the "real presence", because there are other  forms of His presence such as the Holy Word, Holy Mass, priests who concelebrate and proclaim the Gospel. The Lord promised He would be wherever two or three are gathered in His name.

    The Eucharist is the mystery of faith; always keep it in mind. We cannot fully grasp this. "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief, my lack of faith." It is not difficult for God to change something into another thing. God created the world from nothing. With our faith, it is no longer bread and wine, but it is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. Transubstantiation – bread and wine changed into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. As long as the species is there, Our Lord is truly in the tabernacle.

    Do frequently visit Our Lord in the true presence. Come before the presence of Our Lord during your retreat here. Here you have the opportunity to come before Him. It is important to be there in His presence and allow graces to transform us. Graces will prevent us from burning in the fires of Hell. We are the ones who have been called to be in the presence of Christ. If Catholics do not spend time in the presence of the Lord, who will?

    Sacrifice – In Hebrews it says that Jesus is the eternal high priest. Jesus offered His perfect sacrifice on Calvary. The Mass is the sacrifice, but it is a representation of the unbloody sacrifice. We are    with Our Lady and St. John at the foot of the Cross. The non-Catholic thinks we sacrifice Him over and over again. Our Lord is the second divine person of the Blessed Trinity. He offered Himself to the Father. The Father accepts it. By the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus' perfect sacrifice is offered on the altar.    

    Banquet – Holy Communion – John 6 – He who eats My flesh has eternal life - … true food and true drink. Jesus is speaking in symbolic language. Jesus is the giver. In John 6:66 the disciples were challenged. We are truly receiving His body and His blood. It is a spirit of faith that will help us to believe. Our minds cannot comprehend this mystery. The appearance is the same as before, but the substance has changed. Whenever you receive the Host, you receive His blood as well as His body. Our Lord cannot be divided. We receive the entire Christ, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.

    Unity – not automatic. If we come to Holy Communion with mortal sin on our souls, we are not instruments of unity but of disunity within our own family and the world. A non-Catholic cannot receive Holy Communion. This is a big "no-no". The Church's teaching says it causes disunity. If you are in mortal sin, go to confession first as soon as you can before receiving Holy Communion. Pray for unity. If we know someone who is not a Catholic (and we know for sure) then you have an obligation not to give Communion to them. This is out of love. Do not make a scene in front of others. 

    Just something basic to consider while making this pilgrimage: take this opportunity while you have it to spend quality time with Our Lord. Ask Our Lady to help you. She is our Mother. Ask Her to help us to prepare well to receive Holy Communion worthily.
     
HEALING SERVICE – FATHER JOSEPH

    Do we have faith? If you are here today, you must have some faith. Read Hebrews Chapter 11 if you lose faith. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

    God has made us many promises through Jesus Christ, His Son. Jesus said he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood will have life everlasting. Father told a story of Sister Regina's sister who had lung cancer. Before she died, she received Viaticum – "food for the journey". What better food to take with us right before death. What a beautiful gift of the Church to offer a soul as one passes away from this life to eternal life. The greatest gift is the Viaticum at the hour of our death.

    Our Lord wanted His words repeated in every generation for you and for me said Father. "I am with you all days even until the end of the world". He is with us by His divinity, but also in His Sacred humanity, the Eucharist. We are never completely alone. Whenever we have something too big for us, it is never too big for Him. Go to Jesus Christ in a church.

    What a model Pope John Paul II has been for us. Where has the Pope found the strength – from the Eucharist. Mother Theresa of Calcutta started an hour of Adoration every day and then she saw her community flourish. Where did she get the strength to do her work? She got it from the Eucharist. Jesus waits for us. He waits for you. He thirsts for you. How can we ever doubt His love for us? We offer Him some love in return. I trust in You; I believe in Your goodness, and I believe You will bring good from all things.

    Today we come to this Healing Service in His presence, the Divine Physician. He tells us to come to Him. Bring up your burdens that you might be carrying. Remember your loved ones who may not ask. Pray for each other. The Lord will give something for each one of you. You will not leave with empty hands. He will give you a gift.