SATURDAY MORNING MASS HOMILY – FATHER SHANNON 

"My Lord and My God". We are to be an apostolic faith. We are dependent upon the witness of a chosen group of men. We did not receive public revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ. He did not reveal   these things directly to us. He told these witnesses. When John died there was no more public revelation.  We cannot have Holy Mass if we are not tied to the Apostles. Public revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle. When St. John died, it ended public revelation. Any that came after this time is not public revelation. 

Thomas was a twin. In a certain part of India, they believe that Thomas preached to them. He is credited with baptizing the Magi. Our Lady willingly died to imitate Jesus Christ, Her divine Son. Her tomb was empty except for lilies, roses, etc. This proves Her Assumption. 

Thomas is the great believer, in one way, of the divinity of Jesus Christ. He touched Jesus' wounds and confessed the divinity of Jesus Christ saying "My Lord and My God".  

SATURDAY MORNING INSTRUCTION – FATHER SHANNON 

To be a Catholic priest today in the Western world is like a traffic cop at the races says Father Casey of the Divine Mercy Fathers.

Live the fortress mentality of the Church and dialogue with the secular world. Pope Paul VI said that the smoke of Satan entered into the sanctuary. This opening up to the world is the invasion of the secular thinking realm. The secular powers are not interested in having dialogue with the Church. The secular world has a culture of death. We have become by and large an ingredient instead of leaven to lift up the Church. This earth is not the Church's home. It is an outpost, a refuge. We are called the Church Militant. We should long to be on the mountain near our Lord. 

The Ascension of our Lord tells us this is the direction of where we must go. Once Jesus rose from the dead, the earth had no power over Him. We are all called to share in the mystery of the Ascension right now. Christians need to share in this mystery. We should be on our toes while we are walking on this earth, and we should feel uncomfortable and out of place on this earth. We better feel uncomfortable on this earth in all the things that are going on, i.e., contraception, people wanting marriage to be redefined, etc. There has been a springtime mentality. Father said if this is spring, he would hate to see the winter. We are experiencing a winter of unbelief. False enthusiasm and optimism are not virtues; they are an outlook. We need the virtue of hope. He will help us persevere. Hope realizes there is a problem and the problem solver is Almighty God.

Parishes and parish schools are closing. The hospitals are getting more secular. There is a true vocations crisis. From 1965 to 2002 there has been a 90% decrease in vocations, and for the same period, there has been an 80% decrease in ordinations.

At best we can be hopeful realists. Father Benedict Groeschel describes himself as a "hopeful pessimist". We believe the work of redemption will be carried through. Peace is when you have Christ in your heart. "You will suffer in this world. Have confidence I have overcome the world." How do hopeful pessimists survive? The Saints give us the answer. St. Padre Pio, a contemporary of ours, died in 1968 and lived through a lot of difficulties in this world. Suffering can be salvific. When he was asked what was the greatest problem today, he said it was man's lack of prayer.Those who pray the most will be saved. Those who pray some are in danger, and those who do not pray will be lost. The most important prayer is the Mass. 

The strategy to survive the winter is with individual personal prayer and family prayer. We are not quietists – that is a heresy. We pray first, but in the end, it is God's battle. We have to recognize it is God's battle. Good works can only be performed by the power of God. If it is God's battle, we do not worry about the numbers. This is how we endure the winter of unbelief: the fire - the Eucharist, get fed, spiritual reading, penance, doing little things with great love, live a simple life, and get prepared.  Everything you do, begin with prayer, continue with prayer, and end with prayer. Without prayer, there will be a lot of hammering, but it will accomplish nothing. Before you do God's work, be sure you know who is doing the work. Then you will be successful. 
 
It is a Satanic winter that is wearing us out. Let us change our direction. We have spent too much time in the valley; it is time to go to the mountain. Keep our hands raised in prayer. True reform in the Church begins here in this Chapel. This is where reform is found. Go to the mountain with Him. "You cannot give what you do not have." You cannot change the world if you do not have it in you. Beg for the grace for holiness, religion, and changing the world. Grace, holiness, interior life are absolutely necessary before we can change the world. Then we can take up the things of the world to change. St. Charles Borromeo said, "Don't forget the household of your own soul." 

This is the Survival Kit to endure the winter out there:

1) Frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament;
2) Frequent reception of Holy Communion;
3) Frequent Confession - at least monthly, if not weekly;
4) Spiritual Reading - (Bible, books on the Saints, etc.) -  at least 15 minutes a day; 
5) Family Prayer (go to the Upper Room - Blessed Mary and the Apostles prayed);   
6)  Formation - clothe yourselves and those under you with faith and grace, layers of doctrine, and with wool of lamb;  
7) Gather around likeminded people. (Bad company makes bad morals; do not hang out with them.)  Be indulgent with believers. We are more critical of those who are fellow Catholics. Just let people be and love them for who they are. 

St. Therese of Avila said that one man and God make an army. Before you go to the depths, go to the heights. This is the only pattern for enduring the winter of unbelief.    

HEALING SERVICE – FATHER JOSEPH 

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? The series Father Joseph produced "Faith in the Heartland" is about the missionaries' faith and how important it was to bring that faith into the New World. You can see the beautiful Gothic churches where the steeples point to Heaven. 

Father related stories of an Italian missionary and how he built churches so that people could go to church. The immigrants to this new world needed Christ, and the missionaries brought the faith. Now it is our turn. We live in a society sadly that is growing in paganism. They need the Holy Eucharist, this treasure of treasures. 

The Holy Father announced the beginning of October this year will be the beginning of the Year of the Eucharist. So the Church has feared no extravagance at the treasure of the Holy Eucharist. At Mass we are all assisted by the graces God gives us. This coming year of the Eucharist will renew in our hearts and in all hearts of the faithful an appreciation for the Holy Eucharist.

Let us remember today our nation.