FRIDAY EVENING MASS HOMILY – FATHER RAY BOURQUE 

The Acts of the Apostles is the history of the Church.  We see the Church growing. The Catholic Church is the only one from the beginning and is apostolic. The Catholic Church stands out.
  
Jesus Christ went to Heaven. The Holy Spirit came and the apostles received grace from Heaven. They had to find another apostle since Judas left. Peter was the boss. Peter and John went to the Temple at 3:00 P.M. and Peter healed a crippled man. The power of Jesus is continuing in the Church. Should all this surprise you? It is Jesus. 
 
Who is Jesus? Jesus is the servant of God, the one glorified, the holy and just one, the author of life, prophet, Messiah, was crucified. He is the Word. There is no other name on the earth by which you can be saved except through Jesus Christ. He is the cornerstone. If you sin, hurry and go to Jesus. Don't wait!  

 For 400 years, there were no crucifixes, because it was too hard to look at. Look at the Heart of Jesus. He showed His heart. The Lord spoke to St. Margaret Mary about the 1st Friday devotions. At Fatima, the Heart of Mary was the next development. Mary should be very real to us.  
 
Be ready for Pentecost - a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

SATURDAY MORNING MASS HOMILY – FATHER JOSEPH

 Jesus sent the apostles out and said to go out and proclaim a message - the message was "Good News" - the Gospel. We forget the beauty and value of "good news" and what it means to our lives. Suppose there is no "good news" - that Jesus had not come and died and risen. We would have to pick and choose what to live by. It is only in the Christian culture that the Gospels proclaim to the poor; have no reward for their labors except living according to God's will. That gave them hope, life, and love. It is only in the Christian cultures that you find this sort of thing happen - where they go to the poor and uneducated and destitute and take them out of this sort of life and educate them and give them a chance for a better life.
 
In the Temple upstairs after the 14 Stations of the Cross, there is a stained glass window of the Resurrection. There is always "Good News". We are not here to struggle alone, but we need supernatural help. It is "good news" that we have a place prepared for us for all eternity with God.
          
The Shroud of Turin reflects all that Jesus suffered - not something created of human hands. What we believe in has been tested. We believe because we see the fruits of the resurrection. We see the fruit of miracles in the preaching of the Gospel. The Apostles said they could not be silent of what they have seen and heard. It is indeed a message from God. We know that our loved ones are not annihilated with death. We know that these loved ones who have gone before us have an immortality. One of the great geniuses knew and believed.  John Paul II is a genius, and finally, our own meeting with the risen Lord. What we are recalling at Easter is that Jesus is alive, and He is our mediator here and at every Mass. We are inspired to conversion, to faith, to love. Everything points to the Holy Eucharist in the breaking of the bread - the gift of the Holy Eucharist. He reveals Himself to us. The life of His glory is shared with us. It is something beyond and greater than just that is given to us. "Be not afraid." Father said that we need to hear these words again and again. If He is with us, who can be against us? Be not afraid. Put your trust in Him. The message of Divine Mercy tomorrow - "Jesus, I trust in You." I will not be afraid. "Peace be with you" - words we say before Holy Communion.                   
         
  We rejoice in the "Good News". We have met the Lord ourselves. We meet Him here this morning. Proclaim it by your lives, your own faith.   

SATURDAY MORNING INSTRUCTION – FATHER STEPHEN VALENTA

 The Holy Spirit has been with us since Baptism. He will never force Himself upon us. He wants each one of us to be happy and to be filled with joy. We cannot be filled with joy until we love Him. Don't let the Holy Spirit receive a busy signal when he tries to contact us.  The Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier and helps me to love Jesus. He is the Healer - my lack of concern for others. He is the Unifier. How does He unify us - by bringing our hearts and heads together. "The Journey from the Head to the Heart" was the book Father Valenta wrote.
 
Salvation comes through the heart doing God's way, not my way.  If you had a choice of human power and divine power - which would you choose? Divine power, of course.  Get the me, me, me, out of your life and put the Lord first in your lives. We must do things for the Lord - not for myself. Now is the time to make hay!
 
Happiness - everyone will be happy in Heaven, but not the same depth of happiness. Jesus said to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, etc. Take them to heart. Every act of obedience registers in Heaven for merit.
 
Do you want a secret?  1) Slow down, slow down, slow down. Listen to the Holy Spirit;
2) Learn how to obey, to breathe out of obedience; 3) Jesus wants me to sit. 4) Never say what should I do. What does Jesus want me to do? He wants me to be quiet, so I can hear Him. 

HEALING SERVICE – FATHER  FRANCIS

 We come before the Divine Physician; we humble ourselves before Him, the Son of God. He meets us where we are. He sent the Holy Spirit to us. He is veiled if you will. We come here to be healed, because we are wounded. Father talked about the war going on in Jerusalem and the Middle East.
 
By our Baptism we come to be children of God. God became man so that man could become God. The call to prayer is always there. The beads should be in our pockets, in our purses, but always close by.
 
The Church is the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ in our midst. He meets us where we are. The very being of the Church is the Holy Spirit. The Church provides us with a shelter, a refuge to comfort us. Our Lord Himself shed His blood for His Bride, the Church. Our refuge is in the sacraments. We run to the Blessed Sacrament. The Church is taking a battering. The devil is attacking the Church.
 
We are in a war, in a battle. Our intellects are weakened - the world, the flesh and the devil. The world may also be attacking the Church. We have as our recourse in the sacraments, which are found only in the Catholic, Apostolic Church. Father quoted the Holy Father speaking about the scandal in the Church today and how it affects the good, holy priests we have. People make up the Church. The Head, who is Jesus Christ as our Lord, went through the crucifixion, so must the Church. We need to know that the Church is pure and pristine even though the sons are wounded. We know that the Church moves on. We can look at this as a purification. Perhaps the media is going after celibacy, trying to bring in priestesses. At a higher level in God's divine plan, He draws good out of evil. The media is being used as a tool to cast lots on the Church to purify us. Father spoke about his conversion.
 
There are many vocations coming, good ones. The media will continue to try to bring down the Church and the priesthood. But they are being used by the Holy Spirit for purification. Ironic, but paradoxical. The Mystical Body of Christ is being purified. We thank God for that and pray for the victims. The Church will go on experiencing in time the passion, death and resurrection. We keep our eyes fixed on that reality. The Church is built on the rock of Peter by the Lord Himself. The Church cannot teach error in faith and morals. Our God will draw all souls to Him in the shelter of refuge. We are sons and daughters of the Church.     
 
The Lord asked Bartimeous "What do you want me to do for you?" Bartimeous answered,
"Teacher, I want to see." Let this be our prayer today - to see the truth. Be transformed in your heart. We pray for conversion of life, to see the truth and to act.

FATHER RAY BOURQUE'S BIBLE STUDY

Mercy Sunday - Miseri Cordia - A heart open to misery.

Cannot be mercy if there is no misery. In Heaven there is no misery. We have heard the prayer on mercy many times in confession: "God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of His Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

A priest has the power given to him by Jesus Christ to absolve sins - acting in the person of Christ - persona Christi. 

Who are we? Jesus revealed fully who we are when He came. Jesus is really who I am supposed to become. A shortcut to discover God is mercy. Am I like Jesus? The love of the Father is mercy. To prove you are people of God, you always have to prove with love. Your love has to show always.

Become world conscious. Every morning say: "My God, I offer to You everything I do today and the rest of my life in penance for the world through the Immaculate Heart of Mary."

God is in love with us even when we sin (mercy). We see His mercy in Jesus Christ. When you show people mercy, you give more love. By forgiving, you give more.