Retreat April 2, 2005

DURING APRIL 2, 2005
RETREAT AT THE SHRINE OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

SATURDAY MORNING MASS HOMILY – MONSIGNOR CHILEAN

"I will give thanks to you for you have answered me."

Jesus chided the men for their unbelief and hardness of heart. They had not believed those who saw them after He had risen. Faith is belief on the authority of someone who believes. "Go, tell my brethren." Why did the women fail to convince men what they have seen, touch and experience?

Faith is an act of the will to believe on the authority of another in a matter of the heart. The heart is important. The mind of man and the heart of woman must become the "we believe" of all men and women.

Mary Magdalene saw and believed; the women saw and believed. Jesus saw the hearts of the other eleven and could not believe. Hardness of heart is distressing; hardness of heart darkens the understanding says St. John. If we do not believe Jesus for the witnesses that He sends, what will become of us in the end? Will we believe in the end in the real presence of Jesus? Judas was one of those who refused to believe. What will become of us if we do not believe? To embrace Jesus we must believe with all our hearts. Mary Magdalene did.

"Blessed are the pure of heart, they shall see God." "Where your treasure is, there also will be your heart." Forgive from your heart. Love with all your heart. Doubt not in your heart. Produce goodness from your heart. Understand with the heart and be converted. The men must not forget their beginning. God created woman to perfect man and to be for man what Mary was for Jesus. "Woman, behold your Son." Man must be for woman what Jesus was for Mary. Men, behold your Mother. The real presence of the risen Christ was seen by Mary Magdalene.

Believe the message of the women. We turn to the Eucharist. Here we are allowed to see the risen Christ. Do we believe? We should. Do we believe in our heart without doubt? Jesus is risen from the dead. Jesus, move my heart to believe in you and Mary, Your Mother, Mary Magdalene and the other holy women.

SATURDAY MORNING INSTRUCTION – FATHER MIGUEL

    Father spoke on two different subjects – one on gratitude and the other on a document by Pope John Paul II on papal elections.

On gratitude, Father said what the Psalm says – Avoid evil and do good. We should not commit sin, but this is only one-half of the program of life. The other half is to do good – acts of charity, etc. It is not possible to improve our personal life, country, or world apart from acquiring virtue. Our mentality is to avoid sin, but we have to do good as well. To eliminate vice or bad habits, we think we can overcome that without much effort. However, vice is a bad habit by committing the same thing over and over again.

All of us are called to be holy, to be great saints. In the story of the ten lepers, the Lord healed all of them. Only one of the lepers came back to Our Lord to thank Him. Our Lord was disappointed that the other nine did not come back. The one who came back to thank Jesus was a Samaritan. Thanksgiving is not automatic. It requires an act of our will to express it. We have to express our gratitude. Our first teachers are our parents. They teach us to say "thank you". It is a virtue of gratitude. It is a matter of justice to be grateful and return thanks. We forget that Our Lord hears our prayers. We should thank God first before we begin to ask Him for what we need.

The word "Eucharist" means "thanksgiving". By our belief in His presence in the Eucharist, we are thanking Our Lord through our actions. Ask Our Lord to give us the grace to be grateful and thankful. We have to have an attitude of gratitude in order to live the beatitudes. Imitate Our Lord and Our Lady in this virtue.

The second part of Father's talk was on the document of Pope John Paul II dated February 22, 1996 entitled "Vacancy of Apostolic See and Election of Roman Pontiff". Before beginning this part of his talk, Father asked that we keep Pope John Paul in prayer and ask Our Lady to give him strength.

To read what Father gave us, this document can be found on the EWTN website.

HEALING SERVICE – FATHER JOSEPH

Father read from Hebrews – "a holy priesthood", etc.

Providentially, this reading is for the Second Sunday of Easter. The Feast of Divine Mercy, the feast we all take interest in. It is almost tangible. The priests heard so many confessions for the Feast. His mercy is being poured out upon us.

Father spoke of the Christmas and Easter Catholics, the A & P Catholics, the Ashes and Palms Catholics.

God shows us His mercy in so many ways. When people get lonely, it could be a call from God to pray.

The Church has the treasure of the Holy Eucharist. Only through the hands of a priest can you receive this great gift. In every age Christians have been centering their lives on the Eucharist. Part of this Healing Service is to receive Our Lord's blessing. Bring all of the burdens you carry to Our Lord. Pray for each other.